For me it's Silent Hill, I love the series... even the rougher games and a lot of that enjoyment is through the music by Akira Yamaoka (minus Downpour I believe, which barely had any music to begin with).
What game series would you say has the best soundtrack?
I really enjoy the Journey soundtrack.
Edit: Whoops! I realized you asked for series soundtracks. Hmm... I'd have to go Assassin's Creed.
Series? Well, regardless of how you about it's current state, Final Fantasy has had some amazing music over the years. Whether or not it's the best who can say?
Fallout, maybe. There's some great atmospheric music all throughout the series, and some great licensed music too.
Chronos, considering Chrono Cross is the best and Chrono Trigger is like top 5. Final Fantasy wins volume, Dark Souls wins last boss music, Super Metroid wins level music, Double Dragon Neon for vocals, Hotline Miami for licensed.
I don't know about BEST, but the Final Fantasy games have the most memorable music I've heard. The Persona games music is pretty good too.
There's of course a lot of great video game music out there, but yeah Silent Hill is always what first springs to mind. I think Resident Evil has always had good music as well, though it's never a series I see being brought up whenever it comes to video game music. Most are probably aware of the iconic save room themes, but by and large I think Resident Evil's soundtracks have held a surprising consistence of quality.
While I haven't played it myself, Darkside Chronicles is one that I think has some fantastic scores!
@pr1mus: Oh of course :P Really is a weird omission, sorta like how some of the best songs from the first Mass Effect were never released! Like the Virmire theme, which is still one of my all time favourites from the series.
I think the first Resident Evil has some great music, too. The classic Tyrant theme is still... well, a classic! That, and I've always loved the theme that plays when Wesker reveals his plans in the most beautifully hammy way imaginable. Resident Evil 3's Final Metamorphosis theme has always struck a cord for me, too. Really love the weird heartbeat-esque sound that plays throughout.
And now I've fallen into that youtube rabbit hole of going from one song to another. Oh well, makes for a good time to waste away the early hours of the morning while I sip on cuppa tea.
Grand Theft Auto is pretty sensational in how they nail the tone of a specific time and place. They probably rule the licensed soundtrack roost.
Halo takes the best original soundtracks by a country mile. There are series like Silent Hill that I certainly respect for having fantastic soundtracks but a huge part of why Halo is my favourite console shooter series is tied up in the music.
Probably either Ys or Final Fantasy. The soundtracks to these franchises have been consistently great, with almost each and every game over the last few decades having a great soundtrack.
I'd probably say Final Fantasy. The sheer quantity of good music. And in styles from 8 or 16-bit all the way up to full on orchestrated tracks.
The Final Fantasy live orchestra concert tour thing (name escapes me) that has been going around the world for years now was just selling tickets for a show right near me in February I think. Uematsu is going to be there I think I read. Along with Susan Calloway and others.
I didn't buy tickets though :/ They were kinda expensive I think (IMO at least but I've never been too a concert sooo) and don't have the money. Would've been a once in a lifetime experience though.
I'd link videos here but it would be waaaaay too many. Dozens.
So much good music in so many games. In terms of songs I have sitting on my mp3 player all the time though...Ar Tonelico. Holy crap. The game's world is centered around music, but even so - for such a low-budget, increasingly fan-servicey series, the music blows my mind. Especially in the first game. Some of the hymns and area music is incredible. EXEC_HARMONIUS still gives me chills whenever I listen to it.
I played a lot games that had iconic or memorable soundtracks, but it's the implementation that often resonated with me. Off the top of my head, the Bioshock games had quite a few amazing musical moments, especially Infinite and the first one.
It's been my experience that most Nintendo games have amazing soundtracks. Super Mario Galaxy is my favorite core Nintendo soundtrack though. But there's a soft spot in my heart for the Persona 4 and Ace Attorney soundtracks, so I'd pick one of those. If you held a gun to my head and told me to choose one, I would pick the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations soundtrack.
Now I don't think you can say a series having the best soundtrack as many games cover a mix or different genres.
Guilty Gear has the best Rock soundtrack IMO but Brutal Legend might come close.
Classical? Legend of Zelda or Elder Scrolls
Synth, edm? Tekken and [fill in blank]
Ambien?: Metroid
Best Japanese influenced soundtrack? Probably Okami but i'm sure others can think of something better.
Marc Ecko's Getting Up is an unsung licensed soundtrack. Most of the songs are taken or are heavily inspired by the "golden age" of rap. If you don't take my word for it, the OST for Getting Up also gets a thumbs up from the U.S. Pipe.
"And the soundtrack is easily one of the best licensed-game soundtracks ever put together, not only with its selections, but also with how the songs are used. Getting Up has been scored like a movie, with different bits of music tied to different portions of the game."
I can name specific games that have better soundtracks, but if we are talking franchises. Then it's hard to beat longrunning series with great music like Final Fantasy or Castlevania. I wouldn't say either has my favorite OST of any game out there but in a quantity AND quality calculation these two are up there.
A lot of the ones I'm into have already been mentioned. Silent Hill, Persona and the MGS (including Revengeance) series are particularly large standouts to me. Haven't seen Kingdom Hearts love yet though. I don't know, maybe it's because I played it as a kid, but I just love the soundtrack to these games.
I know it's not a series, but if I'm given an opportunity to mention the Killer7 soundtrack, by god, I'll take it.
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