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This is a great thread that I don't want to die so I'll be adding stuff bit by bit as I carve down these soundtracks to only 3 tracks, which is super tough. So instead of one long post with a bunch of things in it I'll be doing a bunch of shorter ones. So I only first played Katamari Damacy on my Switch and I was very taken in by it, but I was taken aback by the sheer quality of the soundtrack. It's an incredible soundtrack by any accounts and well-worth repeated listens thanks to its wildly shifting soundscapes. Three tracks is super hard to pin-down, but there are no rules against honorable mentions. You'll just have to look them up yourself: Gin & Tonic & Red Red Roses for it's super cool jazz and scatting and Wanda Wanda, the genre escapes me, and Angel Gifts for whatever that is. I just love how it crescendos (a thing with me). Maybe my choices are conventional but I'm not a particular surprising person. #3 Katamari Nah-Nah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7FPfxscmBs I went with the boot-up version of the main theme and the song you hear in the tutorial. It's immediately weird and catchy and beats out the bombastic Katamari on the Rocks and the incredibly fun The Last Samba. It does a good job of presenting what exactly you're getting into. #2 Walking on a Star! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o64PW1LE-0E This is the main menu screen song. This little gem of a tune is on a screen you'll never spend more than 20 seconds on. It has this great upbeat sound with instruments and electronic beeps and it just crescendos amazingly well. It's just about everything I love about this soundtrack in general condensed onto a single track. Angel Gifts kinda does what this one does a bit differently. #1 Lonely Rolling Star https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okEluVGlWio This is possibly a conventional pick, but I'm a sucker for a good pop song and this is some fine synth pop. More importantly, I generally hate video game songs with lyrics. Something about them always feels cheesy and overdone, whether sung in English or Japanese. But for whatever reason they just sound like they work here (I don't understand Japanese), and the staccato phrasing works well with the drums and bass. Just very well-constructed pop music.
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Mar 8, 2020 22:39
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Now if someone actually remembers when these songs play that'd be fantastic. Age of Empires was one of the things I could run on our old Mac. Then when I couldn't run it anymore, not knowing anything about computers I put it in my new Macbook, thinking it'd prompt me to do something cool so I could play it. It prompted instead to play the music of it in iTunes, and that was my first ever video game music soundtrack that I had outside of a game! It's great atmospheric stuff, and I don't even know if the names are even right. I wish that they weren't Windows only on Steam because I'd pick up all these games in a heartbeat. #3 Dawn of a New Age https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Llo8ckcrYgI #2 The Emergence https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOciUztoshk #1 The Wind Gods https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTeC4k7EuqQ I love the different layers and motifs on this song, it makes it sound complex, and it feels very exploration to me. Honorable Mention: Rain on this playlist and I'm pretty sure on iTunes, these 4 songs were played one after the other but in the order of 312 and then Rain. These are the best tracks to just melt into. Though I don't really remember when they play in game.
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Mar 9, 2020 20:11
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So I want to tackle one of my earliest game memories, and one of the ones where the music is at its best. The Donkey Kong Country series, holds a special place in many 90's kids hearts and its music by David Wise and Eveline Fischer is really amazing. This wasn't easy to whittle down and I don't care if my choices are conventional or not but here are the top 3. #3 Ice Cave Chant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lyRI_M8ZXE This plays during the only ice cave level (hence the title) and I love the mix of atmospheric synths in the background alongside the chipper melody. It's a very pretty and fun song. The level that features it is fine. Honorable mention goes to Northern Hemispheres, the other ice-stage song, that has an amazing second half but takes a bit to build up to it. #2 Funky's Fugue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecpMeFI4wyM This song is just way too fun. The vocals, the driving beat and rhythm, and the electric steel drum bit with a Jackson like whoo! What more could you want? It's a power track, and it just screams the quality of this soundtrack when this is used merely as the background music to a side character. #1 Fear Factory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v18pEFQb3EM Is this conventional? Maybe. I didn't go with Aquatic Ambiance because ultimately I like this more rock-like songs, even if the atmosphere ones are great. This is played in the first of the industrial levels and it really ups the ante in the game at the time. It's just a really complex song with tons of layers and it just rocks.
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Mar 10, 2020 23:12
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These top 3 rules are so tough. So I spent a lot of time on my SNES as a kid, and most of that time was spent on 5 games, 3 of which were the Donkey Kong Country series. So now my favorite tracks from: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest, which is my favorite of the three games. I had to whittle this down from 15 songs or so, and it was tougher because this soundtrack really has 3 flavors: atmosphere, boppers, and villainous themes. If I could choose 3 from each of those then that'd be easy, but nope. Honorable Mentions Like I said I had to choose from 15 tracks. I won't put them all up, but I will say I was sad not to include Mining Melancholy. The anvil notes are ingrained in my mind and I can tap out that beat at any given moment. The anvil sounds were first heard in DKC so it's cool to hear them repurposed here for such a good track. Disco Train is just so unique for what it is. It's very memorable. K. Rool Returns I didn't add it because it's so short, but you hear it pretty much every time you boot up the game and it introduces the nautical theme very well. 3: Forest Interlude https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5EgRk0mQM8 DKC 2 is the king of atmospheric tracks and this is a fine example. I don't really know how this was supposed to work to get me in the mood to traverse the level, but it's great for just walking or slowly driving. 2: Jibjig https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9815dOsSb6c The game doesn't stick to its pirate aesthetic for very long, but this song just got me into it. Growing up by the sea this song would often come to mind. 1: Stickerbrush Symphony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdPlcKg-qFs This is as conventional as it gets, but this was undoubtedly one of the first songs that made me realize just what was happening sonically in a game. Most songs up until this helped convey the action or adventure in a game, or they'd be catchy if repetitive tunes. But this song is just layers of composition.
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Mar 14, 2020 15:39
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Might as well finish this. I never quite liked Donkey Kong Country 3 as much as the other two. Could be the timing of the game. It came later, and at a point where it felt like what it wanted to do had been done. Note I say felt, because the game is incredibly good in retrospect. It doesn't really have the charm of the two former games, and it's already indulging the Collect-a-thon nature of later platformers, for better or for worse, but it's the tightest of the three and it has some really good level design. Musically it's more atomspheric, though the main composer is no longer David Wise but Eveline Fischer. So this game doesn't quite move me as the others, but there are songs that still get to me. It was far easier to pick three here as I only had to whittle down from about 6 or so. I have far less memories of this game. #3 Rocket Run https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vifrjlAyREE A lot of the songs in this game are actually pretty stressful, but it shows that they were really meant to be part of the active experience. I'll never forget this level, it just struck me as super novel, flying through a rocket barrel. #2 Mill Fever https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8m3UpEIOnI The more classic DK sound is in this one and again it had some interesting gameplay, with an Elephant who can't see a rat. I can still hear those sound effects when playing this song. #1 Submap Shuffle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpRVRL7nrso I'm not sure if it's a sign of the lack quality in the soundtrack or the just the sheer quality of this one track (probably the latter), but I really love the stage selection song. It really sets you up for adventure and exploration, and considering the amount of time spent on the screen it adds plenty of mystery, while fitting with all the different geographical regions in the game. DKC music was always at its best when it was atmospheric and slightly exotic, both giving you the feel and sounds of a jungle through its instrumentation.
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Mar 15, 2020 18:44
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My most played SNES game was almost without a doubt SMW2: Yoshi's Island. I never owned Super Mario World, and I technically didn't own Yoshi's Island. We were lent it by a Japanese neighbor that ended moving back to Japan before we remembered we still had it. A lot of songs in this game really just stuck with me over time and a lot of them are just Koji Kondo at his best. Yoshi's Island is among one of the best platformers and the music matches it's feel perfectly, which is impressive considering there really isn't all that many level themes. Honorable Mentions: Map Theme: Another Stage select screen worth lingering on. This is a bit like the Katamari song I posted earlier, because it takes a simple hook and just builds on it. Crescendoes just kill me. Big Boss Theme I didn't want to be redundant so I didn't choose it even though it's a great rock song, both unexpected, and it super pumps you up. The solos kick rear end. Athletic I don't necessarily love this song, but the intense jazz manouche vibes are incredible. Listen to that clarinet just going off! We loved the skiing sequences a lot so this was playing A LOT. #3 Bowser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44vSEmdSNww Considering the average level track, this song rips. It's super metal and it wouldn't be out of place in more violent games like Doom or as the final boss theme in a gritty RPG. Why is it here in a Mario game? Who made these solos? It's pretty fantastic. #2 Yoshi's Island Title Screen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7bmXBT22PI I love this song, and incidentally it was the first video game bass line I bothered to learn (here tonight while choosing these songs!) Again I would let this screen linger for this song that is both tropical and whimsical and already setting up the game sonically. #1 Flower Garden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shl6hvn4_IE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqQq4hla0xo While I may admit this is not the best song in the game (it's probably Bowser's theme, because come on) this is the song that I'll randomly tap along to in my head without even noticing. This is the song that I'll catch myself humming and thinking "I should play Yoshi's Island". This song and this game are the reason I bought an SNES Mini, I just wanted an easy way to play Yoshi's Island. That's a fun system so I wasn't mad that it came out on Switch Online, just another chance to 100% again and listen to this fantastic bouncy tune forever. Just listening to the bridge and the percussion... it's just about, just almost the best song in the game. I find the horn a touch whiny is all. I did cheat a bit and include the level intro drum beat. They are inseparable in my mind.
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Mar 16, 2020 00:27
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I know the OP did VVVVVV but I can't remember if someone posted Celeste. I wanted to do The Return of the Obra Dinn, but I don't think it's been out long enough and the music is such a part of the experience, I wouldn't want to ruin that. So, let's do Celeste, where the music is also part of the experience but since it's story isn't much to be spoilered, I think it's fine posting some great tunes. Honorable Mentions: really wanted to post all the music in Chapter 6, but I couldn't find a video that had them altogether so that idea ended there. In the Mirror is also great, but there's some passages in the song that aren't really easy to listen to, and it's a piece that works well with its atmosphere. I like it more for it's technical aspects than I do for its musicality. #3 First Steps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8OHSXvneOE This is the song featured in the First Chapter of Celeste. It introduces the main motif of the game that'll be explored in different fashions. I think the tones that were used here fit the game perfectly and it's an "ice stage", and again the sounds are perfect. You here this song a lot as you first try to understand the controls of the game, and begin to die. You won't die much. This section isn't particularly hard, and later when you go back to it, you'll be zooming along in no time. I was taken in quickly by this song, the gameplay, and the aesthetic. #2 Resurrections https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rwAvUvvQzQ This song is the archetype of the second face to Celeste. It's dark and moody and has highs and lows. This the theme of the 2nd chapter, and it contrasts so strongly to the first, and yet it also matches it perfectly. I feel together they really represent what Raine was doing with her compositions. Chapter 2 ups the ante, but not impossibly so, but already you're getting a taste of what's to come. #1 Reach for the Summit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDVM9KED46Q This is the song of the final chapter of the base game, and boy does it live up. You're a veteran by this point, dashing and climbing through the hardest challenges you've yet faced (but far from the hardest in the game!), and you hear this motif again, your motif encouraging you ever higher and higher. It's a real rush and beating the game is sheer exhilaration and this song captures that whole mood perfectly. It's definitely a section to be played. In fact researching this piece I began to replay the game, thanks to all my new-found time, and it's a real gem that I highly recommend to anyone with a passing interest in platforming. 100YrsofAttitude fucked around with this message at 14:39 on Mar 17, 2020 |
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Mar 17, 2020 14:36
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So here’s a series I’ve wanted to discuss for a bit, and I know we all have our opinions about it, but we can’t talk about video game music without talking about the Legend of Zelda. Not just because it has a good soundtrack, but because music becomes it’s whole deal for a few games in the series. So here’s my go at the best songs from each game. The Legend of Zelda- I’ve beaten this a few times now and what bugs me is how stupidly good the music is. It came out in 1986 and it had no business having the range it does, and with only about 6 songs that make a soundtrack of under 8 minutes. It’s ridiculous. #3 End Credits https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2sQKNGcp2I I don’t necessarily like this song, but it’s so weird and out of place with the rest of the music. This sounds like Mario music or some arcadey thing that Nintendo did before hitting their stride. It’s an anomaly really. #2- Labyrinth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMssCMqMHuk The Labyrinth theme is so short, so repetitive, and so moody. You’re taken straight out of the adventurous Overworld theme and all of the sudden you know you’re in for some poo poo. The riff is hardly 20 seconds long and it just repeats and it’s so effective. You know you have a good hook when you can deal with listening to it for hours on end. #1- The Opening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyMKWJ5e1kg This is a variation of the Overworld/Main theme, but I prefer it for being more complex. It’s slower, has more depth, and gears you up for the action to come, unlike the Overworld theme which is outright bombastic. Link’s Adventure: I’ve only played this once, on that disc that came with a Wind Waker pre-order or something. I wouldn’t mind re-playing it but I remember it being super tough. That said the music was cool to experience having first come into contact with it in Super Smash Bros Melee. It’s a weird soundtrack because it was composed not by Koji Kondo but by Akito Nakatsuka, who worked on other arcadey games of the time, like Excitebike and Clu Clu Land. Kondo would helm the most notable games in the series, but has since moved on after the GC era. #3 Title Screen/Prologue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue5KL9IFS5k Much like the Title Screen in Zelda 1, I like this more somber take on the main motif. It’s not as upbeat and that’s ok. #2 Ending https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0PkVJwAJHY This is a very sweet and melancholic series of notes that you get at the end of the game before the credits. It was the reward for beating this tough game and sort of put me in mind of the difficulty of the game, not really the achievement. #1 Palace Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-VUVvvlQK8 I’ll admit this is more tied to the hours spent playing Temple in Smash, but it’s a great dungeon theme, and the Great Palace variation is good too, but habit makes me prefer this one. A Link to the Past- Now this is the game I spent time on. It ranked alongside the DKC games and Yoshi’s Island, though it was by far the hardest and it took me a long time to figure out how to get to the Moon Pearl, because I was an idiot child. Still I love this game and the music still reminds me of those days. Honorable Mentions: The Overworld Theme. I didn’t include because we all know it and it’s there, but I do love this version. It’s the definitive theme for me, and I just love that cymbal crash. The other two that just missed the cut were the Dark World Theme and Hyrule Castle, both which are similarly dark and bombastic in their own way. #3 Sanctuary Dungeon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi0APizJuRU Like I said I spent a long time replaying the first two dungeons of the game since I was an idiot child, so I got used to this music and it was always super eerie. I love how the intro goes into the staccato string motif and it just holds from there. It’s a gorgeous theme and it fits the dungeons better than the Dark World one in my opinion. #2 Opening Demo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=docHLu21k20 The times I would just watch this intro over and over again. It has the wonderful harmonies in Time of the Falling Rain, plus a very poignant melody line. I guess I have something for Zelda title screens! But again this sets up the urgency that carries through the beginning of the game. I don’t remember if this motif was ever revisited in the later games. I’m sure it was, most themes reappear one way or another. #1 Turned into a rabbit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmkaqXCWlDI I got really used to this track as I stumbled over the small patch of Death Mountain that you access before the Moon Pearl. I couldn’t figure out the trick with the Magic Mirror for ages, and I swear the solution came to me in a dream. I always thought it sucked you couldn’t hear this melody after getting the Moon Pearl, because it’s one of the coolest Dark World themes. It’s only there for a short bit, especially if you solve this puzzle. Also Link’s rabbit form is precious, and I was pretty happy with the Ravio call-back. Next I'll tackle the GB games.
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Mar 18, 2020 18:33
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Link’s Awakening DX Link’s Awakening DX is a drat good game. How they managed to put the big experience of Link to the Past on a Gameboy (Color) game is beyond me. It’s an undoubtedly charming game and adventure. More importantly here, it’s probably the first game in the series with a real focus on music seeing as your MacGuffin’s are all musical instruments. This was super hard to choose 3 themes for, but I’m mostly happy with my choices, especially with my top choice. The styles range from quirky, menacing, melancholic, and your typical adventurous. Honorable Mentions: Christine the Goat, Weird Mr Write, and the Hen House all have an incredibly catchy little hook that I just love. It’s got no real development though. It really took me ages to decide what Ballad of the Wind Fish I wanted to go with, I think it’s a good one, but the version that Link and Marin do together with the Ocarina is also terrific, as is the version with all the instruments, as short as it is. #3: Tal Tal Heights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhBePY-_iZ8 One of the best Overworld themes and it really fits with the rugged terrain around the Wind Fish Egg. I also love the bass breakdown before it loops and I wish they’d have run with it a bit more. #2 Credit Roll https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUFVKgv3K-c This is probably my favorite version of the Ballad of the Wind Fish. They let it play out, they add layers, and it ends on that wonderfully hopeful note. The latter part of the song is a great variation on the main theme as well. Having always been musically inclined it was really important to see a game where music was a main theme. My dad, a musician himself, always kind of derided video games, even if he indulged me, but I think Link’s Awakening was the first time he seemed slightly more interested in my childhood prattlings about the games I played because of that. #1 Catfish Maw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f0GrdSk_jI This game has incredible dungeon tracks, and I’m pretty sure it was the first game where every dungeon had its own track. I love the Jaw-like simplicity of this track, and the sudden audio bursts are incredibly jarring. It’s super creepy. Face Shrine and Bottle Grotto are also favorites, with the first for its eeriness and the latter for it’s amazing bridge and it’s play on Tail Cave, the first dungeon, that sounds like the cave track but with just an extra bit more to really make you know this is serious. Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons I haven’t played these two in a while, and while Ocarina of Time pre-dates them I feel they fit better alongside Link’s Awakening sonically. They remaster a few tracks from Link’s Awakening, like the Overworld Theme and they also Gameboy-fy some tracks from Ocarina (the Windmill Hut song is particularly nice), but they’re games with a weird sound. They’re darker, more melancholic and the majority of tracks reflect that. Listening to the soundtracks again it’s funny how much people wanted “Mature Zelda” after Ocarina of Time, because these games alongside Majora’s Mask, ostensibly starred a child but they sure sound darker than any of the previous games. Or maybe it’s just my taste in these songs that tends to lead to the sadder themes. #3 Dancing Dragon Dungeon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhGS79bPPCI The only “bopper” worth listening to in my opinion. From Seasons. #2 Tarm Ruins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0EumkAeEAo The game has a lot of these echoey effects and I think it uses them to great effect, it really works well in this area. Again from Seasons. #1 Sad Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0lDskCT9hY From Ages this time but I do remember this scene in the city and it’s all very poignant. A fine example of the mood set by the game. BONUS: I recently finished Link’s Awakening Switch, and WOW. They really took those songs and did a number on them, re-working and orchestrating them beautifully. So I’m including those here despite them sounding quite different. I was also curious to see if the same tracks are among my favorites or not. The whole soundtrack is delight, so choosing only 3 was particularly tough. The obvious themes are well-done but it’s amazing what they do with the tinier ones so I’ll probably focus on those. Honorable Mentions: They made recorder versions of the more popular themes in the game, I don’t remember when they actually play in-game, they may have been merely promotional, but they are a delight and they fit the new aesthetic to a tee. Eagle’s Tower is great and creepy in a way the first one wasn’t. A lot of the dungeon songs get re-worked really well, Face Shrine is almost a song out of Majora’s Mask it’s so moody. Animal Village is so dumb but I love it, because it uses Mario Paint animal sounds. Player Select Marin is where the Wii-Shop theme went. I realize this list is getting super long and cheating, but I just want to point out one of my favorite things about this game is the small additional instruments they added at times like the bursts of percussion in the side-scrolling sequences or the eerie cellos in the caves. They’re small touches but incredibly effective. #3 Cucco House https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5INnttvfaE I love what they did to this track. It’s the same little hook, but the whistling and melodica really just nail its whimsy. #2 Angler’s Tunnel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djsxk3RQ2aM This is such a great version. You can still hear the main theme as an afterthought in the background, like they even knew it wasn’t worth the trouble, and instead you have these wonderful watery strings and a heavy woodwind (oboe? I don’t know). It makes it an altogether different theme. I love it. #1 The Wise Owl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boY0Yp9tHNk Another small theme that was vastly improved by just adding some horns. I loved hearing this alongside the owls' hoots, and when I went back to the GBC game I was very sad to hear the lack of extra instrumentation, just really driving home it’s impact. I think I’ll take a short break before tackling the N64 games, and explore some racing games I loved from the SNES.
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Mar 23, 2020 00:30
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F-Zero I LOVE this soundtrack. It’s arguably some of the best 20 minutes of music on the console, on any console. I am also terrible at F-Zero, but who cares, this music is great. It’s futuristic, it’s fast, it rocks and it bops, it’s the whole package. The entire soundtrack is an honorable mention so I’ll just say that I don’t care for Death Wind. That’s it. All the other songs are amazing. #3 White Land II https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2cKH2dz7FA It has a bit of an edge over the first version, but listen to the echoey high hats, that unrelenting bass line. The screeching horn synth thing. You’re driving and you’re driving fast and ever faster. Just a great racing track. #2 Port Town https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbE0GVVStQs I think Port Town is just the right blend of speed and intensity and foreboding. There’s mystery in this track, and you’ve got to get to the bottom of the mystery FAST. I love its little riffs. I love this song. #1 Silence https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJCmbipfnyA Easily my favorite song, and I was so happy to see it was in Smash Bros Ultimate (along with most of the soundtrack). I love the name of the song, I love how unrelentingly joyful the song sounds, and the bass line is intensely cool. It was also just about the hardest track I could regularly get to. We need a new F-Zero game. I’m horrible at them but I love everything about them. I found this while looking for tracks and it's WILD: F-Zero Jazz Fusion .
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Mar 23, 2020 15:13
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I know I've been posting more than commenting but I love hearing all this stuff. Two smaller submissions today. Super Mario Kart The racing game I was actually good at. We would play Mario Kart for hours so these tunes are also burned all the way back into my lizard brain. Honorable Mentions: The Choose your driver song is fantastic and we alway skipped it faster than you could imagine as we raced to see who could be Koopa. The fact that I raced as Koopa almost exclusively means their victory theme is also near and dear. #3 Rainbow Road https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ7ofQpuEHo What a cool futuristic sound for a track. This level was horrifying to play but it was also a disco rave in the sky. #2 Battle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfOYecKIGyc This theme was probably the most played. We would spend so much time playing battle, hoarding feathers and red shells and jumping into inaccessible areas. #1 Koopa Beach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eM0J8t10FM I liked Koopa and I liked their beach. I can still hear the tires driving through the water. What a fun soundtrack. Pilotwings: A weird game I finally tried out thanks to SNES Online. The music was surprisingly sophisticated. It is a weird weird game though. #3 Hang Glider https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOkHjbbeUqY #2 Flight Club https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsu5i6_KrdI #1 Light Plane https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqTt9j_bHPE This is not an easy game but its saving grace are its cool themes. It makes having to restart over and over far more bearable. Also I made this list just to share this tune. It's so good.
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Mar 24, 2020 16:58
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Ocarina of Time The game has a soundtrack that only numbers a little over an hour. That’s an album’s worth. Yet, it’s filled with so many memorable melodies and songs. Ocarina of Time is remembered fondly by many people in many different ways. I think that Kondo managed to outdo himself on this one because music is a massive feature of the game, more so than it had ever been. The existence of proper cutscenes also led to more orchestration. This was far easier to choose than I expected though. I mean I knew what my top two were. Listening to the soundtrack there are great and memorable tunes, but few that truly grabbed me. So that helped. Honorable Mentions: This game has great village themes most notably Goron Village and Zora’s Domain. The first has great layers of percussion and a certain whimsy to it and the latter is far more interesting than you’d think. I also think the best fight song is the basic Battle theme. It’s a bit like Jaw’s but the constant snare drums with the deep clarinet just keep you properly on edge. #3 Forest Temple https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKeDzFoNU68 It was between Forest Temple and Fire Temple for a while there. The dungeon’s in this game have exquisite soundtracks that are extremely evocative and atmospheric. I loved the percussion and vocal work in Fire Temple, but the loop is rather short and it gets pretty repetitive. Plus the ambient noise of the volcano drowns out that music pretty well. On the other hand Forest Temple is well known for its music, but it is the perfect first Adult temple. I also loved how it had an entrance and a veranda area. It felt like a real home. #2 Lost Woods https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umBT4erW4Ts Saria’s song is infectious. Saria’s song is life. Honestly though, how fun is this song? It’ll be stuck in my head for days and I won’t have any issues with that. The poo poo they did with five or six notes on the Ocarina themes is insane and this is one of the catchiest hooks imaginable. #1 Windmill Hut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jHN3_8bhC4 Round and Round. I’d just plunk Link in there and walk away to hear this song. It’s a hypnotic weird melody and I love it. It’s arguably my favorite Kondo composition of all time. It’s one of those songs that if I had written it, I would’ve felt satisfied with my life accomplishments forevermore. Majora’s Mask This is arguably my favorite Zelda game. It was the first game I got with my N64 and it’s remake led to my New 3DS. The game deserves merit for a lot of things, but it also continued with the musical themes presented in Ocarina of Time and just ran with them. Music continues to be at the fore-front of the series at this point. Majora’s Mask differs from being by far the moodiest soundtrack until now, which is fitting for the game. It does however have some wonderful moments of levity as well. It also tops out at nearly 2 hours which shows the evolution of game music as a whole. Honorable mentions: This game has some great tunes, though I guess it was easier to choose which ones I truly loved since I’ve played it so much. I didn’t add the Zora Band songs, for being too short, but all their Bossa Nova style tracks are great, since it’s stuff my dad played himself while I grew up. I also loved the easter eggs they had of older songs being played as practice tracks. The Astral Observatory and Bremen Mask song are exemplary of the game’s weirdness and the Giant’s theme just missed out on being my melancholy song of choice. #3 Great Bay Temple https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a0LGVoFHnA For a game with only 4 dungeons the dungeons are pretty brilliant. I spent far too long in Great Bay Temple, and I hate that they made it dead-easy in the 3DS remaster (which is generally good except for temples/bosses). It was a close-call between this and Woodfall temple, but I like this better for keeping to more traditional dungeon sounds overall and because I was in here for FAR TOO LONG. #2 Mask House Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnrN8uZTYnc I had to put in the Song of Healing. It's a beautiful line, from only a few notes. I chose this version because it’s got the best Majora’s Mask sounds. The very traditional percussion and weird melodies. This game is weird, and the Mask House Man is very weird, and this is his music. Listening to it places you in no other game but Majora’s Mask. #1 Title Demo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2vFoWcRa_s Another great intro. I love it for featuring the Clock Town music, which I hum to myself on occasion and for also slipping into the ominous melancholy of the game as a whole. The Clock Town music is fantastic for changing as each day passes, but the versions I found of it weren’t great so let’s go with this.
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Mar 26, 2020 20:50
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Someone earlier focused on Terry Scott Taylor and their work and so I want to focus on another composer Tim Follin and his brother Greg, with whom he often worked. They made the most mind-bending prog/metal tracks among early video game consoles. I’m using this to split up my Legend of Zelda posts both to neutralize all those tunes, but also to keep a more regular flow coming. I’ve never played these games but I discovered Tim Follin listening to the Demons de Midi podcast, a French language podcast that plays video game music. After each track they explain a bit of the background, so if you don’t understand French and don’t want to learn it you can just skip ahead to the next track. I think if you liked VVVVVV you’ll like this. It’s clearly an inspiration. So I’m just judging on how good they sound as opposed to anything else as again I have no memories associated with these games. I’ve only kept the games (there’s a lot) that had 3 tracks that I liked and I'll probably go through to Plok because that's a game I am familiar with. Ghouls and Ghosts Commodore 64 This was my first time listening to these first two soundtracks and according to Wikipedia this one his first credit. His sound is already pretty established, but it's cool to see how it later develops. #3 Stage 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE0vG5F6NNo #2 Stage 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU-ss4JXe2Q #1 Stage 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENK_HtaVlUI Target: Renegade #3 Track 06 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTjmCryzfH4 #2 Track 02 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6XqZ2q459Q #1 Track 08 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nWSuvlMNVM Pictionary These next 3 games I was already aware of from different sources and they are still mind-blowing. Just some awesome soundtracks on nothing more than the NES. The guy never had any formal training either. #3 Title Screen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJwh3erQlyE #2 Mini-game 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdZGtDHmCOo #1 Drawing Game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8bVrwQxDXc Silver Surfer: To make things even more bizarre supposedly these games were hot garbage, like Silver Surfer. Follin didn't really know what the game he was composing for was supposedly like, so things could get disproportionately epic. #3 High Score Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mKJYnr_l2E #2 Title Screen Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNpSPt30uSA #1 BGM 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGNSHNf-nlU Solstice #3 Ending https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDDIw8nax7s #2 Introduction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM14dCmYvjI #1 Title Screen Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_gObHt1uZA
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Mar 28, 2020 14:05
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Kanfy posted:Good thread OP but not especially readable without a "no embedding" rule. I'll blame that on me. For some reason I thought the OP had put all their first videos in one post and checking it now it was several. I'll go back to one game per post to make life more bearable, and one post per day. Continuing with a bit of the Tim Follin digression here's his work in Treasure Master #3 World Complete https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUCHLRcc2n0 #2 World 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmq1kknhhBA #1 World 2- The Moon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2l9O4ZLRhw Not the Moon song we're familiar with but this one is super exciting and has a great interval where it all breaks down for a second. The La Mulana tracks almost make me want to get the game, though I'm not sure I'd actually enjoy playing it. Wouldn't be the first time I'd get a game just for the music.
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Mar 31, 2020 14:39
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Good stuff. Quarantine has led me to play games online with my brother-in-law so he booted up Sega Classics and we started Streets of Rage. WOAH, I had never played it before but I had heard the music before without knowing where it had come from. The game is super fun. I think we'll go through all three in due time. Windwaker update coming tomorrow! Streets of Rage #3 Stage 6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcgfRmae31o I had first heard this in a mash-up by Team Teamwork, and the beat is still fire. I know the game is more famous for its faster tracks, but I really like the slower groovy ones. #2 Stage 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-ng_XJaMwY It was a hard choice for my favorite upbeat track, but I didn't go with Track 5 only because it reminded me way too much of Hotline Miami so I guess that's going to come up here sooner or later! #1 Stage 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl_gWa_SXfo This is such a weird song to show up after track 1 but it's very cool. Also the intro theme to that podcast I mentioned earlier, so I'm far too familiar with this one.
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Apr 1, 2020 09:54
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Windwaker Windwaker was the first Zelda game I began playing as an “adult” as I was well into high school and not seeing the game as I did as a kid. What that means is that I found the game too easy, but it was an otherwise gorgeous adventure and I found the sailing particularly engaging, probably I loved driving. Finding the game easy meant then that I took interest in other things, like the art design and of course the music. This is arguably the last game where music plays such a huge role thematically, and last console game in the series that really held my interest until BotW (Twilight Princess didn't impress me much and I never played Skyward Sword), so this is the last game I'll cover for now, since the music in BotW really should be experienced in game. I won't discuss the handheld games since after the GBC I never really went back to them after that first playthrough. The Gamecube had way more power than the N64 and it really let use some really cool instrumentation. I'm not ashamed but after days of listening and re-listening to the music I probably fell upon the 3 most memorable tracks, that no doubt many others would choose. I don't care if I'm being conventional, they're my favorites and they are terrific. Honorable Mentions: I really love the whole Hyrule Castle sequences that re-do the LttP music. It and the Legendary Hero song have some great somber passages. WW was one of the first games for me that had dynamic music that I can remember. Battles often ended too quickly but it was cool how the brass stings matched your strikes. This game doesn't do combat or temples particularly, with some of them being famously unfinished, but I've always liked the Earth temple theme. #3 The Title Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o78T9-I4OGA This is probably the best title theme in the series and I love how it combines both Medli's and Makar's prayers, both songs are great and they flow really well together. Already it feels nautical and just listening to it makes me nostalgic for the sea. I probably loved Windwaker as much as I did because I did grow up by the ocean. It was lovely old Long Island Sound, but the sea is the sea, and this game reminds me of that. #2 Molgera's Boss Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CYQzPHpvU8 What a great boss song! I know it isn't a surprise to anyone but this song is just so exciting. From the vocalized maracas, to the urgent Peter and the Wolf-esque flute and the menacing strings. It's not even the best boss fight, and like many of the fights, too easy, but what a song. #1 Dragon Roost Island https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkwhtdCW5rI I don't know if it could've been anything else. It’s well known that those are pan-pipes and what sounds to be a sort of charango, but this song is magnificently Andean, and it was crazy to hear these songs in a video game. This was another song that made my dad pause and listen to it and he'd wonder where I had gotten the music from. I also love how it was a new theme, not linked to Gorons or Zoras or anything and I'm very glad it's become the theme for the Rito’s as seen in BotW because besides it’s crazy good sound choices it’s a really lovely melody.
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Apr 2, 2020 16:10
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Hotline Miami After talking about Streets of Rage I went back and listened to Hotline Miami's soundtrack which fits it to a tee. I really liked this game at the time, despite how hard it was, and it was it's own thing while also taking a heavy cue from the film Drive, which I love. There are a lot of great songs here, and I think it's what kicked my interest into synthwave as a whole. It's not an all-the-time genre for me but when I need to hear it, it works perfectly. Honorable Mentions: Horse Steppin', is just so chill and associated with this game for me. I love how it just sounds like neon waves. #3 Crystals https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37-WR-SyTxs Modulation? Is that what it's called? I love it. It's so loopy. #2 Paris 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dmVxPMlNV8 This and the my #1 pick are what remind me of Streets of Rage. By nature Hotline Miami is a tough game, so you can end up just listening to these songs for a long time depending on the level. Which is perfectly fine. #1 Hydrogen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeVufklHMsA Anything that sounds remotely like this just reminds me of this game. And since this sort of beat is omnipresent in EDM I'm often reminded of this game.
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Apr 3, 2020 19:03
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Plok This was a super weird SNES game a friend of mine had and we would try to beat it but it was hard as nails. The music in it was wild and turns out it was made by the Follins yet again. It's insane what they got the SNES to do sonically and I left out some songs that sound much like his other stuff, but here we get some rather unique tracks. Honorable Mentions: I didn't add the insanely good Boss Theme since it's rather similar to his other pieces, but it really pumps you up. There's also a couple of tracks that are straight up inspired/plagiarized from Link to the Past's Light World Dungeons. #3 Cotton Island https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W80Hp7wHtrw This is the first level so we ended up playing it again. Check out how the mood and beats change drastically throughout the song. I LOVE how the song because a latin rhythm before the loop and it's what pushed it up ahead Creepy Crag, which is great unique track. #2 Main Theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNXLfPnadGA This song just rocks. Plok is such a freaking weird game. I suggest you all check it out. #1 Beach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ODKKILZiYY&t=229s This song just has such an intense opening, and the rest is really good. Follin would've been right at home in any prog rock outfit of the 1970's.
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Apr 5, 2020 12:39
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Hyper Light Drifter I love this game. It's now one of my favorite indie games, and I'm glad I got to experience it. It's a beautiful, challenging, action-adventure game that blends sword and gunplay effortlessly, but more than that it has amazing art direction which is complemented perfectly by a soundtrack created by Disasterpeace, or Rich Vreeland. I actually have yet to play Fez, as I hardly use Steam anymore, and I first heard his work in David Robert Mitchell's It Follows and later Under the Silver Lake both are great films I highly recommend. It's hard to choose songs from this game, it's really a soundtrack in that areas and moments really are orchestrated to the music. Still, I managed somehow. Honorable Mention: The Midnight Wood, was one of the first areas I explored, since it lies West and I always try to go left in whatever circumstance I find myself in. It struck me almost immediately, and remains just a wonderfully moody piece. #3 Vignette: Corruption https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe8N8jPxA3M Is this cheating? It might be. This is a song from one of the game's trailers, but I chose it because despite being wholly original, it contains a lot of the sounds and themes that are found elsewhere and is a sort of perfect summary of the game's sound. It's on the official soundtrack for what it's worth. #2 A Chorus of Voices https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaOCX26j2uU If you guessed this was the water level, you'd be right! It's just very evocative and pretty. #1 Panacea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEA5Xuc4-a4 This is such a lovely little piano piece that reminds me of Satie in the best of ways while retaining the elements that make HLD, HLD.
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Apr 6, 2020 17:16
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ajkalan posted:I saw the OP mention this thread in the BYOB traveling thread, and felt the need to bump it. This time let's look at... Nice choices. I have this game back-logged on my switch along with a few others. I'll get to it for sure. I really like the character creation track it's nice.
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May 21, 2020 11:28
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Infinitum posted:Hideki Naganuma, of Jet Set Radio fame, apparently dropped this bad boy on a mobile game called WAR OF BRAINS drat that slaps and it's not even a genre I'm crazy about. The new FFVII soundtrack is righteously glorious and they really did the original proud. I'm playing the PS1 game for the first time at the moment, though I'm very familiar with the soundtrack. The music is really just so good in the game, and while I'm still undecided on which game I prefer between 6 and 7 I feel like I'd be remiss to not include my favorite 6 tracks having just played it prior, despite thinking that 7 has the better music even if 6 is arguably better scored (maybe, I'm having a lot trouble coming to a conclusion on this one). FFVI Honorable Mentions: Dancing Mad the final boss theme is loving fantastic as are most of the character theme's which is why I wanted to include even if it's kinda cheating Balance is Restored the final credits/cutscene song that includes a whole bunch of themes mashed into one (I didn't in the end). The final dungeon theme of both worlds (Floating Continent and Kefka's Tower) are an awesome mix of traditional sounds with more strange mechanical noises reflecting perfectly Kefka's warped power. 3. The Fanatics Tower https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1u45wkp5jw I don't find this theme very pretty but it's super creepy and gets me to this day. This is one of the hardest challenges in the game, depending on how much you bothered with magic up to that point, and you just keep hearing this theme starting after a battle and it wears you out. A great example of the music adding to the game's atmosphere. 2. Serpent Trench https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox-zAnGUfZ4 Something about this track is so perfectly Uematsu for me. It's a very pretty melodic and adventurous song and I love the staccato of the harmony. This my favorite "pretty" non-character song, just about the Phantom Forest, which is pretty much the "forest" theme you'd expect. 1. Dark World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06LGnRvN6E8 The world was destroyed and you're all alone with Celes and then you step out on the Overworld for the first time and greeted to a desolate island all alone in the ocean, there's no future, and there's just this bleak dirge playing. It's a super powerful moment and like much of this game's music perfectly scored. This is the song that prompted me to want to make this quick list just because it's so perfectly memorable.
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May 25, 2020 16:06
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