The videogame music thread

[Todinho]

Cant stop listening to transistor's soundtrack,it's so good!

[ratsoalbion]

Music Monday: Resident Evil
http://caneandrinse.com/music-monday-resident-evil/

Thinking about playing Resi again has got me thinking about just how much I love the ‘safe room’ themes from the series.

Rarely have pieces of music made me feel simultaneously warmed and chilled, equal parts comforted and disquieted.

That, to me, is their brilliance – the way they make the player know that they have temporary respite in the sanctity of that space, but that short of remaining there, the relief can only be short-lived before they must return to the monster-infested corridors. Like they’d want it any other way.

Let’s go back through the series and remember the glow of the lamp, the creak of the item chest and the chatter of typewriter (rather than zombie) teeth…

The tone was set by the debut game. That welcome rush of reprieve upon locating that first safe-haven will stay with a generation of gamers...

[Todinho]

Whenever you're feeling down put on the Persona Soundtrack!

[Flabyo]

Hearing other people's tracks redone in Koei's 'Warriors' style always makes me smile...
(I've put the originals these are based on in spoiler sections for those who want to compare)

- Hyrule Warriors

Spoiler: show

- Twilight Princess

- Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate

Spoiler: show

- DOA 2 Ultimate

[dezm0nd]

Personally, for me, Nintendo have produced some of their best music with the Wii U and 3DS software.

Check this out!

[dezm0nd]

[ratsoalbion]

Music Monday: Pang/Buster Bros./Pomping World trilogy
http://caneandrinse.com/music-monday-pang-trilogy/

A game with three names, the cutesy Space Invaders meets Asteroids hybrid Pang is also known as Buster Bros. in the USA and Pomping World in its native Japan.

A healthy chunk of my youth was spent playing Capcom/Mitchell Corporation’s Pang in arcades, on Amiga (courtesy of a near-flawless conversion from Ocean France) and later PSone, on a value-packed disc along with its first brace of sequels.

An ageless test of reactions, timing and skill (based unashamedly on the 1983 Hudson Soft computer game Cannon Ball, converted to ZX Spectrum and released under the title Bubble Buster – that frame-rate though!), the Pomping World/Pang/Buster Bros. games remain equally fun to play in single or co-operative simultaneous two-player.

While the hectic, unforgiving original remains my favourite, both Super Pang (appropriately enough a fine, though slow-down afflicted SNES conversion of this one exists) and the quirky art-appropriating antics of Pang! 3 thoughtfully embellished the purity of the 1989 original with fun new features, imaginative level layouts, empowering pick-ups and ever more extravagant, delicious-looking food items to snaffle for big bonus points.

In fact there are more than three official Pang games, but honestly I have limited experience of the later entries in the series such as Mighty Pang (which I need to check out properly on MAME) and Pang: Magical Michael and as such no affection for their soundtracks to speak of even though from what I’ve seen I know they boast some delightfully silly tunes that I would easily fall for.

Each of the Pang games features music capable of rising a smile and even, at its majestically cheesy highs (or lows, depending upon your taste for beyond ripe, actually starting to disintegrate and permeate your abode with its aroma fromage), a chuckle.

The opening bars of the Emerald Temple theme by Tamayo Kawamoto (who wrote - credited under several different pseudonyms – some astonishing music for many of Capcom’s most famous early coin-ops). Her c.v. includes Ghouls ‘n Ghosts and as such is a shoo-in for a future Music Monday) from the first game always reminds me pleasantly of the smooth Sixties bossa nova of The Girl from Ipanema...

[ratsoalbion]

Music Monday: Wolfenstein: The New Order
http://caneandrinse.com/music-monday-wo ... new-order/

I got the platinum on Wolfenstein: The New Order!

I know, it’s not the hardest to earn in the history of PlayStation Trophies but it’s my only plat apart from season one of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, which was an unavoidable award for anyone who played the game to conclusion.

Though I thought it was pretty silly and tonally all over the shop, I had a lot of fun with MachineGames’ debut, and kept coming back to it until I’d done everything. It offered exciting scenarios and missions that reminded me of GoldenEye 007 with their intelligent pacing, smart design and well-judged balance of objective-driven progress alongside both quiet-sneaky and all-out, balls-to-the-wall dual-wielding, Nazi-smoking gunplay.

When I first heard the title of the latest Wolfie game I was – being of a literal mind and an 80s electronica/indie bent – hoping for a soundtrack from Bernard, Peter, Stephen and Gillian, Salford’s legendary disco pioneers.

Instead the background music to the game is a somewhat grungier overture from composer Mick Gordon (Killer Instinct (2013), Shootmania Storm, Need for Speed: Shift). However, that’s not the music I’m here to share with you.

With similar intent to BioShock Infinite, if you listen out throughout the game you’ll hear some amusingly anachronistic mutations of familiar hits dotted throughout the game.

That’s right, in this alternative 1960s, music apparently evolved in much the same way from blues through rock ‘n’ roll to rock and pop, despite the entirely different influences,and societal conditions that supposedly existed.

Just try not to think too hard about this nonsensical concept, and just enjoy the songs, which appear – the ‘earlier ones’ in authentic mono – on the fictional Neumond (New Moon) Records label.

The complete Neumond ‘compilation album’ Neumond Classics features a total of eleven German language tracks, three of which are cover versions, while the others are blatantly inspired by real world artists.

Although details relating to the session performers seem to be scarce, according to this venturebeat article,

The majority of the songs were recorded in the U.S. One of the bands had a bunch of developers from Harmonix Music Systems, the maker of games like Rock Band.

Some of the tracks, such as Die Partei Damen – a cover of Martha and the Vandella’s Motown classic Nowhere to Run, do not appear in the game as it was – quite understandably – stipulated that they could not appear in conjunction with Nazi imagery, and so only exist as promotional items to bring humour and life to the dark and fantastical scenario of Wolfenstein: The New Order...

[Flabyo]

To honour the release today of Final Fantasy Theatrhythm: Curtain Call, a collection of lesser known Final Fantasy Tunes!

FF13 has its problems, but the score isn't one of them:


Everyone remembers the battle and boss battle themes in FF7 right? What about this one?


Tactics totally counts, this battle theme is basically an extended version of the title theme.


Here's a track from FF8 that didn't make the final game, though it did appear in the playable demo. It was changed when it was pointed out the main hook was lifted from the movie 'The Rock' (proof behind the spoiler). I remember being really disappointed when I got to the raid in the final game and found they'd replaced the tune.

Spoiler: show

Skip to 4:26 if you're not in the mood for ZIMMER stuff

[DomsBeard]

Loving the Velocity 2x soundtrack. This is one of my favourites:

[ratsoalbion]

Music Monday: Bejeweled 3
http://caneandrinse.com/music-monday-bejeweled-3/

My hunch is that the music of Bejeweled 3 was developed under laboratory conditions, using algorithms that specifically and subliminally target whatever parts of the brain that trigger the neurotransmitters dedicated to the pleasure of sliding and connecting like-coloured digital gems.

Notorious cribbers PopCap hopped on the road to success by taking wholesale established, usually Japanese arcade puzzle concepts and polishing them until they dazzled.

The first Bejeweled was released 13 years ago and has since been iterated upon several times, ported to many different formats and played by many millions of gamers, many of whom quite probably wouldn’t refer to themselves by that collective noun.

The satisfying click and crash of brightly coloured precious stones is backed from start to finish by a selection of rich, glassy synthesiser tunes that recall the late 80s/early 90s.

You know, the era of Richard O’Brien ushering yuppies around Channel 4’s The Crystal Maze on the telly, while a state-of-the-art Commodore Amiga sat underneath awaiting the end of the show and the latest “start the fans please”, more-pieces-of-silver-paper-than-gold endgame disappointment for the latest team with mullets, bubble-perms, big glasses and garish jumpsuits.

Anyway I love it, it’s a bit Jean-Michel Jarre and a bit Tangerine Dream and it fits the aesthetic perfectly, elevating a simple ‘match-three’ puzzle game into something grander and more atmospheric.

The composers responsible are Peter Hajba and Alexander Brandon.

As well as PopCap, Hajba has also worked with Remedy on the first two Max Payne games and Alan Wake as well as with Epic Games on Unreal Tournament. Brandon meanwhile also worked with Epic on Jazz Jackrabbit and Unreal 2 as well as composing for other well-known titles such as Deus Ex and Dust: An Elysian Tale.

Here are three lovely tracks from the large selection on the Bejeweled 3 OST:

http://caneandrinse.com/music-monday-bejeweled-3/

[Todinho]

The new Swery65 game has some good music:

[Todinho]

Getting hyped for P4U!



How many versions of Aria of soul are there now?


P4 spoilers ahead

Spoiler: show

Really looking foward to this guy!

[ratsoalbion]

Music Monday: International Karate
http://caneandrinse.com/music-monday-in ... al-karate/

The first four minutes or so of Rob Hubbard‘s lengthy arrangement for the original International Karate owe an obvious debt to Ryuichi Sakamoto’s theme for the film Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence.

After that we’re firmly in 70’s kung-fu chop-socky movie territory for another six minutes of funky martial arts action. There are two key version of the IK theme, one for Hubbard’s beloved C64 SID chip, and the shorter, less riff-tastic incarnation on the POKEY chip of the Atari 8-bit systems...

[ratsoalbion]

Music Monday: Sonic 3
http://caneandrinse.com/music-monday-sonic-3/

There are so many great tracks from the Mega Drive/Genesis Sonic games that I could share with you, but these particular selections from Sonic 3 have always resonated with my subconscious.

Both themes for Marble Garden Zone are apparently by Miyoko Takaoka – one of eleven composers who worked on the 1994 game (twelve if you include Michael Jackson. Yes, that Michael Jackson – a fascinating backstory of PR, politics and pop megastars that’s well worth reading up on), and for me possess that mysterious, ethereal quality that can take one’s head to a strange and wonderful place.

I was 21 years old when I first played Sonic 3 (launch day, naturally), but found it one of those games that had the power to make me feel as heady and optimistic as a young boy again. For me the two Marble Garden stages evoke similar feelings to walking on a mountain ridge under a clear, pale blue sky on a crisp and breezy day. Oddly, they sounded achingly nostalgic to me from the first time I listened and they’ve lost none of their power over me today.

How and why exactly that works I don’t know, and I don’t much care to know. Perhaps my soppy cerebrum is just highly suggestible (look at the farthest layers of parallax in the appropriate stages and you’ll see what I mean)...

[RoboticMonk3y]

Not really too sure if this is the right place to place this, but the music of Grant Kirkhope is available at a "pay what you want" price
Pretty sure there are some fans on here.

Apologies if this is a re-post...

Donkey Kong 64
http://grantkirkhope.bandcamp.com/album/donkey-kong-64
Banjo & Kazooie
http://grantkirkhope.bandcamp.com/album/banjo-kazooie
Banjo-tooie
http://grantkirkhope.bandcamp.com/album/banjo-tooie
Perfect-dark
http://grantkirkhope.bandcamp.com/album/perfect-dark

[mikeleddy83]

[Todinho]

Just a couple of the great tracks in the Last Federation
Hail Hydra!


Cold Robotic Capitalists:

[Flabyo]

It's close to midnight... that must mean it's retro game music time!

I've gone for quite a spread this evening in terms of time period...

[ratsoalbion]

Music Monday: Dragon Age: Origins
http://caneandrinse.com/music-monday-dr ... e-origins/

A blindingly obvious but frankly essential Music Monday this week. In the latest Cane and Rinse the podcast (issue 149) we review BioWare’s five-year-old (how?!) RPG, Dragon Age: Origins.

Returning to the game after all this time highlighted for me how rough-looking the visuals were even for the time, but also how glorious the game’s soundtrack is.

Inon Zur (Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs, Prince of Persia 2008 – to name but three) has provided award-winning scores for film, television and numerous games over the past 20 years.

To my mind these Howard Shore meets Clannad-esque pieces for Dragon Age remain some of his most striking work. Never more so than in the case than of the main theme, which plays to mesmerising, tantalising effect on the title screen.

Aubrey Ashburn (Soul Calibur: Broken Destiny, Devil May Cry 4, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition) provides the sweet, breathy vocal which segues beautifully into a state of deep urgency as the Seattle Sinfonia Orchestra’s backing veers into a doom-laden and more strident section, signalling the threat of the incoming storm that is the Darkspawn invading the land of Ferelden...