Twelve Game Music Tracks Worth Keeping

The field of game music has gotten considerably better over the years, a fact that Games Radar highlights in a simple 'list article' about iPod-worthy game music. They highlight some obvious recent gems, like Coulton's "Still Alive" and "Hikari" from Kingdom Hearts, but also bring back some older goodies with choices like "Everybody Jump Around" from Jet Set Radio or "Chemical Plant" from Sonic 2. "Sonic games used to have amazing music. And while single-player Mystic Cave Zone came a close second, this has to make the list. It may be basic compared to modern CD recordings, but just listen to how each of the console's sound channels is used - it's remarkable. Intricate and dramatic, this industrial anthem builds and builds before seamlessly looping in a non-annoying way."

Guitar Hero

[INeededALogin]

Just for the record... Guitar Hero Soundtracks should not count as they were not designed with the game in mind. Just thought I would get that out there before all the guitar hero freaks start saying Stairway to Heaven is the best game song of all time:-P

As usual, only CONSOLE games

[samwh]

Seriously, some of the work Jeremy Soule has done on games such as The Elder Scrolls and Guild Wars is astounding.

But more jarring then that seems to be the complete lack of Chrono Trigger. Or ANY Square(SOFT) music. Seriously, Kingdom Hearts? Hardly the best they have done.

On a side note, each track is on a different page, without a list to organize them by. Obviously a cheap ad-grab.

Bah, no Cannon Fodder?

[isaac]

Come on, how can you put a list like this together without mentioning the Cannon Fodder intro?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRaFfFuEOj0 [youtube.com]

-Isaac

Hikari from Kingdom Hearts?

[CelticWhisper]

I remember the craze over the game when it came out, but honestly I'm surprised the song is still that popular. Not that it's outright terrible or anything, but thinking back, I seem to remember it being relatively run-of-the-mill saccharine J-pop.

Again, not horrendous, but not really memorable either. There's much better game music out there. Look to Jeremy Soule, Hitoshi Sakimoto, Shoji Meguro, Yuki Kajiura, or Kurt Harland for examples. The article was spot-on in recommending Yamaoka's Silent Hill scores, though you do have to be just a little bit unhinged upstairs in order to enjoy SH1 as casual-listening material.

Offhand, I'd recommend Sakimoto's "Vagrant Story" score, Kajiura's "Xenosaga Episode 3," Meguro's "Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne" for those willing to let the ambience set in, or "Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner" if you want something more casually listenable, and any of Harland's work on the Legacy of Kain series.

Re:Hikari from Kingdom Hearts?

[CelticWhisper]

Agreed, at least overall. Saga has a handful of standout tracks that, in my opinion, outshine Noir or Hack/Sign, but her anime work is consistently amazing. I only omitted mentioning it since the thread was on VGM and not anime music.

Re:Planescape: Torment

[Sciros]

If you're going for PC RPGs from that time period, it's hard to get better than the scores composed by Michael Hoenig for Baldur's Gate I and II. Jeremy Soule's scoring of Icewind Dale was decent, as well.

CT: To Far Away Times

[Erioll]

You're not wrong on Soule's work. I didn't like Guild Wars, but I don't regret buying the collector's edition purely because you got the game's soundtrack on CD, and the music was outstanding. As you said, his work on The Elder Scrolls was also good.

But considering they were going back into the console days, omitting one of the greatest tracks EVER imo is a great disgrace. The ending theme to Chrono Trigger (ranked the greatest RPG of all time on at least one list I've seen, and I don't disagree) is a piece called "To Far Away Times." It's a perfect blend of subtlety and power at different times. The music overall for the game is also a cut above nearly everything else, but this piece just pulls out all the stops and makes a masterpiece.

I found it on YouTube from an ending playthrough a guy did: here [youtube.com] The song itself starts at EXACTLY 1m in, and ends around the 5:20 mark.

Re:Hikari from Kingdom Hearts?

[CelticWhisper]

Well, the woman has a serious way with choral vocals. A serious way. However, a lot of her stuff relies heavily on acoustic instrumentation and is on the lighter side. What I'd love to hear is a collaborative effort between her and Shoji Meguro (of recent Shin Megami Tensei über-fame). Fuse her talent for complexity and ability to work with many voices singing in unison with his acid-rock style, knack for distortions, and ability to create extremely dark tones and just-plain-evil sounding music. Track down a copy of the Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne soundtrack and listen to the "Reason Boss Battle" theme. It might be called "Kotowari Boss Battle." Now imagine that, but with Kajiura's choirs. Same thing for "Hari-Hara: 2nd Movement" from the Digital Devil Saga soundtrack.

I would also submit Yoshitaka Hirota (Shadow Hearts) or Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill) as candidates, but they can tend a little too much toward "noise horror" and the ambience and tone of their work would clash with Kajiura's. Maybe Sung-Woon Jang (Magna Carta, War of Genesis), but even then, I have my doubts when it comes to his more intense work like "Devil's Rhapsody" (War of Genesis 3). "Battle with the God of Beasts" (Magna Carta: Crimson Stigmata/Tears of Blood) might work okay, but a lot of Jang's work is either too melody-rich already to work with choirs (one would detract from the other) or already uses choirs and is thus awesome in its own right. See "Sorrowful Fate" from MC:CS/ToB for an example.

Kajiura's music is highly melodic and certainly never boring, but it lacks some "oomph," and I think Meguro is the perfect candidate to give it the kick in the ass that it needs.

Star Control 2 (Urquan Masters)

[kEnder242]

The original .mod files were pretty good for the day, but the "official Ur-Quan Masters remix" packs are a step up as well

http://sc2.sourceforge.net/downloads.php [sourceforge.net]

Old School

[Bombula]

Meh - Guitar Hero is just the most recent abomination. (I have the right to be cranky - I put in the years it takes to be able to play everything in those games on a real guitar). Elsewhere in the thread someone referred to Quake 2 as 'old school'. I don't think so, sonny. You want really classic, really OLD school game music? You've got to go back before the days of audio files, when all music on game systems had to be synthesized by the system itself and not just played back off of a recording.

My vote goes for the C64 Last Ninja soundtrack. Absolutely awesome.

Re:Old School

[bigstrat2003]

I have the right to be cranky - I put in the years it takes to be able to play everything in those games on a real guitar

Why does this come up every time Guitar Hero gets mentioned? I'm sorry, but playing a real guitar doesn't give you the right to be cranky about the game in general. If there are dumb kids who figure that they're hot stuff because they're good at Guitar Hero, then be cranky at them, but it's not the game's damn fault. I play both real guitar and Guitar Hero, and they're entirely different beasts. Bringing up the real instrument in a discussion about the game over and over and over (and yes, I know it isn't just you) is getting pretty nonsensical.