What are you favourite video game soundtracks?

Howdy ho, I've been wondering again.

What are your favourite video game soundtracks?
Which do you love and which do you hate, and why?
Do any hold a special meaning to you?
Do you own any?

I'll start the ball rolling with some waffle!

Soundtracks I own..
Jet Set Radio/Jet Set Radio Future - Simply cool, catchy, funky music. This is probably the first time a game really shook my expectation with regards to soundtrack - quirky and unique, fitting with the games originality.

NiGHTS into Dreams (Perfect Soundtrack) - Beautiful music, and this CD has each variation of the stage music. Essential and worth every penny.

Rez (Gamer's Guide to) - This game shook my world with it's ripping tunes and amazing integration of music into gameplay. It also got me into Joujouka and Ken Ishii..

Sonic Adventure 1 and 2- SA1 may have aged horribly, but I love the music and it's composition- holds a special place in my heart. Love it. SA2.. I loved the game immensely on it's release, and the music is cool (especially Sonic and Shadows..). Good for nostalgia.

Super Mario Galaxy - Simply sublime.

The World Ends With You - Reminded me of Jet Set Radio.. and the tunes infected my brain so this was a must-buy.

Zelda - OoT and WW- Ocarina of Time has long stood as my favourite game ever - stepping out onto Hyrule field for the first time was mind-blowing. The scale, the beauty.. As for Wind Waker.. I got it cheap and there are *some tracks* I like..

Soundtracks I love

F-Zero X/GX - I love the 'cheesiness' of the metal of the former and the 'full on' nature of the latter.
WipEout- Each has a great soundtrack. Got me into FsOl, Orbital, Chemical Brothers, etc..
Smash Brothers - Beautiful reorchestrations of classic music, what is there not to like?
Amplitude/Frequency - Got me into many obscure artists! Quarashi, Freezepop..
Sonic 8-bit and 16-bit - The sounds of my childhood. Each track I hold dear. I love remixes of this music, any fans would do well to check out Project Chaos and the Newgrounds Audio Portal for some amazing stuff..
Mario Kart - Classic tunes bring memories of fun multiplayer sessions. Horribly memorable.
Rhythm Tengoku - Frustratingly catchy tunes and stupidly fun gameplay! I imported another copy for a 65 year old new DS owner at work, and she loves it..

I'm sure there are many more, there are countless that I enjoy for nostalgia.. Streets of Rage, Sega Rally, etc etc.. Crazy Taxi got me into the Offspring..

ANYWAY enough of me, now I want to hear what you love!

 

wipeout
final fantasy
burnout
... to be continued

edit: gta (how could i forget about this?)

 

Dracula Battle, Dracula Battle II, Panzer Dragoon, Wanderers from Ys -- Super Arrange, Dragon Quest in Brass, Iridion 3D & II, and Chris Huelsbeck's Rainbows are all really good.

More: http://www.disgruntleddesigner.com/chrisc/musiccds.html

 

I don't own any soundtrack CDs/Tapes/etc, but I know which soundtracks I like.

Destruction Derby 2: A now-defunct British metal band called "Jug" provided most of the music in the game and it's amazing. It has been a huge influence on my guitar playing and writing.
Painkiller: It works really well and sounds brilliant. The music is part of the reason that this game is my all-time favourite.
Cube: An open-source FPS shooter with a free soundtrack by "Fanatic". A basic, but fun blaster.
GTA (all): Mainly for the DJ bits and the adverts, but there are some good songs (especially "LCHC" in GTA IV). This one doesn't really need explaining...
Saints Rows 2: For the same reason as GTA, but it has a much better metal station.
GoldenEye: Because.
Sonic 2 (Mega Drive): Need I say more?

 

Nice collection, ccovell! I forgot about GTA, love the chat radio stations..

 

Hmm, for me, I guess soundtracks that stand out include:

Ocarina of Time
GoldenEye 64
Mario Kart 64
Final Fantasy VII
Sonic The Hedgehog
Super Mario Bros. (and 3 and Super Mario World)
And of course, the cheaty ones - Gran Turismo, Burnout and Grand Theft Auto series with commercial music

And of course, many a time spent around arcade machines churning out tunes, such as Out Run, Ninja Warriors and Street Fighter II.

For me, my favourite would be Ocarina of Time, I'd say. The music really stuck in my mind, and it covers several genres. I love the Gerudo Valley theme.

Mario of course is a classic - who doesn't know the music?

The Marble Valley theme from Sonic sticks in my head even now, and I haven't played the game in years!

I have very fond memories of playing GoldenEye, with friends and that sticks in my head. Oh, and the same with Mario Kart - the Mountain theme sticks in my mind as my friend used to sing along to it - "do dooo do doodoo spaghetti!" haha!

Final Fantasy VII was really my first experience with the series. I borrowed my friend's PlayStation whilst he was on holiday, and spent a lot of time playing that game. Loved it, and loved the music! Apart from the damn hook when a battle starts - made me jump every time! heh.

If you like video game music, or want to here more, check out this Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/garudoh

 

I knew I'd forgotten something! That soundtrack is brilliant (as is the game) and should definitely be on my list.

 

Einhander, Ridge Racer 4, Halo's, Silent Hills, Perfect Dark's, Tekken's, Vectorman, JSR, Old Sonics, FF8, Parasite Eve, Metroid, Katamari, Quake, Adventures of Batman and Robin (really cool!), Mr. Bones, Earthworm Jim, Tomb Raider 2, Painkiller, Battletoads, Altered Beast, TMNT Tournament Fighters (another wierd one), Pitfall Mayan Adventure, Starcraft, etc.

 

Some amazing remixes..

Angel Island Advance http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/104810 Mmm crunchy guitar!

Aqua Planet http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/127692

Mario World Castle http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/93446 The Castle music has always sent shivers down my spine- and this remix is so PHAT.. its totally amazing. I love piano version too.

Emerald Hill http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/60081

Starlight Zone http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/88283

The Sonic music, I feel, just lends itself so well to remixing, especially trance and metal =)


And I totally forgot about Halo, PhreQuencYViii, that needs a mention for sure!

 

Ｆｕｎｎｙ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｔｈｒｅａｄ ｓｈｏｕｌｄ　ｐｏｐ　ｕｐ．　　Ｉ’ｖｅ　ｊｕｓｔ　ｂｅｅｎ　ｇｅｔｔｉｎｇ　ｉｎ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　Ｄｒｅａｍｃａｓｔ　Ｓｏｒｃｅｒｉａｎ　ＯＳＴ　ｂｙ　Ｙｕｚｏ　Kｏｓｈｉｒｏ．　Even though The DC version is quite modern compared to the early Japanese PC and Mega Drive games it still keeps that classic FM synth sound mixed with modern day sounds. The overall experience is very nice. Sounds like a classic Falcom soundtrack but also modern at the same time!

Other stuff I've been listening to is the OST to the DC adventure game, Interlude and Wangan Midnight Run 3 Arcade OST.

Yakumo

 

Soundtracks i own

- Killer Instinct
- Kingdom Hearts

Other that i also like

- Gran Turismo (all) + Tourist Trophy
- Burnout 3: Takedown
- Sonic (1,2,3)
- Ridge Racer (1, Revolution, Type 4 and V)
- Mario Kart (all)
- Crash Bandicoot (1,2,3 and CTR)
- Wipeout (1,2,3)
- Destruction Derby (1,2)
- Street Fighter Zero/Alpha series
- Tekken (all)
- Motor Toon Grand Prix
- Gunners Heaven
- Wild Arms (1)

 

i have many soundtracks my favorites are:

FFVI
valkyrie profile
valkyrie profile 2 (the arranged one is a must)
GT1 and 2 _JAPANESE_OST
King Of Fighters 2000 Arranged (wonderful, just wonderful)
SaGa Frontier
Legend Of Mana

and lots of songs from different osts/albums

 

Quite an odd font to choose!

So is there anyone here who doesn't listen to game soundtracks on CD/MP3? I only really started doing so about four years ago, I guess.

 

It sucks that a lot of soundtracks are majorly expensive for US. Probably everywhere really.

 

Looks like the same font that Japanese albums are tagged in when labeled by CDDB, something to do with the Japanese font set no doubt?

It's cool to see such a variety, and also a love of soundtracks from games like Crash Bandicoot, etc etc!

 

Come on!

It has to be the opening song of Tenchu 1: it is orgasmically good. Tenchu 1 and 3 have great tracks.

 

If I had to choose just one game for its soundtrack, my answer would have to be Metropolis Street Racer every time!

 

I totally lost track of how many times I listened to 'It doesn't really matter' In Tokyo! That rocked! And it sounds so similar to Green Grove from Sonic 3D on the SS. I even emailed R Jacques asking if it was based on it, I got a reply saying they simply used the same chord progression, hehe.

 

I take it you're also a fan of Richard's work? I've also e-mailed him in the past, but I was just writing to say how much I loved the Rusty Ruin themes he did for Sonic 3D on the Saturn. Ironically, this was one of the songs he played during a rare live appearance last year, which I first heard of when a video went up on YouTube. He also did a few tracks from Sonic R with T.J. Davis as well, which were simply incredible! If only I could now get in touch with Takenobu Mitsuyoshi or Jun Senoue next, though I've at least contacted Tim Wright (who just so happens to be another VGM composer whose work I happen to like)...

 

Tim Wright and Richard Jacques are both noteworthy composers. I had the opportunity to briefly meet with the latter at Videogames Live in London a couple of years ago, and he seemed like a nice bloke. I'm still not entirely sure of UK Resistance's fetish regarding the man, though...