I guess I'm long past the point where I can even pretend otherwise: I'm a workaholic. This condition mostly manifests itself when the subject of said work is RPGFan. But my chronic need to spend as much time as possible making this site better means I need proper musical accompaniment, so I often gravitate towards music suited for working or studying. That is a major component of several of my picks for 2018, so if that sounds like your cup of tea (also a key component to productivity), read on.

Roguelikes are not often my thing, but once in a while I try to get into one. Tangledeep pulled me in a bit with its charming visuals and tight gameplay, but it was the music that sealed the deal. Gloriously atmospheric, these tunes back up a relaxing evening at home, a work/study session, or indeed, a colorful jaunt through a dungeon. Even after listening to these songs often since early 2018, they have not begun to get old. If you find yourself wondering if an album by Andrew "zircon" Aversa, with contributions by Hiroki Kikuta, Norihiko Hibino, and even one Grant Kirkhope sounds like a recipe for magic, you'd be correct.

If the above insistence that I am drawn to work and productivity too much isn't enough to convince you, maybe the clocks on my Stardew Valley farms (plural) will do the job. With four farms across three platforms, and a playtime I shouldn't disclose, Stardew is dear to me. When Materia Collective revealed a piano album last summer, I was stoked. Augustine Mayuga Gonzales is someone who I'm happy to see credited every time I do, from Materia Collective's first album (Materia: FFVII), to... well, everything else I've heard him perform. Stardew's chill sounds come alive with his piano playing, and this music that I've heard looped for literally hundreds of hours suddenly took on a new life. It's been a mainstay in my rotation since August, and I don't see it leaving anytime soon.

Final Fantasy IV wasn't my first RPG, but it's what made me love them. It's specifically where my love of classes like paladin and dragoon began, and it was also the first time I started really noticing the magic of video game music. Nobuo Uematsu's classic score has been arranged, remixed, and redone on just about every instrument one can imagine by now, so how unique can a mere acoustic guitar arrangement be? Well let me tell you, after listening to this album, anytime I see William Carlos Reyes' name on something, I will give it a listen. Much like Stardew Valley's music took on new life through the piano, I felt like I was hearing some of FFIV's music for the first time with this album. Unequivocally beautiful — sometimes hauntingly so, such as with Golbez's theme — literally the only bad thing I could say about William's work is that we don't yet have a Final Fantasy VI album from him.

Also Read: Guitar Collections Final Fantasy IV Review

I kept hearing people mention this album for months. Why did I not just give in to curiosity and check it out right away? I'm always up for Zelda music, and this moody, neon-adorned cover tells you exactly what kind of vibe you're getting with Zelda & Chill. Featuring expertly-selected songs from the NES original to Ocarina of Time, Skyward Sword, and Breath of the Wild, this is a 40-minute, over-too-soon-so-just-keep-it-on-loop meditative adventure.

Several of my RPGFan friends have this album on their lists too, and for good reason: Timespinner instantly cemented itself as my favorite Kickstarter-backed game yet. It blew away my expectations and promise of a good time, to the point where upon finishing it, I immediately started a New Game+ run (something I rarely do anymore). But as Alana mentions, Jeff Ball may be channeling Michuru Yamane's Castlevania feel here a little, yet he still makes it his own. It's gothic, it's sci-fi, it's high-energy, it's introspective... so many moods come through Jeff's amazing work, and it helped to really cement a special place in my heart for the game and its score. That I can take those feelings with me outside of the game just by turning this album on means he really created something magical.

Come on, like I'm going to talk about favorite music and not bring up Final Fantasy XIV? I already talked about Stormblood's music in the Overall list in this feature, but that's okay, because it's very important to me. The start (even if it's not track one) is Nobuo Uematsu and Susan Calloway delivering the game's third stirring vocal theme in "Revolutions." The album ends with a trio of some of the best primal/boss music in a game with countless battle themes. The overworld music in Stormblood is some of the best in the game's entire five year run. With an expansion that takes place across two very different continents, the need to deliver music that must be cohesive but still uniquely represent each nation must have been a monumental challenge. But, just like our Warrior of Light never gives up, neither does Masayoshi Soken. And our lives are the richer for it.