I tend to enjoy Eastern game soundtracks more. Perhaps that's not fair to say. I guess I'll revise that by saying I like soundtracks in the types of games that don't try to be movies. Said games don't have much in the way of melodic structure, and focus more on ambiance and accentuating action.
Ambient music is the worst thing that happened to videogame soundtracks. It's more akin to doing a mere sound effects that work for one specific moment in the game rather than doing music pieces that have worth by themselves.
Another thing is western composers have started to forget the importance of easily recognizable melodical leitmotifs. There are some exceptions though:
Bryan Tyler is a composer so good, his
OST for "Children of Dune" became more famous than rather middling tv series. Recently, he also did music for Ass 4: The Black Flag, and it's very good and i found myself whistling theme tune while i was going to work which always a good sign that it's good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JudtkSaTuEJesper Kyd's Assasin's Creed II's music was also very good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfFvOt5GPr8Modern
King's Bounty games were okay and in general their music was okay if too generic fantasy, BUT that one track really stood out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jyDFm_FTwsI remember when i came to the elf forest, heard this melody and just stopped playing right there, listening to it completely in awe. And THEN lady started singing...
Hotline Miami's music was the best part of the game and one of the best soundtracks ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKD-MVfC9AgVVVVVV music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUJ7qjSvGgAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSe_fiTP8qEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCf0fOe-Nj4Punch Out! for Wii had rocking music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndaP9iieaokhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-kIRD5zPQU -- DAT guitar solo, god damn!
And while we're on
Next Level Games:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlyejkQCvJg -- Luigi's ringtone!
Okay now that we finished listing all good western soundtracks (;p), let's start the main course.
I really enjoy watching videos of
Nintendo recording orchestral soundtracks for their games, it adds more value to the music when you see real people creating it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzLbHv0sPqw - Kirby
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jmY-0hwV_w - Super Mario Galaxy 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzLbHv0sPqw - Super Mario Galaxy 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyBL8G5e7kM - Super Mario 3D World
^ -- all of them are pulled from various Iwata Asks interviews by the way, so it's yet another reason to keep reading them
Say what you want about
Mario & Sonic games, but they have some mindblowing remixes of Nintendo's music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAb4m-Y4LUM - Super Mario Land Medley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPsgskx2xYU - Super Mario World remix
Nintendo Land had decent remixes too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB0xwRjmLtc - Mute City remix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZELlXo9JhI - Darkworld
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Vm7HiIFo7A - Gerudo Valley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kYPQhPdg1E - Balloon Trip
And it's own original music was also great:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y96cw701nG0 - Nintendo Land main theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIfLGaJzwKk -- Main Plaza (retro)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiorYbae6AU - Nintendo Land ending -- spoilers obviously, BUT IT'S VERY, VERY
VERY GOOD, watch and listen to it full, it goes places, i haven't even played the game but it still brought me to tears
Pikmin music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCHOHGq9feEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKz0DfJ0TJMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esYm9q-bi4wRhythm Heaven, oh yeah!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osl2toU3VCc -- dondon, panpan, dondo-, PAN-PAAN!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7l4KrYBij4&t=9s -- pa-pa-pa-PUNCH!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f_2e36J1FY&t=9s -- tap dancing monkeys!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkNAPyp_sc8 -- Shooter 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa5lAFVchGQ - Rockers 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WxIZImJlhE - Munchy Monk 2
^ -- these two i often replay just because i like the music so much
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttRWYQJa7Fw -- Glass Tappers
They also did some very cool songs (as in with vocals):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vsZzBXJSVo -- Remix 3, "Tonight"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6fqlTB-nSo -- Karate Man 2 in DS game, "Struck by the rain"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqmk8x8hfOI -- Remix 8 in Wii game, "What can i do?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x_4pnzjvno -- Fan Club 2 in english is too dumb to process, so i picked original version, there's also
live concert version if that's your thing...
Yuzo Koshiro's music for Etrian Odyssey IV was mindbogglingly good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFB1MwaVr0cKoshiro's, along with Sakuraba, Takada and few others also worked on
Kid Icarus Uprising and this collective of composers created THE BEST NINTENDO SOUNDTRACK since Super Mario Galaxy, if not surpassing it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvGrJ0Y0D0U -- boss battle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQsj-HlXCMc -- Aurum Island
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY1IRYWrDgY -- Dog's theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COgGsetFrCM -- Dark Pit's theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGtDxqNJF5k -- Space Pirates
Ace Attorney -- no objections here!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVVECt2cP_A -- except for this one!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGcyKEZtWuE -- Godot's theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHhMH3__74M -- Cornered -- HYYYYYYYYPE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Syt7p2Iv0 -- Steel Samurai theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dne7tQB1DC8 -- Jake Marshall theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z48SB3JcyGs -- Tres Bien background music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFHJRHM_dOw -- Troupe Gramarye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVMpN7jb-lA -- Turnabout Sisters' Ballad
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRaxpxtDvWE -- Emma Skye's theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IrepeWqkIM -- Trucy's theme
La Mulana had an exceptional soundtrack,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTItoVgCQU4 -- from the the first level
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUUUtatgkAM -- to Mausoleum of Giants
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmYc4XHP_X4 -- to the Temple of the Sun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL-UG0KwEPU -- to the Moon Temple music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSR69yOJ5MM -- to Chamber of Birth theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMuh4SAMC0g -- to Inferno theme and so on and on
but really,
the entirety of OST is superb.
Zelda:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC5kHf58GMI -- Ballad of the Goddess
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOo5yr76RJs -- Tal Tal Heights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e056R97svz8 -- Majora's Mask Final Hours, in the beginning i was shitting on ambience in music, but here it was extremely well done
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftXlVwzsjWc -- holy cow, Sticker Star's music is amazing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B43bXrRVPFE -- and so is Dream Team's music!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VXI2MF30zU -- and OMG at Bravely Default's battle theme!
Ninja Gaiden:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jaIUlz-wNU -- Ryu's theme, also known as Unbreakable Determination, also known as Basilisk mines, also known as "that bitching music from level 4-2". I picked Warriors Orochi remix because i liked flute, but here's the original:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP_D_YKnwi0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2boY0DCuXKE -- 5-1 music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m7b470qVds -- 5-3 music
Bayonetta:
One of a Kind -- this is literally the first track in the game, and it's already blowing your mind with orchestral awesomeness. And the game only goes up from there, musically and gameplay-wise.
Battle For The Umbra Throne (Jeanne Fight) and
Red & Black -- these two tracks are the the best to show how actually distinct Bayonetta's OST is. It was conscious decision from Kamiya to make the music "more feminine": as in less or no drums and piano track DOMINATING everything giving the music elegant feel.
That's from the top of my head...
Topic: What are your favorite video game soundtracks? (Read 10466 times)
