Since Imagine Dragons Warriorsthe official anthem of the World Championships of Season 3, League of Legends has been made a place in the world of music. Outraged the anthem of the worldswhich is either a creation of Riot Games or a collaboration with other artists, some characters found themselves propelled to the rank of music stars. One could of course cite the daughters of K/DA (Ahri, Akali, Evelynn, Kai’Sa, Seraphine), the group True Damage (Akali, Ekko, Qiyana, Senna, Yasuo) or the champions that make up Pentakill (Karthus, Kayle, Mordekaiser, Olaf, Sona, Yorick). This allowed Riot Games to reach various music lovers, through certain sounds. But was it the only game in the world to do this?
Warcraft, the big brother
No seriously, you thought it was a chance if Pentakill was the first official group from the game ? Well no, and for that, you still have to go back to one of the main sources of inspiration for League of Legends : the universe of Warcraft. For those who don’t know, the Blizzard’s MMORPG also had its official group, albeit in a slightly different way to LoL. The members of this group were not not important characters in the lorebut players, so invested in the game, that they made a metal band dedicated to the game. Their songs took place in the Warcraft universe, and very quickly gained popularity among players, to the point that the publisher ended up integrating them into the game.
The Lvl 70 Elite Taurus Chieftain (yes for the editor they remained lvl 70 even if the name of the group passed to the maximum level of the current extension) therefore saw their avatars arrive in the game, at the beginning in the capital of the Blood Elves Silvermoon, where they greeted fans at set times, then to the Darkmoon Faire where they play their biggest hits at regular intervals. But the musical universe of WoW was not limited to this group, and many players acquired a certain notoriety thanks to Machinina (music video made with the game engine) in all styles and all languages.
Obviously, LoL is not outdone in this area. The most telling example is undoubtedly the collective Instalockwhich uses known sounds by adapting them to a League of Legends player’s gaming experience. No roleplay here, it’s more the anecdotes of the players that are taken up than the lore of the league of legends.
How about we talk about fighting games?
What if we go back to 1996 ? That year, the game publisher SNK first decided to make a small delirium. Take some of the characters from its flagship license (King of Fighters), put them in a parallel universe and make them solve their problems with songs rather than tatanes. The idea was loved by fans, and that’s how the band really came into being. What could have remained a simple delirium has become a real group. Well, it’s a very different atmosphere at the time, since it’s actors who play the role of the characters, but the idea was already there. And it is the fighters in the game who are members of the group, not the real life actors/musicians.
Finally, it is impossible to close the subject, without mentioning the license Guilty Gear. For many fans, the Guilty Gear games weren’t just fighting games, but also a metal album within the game. Daisuke Ishiwatari is a very big fan of music (the license is full of musical references that we won’t detail here), and particular care was taken with the game’s music. Of course, the characters don’t play music directly ( except I-No who does riffs from time to time), but it was impossible not to mention her. Especially since this license may be the only one who can titillate Riot Games today on the quality of music videos (we’re only talking about the quality of the music videos, not the aura or anything else).
Who knows if it wouldn’t also inspire the development of Project Lwith a new group for the universe of Runeterra ? If you know other licenses that have been marked by external groups or internal projects, do not hesitate to let us know in the comments.