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Concerning music and games
naengwen
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Now, i'm certain that there's been a thread about this before, but its been a while since i've seen it up front. Since the search function is offline, I figured now would be as good a time as ever to bring back the notion.
Despite my recollections, i'm surprised at how little this aspect of games is discussed. Sure, an original soundtrack composed by some of the best in the industry won't make or break a game, but it sure as hell does help, and you've gotta admit the additional ambience can make just about any game memorable, regardless of the actual game quality. So what do you think, are there any games out there that would have or have already inspired you to buy its soundtrack, or listen to music that inspired the composure? Or, if you're that involved, are there any composers that you feel are worth mentioning?
Guess i'll get the ball rolling with a few obvious ones:
Starcraft(Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, Jason Hayes, Big Tuna, Tracy W. Bush)- Yeah, I know, the game's been out nearly a decade and you've probably listened to every track in the game to the point where your ears bleed at the mere mention of the game. But even after playing the living hell out of the game 200 times over, you still can't deny that the Terran soundtrack is pretty fucking awesome, yes? To be honest, I think Blizzard's been pretty great with this particular aspect of games following Starcraft. Don't think anyone will deny that Warcraft 3's sound track was pretty awesome, and despite it bogging down performance in WoW i'm sure a lot of you guys enjoy those moments where you don't feel pressed to react, turn up the music and enjoy the sounds of Azeroth (I must sound awfully cheesy right about now).
Half-Life 2(Kelly Bailey)- I know what you're thinking, when it comes to sound this game is mostly ambience. But think back to those moments where you've just finished some ridiculously tough puzzle, and suddenly you're back out in the open and your ammo and health are all back to full. Suddenly, the music starts to pick up. Remember when you thought to yourself, as it begun to build in intensity, "Hell yes, this next part is going to kick ass"? Was going to include Portal here as well, but all I could find on sound production was that Jonathan Coulton's the guy responsible for the end credits song. Was the rest of the game Kelly Bailey as well, or were there others who composed this game's soundtrack that I've failed to mention?
Baten Kaitos(Motoi Sakuraba)- I'm not sure how many of you have played Baten Kaitos before, but I know a good chunk of you have played a game where Motoi Sakuraba has composed before. He's made music for Wolf Team(early Tales of games), Namco Tales Studio (more recent Tales of games), Camelot(Beyond the Beyond, Golden Sun and the Mario Sports games), tri-Ace(Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile), and he's even lent his musical talents for Smash Bros Brawl(the Intro, Battlefield and Final Destination themes); and that's just the tip of the iceberg! The reason I bring up Baten Kaitos, though, is that I consider his compositions from this game to be some of the best he's ever done. There haven't been many games i've played before where I regretted leaving the starting area despite access to it throughout a good portion of the game, or intentionally prolonged boss fights just waiting for the track to loop (and considering turns were time based after selecting the first card, you can imagine some of the messes this got me into
).
Shadow of the Colossus(Kō Ōtani)- Yeah, this one's a gimme. Kō Ōtani is a bit more interesting of a story though, most of his work prior to Shadow of the Colossus is primarily in animes and Gamera films. He also worked on the sound tracks for Sky Odyssey and Philosoma. Guess his work on Gamera films paid off here, though, because with Shadow of the Colossus he fucking nailed it. Sure, for some the boss fights might lose their charm once they understand the tricks necessary to beat them, but one thing that'll never get old is the moment you finally access the beast's weak spot, and the music changes from that eerie, Gamera tone to a more intense, enlightening sort of piece; almost like the game is telling you "holy shit, you solved the puzzle! Now FUCKING KILL THE THING!" Incredible stuff.
Chrono Cross(Yasunori Mitsuda)- Was going to throw this in originally but sorta forgot to about halfway into the post. Mitsuda has quite a track record, he's done Chrono Trigger, Front Mission: Gun Hazard(both with Uematsu of course), Radical Dreamers, Xenogears, and more recently the Shadow Hearts series and a few songs in Luminous Arc for the DS (yes Smash Bros Brawl fans, he worked on some songs there too). Like with Baten Kaitos, I wanted to bring up Chrono Cross because this is probably some of Mitsuda's best work. Hell, you could probably tell that just by watching the intro. My only nitpick is that I wish they had included more battle themes; don't get me wrong, the rendition of the Radical Dreamers battle theme is excellent, but seeing some of the work that was done on the boss battle themes throughout the game I was somewhat disappointed that they didn't try to mix up the battle theme every now and then. Whining aside, if you want a game where muting the volume is a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY, this is it.
To summarize, I want a thread wherein you post game soundtracks or composers that you enjoy listening to and why you like them. Don't remember how the last thread concerning this went, but if it catches on i'll be sure to keep it maintained.
Despite my recollections, i'm surprised at how little this aspect of games is discussed. Sure, an original soundtrack composed by some of the best in the industry won't make or break a game, but it sure as hell does help, and you've gotta admit the additional ambience can make just about any game memorable, regardless of the actual game quality. So what do you think, are there any games out there that would have or have already inspired you to buy its soundtrack, or listen to music that inspired the composure? Or, if you're that involved, are there any composers that you feel are worth mentioning?
Guess i'll get the ball rolling with a few obvious ones:
Starcraft(Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, Jason Hayes, Big Tuna, Tracy W. Bush)- Yeah, I know, the game's been out nearly a decade and you've probably listened to every track in the game to the point where your ears bleed at the mere mention of the game. But even after playing the living hell out of the game 200 times over, you still can't deny that the Terran soundtrack is pretty fucking awesome, yes? To be honest, I think Blizzard's been pretty great with this particular aspect of games following Starcraft. Don't think anyone will deny that Warcraft 3's sound track was pretty awesome, and despite it bogging down performance in WoW i'm sure a lot of you guys enjoy those moments where you don't feel pressed to react, turn up the music and enjoy the sounds of Azeroth (I must sound awfully cheesy right about now).
Half-Life 2(Kelly Bailey)- I know what you're thinking, when it comes to sound this game is mostly ambience. But think back to those moments where you've just finished some ridiculously tough puzzle, and suddenly you're back out in the open and your ammo and health are all back to full. Suddenly, the music starts to pick up. Remember when you thought to yourself, as it begun to build in intensity, "Hell yes, this next part is going to kick ass"? Was going to include Portal here as well, but all I could find on sound production was that Jonathan Coulton's the guy responsible for the end credits song. Was the rest of the game Kelly Bailey as well, or were there others who composed this game's soundtrack that I've failed to mention?
Baten Kaitos(Motoi Sakuraba)- I'm not sure how many of you have played Baten Kaitos before, but I know a good chunk of you have played a game where Motoi Sakuraba has composed before. He's made music for Wolf Team(early Tales of games), Namco Tales Studio (more recent Tales of games), Camelot(Beyond the Beyond, Golden Sun and the Mario Sports games), tri-Ace(Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile), and he's even lent his musical talents for Smash Bros Brawl(the Intro, Battlefield and Final Destination themes); and that's just the tip of the iceberg! The reason I bring up Baten Kaitos, though, is that I consider his compositions from this game to be some of the best he's ever done. There haven't been many games i've played before where I regretted leaving the starting area despite access to it throughout a good portion of the game, or intentionally prolonged boss fights just waiting for the track to loop (and considering turns were time based after selecting the first card, you can imagine some of the messes this got me into
).Shadow of the Colossus(Kō Ōtani)- Yeah, this one's a gimme. Kō Ōtani is a bit more interesting of a story though, most of his work prior to Shadow of the Colossus is primarily in animes and Gamera films. He also worked on the sound tracks for Sky Odyssey and Philosoma. Guess his work on Gamera films paid off here, though, because with Shadow of the Colossus he fucking nailed it. Sure, for some the boss fights might lose their charm once they understand the tricks necessary to beat them, but one thing that'll never get old is the moment you finally access the beast's weak spot, and the music changes from that eerie, Gamera tone to a more intense, enlightening sort of piece; almost like the game is telling you "holy shit, you solved the puzzle! Now FUCKING KILL THE THING!" Incredible stuff.
Chrono Cross(Yasunori Mitsuda)- Was going to throw this in originally but sorta forgot to about halfway into the post. Mitsuda has quite a track record, he's done Chrono Trigger, Front Mission: Gun Hazard(both with Uematsu of course), Radical Dreamers, Xenogears, and more recently the Shadow Hearts series and a few songs in Luminous Arc for the DS (yes Smash Bros Brawl fans, he worked on some songs there too). Like with Baten Kaitos, I wanted to bring up Chrono Cross because this is probably some of Mitsuda's best work. Hell, you could probably tell that just by watching the intro. My only nitpick is that I wish they had included more battle themes; don't get me wrong, the rendition of the Radical Dreamers battle theme is excellent, but seeing some of the work that was done on the boss battle themes throughout the game I was somewhat disappointed that they didn't try to mix up the battle theme every now and then. Whining aside, if you want a game where muting the volume is a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY, this is it.
To summarize, I want a thread wherein you post game soundtracks or composers that you enjoy listening to and why you like them. Don't remember how the last thread concerning this went, but if it catches on i'll be sure to keep it maintained.
naengwen on
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The game is a typical pretty Korean MMO grindfest, but OH MY GOD the soundtrack. A lot of it is forgettable trance techno stuff, but sprinkled throughout is a lot of orchestrated pieces that complements the Baroque style of the game perfectly. The Barracks theme when you log in is probably the best example. There are also a few tracks that mix techno with strings, and when it works, it works really, really well. For the good tracks alone this is probably one of my favorite game soundtracks.
Homeworld
The soundtrack fits the game perfectly. It really drives home the feeling of being alone in space. The use of Adagio for Strings in the intro makes for a really emotional moment if you've read the game's backstory.
...dammit, I have to reinstall this now.
Sonic 3D (PC/Saturn)
The soundtrack to the ruins level especially was awesome. Shame, again, that the game was cack.
Aside from that... pretty much anything Jeremy Soule has ever been involved in - especially Total Annihilation, The Elder Scrolls and SupCom.
what else...? Beyond Good & Evil had a pretty good soundtrack.
EDIT:
Oh yeah. GUILTY GEAR. How the fuck could I forget that?
I beg to differ. your "8 bar loops" are probably in the minority nowadays. A lot of these things are way more comprehensive than that, and well worth looking into. There are some absolutely fantastic pieces of game music out there that are well worth listening to on their own.
Pretty certain I've got "What's the World Come to?" from SiN Episodes on my MP3 player right now, and I'm listening to The Guilty Gear soundtrack on WinAmp as I write this.
I've also got the music from Katamari Damacy and We
Haunting, atmospheric, orchestral soundtrack. I am pretty bad at talking about music, so I suggest you just grab it yourselves here.
Other than that, the Splinter Cell - Chaos Theory soundtrack, and frankly anything by Amon Tobin is gold. If you are into breakbeat at all you will love it.
F-Zero GX/AX Soundtrack is so metal, it's fantastic, and whilst I don't like the games that much, the Halo Soundtracks are all ace.
And then there are the remixes/arrangements/orchestrations of older game music which show they are extremely worthy pieces; case in point, Fountain of Dreams from Smash Bros. Melee.
Agreed 10 times over.
For those who haven't heard it - Here is the Midi (Right Click Save as) EDIT -(FIXED)
I bought the Jet Set Radio Future Soundtrack and play it religiously.
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It is largely regarded as the best video game soundtrack, ever.
Yeah shit... wrong one, I was looking for the piano one with the gregorian chants in the background -
EDIT again - This is the one I mean! (Right click yarda yarda)
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chances are if you feel that way then you're obviously not playing the right games.
either that or you wouldn't consider listening to classical music on a regular basis.
But dammit, if doing something like that is wrong then I don't want to be right
I also really love Arcanum's soundtrack.
Always stood out to me as being un-fucking-believably good. Such a great mix of so many things from afro-arabic styles, strings/orchestral and synths amongst other things. Truly amazing and really brought the game up a couple of notches for me. The effect on the atmosphere of the game was incredible. Plus it was redbook audio so you could just slap that in the cd player and you were good to go.
A recent soundtrack that stood out to me would be Mass Effect. It had a very unique score compared to the majority of games these days.
This. I couldn't believe how great this game's music was. Extremely epic and so well written as well.
I'll list a few of my personal favourites,
F Zero X
Some tracks from the Advance wars series
The original Phoenix Wright game and some tracks throughout the series.
Mario Galaxy (Gusty gardens has fucking awesome music)
Kingdom hearts series (The games aren't too hot, but the music is astounding most of the time)
FFVI and FFVII
The first game I ever noticed the music in was Final Fantasy VI, specifically Terra's theme, but all the music was awesome. I still listen to the soundtrack today, and I don't even feel nerdy doing it.
WAIT! I take that back. The first game I ever noticed the music in was Myst. It wasn't there often, but when it was it was gorgeous. I often listen to the Myst soundtrack. Angelic synth-harp!
Fallout 1/2 had amazing music. Deep, booming, spooky ambiance.
Honorable Mention:
Super Mario Bros. 3
The first Command and Conquer had some catchy tracks on it too, as did Red Alert.
FF6, obviously
Legend of Mana- There's some great stuff in that game, lots of driving inspiring pieces.
Star Ocean 2- Oh man, so much good stuff. I have the orchestral remix on CD, one of the first game soundtracks I ever bought.
Final Fantasy Tactics- The music makes me want to play the game. I've completed it over and over, have the original sound track, and I never get tired of the music. They're in my head right now.
Crono Trigger / Cross- Can't say much that hasn't already been said. Music that makes you feel like taking on the world.
Xenogears- I was surprised at the music when I first had this game. Some awesome tracks with a lot of eclectic ranges.....very memorable tracks, I think.
Castlevania- Most of them, pretty much. I like the old ones (I-IV, Dracula X), as well as Symphony. Haven't listened to much of the DS ones, but I remember liking some of Dawn of Sorrow.
Kirby, various games-Some of it is overly cutesy, but it can really pick up my mood sometimes. They're just relaxing, happy songs.
Super Mario RPG- Not only did they successfully combine Mario and Final Fantasy in gameplay and design, I think they did it in the music as well. It's like Mario, and it's like a traditional RPG, except not quite either. Quirky, yet distinctive and unique music.
I listen to more than that, but those are among my favorites.
@ShiftyPumpkin on the Twitterings. Book the Faces at [facebook.com/PerceptivePumpkinProductions]
Palmtree Panic's good future is forever burned into my brain. And Wacky Workbench's past.
I guess he's also been excellent with Hitman, but I never got into that series.
FOR SHAME
Every post should mention Chrono Cross. Every one. Even when they're not really about video game music, Chrono Cross is that good. God what a score.
Also, Baba Yetu from Civilization IV.
Come on now people.
Also I really find the minimalistic turn in video game music really interesting. It's referencing the old-school "We can maybe make different beeps" music of the NES/SNES days, but it still moves and is more musically current.
Last night I tried starting up a game of Blue Dragon, and I just had to stop and listen to the music in that very first cavern. I can't really put my finger on what it is about Uematsu, but it just makes me feel like a kid again or something. It's as if I could close my eyes and pretend I'm sitting in a basement 12 years ago playing FF6; I can practically smell the Mountain Dew.
It's played out at this point, but I still think Marty O'Donnell's work on the Halo series is pretty incredible.
I've heard it a million times after all of my runs through Morrowind and Oblivion, but I still love that music.
Still, nothing beats the first time I heard the Star Wars theme in digitual-quality sound rather than some shitty-ass MIDI crap. TIE Fighter and Dark Forces, I still remember firing up those discs and getting all tingly while the music played.
Ng Security Industries, Inc.
PRERELEASE VERSION-NOT FOR FIELD USE - DO NOT TEST IN A POPULATED AREA
-ULTIMA RATIO REGUM-
Super Castlevania 4 was about as good as music got on the Super Nintendo. Well, that and Super Metroid. And Act Raiser. And Contra 3.
FF and Tales also appear frequently on my playlists.
And Chrono Cross.
Totally need to second the MW2 soundtrack. I lived for certain tracks on that game. It really fit the game perfectly. You really felt like you were striding across the landscape in a giant walking robot.
Also along the same lines, and composer, was the Heavy Gear Soundtrack.
Having the music for games that support custom soundtracks if fucking awesome. It's fun to tear ass around a track in Forza while a Japanese man awkwardly yells "Rooooooooooollllllinnnnng Staaaaaaaaaaaarrrrtttt!"
Also, speaking of TimeSplitters 3, Free Radical has a page where you can download the soundtrack along with the soundtracks for TS 1 and 2, and Second Sight.
If anyone knows of any other devs who have posted game sountracks online, please post them.
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral
287 background music tracks.
287.
287.
If you can go through the entire list of songs without squealing with glee then I fear for your soul.
Kazunaka Yamane -- Double Dragon and Combatribes. Double Dragon was maybe the first time I really, really noticed music in an arcade game, and the score to Combatribes is pretty overlooked as far as digital recreations of punk rock goes (the third boss fight features a theme that might as well be a Bad Brains song).
Scientist -- kind of a cheat since he's not technically a game composer, but I hadn't really heard of him until Grand Theft Auto III put a whole bunch of his early '80s dub stuff on the soundtrack. 1980's Heavyweight Dub Champion and 1981's Scientist Meets the Space Invaders are two of his best albums.
My Favorites:
Streets of rage 2-3
Castlevania Bloodlines
and
Contra Hard Corpse
Still have the whole collection on my play list along with Tyrian and Topgear.