A lot of people tend to underestimate what soundtracks can do for a game. I have my own opinions which I'll write out below (in several rambling paragraphs no less), but I want to hear what you think is the best soundtrack, and why you think that. I've never been able to pick out a definite favorite due to the crazy variety that exists, but I'm gonna share a few of my favorites. Also sorry if I get the track names wrong, I'm just going by what I've seen.
First I'd like to mention the Beyond Good and Evil soundtrack, which if you haven't heard it, go download it now, because it happens to be free. What I think that soundtrack does better than any other, is reinforce the richness of the world of Hyllis (an alien planet the game takes place on). There are songs incorporating Spanish, and Bulgarian, plus a convincing sounding nonsense language that give the planet a real natural feel, like all these different cultures are coming together. Tracks like "Blue, "Home Sweet Home" and "Shauni" set a beautifully calming mood, that emphasizes the peaceful life Jade and the others lived there, and the militarized feel to all the tracks encountered while sneaking through the Alpha Sections various HQs. Christophe Héral did an absolutely amazing job capturing all the different moods being set by what amounts to an amazingly fully realized world.
Next would be Shadow of the Colossus, oft considered one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time, and I'm hard pressed to disagree. See the whole draw of SOTC is the insane intensity of it's boss battles. I've fought million foot tall monsters before, but unlike those there are no quick-time events here, no weapons of mass destruction, no back-up, no magic powers. But wait you have a magic sword, and you can kill the gigantic monster by simply stabbing it in it's weak point, where's it's weak point you ask, oh it's on it's head....well shit. It's that setup of hopelessness and balls to the wall intensity that makes this game amazing on it's own, but the soundtrack is like if you were playing a game and somebody snuck up from behind and suddenly shot you up you with adrenaline. Climbing up onto the back of a hundred foot horse demon thing so you can scramble up and stab it in the head all the while praying to god you don't fall off and snap your legs in half, and then hearing "Resurrection of Power" play in the background is a gameplay experience that has to be played to be believed. Ko Otani (The composer) also manages to crank out some beautifully low key atmospheric tracks as well(anyone who's seen Haibane Renmei already knows his capacity for stuff like that) that just emphasizes the amazing contrast in gameplay the game has.
Next is the Silent Hill series (specifically 2 and 3), which in my opinion puts every other horror game soundtrack into question. Why would you opt for a recognizably musical orchestrated soundtrack, when you could have a soundtrack that sounds like a razor tooth monster ready to bite your head off the moment you turn the corner, or a million little worms ready to slither in through you leg and poke out through your eyes, or what I imagine is the exact sound you hear when your mind breaks. The answer to that question is probably "we don't have Akira Yamaoka, please could you get him for us". Mr. Yamaoka is able to perfectly strike that balance between annoying white noise that just sounds silly, and normal music that would detract from the experience. The result is some of the creepiest most insane ambient noise that has ever been made. It takes a creepy-ass game and just pushes t over the edge into piss-your-pants-what-the-hell-is-going-on-please-help-me-mommy-I'm-scared terrifying, and it's glorious. That's not to say Mr. Yamaoka can't do creepy-ass tracks with a recognizable rhythm. Tracks like "Theme of Laura" "Promise" "Overdose Delusion" and "Angel's Thanatos" are all beautiful disturbing and/or sad but are catchy all the same. Also special mention to Mary Elizabeth McGlynn who did the wonderful lyrics for "You're Not Here" (the opening for SH3) among other Yamaoka works.
Last in my stupidly long list is Super Meat Boy, which may come off as an odd choice to those who have never heard it's soundtrack. In my experience this song does a bit more than set a mood, that is to say it's also fantastic at relieving frustration. You see the soundtrack was composed by Danny Baranowsky (or dbSoundworks), and I'm 100% certain that the phrase "a repetitive song by Danny Baranowsky" is some kind of logical fallacy. The man is a genius at composing mind-blowingly catchy, and energizing songs that just never ever get old. I spent hours on the Hell dark world but "Devil N' Bass" took my through it. The meat golem might've been a trail and error boss but the aptly named "Meat Golem" track just kept me going. Every time i said this is impossible during The End dark world "It Ends 2: End Harder" said "no it isn't you ten thumbed idjit keep playing". Almost all the tracks on the album have that effect, and the fact that they continue unabated even during deaths and when you win a level just helps you along even more. It's a brilliant soundtrack that everyone should own, in fact I happen to be listening to "Fast Track to Browntown" as I write this.
I'll stop myself there, and say that there are a ton I missed, like the fast paced techno electro thing that is Jet Set Radio, or Okami's epic score puled right out of fuedal Japan, to Rez's minimalist yet catch as hell beats, to Grim Fandango's brilliant use of free-form jazz, and a whole bunch more that I'm gonna have to keep myself from naming lest my rambiling extend for another forty paragraphs. Now I just want to hear what you guys think.
First I'd like to mention the Beyond Good and Evil soundtrack, which if you haven't heard it, go download it now, because it happens to be free. What I think that soundtrack does better than any other, is reinforce the richness of the world of Hyllis (an alien planet the game takes place on). There are songs incorporating Spanish, and Bulgarian, plus a convincing sounding nonsense language that give the planet a real natural feel, like all these different cultures are coming together. Tracks like "Blue, "Home Sweet Home" and "Shauni" set a beautifully calming mood, that emphasizes the peaceful life Jade and the others lived there, and the militarized feel to all the tracks encountered while sneaking through the Alpha Sections various HQs. Christophe Héral did an absolutely amazing job capturing all the different moods being set by what amounts to an amazingly fully realized world.
Next would be Shadow of the Colossus, oft considered one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time, and I'm hard pressed to disagree. See the whole draw of SOTC is the insane intensity of it's boss battles. I've fought million foot tall monsters before, but unlike those there are no quick-time events here, no weapons of mass destruction, no back-up, no magic powers. But wait you have a magic sword, and you can kill the gigantic monster by simply stabbing it in it's weak point, where's it's weak point you ask, oh it's on it's head....well shit. It's that setup of hopelessness and balls to the wall intensity that makes this game amazing on it's own, but the soundtrack is like if you were playing a game and somebody snuck up from behind and suddenly shot you up you with adrenaline. Climbing up onto the back of a hundred foot horse demon thing so you can scramble up and stab it in the head all the while praying to god you don't fall off and snap your legs in half, and then hearing "Resurrection of Power" play in the background is a gameplay experience that has to be played to be believed. Ko Otani (The composer) also manages to crank out some beautifully low key atmospheric tracks as well(anyone who's seen Haibane Renmei already knows his capacity for stuff like that) that just emphasizes the amazing contrast in gameplay the game has.
Next is the Silent Hill series (specifically 2 and 3), which in my opinion puts every other horror game soundtrack into question. Why would you opt for a recognizably musical orchestrated soundtrack, when you could have a soundtrack that sounds like a razor tooth monster ready to bite your head off the moment you turn the corner, or a million little worms ready to slither in through you leg and poke out through your eyes, or what I imagine is the exact sound you hear when your mind breaks. The answer to that question is probably "we don't have Akira Yamaoka, please could you get him for us". Mr. Yamaoka is able to perfectly strike that balance between annoying white noise that just sounds silly, and normal music that would detract from the experience. The result is some of the creepiest most insane ambient noise that has ever been made. It takes a creepy-ass game and just pushes t over the edge into piss-your-pants-what-the-hell-is-going-on-please-help-me-mommy-I'm-scared terrifying, and it's glorious. That's not to say Mr. Yamaoka can't do creepy-ass tracks with a recognizable rhythm. Tracks like "Theme of Laura" "Promise" "Overdose Delusion" and "Angel's Thanatos" are all beautiful disturbing and/or sad but are catchy all the same. Also special mention to Mary Elizabeth McGlynn who did the wonderful lyrics for "You're Not Here" (the opening for SH3) among other Yamaoka works.
Last in my stupidly long list is Super Meat Boy, which may come off as an odd choice to those who have never heard it's soundtrack. In my experience this song does a bit more than set a mood, that is to say it's also fantastic at relieving frustration. You see the soundtrack was composed by Danny Baranowsky (or dbSoundworks), and I'm 100% certain that the phrase "a repetitive song by Danny Baranowsky" is some kind of logical fallacy. The man is a genius at composing mind-blowingly catchy, and energizing songs that just never ever get old. I spent hours on the Hell dark world but "Devil N' Bass" took my through it. The meat golem might've been a trail and error boss but the aptly named "Meat Golem" track just kept me going. Every time i said this is impossible during The End dark world "It Ends 2: End Harder" said "no it isn't you ten thumbed idjit keep playing". Almost all the tracks on the album have that effect, and the fact that they continue unabated even during deaths and when you win a level just helps you along even more. It's a brilliant soundtrack that everyone should own, in fact I happen to be listening to "Fast Track to Browntown" as I write this.
I'll stop myself there, and say that there are a ton I missed, like the fast paced techno electro thing that is Jet Set Radio, or Okami's epic score puled right out of fuedal Japan, to Rez's minimalist yet catch as hell beats, to Grim Fandango's brilliant use of free-form jazz, and a whole bunch more that I'm gonna have to keep myself from naming lest my rambiling extend for another forty paragraphs. Now I just want to hear what you guys think.
