Favourite haunting melodies in game music

[Trivun]

Sorry if this thread has been done before, but I'm reluctant to go through almost 300 pages to find one topic. Please don't have a go at me for it...

Basically, I was listening to the theme of Mirror's Edge, the song Still Alive, and realised that so many games have such hauntingly beautiful and emotional songs, so I was interested to hear about other haunting melodies that people have heard in games. To start you off I would put forward the songs 1000 Words (from Final Fantasy X-2), Sanctuary (from Kingdom Hearts 2), and of course, Still Alive from Mirror's Edge. Any more?

 

[RebelRising]

"Lament of the Highborne" comes to mind.

A few of Half-Life 2's songs are favorites of mine.


But Andreas Waldetoft's Europa Universalis 3 score is beyond beautiful. I highly recommend listening to it.

EDIT: I love every single bit of Mirror's Edge's music.

 

[John Funk]

Still Alive from Mirror's Edge, Dream of the Shore on Another World from Chrono Cross, Corridors of Time from Chrono Trigger...

 

[Schism2.0]

auditorium

 

[black lincon]

LoZ:MM had some creepy music, one of the creepier ones was the snowhead temple theme [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnrOO4I_fq0]. That's not to say there weren't creepier music that's just the one that sticks out the most to me.

 

[Zetona]

I wouldn't say that "Still Alive" is necessarily haunting, but that's beside the point.

"Undercurrent" from Braid may be the most haunting song I've ever heard. It's the one that plays backwards and forwards in the final level.
HL2 also has some terrific music, namely "Triage at Dawn", "Slow Light", "Nova Prospekt", "Particle Ghost", "Infraradiant" from Ep1, and "Dark Interval" from the Ep2 credits.

My thoughts keep drifting back to the menu song from Need for Speed 2 for some reason. I don't know why; the early NFS soundtracks are absolutely stellar, and the NFS3 OST is my favorite video game soundtrack of all time, but they are not haunting. The aforementioned song has a mournful melody at first, but then it shifts to a driving techno pulse.

One final song--"No Cake for You" from the Portal OST. It plays in exactly one room in Testchamber 16, and it adds such a surreal and creepy atmosphere to the game.

EDIT: Early on in chapter Anticitizen One of HL2, the single most atmospheric five notes of video game music play. The first building you enter after you split up with DOG has a TV in the far right room with the G-Man on the screen. It's not connected to a wire of any kind. The notes come from this TV. It's a simple 1-3-5-3-1 scale, but it just sounds so...appropriate.

 

[Aedwynn]

Some old ones:

The main theme from 'The Immortal' - on the Sega Genesis (or Mega Drive if you're European).
The main piano(?) theme from 'Eye of the Beholder II'
The 'Arundel's Home' theme from Icewind Dale... and also the track that plays in Icewind Dale II when you speak to Mother Egenia's ghost.

Newer(ish) ones:

The theme from 'Silent Hill 2'. Actually, *any* music from 'Silent Hill 2'.
The 'Portal' song is a bit haunting the first time you hear it. Afterwards it's just awesome.

Most songs I hear in computer games tend to be more on the catchy or just plain awesome rather than "haunting and beautiful" (I submit Half Life's 'Adrenaline Guitar' track as awesome and LeChuck's theme from Monkey Island as just catchy)

 

[Zetona]

Still Alive from Mirror's Edge

Portal, dude.

But neither one is really haunting...then again, I haven't heard the Mirror's Edge version of "Still Alive" in-game.

 

[Lukeje]

The World of Goo soundtrack.

 

[Zetona]

Most songs I hear in computer games tend to be more on the catchy or just plain awesome rather than "haunting and beautiful" (I submit Half Life's 'Adrenaline Guitar' track as awesome )

I must second this statement. I don't care how off topic it is.

 

[Front Row]

Steel Pole Bath Tub - Train to Miami (left 4 dead)

Elbow - Grounds For Divorce (left 4 dead)

Doom 3 Theme Song

Bomb the Bass - Megablast (Xenon II)

Turrican Soundtrack

Almost all radion stations of GTA (no matter what title)

 

[ThaBenMan]

So wait a minute, there's a song in Mirror's Edge called "Still Alive"? Like the song from the credits of Portal?

 

[Trivun]

Still Alive from Mirror's Edge

Portal, dude.

But neither one is really haunting...then again, I haven't heard the Mirror's Edge version of "Still Alive" in-game.

Wait, there was a Mirror's Edge version?

Yes, I'm actually listening to it right now. It's a different song to that of Portal, sung by a Swedish singer, Lisa Miskovsky. Personally I do find the song to be quite haunting and beautiful, although it would be more so without vocals (however, the vocals are actually the best bit of it).

 

[errorfied]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=OTyUl86UIhM

The music from Secret of Mana was just brilliant. Possibly the greatest soundtrack of its gaming generation. The link is of a song called "I won't forget" which comes on just as you leave your home town for the first time (if I remember correctly). Haunting, beautiful, perfect. A brilliant game, which definitely deserves as much praise as chrono trigger in my opinion!

 

[Trivun]

I actually agree with quite a few of you, but something I've noticed in game soundtracks is that Orchestral and Piano versions of songs are the most beautiful in terms of melody and arrangement. Just wanted to mention my thoughts there.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=D8THrRpgeT4

 

[John Funk]

Still Alive from Mirror's Edge

Portal, dude.

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

A different song, also called "Still Alive" is the main theme for Mirror's Edge.