Soundtracks in games

[Lord Quirk]

Just how important is a game's soundtrack and music to you? Personally, I think that awesome music can make a good game an excellent one. Pokemon, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, the Mario and Luigi RPGs, and just so it doesn't seem I'm only listing JRPGs here, Mass Effect (series), Dragon Age (Origins in particular), Zelda and Mario are all games that I believe have brilliant soundtracks that enhance the experience for me.
So Escapists, how important is music in games for you, and for added discussion value, what games do you think have the best soundtracks?

 

[eimatshya]

A great soundtrack can definitely enhance anything. Final Fantasy Tactics is a great example. The soundtrack gave the scenes so much feeling, even though the graphical representation of events was often fairly minimal.

*EDIT*

Oh, and for my favorite game soundtracks, well that's hard, but here are some of my favorite songs from games:

Final Fantasy Tactics

Spoiler: Ovelia's Anxiety

This song perfectly created the mood for the scene in the ruined church.

Spoiler: the Pervert

Very creepy battle music. Perfect for the scene.

Planescape: Torment

Has such a great soundtrack. Mark Morgan did a phenomenal job capturing the mood of the game.

From Jade Empire:

Spoiler: The Water Dragon

Jack Wall did a great job on this soundtrack.

 

[WinstonJEC]

I love when games have a great soundtrack. It is definitely something I pay attention to while I play the game. I think my favorite soundtrack is from Super Mario Sunshine. All the songs in the game fit the mood while you're playing and it makes the game so much more enjoyable.

 

[prophecy2514]

I just picked up and finished red dead redemption about a week ago - it has a magnificent soundtrack. A good soundtrack can turn a fantastic game to a near perfect one

 

[Burig]

I don't often notice soundtracks, so I suppose it can help add atmosphere to a game, but it would be more some subconsious thing - feeling of fear, or excitement, or what have you. For certain games I enjoy putting my own music in, such as for Halo 3, I found the action parts more actiony with my own music playing rather than what they had selected.

 

[Wolfhowl the shadow lurker]

In games like gears of war that has a little "bawwwww" after all the badies are dead where its just kind of a thing tha does not really do anything to games like fallout and skyrim where it really fits and adds something

in i think the best music a game has ever done was the l4d2 music where it is all diffrent and works to help build something even the music that plays when your geting eaten alive that works really well

 

[ScaryAlmond]

Soundtrack are not neccesary but they can make a great game absolutely epic.
They are important for setting the mood and act as an indicator of character personalities.
Halo soundtrack for the Win.

 

[RedDeadFred]

A game's soundtrack is pretty important to me. A great soundtrack can make a game so much more emotional. For instance, Bastion.
Also, the part near the end of the game when you are leaving the Ura's home and decide to drop the battering ram is probably one of my favorite sequences in all of gaming.

 

[King of Asgaard]

Quite important. Music tends to really help set a scene.
For example:

Spoiler

Disclaimer: the tracks I've picked are representative of their respective series/franchises, so check them out.

 

[Lars Peter]

Music is what put it all together. I could not play a game without game music, since the feeling of epicness would not be there. Such as this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzhRRgcAbdI playing at a dwarven fortress in WOW.

 

[Sandjube]

Soundtracks are just as important to me as aesthetically pleasing graphics.

 

[laggyteabag]

To me game music is just as important as in-game sounds (ie Weapons, vehicles etc) It can make an fight or event so much better.

<spoiler=Like this one>Oh Marty, you beautiful musical genius