We all love Mikko's work -
*counts coins to see if I have enough to get Penumbra's soundtrack yet*
- but what other composers do you appreciate?
My personal fave is Michiru Yamane, who composed much of the music for the Castlevania series from Symphony of the Night, through Dawn of Sorrow. The one game during that time period that she did not do had a soundtrack to match the game's title - Harmony of Dissonance. The music in that game was just.. horrible.
Anyway I was disappointed to learn that Ms Yamane left the series to work on other projects, but she raised the bar, which had already been high when she came in, even higher, and future composers have a lot to live up to.
Few of my favorite pieces of hers:
A Toccata Into Blood Soaked Darkness - Castlevania; Curse of Darkness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8EfxAhz8-o
Condemned Tower - Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (co-written with Masahiko Kimura):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUvFF5kS3Rw
Lament of Innocence, Leon's Theme - Castlevania: Lament of Innocence:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwPbP4tFl0Y
What has been seen, cannot be unseen.