Video Game Music [MERGED]

[Huntneo(PT)]

I discovered a website last night which contained thousands upon thousands of video game soundtracks. Most were available for download, but I think you have to buy some of them. Either way...I took a walk down memory lane and listened to a lot of the soundtracks to some of the videogames I used to play back in the 90s.

Sonic (The music for this game and its many sequels was nothing short of brilliant! If I was a musician, I would be more than willing to pay for sampling some of the jams on those games. BTW...does anyone remember the Carnival nights zone? That was just insane!) Don't shoot me, but I could hear Gwen Stefani doing some vocals to that one.

Super Mario ( Needs no explanation. Each and every one of the Mario games contained music that we will never forget.)

Mortal Kombat ( I just love the intensity in most of the theme music for the MK games.)

Street Fighter 2 ( I love how there was a different theme song to represent each fighter, and their place of origin. Cammy's stage was always my favorite. Others included Dhalsim's, Blanka's, and Zangief's. T.Hawk's was cool too. )

There are others...but those are the games that really take me back...

Just listening to some of the music on these makes me think how did these guys come up with this stuff?

I mean...some of the music was so SICK! and crazy...in the best way!


I'm sure you guys can probably think of more recent examples...as I left all of my game playing in the 90s.


What's some of you guys' favorites? Share your thoughts on these...or whichever games contain some of your favorite tunes.


btw...the website I mentioned is...http://gh.ffshrine.org/.

Hope there's no problem with me posting that here.

If there are any of you out there who frequent this board who know or are acquainted with any of the people responsible for producing vg music...give them a pat on the back and remind them that their work is appreciated.

[evilest]

Unfortunately like most things in games now, the testament to how good music is is how much you don't notice it, above anything else anyway. That said, new game Bioshock has an incredibly rich score, and meshes future with 1930s.

[Glafna]

There is a very good site that I know of, called vgmusic.com. A LARGE collection of music files from video games, and quite a few remakes that people posted.

[BrandonSBCA]

Akira Yamaoka's video game music for Silent Hill is totally underrated. The first website is probably the best website out there for video game soundtracks.

Glafna the link you posted is not to MP3 files it's to MIDI files which are nice if you want to hear music that was done with a synth but not if you want to hear the ORIGINAL music.

[levenshulme31]

A guy called Rob Hubbard wrote loads of themes for Commodore 64 games in the 80s, some of which are supeb. I love the music he did for Monty on the Run.

[MetaKnight]

Videogames in general are underrated. I mean they are rarely considered art unlike movies, or music when a lot of effort is put in them. I think stuff like Video Games Live or Smash Bros. Live demonstrate how videogame music is just as beautiful and can cause deep emotions on people.

[Effortless_Pro]

I would have to disagree.

Among the fans and gamers alike video game music is quite the big deal.

Don't believe me? Ever heard of OCRemix?

Come on, people who play games, love video game music... and it hardly gets underrated especially in reviews and shitty soundtrack can ruin a decent game.

[MetaKnight]

Yes but u mentioned the Fans. Of course the fans will love it. Im talking in general. Games dont get the same respect as movies and stuff.

[gameboy 11]

Perfect Dark has decent music.

Final Fantasy 7 had great music too!

[luminum]

The Japanese have been on game with videogame music for ages. Love it!

[qwe549]

There was a fantastic and little-known game for the Nintendo 64 called "Mystical Ninja: Starring Goemon." That game has some of the most incredible Japanese-themed music I've ever heard.

http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1651

"027 Yamato" is my favorite piece of music from that game.

[loppyears]

Nobuo Uematsu gets a load of credit for his music, but true, outside the gaming community nobody knows him. Square have been using vocal tracks since...FF8? so i guess they wanna try and make their music mainstream by including vocals. Hey it's worked in Japan.

[YaoiBoy276]

i have to agree with the above comment about bioshock, the musical score is top grade and fits the game vveeryy well. The final fantasy series has had great music over all, along with silent hill and metal gear solid. The latter of which gave me one of my favorite songs of all time,"the best is yet to come" from metal gear solid 3. I truly wish more people than just fans could hear some of the good music in these games.

[Raven03]

I would have to disagree.

Among the fans and gamers alike video game music is quite the big deal.

Don't believe me? Ever heard of OCRemix?

Come on, people who play games, love video game music... and it hardly gets underrated especially in reviews and shitty soundtrack can ruin a decent game.

I agree.

[Glafna]

Oh, my apologies there. Anyway, they have nice remixes of the songs, and a big collection.

[Huntneo(PT)]

I never paid much attention--but I just realized that Super Mario 64's 'Koopa's Road' is good too...




I have such a soft spot for Mario. He was my first love...

[ZhuRong]

IMO Final Fantasy VIII has the best soundtrack out of the franchise, and Final Fantasy VII is a very close second.

[thedolaon]

are you guys forgetting the orginal NES Super Mario Bros!!! HELLO.

Ingenious!

du du du..du du...du.....du

[Huntneo(PT)]

are you guys forgetting the orginal NES Super Mario Bros!!! HELLO.

Ingenious!

du du du..du du...du.....du

lol...that was stuck in my head for years!

[theReckless]

Akira Yamaoka is the ultimate in computer game music. The collaborations he did with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn are some of the best game music I've ever heard.

[maxpowr9]

IMO Final Fantasy VIII has the best soundtrack out of the franchise, and Final Fantasy VII is a very close second.

Umm, how could you ever forget FF VI with the Maria and Draco opera?






I feel that (FFVI) was the most groundbreaking in terms of Nobuo Uematsu's music prowess in the series.

Just listen to the opera and tell me otherwise.

Of course with VIII, you have Uematsu's foray into the 'pop' world. You could tell that he lost his musical control from then onward, which is why he stopped making music for square after X. Not saying those games were bad musically (or doubt Uematsu's talent), but when try to bottle creativity, it shows.

Besides that, I am a huge fan of the DDR series (musically and playing also). I have 100+ songs on my ipod from DDR/ITG/Mungyo. In fact, the song nijiiro has instilled the inspiration to get a tattoo of it. Some day I will.

[icefan]

I enjoyed the above videos posted by maxpowr9. My favorite from the Final Fantasy Series is "To Zanarkand" posted below:

[Glafna]

If you've guys ever watched Electric Playground, you know Tommy Telloricio(prob. wrong spelling)? Well, he actually does music for VG's too, he looks like he's pretty good on the guitar.

[MetaKnight]

Tallarico's a great musician, too bad he's kind of a jerk. But oh well, can't have it all i guess.

[Glafna]

Tallarico's a great musician, too bad he's kind of a jerk. But oh well, can't have it all i guess.

I find him extremely amusing, but his jerkiness does tend to rub through the screen a lil-bit.

As long as he gives good reviews for good games, me no care.

[Skip]

Best soundtrack to a videogame I know. Very VERY underrated game.
Resident Evil Outbreak 1 and 2.
Just the games openign score is amazing. It was a wonderful game, it's a shame it died the way it did.
Loved the music...

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mm1CHG6UfVQ[/ame]

[MindBlast]

What do you guys think are the best video game music tracks? Here are my top 3, track title and game that it's from:

1. Godsibb - Xenosaga III (AMAZING TRACK, you have to hear it somehow), here it is performed live, the composer for the game is Yuki Kajiura, and the singer is Eri Ito:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZgPbmbvtGc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZgPbmbvtGc[/ame]

2. Aria de Mezzo Caraterre - Final Fantasy VI

3. Fatal Fight - Xenosaga II (actually it's a tie between this one and the Sakura #4, Gentle String Version, of that same game).

[spiralgary]

My favorite soundtracks are final fantasy VIII, X , Silent hill 2, 3, and 4 i love all the gloomy songs!. and the Katamari Damacy's soundtrack its awesome!.
Its difficult to choose a song out of them but if i have to choose one ill say....
letter from the lost days from the Silent hill 3 soundtrack.

[evilest]

One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy vii - especially the advent children version.

[Effortless_Pro]

This one wins all...

[Corny]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S_p8Z9VS6k[/ame]

[theReckless]

Silent Hill has the best soundtracks ever. <3

I'll have a think about some others and post them later

[theReckless]

Ok, here are some of my favourite tracks from various games

From SILENT HILL:
Main Theme
One More Soul to the Call
Not Tomorrow
Theme of Laura
Promise

From FINAL FANTASY VII:
Tifa's Theme
Aerith's Theme
Heart of Anxiety

From FINAL FANTASY VIII:
Liberi Fatali
The Landing

From FINAL FANTASY IX:
Rose of May (Loss of Me)/Protecting My Devotion

From FINAL FANTASY X:
To Zanarkand
The Sending
Ending Theme

From METAL GEAR SOLID 2:
Main Theme

From METAL GEAR SOLID 4:
Main Theme

From ZONE OF THE ENDERS 2:
Beyond the Bounds

From TOMB RAIDER LEGEND:
Main Theme

From TOMB RAIDER UNDERWORLD:
Main Theme

From VAGRANT STORY:
Opening Movie

[J-23]

One of my favorites... Love the ghoulish tone and rad bassline. Then again, all Genesis Sonic music is awesome.

A couple others:

[JyStar]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0r59ikDxdc"]Namco X Capcom[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flq8dQkwCKU"]Ranger X[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvY-BCvfR2U"]Paper Mario TTYD[/ame]

[Spiff]

If we are talking strictly game music (scores), then here are a few that quickly come to mind for me. Although there are many games with excellent music, too many that I have time to post.




Although if we are including game songs, then this is my all-time favorite:

[Aratron]

Sonic 1:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mqmN6mw4R8"]Star Light Zone Song[/ame]


Zelda - Ocarina of Time:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVY55e7UDWM"]Title Theme[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SovM_ExoVg"]Hyrule Field Main Theme[/ame]

I would add to whisperer's list:


Silent Hill:

1 - [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxvOxyaxnmM"]Tears Of...[/ame]
2 - [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qasnp026MY"]Promise (Reprise)[/ame]
3 - [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7VAqJCo8cw"]You're Not Here[/ame]
4 - [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4rXbSnk2ng"]Room Of Angel[/ame]


Final Fantasy:

6 - [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joRZL671Esk"]Terra's Theme[/ame]
7 - [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcEGFAaSpzI"]Ahead On Our Way[/ame]
8 - [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qcW0oiLKHg"]Eyes On Me[/ame] / [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvV7IUNra3k"]Only A Plank Between One And Perdition[/ame]
9 - [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mNOJpN_qOQ"]Melodies of Life[/ame] / [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPyNbti2eCw&feature=related"]Village of Dali[/ame]
10 - [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xShgYPOFCRo"]Wandering Flame[/ame] / [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZD6GDOsNYE"]Someday The Dream Will End[/ame]
10-2 - [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNLi6feWa3s"]Eternity ~Memory of Lightwaves~[/ame]

[GamerBear]

I don't really know tracks but here are a list of games I found had really good music tracks.

Tomb Raider 1, and 2.

Uncharted 2

Silent Hill Trilogy

Resident Evil 2, 3, Outbreak File #1 and 2, REmake.

[Huntneo(PT)]

I was looking around on youtube this evening and ran across some Super Street Fighter 2 music posted...


I can't believe I forgot how much I loved Vega's theme...

It's so romantic, urgent, and dramatic.



I think it made me have a crush on him.




And of course, my all-time favorite...Cammy's theme.




I'm instantly taken back to my childhood.

[Pianist]

Ariel and I have music from Donkey Kong Country for the SNES on our iPods.

Takes about 45 seconds to get going...

[Huntneo(PT)]

^ Aw...memories.

The Donkey Kong games had some hot ass music as well!

I always liked Aquatic Ambiance the most.

[Elegant-Perverse]

Not a mention of Contra and Guilty Gear?
Those two game series have some of my favorite music of all time:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BloTjR_7BU&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BloTjR_7BU&feature=related[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN1eftSE9xU&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN1eftSE9xU&feature=related[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RphtWmGD11s"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RphtWmGD11s[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHUExvp68Wo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHUExvp68Wo[/ame]

[illgetbi]

We need some Bloody Tears up in here!

Original - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest



16 Bit Update - Castlevania IV



Some Nerd on his Electric Guitar

[theReckless]

Shadow of the Colossus <3

[DarkHelios]

I like pretty much anything by Jeremy Soule. He seems to be one of the few non-Japanese composers who gets noticed.

To the comment that only gamers pay attention to videogame music:
Of course! Who else actually hears it? I've managed to get non-gamers hooked when they heard game soundtracks playing in my car, but otherwise how would they know that it even existed?

[gdude30]

Yoko Shimomura is God.

This theme is perfection.



Also.

This one is a beautiful arrangement/extended version of Roxas's theme. This song summarizes the characters entire life.

[GM1985]

I love alot of the old SNES music, I think that was a time when graphics weren't up to much so music played a bigger part!

I think the following music pieces are awesome!

Tomb Raider Underworld Main Theme

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi2GDY_cUKw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi2GDY_cUKw[/ame]

Snake Eater from Metal Gear Solid 3

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aHQnDTd1y4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aHQnDTd1y4[/ame]

Not strictly game music but, L'Homme Que J'Adore from The Saboteur

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvOlJAS7POA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvOlJAS7POA[/ame]

[altlover85]

I love Tekken, Street Fighter, and some SNK themes as well. However, they generally sound very videogamey to me. Anything that's from a stage tends to be short. Without the experiences to go with it, I think it can be harder for other people to get into the tracks.

Longer tracks from newer games (past 16-bit) like things from Final Fantasy, Chrono Cross and other games where you are in the stage for a while are more accessible to non-gamers in my opinion. They sound more like regular music to me, whereas earlier tracks always sound like they came from older video games.

[NothingtoSay]

This is one of my favorites

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Oi4QaqWoLA[/ame]

[gdude30]

Hell yes :O

I first heard that song in this trailer. When I fought Vanitas as Ven I thought, "OMG THAT'S THE EPIC SONG". Final Mix looks awesome. That really sucks that you can play as a heartless, fight monstro, and fight the Armored Figure (Although his identity is obvious)



Oh and this is a good one too. This plays during the final episode. It's a combination of destati+fate of the unknown



Ven's theme kicks ass too. Love how it's a slightly altered version of Roxas/Sora's theme.



Can't wait til KH: 3D