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Twelve Game Music Tracks Worth Keeping
The field of game music has gotten considerably better over the years, a fact that Games Radar highlights in a simple 'list article' about iPod-worthy game music. They highlight some obvious recent gems, like Coulton's "Still Alive" and "Hikari" from Kingdom Hearts, but also bring back some older goodies with choices like "Everybody Jump Around" from Jet Set Radio or "Chemical Plant" from Sonic 2. "Sonic games used to have amazing music. And while single-player Mystic Cave Zone came a close second, this has to make the list. It may be basic compared to modern CD recordings, but just listen to how each of the console's sound channels is used - it's remarkable. Intricate and dramatic, this industrial anthem builds and builds before seamlessly looping in a non-annoying way."
I think the music from the above mentioned PSone game was amazing. I think I must have played certain levels I didn't need to go through for the millionth time just so I could listen to the music. My favs are the Holy Chapel music, the Abandoned Mine music. Anyways just my two cents.
genius. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADvKn2fRWFs
I think that "Planescape: Torment" also had some beautiful music tracks. Among my favourite themes: the main theme, the "smoldering corpse" and the credits (really different from others, but still "right atmosphere").
Elen sìla lùmenn' omentielvo
It's kind of funny, but when I was kid for quite a while I would -only- listen to video game music, and had sort of a disdain for "normal" music. I guess that changed sometime in middle school, and I like all sorts of music now, but I still have a fondness for VG music. Here's a few more of my personal favorites, not listed in the article:
* "Radio" from Command and Conquer: Red Alert
* menu song from Forsaken (it's track 6 or 7 on the game CD... not sure if it has an actual title but the band that performed it is "The Swarm")
* "Tangerine" from Earthworm Jim 2 (soundtrack by Tommy Tallarico)
* the intro song from Earthworm Jim 2... I don't think I've ever seen it on a CD, but it's probably the first "a cappella" song I ever saw in a video game, even though it was just samples on a SNES/Genesis
* most of Mechwarrior II
* most of Katamari Damacy
* "Beyond the Bounds" from Zone of the Enders: Second Runner
* the operatic tracks from Heroes of Might & Magic II
* most of the Interstate '76 soundtrack
* one of the songs from Dr. Mario ("fever"?).
* "Skyward Fire" and "Save Me" from Unreal Tournament
Also, for those of you who haven't seen it already, OverClocked Remix has plenty of great freely-downloadable remixes of video game songs:
http://www.ocremix.org/
I like a lot of the suggestions being made here, and I'd simply like to add in (or emphasize) a couple of soundtracks and pieces from my collection:
Megaman 2 and 3, Megaman X and X4. Seriously, the original title of the character was Rockman, his sister was named Roll, Protoman was originally named "Blues", his dog sidekick is named "Rush" and his bird sidekick is named "Beat". The franchise was designed with good music in mind.
Yasunori Mitsuda's work: Chrono Trigger theme (Chrono Trigger), Time's Scar (Chrono Cross), 90% of Xenosaga Episode I (including Resurrection, Gnosis, Battle of KOS-MOS, Ormus, Song of Nephilim, and Kokoro), 90% of the Xenogears soundtrack (special mention to Awakening, Knight of Fire, Small of Two Pieces and June Mermaid - they still give me chills when I hear their atmospheric melodies).
Yuki Kajiura: hasn't done too much, but Xenosaga: Episode II's Communication Breakdown, Image theme of Xenosaga II, and Jr. are the best. Xenosaga Episode III was a huge improvement. Go for "The Battle of Your Soul", "Promised Pain", "Godsibb", "Testament". A lot of good tracks aren't included on the CDs, but somebody at Glabadia Hotel has ripped the music from the game. Look for Assault #2 and Battle vs. Yuriev.
Nobuo Uematsu: okay, bear with me - he makes a lot of good music, but he reuses a lot of chords and melodies from game-to-game, and has a hard time branching out. BUT, what he gets right he gets very right. One Winged Angel - Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Zanarkand (FFX), YOU'RE NOT ALONE (FFIX), Vamo' alla Flamenco (FF IX), FITHOS, LUSEC, WEPOS, VINOSEC (FF VIII), Cyan (FF VI), Trojan Beauty (FF IV), and My Home, Sweet Home (FF V "Dear Friends" soundtrack).
F-Zero (Guitar Remix): Endless Challenge, Long Distance of Murder
Gran Turismo: Moon Over Castle
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: Bloody Tears
And something I haven't seen yet:
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete - Luna's Boat Song and the Intro Theme. When you watch the animation sequence for the Boat Song, you will be hooked into the game. It's perfect and expresses the game's lighthearted, romantic, colorful world. And the Intro Theme rocks, too. Yes, they're in English.
Lunar: Eternal Blue Complete - Eternal Blue and Lucia's Theme. Same as above, but longer and better. These're also in English.
I cannot believe nobody mentioned Lunar...