Poll: Video Game Soundtracks

[Snotnarok]

I don't really own many VG soundtracks since a majority of the ones I like are from older games where the soundtracks were either not made on CD (or butchered to CD) or they were never released in my region. Stuff like Sonic 3, Megaman X4, simple stuff you don't have lyrics to so it can be easier to work.

 

[Rawne1980]

Rarely listen to game music.

9 times out of 10 when i'm sat on a game I have it muted with my own music on or the TV.

 

[neonsword13-ops]

In total, I own.. 7 soundtracks.

But I listen to Persona music all day, every day.

Spoiler: Because Shoji Meguro is a godly composer.

Spoiler: A Shit ton of songs. Beware.

My other favorite soundtracks are:
Gravity Rush
The Binding of Isaac
Kingdom Hearts
Shadow of The Colossus
Rayman: Origins
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Bioshock
Sonic Generations
Journey
Final Fantasy IX
and a few others that I won't list because of laziness.

So, yeah. I love me so Video Game music. It's all so diverse. Especially Persona's. There are songs for every type of situation in those games.

 

[AlbertoDeSanta]

I have two Soundtracks. Too the Moon and Trine 2. I Only have the Soundtrack for the former because it was on sale and Trine 2 because I wanted the collectors edition.

Regardless, music is not one of the things that can make or break a game. Games with mediocre music can often be better then games with the best Music. It's one of the optional condiments on your video game burger. Gameplay, Story and Art Direction are the three most important things when designing a game. If all three of those are bad, then that game shouldn't exist.

 

[deathbeforedecaf]

i think music makes a game better if its good, but a good game wont make me like a bad soundtrack any more than i might have otherwise.

Riven(sequel to Myst)if anybody here remembers that old gem, had a ambient non intrusive soundtrack which matched the slow, contemplative and beautiful (with brief flashes of excitement)style of play.Other Myst games have pretty good soundtrack as well, although they have more scope and less of an ambient feel.Dear Esther does this well and it also mixes its soundtrack with environmental sounds and narration in interesting ways.

Also the Mass Effect games soundtracks are great, Deus Ex:Human Revolution, Portal, those sort of sci-fi sounding ones.

i think its very important to match a game with the right soundtrack, you have to enjoy it without really noticing it's there.By this i mean you cant suddenly notice "this sounds like star wars" or "this theme is so cliched" its another type of immersion and you don't want to break that immersion with poorly made or poorly chosen music.

 

[Silvanus]

I like quite a lot of OSTs. Braid, Bioshock 1 & Portal 2 all had outstanding soundtracks, and then there's this absolute gem;

 

[Starik20X6]

I like a good OST. SSB Brawl was a particularly good one to get my hands on- so many classic Nintendo songs in one place.

I usually listen to soundtracks as a driver for inspiration. If I'm working on some project with medieval/fantasy themes I'll listen to some Zelda music to keep me stimulated.

And when a game uses non-original music, that's good too. Heck, LittleBigPlanet was how I discovered The GO! Team and Passion Pit.

 

[Andy of Comix Inc]

As a composer myself - and as someone for whom sound design is arguably my only real door into the videogame industry if I choose to pursue a game-related career - I appreciate all sound and music from games. I really can't think of a genre or area of the world that releases music I actively hate, and I can think of countless that I truly passionately love, and am inspired by. So yeah. Game soundtracks I have the utmost respect for, and some of my favourite scores of all time are videogame soundtracks. Not to say there aren't just awful game soundtracks, but even then I still appreciate the complexity of the craft that goes into the scoring of a whole videogame.

 

[DoPo]

My favourite soundracks are from (in no particular order) Bloodlines, Mirror's Edge, Frozen Synapse, Morrowind, Bastion, FTL: Faster Than Light, Quake 3, Black Mesa, Death Illustrated, and Crimsonland (version 1.3.0 and 1.9.1 - the two are different but in similar theme). But I like most soundracks - these are just the ones I have in my playlist right now.

As for sources...dunno, I don't think I have much for a preference. I normally like rock/metal (which would account for Death Illustrated, Crimsonland, and Quake 3, for example) but I'm a sucker for...whatever it is that Mirror's Edge and Frozen Synapse feature - I love it

Spoiler: Here is a sample

 

[Captain Billy]

My favorite game soundtrack is easily Darren Korb's Western hip-hop..thing from Bastion. Other than that, I don't listen to much game music. Uncharted's got some beautiful scores, but I find most soundtracks servicable, but forgettable.

 

[Lunar Templar]

no favorite genera, there's a lot of games with a lot of good tracks, hell even MMO's have good tunes now and then

Spoiler

Aghlan, is a giant golem, fitting with the heavy use of percussion isn't it?

The battle theme for Siglint, Ancient Elchulus, The Divine Fomor (which is a cooler looking version of Elchulus) and Beokros, all dragons, and as the music suggests, your picking a fight with something use should really have left alone.

i could go on with just Vin but i won't x.X will take to long, needless to say the composer makes song for the bosses, which is the only time you hear music btw, that fits the bosses they are meant to represent

Fighters are another source of good tracks, but then so are JRPGs,

 

[Euryalus]

I love me some music from video games, and I'm listening to some right now actually.

I doesn't really matter to me where it comes from or what genre it is since if it's good then I will get it. If I know that a certain composer that I'm a fan of did a OST then I'm getting it because I just love their stuff.

I've never turned off the music in a game though since I know how hard they worked on trying to get the music to fit, and I feel like if I do then what they did was in vain.

What game?

OT: I was probably ninja'd on this already, but it's late, I'm tired, and I can't be arsed to do more than skim over everyone else's inferior opinions. XD

I love video game music. It does something amazing. It brings out qualities in a game that you might not otherwise be able to see. The best way to notice this, is to play through a game and then randomly turn the music off. The transition is jarring. Even if you didn't notice it before, you'll definitely notice it when its gone.

The reason is, is because game music, good game music anyway, is designed around the game itself. It sets the tone and focuses your attention on different things that the game has to say at different points. Those points would still be there if the music wasn't but you might not necessarily notice them.

My favorites have got to be the soundtracks from the Halo series, Metroid Prime series, Bastion, OoT, MM, and Banjo Kazooie.

EDIT: It works in reverse too. The game can give added "depth" to the music.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I love me some music from video games, and I'm listening to some right now actually.

I doesn't really matter to me where it comes from or what genre it is since if it's good then I will get it. If I know that a certain composer that I'm a fan of did a OST then I'm getting it because I just love their stuff.

I've never turned off the music in a game though since I know how hard they worked on trying to get the music to fit, and I feel like if I do then what they did was in vain.

What game?

Of what I was listening to earlier?

The first inFamous OST, and then after that it was Beyond Good and Evil's OST.

 

[Kiyeri]

I absolutely love the soundtracks from video games. The music can range from peppy, to epic, to terrifying, to cry your eyes out. I always play games with music on because it's such an important part of setting the mood. I mean, Xenoblade Chronicles is a fantastic game, but the music is what really puts it in my Top 5 favorite games of all time.


This is a song that plays during important bits of plot and sometimes battles. Simply fantastic.

This song below from Bastion is the ending credits song, and it is the perfect way to end such a beautiful game. The soundtrack actually made me buy the game!


I really could go on and on, listing even more examples, but I doubt you really want that. So to summarize, yes, the video game's soundtrack is an integral part of the gamer's experience.

 

[The Hero Killer]

All game music before this generation was awesome, before everything sounded like it came from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack. Castlevania, Mega Man, and Final Fantasy had some of my favorite tunes of all time.

 

[PsychicTaco115]

Call me loopy (well, don't actually), but I've just recently given game soundtracks more of a listen

Started with Deus Ex: HR and Black Ops II, both of which I enjoyed

I know that is an EXTREMELY limited sample size, so don't go off on me, I'm still giving them a listen

 

[Sacman]

Well, I own a couple soundtracks... Nier, SuperBrother: Swords and Sworcery... I don;t really pick and choose from one region or genre... just if it sounds good... though I've noticed quite a bit that Japanese games tend to have a lot more fleshed out and stand alone content... in their soundtracks than western games... they're big on ambiance and enhancing the gameplay experience, rather than being an engaging album all on it's own... tend to enjoy that more... rarely listen to any games soundtracks outside of the game... so the implementation of strong ambient sound design is very much welcomed...<.<

 

[RedDeadFred]

I love it. My all time favourite video game soundtrack is from Bastion.

Right now though, my favourite song is from Dishonored:

 

[Thedutchjelle]

I have quite a few Game soundtrack albums.

But not all game soundtracks can stand on their own, without the "game". For example, STALKER's eerie ambient music really fits the game environment but if I play it while driving to school it will just be 10-15 minute snoozefests. The same thing I got with Portal - the music is great ingame but outside of it I don't like to listen to it (aside from I want you gone and Still alive, obviously)

Faster paced or more interesting tracks are usually the ones I listen to. Like Unreal Tournament 99, Deus Ex, selected tracks from Halo, Marathon etc.