Games Where The Soundtrack is Just as Important as the Gameplay

[Solo-Wing]

Shadow of the Colossus. Amazing game backed with a soundtrack that hits all the right notes at all the right moments.

 

[l3o2828]

Silent Hill. Specially the first and second.
Their scare factor depends heavily on their masterfully done soundtrack by the god of horror music Akira Yamaoka.

And of course All of bemani games, Like DDR, Popn'Music, Beatmania, Guitarfreaks etc.
Their gameplay IS the music.

 

[MisterGobbles]

I'd add Journey and Dear Esther... the music is as powerfully evocative as the games themselves...

Shadow of the colossus and Ico have great subtlety and power in their compositions as well..

I suppose you would also have to consider more authors than games... as Akira yamaoka tends to be very characteristic in any game he makes.

Metal Gear and Fantasy have a special place in my heart as well ( not that horribly repetitive battle song from ff13 ), i don't know if it is just repetition, but you can hear a few beats from any of those main theme songs and images of the game pop into your head immediately.

Id also agree on what people have said about Hotline Miami, even though it is not of my particular taste, it really seems to enhance the vibe of the game.

Recently I also found that the soundtrack for "thomas was alone" was really uplifting as well..

Hehe there's so many....

 

[Nazulu]

I got stuck into the original Starcraft over number 2 because the music is a lot more interesting, memorable and atmospheric.

Sometimes in Total Annihilation I would send one unit to attack the enemy just so I could here the battle music.

 

[Raven_Operative]

No one's said Touhou yet? Ok.

One of the main reasons Touhou is popular is because it's music is f-ing amazing. Otherwise, it's just a fairly standard 2D shooter (albiet with lots of bullets and loli girls), but the music, Oh man, the music makes it awsome.

 

[Ryan Hughes]

Suikoden II still has the bet soundtrack of all time. In addition to the fanfare opening, each of the game's songs is utilized to further develop the individual culture of each of the places you visit, thus making it one of the more diverse soundtracks: from fugues to harpsichord, from classical guitar to orchestral pieces. In addition to this: they have also re-arranged many of the best songs in the Celtic and Japanese traditions.

Videos below:

Spoiler

 

[mmmikey]

I'd say every game should have good music. Ones that stick out in my memory are Super Mario Bros 1 & 3, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Mega Man X, Zelda OoT, Shadow of the Colossus, Okami, inFamous, & the Katamari games.

 

[JagermanXcell]

Parappa the Rapper.
If I'm not listening to a sick jam while I mash those buttons, then to hell with this game.

 

[Thedutchjelle]

I got stuck into the original Starcraft over number 2 because the music is a lot more interesting, memorable and atmospheric.

Sometimes in Total Annihilation I would send one unit to attack the enemy just so I could here the battle music.

This

The soundtrack is also kinda important for Audiosurf. You're going to have a very boring time if you don't load in any interesting music.

 

[JohnnyLLV]

You're kidding, right? I take it you've never talked to a Final Fantasy fan before.

Sure some people will talk about their favourite but the gameplay is never the focus when talking about FF. The first thing people think about is the story and characters and by extension the music can add a lot to that element(equally to combat).
Also, there is a reason why there is a FF live orchestra. So FF is relevant to the topic I'd say.

This. The backlash over the music on the Steam port of FF7 is.. well, not small..

To add though, a couple of choices spring to my mind.. the music of Shadow of the Beast 1 and 2 on the Amiga was just legendary.. and the music of Wild ARMS on ps1 (especially that intro song) made that game SO much better!

 

[Baron von Blitztank]

I've always found the soundtrack to be an important part of sandbox games. In games like these you're going to be travelling around a lot and it helps to have something good to listen to so that the travelling doesn't seem as tedious or boring. Good examples are games like Grand Theft Auto or Fallout which provide a radio that you can listen to. On the other side of the spectrum is Borderlands (which while not quite sandbox does still require a lot of back-tracking and walking about) where I get bored shitless even in tense firefights as I'm still stuck listening to the dull ambient music.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Bastion is definitely one of those games; I bought the OST and it's one of the most listened-to albums on my MP3 player. Darren Korb did an absolutely superb job as a composer.

Honourable mentions should also go to the Mass Effect games, the Halo games and Max Payne 3's soundtrack, especially TEARS from MP3. Also, 'Dragonborn', the theme from Skyrim, is absolutely epic, a song so incredibly manly just listening to it will cause hairs to grow on your chest.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

Apart from rhythm or karaoke games where the music "is" the game, there is never any game where soundtrack rivals or exceeds the importance of gameplay. I'm all for a discussion of the value of sound and music in games but except for my note above, there is no game "Where The Soundtrack is Just as Important as the Gameplay".

 

[Tom_green_day]

Games Where The Soundtrack is Just as Important as the Gameplay

Just as important? In a game, I don't think anything is as important as the gamplay, because... Well, it's a GAME. However, as it has been stated, in rhythm and dancing games then the music is also the gameplay, so that kinda counts.
If you actually mean games where the music is important to the game/aesthetic/atmosphere (which is a wildly different thing) then I think the Fallout games, 3 and NV especially, use the Jazz and Country music to really firmly establish the aesthetic of the wastes. Also the SSX games, the music they play really gets you into the zone of the game.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I think Katawa Shoujo, Persona 4 and BlazBlue. I mean the first two are games where you spend ages watching dialogue scrolling past the screen so music has to be GOOD! By the way, the KS dialogue is possibly the wittiest thing I have ever seen. Barring The Name of the Wind/The Wise Man's Fear books by Patrick Rothfuss of course. Didn't think one man could be so good with words...

Kenji as a character almost upstages him though. Keep an eye out for those blasted feminists fellow male friends... The conspiracy could pop up anywhere. >.> <.<

BlazBlue because I love good character themes and BlazBlue likely has the best ones ever. Persona 4 Arena has some good ones, particularly Aigis and Shadow Labrys but every single song in BlazBlue is excellent

 

[Dragonbums]

Rhythm games it's a must obviously.

As for other games?
JRPGs
Dungeon crawlers.
Adventure games.
Especially if said games want to immerse you in the world.

 

[KOMega]

I wouldn't say "just as important" as gameplay.

But I would say...

No one's said Touhou yet? Ok.

One of the main reasons Touhou is popular is because it's music is f-ing amazing. Otherwise, it's just a fairly standard 2D shooter (albiet with lots of bullets and loli girls), but the music, Oh man, the music makes it awsome.

And also all the final fantasies.

So memorable and definitely added a lot to the experience.

 

[Mikeyfell]

Rock Band

/thread

Seriously I don't know what else to say.
It's motherfucking Rock Band. It's literally a game about the soundtrack
If the sound track sucks the game play sucks end of story.

It has to be music we want to listen to and music that it's fun to match the rhythm with

Is my post long enough now? Okay...

 

[Bradmaster Flash]

The quality of a soundtrack in a visual novel game is paramount. The OSTs of all the Phoenix Wright games are magnificent - and are very memorable. Specific use of music in a section of a game can easily make a particular event much more memorable. An example would be:

Spoiler

The use of the 'cornered' theme from the first Phoenix Wright game at the end of the third makes the scene a much more memorable moment. Aside from that, Trials and Tribulations has an entirely different cornered theme.

 

[Mister K]

Any if not all fighting games.

In most fighters, every piece of soundtrack represents a certain character. It tunes us to the rhythm of a fight with said character. It also can tell us a bit about those characters. For example, Potemkin from Guilty Gear and Tager from Blazblue with their themes:

Slow rhythm with low (powerful) tone. A bit frightening, but with some kind of "warmth", that flows into our ears.
They tell us a lot about those powerful, scary, but oh so kind giants.