Musical taste differs from person to person and is completely subjective. However people tend to gravitate towards certain music in games and tracks become massively popular. The youtube channel Vsauce presents a very well done concept of the amount of possible musical scores that could be played during a game, yet a finite number of tones and melodys are generally played (Shown in the link [ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAcjV60RnRw ]). AS the title states, were looking for Original sound tracks, altered tracks of the same song from various games and alternative remixes within the actual game are included. Youtube links are very welcome if you can find the song =D. IF you have a gray area song, just list it as gray area or label it under both categories.
With that said i'd like to categorize this thread into two sections. The first being, what is your favorite very popular / "mainstream" / classic musical renditions. These are generally from AAA titles but some are just less known titles with a very well known sound track. These songs tend to be title themes or songs you hear during the first moments of game play but are not limited to them
As I'm sure many people will have these in common. An example would be the The Legend of Zelda NES, Hyrule overwolrd theme. This is one of my favorite songs ever and is incredibly popular. An Example of a very popular and sound track to a non AAA game (debatle) is Capcom's rendition of Ducktales "Moon Theme" which while isn't as wildly popular as say Super Mario brothers its music is very well known. Music in this category should be songs reasonably everyone has heard of.
The second category is music that may be from a popular or AAA game but isn't "classic", people may have heard the song but it's likely if they haven't played the game or are part of that community they will have never heard the song before. This one is strait forward, if it's unlikely to be on a top 100 list of all VGM its fair game.
Popular -
Legend of Zelda NES, over world theme : it exemplifies epic, the song itself captures the spirit of adventure
Super Mario Brothers NES, Main theme : This is the flagship theme for video games, its catchy and embedded in our memories.
Super Mario 64 N64, Bomb omb Field : This brings me back to Christmas during my childhood. The entire sound track is very strong but this song is probably the best and most well known
Pokemon red and Blue Gameboy, Wild Battle theme : While arguably as good as the title theme, this one gets the edge in my book. When I think of non realistic combat or fantasy combat, this theme comes to mind.
Street Fighter 2(multi platform) + Street Fighter 4 Xbox 360 + PS3, Ryu's theme : It was either this one or guiles theme but this one is imo slightly better. When I think of fighting in a 1v1 situation this is the song I go to for inspiration. SF4 is slightly better imo but SF2 is more classic.
Gray Area-
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles Megadrive / Sega Gensis, Flying Battery zone act 2 : It was between this and hydro city act 2 for me but this one gets the edge. The sonic franchise music is pretty well known but this one usually only makes top sonic lists and not topic lists in genral
Sonic Adventure Dreamcast, Emerald Coast / Azure Blue world : Shown in the demo of sonic adventure on the dream cast, it introduces the lush green vegitation and sandy beachs on an emerald caost, imagine the title? This theme is what I invision al tropical and island themes to use as an example, this is the song i listen to on my mp3 at the beach. Like before, its not the green hill zone or live and learn its not "classic"
MegaMan 9 Virtual Xonsole, Splash Woman stage: The first and only female robot master this song captures underwater combat, its so catchy that I find myself humming it without realizing, its just that memorable. Its notMegaman 2 Wiley stage theme so its not as well known but every one seams to have played MM9, this song is the best of the tracks with Wiley stage 2 coming in close at #2.
Personal, Lesser known -
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 PS3 + XBOX 360, Taskmaster Theme - If you've played the game then this is the theme you probably put on during the training stage and for good reason. This music is the ultimate training montage music, when I'm physically active I'd rather listen to this song than "Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky. Other theme are also quite good, especially wolverine and hawkeye but they pale in comparison.
The Legend of Dragoon PSX, Battle Music 1 - Similar to Pokemon, this theme just captures the heart of fantasy combat. Uplift yet dramatic it keeps you on your toes but also makes you feel like you stand a chance to win.
Rocket Knight Adventures Megadrive / Sega Genesis, Stage 1-1 : This song is so uplifting and light hearted it really adds whimsical and meaningful experience to the idea of being a knight with a jetpack.
World of Warcraft PC, Stormwind : While generally out preformed by the RTS music from other games such as Warcraft 3 and 2, the storm wind music is the best music WoW has ever produced. This is what fantasy music should aspire to be, the city of original paladins of the order of the silver hand and the temple of light is located here.
That's the best off the top of my head, what about everyone else. I'm sure this is an over used thread but I'm still curious. Thanks for reading and please contribute.
With that said i'd like to categorize this thread into two sections. The first being, what is your favorite very popular / "mainstream" / classic musical renditions. These are generally from AAA titles but some are just less known titles with a very well known sound track. These songs tend to be title themes or songs you hear during the first moments of game play but are not limited to them
As I'm sure many people will have these in common. An example would be the The Legend of Zelda NES, Hyrule overwolrd theme. This is one of my favorite songs ever and is incredibly popular. An Example of a very popular and sound track to a non AAA game (debatle) is Capcom's rendition of Ducktales "Moon Theme" which while isn't as wildly popular as say Super Mario brothers its music is very well known. Music in this category should be songs reasonably everyone has heard of.
The second category is music that may be from a popular or AAA game but isn't "classic", people may have heard the song but it's likely if they haven't played the game or are part of that community they will have never heard the song before. This one is strait forward, if it's unlikely to be on a top 100 list of all VGM its fair game.
Popular -
Legend of Zelda NES, over world theme : it exemplifies epic, the song itself captures the spirit of adventure
Super Mario Brothers NES, Main theme : This is the flagship theme for video games, its catchy and embedded in our memories.
Super Mario 64 N64, Bomb omb Field : This brings me back to Christmas during my childhood. The entire sound track is very strong but this song is probably the best and most well known
Pokemon red and Blue Gameboy, Wild Battle theme : While arguably as good as the title theme, this one gets the edge in my book. When I think of non realistic combat or fantasy combat, this theme comes to mind.
Street Fighter 2(multi platform) + Street Fighter 4 Xbox 360 + PS3, Ryu's theme : It was either this one or guiles theme but this one is imo slightly better. When I think of fighting in a 1v1 situation this is the song I go to for inspiration. SF4 is slightly better imo but SF2 is more classic.
Gray Area-
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Knuckles Megadrive / Sega Gensis, Flying Battery zone act 2 : It was between this and hydro city act 2 for me but this one gets the edge. The sonic franchise music is pretty well known but this one usually only makes top sonic lists and not topic lists in genral
Sonic Adventure Dreamcast, Emerald Coast / Azure Blue world : Shown in the demo of sonic adventure on the dream cast, it introduces the lush green vegitation and sandy beachs on an emerald caost, imagine the title? This theme is what I invision al tropical and island themes to use as an example, this is the song i listen to on my mp3 at the beach. Like before, its not the green hill zone or live and learn its not "classic"
MegaMan 9 Virtual Xonsole, Splash Woman stage: The first and only female robot master this song captures underwater combat, its so catchy that I find myself humming it without realizing, its just that memorable. Its notMegaman 2 Wiley stage theme so its not as well known but every one seams to have played MM9, this song is the best of the tracks with Wiley stage 2 coming in close at #2.
Personal, Lesser known -
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 PS3 + XBOX 360, Taskmaster Theme - If you've played the game then this is the theme you probably put on during the training stage and for good reason. This music is the ultimate training montage music, when I'm physically active I'd rather listen to this song than "Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky. Other theme are also quite good, especially wolverine and hawkeye but they pale in comparison.
The Legend of Dragoon PSX, Battle Music 1 - Similar to Pokemon, this theme just captures the heart of fantasy combat. Uplift yet dramatic it keeps you on your toes but also makes you feel like you stand a chance to win.
Rocket Knight Adventures Megadrive / Sega Genesis, Stage 1-1 : This song is so uplifting and light hearted it really adds whimsical and meaningful experience to the idea of being a knight with a jetpack.
World of Warcraft PC, Stormwind : While generally out preformed by the RTS music from other games such as Warcraft 3 and 2, the storm wind music is the best music WoW has ever produced. This is what fantasy music should aspire to be, the city of original paladins of the order of the silver hand and the temple of light is located here.
That's the best off the top of my head, what about everyone else. I'm sure this is an over used thread but I'm still curious. Thanks for reading and please contribute.
