Most memorable soundtrack from a game?
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Wasn't expecting Xenogears to be mentioned so soon.
As far as memorable soundtracks go... probably any of the Mega Drive Sonic games. It's very easy to get any of those songs stuck in your head. But beyond that is the fact that most of them focus primarily on melody, which probably is actually why they're so catchy. There's, as far as I can tell, a lot of game soundtracks (more recently than not, I think) where a lot of the music focuses more on chord progressions and backing.
This works well for cutscenes, where characters are talking. I don't know about anyone else, but I definitely might miss a bit of speech if I'm distracted by a particularly good piece of music. But when there's no talking, or when all the conversations are progressed by the player pressing a button, there's much more space for music to fill. One example of this done wrong is in Final Fantasy XIII.
There's a piece of music where it starts with pretty much just the normal battle song, and then after a little of that it gets a bit more fantastic. No problems there, it's quite good. Then, once it's done being a bit more fantastic (which doesn't take very long), it goes into this pathetically repetitive techno sort of thing. It wouldn't be as much of a problem if it only did this for as long as it was fantastic, but it lasts for quite much longer than the other bits.
This is disappointing (and only memorable because of how disappointing it is). If it wasn't for some of the really great pieces in that game, it would definitely be enough to make me lose hope for Masashi Hamauzu, and I definitely have lost some respect for him.
One composer who (at least usually) does focus more on melody is Yasunori Mitsuda, and my favourite game soundtrack is undoubtedly the Chrono Cross soundtrack. Unfortunately, the only game he's composed for that really seems that popular is Chrono Trigger. Dang.
TL;DR: Old Sonic game soundtracks are very memorable, but the Chrono Cross soundtrack is my favourite (so far).
As far as memorable soundtracks go... probably any of the Mega Drive Sonic games. It's very easy to get any of those songs stuck in your head. But beyond that is the fact that most of them focus primarily on melody, which probably is actually why they're so catchy. There's, as far as I can tell, a lot of game soundtracks (more recently than not, I think) where a lot of the music focuses more on chord progressions and backing.
This works well for cutscenes, where characters are talking. I don't know about anyone else, but I definitely might miss a bit of speech if I'm distracted by a particularly good piece of music. But when there's no talking, or when all the conversations are progressed by the player pressing a button, there's much more space for music to fill. One example of this done wrong is in Final Fantasy XIII.
There's a piece of music where it starts with pretty much just the normal battle song, and then after a little of that it gets a bit more fantastic. No problems there, it's quite good. Then, once it's done being a bit more fantastic (which doesn't take very long), it goes into this pathetically repetitive techno sort of thing. It wouldn't be as much of a problem if it only did this for as long as it was fantastic, but it lasts for quite much longer than the other bits.
This is disappointing (and only memorable because of how disappointing it is). If it wasn't for some of the really great pieces in that game, it would definitely be enough to make me lose hope for Masashi Hamauzu, and I definitely have lost some respect for him.
One composer who (at least usually) does focus more on melody is Yasunori Mitsuda, and my favourite game soundtrack is undoubtedly the Chrono Cross soundtrack. Unfortunately, the only game he's composed for that really seems that popular is Chrono Trigger. Dang.
TL;DR: Old Sonic game soundtracks are very memorable, but the Chrono Cross soundtrack is my favourite (so far).
Without any kind of doubt in my system, I have to give this to a under-the-radar horror game called Scratches. The music really brought the game to a level that inspires awe, and it is a true shame that no one has really played such a great title.
Final Fantasy X is up there, definitely. Kingdom Hearts as well, but you could have probably guessed that one. My current top at the moment is probably Touhou 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom. It has the most godly final boss theme ever. The song is beautiful and gets me pumped for the fight at the same time. It also has two other songs that are sitting firmly in my top 5 favorite video game themes and my tied-for-favorite character in the series.
I can't believe it took 42 posts for Chrono Cross to be mentioned. You people are pitiful (except for you, HoverWhale, who had the good graces to remember it).HoverWhale said:
Chrono Cross hands down.
Yeah the guys above me mentioned it, but it's got the best original music of any video game I know of, so it bears repeating.
Yeah the guys above me mentioned it, but it's got the best original music of any video game I know of, so it bears repeating.
Homeworld 1's take on Adagio for Strings and basically the entirety of the Homeworld 2 soundtrack. H2's soundtrack, to this day, is still my absolute favorite. I usually load it up anytime I'm playing Sins of a Solar Empire or any other space based game with a lackluster soundtrack.
I used to get a shivering thrill every time I turned on my PS1, popped in C&C: RA, and heard the march.....still get some shivers when I hear it now!hittite said:
HL2 and the 2 episodes following probably had the best overall soundtrack...loved listening to it when I didn't have to listen for crawling monstersTheYellowCellPhone said:
That, a hundred times that. I still remember when I first installed BG&E in my PC, that's the music that plays during the install. I normally do other things while I'm installing a game, but I couldn't help but to stay in front of the computer, just listening to that over and over again.LoorTheDarkElf said:
My own entries: I remember back in the NES days, I got an obscure game called Raf World, and the music was just awesome for the system. I later found out the cartridge had a sound chip, but it didn't make the songs any less impressive. You probably know that game by its American name, Journey to Silius.
Other golden oldies: Alien 3, Splatterhouse 2 (the intro song), The Immortal and Revenge of Shinobi for the Genesis; also Shadow of the Beast for that system, because I only saw the Amiga version many years later. For the Playstation, I would mention the obvious Symphony of the Night and Silent Hill 1 and the less obvious Thrill Kill.
Recently, not many games have drawn my attention to their music. I guess I liked it more when videogame songs sounded like videogame music, not like "real" music, if you catch my drift. But I loved the first Flatout soundtrack, and I'll probably love Brütal Legend too when I hear it...
Also, I'm surprised no one mentioned Guitar Hero...
Still alive is the most memorable one for me personally. But if you want me to say which one i think would be most memorable to the general population it would have to be mario.
Definately HALO.
I know many people don't like the game, but it is so memorable and most people would be able to instantly recognize the music.
I know many people don't like the game, but it is so memorable and most people would be able to instantly recognize the music.
Hmm I'll go for the Timesplitters Soundtracks, mostly 2, it's just too awesome. The FF games, Dark Cloud 2, Monster Hunter series are also incredible.