What game do you think has the best original soundtrack?

I feel that is a tough decision, but I think for me it is either Silent Hill 3 and Lufia II, Lunar 2 also has a really good soundtrack. Just curious what others thought.

Also, I find it weird that there is no concept page for a basic original soundtrack even though there are concept pages for other types and even for a soundtrack release.

It's a very cliche answer but Mega Man 2 is still amazing and I don't know if it's just nostalgia or what but I love the Super Mario World music.

As a complete soundtrack, I think I'd go with Halo 3. Some childhood version of me is stamping his feet and screaming at me to say Quest for Glory, but let's be real - other than the main theme and Erana's Peace, there's not much there.

Donkey Kong Country 2

Chrono Cross by a lot.

@fredchuckdave: I forgot about Chrono Cross. Yeah, that is definitely up there.

Xenosaga Episode I.

All of the original arrangements for Red Dead Redemption's score are fucking phenomenal, especially considering they work equally well as defined pieces on the OST and dynamically interweaved stems in-game.

Some of Gary Schyman's work on BioShock and BioShock Infinite is up there as well.

Oh and The Last of Us soundtrack.

Those are some recent examples, for the classics I'd say you can't go wrong with Koji Kondo; pretty much all Mario and Zelda soundtracks are amazing and elevate the games tremendously.

I don't know how to pick the best soundtrack for a game, but I remember thinking the Max Payne 3 soundtrack was pretty good at creating a mood. Especially the airport level. I also liked the ambient music in Fallout 3 quite a bit, liked the radio as well but it got repetitive pretty fast

This thread pops up constantly. The only answer is Megaman 2. Some soundtracks have some great standout tunes. Every track in Megaman 2 is balls-to-the-wall awesome.

I've played far too many games over my lifetime to be able to pick a "best" soundtrack, but I have always had a real soft spot for Secret of Mana's score.

Listening to video game music while not actually playing games always seemed odd to me, until Bastion.

Either Persona 3 / 4 Reincarnation or Okami for the sheer volume of great music.

Chrono Cross, Nier, and Bastion.

Nier, Digital Devil Saga 2 and Mother 3

Crono Cross and SotC are tied for me. I still to this day feel something tugging at my heart when I hear Koh Ohtani's Prologue: To the Ancient Land my whole body feels it down to the soul. Cross is something special but SotC has always held a special part in my heart so that's why I said a tie.

Diablo 2, The Last of Us, Bastion, Halo, Warcraft 3, World of Warcraft.

So Fez, Sword & Sworcery or Mega Man 2. I bought the vinyl for S&S's despite already owning the digital version so I may have to go with that over everything.

Dune 2 and Jet Set Radio. Halo 3 is not bad either.

This and Sonic 2 are acceptable answers.

Yup, Frank Klepacki always does great stuff.

My no. 1 pick would probably be Descent II (even without the licensed tracks that wouldn't count as original soundtrack), closely followed by Dark Reign: Rise of the Shadowhand, 7th Legion, the SEGA CD version of Silpheed, SimIsle and Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun.

I may even have to make it a tie between Descent II and 7th Legion, considering 7th Legion isn't even a good game, but the soundtrack is so amazing that I've kept playing it for 17 years.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Mass Effect, and Bastion are three games off the top of my head that are great at using music for a mood. I think they all have great music alone or with the game.

The quadruple-threat of Final Fantasy VII, Command and Conquer, Sonic 2, and Lost Vikings.

You really can't go past that main theme:

The NES Castlevania games are probably my favorites. More recently the FC3: Blood Dragon soundtrack gets plenty of play from me, and Crypt of the Necrodancer is fantastic.

Donkey Kong Country. Gotta love that water level music.