Ranking the Planet Zoo DLC Soundtracks! (As a Whole)

[StoppableSan]

This is a topic that I've wanted to write about for a long, long while. As someone who loves the original Zoo Tycoon/Zoo Tycoon 2/World of Zoo Soundtracks, and knowing how much of a big impact George Valavanis had on many of our childhoods, it's no wonder that J.J. Ipsen had some pretty big shoes to fill as far as memorable soundtracks go. In my opinion, through the game's lifespan so far, J.J. Ipsen showed he didn't need to be another George Valavanis in terms of creating an enjoyable soundtrack, J.J. Ipsen just needed to be, well, J.J. Ipsen! As I haven't listened to the entire soundtrack in a while, I'll start the thread by ranking the overall soundtracks that came with the DLCs that we got, and in a later thread, talking about specific songs. If anyone who majored in Music Theory or is a band kid is willing to participate, I emphatically encourage you to provide your perspective on these songs as well, and how they fare on their own! With that said, here's my ranking of the DLC soundtracks!

Arctic: One of the more relaxing/immersive soundtracks I've heard, and while there isn't really any standout piece, they all gel together to create a nice, cohesive experience! 4/5.
South America: Energetic, lively, and all-around fantastic! Chilean Matorral is one of my favorites, and always speaks to me whenever I build in my zoo's South American section, and the rest of the songs are fantastic as well! 4.5/5.
Australia: Beautifully distinct, love the incorporation of the didgeridoo throughout in a way that isn't forced in the slightest! The names of the songs are a bit odd, but that adds to the charm of the overall soundtrack! 4.35/5.
Aquatic: Soothing is the best word that I can use to describe for this soundtrack, however I do have a major complaint opportunity-wise. The trailer for the DLC showcased some AMAZING surf-guitar/(insert Richard Anthony Monsour's stage name here because his name gets censored)-style music that just wasn't present for this, and hearing the energetic surf-guitar music in the DLC trailer and hearing the soundtrack we eventually got kind of tells me that this was a missed opportunity. The songs themselves are nice, though it also feels like they gel together a bit too well, and not in as good of a way as one might expect. Because of the missed opportunity, I am going to have to dock this one and a half overall points. 3.5/5.
Southeast Asia: I really love the way Ipsen utilized the traditional instruments present in Southeast Asia, and every piece speaks to me in a unique way! I especially love the way Ipsen highlighted different regions throughout Southeast Asia, and it's clear that a lot of love went into this particular soundtrack! 4.65/5.
Africa: This is one of the MOST immersive soundtracks I've heard. The dry heat and busy/hectic marketplace is palpable/well communicated through these different songs, and Gracious Oasis in particular is beyond fantastic! Well done, J.J.! 4.65/5.
North America: I went into this soundtrack expecting more indigenous-inspired music, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear a lot of bluegrass music! Mandolin in the Wind is really well-done and is, IMO, the most standout piece I've heard from this soundtrack! That said, I do wish that this focused on North America as a whole and not merely the Appalachians/Southern United States, unlike the pack that this came with, which provided some much-needed diversity to our then sorely lacking North American sections! 4.45/5.
Europe: I genuinely didn't expect to hear one of the best soundtracks we've gotten yet! As a fan of the musical Cabaret, I loved hearing those sort of German influences throughout the soundtrack, and one of the most standout songs from this soundtrack IMO was Vesuvian View, with its Italian influences and its immersive feel, like you're sitting in a cafe in Verona! 4.65/5.
Wetlands: 5/5, 10/10, best thing. best thing. (JOKE)

So, there you have it! I do want to thank @Eltanin Casciani and the other CMs for coming up with the idea of discussion threads and for inspiring me to write this out, and I'd love to go into further details and rank individual songs if it meant procrastinating more often on my exams.

 

[FoxyDee]

I am a huge fan of the Planet Series sountrack! (I did not play PlanCo, but I often listen to its soundrack, a perfection).

They are extremly relaxing and fit the lighthearted PZ and PC like a glove.
Now for the PZ dlc soundtracks, my favourites are South America, Australia and North America. But all of them are great, I agree that utilizing the native instruments from the continents were a brilliant idea. I also love the remixes of the PZ main theme that they use in their trailers, too bad these are not in game.

I was kind of sad go see Wetlands DLC did not contain a new soundtrack, I hope this trend wont continue in next dlcs, but I feel like it might since these will probably be themed around biomes.

And lastly I cannot stress enough how much I would enjoy if those DLC tracks were actually playing while playing/building. Right now only time to hear them in game is via speakers which is a shame.

 

[coatifan]

I always liked the launch trailer music best, weirdly enough, because its less ambient and instead a cover of the main theme with thematically relevant instruments. Love the jazz/country theme for the North America pack, it's just the right amount of corny.

 

[abigenius]

For me the best dlc soundtrack is the North America animal pack, it's a such immersive and I love it , my second favorite is the Artic pack soundtrack, sweet and you can feel peace

The rest a I don't habe preference all or them are good for me personally

 

[jcp011c]

I am a huge fan of the Planet Series sountrack! (I did not play PlanCo, but I often listen to its soundrack, a perfection).

They are extremly relaxing and fit the lighthearted PZ and PC like a glove.
Now for the PZ dlc soundtracks, my favourites are South America, Australia and North America. But all of them are great, I agree that utilizing the native instruments from the continents were a brilliant idea. I also love the remixes of the PZ main theme that they use in their trailers, too bad these are not in game.

I was kind of sad go see Wetlands DLC did not contain a new soundtrack, I hope this trend wont continue in next dlcs, but I feel like it might since these will probably be themed around biomes.

And lastly I cannot stress enough how much I would enjoy if those DLC tracks were actually playing while playing/building. Right now only time to hear them in game is via speakers which is a shame.

I wholeheartedly support having them play just like the main soundtrack. I didn’t even know until a few DLCs in music even came with the packs. Overall the music of Planet Zoo is beautiful, relaxing and engaging all at once. And audial buffet of positive vibes. I’d like to hear as much of it as possible and sometimes it feels like half the music is hidden away.

 

[coatifan]

I wholeheartedly support having them play just like the main soundtrack. I didn’t even know until a few DLCs in music even came with the packs. Overall the music of Planet Zoo is beautiful, relaxing and engaging all at once. And audial buffet of positive vibes. I’d like to hear as much of it as possible and sometimes it feels like half the music is hidden away.

It would definitely be waaaaay too complicated to implement, but in a perfect world, it would be cool for the music to actually sync up thematically, like if it was picked from a list based on the closest animal species (Indian music for elephant, rhino, peafowl, Australian music for DLC animals, etc).

 

[Swiftie_Midnights_]

I'm think one of my fav soundtrack is the wetlands animal pack! That sounds so good! I sometimes go into a trailer just to hear the music but I love it all! I do not know if this is the case but I would be happy if Frontier would add all the music of the DLCs into the music of the game you are entering that's when u playing u can listen to millons of music! I'm one of the peoples who must play with the sounds of the game! but I'm just love so much all the counds in the game!