Outstanding videogame music

[Isolder74]

Lets not forget

The Original Legend Of Zelda
Super Mario Bros.
Metroid.

[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.

I was wondering if anyone else was going to bring up Blizzard.

they had brought up Starcraft couple of times but I've gotten the impression that brinning up World of Warcraft (and by extension Warcraft in general) in any positive context is pretty much the highest herecy you can commit without breaking the rules.

[adam_grif]

Lets not forget

The Original Legend Of Zelda
Super Mario Bros.
Metroid.

SMB definately, but Metroid and LoZ on NES weren't all that amazing.

[Crossroads Inc.]

OK first off... Are you kidding? the original Metroid music was wonderfully inventive and kicked ass as far as music to shoot things goes. Some of the remixes are quite amazing.

Second...

My first post in this thread linked largely to Orchestral versions of many famous Game music pieces. Often put together in a medley of smilier pieces.

But your average video game music, by default of being something repeated over and over, tend to usually be no longer thn 2 to 3min.
Mean while A true symphonic piece can be anywhere from 10 min to half an hour. With big Symphonies going over an hour.

Has anyone ever tried to compose a true symphonic piece based on Video game music? Something other then just a bunch of short themes put together?

[Connor MacLeod]

I'm rather partial to the music from the Wild arms games.. particularily Wild arms 1-3 (Alter Code F as well.) I was also very much fond of the music for Suikoden 3 (I dunno I just love that intro music for some reason, and the game itself, while not spectacular graphics wise or otherwise, has always been a soft spot for me.)

[General Zod]

Has anyone ever tried to compose a true symphonic piece based on Video game music? Something other then just a bunch of short themes put together?

I'll dig up some stuff when I get home since I was meaning to drop some other music in this thread anyway.

[Darth Ruinus]

Guilty Gear XX.

[Dragon Angel]

Has anyone ever tried to compose a true symphonic piece based on Video game music? Something other then just a bunch of short themes put together?

Off the top of my head, right now, I can think of two people. One of them is Jeremy Robson (he is really good at symphonic pieces):
The Music of Jeremy Robson
OverClocked ReMix - Jeremy Robson

The other one is Patrick Waters:
Lufia II Remixes on RPGamer

Also, some of the remixers at OverClocked ReMix on occasion team up together to create entire remix albums. One of them is based on the Chrono Trigger soundtrack, called "Chrono Symphonic". There are other ones, of course, but I cannot remember their names at the moment.

[Mr. Tickle]

My submission:

Starwing/Starfox SNES Corneria stage

Damn I loved that game, only managed to complete it a couple years ago when I hooked my SNES back up, but man, that was a good day.

Notable mention is: X-wing vs Tie-Fighter as the CD had most of the classic SW soundtrack songs which could be played in a normal cd player. It was quite impressive at the time getting "cd" quality tracks from a cd which was also the game itself.

[General Zod]

One of the items I was going to post earlier; picks up around the minute mark.

Also:

Phoenix Wright orchestra

Sonic

Castlevania

Obligatory live action FF6 opera performance

[Crossroads Inc.]

Obligatory live action FF6 opera performance

I did not know that existed, that has to be one of the most epic things I have ever seen ,thank you very much

[adam_grif]

The whole soundtrack to Super Mario Galaxy / 2 was orchestrated, a first for Nintendo.

The results were pretty sweet.

[Crossroads Inc.]

You know, who going through various orchestral pieces, I ran across one that ground my gears as it where.

One thing about video game music is that its music originally developed for a computer/synthetic instruments. There are some pieces which simply do not seem to translate well if you do them "too" orchestral-ly as it where. An Example.

Here is Meridian Dance The final Boss music for Secret of Mana and IMHO one of the best boss themes ever.

Here is Meridian Dance((Start it at 1:50 to hear the song in question)) as preformed by a German Philharmonic Orchestra as part of a well funded group called "Symphonic Legends" which specializes in video game music.

And HERE is Meridian Dance as preformed by a small amateur group known as "Eminence"

Between the pieces, I find it odd that the Amateur group is far superior to the fully orchestrated group in terms of faithfully following the original piece.

[RogueIce]

Off the top of my head, right now, I can think of two people. One of them is Jeremy Robson (he is really good at symphonic pieces):
The Music of Jeremy Robson
OverClocked ReMix - Jeremy Robson

Jeremy Robson is indeed very, very good at symphonic pieces. I would recommend his FF7 Philharmonic Suite; part 1 and the finale are on OCR, and you can get parts 2, 3 and 4 on his SoundClick page. I especially love part 3: Cid's theme with what sounds like a mix of Ennio Morricone and the Apollo 13 soundtrack. Really fitting, considering his theme.

And on that note, Cid's Theme fro FF7 is awesomesauce.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

A few favorites I haven't seen listed yet.

E.V.O. Main Title

E.V.O. Extinction of the Dinosaurs

E.V.O. The Ocean

Grabbag (aka Duke Nukem)

[Thanas]

Monkey Island 1-3
Tropico 1-3
Starcraft 1

[Terralthra]

Almost all the music from the Hitman games is executed deliciously, which is all the more amazing when you realize that it's all very in-style with the various locales (from Italy to Persia to Japan) and all composed by one man, Jesper Kyd.

The original Homeworld's soundtrack is delicious. The music from the Garden of Kadesh is my personal favorite. Also, it's Agnus Dei, not Angus Dei. When you say "Angus Dei," it makes you look like rednecks. =]

Not mentioned yet that I've seen is Grandia II. Examples: 1, 2, 3.

[SAMAS]

Guardian Heroes - Toki Meki Saxophone

Guardian Heroes - Valgar's Theme

For that matter, Jazzy Sabotage

Dynasty Warriors Gundam 2 - Vertical Updraft

Tales of Symphonia - Fatalize

Obligatory Final Fantasy Example: Final Fantasy V - Clash on the Big Bridge. Especially the Black Mages' Remix

Obligatory Old School Example:Ninja Gaiden - Boss Theme

Also: Mega Man II - Wily's castle theme 1. Also known to some as Omoide wa Okkusenman (JAM Project cover).

Classic Example That May no Longer be Funny Because of Recent Events: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Oil Ocean Zone

La Pucelle Tactics - Legend of the Holy Maiden of Light

La Pucelle Tactics - A Martyr's March

La Pucelle Tactics (Also Disgaea and Makai Kingdom) - Great Wilder

Super Robot Wars Original Generations - The Sword That Cleaves Evil

[Vendetta]

So are you playing Final Fantasy, or Oblivion?

[The Yosemite Bear]

Fallout: maybe- The inkspots
Fallout3: I don't want to set the world on fire-The Inkspots

[charlemagne]

Say what you want about the game itself, but Age of Conan had some excellent music. It obviously took inspiration from the classic movie scores by Basil Poledouris. It works well on it's own, and it's one of the very, very few game soundtracks I occasionally listen to in my most fatty nerd moments.

[Modax]

The Little Big Adventure theme.

[Pollux]

I have found that most of the soundtrack to the Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall is very well composed and atmospheric, with the wilderness tunes being pleasant and generally relaxing, and the dungeon ones very creepy/tense.

[fgalkin]

Here are some tracks I've come to enjoy over the years. I've tried to limit myself to one track per game, otherwise the list would have grown too long by far (it's long enough as it is)

Batman: The Video Game (NES):
Streets of Desolation

Super Mario Brothers 3 (NES):
Fortress

The Legend of Zelda (NES):
Overworld Theme

Planescape: Torment
Deionarra's Theme

Warcraft II:
Human Music I

Warcraft 3:
Arrival at Kalimdor


Command and Conquer: Red Alert
Hell March

Heroes of Might and Magic III
Rampart Theme

Heroes of Might and Magic V:
Academy Town Theme

Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn
Romance Theme 2

Medieval: Total War
Euro Mobilize 2

Rome: Total War
Journey to Rome, pt 2

Medieval 2: Total War
The Widow

Warhammer 40k: Chaos Gate:
Battle Theme (NOT the Ultramarines chant)

Street Fighter IV:
Snowy Rail Yard

Dragon Age: Origins
The Realm of Orzammar

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Warhammer 40k: Chaos Gate:
Battle Theme

Aaaah, how could I forget the Chaos Gate soundtrack? That game's music was just boss, marred only by the limited quality available at the time. I'm still waiting for a 40K game to get anywhere near Chaos Gate's spot-on music.