Music recommendation: Jade Empire (oriental)

While the soundtrack of Jade Empire is sadly one of few readily available soundtracks from games with an oriental setting, it’s useful enough that it might just be the only one you need. The calmer tracks draw heavily from Chinese aesthetics while the most dramatic tracks are closer to traditional orchestral arrangements. There are 31 tracks in total, and many of them are uniform enough to be useful without any editing.

Suggested scenes

Theme

1. The Way of the Open Palm
2. Jade Empire Main Theme

Calm

3. Hills and Fields / Dance of the Babbling Brook / Fallow Ground
5. Dawn Star Theme
23. Silk Fox Theme
26. Sky Theme
31. Sanctuary

Mystery

9. Buried Secrets / Whispers
10. Mischief in the Marsh
15. House of Spirits / The Dark Land
17. 3 Winds
22. Last Rites / Internment

Action

4. Fist / Test Your Mettle
7. Fury, Hammer and Tongs
20. Into the Fray

Epic action

11. Empire at War
14. Fires of Chaos
29. Soaring / Stormclouds
30. Torment / The Way of the Closed Fist

Party

6. The Tea House
13. A Night Out
18. Ballad of the Drunken Revelers
24. Wine and Women