Gravity Rush's Soundtrack Deserves Your Attention
Gliding through the air on a picturesque trip to a Parisian town is what a lot of people dream about, myself included. Gravity Rush lets you live that dream and more with its immersive soundtrack. It takes you on a journey to Hekseville and never lets you go until Kat’s adventure is complete.
It’s criminal that Kohei Tanaka’s work on the Gravity Rush soundtrack has been almost forgotten since the game’s 2012 release. Despite the plethora of songs to choose from, it’s hard to find covers of some of the music I’m showcasing with this article.
The opening track “Discovery of Gravitation” feels like a Mario song in nature. It begins with an emotional piano solo, opening up to a thunderous ovation of percussion, strings, and guitar that perfectly represent Gravity Rush’s sense of wonder and exploration. In one section of the song, the xylophone, with its higher pitched tone, shows that stranger side of the world, and then suddenly it ends how the song started with a brief exhale from the piano. Fanchen created a wonderful piano arrangement for this beautiful piece, albeit the audio quality could have been better.
The main theme is a wonderful intro to the game as it exudes that same energy that the main protagonist Kat has. It’s energizing, bombastic, and stays true to that excitement of playing around with gravity and soaring through the sky. You know from this theme exactly who the protagonist is—Kat is a superhero at heart, putting others before herself and helping whoever she can. Like a movie soundtrack, Tanaka keeps adding twists and turns to the song, changing up the listener’s expectations.
“Old Town” welcomes you to Hekseville, a city that calls to mind the works of Studio Ghibli and, of course, Paris. It’s a blissful piece that has a whimsical flute, a delightful harp, and a string section that carries the song forward. Towards the denouement of the melody, the trombone delivers an impactful punch to its crescendo, giving the song an adventurous tone. Abfuku77 uploaded a piano cover of this magical song with the help of a special fan book that maintains that same sense of wonder you get from the game’s version.
Tanaka consistently changes it up over the course of the entire game. The soundtrack has a funky use of chiptune within the track “Infernal Paths” and then delves into jazz with “Pleasure Quarter” which plays while you walk through a bustling town and take in that New Orleans nightlife vibe. Tanaka’s soundtrack combined with Gravity Rush’s spectacular visuals create a memorable experience for the player.
“Bloody Claws” is one of the most exciting battle tracks in the game. It feels triumphant with an incredible rock backdrop to the orchestra. The guitar riffs are freaking fantastic and make you feel like you’re in the middle of a Tommy Talorico performance at Video Games Live. As you dive into the depths of the world as Kat with “Ruined Paths,” the music gets stranger with synthesized instruments and vocals that help create a mysterious landscape while the piano and harp keep the familiarity of past tracks as Kat maintains her composure. It sounds relaxing and strange at the same time, keeping in tone with the whole soundtrack.
That happy-go-lucky whimsical tone continues throughout the whole game with tracks like “Gravity Days,” but this OST does have a bit of teeth to it too. There are some beautifully sad tracks like “Honeymoon” that takes the deep, sorrowful richness of a brass instrument, and “Recollection” which uses the emotional core of a violin section to create a miserable vibe. Tanaka knows the pros of each instrument and effectively uses each sound to stir something in the player. Patti Rudisill, Amy Helman, Michael O’Gieblyn, and Nicholas Gold delivered a similarly powerful emotional punch to “Recollection” in a string quartet.
Now, let’s mention the battle theme, “Resistance and Extermination.” The piano, brass, strings, and powerful percussion all come together to create an epic piece that gets you pumped. It carries the free-spirited vibe that Kat exudes but also adds some drama with the brass and a fast Shimomura-like percussion in the background.
The game’s ending theme “Douse Shinundakara” is a spirited jazzy vocal track in a French-like language that perfectly concludes Gravity Rush’s brilliant OST. A bombastic and charismatic trumpet goes off as the vocalist brings a delightful tone to the piece. The drums and piano glue the song together, and as all the instruments join forces, it’s like you’re stepping back in time before COVID where you could watch a live jazz band playing off each other. After Bit delivered a cool stripped back version of the song that replaced the vocals with the violin. I just wish the piece was a bit longer!
Gravity Rush has an incredible soundtrack that deserves more attention from the VGM cover community. I’d love to listen to a rock version of “Resistance and Extermination” or a jazz cover of “Pleasure Quarter” by The Consouls, J-Music Ensemble, or Insaneintherainmusic. I could even see an emotional harp cover of “Recollection” or an acoustic guitar styling of “Ruined Paths” working really well. There’s so much potential in Gravity Rush’s soundtrack, and I hope in some way this article has convinced you to check out this cult-classic game and its soundtrack. Kohei Tanaka’s impeccable and varied work on Gravity Rush needs to be appreciated for many years to come.
CHRIS PENWELL
Chris Penwell is a writer and podcaster who loves to talk about video game music. His favorite soundtracks are from the Kingdom Hearts series, Celeste, Beyond Good & Evil, Gravity Rush, and Final Fantasy X. You can check out his hilarious gaming podcast Active Quest every Monday!