I felt this would be a decent discussion topic. Simply name off a few of your favorite video game soundtracks, and why you liked them. Giving links to sample pieces would be particularly helpful, too.
Because I primarily listen to video game music, I could name off so many different games that I particularly love the music of. But then I'd wind up naming off games I'm sure others here have played, so instead I'm just going to start with two to make things easier on myself. Yeah.. anyways.
Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon (N64)The Mystical Ninja series (called Ganbare Goemon in Japan) is one of Konami's bigger franchises, starring a blue-haired thief/ninja named Goemon who wields a pipe as his weapon of choice. The games are steeped heavily in Japanese folklore (if that isn't obvious enough from the title character being loosely based on Ishikawa Goemon), and as such it makes sense that the soundtracks of each game feature instruments that one would typically associate with traditional Japanese music. This particular game is no exception - it successfully mixes traditional Japanese instruments with modern ones. Two good examples from early in the game are "
Kai Highway" and "
Transformed Oedo Castle Part 2." And then there's the fantastic
opening theme, which is sung by Hironobu Kageyama... what more needs to be said? I'll end this with
"I Am Impact!", the theme song of the series' resident giant fighting robot, Impact.
Odin Sphere (PS2)Odin Sphere's soundtrack is so fantastic that it could probably stand rather well on its own. Upon turning the game on for the first time, you're treated to the
game's beautiful theme song, which sets the stage for the rest of the game's music. Some could say the main theme of the game is "Love Hurts," and the soundtrack reflects that by capturing the emotions of each scene.
"A Fate Accepted" is a variation of the game's theme music that plays during particularly emotional moments. On the other side of the spectrum,
"Rally" is a song that plays only twice throughout the game, and each time it does exactly what it's supposed to:
pump you up. Outside of cutscenes, each stage in the game has two themes associated with it- one in-battle, and one out-of-battle. A favorite of mine is the theme for the city of Titania, appropriately titled
"Labyrinth City." Of the battle themes
"A Hard Fight and then Hope" is used primarily for the final bosses of each character's story and is appropriately epic. I'm going to stop at these five examples, but trust me when I say the game's entire soundtrack is worth listening to.
So... go ahead and post your favorites, and maybe comment on what other people have posted.
