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Song Title: Life is Beautiful

Composers: Riyou Kinugasa, Takuya Kobayashi, Hiromi Mizutani

Game: Deadly Premonition The Director’s Cut (PS3, 2013)

Length: 3:04

Deadly Premonition is an incredibly strange game. Created by the eccentric Japanese game designer Swery65, it’s a horror comedy, open-world, third-person shooter, and murder-mystery with an FBI agent protagonist named Francis York Morgan who talks to an imaginary friend in public, oftentimes about normal decisions, as well as things as odd as the predictions the milk swirling in his coffee reveal to him. Combining completely ridiculous humor, as well as heart-breaking, serious plot developments much like Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Deadly Premonition is enthralling all the way through. The sound design is part of what makes this game so special.

The story of Deadly Premonition is all over the place, and so are its songs. There’s mysterious jazz pieces, melancholy guitar tracks, and a smooth, confident song for when Agent York is doing something especially heroic, strange, or badass. Without a doubt, the most cheerful composition to be found here is Life is Beautiful. A comically upbeat whistling tune with a simple beat behind it, Life is Beautiful has become the song fans of this cult classic title most associate with it. It captures the feeling of a relaxing stroll through the small town of Greenvale, waving at the larger-than-life characters who go about their daily routine while you explore and investigate. Deadly Premonition is made great by its unnecessary elements. Sure you can rush through the plot and play from the beginning of the murder case until the mystery is solved. You are also free to wake up, shave, change your suit, walk over to the coffee machine near the hotel lobby and grab a cup, check the weather on the television, and talk to the kind innkeeper before taking a walk around town. It’s a completely optional, relaxing and peaceful experience, and this song captures this. Life is Beautiful was the alarm tone on my phone at one time, and no matter how tired and groggy I was when I woke up, I simply couldn’t be in a bad mood.

The matching of track to scene in Deadly Premonition is something many fans believe to be part of its genius. There are many instances where the song may not seem to fit the event, and this can create either unease, confusion, or uncontrollable laughter. No scene is ever ruined by the odd music choice; they’re only made more engaging and strange. Life is Beautiful is played many times in Deadly Premonition, some more fitting in tone than others, but the most memorable for me is the first conversation York and innkeeper Polly have over breakfast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B23FBOEUrF4

The cheery whistling of Life is Beautiful, the over-the-top animations, hilarious writing, and the awkward yet believable delivery of the lines all make a simple breakfast conversation one of the first moments that hook players in Deadly Premonition. York has to repeat himself because they’re sitting so far apart that conversation is difficult, but the floating collectible item in the corner during the cutscene and the audio mixing that makes the song almost as loud as the dialogue seems to imply that the characters may actively be trying to converse despite the game itself; it’s as if they have to talk over Life is Beautiful.

Deadly Premonition is an odd but excellent title with a soundtrack to match. I encourage you to play the game before listening to other songs from it, as the context will help you enjoy and appreciate them even more. Life is Beautiful benefits from a playthrough of the game too, of course, as the many happy and hilarious moments that it accompanies will then be called to memory when you hear it. Do try it as your morning alarm! It’s too happy to be grumpy at and too goofy to be annoyed by. You might wake up and start whistling along.

*PS: Link even loves this song!

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