Games Soundtrack Appreciation / Discussion Thread

ccesarano wrote:

This seemed like an article relevant to this thread:
Where did the Fun Street Fighter Music Go?

I think what he's describing here is a symptom of just about all popular entertainment mediums these days unfortunately.

Not really my genre, but what I've heard of Skullgirls has a pretty nice sound if you are looking for fun fighting game music. My favorite is probably not a good representation, but going to list it here anyway since it is the one I've listened to the most

Some nice picks again, B12n11w00t. I am a Patapon fan so always nice to hear someone mention it. I have to listen to more of Axiom Verge. I've heard the soundtrack get mentioned a few times now.

Metal covers by Jonny Atma
http://patreon.com/jonnyatma

Giratina Battle
Pokemon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAG4...

Natural Killer Cyborg / Unfounded Revenge
Mother 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCUw...

I try not to clump things from the same game series but..
Pokey Means Business
Earthbound
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WEC...

Songbird wrote:

Pokey Means Business
Earthbound
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WEC...

That's a good execution of that tune. Only other I've heard is by Entertainment System, which is a pretty literal translation. I'll have to check out more of that guy's stuff.

Thanks for the share!

That's a good execution of that tune. Only other I've heard is by Entertainment System, which is a pretty literal translation

Ah I had heard that version but either I did not understand that Entertainment System was a group, or it was just not sourced. Thanks for the information.

Lots of nice re-arrangements by that person if one is in the mood for metal. And the Boo guitar is just adorable

Guys, not only is Neon Chrome a fantastic game, it's soundtrack is the bees knees.

Songbird wrote:

Lots of nice re-arrangements by that person if one is in the mood for metal.

That mood is pretty much default mode for me.

Another pretty good cover band I listen to is Random Encounter. Favorites in particular include Terra (Final Fantasy VI), Clash on the Big Bridge (Final Fantasy V), and Millenial Faire (Chrono Trigger).

I haven't gone exploring for cover bands in a while, though. Will probably return from next MAGFest with a bunch of new additions.

Veloxi wrote:

Guys, not only is Neon Chrome a fantastic game, it's soundtrack is the bees knees.

Not aware of this game, but I love the 80'sness of that first song. Might have to look into that game.

As for an actual contribution and speaking of metal, one of the more surprising soundtracks of last year for me was Transformers: Devastation. It was pretty much right up my alley.

And because you can't do Transformers without some real 80's cheese:

Stellaris has a beautiful soundtrack:

The screenshots look so frantic, Veloxi, that I really wasn't expecting music that seems overall much more chill. Like sounds for exploring. Veloxi if you like 80s sound check out the soundtrack for Double Dragon Neon.

I had thought the Random Encounter link was going to be for the OCRemix Album Random Encounter before I clicked. I was not anticipating the accordion. Today is a day of surprises.

Please do link if you find some nice cover artists, Ccesarano.

Not really 80s, but have some heavy rock guitar featured in these Saga Frontier re-arrangements by Kenji Ito

Final Battle with Saurin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9Mb...

Four Noble Demons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBYA...

I hope that someone has mentioned the OST to Myth: The Fallen Lords (1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ivl...

I particularly like the Prologue, and the Siege of Madrigal.

Tanglebones wrote:

Stellaris has a beautiful soundtrack:

Very Mass Effect. Not quite what I expected from a strategy game, though. I suppose I just kind of imagined a space strategy game would have a very MoO2 soundtrack.

Songbird wrote:

Not really 80s, but have some heavy rock guitar featured in these Saga Frontier re-arrangements by Kenji Ito

Final Battle with Saurin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9Mb...

Four Noble Demons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBYA...

Now that's mah jam.

Zam is doing detailed soundtracks of the month articles. I really like this idea and look forward to checking it each month to find stuff I missed. I was totally not aware Offworld Trading Company had a great soundtrack by Christopher Tin.

Entire article about new game soundtracks, not one mention of Brigador that released yesterday.

Call foul, etc, etc.

Thin_J wrote:

Entire article about new game soundtracks, not one mention of Brigador that released yesterday.

Call foul, etc, etc.

That's the thing! It's monthly, so that will probably be in next month's roundup. That IS a cool soundtrack.

Very cool idea, I'll try to remember to check it out.

D'oh! I can't read it at work. Which is just as well, considering I wouldn't be able to listen to the music.

I can, however, link a two-part Gamasutra blog on tension in game music, with part one here and part two here. Haven't had a chance to read myself yet, sadly.

I've been listening to the Overwatch soundtrack a lot lately. Probably because it's the first Blizzard OST since Starcraft and Diablo II where the music is something I want to have on in the background often.

I also love how the soundtrack tracklist fluctuates occasionally between

Disney Theme Park Tribute:

and Hans Zimmer Tribute mode:

Oh awesome. I've been meaning to check out Zam on a more regular basis and that seems like a really good way to draw me in.

Bravely Second continues a trend of having good music, but it's a shame I don't get to hear the Ba'al one in full often. I knock the Ba'al foes down to level 1, which means I crush them before near-immediately. Battle themes are my jam, and that's the better of the two new ones.

The Ba'al one's got this whole Danny Elfman thing going on swingin' between Tim Burton's typical goth stuff and Mars Attacks/Men in Black mode.

That new Asterisk battle song just doesn't measure up to Bravely Default's, though.

I thought Route 66 from Overwatch was a nice song. Shame it is pretty short
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I1z...

The Ba'al battle theme from Bravely Second sounds like the same from Default? Or am I missing a difference? I had skimmed over some of the character themes (whatever the equivalents for Vagrant of Love etc are) and they seemed a lot less unique than the ones in Default.

She wants me dead from She wants me dead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Nb...
Apparently a game about a cyborg kitten trying to kill you?
IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/TzupMMT.gif)

Take us back from Walking Dead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K51M...

Suspicion from Dissida 012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXLw...

Running Fire from Disgaea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bWk...

Edit: I had meant to ask but is anyone familiar with the Armored Core series? They seem to have interesting songs just there are a ton of games and thus a ton of soundtracks. And I am not quite sure what might be good starting points
I found this one to be nice and it starts off just like a Bond theme, which is amusing
Fall from Armored Core 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2vi...

Songbird wrote:

The Ba'al battle theme from Bravely Second sounds like the same from Default? Or am I missing a difference? I had skimmed over some of the character themes (whatever the equivalents for Vagrant of Love etc are) and they seemed a lot less unique than the ones in Default.

Unless I completely forgot about the presence of Ba'als in Bravely Default, I think that one's a new one for Second. However, I agree that a number of the new themes just don't have the same... oomph to them, I suppose. Most of the tracks I end up enjoying most are returning themes from Default.

The one exception would be the new dungeon theme, but I also don't seem to be the only one that noticed a nostalgic familiarity.

She wants me dead from She wants me dead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Nb...

I dig this.

Apparently a game about a cyborg kitten trying to kill you?

I also dig that.


On another note, I know it's not a game soundtrack, but I couldn't find any thread on general or film soundtracks. This weekend my brother, friend and I sat down to rewatch Conan the Barbarian because we got in a conversation about film soundtracks and that one just stuck out so much. I feel like Basil Poledouris is forever being overlooked in terms of compositions, and I figure that, while not game related, would still interest plenty here.

Riddle of Steel/Riders of Doom (also used in the 2004 E3 Twilight Princess trailer and what immediately fired me up for the game)
Anvil of Crom
Theology/Civilization certainly sounds like it could fit in FF9's soundtrack.

Also: mother f*cker wrote the theme to Robocop.

But to keep things on track: Y'all heard of Daniel Tidwell? 'Cuz y'all should have heard of Daniel Tidwell by now. For cereals. With marshmallows.

So I'm sitting behind the Extra Life booth at TooManyGames, greeting a quartet of long-haired fellows with my fellow Extra Lifer and prepping to start the spiel, when one of them busts out a CD and hands it to me. "We're the band Klaymore," they say, "and we're giving you our CD because you have a Blind Guardian shirt on".

Sometimes it pays to have taste!

In any event, it seems they have a lot of original content, but they got some covers as well. Very much in that old fashioned 80's thrash or New Wave of British Heavy Metal no-synth vein.

They also got some tracks based on games, but not direct covers.

Long-time game remixer Mazedude has a commercial album in the works and is looking for some help to get across the finish line

Re-posted from the DOOM catch-all. Thought it deserved some more highlighting...

DOOM 2016 has its fair share of distortion, crunchy guitars and fan service but there are also some fantastic surprises during the quieter moments:

Overall, two big thumbs up to the entire soundtrack.

So while the battle music to Tokyo Mirage Sessions is pretty standard, it's the (bass?) guitar line that gets it stuck in my head. I love the riff, and I really picked up on it when I noticed barbarian foes seem to be dancing to it. So now I'll just be doin' my daily thang and the riff will just pop up in my head.

What has really surprised me is that I'm not really a (J-)Pop fan, but some of these songs have really gotten stuck in my head as well. In particular, Kiria's Labyrinth (that she can randomly break out into a music video during combat certainly helps the "earworm" trait).

Dude, Reincarnation I think might be my Summer Jam of 2016:

I'ma be honest, I don't even really care much for some of these JPop songs (I don't dislike them, but I don't think they're particularly quality), and yet some of them are f*ckin' catchy.

This is the best Macross since f*ckin' Macross Plus.

CATCHY!

All seriousness though: Shop, did you ever get to see my obsession over Doll $ Boxx that I spread to Domano and Hypatian? (Ok I didn't make 'em obsessed but I got others into it) Because if you dig some of this stuff you might dig them.

As for the game's OST, I finally found one of the other tracks that I really, really enjoy. I just like the mood of it a lot.

For those interested, I created a thread for MAGFest, a gaming convention in Maryland USA that has a major focus on game music and game-related music. I've gone in 2013 and 2014 and each time was a blast. Most of it was spent going from performer to performer, discovering new stuff and just having a blast. They have all genres including metal, chiptune, pop, and rap.

If you love game music then I highly recommend giving it a consideration.

I will be checking everyone's suggestions but just wanted to pop in here quickish to pass on a few songs.

Shoptroll, thank you for the link. I recognize some of those names from other projects. I think I shall have to try and remember my kickstarter info.

Ccesarano, that is interesting about Magfest. Kind of at an awkward time, though; right after the winter holiday breaks.

Soundodger is apparently a mix of rhythm game and bullet hell. I don't actually see where you can buy the soundtrack on its own, but the game and soundtrack dlc are available on Steam.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/24...

Frog of Lore by Anoctave
https://soundcloud.com/anoctave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2Ia...

Ye Olde Future by Bill Kiley
https://billkiley.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK0F...

Lost Age by Austin Wintory
https://austinwintory.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad7k...