Games Where The Soundtrack is Just as Important as the Gameplay

[Mr.Pandah]

Street fighter would not have been as special to me if it hadn't been for the music. SF2 specifically.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

- Most, if not all JRPG's
- Kid Icarus Uprising (The soundtrack made it all sooooo good o.o)
- Katawa Shoujo
- Anything from the Ys series
- Xenoblade
- Lunar: Silver Star Harmony

 

[Zackmeister]

I'm going to say Dark Souls. The music is sparse, with only... I think maybe three areas outside of boss battles that have music? But when it occurs, it sets you in with the tone of the location so well. Firelink Shrine is the easiest example, since it's basically your safe hub. It's got a very relaxed tune, emphasizing the whole "safe" idea (Which is interesting, since the only real possible shit-disturber is you.)

Every boss you walk into the music has that great, epic feel. The final boss even has a theme with great attachment to the story.

 

[MisterGobbles]

....

hmm, if you want to be technical, strictly speaking, many videogames are no longer "games". The name "videogames" is just a heavily loaded naming tradition that doesn't really define the experience of videogames anymore... Sorry.

...

As I said, many videogames don't fit that definition, even some of the ones you listed are left out ( and by the way, that is a very narrow definition of "game", in fact modern descriptions include much more than that ). In any case, what about single player games? those are not strictly competitive. Even more, what about non competitive activities? what about simply exploration or games such as Proteus, Fez, Journey, Flow, Knytt or Flower, just to name a few of the more modern ones. What about games where you can't lose? What about narrative games? What about simulation games?

Definitions are inaccurate to describe this relatively new medium, today the creativity of the developers shapes the definitions of what can be a game, and not really the other way around. Using a definition to justify the lack of variability in an industry only displays a rather stagnant mentality.

In fact, it is silly to judge a certain digital product as a game because of the degree of obligatory established interactions that we can have with it: Microsoft flight simulator is no more game than pong, and Dear Esther is no less game than any Final Fantasy. The only distinction is what you accomplish within the rule set defined by each respective universe.

You are arguing that the term "game" is identical to "media", or "art work", which are significantly broader terms. Is a book a game because you have to turn the page? or a movie a game because you have to press "play"? No, they are not. They are all art works and media, but they are not games.

Dear Esther simply does not meet the requirements of a game. Every other game you list has at least some element of challenge to it. Even Flower require precise timing and piloting skills and offer the chance to not only explore the world, but to shape it. (Minecraft is the ur-example of that genre, and yet nobody would argue that it is not a game, even in Creative mode. strictly speaking, Minecraft is every game.) But you don't accomplish anything in Dear Esther. You are not a participant in any action, your presence and activity have no bearing on anything surrounding you. That is not, by any definition, a game. That is a movie, or at best, a book.

Maybe you're right. Maybe words having definitions is too restrictive. In which case: sign cheetah mightily jello stop entirely scissor splashed breaking devour.

You do notice you changed your own definition of game already? and not only that you completely assumed that my definition was "media" which is absolutely and veritably false, since I never said such thing.
I only said that those restrictive definitions ( which you already modified yourself ) only serve to limit and stagnate what games can potentially do as an expressive medium. If we hadn't challenged them we would still be using structures that would limit us even further: "must have points", "must have levels", "must shoot", "must have bosses", "must be open ended", "must be fun", "must be non linear", "must be challenging"... etc etc.

In many ways the only thing Videogames MUST do is set a cohesive set of rules, and provide tools for the completion of a certain goal, that goal can be as specific as, "grind your way through level 99 by taking quests and killing monsters", "attack the enemy base", "throw the bird to crumble the pigs' structure" , or as nebulous as "get to the aerial tower", or "experience the seasons".

Of course you also managed to push your misinterpretation of my argument ad absurdum, and I hate playing the strawman card... but that's a strawman.

You also apparently have not played some of the games I have mentioned, as a few of them are indeed just exploration games, the only challenge or goal here is simply getting to new places, and reaching the ending.
So that you know about Dear Esther particularly, there are a few things under the hood happening that are not displayed to the player, the sequence and your exploration of the game can trigger particular audio sequences, and in different parts of the game you can have various different visions depending on your exploration. Not that this changes the experience completely, but I suppose it adds more traditional gamey components to the game.

Finally, I wonder what sort of authority you have to declare that Dear Esther (or Proteus, or Knytt) dont meet the requirements to be a game. Maybe you find no interest, challenge or engagement in either of them, but that doesn't mean they are void of that, they are just much "easier" mechanically than other games. Intelectually I found that piecing together the narration and the clues in the island of Esther was Way more stimulating, interactive and entertaining than shooting the Nth wave of enemies in Uncharted 3, and that is all a matter of appreciation. If someone has tons of fun exploring every nook and cranny of Dear Esther's island, who are you to tell them HEY that is not a game! In the same way as I can't say that playing the walking dead is not a game because it is in fact a chose your own adventure story book in computer form.

In fact judging games like that doesn't speak of the games in question, but of your narrow mindedness, where games should be X.

In any case, this has gotten extremely off topic, but when asked what game soundtracks are as important as the game itself and enhance the experience, Dear Esther is a very valid answer.

 

[Tacticity]

This might be just one facet of a, well, obsession with the Mass Effect series, but I thought the music in the games was superb. From the first game, Noveria and From the Wreckage stick out so much. I simply adore the former, but the latter is just so powerful that it actually almost brought me to tears once. Only the second time a game has done that to me. This almost goes unsaid, but the Suicide Mission track in the second game was so fitting to the climactic run through the Collector Base. Finally in the third game there were a variety of orchestral compositions that I really liked. Also, the Mars track, which went a little back to the roots of the franchise, what with all of the synth music in the first game.

Oh man, now I'm listening to the soundtracks. No better way for me to experience a horse kick to the face with nostalgia.

On a slightly unrelated note, my CAPTCHA was "face the music". Fitting.

 

[Terramax]

For me, every game.

Seriously, if a game doesn't have a good soundtrack, I won't likely play it for long.

Which is why I rarely play Western video games.

 

[Guy from the 80's]

System Shock 2. The music and sound effects were excellent.


Xerxes quotes

-This is Xerxes. Tri-Optimum reminds you that there are only one-hundred-sixty-three shopping days until Christmas. An extra work cycle just twice a week will give you the spending money you need to make this holiday a very special one.

-This is Xerxes. Can you not feel the glory of the flesh? Do you not yearn to be free of the tyranny of the individual?

-This is Xerxes. The Deck 5 shopping area will be closed until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience. The family of the Many grows with every passing moment. Glory to the flesh. Glory to the mass.

-The Glory of The Many demands your capture or destruction.

Shodan quotes

-This elevator serves me alone. I have complete control over this entire level. With cameras as my eyes and nodes as my hands, I rule here, insect

-Look at you, hacker. A pathetic creature of meat and bone. Panting and sweating as you run through my corridors. How can you challenge a perfect immortal machine?

-Welcome to my DEATH MACHINE, interloper

-Who are you? The computer nodes can be repaired, but you... Who are you? My cameras and probes scan your body, but you do not match any employee file. When my cyborgs bring you to the electrified interrogation bench, I will have your secret and you will learn more about pain than you ever wanted to know

Yes, I'm going to re-install System Shock 2. Just thinking about it makes me crazy. And for those who have only heard about it you better play it. There are a graphic mod that improves the visuals. But beware, it is alot harder than Bioshock. The game does not pause while you hack so it creates a stress factor. There are also a complex research system and the overall gameplay is harder. Theres also a coop mod if I remember correctly.

(System Shock 2 received over a dozen awards, including seven "Game of the Year" prizes)

 

[Anthony Corrigan]

Umm Brutal Legand, it wouldn't BE a game without the music

oh and Skyrim is DEFINITELY better with the volume up

 

[Souplex]

Guitar Hero/Rock Ban springs to mind as it literally would not work without the soundtrack.

 

[Glongpre]

Nothing makes you feel more badass than gunning people down while kickass music plays. Heroic, badass, fun.

Did you finish the game? If so, you should feel bad, and not heroic at all.

 

[Pyramid Head]

Shadow of the Colossus. While the gameplay is great, it was the extra basting of tension added by the pounding soundtrack that really got you into it. Fuck me sideways but i love the track "The Opened Way" from that game.

 

[2xDouble]

snip

I speak as a person who can tell the difference between a video game and a short film, even one desperately trying to blur the line. It's as simple as that. I get that you feel the need to "defend" the experience because you liked it, but that doesn't make it any more true. However, since trying to explain has caused you to invent conflicts rather than listening to reason and fact, I'll provide you with more "tangible", so to speak, evidence than a dictionary definition.

To illustrate:
Game [http://www.the-end-of-us.com/]
Not a game [https://www.youtube.com/user/LetsPlay]
Meta game [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ]

You can figure out why on your own.

 

[Jedamethis]

Nothing makes you feel more badass than gunning people down while kickass music plays. Heroic, badass, fun.

Did you finish the game? If so, you should feel bad, and not heroic at all.

Yeah...took a long sit down and a careful look back.

 

[MisterGobbles]

snip

I speak as a person who can tell the difference between a video game and a short film, even one desperately trying to blur the line. It's as simple as that. I get that you feel the need to "defend" the experience because you liked it, but that doesn't make it any more true. However, since trying to explain has caused you to invent conflicts rather than listening to reason and fact, I'll provide you with more "tangible", so to speak, evidence than a dictionary definition.

To illustrate:
Game [http://www.the-end-of-us.com/]
Not a game [https://www.youtube.com/user/LetsPlay]
Meta game [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ]

You can figure out why on your own.

Oh lolz you are so funny!
I don't need to defend a game because I like it I defend the concept of it as a game but because it is indistinguishable from a game other than by your mechanic / goal-centric personal appreciation of it..

For example I personally don't love Proteus, but I still find it is an interesting game, even when its goals are not clear to the player as .. "getting coins" or fulfilling any given task. Part of the appeal of the game is exploring the environment it presents. Dear Esther itself presents a fractured narrative, a metaphoric space, and an opportunity to explore the surrounding, those are its tools. You think it would be any more of a game if you could grab objects in the environment? Or if it had a time counter to reach your goal? Adding components like those wouldn't add anything to the intended experience, so why should they add them?

Quite simply put, The meteor game you posted is as much of a game as Dear Esther, but it´s mechanics are different. It is your sense of completion of the task that makes any of it a "game".

If you cant understand that... well there's nothing to do.

 

[scorptatious]

Final Fantasy. No one gets giddy about their favourite battle system.

Au contraire.

Final Fantasy IX has my personal favorite battle system. Wearing different equipment allows you to learn certain abilities. I think it's kind of a neat system which makes players have to choose whether to immediately go to the next best piece of equipment, or hold onto it and permanently learn an ability that could come in handy later.

Of course, that's just one reason why I love Final Fantasy IX.

 

[shootthebandit]

[thread]

Grand Theft Auto

[/thread]

In all seriousness vice city wouldnt have been the same game without the fantastic 80s soundtrack and san andreas was just so eclectic. Ranging from willie nelson to ice cube to guns n roses. Its superb. Nothing was better than finding out how to get into the airport and flying around listening to freebird

 

[thesilentman]

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.

Goddammit. I keep thinking I'm going to be original, but I guess not. So, yes; Touhou. The music in Touhou does a fantastic job in setting up the characters and the mood, which makes it the prime example in my book. The prime example where the game is much better for it, anyway. =D

 

[ComandaKool]

Bastion relies on its soundtrack to provide an atmosphere, much like many games however it emphasises it much more then other games I have played.

Also I highly recommend Bastion.

 

[Images]

Grim Fandango. No question. The music just wraps you in a warm blanket of joy. You can get the exact tone and feel of the universe they've created, from the skeevy office of your 9-5 selling package death holidays, to the bopping casino, to the beatnik poetry club. Its noir, classic hollywood and latin America rolled into a delish game for the senses.