The obligatory "What are your favorite video game soundtracks" thread!

Anything else goes here that doesn't fit in the first two categories.
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TyBO
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The obligatory "What are your favorite video game soundtracks" thread!

Post by TyBO »

These forums have been pretty slow lately, so I thought I'd add a thread that's pretty much expected on a website like this. ;)

What are some of your favorite video game soundtracks? This isn't just limited to Genesis/MegaDrive music, it can be from any system.

Here are some of mine:

Final Fantasy 6, 7, 8 and 9
I know it's cliche to say Final Fantasy, but these are really some of the best game soundtracks anywhere, each for their own reasons.

Chrono Cross
Some nice mellow pieces here, along with some catchy rhythmic tunes.

The Legend of Zelda - Majora's Mask
The most creative work Koji Kondo has done, IMO.

Tetris Attack
Who would have thought that the SPC700 was capable of making a realistic slap bass sound? :D

Streets of Rage 1, 2 and 3
The only techno music that I listen to. Yuzo Koshiro is just awesome.
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Post by Dark Pulse »

Holy shit, that's a tough one.

I'll get back to this topic when I've had some sleep. As of right now I've been up 18 hours, and since I'm currently in class, I won't be able to sleep for about 4 more. :(
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Post by stimmo »

jet grind/set radio and future is pretty high up there for me

streets of rage games a definite

toejam and earl / panic on fukotron

comix zone

most of the castlevanias...

timesplitters 2

there are alot more good game soundtracks but those are the ones i listen to most.
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Post by DJ Squarewave »

Castlevania series, for sure...particularly the NES ones.
Streets of Rage 2.
Sonic 3.
Comix Zone.
Timesplitters 2.

...no, I'm not just copying stimmo's list.

...shit, uh...

Chrono Trigger. Thunder Force 2-4. F-Zero GX.

Though, most of my favorite individual tracks aren't from these, as I have this habit of letching on to one or two tracks from otherwise unremarkable soundtracks. *cough*Imperium*cough*

Edit: Also Sonic CD -- the US soundtrack, it's way better than the original music IMO. :D
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Post by stimmo »

actually i have several of the single tunes from a game that i really like then the rest i'm indifferent to.

Dyna Brothers 2 - Your TV No-More Talkin
Matrimelee - Let's Go! Ying Yang Fortune Teller (dont ask)

and several others like some chrono cross and some ff7 and well i guess i could say ff6 but i do actually like most of the music on that.
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Post by Dark Pulse »

OK, now that I'm no longer shambling like a zombie...

...It's still tough. :p

WARNING: FUCKING LONG!!!

These are in no specific order, though they're generally per-system. And admittingly, I did begin going through in Alphabetical order after the first seven (Or if you count the games in entry 4 seperately, first 13.)

- Breath of Fire IV (PS1) - Nice mixes of Adrenal pieces as well as calmer stuff.

- Chrono Trigger/Cross (SNES/PS1) - Anyone who ever played Chrono Trigger, a song from that game stuck. For me, it's about 2/3 of them. :p

- Valkyrie Profile (PS1) - Sakuraba: Still kicking ass!

- Lots of Castlevanias: 3 (As Akumajou Densetsu, though the NES one is also nice in its unique-yet-inferior way), 4, Drac X, SotN, CotM, HoD, AoS (NES, SNES, TG-CD, PS1, GBA for the last three)

- Final Fantasy 7-9 (PS1)

- Legend of Legaia (PS1)

- SaGa Frontier II (PS1) - The German naming is pretty unique. And it sounds good, too!

- Batman (NES)

- Contra (NES)

- Gyruss (NES)

- Shadow of the Ninja/Blue Shadow/Kage (NES)

- Megaman 1-6 (NES)

- Metal Gear (NES, the MSX2 version ain't bad either though)

- Ninja Gaiden II (NES) - every time I browse my NSFs I always think "ng2.nsf" is it, but it's goddamn New Ghostbusters 2. I want to strangle whoever named the file that.

- RC Pro-Am (NES)

- Sky Shark (NES) - known as Flying Shark on other platforms, but the NES release here got Sky Shark for reasons unknown to me. One of many fine, fine games Tim Follin did.

- Solstice (NES) - The sequel, Equinox (SNES) is also great stuff too. Also two games Tim Follin did.

- Sweet Home (NES) - The best RPG you've never played. Without it, RE wouldn't exist.

- Tecmo Super Bowl (NES) - All the rest have piss-poor music for some reason, even the ports.

- Teenage Mutant Turtles (NES) - Two had weird music, 3 was catchy but annoying at the same time. Give me song 3 of the NSF any day!

- Wizards and Warriors (NES) - Da-Dum. Du-Dum. Da-Da-Du-Dum.

- Civilization (SNES)

- Dragonball Z: Hyper Dimension (SNES) - and actually probably the finest of the 2D DBZ games. Well, except for DBZ Legends, but that's 2.5D. Definitely the finest of the 2D 1on1 Fighters though.

- Donkey Kong Country 1-3 (SNES)

- F-Zero (SNES)

- Super Ghouls n' Ghosts/Chou Daimakaimura (SNES)

- Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (SNES) - A series that needs to be brought back, big-time.

- The Ninja Warriors (SNES) - Fun little unknown Beat-Em-Up, this is!

- Plok (SNES) - Hands down one of the favorites on my list. It's another Follin game. Coincidence?

- Skyblazer (SNES) - Great music, fun platformer, with a few nifty tricks up its sleeve, too!

- Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade's Revenge (SNES) - OK, so the gameplay sucks. And Tim Follin himself doesn't like it. But it's not bad, if you ask me - and you ARE asking me, after all. ;)

- Starfox (SNES) - Pretty much a given.

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters (SNES) - Damn fine music. Try 02, 04, 07, 08, and
11 in the sound test.

- Tetris Attack (SNES) - You've never played this until you've got grown men weeping after you kick their ass. Not that I ever did, but Crispin Boyer of EGM Fame shattered his Tekken 2 disc after one particularly sound asskicking.

- Yoshi's Island (SNES) - This should be also a given.

- Dungeon Explorer (TG-16) - I'm a stickler for raw synth every now and then, and this game's got copious amounts of it. :)

- CarnEvil (Arc) - Hey Arbee, if you lurk these forums... put this in M1 please! I'll love you forever. Especially if you add DDE support to the app so I can write up a mIRC script for it... ;)

- Killer Instinct (Arc) - Rules. Period.

- King Of Fighters 96-2000, 2002, 2003 (Arc) - 2001 sucked. 2002 barely makes it on here.

- The Last Blade 1 & 2 (Arc) - Sometimes you get music, sometimes you get ambience, but it all works great.

- Splatterhouse (Arc) - The sound totally puts you in the mood for this game. And it's gory as hell - a full four years before Mortal Kombat got famous for that very element.

- Legend of Valkyrie/Valkyrie no Densetsu (Arc) - That main theme stuck in my head for reasons I can't quite explain. Apparently, I like it - so up here it goes.

- F-Zero X (N64) - I listed it seperately because it's so... different from the original. Much more adrenaline-inducing.

- Goldeneye 64 (N64) - A Given.

- Magical Tetris Challenge (N64) - Fuck what you think, I like this game's music.

- Mario Party 1 (N64) - Come on, it's Yasunori Mitsuda!

- Perfect Dark (N64) - Also a Given.

- Super Smash Bros. (N64) - Lots of songs in this game rule.

- Tetrisphere (N64) - On one hand, you've got your chippy SIDs. On the other, you've got more realistic sounding and just-as-awesome new compositions. Either way, you can't lose.

- The Adventures of Batman and Robin (Gen) - Jesper Kyd made one of, if not THE, most unique soundtracks on the Genesis ever. I absolutely love it.

- Aladdin (Gen) - Tallarico makes the 2612 sound good. Especially on stuff like "Camel Jazz."

- Alien Soldier (Gen) - It's Kazuo Hanzawa. Come on.

- Beyond Oasis (Gen) - One of Koshiro's many entries on my list.

- Boogerman (Gen) - A "pick" that just had to "stick" on this list.

- Castlevania: Bloodlines (Gen) - Yamane's Warmup before SotN? I think not. More like, if it weren't for this soundtrack, Yamane wouldn't have scored SotN. So shut up and listen to it!

- Comix Zone (Gen) - Drossin being one of the small handful of Non-Japanese who can make you sit up and take notice.

- DecapAttack (Gen) - I've no idea whom "Tamachan" is, but whoever they are, this is a fine example of music from the early Genny years.

- Devilish/Bad Omen (Gen) - Another game with fussy play, but holy hell the music is awesome. Plus Hitoshi Sakimoto scored FFXII, so he's gotta be good. And here's proof.

- Dragon's Fury/Devil Crash MD (Gen) - I could've listed this on TG-16, but the MD version rules. And has bonus songs. :D

- Dynamite Heady (Gen) - Eclectic? Sure. But unique!

- Earthworm Jim 1 & 2 (Gen) - For Pete's Sake...

- El Viento (Gen) - Another Sakuraba Soundtrack.

- Golden Axe III (Gen) - Why didn't this get released in the US, Sega? It rules!

- Gunstar Heroes (Gen) - A No-Brainer.

- Light Crusader (Gen) - Mmm, Isometric Donuts...

- Mean Bean Machine (Gen) - OK, this got Americanized a fair bit, but it's still catchy.

- Mega Bomberman (Gen) - Another one I could've grabbed for TG-16, but again, it sounds that much better on the Gen, plus that's where I heard it first. So it goes here. :p

- Midnight Resistance (Gen) - Dimitri agrees with me that this version sounds better than the Arcade version. That's an accomplishment... maybe.

- Phantasy Star IV (Gen) - Two sounded too synthy and I never played III, but IV rules the roost. Behind the Circuit, all the way!

- Pulseman (Gen) - When you name yourself after a game, you really, really, really like that game. Of course, it's obscure as hell and nobody knows about it... Shame on you, Sega!

- Puyo Puyo Tsuu (Gen) - Dunno why, but I like it.

- Ristar (Gen) - Hands down, one of the most underrated soundtracks on the Gen. Why haven't we seen more work from Tomoko Sasaki?!

- Road Rash 3 (Gen) - Memorable tunes in this one.

- Rocket Knight Adventures (Gen) - Kiddy? I don't think so. Only in looks. The gameplay's definitely too balls-hard for the kiddies.

- Shining Force II (Gen) - Final Battle owned my ass. Musicwise, of course.

- Skitchin' (Gen) - Road Rash on Rollerblades. Was still fun!

- Sonic Series (Gen) - Pretty much all givens here. Yes, even 3D Blast.

- Splatterhouse 3 (Gen) - 2 sucked, and 3 was different, but it was still fun and memorable.

- Streets of Rage Series (Gen) - See "Sonic Series" but subtract the second sentence.

- ToeJam and Earl (Gen) - Both were memorable, although TJ&E2 was less so. And let's not mention the XBox one, OK?

- Vectorman 1 & 2 (Gen) - Every boy and their dog probably played Vectorman at some point.

- Zombies Ate My Neighbors (Gen) - I like this version over the SNES one. Dunno why.

- Deus Ex (PC) - One of many elements that made Deus Ex so successful.

- Doom, Doom 2 (PC) - Set the standard.

- Duke Nukem 3D (PC) - Also set lots of standards.

- Unreal Series (PC) - Love em all, especially the first two. Got to talk with Michiel van den Bos, he was a fucking wicked cool guy. I doubt he'll ever see this, but if he somehow does, get a hold of me Mich!
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Post by Duke Nukem »

These are the favorites in my collection, but in no particular order. As you'll notice, I ended up liking more of western music, probably because I never owned a single Nintendo system.

- Soul Reaver - wanted this since the first 5 minutes playing it, and after a loooong search I got it from a direct friend of Kurt Harland! Back then, it was rare. Now it's everywhere.
- MDK - one of the best works by Tallarico, I say
- Medal of Honor (+ Underground) - great stuff... So, is Michael Giacchino working exclusively on movies now?
- The Command & Conquer series - I hate the games, but the music is cool
- Duke Nukem 3D - come on! "Waterworld" by Bobby Prince and "Gotham" by Lee Jackson are fucking brilliant
- Diablo - some interesting spooky stuff. Best thing Matt Uelman has done. Warcraft 2 is good too, if only it was less synthetic sounding...
- Sonic 1, 2, 3&K, Spinball, 3D (MD) - what can I say, it's great, we all know it
- The Adventures of Batman & Robin - awesome music, great game too
- Total Annihilation - Jeremy Soule is the only guy that ever fooled me with a synthesized orchestra
- Spyro the Dragon - some nice upbeat tunes
- Aladdin (MD) and Spot Goes to Hollywood - I like how Tallarico treats the YM2612 as a little orchestra
- Zero Tolerance - no, seriously! :D
- Age of Empires - the humorous track names are great too
- American McGee's Alice - Chris Vrenna made the game good with the music. It's twisted and eerie, I like it.
- Final Fantasy 6 and 7 - the two best soundtracks from the series. The rest never really struck me as remarkable. 8 sounds like trying to be 7 in several tracks.
- Chrono Trigger - I had the SPC music long before I even bothered to play the game. All because someone embedded the Brink of Time midi in their website.
- Ghouls 'n Ghosts (SMS & MD) - I hummed and whistled these tunes most of my life... I think they'll be stuck in my head forever
- Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES) - MD version sucks big time. Dark Pulse is fucking crazy.
- ToeJam & Earl 1 & 2 - very remarkable and catchy musics
- Earthworm Jim 1 & 2 - the cd audio versions are great. It sucks when people praise the SNES versions, they are absolute crap
- Ristar - I agree with DP, the music is very underrated. The game was nicely done too, but I guess not very appealing to most.
- Streets of Rage series
- Comix Zone - just stay away from the Sonic Mega Collection tracks. Damn those are bad!
- Super Metroid - I'm still waiting for the orchestral version of the Norfair songs

And other assorted ones: Quack Shot, Asterix (SMS), World of Illusion, Castle of Illusion (SMS), Land of Illusion (SMS), Ninja Gaiden (SMS), Sonic 2 (SMS), Alien 3 (SMS - Furniss FTW), Legend of Mana, Doom I & II, The Legend of the Mystical Ninja, Warheads (PC).
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Post by DJ Squarewave »

Dark Pulse wrote:- Dragonball Z: Hyper Dimension (SNES) - and actually probably the finest of the 2D DBZ games. Well, except for DBZ Legends, but that's 2.5D. Definitely the finest of the 2D 1on1 Fighters though.
I agree.

- Donkey Kong Country 1-3 (SNES)
I agree in that the music was the only good thing about those games.

- Midnight Resistance (Gen) - Dimitri agrees with me that this version sounds better than the Arcade version. That's an accomplishment... maybe.
Agreed, though this is probably due to Data East's arcade hardware having awful sound. Flood of Power is one of my all-time favorites, though.
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Post by stimmo »

DJ Squarewave wrote:I agree.

I agree in that the music was the only good thing about those games.


quite the bigoted fuck when it comes to the donkey kong country games...


i'll cure him yet. even if i have to use my fists! :mad:
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Post by MisterHarlequin »

Oh boy, here we go...

Stick with me because, though not as detailed as some, it'll be a large block of text.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (NES) - I remember this music straight creeping me out as a child, especially the tune that plays when Freddy transforms into a dream monster to kill you.


Addams Family Values (SNES) - I'm all about eerie and the SNES one sounds just that much more wicked to me.

Disney's Adventures in the Magic Kingdom (NES) - Before anyone scoffs, I dare anyone to listen to the tunes from this and say that it doesn't make the game. The Haunted Mansion music alone stands out, not to mention how the train music picks up speed as it gets faster.

Castlevania series

Alisia Dragoon (MD) - Man, just the secondary boss tune alone...

Alundra and Alundra 2 (PS1)

Animal Crossing (GC) - I'm a big fan of most of the airchecks, to say the least.

Armored Core series
Streets of Rage series

Batman and Batman: Return of the Joker (NES) - Damn, I miss you, Sunsoft ;_;

Biohazard Battle (MD)
Blaster Master (NES)
Breath of Fire series

Chrono Trigger (SNES) - I honestly couldn't do this game's music justice with any sentence, no matter how hard I tried.

Comix Zone (MD)

Conquering the World III (MD) - Man, the ripoffs in this game outdo the original tunes, at times.

Contra: Hard Corps (MD)

Crystalis (NES) - If you haven't heard this game's music, I say you're missing out on some of the best NES tunage in existence.

Devil May Cry series

Devil Summoner series, SMT: Nocturne, DDS Avatar Tuner 1 and 2, and Persona 1 through 3 - Once again, I'm at a lost for words when I think of these tunes. I must say that it does help that I'm a huge fan of the games though.

Dr. Mario (NES)

Dragon Quest/Warrior series - Much like the games, this is one of those oddball things that I'm into, as far as VG music goes.

Dyna Brothers 2 (MD)
Dynamite Headdy (MD)

FF series - Except for three of the games, which I only dislike strongly, I have no real problem with the games or the music from them.

Friday the 13th (NES)
Garou: Mark of the Wolves (ARC)
Gitaroo Man (PS2)

God of War (PS2) - Probably the only other ambience-laced soundtrack I'll ever like besides one I shall mention later.

Godzilla (NES) - Not so much the stage music but the kaiju themes. Mmm, kaiju themes...

Gradius series

Growlanser series - Mmm, Noriyuki Iwadare.

Guilty Gear series
Gunstar Heroes (MD)
Gyakuten Saiban/Phoenix Wright series
Gyruss (NES)
Jet Set/Grind Radio and Jet Set Radio Future (DC and Xbox)

Jewel Master (MD) - One of the many reasons why I even play the copy I have, to this very day.

Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari (PS2) - 'Nuff said.

Killer 7
Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II (PS2)
Kirby's Dream Land (GB)
Nippon Ichi games
Legacy of the Wizard (NES)

Legend of Legaia (PS1) - The standard boss theme equals drum 'n bass win.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)

Little Nemo: The Dream Master (NES) - Da...Da...Da...Da...DA DA DAAAA...

Lunar and Lunar 2 Complete (PS1) - Mmm, Noriyuki Iwadare redux.

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA)
Matrimelee (ARC)
Me and Satan King/Okage: Shadow King (PS2)
Mega Man series (original only)
Metroid series
Mother and Mother 2 (NES and SNES)
Ninja Gaiden series

Phalanx (SNES) - This Kemco shooter has some awesome music.

Phantasy Star IV (MD)

Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday (SNES) - Not only does it have two sets of music, but it's some of the most whacked-out stuff you''ll ever hear.

Pulseman (MD)
Rage of the Dragons (ARC)
Rez (PS2)
Rogue Galaxy (PS2)

R-Type Final (PS2) - This is the other ambience-laced soundtrack in question that I mentioned way back when.

SaGa Frontier, SaGa Frontier II and Romancing SaGa (PS1 and PS2)
Secret of Mana (SNES)
Skies of Arcadia
Skygunner (PS2)
Solstice (NES)
Soul Blazer (SNES)
Splatter House series
Star Ocean series
Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (SNES)

Super Mario All-Stars (SNES) - For serious. The remixed Underground tune says it all for me.

Super Mario RPG (SNES)
Yoshi's Island (SNES)
Super Smash Bros. Melee (GC)

Sweet Home (NES) - Listen to DP, this time. He's right.

Tales series
TMNT series
Tetris: The Grand Master (ARC)
The Guardian Legend (NES)
The Ooze (MD)
Thunder Force II through IV (MD)

Todd's Adventure in Slime World (MD) - Not so much "good" as it is "notoriously catchy".

Vagrant Story (PS1) - Mmm, Sakimoto.

Valkyrie Profile and Valkyrie Profile 2 (PS1 and PS2)
Verytex (MD)

Wild ARMs series - I'm going to be a tool and simply say that I heart Michiko Naruke.

Xenogears (PS1)

Xenosaga I through III (PS2) - The love-it-or-hate-it mentality aside, I am fond of this game's music. Episode I's music clearly stands out, though, thanks to Yasunori Mitsuda but Kajiura put out some good tunes for II and III, in my opinion.

Ys series - It may be last on the list but it damn sure isn't the least.

And with that, I bring the longest post I'll ever make to a close.
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