Poll: Video Game songs you're nostalgic for

[EbonBehelit]

Music is super important to me in games - it's often the thing I remember most about a game a few months/years down the track after finishing it.

I'd have to spend a lot of time formulating an actual list, so here's a few standout soundtracks off the top of my head:

Bram Stoker's Dracula (SNES):
A fairly average Castlevania clone, but its soundtrack is way better than it had any right to be:


Metroid Prime 1 & 2, Super, Fusion:
Metroid as a series has almost always had stellar music, but one track has always stood out to me as my favourite - Red Soil from Super Metroid.


Risk of Rain:
Great rogue-lite with an even better soundtrack - probably the best soundtrack of its year.


Killer Instinct 2013:
Almost every character's theme is awesome - from Thunder's American-Indian flavoured metal, to Maya's jungle techno - but the standout to me is Sabrewulf's classic horror film inspired piece.


FEZ:
Beautiful soundtrack for an excellent puzzle-platformer.

 

[Scarim Coral]

To me it would have to be this!


I don't know why but I find that track among that Donkey Kong game to be the most memorable (I loved old tech like music).

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

Wild ARMs and Grandia come to mind.





Been tired of playing FF14 almost every day, so I've also been branching out to new games, such as Danganronpa, while remembering the old. Been a wild and wacky ride thus far with that game, so I can't wait to finish it and then buy Danganronpa 2.

 

[seris]

All the soundtracks from Halo: Combat Evolved. i played that game 2 months before xbox was even released due to gamestop giving all of its store managers a free xbox with like 2-3 games. The half life 2 soundtrack is ok but its not great to be honest, preferred the soundtrack of EP2 over the original

 

[Ishal]

snip

So many good songs on there, holy shit.

When I saw Homweworld though I thought I'd hear Adagio for Strings, or perhaps something like the Planetkillers or Sajuuk. But no, the KEEPERS. God dammit now I'm gonna have Nightmares about those things. Also, anything from Metroid: Prime is gold.

OT:

Let's see. I feel like Nostalgia has to be more than just a few years. So...



This song was particularly memorable, very creepy and atmospheric.



"Ship profiles and markings match those found in the recordings. This is no doubt the fleet that attacked Kharak... destroy them."

 

[Rayce Archer]

Well from the old school I'm gonna say Mechanism 8 from Unreal Tournament.

This is pretty permanently in there for me too, now.

 

[babinro]

Does a great game need a great soundtrack too? No

There have been plenty of games I've really enjoyed whose soundtracks left no lasting impression on me. A soundtrack only needs to 'feel' appropriate to work. Nothing about it needs to stand out or even be noticeable for a game to be great.

That said...I MUCH prefer an in your face soundtrack over anything ambient. There's a reason why most of my favorite soundtracks come from the NES/SNES era and that's because music was seldom subtle back then.

 

[Beffudled Sheep_v1legacy]

There are some really great pieces of music in here. Escapists have great taste!

For me, there are only two sound tracks that make me truly nostalgic.

Spoiler: Spyro The Dragon

The original Spyro is my favorite game and will probably stay my favorite game. Simple but fun gameplay, gems to collect, enemies to smash, wonderful and creative worlds and realms, and a fantastic and original soundtrack! Anytime I hear that Artisan World theme I get hit with some of my happiest memories and feel immediately at ease.

Spoiler: Legacy of Kain series

That little piece brings me back. Back to when I was a bad ass, soul devouring, spooky ************ with great hair.
When I listen to this my blood starts to move quicker and I get ready to kick some serious ass. Great song from a series with some of the best voice acting and stories in gaming.

 

[Random Argument Man]

There was 2 games on the N64 from a franchise that didn't really cracked the western market. Those were the Goemons games. They had awesome soundtrack that captured the silliness of it all and the epic moments of awesome levels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBOdYpv6Pe8&index=1&list=PL64237591B8E34EE6&spfreload=10

Oh man, I'm still trying to find both games so I can play them on my N64 forever.

 

[putowtin]

KOTOR II is probably my favorite non-flight (X-Wing, Tie Fighter, Rogue Squadron, etc.) Star Wars game out there.

Spoiler

Forgot how good that sounded....

may have to re-install KotORII now!

 

[DocJ]

My phone's music library is about 80% videogame music. I absolutely love them. I think the music is what makes a game good, or scary, or sad. For that I refer to you my favourtie episode of Extra Credits.

But I have to say my favourite so far would have to be from an old DS game. Strange I admit and nowhere near mainstream. But the series is kinda what sparked my ambition to study medicine.

 

[Vigormortis]

snip

I almost posted three or four songs from Homeworld 1, including the two you posted, but I had to post Keepers above all else. The song still sends shivers down my spine. Paul Ruskay is a fucking fantastic composer. He's one of the primary reasons I'm so excited for Homeworld: Shipbreakers.

Though, as creepy and atmospheric as Keepers is, it's that Parallel Dimensions track from Quake that is the creepiest among the songs in my list. It can still put me on edge.

'Course, it's Trent Reznor. One has to expect the soundtracks to be amazing.

And now that I've thought on it a bit more, I felt like I had to post a few more of my personal favorites:

Spoiler: Even more Homeworld

Spoiler: Donkey Kong Country

Rare had some truly talented composers. One of many reasons I miss their pre-MS buyout days.

Spoiler: Earthworm Jim

Spoiler: Metal Arms

Spoiler: Populous: The Beginning

Spoiler: Freespace 2

Spoiler: Diablo 2

Spoiler: Doom 3

Spoiler: Heavy Gear

Spoiler: More MechWarrior 2

Because I can't help myself.

Well, okay. Maybe more than a few.

On a side note:
I was never really a fan of Ace Combat, but I appreciate the soundtracks. The songs tended to have a very distinct "80's/early 90's" feel to them. As if they were pulled directly from the soundtrack of some Top Gun clone.

 

[Vigormortis]

I completely agree. I have the soundtrack for all my top ten games. Hell, probably top 20! There are even games I don't like I have the OST for because at least the music was decent.
I honestly can't think of a truly great game that didn't have an absolutely perfect soundtrack to go with it.

As I've always said;
"When it comes to your media product: If your audio is shit, so is everything else."

With games in particular, you can have the most amazing visuals imaginable; complete with a superb animation system, highly detailed particle effects, and the most interesting art design. You can even have supremely immersive gameplay and the most incredibly, compelling story to accompany it. But, if your audio is bad, it ruins the rest of the experience. The entire 'package' is marred.

A lot of people don't appreciate just how important proper, quality audio design is to a media entertainment experience like video games. And not just in music composition.

Action scenes lose a lot of "oomph" without good, well-timed audio to accentuate the hits and movements. A heartfelt scene of dialog or ominous exposition can be made more impactful with proper musical backing. Scenes of tension lose some of the buildup without the right audio cues.

This sort of thing even extends to the proper use of silence as well. Knowing when NOT to use music or audio is just as important as knowing which sounds and songs to use and when to use them.

Take this example:

Instead of drowning the player in the constant drone of eery sounds, ominous music, and muffled screams in the distance, the team behind the game intelligently uses silence to accentuate what few audio cues are present.

It's a sad thing, but many horror writers todays have forgotten that one of THE most effective tension builders one can use is silence.

Because the only thing scarier than the monster you didn't hear sneaking up on you is the monster you did hear sneaking up on you....because you couldn't hear anything else.

 

[rook119]

Phantasy star 2. Particularly Phantasy (title screen theme) and Step Up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFKUW2qrMe8&index=1&list=PLDF411E031D22DD93

Been on a Kajiura kick lately. I disliked Xenosaga episode 3 so damn much (pity XS ep. 1 is my all time fav game) that I forgot how awesome Godsibb was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrBk3oZ2jc0

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Oh, forgot one in my original post! Not sure why no one has brought this series up for its great music, but I'd be lying if I said it doesn't please me to be the first

Spoiler: Promise Reprise

The Silent Hill music is so creepy and atmospheric. Go for a walk on a foggy day listening to some of it. You'll be scared out of your mind at every blurry figure in the distance.

 

[Sleepy Sol]

G-Darius's (schmup in the Darius series) music is extremely nostalgic for me. It's one of an admittedly small number of games from my childhood with music I actively go back to listen to.

Spoiler: Kimera II

If we go a little bit further and talk about games from my adolescence, I've got a few more. But I'm a bit lazy to remember them all. F-Zero GX's soundtrack is godlike though.

Spoiler: Fire Field

 

[Ten Foot Bunny]

I only get nostalgic for one video game song: the music that plays in Erana's Peace in the first Quest for Glory.

 

[FC Groningen]

- The Zelda tune
- The Fire Emblem tune
- The Red Alert tune
- The Pokemon tune

 

[FPLOON]

Well there's the obvious one...

Spoiler: Why settle with just one version, though?

Anyway...

Spoiler: Lotus Juice

Spoiler: Crush 40

Spoiler: This comment

I... only seem to have three favorites outside of the <link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mwm87FfeXE>Pre<link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewXMsemIFhU>lude <link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4gsNXnFCx0>Theme <link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5zsHxOWA70>melodies and One-Winged Angel:

The opening theme to Final Fantasy VI...

Spoiler: Omen

The battle theme from the first Final Fantasy...

Spoiler: Battle Scene

And this little theme from Final Fantasy VII...

Spoiler: J-E-N-O-V-A

And, yet again, I remind myself to listen to more Final Fantasy music...

Spoiler: These songs...

Spoiler: And this song in particular...

Spoiler: With bonus song (from the same game... kinda...)

...Other than that, I think the other nostalgic songs I had in mind were already mention in some way, shape, or form...