An Orchestra of Bards and Soldiers: Knights of Honor Soundtrack

Ah, Knights of Honor, one of my favourite childhood games... It's still a pretty good and memorable experience and the soundtrack is one of its most powerful assets. Specifically, it has three qualities that makes it so great:

• They are reasonably catchy , listenable for a long time and avoids being generic despite all being orchestral.
• They have a medieval air to them while avoiding sounding like they try too hard to be stereotypically medieval.
• They compliment the mood and fit to game's pace nicely, avoiding being to overwhelming or getting drowned in background.

In terms of themes it can be said that game has actually too soundtracks: A lighter, slower, more peaceful one is for overworld; and a heavier, more boisterous, more punchy one for the battle map.
First, let's listen some tracks from the overworld.















https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKghZxlbTLo
A light, chill and energetic song. Harp strings followed by guitar and flutes with slowly rising bells and tambourine give it a nice flow. It functions both as a nice background tune while playing and a pleasant piece on its own.













https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82rfU4Wo4hQ
An excellent two phrase sound. Until 1:20, it's a melodramatic sound, reminding us the aftermath of wars and generally gives a sour tone on your action. Then, it gets livelier but still low-key melodramic, as if reminding there are hopeful days again, but not celebratory. It encourages you to look proudly when your country prospers and at peace but also warns you that it all might come to an end.














https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5A3lWkUTd8
This is probably the most atmospheric track in the game. Among more energetic tracks, it gives a nice feeling of cooling down. It also gives a little weight to your decisions, reminding you behind those colorful maps you are affecting real people.











https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRjNcbDuxrs
If you guessed this music is exclusive to Muslim countries, you get zero points. Well, it is borderline stereotypical, but still, it's such a relaxed piece, actually fitting to a safe haven in a desert. It might feel a bit too relaxed even but when you actually listen it while playing it feels pleasant. Or, maybe I just listened it too many times.
Now, let's look at some of the battle themes instead:









https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MHZCYVqIPw
All battle music in Knights of Honor is similar in that they all have a slow waiting time, waiting  for the pre-battle speech, then rising slowly in anticipation of close combat and goes full streptioso near end. This song in particular does it twice, first peaks 1:13 calms down until 1:48 then strikes with full streptioso again.







https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EowWuNkj638
This one is more tonally consistent and typically medieval sounding ones, especially chants starts to kick in the latter half of the song. My personal favorite is the flute segment at 1:11, really brings down the melody to earth, making it strangely feel proud and humble at the same time





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTRYte36nx8
I really like the feeling of the "hunt" in this one. Even when it goes fully orchestral, it still has a very distinct feeling; a more direct, brutal side of the battle rather than an adventurous one. It really increases the tension in battles between otherwise somewhat goofy (in an endearing way) looking character models.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogxCLi4CG9U
Ah, here is the most medieval-sounding track. I will be honest, as long as I enjoy it, I am not a huge fan of this type of music getting overused, it can get overwhelming sometimes. (I am looking at you, Medieval 2: Total War) But in KoH, it is used with maximum efficiency, sounding daunting and holier-than-thou, but still retains its distinct Knights of Honor flavor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6u4EsjBlb8
If this song sounds like it is almost made of two different songs, because yeah it is, kind of. The part after 2:35 is used as the main menu theme. This song as a whole might be the theme of Knights of Honor itself, the most glorious, forceful one, yet it still gives breathers to the listener; building and releasing tension beautifully. As the menu theme, it gives a nice welcome to the player, instantly giving a sense of adventure.
Knights of Honor soundtrack is one of the best among strategy games and orchestral soundtracks. The game's solid sound design also helps a lot. Horses running, swords clashing, soldiers crying, weather sounds all blend nicely with music. The game also sometimes plays no music at all, letting players rest before pulling into the atmosphere again. The only improvement I can see is the soundtrack playing independently from events happening from game. But honestly, that's not very easy to do while keeping a consistent athmosphere, so I don't see it as a flaw. Overall, it is definitely worth checking out and you can listen the whole soundtrack from here.
This article is written thanks to my dearest Patrons and special thanks to: Alexandra Morgan, Laura Watson and Spencer Gill.