Moving/Emotional VGM Tracks

Here are five of my favorites:

1. Celes - Final Fantasy VI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQxZJXs0dYQ

I love this track, maybe my favorite from FFVI. Dramatic, understated, beautiful.

2. Castlevania IV - Ending

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YQJdPLtoXU

My favorite ending theme, most definitely.

3. Chaosium Sword - Ninja Gaiden II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QuyU_KHu44

So menacing and epic. I know the word epic is comically overused at this point, but I think that word best describes this composition.

4. To The End of the Wilderness - Wild Arms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrDV6VksSRU

Worthy of Morricone, this one.

5. Hero of Stormhaven - Shadowgate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaaIoNrgGO0

A beautiful ending theme from a game that's not really known for its OST (but which should be).

What are some of your favorites?

 

The entire NieR Gestalt/RepliCant soundtrack is one major one I would say.

DEMENTO/Haunting Ground's soundtrack as well, especially the following ones:

Endless...DEMENTO DEMENTO/Haunting Ground
Precious Hewie - DEMENTO/Haunting Ground
Endless Zero - DEMENTO/Haunting Ground

(The first and last tracks actually have lyrics to them as I went over them with the composer & singer - Seiko Kobuchi, so I'll update the post later when I've uploaded the lyrics timed to the music as nobody can hear them when I just post the lyrics up. DX)

Final Fantasy IV, V, VI, VII VIII, IX, X, XII are a couple to name but I also enjoy those soundtracks overall but there are a few that always stick out to me:

Cry of Sadness - Final Fantasy IV
Lenna's Theme - Final Fantasy V
(Celes was already posted at the start of the thread so).
You Can Hear the Cry of the Planet - Final Fantasy VII
Truth - Final Fantasy VIII
Freya's Theme - Final Fantasy IX
To Zanarkand - Final Fantasy X
Vegnegun Awakens - Final Fantasy X-2
Land of Memories - Final Fantasy XII
Drag-on Dragoon/Drakengard, Drakengard 2's music and I'll probably say Drag-on Dragoon 3 in a couple of months time!

Growing Wings (English Route B Staff Roll - Hitori [Exhausted])

But I could go on all day to be honest.

 

That OST is GOLD.

Splatterhouse II intro

So menacing and foreboding. This is one of those intro tracks that just kills it. That Sega Genesis sound chip; I love it!

 

I would say that the ending and credits themes to A Link to the Past is among my all time favorites. The music alone justifies the countless hours I've spent on this game.

 

Weird, I was listening to this just yesterday.
I suffer from dry eyes quite often. Watching Celes suicide scene is instant cure.
I cannot think of anything else out of a video game that makes me such an effect.

 

I loved the soundtrack in Terranigma - The final boss battle and ending music especially.

 

Hmmm what about this one? Not as intense as say, Celes theme but has that melancholic feel.

 

Lots, but here's a few examples:

Most of Shenmue and Shenmue II. In particular, the music that plays in the harbor is something that really stayed with me. Also this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_DNcmdyy-Y

Ico: the save theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGwfBvW3YA8

Half Life: Vague Voices. Not exactly emotional, but very atmospheric. It envelops you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8g3tNnZ3BM

There were a lot of songs from Zelda: Wind Waker that had that kind of feel to them as well, though I don't remember which ones.

 

well, there's a lot of games that have music going into this category, but here's some that got stuck in my head

- pretty much the entire parasite eve soundtrack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ttCJmVpS-c&list=PL1ABF2EE23EC6F8F4
especially somnia memorias: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9MYXO1nDJc

- various tracks from utawarerumono (ps2, psp, pc) such as:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caNpAY58prI - or
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nmu8195MI0
this game's mucis really stayed on me for a long time

 

I agree with this 100%. At the time this was an amazing peice of music to be featured in a game. If I remember rightly, Final fantasy 6 is the very first game that brought a tear to my eye. Not many games can do that but this did and all without flashy 3D graphics. The story and audio alone was enough.

Music that I found moving in games are as follows.

End credits music to Assault Suit Valken - SFC (Skip to 11:11 for the music)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=835d_dFShG8
It's not exactly a sad song but seems to fit well with the accomplishment of saving the world. I love the orchestral sections.

Shenmue - Nozomi's Theme (Piano) - Dreamcast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfwprATUrzc

Shenmue - Xiuying's Theme - Dreamcast (this track is one of the first Shenmue tracks to be recorded I believe. It would have featured on the Saturn version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdLYvdEmvRU

Estopolis II (Lufia 2) - Overworld theme - SFC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wNOW0_2SNY

Thunder Force IV - Light of Silence - Mega Drive
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0mo7YaHJ3c&list=PL32D3889E87FA2C8A

There are loads more but I'm not in the remembrance mood right now. I may pop back with a few more classics.

 

This one truly give it to me!

 

Love seeing all the Shenmue mentions. Waves of Morning Haze is my favourite:


Pretty much everything in the Journey soundtrack:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3hFN8UrBPw

Red Dead Redemption- Deadman's Gun. An amazing song to end the game with:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yag41F7eCLU

 

Chrono Trigger has more of these than just about any other game I've ever played:

Morning Sunlight aka Morning Glow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5nN0calkss

^The first time I ever played Chrono Trigger (in the early 2000s), I fired the game up in an emulator, got to that scene and music, and was overwhelmed by feelings of nostalgia. I actually decided to stop, and wait for a time that I could give the game more mindful, undivided attention (which I did ~4 years later).

Secret of the Forest - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r1iesThvYg
Memories of Green/Green Memories - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDpPMu8EApg

And some from other games:

Drakkhen - I always found the night music in this game to be totally haunting. Great ambient tunes, very simple but I think that only heightens the wistful effect:

Ice - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naDesEFEW3g
Swamp - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5VZXey8fQI
Desert - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C3H4h6xj_M
Forest - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qgTz16UQp0

Lord of the Rings Vol. 1 - Another unpopular SNES RPG with amazing music. Unfortunately it only has a few songs, but what's there is absolutely terrific, with remarkably lengthy compositions that are beautifully orchestrated, and range from faux-medieval music to extremely sparse ambience:

Main theme - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz3euzGYg3c
Hobbiton theme - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHZGlkRd2OY
Wasteland music - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2BQXvDDIpc
Cave sounds - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plE0a3tLSeI

Secret of Mana - needs no introduction, and the signature tune is practically synonymous with early-'90s nostalgia for me:

Into the Thick of It (aka The Boy Aims for Wild Fields) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3N9lrq-rks

There are so many others I could name: ActRaiser, Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge (which has an insane soundtrack by the Follin brothers), Robotrek...the SNES is the king of this sort of thing for me, though there are also some amazing tunes on the Genesis (among other consoles).

 

Into the Thick of It is so amazing. It sounds like no other VGM track I've ever heard and it fits the mother nature theme of the game perfectly.

Here's another:



The Masked Devil from Ninja Gaiden. Destiny, intrigue, evil, all encapsulated wonderfully in a 1-minute NES track.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kcF7E69C6Q /end of topic

 

Some of my favourites off the top of my head:

Metal Gear Solid 2 Theme

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kZ5TiSl2d8

Final Fantasy XII Boss Theme

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsVaKI7HMvY

Final Fantasy XIII Boss Theme

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsG80RGxzNM

 

I just remembered this one, the chill factor is up there.


Edit: Damn Ninja Gaiden tunes are just so excellent, Why nobody makes that kind of VGM anymore?