The Best Music in Video Gaming
I'm fairly surprised no one has created this topic yet...
Anyway, post your favorite video game music. I don't mean stuff like, "Oh, this song's nice..." I mean the stuff that keeps you up at night, the stuff that's on your iPod, the stuff that's constantly in your ears. In simple terms, the best stuff.
Personally, I think the the best soundtracks in game franchises come from the Halo games (particularly Halo 3, almost every song on the album is pure gold), the Ace Combat Series, and Afro Samurai. I will provide samples from each.
Here is one example from Halo 3's series, essentially its flagship theme. It's commonly referred to as "Warthog Run" for the final level of gameplay it appears in, but its official name is "One Final Effort:"
Here's one of the themes at the end of the game called "Tribute." This is the song that plays at the end of the game during the Memorial Service, its a reflection of everything that has happened during the main Halo series. It happens to be a favorite of mine, but not the best in my opinion:
This is my favorite track out of the entire series. It's called "Roll Call," and it mixes a fast paced action sequence with a piece that makes you reflect, in a sense. I feel it's a really deep piece of music:
This is one of the songs from the Ace Combat Series. This particular track comes from Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies. It is named after the mission for which it appears in, Megalith Agnus Dei. It goes particularly well with the setting of the final mission, as so many things are happening around you, including a massive meteor shower in which it seems the sky is literally falling from the Heavens. Maybe you need to play the mission to get the full effect, but the song is powerful, stunning, and beautiful nevertheless:
This song comes from the latest game (three years ago) Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation. The song also plays during the final mission of the game, and rather than give you an adrenaline rush, this mission is to give you a sense of the death and desperation around you while the cruise missiles are fired off at Gracemeria (your country's capital) and the world appears to fall apart at the seams. It's a beautiful, tranquil, and even creepy piece. It's called "Chandelier/To All Things:"
Afro Samurai was one of the most underrated games ever, in my opinion. Because it was so underrated, people missed out on its brilliant soundtrack, which later won the Soundtrack of the Year award for video games from either GameTrailers, Game Informer, or IGN (or maybe all of them). Anyway, this is the theme from your first big battle, and it blends oriental rhythm and hip-hop almost perfectly. It's known simply as Fight Groove 4:
Here's another track with lyrics. It's called "When the Smoke Clears," and it's extremely popular for some reason (more than just because it's one of the best tracks on the disc). I know most of you have a vendetta against hip-hop, and that's disappointing because some of the best music comes from the hip-hop/rap genre. This is an example of hip-hop done right, and the whole soundtrack is basically like this. Give it a download and a listen if you ever have the time:
Feel free to post links to your own awesome tracks from video games.
This is a very, very good question...
Definitely love, love, love the soundtrack from AC2, especially Heart/Earth and Ezio's Family.
The last three or four songs on the RDR soundtrack were also really great, and where they were placed in the game was nigh-perfection for setting the mood.
Some of the songs from Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game were great, if only because they were chiptunes done by Anamanaguchi. I can't name a single one from that OST, but they fit perfectly with the retro-styling of the game.
Really... I can't name too many songs from games that I've played over the years. I have a feeling that (if I end up getting it, at least) the music from The Old Republic will be up there, as not only are they including songs from the movies, but they've composed something close to five hours of additional music for it.
i'm just gonna go ahead and say "Nobou Uematsu" and win the topic instantly.
i especially love his work on Final Fantasy 9. that game will always have a place in my heart
let's see, which song to highlight?! i guess i'll go with "You're Not Alone"
it's played at a time in the game when the main character has basically given up all hope of continuing forward with the rest of the group.
I've never really played Halo but that music alone makes me want to play it more. "Roll Call" is beautiful 
And personally I like hip-hop so the Afro Samurai music is cool too.
As for my favourite? ACII of course has some brilliant music but I love some of the stuff from White Knight Chronicles (although I didn't like the game that much! 
)
With lyrics:
Or without (much better IMO)
I haven't even played the actual game (yet!) but I'm also obsessed with the music from the Enslaved: Odyssey to the West Demo (it plays on the XMB when you highlight the demo) which I don't think is actually part of the main soundtrack 
There's a similar track called Redemption but it's not quite as good as the demo start up music:
Full Version:
Straight off the XMB:
Shadow of the Colossus.
The opening piece is called "To The Ancient Land" (it goes from the beginning through 3:30).
(I can feel my heart breaking right now 
)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sS_rHO6Vjc&feature=PlayList&p=0AD5A240ED...
The music as a whole in Mass Effect 1 is epic, but this being played during the "Drive the Reapers back into dark space" at the end, gets my heart pumping every time.
Sadly, ME2, whilst being one of my favourite games, doesn't have any songs that I can really remember.
Thanks to SBIzokronus for the fantastic sig!
AC1s BGM really made the atmosphere of the game perfect for me, really mystical and such.
The MGS2/3 theme is just awesome
But my favorite music in video games has to be from Silent Hill.
Shadow of the Colossus.The opening piece is called "To The Ancient Land" (it goes from the beginning through 3:30).
(I can feel my heart breaking right now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sS_rHO6Vjc&feature=PlayList&p=0AD5A240EDCD47B4&index=0&playnext=1
I loved that game! Have to agree with you there. Pure epicness throughout.
I have to say SotC, Mass Effect 1 & 2, and AC 1 are my favorites.
I've listened to all of the examples in this topic and I have to say they're pretty amazing. All are interesting and some are truly awesome. To someone like me, who clearly remembers the age of "Pong" (boop...... boop........ boop......... ), to hear full symphony orchestras plus a choir in video games is pretty dazzling.
The mind, it is boggled. But in a good way! 
I'd love to hear more (hint hint).
Scott Pilgrim vs. The world: The game
I really loved the game because of its old beat-em-up vibe, but what I loved even more was the music, by Anamaguchi who curiously made it with synthetizers and hacked NESs and Gameboys.
Personally, I like the main theme
and the one from the first level
And now that I look up I notice Norf also mentioned Scott Pilgrim
Apart from that I like AC2, some MGS boss battles tracks, and most recently some tracks from the Halo: Reach OST.
ROB_88 wrote:
[On the meaning of BAMF]i figured it was something similar to a MILFBabes Await My..............Flap-a-doodle
Sadly, ME2, whilst being one of my favourite games, doesn't have any songs that I can really remember.
There's some really great musical pieces in ME2 but the one that really stands out i think is the one that plays during the Suicide Mission.
If anybody here are Bear McCreary fans then you should love the main theme from Dark Void. I recently rented the game and while it's not the best game ever the soundtrack is deffinatly EPIC!
Anybody know what they're saying in those AC2 songs that seem to have lyrics? I imagine it's Italian, but I can't make anything out at all.
And while all of AC2's music is amazing, AC1's "Enter the Animus" is probably the best single piece in either game. I love it.
Other games: anything by Hitoshi Sakimoto (I just finished Valkyria Chronicles; he's in form there), of course Uematsu, and most of the scores in the Castlevania series.
And F-Zero GX. I loved racing to those tunes!
My favorite gaming music of all time is Spyro the Dragon for PlayStation One 
This game was the first console game i've ever played and ever since I 
3rd person & Sandbox games
Music made by Stewart Copeland a musical genius
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvy2gFWx5os&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcCcmlZj0og&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG1idmUOVgg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQSsB7dwhjg&feature=related
Good times and a classic!!!! All in 1998 with PSX
I really enjoy Ezio's Family by Jesper Kyd.
Prelude to Fight from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Any of the Terran themes from StarCraft 1
Tetris Theme (Korobeiniki)
The Chase Music from ACII (when you're being chased in the carriage.)
Encounter from Metal Gear Solid 1 and basically every MGS game after that.
Super Mario Brothers Theme World 1-1, this is the most iconic game music of all time pretty much.
Although not from a video game, I really love Berlin Footchase from the Bourne Supremacy/All Bourne movies.
EDIT: I NEED to mention this, Wily's Castle theme from Megaman 2
City of Rome by Jesper Kyd (AC:B Soundtrack) is also beautiful. It's really relaxing compared to the rest of the soundtrack which is brilliant but far more ominous and dark...
City of Rome by Jesper Kyd (AC:B Soundtrack) is also beautiful. It's really relaxing compared to the rest of the soundtrack which is brilliant but far more ominous and dark...
I agree.
This is a particularly long story I felt I should share with all of you. I would appreciate it if you would read it all instead of blindly skipping it, but the choice is up to you. Anyway...
I was 15 years old in 2000, and frustrated that I wasn't allowed to play some of the best video games around (never owned an N64, just a GBC with Pokemon Red on it). I had received a PS1 for my birthday the previous year but there were very few good games for it (that I was allowed to have back then, anyway).
That fall of 2000 marked the release of one of the greatest and most important video games of all time, Metal Gear Solid. I wanted that game so badly, I literally would do anything to have it. But because it was an "M" game, and I was clearly underage, my parents denied me having it. So I went on waiting for it, awaiting the day I turned 17 when I could finally buy it. But things change over the years and your attention begins to shift elsewhere (back then all I wanted to do was play football and do well in school so I could get out of Atlanta), and over time I forgot it.
Well, this Thanksgiving I had a 3 hour flight to and back from my parents' home, and while usually I spend the time playing a handheld game during air travel, this year the choices were slim, and I wasn't particularly enthralled with video games ever since Brotherhood disappointed me to an extremely high extent (more on that later). So I didn't know what I was going to do to pass the time, and I found myself wandering around a Borders Book Store looking for something to read, and I almost NEVER read for recreational purposes, the only book I ever enjoyed after high school was The Things They Carried (a favorite among many people in America).
All of the sudden I got a text message from one of my friends asking me if it was possible to pre-order Metal Gear Solid: Rising, and that's when the lightbulb went off in my head. After waiting over a decade, I was finally able to play Metal Gear Solid for the first time. I immediately went home and torrented the game for the plane ride the next day.
I don't think I need to tell you that the experience was more complete than any other I've had in gaming (yes, it even beat out the one I had with AC1). Metal Gear Solid did everything absolutely perfectly from start to finish, but it was the credits that caught my eye (or ear, rather) the most.
This song, entitled "The Best is Yet to Come," really wrapped up the entire experience for me as the credits rolled. I especially like the flute piece in it about 2 minutes into the song, but I find the whole piece fantastic in general.
I would really like to discuss Metal Gear Solid with you all (not in this topic, obviously) at some point, but for now I ask that you just simply enjoy this song:
Yes, you should discuss it with us. Two of the featured members said mgs was some of their favorite games. Maybe you can make a topic about it soon? 
Sorry if I went off topic.
Congrats to Red Dead Redemption for having the 2010 Video Game Song of the year, "Far Away" by Jose Gonzalez.
This song plays at Midnight right after you first set foot in Mexico during the game. It gives you a sense of loneliness in a brand new world (or section of the world, rather) as you wander around the deserts and rock formations just looking for shelter. Enjoy.
My favorite of all time, from way back in the day. The perfect song to cap off any epic journey. Happiest and saddest moments of my gaming childhood happened right here:
1:28--The End sends nostalgic chills down my spine every time haha
That music always makes me want to cry... lol
RDR's story is so sad.
Same as the first one.
When i watched the E3 trailer with this music i was like: OMG, AWESOME SONG !
PS: the video seems to not be opening here. :s
I loved the "beating" of this teaser of Revelations.
It's a cool music. It's a shame i can't find the full music.
I always loved the Battlefield franchise. Just as this theme.
You gotta listen to this. It's a masterpiece!
My favorite games of all time is Battlefield Series and Assassins Creed Series!
Remembers me of good old times. I used to love this game.
L.A. Noire has some of the best set music in a game I've ever heard. The main theme wraps up the tones of the game nicely. I'm writing a band chart for it to play in clubs.
Sig created by SBIzokronus
Whoever you are holding me now in hand,
Without one thing all will be useless,
I give you fair warning before you attempt me further,
I am not what you suppos
Rockstar usually is tops when it comes to soundtracks. Even as ridiculous as San Andreas was, it still had one of the best (and certainly broadest) soundtracks ever in a video game.
"Smoke that Cigarette" is hilarious in that LA Noire, but I was disappointed by a lack of the usual Rockstar charm that comes with satirizing a decade. It generally only appears in Grand Theft Auto, but there were some really funny moments in Red Dead Redemption that took aim at the turn of the century (read the newspapers). I was expecting Rockstar to tear apart Post WWII America in some way, but I guess they were really committed to staying serious.
I hope we see L.A. Noire: Undead Nightmare haha
Cole Phelps: Sir, can you describe the scene at the graveyard last night?
William Peavy: BLAAAAARGHRAAAAAAAGHHHHRAAAAAAAARWURAAAARGH
GTA3 had some great music. I like that they use actual artists, even they were lesser known at the time. I loved how you could change the radio station when you were in the car.
Cole Phelps: Sir, can you describe the scene at the graveyard last night?William Peavy: BLAAAAARGHRAAAAAAAGHHHHRAAAAAAAARWURAAAARGH
Press 
! He's lying!! 
I'll just leave this right here. http://soundcloud.com/rockstargames/sets/l-a-noire-remixed
Fly Like an Eagle wrote:
Cole Phelps: Sir, can you describe the scene at the graveyard last night?William Peavy: BLAAAAARGHRAAAAAAAGHHHHRAAAAAAAARWURAAAARGH
Press
But have you got evidence? Otherwise, you have to press 
!
i like this ACB soundtrack
i still think the one from the trailer from ac1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvY06DIcSrY&list=LLM2naNsVhpsabyKkcPuUvEQ...
is the best not that it is good music but it reminds me of the first time i saw altair in action but that is not in the game soo i guess this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0i6YFrSs6c&feature=bf_prev&list=PL3CF1B7...
This is a very hard question to answer. Music itself is an opinion, and each genre of music is geared towards the game it's trying to compliment. For example (and one of my favorites), AC2 and ACB's soundtracks are a mix between Italian, Classical, and Spanish so that it can magnify the experience of an Italian Renaissance.
Some of my other favorites are:
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- GTA4
- God of War Series
Soviet Connection, from GTA4, must be one of the best songs I ever heard in a videogame.
ROB_88 wrote:
[On the meaning of BAMF]i figured it was something similar to a MILFBabes Await My..............Flap-a-doodle
@pyt james ..
that song + AC clips= head explosion
Whew...just finished L.A. Noire
Best...jazz...music...ever...
welp this isn't a topic ive posted on yet so ... you about to be EA17ED b*tch
well to start things off batman arkham city
#1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl7t4c4pwxM
this song got me PUMPED. i f*cking love this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZHi2blpsuw&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
another arkham city joint again this got me pumped to kick inmate ass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xgptn2khuSI&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
last of arkham city (to prevent me from put the hole damn soundtrack lol) just another good one
assassins creed - brotherhood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yCyysCmhlQ
the best AC song in my opinion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_0n8cnom0A&feature=related
ofcourse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH1NFziHUxg
0_0 RUN ALTAIR RUNNNNN
yup im done son
WHY HAS NOBODY POSTED THIS?
i did
You posted the Brotherhood soundtrack twice.
-__- ill fix that lol
Sports games usually have great songs in them, but nothing will ever compare to the soundtrack that Madden 2004 had.
First of all, let me go on record as saying that other than the recent success of the NBA 2K franchise, Madden 2004 was the greatest sports game of all time and the only game in the sports genre to ever win game of the year. I loved everything about this game but what I loved more than anything was the soundtrack. It had the perfect combination of rock, metal, and rap. Every song got you pumped to play sports regardless of style. But there was one song that stood out above the rest, so much so that the band did a live performance of it at the Spike Video Game awards upon the announcement of Madden 2004 as Game of the Year.
Rejoice Blink-182 fans, this one's an all-time favorite:
Wow a Madden game with a Blink-182 song? That's cool. From later titles I tohught that it was all about hip-hop and rap songs.
ROB_88 wrote:
[On the meaning of BAMF]i figured it was something similar to a MILFBabes Await My..............Flap-a-doodle
Silent Hill has one of the best soundtracks ever made.
Hitman Bloodmoney's main menu had an awesome take on an opera score. I can't think of the name of it but I'm sure most would know it, at least anyone who's heard of Hitman. Just hearing that music for all the trailers, epic. I remember when I first heard of a movie being made of the series, it went like this;
I was sitting at my kitchen table eating, mom was on the couch watching tv and the commercials started running on the television. I heard the first 6 really sharp harp plinks that the song opens up with, stole the remote, turned the tv waaay up and just yelled "THERE IT IS!! HAAAA....wtf, 47 is older...AND NOT SO PISSY!"
btw, that last part was Timothy Olyphant F**king up the whole movie with his rageful animal eyes. 47 literally has cold-dead eyes. Timmy has hyper, rageful eyes that just never seem to finally "explode". 47 should have at least been, in fact and age, 47.