The videogame music thread

Here's where you can discuss and share music from videogames
Thesnipergecko

Re: SoP submissions *please read first post*

Post by Thesnipergecko »

One for December ;)



I loved this game on C64. Now I feel old!
User avatar
Bloody Initiate
Member
Posts: 43
Joined: October 1st, 2015, 3:06 am

Re: SoP submissions *please read first post*

Post by Bloody Initiate »

I heard in Sound of Play 24 that you were low on user submissions so please forgive the quantity, I'm not trying to be greedy!


2 songs from Phantom Dust (EDIT: First link not working anymore, looking to rectify that). I'm not sure you can buy these tracks but I did find several places where you could download them for free without any apparent foul play.

The game Phantom Dust focuses heavily on memories and the dream-like fracturing they suffer as time goes on. While several tracks in the game do this by covering classical music, the track called "October 10th, 1986" plays only in a level that looks like a close residential neighborhood. The music conjured images of sunny days, barbecues, and playgrounds to me - the same kind of playgrounds that perhaps showed up in Terminator 2's flashbacks.
Spoiler: show
The track "arsenal" from Phantom Dust follows a closer theory to that of pop music: familiar enough to feel you recognize it while new enough to keep you listening. It played during an ability customization screen that most players would spend a lot of time in, so it's good I love the track. The second movement didn't appear as often in the game, but now it's my favorite part.
Spoiler: show
Next another track from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

My previous submitted track from this game I felt captured a sense of the entire game, or at least several parts of it. This track, "Dantooine," captures its moment in the game almost too perfectly. At this point in the game the player has entered a new place and they are re-learning how to play the game due to some very jarring plot elements. This entire portion of the game is a training ground and feels like it, there are threats but they're all a little less sinister than the real thing. The track to me feels like the curiosity, urgency, and ignorance of youth. You aren't necessarily a youth in the game or in real life when it plays, but the game and this music make you feel uncertain for the entirety of it.
Spoiler: show
This next track is from Ninja Gaiden, the original Xbox version (OXBox?).

It's called "Distorted World" and by this point in the game that's what you're playing in. Something terrible has happened morphing most the population into fiends and the fabric between realities has been sent to the cleaners. It's also the first point in the game where I felt like I was where I belonged. You play a badass superninja in this game who doesn't hide from anybody, instead preferring to charge straight at them and slice them to bits, no matter how many rockets they have. The ascending strings and percussion match with a long stair you have to climb at this point, and as I said, it's the first time the game feels like it makes sense.
Spoiler: show
I never played all the way through Perfect Dark Zero I don't think. When it came out I tended to determine if shooters were as good as Halo, and then dismiss them if the answer was "no." I found the music playing in the main menu absolutely bewitching though. A housemate of mine in college had it and I'd turn it on just to have it in the background. I love the string solo and it's only a few seconds of the piece, but I love the lead up and the let down from it too.
Spoiler: show
I had several others but they all feel like they break a sound of play rule, written or unwritten. "100hm" from GTA5 is technically licensed but the artist made it available for free AND it's not on the game's official soundtracks, and then three songs from the Portal games "Self Esteem Fund," "Science is Fun," and "Cara Mi Addio" were all either played or discussed in your podcasts on the game and I suspect you didn't want to retread that ground too much (The Battlefield 3 Dark Theme is in that category too, I love that track). I don't have a huge games library or history with a large quantity of games, so picking out the music that worked best for me tends to be from a narrow list. I hope you enjoy the submissions, I sincerely enjoy Sound of Play.

EDIT: Updated link and added spoiler tags for more comfortable board viewing.
Retrothumbs

Re: SoP submissions *please read first post*

Post by Retrothumbs »

If there was a game system that ever "had me at hello", it would have to be the PC Engine. Some of the finest games on the system for me are the "Soldier" series, but specifically for this SOP, Final Soldier. It's unfortunate to me that as a great lover of retro video games I only purchased a Japanese PC Engine a few years ago, having judged it negatively for it's Sinclair Spectrum-esque sound chip. After owning the console you quickly come to realise that not only the system itself but the sound chip carries great charm, so its a bit of a dis-service to compare its sound to the beeps of the good ol'Speccy.

It almost criminal that the Japanese were playing this game in 1991, its a fast and fluid shoot'em up that not only boasts solid gameplay but each track accompanying a level is very easy of the ear! It's with this that I request track 4 from Final Soldier, named Sky High. Apt indeed as it see's you flying high over a busy city in Japan, at night time. Please enjoy.

(More PC Engine goodness to come)

User avatar
Flabyo
Member
Posts: 3576
Joined: August 8th, 2013, 8:46 am
Location: Guildford

Re: SoP submissions *please read first post*

Post by Flabyo »

From what I can remember it sound hardware that's way ahead of the Spectrum 128, I think it's not too dissimilar to the C64 only with some more channels to work with.

I know almost nothing about PC Engine game music, mainly just the Castlevania stuff I got on the CD that came with Symphony of the Night, so cool to hear more!
Todinho

Re: The videogame music thread - share your favourite tunes here

Post by Todinho »

Was searching some SFV footage and found the main menu theme,like most music I've heard from SFV it's great!

User avatar
AlexMaskill
Member
Posts: 42
Joined: October 20th, 2015, 2:51 pm
Location: Brighton, UK
Contact:

Re: The videogame music thread - share your favourite tunes here

Post by AlexMaskill »

One of the most under-appreciated soundtracks going in my opinion was the one for the little-remembered GBA strategy RPG Zone Of The Enders: The Fist Of Mars. Hearing this shit come out of GBA speakers was pretty jaw-dropping back in 2003:
User avatar
Beck
Member
Posts: 653
Joined: September 4th, 2012, 3:50 pm

Re: The videogame music thread - share your favourite tunes here

Post by Beck »

Todinho wrote:Was searching some SFV footage and found the main menu theme,like most music I've heard from SFV it's great!

Great find :)
Todinho

Re: The videogame music thread - share your favourite tunes here

Post by Todinho »

AlexMaskill wrote:One of the most under-appreciated soundtracks going in my opinion was the one for the little-remembered GBA strategy RPG Zone Of The Enders: The Fist Of Mars. Hearing this shit come out of GBA speakers was pretty jaw-dropping back in 2003:
Wow I had no idead there was a ZOE game for GBA!
User avatar
AlexMaskill
Member
Posts: 42
Joined: October 20th, 2015, 2:51 pm
Location: Brighton, UK
Contact:

Re: The videogame music thread - share your favourite tunes here

Post by AlexMaskill »

Todinho wrote:
AlexMaskill wrote:One of the most under-appreciated soundtracks going in my opinion was the one for the little-remembered GBA strategy RPG Zone Of The Enders: The Fist Of Mars. Hearing this shit come out of GBA speakers was pretty jaw-dropping back in 2003:
Wow I had no idead there was a ZOE game for GBA!
It's actually pretty cool in a lot of ways - kind of Super Robot Wars-y, but with a real-time first-person targeting/dodging system. That said it's VERY anime-y; it clearly lifts a lot from Neon Genesis Evangelion and it's packed to the gills with visual novel sections. I'm of just the right age to find those things goofily charming but YMMV.
Todinho

Re: The videogame music thread - share your favourite tunes here

Post by Todinho »

Yeah if the game is anything like the PS2 ones it'll be anime as fuck XD,but from what you said it sounds interesting I might check it out now!
KeroseneBlast

Re: SoP submissions *please read first post*

Post by KeroseneBlast »

I'm surprised we've gotten this far and haven't seen much from Yasunori Mitsuda. Here is a piece called "People Imprisoned by Destiny" (also called "Prisoners of Fate" depending on the source) from Chrono Cross. It's a strikingly dark tune that is played at the climax of one of the major story arcs. In context, it accompanies a plot twist that throws much of what happened earlier in the game (and indeed in Chrono Trigger) into question. I've always enjoyed how amazingly it fits Chrono Cross's tone in context, but also how it is hauntingly beautiful on its own. The slow pace adds a sense of gravity and weightiness, and I love the contrast between the opening, which features few instruments, and the climax, which builds into a cascading wave that crashes and dissipates. In what I consider to be Mitsuda's best OST, this track stands out as one of the best.

crandersauce

Re: SoP submissions *please read first post*

Post by crandersauce »

Recently discovered the podcast. Really love what you guys are doing.
Here are two pieces that I really liked from the ps2 era.

First is Old Metal Gear from Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater. It's a pretty awesome 60s-ish surf guitar version of the metal gear solid theme. I can't imagine anyone disliking it.


Next is the opening credits for Katamari Damashii. I would argue that the entire soundtrack approaches phenomenal, however this opening theme song with the intro video is a lot of fun. I enjoy the general bombast of the song as well as the Japanese people speaking English in their accents.
"Don't wolly do you best!"


Keep up the good work guys.
User avatar
Flabyo
Member
Posts: 3576
Joined: August 8th, 2013, 8:46 am
Location: Guildford

Re: SoP submissions *please read first post*

Post by Flabyo »

KeroseneBlast wrote:I'm surprised we've gotten this far and haven't seen much from Yasunori Mitsuda.
If I had my way there'd be a Mitsuda piece in every episode... :)

Chrono Cross is an awkward one for me, I don't really like the game itself all that much but it does have a truly fantastic score.

If you want to listen to something Mitsuda that is a little different, look up the album 'Kirite', it's not a video game score but it does sound like it could be a lost Chrono game.
User avatar
Bloody Initiate
Member
Posts: 43
Joined: October 1st, 2015, 3:06 am

Re: SoP submissions *please read first post*

Post by Bloody Initiate »

Quantum Redshift was a racing game for the original Xbox that I found more enjoyable than most other racing games. I do not typically enjoy racing or sports games, but I have enjoyed them most when they allow you multiple victory conditions. Quantum Redshift allowed you to either win by traditional race victory standards or simply annihilate all the other drivers with futuristic weapon systems. Junkie XL composed the soundtrack for the game and a lot of them are pretty good. Unfortunately most are also designed to be background noise for an intense race and therefore become repetitive a short way in.

The track for the... track... called "Silver Rock Canyon 2" was a piece that had the speed to match the racers and the weighty metallic percussion to remind you that weapons were always free. It got stuck in my head and I love the steel-pounding beat that runs through it.

*Note: The uploader of the linked video said the track wasn't in the released version of the game. Either it's extremely similar to a song that DOES appear in the game or the uploader just didn't get to that point in the game.




Next track is the same artist but a different game.

I have never played SSX Blur or any of the games in that series, but I found the soundtrack awhile back on an indie-only music service.

I absolutely love the song "A51" from this soundtrack. I said I haven't experienced the game, but this song makes me feel like I understand it. It's full of clear sounds that make me think of sun, clear clean water, and freedom. It's a snowboarding game I guess, and each of the things I named I can associate with a sound in this song. Sun on white snow, making it into droplets on the bottoms of tree branches, flying down a hill and soaring into the sky. It just sounds like fun.




Mass Effect needs no introduction:

"Vigil" from Mass Effect is the first track you'll hear upon booting up the game and it immediately put me in the right mind for the game. It also plays at a point in the game where you are hearing the deeply tragic account of a race of people slowly going extinct, and wrung the compassion right out of me. I remember when I first turned it on and the characters faces faded in and out in the menu with that lament playing in the background, it was like BioWare was asking me "We have a story to tell and it will work better if you could care about these characters, so could you please, for all our sakes?" With that simple combination of music and images making their case, I happily obliged.




I'll wrap it up with a track from Borderlands 2:

This series usually has a good track or two, but few felt so appropriate for their instance in the game as "Dam Top," which plays as you're charging across the top of a dam with killer robots dropping from the sky to attack you. It stomps on with a heavy sound while you wade through enemies surrounded by explosions and gunfire. It's simple like the rest of the game, and glorious as a result.

User avatar
Flabyo
Member
Posts: 3576
Joined: August 8th, 2013, 8:46 am
Location: Guildford

Re: The videogame music thread - share your favourite tunes here

Post by Flabyo »

Something a bit different this cold Saturday evening...

There's a kind of song that often turns up in Disney movie end credits that TV Tropes calls the 'Award Bait Song', cause they're usually done to get Oscar nominations for best song.

Games don't do them very often though, but they do exist. Here's some of the better ones... You may need to turn off your natural cynicism to enjoy them though...

"Guide You Home (I Would Die for You)" - Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon.


"Small Two of Pieces - Restored Pieces" - Xenogears.


"Greater Lights" - Advent Rising
papsfritas

Re: SoP submissions *please read first post*

Post by papsfritas »

Thanks for the play of Jimmy's Aerobics/Body Rock. Loved episode 28, some great songs there. Keep up the good work!

I know you've been requesting more fan submissions so I have a small number here from the peak of my gaming life. Side note, I searched out my tracks before reading the last few submissions (rookie mistake, I know) and noticed user crandersauce requested the Katamari Damacy theme. I actually am submitting the intro theme to it's sequel, We Love Katamari. I know this might seem like overkill and if you choose to stray away from it to avoid Katamari oversaturation that's cool. I figured worst case the members of this forum can enjoy the song at least.

Anyway here are my picks.

Viewtiful Joe was a game that seemingly came from nowhere and just kicked all of us in the ass. I was drawn by its vibrant characters and backgrounds and it's frantic and unapologetic difficulty. Joe was sassy, incompetent and at times pretty annoying, but I feel no character has blended attitude with charm that well since Sonic the Hedgehog. Likewise, its ending credits provided an in your face guitar part that blended perfectly with a more uplifting melody. The track perfectly wraps up your journey and evokes celebration as well as anticipation for what comes next. This is "Standing Ovation" from Viewtiful Joe, and unfortunately I don't know which of the two composers get credit for it, but they are Masakazu Sugimori and Masami Ueda.



When F-zero GX was announced as the first major collaboration between SEGA and Nintendo I knew I had to preorder the game and play it day one. I remember having my mom pick up my friend on our way home from the shop and convincing her to let us bring the Gamecube downstairs to play it on our HDTV which were still novel at the time. Needless to say this game has wowed me for well over a decade now. I love the speed, the visuals, the music, the difficulty and even all those cheesy cutscenes. To this day I'll occasionally pop the game in and let the title screen run for minutes on end just to see the cars speed through the amazing courses as this track plays. This is Wings for my Way by Hidenori Shoji.



I honestly was not sure how to go about choosing a song for Beyond Good and Evil. The game does so many things well, but none better than the soundtrack. It ranges from reggae to punk to orchestral and everything in between, while making it all feel seamlessly connected. In the end I just chose my favorite track, "Spanish Bar" which plays when you enter yourself in the local races. Though the song sounds like it's from a Spanish punk rock band, to the best of my knowledge it is by Christophe Héral who has collaborated with many other Ubisoft classics.



Simply put, the Katamari franchise should be featured in an entire Sound of Play episode. Whatever Namco was thinking when they concocted up this concept, they nailed it. It's hard to describe all of the absurdity that is Katamari Damacy, and likewise the soundtrack keeps me guessing, but I always come back for more. I've chosen the intro theme to the second game, We Love Katamari, though in all honesty any track in the series will do. This is "Katamari on the Swing" by Yuu Miyake & Yoshihito Yano.

DavidHartley

Re: SoP submissions *please read first post*

Post by DavidHartley »

For ages, the music that plays as you enter into the home screen of the PS4 reminded me of...something. It rang a vague musical bell in the deep recesses of my gaming mind, something a touch unsettling, a tad shaded. I'd hum the little jingle and try to tease the sound into the half-remembered tune, without success. And then: it suddenly clicked. I plugged in my Sega Mega Drive and fired up the ridiculous fantasy RPG Light Crusader.

There in the pause menu was this waiting tune, like some ethereal lift-music from some mysterious Rivendell elevator. It sent weird music chills down my spine, not least because it came from this rather insane swords and sorcery game which I played over and over again, but never quite completed. Light Crusader is a strange beast; a touch unsettling, a tad shaded, and rather hard i seem to remember. Your main man David is summoned to investigate a village where people have been going missing and his quest takes him deep into tricksy dungeons full of relentless goblins and furious warlocks. Throughout, this brilliant prog-rocky synth-based soundtrack pursues you, pushing you on and on, even when a disembodied voice leaps out and shouts 'Its going to kill you!' just before you succumb to a fire breathing eye-beast. Suffice to say, this is a game which has lodged itself in the dark parts of my brain and still creeps me out.

Given that the pause menu music is so short, I also present the theme of the castle where you are given your quest - which is a grand and royal, but also has a 'tubular bells' Exorcist-ish Halloween feel. A perfect set up for a weird, weird game. So here is 'Main Screen' and 'King Weeden's Castle':



User avatar
CODEMONKEY
Member
Posts: 30
Joined: November 24th, 2015, 3:10 pm

Re: SoP submissions *please read first post*

Post by CODEMONKEY »

I love the show and C&R. This is my first submission so be gentle. Not sure if this is a licensed track but I love it non the less. This track is called Eyes on me from the Final Fantasy 8 sound track written by Nobuo Uematsu and sung by the Chinese pop superstar Faye Wong in one of her very few english language songs. I personally never heard this song in the game but I did purchase the OST in hong kong at the time because it had FF8 and Faye Wong on the cover. This song is a love ballad with a beautifully orchestral sound track. Enjoy :)

User avatar
CODEMONKEY
Member
Posts: 30
Joined: November 24th, 2015, 3:10 pm

Re: SoP submissions *please read first post*

Post by CODEMONKEY »

I owned (and still own) an Atari ST back in the day. I am a huge fan of the Bitmap brothers and it would be no surprise I love the Speedball 2 and especially its intro music. Theres a bit in the start sounds like the song has unwound on its virtual tape, whenever I heard it I thought for a spit second that my ST was playing up. To my mind this is just as much an rpg as it is a sports game. Picking up money and upgrading the teams clothing/armour and buying and selling players kept me hooked for hours.



The Gods intro music is another favourite of mine. What initially drew me to this games was the graphics were amazing for the time. The game play was a little difficult and I never did complete this game but the sounds track stayed with me. It also had nice sampled oohs and ahhhs which was a nice touch. Into the wonderful indeed :)





The Xenon 2 Megablast Intro Music By Bomb The Bass was an amazing piece of music. I would leave the title track running just to listen it. The game itself had great gameplay and graphics. It too had a rpg like elements that had you searching for cash to upgrade your ship. By the end of the game you would have so many weapons added to your arsenal that it would take up half the screen. And who can forget the alien shop keeper with the quirky name Crispin!.

User avatar
CODEMONKEY
Member
Posts: 30
Joined: November 24th, 2015, 3:10 pm

Re: SoP submissions *please read first post*

Post by CODEMONKEY »

Exile is another atarti st favourite of mine. Years before I played a metroid game I played this. It had you exploring a planet and its caves and fighting baddies.
The great thing about this game was the physics. The player would fly around with a jetpack and shooting volleys of bullets at enemies.
The way the bullets would ricochet of the walls felt quite realistic.
Not only did it have great game play but the intro music was a favourite of mine. With its slightly sinister tone and sampled speach it was a joy to liseten to.


The premise of Rodland was to destroy the baddies by zapping them with your magic wand then throwing them over your head and whacking them to the ground repeatedly until they exploded.
It was platform game in a similar style to bubble bobble where you would try and clear the screen of cute enemies.
I used to play this game back in the day with my little sisters on my Atari st. They were never into gaming as much as me but the cutesy graphics and whimsical music got them hooked and is fondly remembered by me and my sisters to this day.


I can't know for sure how many wonderful hours I wasted playing the original starcraft. Having completed the all 3 original campaigns and playing the skirmish battles. The expansion brood wars was also excellent albeit on the difficult side. Although I never did become an expert at it and would regularly be slaughtered when playing against my friends at our all to rare lan parties. I enjoyed playing with them nonetheless. Especially when playing with 4 friends, playing 2v2 or even 3v1 and still that 1 person defeated all of us, ahhh what fun :).
The Terran theme music has a space cowboy feel to it with a slightly epic tone. What always stuck with me how even after countless hours it would still be enable experience. Kudos to the composers.


I originally played sim city on my trusty atari st and enjoyed it immensely but when I played the snes port it had me hooked as to how much more refined it was and had that sprinkling of Nintendo magic. Whereas the Atari version felt like it was a bit more of a serious city build sim. The snes version had a lot more warmth and a charm about it, gently inviting you in. The snes graphics and music had a lot to do with this. The village theme track in particular has such an innocent gentle feel, like playing outside on a warm sunny lazy afternoon. The tune would instantly transport me into a friendly place of american style city building.


I love my original gameboy with its yellowy green monochrome screen and one of the best rgps on it was mystic quest. Years later I found out it was a prequel to the great secret of mana.
The intro music has always stayed with me because although its an action rpg it has such a sad and sombre music which immediately got my intrigue and attention. But it set the tone for what would be a great adventure.


Having completed a zelda link to the past on the SNES I was hungry for more adventure games. I didn't have to wait long when I bought links awakening.
In my opinion this was as good if not better than a link to the past, what made it even more amazing was that it was on the little gameboy.
This had a hummable melody and to my mind very adventurous. It definitely captures going to a foreign land and slaying monsters feel. Oh and there was digging for treasure... lots of digging :)
Post Reply