Game Soundtracks

[FouCapitan]

I know something along this topic has been done, but rather than pick out your favorite songs, list your favorite video game soundtracks altogether.

My personal top 10.

#10 - Lost Odyssey [Xbox360]
The music set to the 1000 years of dreams sequences sets the mood of the writing phenomenally well, and stands out prominently in this soundtrack.  If you have a 360, do yourself a favor and check this game out.  A good RPG, with wonderful writing thrown into the mix, and great mood setting ambiance to go with it.

#9 - Breath of Fire IV [PSX]
A fantastic game with a fantastic soundtrack.  Blending classical orchestras with eastern influence and even some techno mix, every battle and scene in this game is set with wonderful ear candy.

#8 - Suikoden II [PSX]
Another example of east meets west orchestrations, this soundtrack is just phenomenal.  Sadly the US release of this game was beset with a poor translation and a few bugs, which in two instances silenced the awesome soundtrack (One of which results in a singer preforming to dead silence *sob*)  Still, even with those setbacks it's a wonderfull example music done right.

#7 - Legend of Zelda [NES]
Pushing the quality of game music to its limit back in its day, and still wonderful to the ears now.  I remember sitting back and waiting through the start screen to hear the classic theme over and over as a kid.

#6 - Halo Series [Xbox360]
Brilliant orchestrated scores in a shooter?  Yes please!  In addition to the wonderful orchestra it's also set to rocking themes including many from Incubus, and heavy metallic percussion to set the perfect futuristic wartime mood.

#5 - Final Fantasy VIII [PSX]
"Eyes on Me" was just beautiful, and set this one apart from the other FF soundtracks IMHO.  Strangely, while many critical gamers trashed this installment for it's awkward GF battle system, and laughably cliché cast of angst filled teenage characters (Except Zell and Selphie, they carried the team on with gung ho enthusiasm!) this was actually my favorite Final Fantasy to date.  One strong reason has to be the music, which in my opinion is still among the best Nobuo Uematsu has composed to date.

#4 - Kingdom Hearts Series [PS2]
What do you get when you mix the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Hikaru Utada, Yoko Shimomura, and dozens of classic Disney themes?  The answer is pure gold, and that's the simple and clean truth.

#3 - Chrono Cross [PSX]
From the opening sequence set to Time's Scar, to the ending credits set to Radical Dreamers, it's hard to find a single song in this entire arrangement that I don't love.  Maybe Hurricane, but let's face it, with the exception of Breath of Fire IV, few games have battle tracks that don't become irritating by the time you finish them.

#2 - Secret of Mana [SNES]
There were many days through Junior High and High School where I would play songs from this game in my head, passing the boredom by.  Each track sets a different mood, ranging from the upbeat and cheerful 'Color of the Summer Sky' and 'What the Forest Taught Me', to the mysterious and magical 'A Wish' and 'Fear of the Heavens', to the eerie and macabre 'Ceremony' and 'The Oracle'.  Over 40 tracks of brilliant music, for one of the greatest games of all time.

#1 - Chrono Trigger [SNES]
Do I really need to say anything about this pick?   

[Shadow D. Darkman]

Not gonna be a top 10 like Capitan's, but just soundtracks that deserve a shout-out from me.

Secret Of Mana + Seiken Densetsu 3 (SFC) - These games had some real good tunes, like "Meridian Dance" from SoM and "Nuclear Fusion" from SD3. My overall faves were "Matango" from SoM and "Secret of Mana"* from SD3.

*One of the many boss themes they had in the game. I was also surprised to find that they titled it "Secret of Mana"

Kingdom Hearts Series (PS2)(GBA)(PSP)(NDS)(Other) - Excellent OST. Overall fave is "Scherzo di Notte" ("Joke of Night" in Italian, I discovered)

Halo 1 + 2 (X-Box) - Never played Halo 3, so until I do, it's excluded from this. No overall fave, but the scene in which Captain Keyes bumps the side of the hangar doors with the ship (and the trooper says "Nice one, sir!") was really 1u1zy.

Illusion Of Gaia (SNES) - IMO, it stands alongside Chrono Trigger as one of the best SNES games ever made. Overall fave is "Boss Battle" (Actual name is unknown). Also, shout-out to the Jackal's death in the Pyramid. Both my brother (when he played it several years back) and I, when we saw the scene and heard "Boss Battle" play, thought we'd have to finish off the Jackal by fighting him. Scary shit, dude.

Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars - You cannot hate this game, or its music. Overall Fave is "Beware The Forest Mushrooms" and it was my Overall Fave before I discovered the Super Mario RPG Song (All versions can be found in one of my posts in the WTF Link Thread).

Meteos - Great soundtrack, and addicting gameplay. The only thing I have not done is get the "True Meteo" Ending of Star Trip Mode by reaching "True Meteo" in Multi (Mission) Mode. Overall fave is "Suburbion 3" (Track 2 in the Sound Test)

Gauntlet - Soundtrack was good, and I remember playing for hours on end. I still love the soundtrack to this day. Overall fave is "Field Music B" and you can find real faithful MIDIs on VGMusic.

Super SMASH Bros. Series - One of the best soundtracks I've ever heard. Sure, some could be better, but it's no big deal, IMO. Overall faves are "Master Hand" (SSB64) "Giga Bowser" (SSBM) and "Super Smash Bros. Brawl Main Theme" (SSBB)

Metroid Prime Trilogy - Another one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard. Overall fave is the Suit Item Fanfare (which was Samus' victory fanfare in the SSB series) that was in all three games. Listen to it here!

Chrono Series - Trigger had really touching songs, like "Singing Mountain" and "Peaceful Days" while Cross had epic battle BGMs like "The Brink Of Death" and "Dragon God" Overall fave is "Singing Mountain" out of all of them.

And that's it from me.

[TriforceofEternity]

Good idea here but the so called "reviews" are pretty darn biased.    This is NOT a good source for game soundtrack reviews if you really want an in-depth opinion.


My favorite is Chrono Trigger while I like every song just about there are othres I like more then others. (not sure how else to word it)

My 2  favorite tracks are Guardia Millenium Fair  Seceret Of The Forest and Lucca's Theme)   There is something awesome about it.

   I would someday like to see this kind of thread with the pros and cons instead of.  "I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!" or "You don't know what your'e missing out on" for every game in existence.

[Daniel Krispin]

I'm not sure how you can place Trigger above Cross in terms of soundtrack quality. I think you're being mislead by mere nostalgia.

[V_Translanka]

I personally place CT's above CC's due to variety. CC's fits the theme of CC well, but since much of CC takes place in the same tropical set of islands, there isn't as much to explore musically...Certainly not in comparison to CT which has a wide variety of locales (not to mention each character gets their own theme)...>_>

[Shadow D. Darkman]

I'm not sure how you can place Trigger above Cross in terms of soundtrack quality. I think you're being mislead by mere nostalgia.

Besides, who were you talking to, me?

You should probably try reading the first post in any thread you post in.
                                                                                     ~V_Translanka

I did, but he didn't make it clear who he was addressing, but now I know it's Triforce.

[Daniel Krispin]

I'm not sure how you can place Trigger above Cross in terms of soundtrack quality. I think you're being mislead by mere nostalgia.

Besides, who were you talking to, me?

Why the heck would I have been talking to you? You're not the one who put Trigger above Cross.

[Shadow D. Darkman]

Hmph, there's that gone. Y'know, I'm surprised that with how callous you are, you haven't lost your power.

Oh, well. Such is life, that it all goes awry.

*looks this post over* Wow, that came out of nowhere. I guess I've been reading Elfen Lied too much.

I assume this is directed at me since you just deleted a bunch of edits on your posts. What? Because I pointed out that 1) you were continuing to be wrong & should read the posts in threads you go into before replying aimlessly about how you can't follow a conversation in text-form, 2) trying to help you understand you were wrong so you could perhaps learn from your mistakes and stop being wrong in the future? 3) trying to make you learn for the umpteeth time forum etiquette??

And the reference to "power"? I don't even know if I understand that...I'm just an admin dude. Stop trying to make it sound like a big deal or whatever because it's not. You're used to shit forums, I understand that & I feel for ya, but THE COMPENDIUM (got a problem & a bitch...) IS NOT ONE!

And besides, my sig has said what it's said since I joined the Compendium. They knew what they were getting!

~V_Translanka

[Acacia Sgt]

Ace Combat 4 - Shattered Skies is one of my favorite soundtracks. What I like about it is that each music fits the setting of each mission. From the action-filled 'Shattered Skies', to the intense-looking 'Megalith -Agnus Dei-', it's great.

Althouh, the ally and enemy dialogue helps it to fit, but the music alone does a great job.

[TriforceofEternity]

I think Chrono Trigger has more variety despite it's older sounding style and yes I like both soundtracks as they have their purpose but CT just has more variety rather then quanity.


Posted by: Daniel Krispin 
Insert Quote

I'm not sure how you can place Trigger above Cross in terms of soundtrack quality. I think you're being mislead by mere nostalgia.

Do I smell f-a-n-b-o-y here.     Sheesh.    I guess if you can't fight them join them.    Hell yeah.   Chrono Cross is better then anything else. 

[FouCapitan]

Good idea here but the so called "reviews" are pretty darn biased.    This is NOT a good source for game soundtrack reviews if you really want an in-depth opinion.

Yeah, these are pretty much my opinions on them, and not in depth views on every track, pros and cons, etc.  I could give an unbiased review of any of these soundtracks, but the bottom line in my list is that these are all games with good music that I hold in high regard.

I'm not sure how you can place Trigger above Cross in terms of soundtrack quality. I think you're being mislead by mere nostalgia.

I was trying to place them with the capabilities of the system.  How else would an NES game make the list?  Naturally the music on Legend of Zelda doesn't sound as good and intense as any of Halo's tracks, but for an 8-bit game created at a time when most game music consisted of bleeps and bloops it was incredible.

I listed Chrono Trigger as tops partly because of nostalgia.  I admit it and I'm not ashamed of it.  Back in the day it was music that blew me away, and it's quite a feat for a game to take a kid at age 13 and literally keep him doing nothing in the game but listening to the music at times.  My first time in Guardia Forest, I just sat back and listened.  First time battling Magus, my ears were more focused than my battle strategy.  Even today I will pop on MP3s of all of the soundtracks I listed just to hear them out, and they usually serve as ambience when I'm focusing on creative works such as art or writing.

I don't intend for anyone who sets forth their favorite soundtracks in this thread to give unbiased calculating and in depth examinations to their pics.  It's your own personal favorites of the games you've played throughout your childhood to today.

[HyperNerd]

Totally agree with the Battle tracks. After my 4th NG+, CT's Battle 1 annoyed the hell out of me. I like the Radical Dreamers version of Gale more, for some reason.

Mother 3, Super Mario RPG, Chrono Cross and Chrono Trigger, and the Legend Of Zelda series overall don't contain ONE song I hate. Therefore, they are my favorites.

[FouCapitan]

Totally agree with the Battle tracks. After my 4th NG+, CT's Battle 1 annoyed the hell out of me. I like the Radical Dreamers version of Gale more, for some reason.

I'm just sad the Final Confrontation theme was redone for CC like all the others from RD.

Also all of the incarnations of RD's main theme ('Day of Summer', 'Far Promise' and 'Epilogue') were much better than any of the tracks in CC that made use of it.  ('Dream of the Shore Near Another World', 'The Dream That Time Dreams.')

One thing regarding this song though.  Is it just me, or does the song that activates the Chrono Trigger element (Life a Distant Promise) sound an awful lot like it?  Especially at 1:17 when listening to it.

Edit:  On a side note, I loved all of Mitsuda's "Music Box" themes from the Chrono trilogy, and of them, I think RD's is the best.  Yeah I'm calling it a trilogy now.  =P

[tripehound]

With as many Squeenix fans as there are in this site, I'm mildly surprised no one has mentioned The World Ends With You yet.

[ONSLAUGHT]

My favorite soundtracks?

CHRONO TRIGGER - What song isn't good? Even the 7 second tunes are magical.
CHRONO CROSS - Every song on this entire thing is also an incredible experience!
DONKEY KONG COUNTRY 2 DIDDY KONG'S QUEST - Always loved the songs and i find these ones being hummed by myself even if I wasn't aware of it at first!
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA OCARINA OF TIME - The songs are all very memorable and the most epic in the series, how is it not a surprise that it is here?
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA THE WIND WAKER - Wind Waker enthralled me, and it's soundtrack was a great help with it, I felt the passion behind every song!
KINGDOM HEARTS - Square has always made classics so it shouldn't come as asurprise that this is good wen Square mixes with Disney whom helps to make some of the most memorable tunes of all time!
KINGDOM HEARTS 2 - While not quite as good as the first(I prefer the original battle tunes AND song from Utada)it's still very good, and major points for my favorite Disney movie, Lion King.
TIMESPLITTERS 2 - It may seem an odd choice, but amongst the action it is all very epic and entrances the player into the game very well.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 - All classic songs that once you hear, you cannot forget.
THE LEGEND OF ZELDA MAJORA'S MASK - I loved this game and the music was a great support. I like to picture this Link doing his flip jumps while it'll play.

There you go!