Videogame music

The beauty of those eerie high solitary strings as you walk through a cave, as it gets darker and darker, and those strings start to sound more dissonant and ugly as you noticed "something" quickly moving by, as a sudden lonely sneaky irregular high-pitched woodblock sound gets through your already-pressured mind, tingling you down the head and the spine.

It's good music in good games that used to do that to me.

Too much talk into the spoiler tags :)

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

As a composer/artist/musician I've always been interested in music for games, 'cause it seems that's the only other place -- besides films -- where music needs to be hitting the player or viewer as he or she interacts or views the product, emotionally and in other ways.
Where it needs to give suspension, where it must instantly and subconsciously tell an interacter what's going on, and add to the clear visual explanation on-screen and describe one's actions.

So now I ask you: what game -- or games -- does that to you; music in-game that makes you "FEEL" what's going on, that immerses you? Music that's so nicely in tune and sets the mood of the play?


Personally, one of my favourites has always been the Metroid series. From Super Metroid (SNES) on the music was just becoming better and better. The two Metroid titles on the GBA are even better at it!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

In Metroid 4 not only are the gameplay, the areas, the story and such, designed to work heavily onto the player as usual, the music does a VERY GOOD JOB at immersing you. The way it all fits together just makes you feel an urgency, or terror, or relief, or shock / amazement, etc. It's art and has been very inspiring to me.

Another favourite would be the old-school Final Fantasy music by Mr. Uematsu. He's one of the most innovative videogame music composers and earned his credit well. A real creative mind.

I think the Final Fantasy music is probably my favourite, especially VII and VIII.

The Zelda series has had great soundtracks over the years too: I can still hum all of the songs from Ocarina of Time. In addition, although it obviously borrowed heavily from the film music, a lot of the original stuff composed for the KOTOR's was very good.

I personally think that the music from all the Black Isle games is fabulous and perfectly tuned to the games themselves. Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate 2, Icewind Dale, Icewind Dale 2, and Planescape: Torment. I'm also a huge fan of the intro/title tracks from Morrowind and Oblivion, though the rest of the the in-game music isn't quite up to those standards.

Last fall I saw this at Wolf Trap (an outdoor concert hall) here in DC and it was fabulous. If you're lucky enough to live near a place that it's coming to, I urge you to go. It's a great time.

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Originally Posted by Big King Sanctaphrax

I think the Final Fantasy music is probably my favourite, especially VII and VIII.

The Zelda series has had great soundtracks over the years too: I can still hum all of the songs from Ocarina of Time. In addition, although it obviously borrowed heavily from the film music, a lot of the original stuff composed for the KOTOR's was very good.

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Have you heard the orchestral versions? "Fragments of Memories" with strings is probably my favourite, but the soaring "Love Grows" is also pretty damn good.

FF8 orchestral samples

Kingdom Hearts had a fantastic theme song by Utada Hikraru and great orchestra and piano playing. FF was good too.

Stronghold had great tense music. "The enemy has breached the walls..." after the Scribe says that it really gets exciting. music changes if your overwhelmingly outnumbered to equal numbers.

Brother In Arms had great main music but during gameplay there is no music at all and you feel the full ferocity of war when a tank kills your squad and you can't do nothing about it...

DW4 had a good mix of Chinese and Rock music.

Halo/2 good chorus, battle music etc. just great.

i believe i know more but can't think of any right now.

Ah, just remembered Vampire: Bloodlines was one of my favorites as well. Usually games with 'fake' rock music end up sounding bad, but they pulled it off surprisingly well. The music really reflected the dark goth style of the game.

For its sheer ability to evoke in the player the sense that s/he's really in the gameworld, Shogun Total War blows away the competition. It has quite simply the best game soundtrack I've ever heard, and I highly doubt I'll ever see its like again. (Although if someone *does* somehow manage to top it, that would be quite the achievement indeed!) Even over six years later, I still get chills listening to it; and the pre-battle music still causes me to feel nervous tension almost every time I enter combat.


There are several other games that I felt had excellent music as well, however. Those I consider worthy of an honorable mention include:

Star Trek The Next Generation: Birth of the Federation: While people may not care for the game itself -- and I can hardly blame those who feel that way (even though it's one of my personal favorites) -- BotF's music was uniformly quite excellent. Each race had its own campaign and battle music that somehow felt appropriate to it, while still keeping the Trek-like style.

Rome Total War: While I may not have cared for the game itself, I absolutely *loved* the soundtrack. It definitely had an epic & cinematic quality to it, as well as feeling very "Roman". To this day, it remains the only game soundtrack for which I wish I had the CD.

Lords of the Realm II: The campaign music did a good job of making me feel like I'm managing a medieval kingdom, but on a slightly more local & intimate level than MTW. The soundtrack also responded to the tempo of the game, gradually switching over to more martial-sounding music as I began to go to war against the other great nobles. The combat music was very solid as well, filling me with a certain tension & sense of urgency as I fought my enemy in desperate battle.

Star Trek Klingon Academy: While this is (yet another) flawed Trek title, its music is some of the most cinematic I've ever heard in a video game. It makes me feel almost like I'm playing an interactive movie (Star Trek 5 1/2? ~D), and it really helps give the game an epic feel.

Final Fantasy. I have the full 4 CD soundtracks for VII, VIII, IX, and the one disc soundtrack for X. Favourites include Suteki da ne (X), ride on (VIII), dance with the Balamb wind fish (VIII), liberi fatali (VIII), melodies of Life (IX).

Beyond Good and Evil. The sound in general in this game as is highly polished and delightful as the rest, but one peice caught me when I first heard it. It's called 'Shauni', and it plays when you go into the first field outside the lighthouse. It's tranquil, simple; one pipe of some sort, violins, and a few percussion instruments. I left Jade standing in that field for a long so I could listen. Later that evening I hunted down the soundtrack.

Zelda. Too many to mention. This is music I don't mind hearing new versions of in each game.

Total War. But not RTW. That was boring, bland, icky, not memorable (it's the only TW game I can't hum some music for) and it didn't feel very Roman to me. Except for the credits song, which is passable nonsense. I have most of this on my HD too. I love the Viking battle and win music, and Euro battle 1 with its drums and sections which remind me of raining arrows, and all of STW's battle music ...

EU3. I didn't expect to like it, hearing that it was in the work of the composer of CK's boring soundtrack. I did. A cruce victoria is a rousing battle peice for a game which doesn't show any battles.

Stronghold 2. But one track and one track only, based on the understanding that it is stupid and wimsical and so perfect to listen to while writing a certain stupid and whimsical character of mine. 'Life of a gong farmer' is Jocelyn's unoffical theme tune.

Kingdom Hearts. Another Squaresoft effort, much in the same style as the FF soundtracks, but with a pinch of Disney to fit the setting. Hikari Kingdom is my favourite.

HOMM5. Not so bothered about the rest of it, but I do like that title screen music. Opera seldom works for a frog; here it does. It sounds so sad, and builds up into what can only be the background of a tragic, desperate battle.

Curse of Monkey Island. Perfect for the setting and mood of the game. Just perfect.

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Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

Kingdom Hearts. Another Squaresoft effort, much in the same style as the FF soundtracks, but with a pinch of Disney to fit the setting. Hikari Kingdom is my favourite.

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i prefered KH2's theme song. (Sancturary/English, Passion/Japannese)

Medieval 2: Total War main menu chorus song, Duke of Death and Crusaders brought out the Crusader in me. i would probably enjoy STW music too with alot of praise from it.

Stronghold Crusader great Arabian music.

Medieval: Total War Eastern music is my favorite; Western is good reminds of me of epic battles.

Company of Heroes music changes from a tenseful situation while calling reinforcements to a epic battle song; hoping to hold your men just for one more second.. again good main menu song.

more to come..

I always liked the music of Fantasy general - especially the tunes for the second and the third continent. It actually sounds a bit grave, perhaps fitting for the task of having to free a land that has been befallen by darkness.

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Originally Posted by TinCow

I personally think that the music from all the Black Isle games is fabulous and perfectly tuned to the games themselves. Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate 2, Icewind Dale, Icewind Dale 2, and Planescape: Torment. I'm also a huge fan of the intro/title tracks from Morrowind and Oblivion, though the rest of the the in-game music isn't quite up to those standards.

Last fall I saw this at Wolf Trap (an outdoor concert hall) here in DC and it was fabulous. If you're lucky enough to live near a place that it's coming to, I urge you to go. It's a great time.

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Yep, all those had great soundtracks. The KOTOR series (1 & 2) both got the mood and soundtracks just right for me too (if only the second hadn't felt incomplete...). The EB main theme is stunning and perfectly gets the mood of it all, as did much of the original MTW music.

The Age of Empires series also has great music.

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Originally Posted by TinCow

Ah, just remembered Vampire: Bloodlines was one of my favorites as well. Usually games with 'fake' rock music end up sounding bad, but they pulled it off surprisingly well. The music really reflected the dark goth style of the game.

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Well, the songs themselves in Bloodlines weren't really "fake", they were real songs from real bands that were (expertly) selected for the game. The songs in game all fit perfectly and are actually pretty decent on their own as well.

Definitely what I'd call great videogame music though.

Total annihilation: orchestral score done right

Well most of the TW series have great music and it does set the mood. I however always turn it off so I can hear more of whats happening in the battle. Again I only play mp. The problem for me with the music is its so good its distracting. Just like the graphics in MTW2. I sometimes get caught up watching the fighting.

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Rome Total War: While I may not have cared for the game itself, I absolutely *loved* the soundtrack. It definitely had an epic & cinematic quality to it, as well as feeling very "Roman". To this day, it remains the only game soundtrack for which I wish I had the CD.

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Here the same

I have to agree that the main theme for Morrowind just fit the game perfectly.

The music for Freespace 2 was not spectacular, but there were some good pieces, and they did do a good job of setting the mood or getting the adrenaline flowing. I feel the music in the original Freespace did its job better, though. In fact, after listening to it again, I am inclined to think of it quite highly. Although the best voice work in that series was the voice acting (which definately contributes to the atmosphere greatly).

I'll have to listen to the Medieval: Total War music again later and comment on it. I do recall liking it.

Monkey Island. Really old technology, but the music of the first two games has stayed with me since I've heard them, and is brilliant in its own right.

KotoR 1&2. For making a perfect selection of new Star Wars tracks, doing as much as the rest of games in evoking that authentic atmosphere of a galaxy a long time ago.

Mafia. Loved the period pieces and the original soundtrack. Completed the feel of being a '30s mobster.

The best music I've ever heard in a game however was in Outcast. I loved the game, and have recently begun to replay it every so often, and what strikes me most is despite the aging graphics the soundtrack is so epic, so fitting that I'd expect to hear its like in a major Hollywood production. It's absolutely perfect.

The music in Mafia was really good and true to the time period in which it was set. I also like the music in the Hitman series a lot.

But the best video game music, and the only one I know by heart is still from the Monkey Island series. Also great how it evolved over time, music from the first two is still very crude, but music from the third was allready a great soundtrack!

Compare this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fddBJp7u6vQ

to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjvD...elated&search=

And this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lTz...elated&search=

And the "modern" version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYZXNVHVfhc

One music piece stands out above the rest for me. Planescape: Torment, "Deionarra's Theme".
:loveg:

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Originally Posted by Kekvit Irae

Planescape: Torment, "Deionarra's Theme"

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:yes:

http://dabble.com/node/10985185
Deionarra's Theme, for the unedumicated. :book:

Klingon Academy
Medieval: Total War
Earth 2150 trilogy
Hitman 2

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Originally Posted by Pannonian

Have you heard the orchestral versions? "Fragments of Memories" with strings is probably my favourite, but the soaring "Love Grows" is also pretty damn good.

FF8 orchestral samples

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Music from Final Fantasy VIII

Love Grows
Fragments of Memories

Metal Gear Solid:
Not only a good game with many things to enjoy, the music is GOOD and well-fitting. It whips you up and eases you down just nicely. It forces you to cry at some points, like when the death of a certain person occurs the music comes up and while the scene and SFX go on the music's there to hit you hard, it could give you a "lump down the throat". Pain and suffering is well depicted in this game.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty:
The beauty of the music is even carried further in here. A story full of heroism, pain, suffering, shock, terror... and the music, ooooo the music. It's all beautiful. The main theme song is just... ahhhhh it's so good! There's a scene where this main theme comes back in a heroic dramatic way you think you're watching a movie. A very sad short scene afterwards.
And there's this particular scene after the middle part of the game where Otacon tells sad a story, and you hear this sad piano music playing. Ahh, I can hear it right now. It's beautiful *wipes away a tear*

Super Mario Bros. series (including Super Mario World (SNES)):
This is just plain good ol' game music, no matter if there's no "story". Super Mario World has lots of good catchy tunes that sometimes work on your nerves, but in a good way.

Metroid Prime:
Never played it seriously, but I do have the soundtrack.... somewhere. One thing good about the series is its ability to overwhelm a player / listener due to the synthetic and dark nature of the music. Those boss battles are always so good and the music really whips you up with its crazy irregular touch.

Leaving out Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater would be a crime. It's an ok game with an ok plot, but the ending (especially with the fight with the Boss) truly makes the MGS series among the pinnacle of gaming music. The epilogue would not bring me to tears without the music. The theme song "Snake Eater", though a bit cheesy, is a great representation of 1960/1970s spy movies, especially James Bond.

*is reminded to download Planescape: Torment again and play it*

The music from Ninja Gaiden (NES) has got to be my favorite. It wasn't so much that it was "immersive" as it was that it captured the spirit of the game so well (which was great in itself).

I usually mute games for the PC, but I remember kind of liking the Total Annihilation score. The only music I've liked recently is perhaps the main theme from "Far Cry"... composed by the same man that wrote the music for Total Annihilation.

Medieval's was very good. Particularly the Spanish Euro track and the Viking tracks.

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Originally Posted by Kekvit Irae

Leaving out Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater would be a crime. It's an ok game with an ok plot, but the ending (especially with the fight with the Boss) truly makes the MGS series among the pinnacle of gaming music. The epilogue would not bring me to tears without the music. The theme song "Snake Eater", though a bit cheesy, is a great representation of 1960/1970s spy movies, especially James Bond.

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Then somebody catch me! :)

MGS3 was great I think, but not as great as the first or even the second. It didn't really leave an impression as great as the first two on me. I don't even remember the ending's music that well, but it had a sort of foreboding touch to it, true?

The Snake Eater song is nice, but... I kind of found it awkward when I heard it, thinking it didn't really fit the game that has its... "more seriously presented" happenings. Bond: egh.

Though I must admit the a capella version of Snake Eater that you hear when you need to climb that long ladder is very well done, and actually fits nicely.

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Originally Posted by Bijo

I don't even remember the ending's music that well, but it had a sort of foreboding touch to it, true?

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Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The part I'm refering to is the MGS melody when Snake is crying over The Boss's grave.

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Originally Posted by Kekvit Irae

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The part I'm refering to is the MGS melody when Snake is crying over The Boss's grave.

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Ahhhh, I think I remember the part now! Been too long ago. That was a sad piece. I think I'll have to shake down a friend o' mine and... "borrow" his Playstation and MGS3 :saint:



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Super Metroid:
I found an okayish clip here that shows some pieces from different areas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rghrtGJ4Hs . Notice around 3:30 especially the eerie-sounding part where the pedal is kept pressed and the notes go ugly into each other. Beautiful *wipes away a tear*

Super Mario series:
This here clip is also a nice one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exez97N3nsM . Some parts remind me of how I used to play, only he got more technique :sweatdrop: This clip just makes me wanna play again!

I love game music, much better then any music with words, when given a choice of a game sound-track and the latest album, I choose the game sountrack.

EVE had some sweet music.

Sacrifice has by far the best music. It's eerie, violent, beautifully composed and so very apropiate. Honorable mention for Beyond good and Evil.

There's a band called minibosses minibosses that covers some classic videogame tunes. If you're into old school game music you might want to check them out.

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Originally Posted by doc_bean

There's a band called minibosses minibosses that covers some classic videogame tunes. If you're into old school game music you might want to check them out.

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HOLY ^$&%*^)%$^! <---- that was my initial reaction when I heard the Super Mario Bros. 2 clip. Grinning sneakily throughout the whole thing :beam:

And Ikari Warriors, ooooo the memories, the memories.... The music sounds beautiful *wipes away a tear*

Thanks for putting this link up! :bow:


--edit--
Rockband music is usually uninteresting, but THIS... Not only is it well-played, generally good-sounding, and forcing nostalgia upon me, I can hardly find any error in it, given that it is still "rock-like" with just a few instruments, making it more difficult to sound complete.

--Edit2:
Hah! The melody in the second piece is not identical to the original. I've heard more musicians having trouble with that, finding the correct notes, etc., but it's only minor :)

I owned the Minibosses music CD back when Minibosses weren't very popular yet. It was pure luv.

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Originally Posted by Kekvit Irae

http://dabble.com/node/10985185
Deionarra's Theme, for the unedumicated. :book:

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That piece sounds very fantasy-like, or I'd even say "Rome-like" a bit (as it reminds me of Gladiator). "World-musicish" or something in that direction.


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For those who are interested; some Final Fantasy stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcxPBYI8YEc

Beautiful *wipes away a tear*


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Here's an MGS3 music video (might show spoilers?) well done, and it plays a poppish song from the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcmDl-6ALzY

Beautiful.

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Originally Posted by God's Grace

i prefered KH2's theme song. (Sancturary/English, Passion/Japannese)

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I haven't played II yet. I'd like to replay I first, and before I do that there are other games closer to the top of my stack. Much as I enjoyed the original game, I hear so many mixed comments about number II I'm wary of being disappointed by it.


I started Final Fantasy VI on the GBA today. The world map music is hands down the best FF world map music I've heard. Love it.

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Originally Posted by frogbeastegg

I haven't played II yet. I'd like to replay I first, and before I do that there are other games closer to the top of my stack. Much as I enjoyed the original game, I hear so many mixed comments about number II I'm wary of being disappointed by it.


I started Final Fantasy VI on the GBA today. The world map music is hands down the best FF world map music I've heard. Love it.

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The large amount of yaoi based on KHII just totally turned me off from the game. That, and I had to force myself to complete the first chapter. MC PeePants was right; the game sucks, because for the first four hours of the game, you are just playing a dream that has no reflection on the real game whatsoever. :thumbsdown: Give me Resident Evil 4 anyday, so I can shoot zombies in the head.

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Originally Posted by Kekvit Irae

The large amount of yaoi based on KHII just totally turned me off from the game.

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You accidentally stumbled across some yaoi, I assume ? :inquisitive:

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Originally Posted by doc_bean

You accidentally stumbled across some yaoi, I assume ? :inquisitive:

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No. I do browse 4chan and Gaia.

By far the best game music I have ever come across is that from the Thief series. Absolutley superb from start to finish. Despite its excellent gameplay, it is most definately the music that makes the series so absorbing and so atmospheric. The music from Morrowind and Oblivion is also excellent and perfectly fits the setting. A measure of just how far game music has progressed over the last few years is the fact that soundtracks for games such as Splinter Cell are available in high street stores. Such recognition really is excellent to see.

With game music, it's not just the quality of the music, it's whether it complements the gameplay and setting. The only game music I can think of to praise that others have not mentioned is System Shock 2. It may not be of a high quality in musical terms, but it was used brilliantly in the game. Right from the moment you unlock the door to Medlab and the techno music kicks, my heart starts pounding with the music. (The fact that I am about to get whacked by a couple of hybrids adds to my pulse, but still...)

Secondly what some others have said:

Deanorra's (sp) theme from PST is a nice example of music that is both lovely in itself and extremely evocative in its particular setting - it conveys a sense of lost love, sadness, regret and mystery beautifully, and in sharp relief to the ugliness and morbid nature of the setting in which you first encounter it.

The music of Fantasy General, as Ser Clegane mentioned, is excellent. Indeed, it is probably the most outstanding thing about the game - it propells you forward and gives an epic feeling to what in the cold light of day is a frankly shallow and hackneyed setting.

The music of Morrowind is very short, but I never tire of it and arguably like Fantasy General, it makes the game feel much engaging than it ought to be. As a game, I don't really rate it. But as an experience - exploring those amazing landscapes to that theme - it is deeply impressive.

EDIT: Secret of Mana for the SNES is a game no one has mentioned - a lot of cutesy stuff, but some good creepy themes and pumping techno too. The music for penultimate boss fight even beats the SS2 Medlab theme for getting the adrenaline racing.

Have a look here people, EVE online has great music. If the file there is too large, ask and I can make you a compilation.