Video Game Music

[Dagger Dias]

UN SQUADRON - Forest Fortress Level Theme

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]05UOPItZuTs[/YOUTUBE]

Gosh things brings back great memories! UN Squadron was one of my very first games. You basically flew around in a plane shooting stuff, simple concept yet addicting and difficult. This is the music from the level where you are up against the forest fortress base. It's a level I look back on very fondly. Enemies show up from all over the place behind trees or flying down onscreen when you least expect it, adding more to the mayhem. It's a really catchy theme too that'll get stuck in your head all day, but you don't mind that it does since it's awesome.

Many people say you need a certain plane for this level since it shoots both diagonally downward and forwards at the same time. I never used it though, it had the weakest power despite its range and the enemies always come from the same places so it's all about knowing where and when they will come; I used the same basic plane for the whole game until the last level where I would use the most powerful one.

 

[Darkshot77]

Megaman X4 is a fantastic game, Seriously, best Megaman game ever. And the music was great right along with it, and with all the stages to pick from my personal favorite was from the virtual world

[YOUTUBE]XjnEezSfdKE[/YOUTUBE]

The static guitar start along with the synthesized beats really fit the virtual setting of the stage. The song also forms a sense of urgency, which plays along with the times sections of the stage. When I thought of Megaman X4 music this song immediately popped into my head. Why, cause I played this level like a bazillion times. See if you completed the zones in a fast enough time, you got power ups, a heart canister, and E tank, and in X's case the Helmet upgrade. So you had to run the level a bunch of times, shaving off seconds of your time, to try and get a perfect game. All in all its a great theme from a great game.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Soul Blazer - Town Theme

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]MCVG4oslDFw[/YOUTUBE]

This is the music that plays in the towns of each realm until you have defeated that realm's boss. I used to love seeing the town develop more with each monster lair that you sealed. You would save the residents of the town one by one, and see the town rebuild itself slowly until you reached the boss of the realm. I personally prefer this to the "happy" remix that plays once the elder/leader gets saved when you defeat the boss of the area. Each time I saved a few more people I'd go back into the town to talk to them and explore to see what changed before returning to where the monsters were.

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]YdjUvMz_9fs[/YOUTUBE]

This version is the one that plays in a town once the boss in that region has been defeated, releasing the elder/leader of that particular realm. There's still more exploring to do in each town even after the elder/leader is back, so I'd often go back to talk to everyone again many times to uncover any secrets I may have missed. The emblems in particular.... I finally got them all on my last playthrough which was about 4 years ago. The game is a gem many overlooked and one I have looked back on fondly for almost 20 years now. The town theme being yet another track I'll never get sick of. When I hear it I am reminded of the towns rebuilding and how fun it was to explore them as the changes go on in between sealing each monster lair.

 

[Dagger Dias]

A couple of posts back I shared one of the Hacker base themes from the underrated game, Robotrek. This week I bring one of the other two.

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]NZbr3OPAqLk[/YOUTUBE]

This is the theme used in the Hacker Fortress, the final level of the game. Out of the three Hacker base themes this is the best one. In my opinion having a good theme that captures the intimidation of the situation is crucial for a final level in just about any video game. If you're playing the game for the first time and this song begins playing, you'll easily know this is for sure the last level. It's one of those final level themes where you can just tell. There was a somewhat frustrating puzzle with red, yellow, and blue jars in this fortress that I recall having a hard time with when I was younger. Hearing the song reminds me of that puzzle, as well as the long climb up to the top floor where the antagonist is waiting for you, and fighting the game's toughest enemies; some of which were nightmarish in difficulty unless you were on an extremely high level or had the best weapons. A great final level theme from an underrated game.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Robotrek - Hacker Base 2

I've recently done the other 2 Hacker area themes, so why not do the 3rd one too?

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]8yx_4i_1-6I[/YOUTUBE]

It's my least favorite of the 3 Hacker base songs but it's still a good one. It sounds like something you'd hear in an airport rather than a high tech enemy facility although I like how it still maintains the feeling of uncertainty that these types of areas need in their theme music. This also plays in the computer world where you go inside a computer to fight a boss named Bug-Bug. Yes, that really was his name. This game wasn't really known for good names, or being serious for that matter. It fits its area of use more in the computer world than it does in the second Hacker base in my opinion. The enemies had gotten a lot tougher by this point and other than perhaps the final level, this second Hacker base had more enemies than any other location. Many of which chased you, so you couldn't really avoid fights.

 

[Dagger Dias]

I was discussing the Breath of Fire series over in the Rank the Game series thread, so how about a track from that series?

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]cHasR3ftpUM[/YOUTUBE]

This is from Breath of Fire 4 when you visit Cray's village. Its fun melody is a welcome change of pace after having heard the world map theme for so long to the point where it gets boring while searching for the village. For those who played the 3rd game but not the 4th, imagine the awful puzzle from the desert in the 3rd one in a grass setting. It's almost as bad. For those who have played neither, you're not missing much. Frustrating puzzles aside.... This is one of the better tracks from a game you really don't hear much about. It's a nice track that is a great fit for a village out in the fields in the middle of nowhere. That expression gets thrown around a lot, but this village literally IS in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Super Mario Kart - Rainbow Road

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]QVOIDTsp7gY[/YOUTUBE]

I ranked Mario Kart as a series over in the Rank the Video Game Series thread, so it got me thinking about this track. It's from the first Mario Kart game and it was the most difficult race in the game. Every game in the series has a Rainbow Road race, but this one is STILL the best one by far to me. It's music adds to the tension as you have to avoid not only the computer controlled characters but also the thwomps who on this track made you spin out if you touched them unlike regular thwomps from Bowser's Castle, and there were NO WALLS. The first time I got to it as a kid my jaw dropped at how tough it looked. On 150CC mode it was a nightmare. This race was epic for its time and it has one of the best race track songs I've ever heard.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Ogre Battle - Boss Theme

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]sTcCtRPDM9g[/YOUTUBE]

Normally I am not much of a strategy/tactics gamer, but I loved this game. This is the boss theme and like many other epic battle themes it made you anticipate each boss fight while also adding to the tension. The characters were all computer controlled. The only way you could control what skill a specific character used was by determining which row they battled in. You could change tactics of the unit or use cards to damage enemies and buff your guys, but other than that you just sat back and watched the show during a fight. This made the fights' tension quite higher, especially toward the end. A lot of memorable boss fights to this theme.... Gares, Albeleo, The werewolf, the gemini, the empress, Deneb, Fogel, Debonair, and several others.

My best memory in this game though by far was when I went through the entire thing using only one unit. I just sat there at my base on each map letting the enemies come to me, defeating them all and levelling up consistently, all while putting the best people in my leader's unit. Warren, Lans, Canopus, all those guys were in the one unit I used. I was so over-levelled by the end that I was able to obliterate nearly any boss up until Rashidi and the final level where it finally picked up in difficulty despite my high levels. I never needed to use any cards until the final map, my guys were that powerful and had almost as much health as the final boss did. I managed to clear the whole game using only the hero's unit, and what makes that even tougher is that if the hero ever died then that was an automatic game over. Listening to this during each boss fight along the way and killing them all with ease.... Ah, the memories.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Ogre Battle - Go Go March

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]GWwgFEiQsUQ[/YOUTUBE]

Another Ogre Battle track. This song is one of the map themes. It plays on several of the maps in the game, making it one of the more commonly heard tracks of the game. It could honestly have been used on every single map in the game and I would not have gotten tired of it. Whether you were marching (hence its name) toward the enemy units, guarding one of your own areas, or about to attack the map's boss, the song fit wonderfully. I used to love sitting there and listening to it while sitting at my base waiting on the enemy units to attack. Its catchy melody fully captures the portion of the game spent on the maps in between fights.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Final Fantasy 7 - Underneath the Rotting Pizza

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]PMhTjzddSfI[/YOUTUBE]

A friend of mine once described this as the quintessential theme for when you're just hanging out and being bored. He's right. If video game music played in real life then any time I've spent during laying around home being bored and watching the ceiling fan's blades turn as I ponder what to do next, times like those are the type of situation when this track would be perfect for. Even without this description, it's still a great track for the area that it plays in during the actual game. The slums are an odd area and this catchy theme helps make the event more interesting. You don't quite know what to expect, but are still having a good time exploring. Another classic from the one of best RPG's in history.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Final Fantasy 8 - Silence & Motion

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]JKtcFdxuy8s[/YOUTUBE]

This lovely piece of music plays in the city of Esthar of Final Fantasy 8. Esthar is a very unique city, far more different than any other town in the game. It's one of my favorite towns to visit in the game and part of the reason is the music, which sets it further apart from the rest of the game's world. This is one of those tracks that helps show you that you're in an unfamiliar region the moment you step into it and the track begins playing. It's also a good one to listen to while contemplating myriads of random thoughts with your eyes shut while relaxing on the couch.

 

[Alexrovers]

The music on Fifa always surprises me. I start by not liking anything on it and eventually grow to like it. It has got to be one of the top things about playing fifa and xbox

 

[Dagger Dias]

My nostalgia for Donkey Kong Country 2 continues. I ranked the DKC series in the video game series ranking thread and I've still feeling nostalgic about DKC2 this week, so here comes a track from it.

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]73n7HTcmb5g[/YOUTUBE]

This is the track that plays in the infamous bramble levels of Donkey Kong Country 2. I have mixed feelings about it. While it's beautiful and a very pretty piece of music.... It's used in levels that were so hard that they still haunt me to this day. The bramble levels were a nightmare to get through, especially Bramble Scramble in the fourth world. It is a track I can look back on fondly despite the difficulty of the levels it's used in though. It's almost as if it was intended to calm down the frustrated gamers who struggled to make it through the levels it plays in. As tough as those levels were, we got to listen to this song while we made our way through them at least.

 

[Dagger Dias]

This week I bring a set of tracks from an old racing game classic, Top Gear 2.


Top Gear 2: Auckland

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]JjEvC3Z4LCE[/YOUTUBE]

Top Gear 2: Ayers Rock

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]dwVTJ836Nzs[/YOUTUBE]

Top Gear 2: Canterbury Plains

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]chodABpO8fc[/YOUTUBE]

There were three different racing tracks. The first place you hear track 1 is Auckland, the first of track 2 is Ayers Rock, and the first for track 3 is Canterbury Plains. After that they rotate in the same order throughout the whole game, with the Aukland theme playing one last time in the final level. They remain among my favorite racing themes to this day 20 years later, even topping stuff from the Mario Kart games. I've always liked the 2nd and 3rd tracks while it took the 1st track several years to finally grow on me. They are good driving tracks to listen to while behind the wheel in real life too. Each of the three make the races more enjoyable as they just fit so well with cruising around and enjoying the scenery, despite being heard during the entirety of gameplay other than when you are buying stuff in between races. They don't get old like a lot of tracks from games around that time do.

 

[Rellim]

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei5IDNc_s9I[/YOUTUBE]

Now, I'll be honest, I hated this game. Its in my opinion the worst final fantasy game in the series, and since Final Fantasy is my favorite games series of all time, thats hard for me to say, lol. But this track, which plays in a ruined hometown of Vanille, is a beautiful song that fits the scene perfectly. You really feel the sadness of this town being taken.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Tales of Symphonia - Water Symphony (Despair)

I've already talked about Water Symphony before, but it contains a sad remix that I have not mentioned and I was thinking about it earlier. Here's the original version first for those who have not heard it or do not remember:

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]4qw3m94NZPQ[/YOUTUBE]

A beautiful track for a beautiful town. I love this track.

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]5NTChyjTsB8[/YOUTUBE]

Now, here is the one from when you return to see that the town got destroyed. The best part about it is how it retained elements of the original, only it sounds sad to fit the situation. You can tell that you're in the same town with a much more depressed tone overall. I wish more games did their soundtracks that way.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Final Fantasy 4 - Tower of Zot

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]HPXIZLU5XUo[/YOUTUBE]

With the FF4 walkthrough topic I'm currently doing, I thought I should do an FF4 song for my next entry in this thread. This plays in the infamous Tower of Zot. It also plays during some of the scenes involving the elemental fiends. It's an evil sounding song and adds quite a bit to the intimidation factor already present within the tower as you make the tough climb up to the top. For the few who haven't played the game, this place teaches low level adventurers the valuable lesson of the importance of leveling up. A second valuable lesson it teaches is to make sure you are at a good HP count before opening a treasure chest. Such a cool event despite the difficulty. The iconic Tellah VS Golbez scene, the fight against Valvalis, the amazing feeling of relief you get after defeating the Magus Sisters, and the sudden spike in intelligence in the monster hordes you encounter. So many memories coming back from listening to this song.... Few villain lairs fill you with fear like this one does, and the song brings out those feelings.

 

[Wally Dangerously]

I'm an old fogey in regard to other forum members here, and I love 8-bit NES games. Without a doubt, one of my Top 5 favorite NES musical pieces, and possibly one of my Top 5 favorite all-time video game musical pieces, would include the theme to The Legend of Zelda.

I hooked up my Wii recently after a long hiatus and downloaded TLOZ. When the title screen started, I let out a shout of joy; I felt 8 years-old again! I especially like 0:11 when the opening screen goes dark and the list of all of the game items is showed.



[youtube]uyMKWJ5e1kg[/youtube]



This beatiful piece was part of the orchestral CD included with Skyward Sword for the Wii. I will never get tired of hearing recognizable video game music played by an orchestra.



[youtube]AKYn4ACAd7s[/youtube]

 

[Dagger Dias]

With today being the 4th of July, I thought I would share a track this time that makes me think of 4th of July during the rest of the year. It's not what anyone will be expecting, in fact it has nothing to do with holidays or America.


Paladin's Quest - Tower of Gabnid

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]vcmBUSDQLCc[/YOUTUBE]

This is the Tower of Gabnid track from the game Paladin's Quest. What in the world does this track have to do with 4th of July? Nothing, quite honestly. It does tie into the day for me in a way though. From 1994 up until 2010, I replayed this video game every single summer. Without fail. The moment school was over for the year I grabbed my Paladin's Quest cartridge and started a new game. Even during my college years I kept this tradition alive by starting the new game file the day after spring semester finals each year until 2010.

Each year around this time, I would always managed to have made it to the event where this plays. You have gone back in time and go into the Tower of Gabnid to prevent events in the future from taking place. Entering the Tower of Gabnid in the past on 4th of July became an unintended tradition as I entered my teen years and had noticed the odd coincidence, so for the last decade or so that I did these annual playthroughs of the game I would purposefully wait until 4th of July to complete that event. Most have cookouts and fireworks, alongside those types of traditions I also have the Tower of Gabnid event in Paladin's Quest.

Now, the track itself.... This game was very strange. Everything about it was weird, including the music. I still loved it though it's one of my favorite games of all time and is highly underrated. This is one of the best tracks in the game and you can feel the evil presence in the tower as it plays. The moment you walk through the door and hear this music playing, you know something big is about to happen and that something evil is waiting for you at the top floor. Sure enough, an important event and boss fight do take place at the top floor. It's been 3 years since I did my last run in this game, but I am keeping my old tradition alive by sharing this track with you guys today. I may not be playing the event itself, but the track is bringing back loads of memories. Enjoy the music as well as the holiday with whatever traditions you may have of your own!

 

[Dagger Dias]

Bowser's Inside Story - Bowser's Castle

These are the two themes heard inside Bowser's Castle in Bowser's Inside Story. I've located videos that extend both versions to 30 minutes to share with you guys.

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]GCn0L2qPlJo[/YOUTUBE]

This is the version you hear while playing as Bowser. No matter what the game is, Bowser's Castle always ends up having an awesome evil sounding theme. You can feel Bowser's frustration and concern (more of the former than the latter) of not knowing what is around the next corner in his very own castle as it has been taken over by a rival villain. You are able to visit the location later on as Mario and Luigi, this version still plays when you are there as them. The feelings of uncertainty brought out by the track are even more prevalent at that point. At least Bowser has an idea of what to expect, it's his castle. It's more dangerous for Mario and Luigi. Those thoughts of wondering what monsters could ambush you at any given moment go very well with the song regardless of if you're playing as the heroes or the antihero.

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]Qo70Gjn4E7o[/YOUTUBE]

This is the second version that plays while you play as Mario and Luigi inside of Bowser when he is at his castle. For just about every other location, Bowser's version of the theme music sounds better than Mario and Luigi's. This is the one exception. This version sounds far more sinister than the regular version. I prefer it. This is one of the more evil sounding tracks that I have heard in recent games and any antagonist in gaming would be proud to have it play in their lair. This version should honestly have been playing in Bowser's Castle itself. However, it playing where it does made a few of the events taking place inside of Bowser as Mario and Luigi more enjoyable.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Lagoon - Elf Field

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]gFMtkmE-xHE[/YOUTUBE]

Going oldschool again here.... For the few who remember Lagoon, this was an area you likely spent a lot of time in. I frequently spent hours in the Elf Field leveling up as it was a good place to come back to and pick on weaker monsters. It's an area that you have access to for nearly the entire game, so I came back quite often. The music, while a bit cheesy by today's standards, is extremely catchy and fun to listen to while completing the event that takes place in this area where you search for tablets with Thor as well as when you may be looking for monsters to pick on while trying to gain a level or two.

 

[Dagger Dias]

Final Fantasy 7 - Hurry

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]KsTiy88_jl8[/YOUTUBE]

This plays in FF7 during various scenes where, as the name implies, it is crucial that you hurry. I find it to be one of the best "time is running out" themes ever made. Whether it be trying to get out of the train when the security check went off, escaping the pillar before it collapses, protecting Aeris from soldiers in the church, infiltrating the underwater reactor, or any of the other events where this plays.... It's an iconic classic. I love how catchy it is and having it play with no battle theme or fanfare interrupting it for fights during events where you absolutely must hurry was always highly enjoyable. Very few themes used in similar situations for other games are better.

 

[Scuba 06]

[YOUTUBE]I970aWYDCYI[/YOUTUBE]

My favorite video game soundtrack of all time, and one of the most enjoyable racing games I have ever played, Ridge Racer Type 4. I used to spend hours playing this game and would be lying, if I didn't admit it was in large part to the amazing music on this disc. I have listened to many game soundtracks throughout the years, and when I compare the style of RR4 to other racing games, it is just so unique and different. It's just so much better ! Too many racing games, especially older ones, have a generic sound that does little to differentiate them from another. Hell even other Ridge Racer games fall into that mold, where little attention is paid to what the gamer hears. With this game, you can really see that the music developers tried and created a very distinctive smooth sound that just flowed so well with the driving experience. It was full of energy, yet soothing and relaxing at times. An electronic acid-jazz type style that helped this game stand apart from the rest. I will say it is reminiscent of Gran Turismo, who has also produced good music in their games. But Ridge Racer 4 to me was even better than those GT tracks, which were usually remixes from previous games. RR4 to me was something truly special. Something that unfortunately they have not replicated in follow up Ridge Racer games and sequels.

 

[Scuba 06]

[YOUTUBE]vKa0oq6EvsQ[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]mdIO0aYKZ2E[/YOUTUBE]

Another one of my favorite video game soundtracks, and one of the greatest games of the WWII FPS era, Medal Of Honor : Frontline. Before there was Modern Warfare and Call Of Duty became a household franchise, Medal Of Honor was the definitive historical FPS. Off the heels of "Saving Private Ryan," Medal Of Honor started off the craze of WWII shooters and our love of shooting Nazi scumbags. Who hasn't played a WWII game at some point ? Who could forget the amazing D-Day opening with landing on the beaches of Normandy ? Frontline was one of the first PS2 games I owned, and I always felt it was one of the most memorable, and emotional FPS ever designed. Part of why, was not only the fun game play and historical setting, but the atmosphere built upon masterful orchestration. The music in Frontline truly fit the experiences. The moments of sadness, fear and anxiety, as well as moments of heroism, national pride, and the humanity of a solider in combat. Frontline's music I felt captured all of these aspects so well. To me the music not only in Frontline, but the Medal Of Honor franchise as a whole, had that something that made it special and unique from others in the FPS genre, something that's missing in games now.

 

[Scuba 06]

[YOUTUBE]avPSzGVCPH0[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]t5ebAvks9ig[/YOUTUBE]

I am sure someone may have posted music from this game already, but I doubt it was this version. Wow, listening to this music brings back so many good memories. I remember it so well. Christmas 1995, I got my very first home console, the Super Nintendo and my very first game, Killer Instinct. And what a game it was. Probably my favorite fighting game of all time, and probably one of three best games I have ever owned. Just listening to this gives me such a great sense of nostalgia. It takes me back to a much simpler, happier time in my life. This is one of those games that just has the 90s feel that could never be replicated today. The songs on this soundtrack, especially the techno and dance orientated tracks are so distinctive of the mid 90s. The home console had good music no doubt, but if you were lucky enough to get the rare "Killer Cuts Soundtrack," with full length, stereo sound you definitely got your money's worth. The main track was just epic and had you pumped to play from the get go. Killer Instinct the game and it's music were just so unique and well-produced. There are very few fighting games like it, and I doubt even this new reboot can recapture that magic. Oh well.