Sick Video Game Tunes

[Beancatte]

Everyone rightly talks about Megalomania. But also

[Mixi Blacksand]

PC-98 Castlevania style paltformer Rusty is pretty well known as PC-98 games go, and man does its soundtrack have some bangers. The first stage music is what most people usually post, but I've always been partial to this one:

[frozentreasure]

A missing slash in the media tag after the Aviary Action embed ate your commentary for it alongside the embed for the Mantis Lords song, ft. Fixed it in my quote, for peeps that wanna read and hear 'em 'fore you fix it.

Ah, cheers, that's fixed now.

I should take the opportunity to expand upon my Chrono Cross thoughts a little, for while Magical Dreamers is the one that specifically made my top 10, my top 100 has like five others from that game. Chrono Trigger is the one everyone knows the music for, and yes the music is fantastic from that game, but, and I cannot stress this enough: Mitsuda was on some absolute other shit when he was cooking up Cross. Never in my life have I heard something as powerful as what he pulled off, although ironically, the weakest track in that game is the regular battle theme, Gale, which is worse than every single track in Chrono Trigger. Yet the Radical Dreamers version of Gale is so much better, for some reason.

Anyway, Scars of Time is an utter masterpiece and everybody's gangsta 'til it goes into her eye.

[Fiadh]

wings that don't reach/on broken wings is one of those video game songs that i think about so much, when i'd first played live a live the only two songs i was familiar with from it were megalomania and the near future battle theme so the first time i heard it i was kind of blown away. linking both the original sfc version and remake versions because they're both pretty phenomenal but i slightly prefer the original
genuinely live-a-live contains some of my favorite ever work from yoko shimomura, its entire soundtrack is worth a listen (and for that matter the rest of lal's great too and i very highly recommend it)

[Mixi Blacksand]

I was just reminded of one of my favorite boss fight themes, particularly the version from the remake. Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song - Ardent Rhythm


I also love the Four Fiends theme from Romancing SaGa 3. That opening riff really lets you feel shit is about to go down.


While maybe not the nicest to sit down and listen to, The Oracle from Secret of Mana really stands out among all the other excellent tracks in that OST for how different it is. Everything has been so upbeat or soothing and then right at the end it hits you with this and it's amazing. Unfortunately the punch is undermined by the sound effects fighting for sound channels with the music in the game itself, but it still has an effect.

[Weasel]

Scar of Time mentioned, no need for me to post it!

Some more of my favourites, Brigador's soundtrack from Makeup and Vanity Set is just a collection of moody, industrial beats that really gel with controlling a stompy mech.


Furi is a game of heart-pumping boss fights and its soundtrack from Carpenter Brut delivers. This is a short intro song, but it really encapsulates the vibe of the game.


Fez is an adventure puzzle game about exploring (and in a way, solving) the world. Fittingly, its music is all about chill vibes.


Limbo needs no introduction, this is the song from the level where gravity reverses over and over. The moody, industrial, muffled sound perfectly evoke that game's oppressive atmosphere.


Jeremy Soule is a composer I am very upset with, because I adore so much of the music he worked on (it was rarely a solo project, even if he usually gets the credit) and he turned out to be a crap human being, however I cannot hold that against Secret of Evermore as a whole, and its jazzy, dream-like sound.

[Flann]

I'm just gonna leave some Andrew Hulshult here

[Gabu]

just some LakeFeperd game OSTs here (various artists)

[Mandrake]

I've already mentioned it over in the Bomberman thread, but Atomic Bomberman's acid house/techno soundtrack perfectly fits the loud, chaotic nature of blowing up your friends. (Incidentally, if it sounds vaguely familiar, that's probably because some of its tracks were later "borrowed" in 2006 by a Flash game called Chaos Faction.)

I've picked the Haunted House music because it absolutely slaps and samples the narrator from Mondo Keyhole, of all films:

[Cayman]

All of Oxenfrees soundtrack is bangers tbh but this one has such a capital V Vibe to it I’m always coming back to it

there are tracks with more going on so to speak but this is a good one

I only played through half of this and then dropped it for whatever reason! Same with Kentucky Route Zero! I should commit sometimes, huh.

[Cayman]

Talking about battle themes, I gotta share some of my all-time faves, though some are a little controversial.


(Credit: Yasunori Mitsuda)

Xenosaga: Episode 1 has a battle theme that's surprisingly classically composed, starting in a biting 5/4 time signature that drives the tension before switching to a waltz-y 6/8 a minute into it. Perfect for a tense but beautiful space opera! It's the only battle theme that plays throughout a game where battles can take two to three minutes a pieces, but it remains memorable.

Speaking of games where battles can take a few minutes so you have to listen to the battle theme on repeat:


(Credit: Nobuo Uematsu)

Lost Odyssey, a lost classic, definitely has one of those. A driving percussion and timpani lifting brass and winds as you grit your teeth and plan your next move, knowing a misstep could easily wipe your party. The swelling strings bring hope through the tension though!

And for my obscure but beloved pick:


(Credit: Noriyuki Idaware)

The Verse Battle theme from Grandia III! The last in the series trilogy and in my opinion the best, but the one no one played since it was overshadowed by Kingdom Hearts 2. This battle theme plays when you first encounter Verse enemies from another dimension, much tougher and deadlier than you're used to at that point in the game, but using the skills you've learned, you can overcome them. The music reflects it perfectly: tight and tense, frantic at the beginning, but as you figure out their patterns and take the advantage, the music changes to a major key and the main leitmotif of the protagonist comes in! It's perfectly suited to that moment in the game and is why I love it so much! Play Grandia!!

[Weasel]

All the (non-X) Xenoblade Chronicles games have amazing soundtracks, and this is the tune that is forever associated in my mind with running around a huge, open world, just exploring.

[Cayman]

All the (non-X) Xenoblade Chronicles games have amazing soundtracks, and this is the tune that is forever associated in my mind with running around a huge, open world, just exploring.

Oh man, Xenoblade music is so good! The chain attack music from XC3 is a personal fave of mine, especially when you hit overkill mode and the music suddenly swells and goes up a key. Pure hype!

[media] [/media]

[MoxSully]

I'm not accepting Xenoblade X slander here lol, just because it wasn't Mitsuda doesn't mean that Sawano didn't do an incredible job. It's completely different, but so is the rest of the game and I find it no lesser.



...anyways now that that's out of my system I'm going to go right back to glazing Mitsuda because I noticed a severe lack of Xenogears so far

[Phorm The Vixdjinn]

This thread is a joy! Thank you everyone for sharing such awesome music. I'm particularly delighted to see SLARPG mentioned upthread, because that game's OST is phenomenal.

Here's a bit of ear candy for folks, if you're interested in something ridiculously upbeat and energetic. The OST for Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom is particularly grand, but the theme to Bombeach is infectiously upbeat.

[Serpentsaurus]

Casual reminder that the Bugsnax OST A.) exists and B.) fucking rules

[JackieTheJackie]

I'm going to be real: most of the music I listen to is from video game soundtracks. Rather than be ashamed, I've decided to see if there are any like-minded folks who want to share sick tunes from their favorite (or not so favorite) games.

Some favorites I'm listening to right now include:

Alleyways of Lanka from Golden Idol Mysteries: The Spider of Lanka

Most of my love of the Golden Idol DLCs come from this one track. Even months after playing it, I still come back to the haunting vibes of this song. The instrumentals of the first half are good, but then the vocals kick in halfway through the song and *Chef's kiss*.

Theme from Tales from Offpeak City Volume 1

What can I say. It's (off)Peak. Bad puns aside, this track evokes a nice sense of calm that I think fits the tone of wandering through the surreal intersection of July ave and Yam Street to a perfect T.

White Rider from Where the Water Tastes Like Wine

I've listened to this song so much that "One day we'll all join that fated line" has become a part of my internal monologue.

AYYY Where the Water Tastes Like Wine bops (soundtrack-wise, haven't played the game), been on my playlist a long while now

[JackieTheJackie]

Scar of Time mentioned, no need for me to post it!

Some more of my favourites, Brigador's soundtrack from Makeup and Vanity Set is just a collection of moody, industrial beats that really gel with controlling a stompy mech.


Furi is a game of heart-pumping boss fights and its soundtrack from Carpenter Brut delivers. This is a short intro song, but it really encapsulates the vibe of the game.


Fez is an adventure puzzle game about exploring (and in a way, solving) the world. Fittingly, its music is all about chill vibes.


Limbo needs no introduction, this is the song from the level where gravity reverses over and over. The moody, industrial, muffled sound perfectly evoke that game's oppressive atmosphere.


Jeremy Soule is a composer I am very upset with, because I adore so much of the music he worked on (it was rarely a solo project, even if he usually gets the credit) and he turned out to be a crap human being, however I cannot hold that against Secret of Evermore as a whole, and its jazzy, dream-like sound.

Furi overall has one of my favourite soundtracks in general. Every single track on there is a BOP, and one of the artists, Danger, still works with the Gamebakers sometimes. I'd *highly* recommend checking out the Haven and Windblown soundtracks, though the flacs can be a bit harder to track down

[JackieTheJackie]

I'm just gonna leave some Andrew Hulshult here

HULSHULT MENTIONED
Favourite rendition of the Doom Soundtrack, and I think he also did the remake of the Rise of the Triad ost? Which if you haven't checked out, is also a fuckin BOP

[Weasel]

Another all time fave of mine is the soundtrack to 1999's Outcast. It's hard for me to gauge how much of that love comes from the quality of music itself (an eclectic orchestral score), and how much from the game and music clicking so perfectly at that specific time in place for me, but finishing the first conversation and then having the camera leave your character and pan around the open voxel world you're about to explore is up there with leaving the Vortex Rikers in Unreal for me.



[edit] Oh man, just got reminded of Chocobo's Dungeon. Most of the soundtrack are fantastic remixes of best FF songs, but the original stuff is a banger also.



[edit] Oh heck, let's not forget this- Psyvariar 2, a game I'd never played, whose OST has lived on my playlist for decades.

[DarkOverord]

Okay someone has to bite the bullet and I'm the massive nerd so



It's me, the touhou nerd. The one who is going to say that that's my favourite title screen music in any game I've played. I understand though that none of my takes about touhou music are hot and are mostly cold 'cus I know it's basically split in to "hell yeah Touhou!" and "Eh. Not my thing"

Tepid takes of how I adore Black Markets Can Happen Anywhere, Anytime and I think it's such a fun stage theme



But I'd also like to share some of the "official" (as official as Touhou gets) music that isn't by ZUN! Antimony of Common Flowers, the 15.5th touhou game has this fantastic set of four title screen variants that build as you progress through the story, starting with just percussion and piano, then bringing in more synth tones adding some bass, then strings introducing a new melody that the first two parts didn't bring in, followed by the full version where the full band is playing (Because it's implied to be Prismriver With H playing the title screen music)



U2 Akiyama did fantastic work over the years too, I absolutely adore The Ground's Color is Yellow, especially the rearranged version in AoCF, but I'll link the original here too



The other musician who works with Twilight Frontier, ziki_7, hasn't done as much but I ADORE the moody intro screen they did for TH17.8, Sunken Fossil World. It really pulls away from the more standard Touhou affair where it's bright and perhaps a little cheerful. The trumpets start out grand but they always felt to me they were more sorrowful in sound, IDK. It's a good amount of grit.



Bonus track, it's not on the official OST as it was added after the OST's release as a later game update but ziki_7's Secret God Matara, which blends in elements of Okina's first theme, The Concealed Four Seasons, is so good aaaaaaaaaaaa

[Weasel]

And some Tim Follins NES bangers. Pictionary goes hard.

[EpsilDelta]

The Night Slave MIDI soundtrack bangs so incredibly hard

[Cayman]

And some Tim Follins NES bangers. Pictionary goes hard.

He had no right to go that hard with Pictionary!

On a similar level of SNES songs that had no right to go as hard as they did, here's the Plok boss theme:

[Weasel]

Which is another Tim Follins OST! You can really tell he cut his teeth on Amiga's tracker, all his tracks are these layered compositions that build on themselves, and they usually change several times through the song.