Games with really great music!
I know this has been all over the field already, but I feel like making a list of the games I know which have AT LEAST ONE ORIGINAL really really outstanding music track
List items
-
This one should require no explanation, but in case you didn't know, Donkey Kong Country was one of the BEST games around for the SNES back in the days (and that's a fact!). The incredible beautiful visuals were complimented by what I consider to probably be the best soundtrack ever produced for a game. Take your epic battlefield music and shove it up someplace dark, because nothing beats the OST for the original DKC when it comes to producing tracks that you'll be able to hum even if I were to wake you in the middle of the night and ask you to.
We've got funk, we've got swing, we've got jazz, we've got world music, we've got reggae, metal, ambient and pretty much every goddamn genre you can think of - and each and every track is memorable in it's own way. All the tracks, such as the funky Main Theme, the eery "Northern Hemispheres", the chill-out ambient "Aquatic Ambience" or the almost industrial "Fear Factory" are masterworks in their own right.
Oh, and the "Bonus Room Blitz" is probably one of the most catchy tunes I have ever heard in my life!
-
I bought this without even knowing anything about the franchise, and the music immediately blew me away. I've read that this is a "reimagining of old chiptunes" - in that case I want more reimaginings of old chiptunes! Try listening to the main theme, "Leap of Faith" or "Heat Wave". That's some awesomely addicting electronic music right there!
Btw, currently searching for somewhere to buy the soundtrack. I want a physical copy of this!
-
Rare did what Rare does best (or at least did with the Stamper Bros. in charge) when they released Banjo-Kazooie for the N64. A superb platformer with a ridiculous, original and funny story, and an unforgettable soundtrack.
The most obvious example of the musical goodness of B-K would probably be "Gruntilda's Lair". Last time I played, I had that goddamn tune stuck in my head for months following.
But where B-K really shines is the way that, when you approach worlds, you don't change melodies - you change INSTRUMENTS. Hearing the theme played on all kinds of wacky instruments makes it give off a ton of different feelings, and that is really the crowning achievement of the music of Banjo-Kazooie.
...that, and of course the fact that pretty much every theme in the whole game is great
-
If you need an explanation for this, it means that you haven't played the game, and that you need to go play it now. Seriously, Song of Storms, Song of Time, Saria's Song? Part of what made this fantastic adventure fantastic was the unforgettable ocarina melodies made by the grand old man of Nintendo music, Koji Kondo. As a game partly based around songs having magical powers, it was a huge relief that the songs are as unforgettable as they are!
-
Owning the Danish version of this game, I really can't say whether the music in the English original is any good - but the Danish ones are all fantastic, educating and inspiring. Or maybe I'm just being nostalgic, who knows.
-
To me, this stands out as the Final Fantasy game which has by far the greatest collection of memorable tunes. Take "Melodies of Life" as an example: While with vocals it sounds like your average pop tune (albeit a bit on the emotional side of things), but the way the melody is integrated as 'world map music' is simply fantastic, and I was always annoyed when it was interrupted by some goddamn monsters.
Other highlights include "Vivi's Theme" (which sounds like something belonging in Banjo-Kazooie) and of course the unforgettable "A Place to Call Home"
-
I'll really try to restrain myself from adding every Mario game ever made, because even though they all feature great music, I believe much of the 'experience' stem from the way the wacky music fits into the wacky, Japanese-invented world of Mushroom Kingdom.
That said, I NEED to put SM64 here, because of one simple thing: "Dire, Dire Docks". Holy crap, I've never ever been so moved by music before!
Okay, I have, but it is still a really great track. The added bass drum which appears somewhere halfway through kinda ruins the mood a bit though. Perhaps they put it there to avoid the player falling asleep to the soothing melody, who knows.
-
Yes. Of course it's here, what did you expect?
...
Seriously though, while "Still Alive" is epic as all hell, I also think the "Radio Music" playing when you wake up in the beginning of the game deserves an honorable mention - even if it's just Still Alive sounding like, what, a Mexican jingle or something? I actually got the Radio Music as ringtone on my cellphone. My personal testament to the greatness of the music - however little of it there is in the actual game.
-
If you try to ignore that the music does not fit the game AT ALL, you are left with some of the most crazy shredding metal I as a metalhead have seen in a long time!
-
You won't find a better use of banjo music than tracks like "Skerries" or "Simian Acres". Gives off a very hillbilly'ish feeling, which, considering you're plowing through cities and destroying everything in sight, is pretty fun.
-
This needs to be on this list because as much as I dislike overly 'epic' soundtracks as a whole, I really like them when they are done well. Listen to "Nerevar Rising (Reprise)". THAT is 'epic done right'. Christ, I'm getting shivers as I listen to it...
While the music in Oblivion (the follow-up, for those of you who were just released) was also great, it never managed to beat the Morrowind theme.
-
This may seem like the oddball of the list to some, since it doesn't really contain very much music. However, the Main Music (the music playing when you boot the game) really comes through. It perfectly conjures a James Bond-esque atmosphere, and is very memorable on it's own, as the rest of the music of the game is meh.
-
Added mostly because of the music from the Music World. You know which one I'm talking about - the one with the flute? Anyway, it's really good.
-
Modern and funky in its own unique ways, the musical interludes of the Globetrotter series has always been a considerable part of its appeal
-
While some of the in-game (in-garden?) music of this strange fellow seemed a tad too psychedelic for even me, I found "Become Part of This" to be mesmerizing in a good way. Really.
0 Comments