But to the extent that there is a melody, after listening to it for 3 or 4 hours, it will start to wear on your mind and annoy you… as such, my closest image for the music of Shenmue was buddhist sutras. There’s something mysterious about them, and I asked Mitsuyoshi to try and match that image.
Wow, that's pretty illuminating. I don't know much about music theory, but would have loved to hear more about how the composers created the music with this directive in mind. On the surface, the music doesn't sound much like sutra chanting, but the concepts of nostalgia, mystery, and serenity do come through.
Examples of sutra chants:
Not traditional, but one of my favorites: