Jump to content

Home

Best Video Game Soundtracks


Recommended Posts

Which games have had the best music, in your opinion? Of course, lots of people will probably think of or mention Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy) and Koji Kondo (Legend of Zelda) - or at least I think of these two first - but they're kind of a given. So besides them, what are your favorite game soundtracks?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the Mass Effect soundtrack especially “M4, PT. 2” by Fausts, which is the ending credits song. The Mass Effect soundtrack is the only game soundtrack I have on my IPod and one of only two complete soundtracks I have on it (the other being “Purple Rain.”) Now I have “M4, PT 2” running through my head.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

MotB, easily. The music set the tone for all the areas it was played in perfectly... the dreamscapes especially so. With how well they were designed to begin with, those sections of the game were incredibly immersive. (Yes, so was the rest of it, but those parts especially so.)

 

Baldur's Gate 2 also had a couple good tracks. The one for the battle against Irenicus in Spellhold created a good mood, and the one that played during the battle with Melissan was... well, forgive the overused hyperbole, epic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rabish has gained 100 cool points for having played Evil Genius.

 

Icewind Dale2: excelent all over, particularly the one at sharegarne bridge, epic music that screams lost cause.

 

Paraworld: One of the best I have heard (the opening music had me stare at the screen for a long time), pity the game couldn't match it.

 

MotB

 

RA1:Hell march!

 

Theeme hospital: the ultimate music you know you should hate, but can't.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My list of IMO great soundtracks:

 

- K1/ TSL have some great parts

- Fable is nice aswell

- Dawn of War + expentions has cool tracks

- Vampires Bloodlines has some nice spooky tracks

- Guild Wars Factions, really nice themes to enjoy

- Gun

 

EDIT: And when I was about 8, I also enjoyed Little Big Adventure 2; looking back now, the theme is quite annoying :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

-Guild Wars, more specifically Prophecies, has some really good tracks.

-Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter's main theme is amazing, I think.

-KotOR/TSL have memorable themes and the overall soundtrack has a constant good quality, I think.

-Assassin's Creed is the latest game which soundtrack made an impression on me. One theme, played after every kill of the key figures and at the final battle is, IMO, just epic. Now if the battles had been epic, it'd been awesome! :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

* Metal Gear Solid series. The entire franchise has incredible scores all over it.

 

* God of War series. Especially on the second game, the track compels you as you gut the enemies of Sparta. 0_o

 

* Kingdom Hearts games. Yoko Shimomura work on the second numbered episode is flawless.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

FFX: Zanarukando Night (spelling?) and the theme which they play upon returning to Zanarkand.

 

FFVIII: Eyes on Me, of course:p

 

FFVII: One Winged Angel!

 

I quite enjoyed MotB's music as well, but for something lighter, Day of the Tentacle's theme music is really cute:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is a severe lack of Grim Fandango mentioning. Barbarians, all of you. :disaprove

 

If I had to choose specific tracks from other games:

 

  • Deionarra's theme from Planescape: Torment seems so filled with regret and sadness -- like much in that game.
  • The main theme from MotB is awesome. It's got this wonderful tribal air to it and the effect's really completed by the inclusion of the original NWN2 music; it sounds like a distant wailing... the effect is unnerving to say the least. The piece sends shivers down my spine. Rik Schaffer and Alexander Brandon deserve cookies for their work on that.
  • I love the Jedi theme from TSL. It's sort of filled with a false hope; the long strings contradicting the triumphant brass. I don't know about you but it gives me goosebumps :xp:.
  • Battle with the King of Shadows from NWN2 is epic. That's the only way to describe it.
  • Cohen's theme from BioShock. It just sounds demented, like organised chaos to hit every note you have to play like a madman. It's glory that has been twisted out of all proportion. It is Rapture captured in music. What's better is that it's a scherzo; the piece, like its composer, is literally a joke. I can't think of a better theme for Sander Cohen... aside from people screaming and the sound of explosions but that wouldn't be very nice to listen to :p.

There are others... I just can't think of them off the top of my head.

 

Theeme hospital: the ultimate music you know you should hate' date=' but can't.[/quote']

That was an awesome game. How long did it take you to realise that you had to build toilets? It took me about a week. :xp:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A lot of games have good soundtracks. In fact, I have yet to play a game with a "bad" (it's a matter of taste) soundtrack. Maybe I'm just easy to please, or maybe I haven't played enough games (which is highly unlikely).

 

Having said that, there area few st that stand out (that hold a special place in my memory):

 

- The Hitman series: Unbelievably fitting for that kind of game. I think part of the reason I love Hitman games so much is due to the excellent music.

 

- KOTOR 2: I don't know about you, but I thought the sountrack was very emotional that described the darkness that was plaguing the galaxy and the Exile perfectly. I like most of the songs, but the Jedi and Nihilus themes are amongst my favorites.

 

- Mass Effect and Jade Empire: Simply perfect. I honestly can't imagine anyone composing a better soundtrack for those two games.

 

- The Witcher: This game surprised (positively) on many levels, with music being one of them. The track that plays in the main menu made me rate the game very highly before I even played it.

 

- Dreamfall - The Longest Journey: I can't really say anything about it, other than it rocks. :D

 

Honorable mentions:

 

- The Splinter Cell series

- KOTOR

- Half-Life 1&2 and the Episodes

- NWN2 and MOTB

- Assassin's Creed (too bad the songs were so short)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

-Any game with music by Jeremy Soule (all Guild Wars campaigns, Kotor, Elder Scrolls III and IV, etc.)

-The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, music by Chance Thomas

-Myst III and IV, music by Jack Wall

-Jade Empire, music also by Jack Wall

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can't believe I forgot the main theme from Deus Ex! Awesomeness in orchestral form if ever there was such a thing. If you've heard the live version rather than just the synthesised one, you'll understand why.

 

Then again, the synthesiser was probably pretty key to the cyberpunk feeling of that game; like Blade Runner, I suppose...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

- Mass Effect and Jade Empire: Simply perfect. I honestly can't imagine anyone composing a better soundtrack for those two games.

 

I totally second this comment. I have both of these shuffeling through the other songs on my iPod ... and they are completely marvellous!!

 

Also, a strange little top-down RPG called Divine Divinity has one of the best sountracks evar. I think it even won awards for it when it came out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[*] Deionarra's theme from Planescape: Torment seems so filled with regret and sadness -- like much in that game.

 

Egads, how could I have forgotten Torment? Very good music, all of it. When it's not in line with above mentioned mood, it carries a unique vibe that only Planescape has.

 

I thought the sountrack was very emotional that described the darkness that was plaguing the galaxy and the Exile perfectly. I like most of the songs, but the Jedi and Nihilus themes are amongst my favorites.

 

Agreed. For the most part it was pretty good, though I found the combat music subpar - it wasn't bad so much as it was generic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed. For the most part it was pretty good, though I found the combat music subpar - it wasn't bad so much as it was generic.

 

I agree with this. I actually replaced some of the combat tracks with John Williams' original score. It's not because the music was bad, but because I got tired of it after playing through KOTOR 2 so many times. :D I still like most of the background music, so the combat tracks are definitely not on par with the rest.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...