Outstanding videogame music

[ShadowDragon8685]

No, Adagio for Strings was used for the launching of the Mothership. I believe the music for mission 3 was original.

Angus Dei was the music used for the launching of the Mothership. Adagio for Strings was, in fact, mission 3: return to Kharak.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Doesn't anyone here play new games? I'm going to go ahead and drop in the intro music for Yakuza 3.

Okay, so apparently nobody here plays new games. I'm going to drop Brutal Legend's entire soundtrack while I'm at it.

Sorry Zod but I am a traditionalist and indeed did not play many more video games beyond SNES. However what I do hear from modern games often seems uninspired or canned. The first 40 seconds of the theme linked sounded like someone just mashing on an electric guitar. Of course it comes down naturally to a purely personal opinion. I grew up playing RPG's of the nES and SNES, and despite having limited tech to work on, often their music and themes seemed much more inspired and moving then more advanced music we get today.

Obviously that is just my opinion, comparing a game that seems an action smash'em up shoot'em liek the one you linked to, say, FF7 may be a bit off.

That doesn't mean I'm going to pan everything new, several of the other themes linked sounded quite interesting, the MG2 theme seemed pretty nifty as well. Video game music naturally has progressed significantly and there are good themes out there, I just think that many younger teens these days don't realize how Epic some of the older themes were.

[OmegaChief]

No, Adagio for Strings was used for the launching of the Mothership. I believe the music for mission 3 was original.

Angus Dei was the music used for the launching of the Mothership. Adagio for Strings was, in fact, mission 3: return to Kharak.

Amusingly it's the exact same peice played at both the launching of the mothership and the return to Kharak, and it is indeed Angus Dei, a Choral version of Barbers Adagio for Strings.

[General Zod]

Sorry Zod but I am a traditionalist and indeed did not play many more video games beyond SNES. However what I do hear from modern games often seems uninspired or canned. The first 40 seconds of the theme linked sounded like someone just mashing on an electric guitar. Of course it comes down naturally to a purely personal opinion. I grew up playing RPG's of the nES and SNES, and despite having limited tech to work on, often their music and themes seemed much more inspired and moving then more advanced music we get today.

Obviously that is just my opinion, comparing a game that seems an action smash'em up shoot'em liek the one you linked to, say, FF7 may be a bit off.

That doesn't mean I'm going to pan everything new, several of the other themes linked sounded quite interesting, the MG2 theme seemed pretty nifty as well. Video game music naturally has progressed significantly and there are good themes out there, I just think that many younger teens these days don't realize how Epic some of the older themes were.

My problem is whenever threads like these come up everybody instantly starts dropping stuff from 15-20 years ago that everybody already knows about, and midi music is simply not as great as people seem to think it is. (And before anyone starts railing on the obvious points, I grew up with an NES for fuck's sake). This is a definite case of "good old days" syndrome.

And if you think Yakuza 3's intro is just "mashing on a guitar" you're clearly tone deaf.

[Wedge]

How could you all forget Battlefield 1942 main theme

[Stark]

The music (and music direction) in Alone in the Dark is pretty cool; I've had a few sequences stuck in my head. And - shock horror - it's not bombastic music played over cutscenes, it's actually ingame music.

Impossible to imagine.

[Eleas]

When it comes to modern-day scoring, there's just too many to count. Some choice highlights:

Nerevar Rising (Morrowind)
Peaceful Waters (Morrowind)
Those Who Remain (Kow Otani // Shadow of the Colossus)
Ellens dritter Gesang (Franz Schubert // Hitman Blood Money)
Truth and Reconciliation (Marty O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori // Halo)
Ruins of Ostagar (Inon Zur // Dragon Age)
The Betrayal (Inon Zur // Dragon Age)
Helghast March (Joris de Man // Killzone)
Intro Theme (Jack Wall // Myst IV: Revelation)

When it comes to older games, the list is long. Extremely so. A paltry few will have to stand in for all the rest:

Zeal Palace (Nobuo Uematsu // Chrono Trigger)
Beast (Jogeir Liljedahl // Shadow of the Beast)
Fantasies (Olof Gustafsson // Pinball Fantasies)
Intro (Cryo // Dune)
Level 1 (Turrican 2)
Main (Team 17 // Alien Breed)

[Admiral Valdemar]

The music (and music direction) in Alone in the Dark is pretty cool; I've had a few sequences stuck in my head. And - shock horror - it's not bombastic music played over cutscenes, it's actually ingame music.

Impossible to imagine.

It's pretty hard for developers to get a good in-game atmospheric soundtrack it seems. It's far easier in cutscenes, because the composer merely scores as one would with a film (which is why most of Harry Gregson-Williams' stuff in the MGS series is for the story sequences). To work in the actual game, without being horribly repetitive or inappropriate is a lot harder. Stuff like iMUSE kind've works, so long as the music itself can mesh well and not be a horribly disjointed affair when it switches. But normally the best cues are found in the most dramatic parts of the game, which inevitably are now cutscenes or FMVs. Not everyone can have a Aeris' death scene that also plays out to a nice boss battle.

Yeah, I just spoilt FFVII.

[Lief]

Eve Online

Start with Red Glowing Dust

Google - Eve music

[adam_grif]

Okay, so apparently nobody here plays new games. I'm going to drop Brutal Legend's entire soundtrack while I'm at it.

I play new games, but as soon as games hit CD and non-MIDI music became commonplace, there hasn't been any technical improvement in music, except for things like support for 5.1 systems (which doesn't change the music, just the way it's displayed).

As such, game music doesn't age poorly, and so old stuff is just as good as new stuff. Even some of the MIDI stuff has a charm to it that isn't just nostalgia - like this.

But if you REALLY want some newer stuff:

Metroid Prime 3 - title screen
Mass Effect - Vigil
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - main theme

[Stark]

Many games are heavily scripted, and it's not too jarring to link scripted events to elements of music. It's just easier to get some 'composer' to glue some drums and horns into an EPIC SCORE that fat people will listen to while reading 'How to Make Friends and Influence People'.

Some games have a non-musical soundtrack that works very well; like Thief, where the emphasis on the soundscape creates a strong feeling of versimiltude (which is surprising given how ugly as shit it is).

[adam_grif]

Many games are heavily scripted, and it's not too jarring to link scripted events to elements of music.

Well yeah. When you try to make games more like action movies, making the music like movie music is a natural fit.

Some games have a non-musical soundtrack that works very well; like Thief, where the emphasis on the soundscape creates a strong feeling of versimiltude (which is surprising given how ugly as shit it is).

There's quite a few games with great sound design for various reasons, but it's difficult to show that to people without just posting big lengthy gameplay clips. It's only great in the context of playing the game. Ergo, it's not really ideal for this sort of thread. But you're welcome to post something if you can.

[General Zod]

Okay, so apparently nobody here plays new games. I'm going to drop Brutal Legend's entire soundtrack while I'm at it.

I play new games, but as soon as games hit CD and non-MIDI music became commonplace, there hasn't been any technical improvement in music, except for things like support for 5.1 systems (which doesn't change the music, just the way it's displayed).

As such, game music doesn't age poorly, and so old stuff is just as good as new stuff. Even some of the MIDI stuff has a charm to it that isn't just nostalgia - like this.

But if you REALLY want some newer stuff:

Metroid Prime 3 - title screen
Mass Effect - Vigil
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune - main theme

It's not so much a matter of "aging poorly" as it is "Yeah yeah we're all familiar with it already."

[Stark]

I dunno, stuff like the FF7 stuff people jizz to sounds like shit because it's MIDI. The real music versions are far better, and I doubt any modern game music sounds as much like bleep bloops.

[adam_grif]

You old folks may have, but there's quite a few I haven't heard. I hate jRPGs, so all of this final fantasy music is new to me.

[Xenophon13]

Thank you eleas for mentioning morrowind.

Also, the SupCom theme.

[Crossroads Inc.]

Sorry Zod but I am a traditionalist and indeed did not play many more video games beyond SNES. However what I do hear from modern games often seems uninspired or canned. The first 40 seconds of the theme linked sounded like someone just mashing on an electric guitar. Of course it comes down naturally to a purely personal opinion. I grew up playing RPG's of the nES and SNES, and despite having limited tech to work on, often their music and themes seemed much more inspired and moving then more advanced music we get today.

Obviously that is just my opinion, comparing a game that seems an action smash'em up shoot'em liek the one you linked to, say, FF7 may be a bit off.

That doesn't mean I'm going to pan everything new, several of the other themes linked sounded quite interesting, the MG2 theme seemed pretty nifty as well. Video game music naturally has progressed significantly and there are good themes out there, I just think that many younger teens these days don't realize how Epic some of the older themes were.

My problem is whenever threads like these come up everybody instantly starts dropping stuff from 15-20 years ago that everybody already knows about, and midi music is simply not as great as people seem to think it is. (And before anyone starts railing on the obvious points, I grew up with an NES for fuck's sake). This is a definite case of "good old days" syndrome.

See my comments farther down. Midi music is by no means something I think of as "classic" it has its charm but I will take full orchestration any day over midi. And there are plenty of people who have never played some of the "classics" before. I'd like you to find someone under the age of 20 who has even played Secret of Mana.

And if you think Yakuza 3's intro is just "mashing on a guitar" you're clearly tone deaf.

Personal Opinion I've never liked Metal Guitar much, but everyone has their own tastes.

I dunno, stuff like the FF7 stuff people jizz to sounds like shit because it's MIDI. The real music versions are far better, and I doubt any modern game music sounds as much like bleep bloops.

You will note that in my grand list "Of the classics" I tried to link to orchestral versions as much as possible. I have no hang ups about "midi" being some sort of art form, simply the way the music was originally presented. I completely agree that orchestral versions of the originals are defiantly superior and it is a shame that for most kids these days they never get the chance to hear them. So hopefully a few around here may click on those links and find something new and enjoyable.

[Dragon Angel]

They are both pretty old games, but I'd like to link to them anyway, as not many people seem to remember their soundtracks. More specifically, I am linking their credit roll themes:

Lufia II Ending Credits
Terranigma Ending Credits

I am currently playing Terranigma, so I haven't really been exposed to that much of its music, but I did finish Lufia II. Some other themes that I liked from it follow - feel free to enjoy them in their 16-bit glory!

Lufia II - "The Turret Forgotten"
Lufia II - "The Last Duel"
Lufia II - "Ending Motif"
Lufia II - "For the Savior"
Lufia II - "In Summer"

[General Zod]

While I'm at it, the Ace Attorney series has some pretty good music in it.

[Ryan Thunder]

Total Annihilation had some decent mood music.

[Ypoknons]

While I'm at it, the Ace Attorney series has some pretty good music in it.

yea, and people have done some pretty cool remixes with it - orchestral (they even got the Tokyo Philharmonic to perform it) and some electronica or techno (Magical Trick Society). Some of the music is a bit too simplistic, others have more depth, but it's always really catchy. I have always failed to like "Great Revival" though.

[JointStrikeFighter]

Uplink

[Lord Revan]

I probably sound like a heretic for not trashing WoW every chance I get, but Warcraft series has good music and it's generally used well too.

Dawn of War also has good music (from the games I've played recently).

[Admiral Valdemar]

Uplink

Or DEFCON. The sounds alone are depressing in that game, let alone when you actually let nukes fly.

[adam_grif]

DEFCON had amazing audio. It's staggering how much ambient noises like fans and typing on keyboards adds to the immersion. The visuals are just perfect for the game too.