What was the best video game music of all time?
What was the best video game music of all time?
For my money it's a tie between Eurydice's song from Hades, any of the tracks from VVVVVV and Still Alive. But what do you think?
247 comments
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Katamari Damacy. It's got one of the most infectiously joyous soundtracks of all time -- an eccentric, richly-produced, and incredibly catchy melange of funk, salsa, bossa nova, experimental electronica, J-Pop, swing, lounge, bamboo flute, hair metal, buoyant parade music, soaring children's choirs, Macintalk fanfares, and the single best theme song this side of Super Mario Bros. And beyond being insane earworms, many of the tracks have surprisingly deep and meaningful lyrics.; my favorite is probably the beautiful "Cherry Tree Times", which I've seen described as "[using] the gameplay mechanics as a metaphor both for the twinge of nostalgia we could feel even in childhood toward our younger selves and for the experience of falling in love."
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The Halo Trilogy I truly believe is the best video game music. The original from CE instantly became iconic and felt pivotal to the game. Then each iteration tweaked the formula in a way that represented the respective game. The heavy rock Breaking Benjamin style from Halo 2 represents the rebellious nature of the story (and honestly it represented gaming culture at the time). Then the music really matured with a heavy piano theme for Halo 3. The score made you feel the sacrifice of the characters and us saying goodbye to a brilliant story.
Some great tracks:
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FFX To Zanarkand is gut wrenching. Powerful and moving. The song captures completely what the story is about.
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Came here just to make sure this one was mentioned.
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Shit, just the home screen music gets me man.
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Baba Yetu from Civilization IV is the correct answer. First video game composition to win a Grammy (before there was even a video game category).
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I used to love love LOVE this song until I heard it over a thousand times trying to figure out which mod was making my game crash.
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Command and Conquer Red Alert and the fact that this isn't top comment, yet alone already mentioned has me seriously doubting the taste of this establishment.
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RA2 music better than RA1 music for me.
RA2 is the best RTS of all time, no question.
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I don't care which one it is, all 3 had an excellent Hell March.
And while I loved both RA2 and RA3 for their style, CnC Generals was the better RTS just for being better balanced. Unfortunately no memorable music in Generals.
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Yeah TibSun and Red Alert 2 basically defined my music taste in life. Halo got me into orchestra, but everything else can be traced back to C&C
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How can anything beat Tetris?
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Guess what I’m humming right now after reading tetris?
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You will all hum it the whole day: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tetris_theme.ogg
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I hadn't seen that one in years! Thanks for the memory.
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Outer Wilds.
The whole soundtrack is just so atmospheric, I regularly listen to it while working as a kind of focus music, but some tracks are so good I get the chills while listening.
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First instinct was to say Chrono Trigger. My second choice is Tony Hawks Pro skater.
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Has anyone said Minecraft? I haven't played games myself for years (well before Minecraft) but live in a house where it was played for hours at a time. Soundtrack never became annoying & whenever I hear it it instantly takes me back in time.
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Chrono Trigger.
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The entire soundtrack of Nier Automata, for a more recent contender.
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Game: Masterpiece. Soundtrack: Masterpiece.
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Had to scroll way too far for this
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For me it's is:
- Final Fantasy 7 (sheer volume of classics, listen to it regularly)
- Resident Evil 2 (PSX)
- Tekken 3
- Silent Hill 2
- Spyro (come on, it's Stewart Copeland!)
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Donkey Kong Country and Diddy's Kong Quest set some bars when they dropped.
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I bought the DK Country album when it came out
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DKC3 also had a killer soundtrack.
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My vote for best - Secret of Mana
My personal favorite - Jet Set Radio Future
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JSRF was incredible. Still listen to some of the songs every now and then. That Xbox bundle that came with it was so good
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It's the entire reason I still own an original Xbox.
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I love love you love love me
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Either Halo or the new Doom games.
Very few themes are more iconic than Halos chanting and basically all of those are simple themes without depth. Halos theme makes you feel a flood of emotion when you hear it.
And nothing on this earth nothing is more bad ass than the Doom music. Just hearing it makes you feel like you could go to hell and kill gods.
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Also the old Doom games.
Now I've got E1M1 in my head
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Katamari Damacy!!!
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Final fantasy 6! The renditions of the victory fanfare and chocobo theme are terrific and multiple other songs are dramatic, exciting, enthralling. And there are some legit jams on the soundtrack, too. The Veldt, Magitek Factory, and Zozo all are amazing.
Other games music that are great are Tropico, Frostpunk, and RimWorld.
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I shouldn't have had to scroll this far but I guess the average gamer is younger than this masterpiece now.
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I think ff7 also was "the" final fantasy game people played and think back to.
But ff6 has a dope soundtrack. Like when you lift off in the falcon for the first time.
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Final fantasy 6. Probably did the most with the least. It is an all-time banger for that along with super Mario 3.
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Mass Effect.
That opening scene, with that music playing… it really hooked me from the first second.
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Love the reaper sounds. I think my favorite scene is from mass effect 2 when the reapers are coming to a planet you're on and destroying everything.
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Portal 1 and 2, for sure.
"This was a triumph..."
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go make some new disaster!
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Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim soundtracks. Diablo 2. Wow classics soundtrack....hell many expansions in wow have amazing music. Halo 1, 2, 3s soundtrack.
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Morrowind has my favorite overall soundtrack, but Halo 3's One Final Effort is the best video game music ever written. Cool piano rendition of One Final Effort and Halo's main theme
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Chrono trigger OST imho
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Chrono Cross OST. Trigger may be the better game, but Chrono Cross's soundtrack is unparalleled.
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"Setting Sail, Coming Home" from Bastion deserves a mention, from the same studio as Hades. They put the effort in when it comes to music in their games.
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Hotline Miami
Splinter cell - chaos theory
Ori and the blind forest
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Hotline Miami +1
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Vice City
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I would argue that Vice City has a great soundtrack, one of the best. but it has real music, not "video game music" in other words music written specifically for it.
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For me it’s Dark World Theme - Zelda ALTTP (SNES) and Big Blue - F-Zero (SNES).
And in general the Zelda OST.
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In no particular order.
OSTs:
- DOOM 2016
- FTL: Faster Than Light
- Halo (most, but especially 1-3 and Reach)
- Command and Conquer series, especially Yuri's Revenge and prior.
Non-OST games:
- Gran Turismo 2
- TRAIL:OUT
I listen to all of these in my free time fairly regularly.
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Ftl is such good chip tunes
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Doom 2016's soundtrack is so incredible not only because the tracks themselves are great but how well it combines with the game itself
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Scrolled through to see if someone would mention doom, I was gunna post it if not.
That OST was a big part of the game.
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NEDM
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Undertale. Megalovania. Anyone?
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8 bit songs rule
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Weight of the World - Nier Automata
The Japanese version when you're finishing the game is the most emotional I've gotten during a game
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Risk of Rain 2 is phenomenal.
Warframe has great music all over the place.
Tony Hawks Underground and Underground 2 soundtracks contain songs I listen to today.
Need For Speed: Most Wanted 2007 and Burnout 3: Takedown basically defined my music interests from an early age.
I really enjoyed Cyberpunk 2077s but that was likely primarily because of the inclusion of Run The Jewels.
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Nice to see Risk of Rain mentioned. Agreed
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Btw the first most wanted was released in 2005 not 2007. But I definitely agree with you it's what got me into rock music.
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Wrong year, my bad, but yeah. Definitely was big for my tastes
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Shadow of the Colossus
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Celeste was a great gang and has a great soundtrack, and then there are b sides and an epilogue all with their own music
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Almost all the music from :
Castlevania symphony of the night The legend of Zelda wind waker Final fantasy 7 and 8 Metal gear solid Pokémon blue GTA Vice city FTL:faster than light
Some from timesplitters 2 like streets or return to planet x
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The entire Homeworld franchise is awesome in this regard. Including Deserts of Kharak.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker is also great for some chill beats. So unique. You all should give it a listen.
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Yes, hardspace! I was searching for this. It's not your typical rock or techno. It's more bluegrass. It fits the game so perfectly bc of the working class exploitation theme. Wish I could have gotten the vinyl.
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Some of my favourites:
- Max Payne 3 ost (1 and 2 are great too but I just love the violin)
- Star Wars The Old Republic saga - some examples Balmorra The Forge and Alderaan The Throne
- Mass Effect trilogy - example In Pursuit Of Saren
- Magical Diary Horse Hall & Wolf Hall - playlist
- All Skyrim (and generally The Elder Scrolls songs and soundtracks) - example The Dragonborn Comes by Malukah
If I remember any more I'll update the list. I listen to these all the time.
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Came here for Max Payne, awesome OST
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Metroid! The sound track was so awesome a heavy metal band recorded it as an album.
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You can't say that and not say which band.
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Kingdom Hearts
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Yoko Shimomura is my favorite Square Enix composer, hands down.
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Oh no don't you say you won't walk away please c'mon baaaybeee...
Which i only remember from the stupid commercials they played non-stop. One of the few videogame commercials of that era
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Agreed. If you haven’t heard of then, you should check out Project Destati. They’re great at capturing the magic of KH music in orchestra style
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Fields of Ard Skellig from Witcher 3, also A story you wouldn't believe.
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I don't know if I'm brave enough to say of all time. but the tracks from jazz jackrabbit 2 are pretty awesome. I have them on my ordinary music playlist.
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Jungle Fevah, Jazz be damned, Dark groove and Tubelectric kick ass! (Not that the others don't, I just particularly like those ones)
Alexander Brandon is a legend
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I love castle level and streetwise, myself 😅
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Well this brought back memories! Thankyou.
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The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
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Ctrl+F Hotline Miami.... No one's mentioned this banging track yet?
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Easily this. It’s almost functionally a rhythm game with the way the soundtrack effectively pulse drags you through levels, and then smash cuts to a droning track for a “comedown” after the high of each completion.
The Last of Us is the next best for me.
And then I know it’s cheating, but the Theophany Time’s End II cover of Majora’s Mask is a masterpiece. If this was in-game, it’d be my number one.
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The only OST better than Hotline Miami is Hotline Miami 2. Seriously, that Carpenter Brut track is unreal
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Someone already said Shadow of the Colossus, so I can plug my other favourite Outer Wilds. Especially the tracks from Echoes of the Eye. Dark Passage is raw dread in audio form, the River is a spectacular adventure theme, and the jam at the end of the universe is a perfect ending
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Yep, that banjo really hits hard...
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Disco Elysium!!
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I've been listening to the OST A LOT lately. Discovering Sea Power and similar artists is one of the many many great things that came out of playing that game.
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Halo (most), Super Paper Mario, Baten Kaitos, and Ocarina of Time.
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Journey.
Sometimes I well up just thinking about it, let alone listening to it. Wonderful.
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I'd struggle to set a ranking between DOOM 2016/Eternal, Witcher 3, and Civilization 6.
Maybe Civ 6 wins just by sheer dint of tracks, plus they have so much cultural significance.
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There's just way too many to list. A few of my favorite composers are
- Tim Follin
- Jochen Hippel
- Matt Furniss
- David Whittaker
- Jeroen Tel
- Yuzo Koshiro
- Rob Hubbard
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FFXIV
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Final Fantasy VI
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The Super Mario Galaxy duology has the best overall OST in my opinion. The orchestral music is amazing for so many of the tracks.
For any individual song, however. It would be Weight of the World from Nier Automata. For context: ::: spoiler spoiler it's the very emotional song that plays during the credits scene of the game, after you complete all 5 of the main endings :::
EDIT: I want to give an honorable mention to the Ace Attorney OST, across all of their games. A lot of people may know the Pursuit - Cornered theme, but every game in that series has banger tracks. Not as widely praised, and very underrated imo, hence the honorable mention.
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Firelink Shrine from Dark Souls, it's so peaceful and melancholic
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From games all have amazing soundtracks. I just played through everything from demon souls to Elden ring including sekiro and bloodborne and realised they all have amazing, but very different, soundtracks. Most bosses have completely unique soundtracks it's amazing the attention to detail and you miss it if you aren't specifically listening for it .
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I've barely played the game, it wasn't for me, but I fell instantly in love with the Bastion and Transistor soundtracks the moment I heard them.
It is my second most played game soundtrack right behind the metal songs from the Alan Wake series. Third is all 3 Hell March songs from Red Alert series. Fourth and oldest is probably Unreal Return to Na Pali and generally all of the two Unreal and four Unreal Tournament game tracks. And the Frozen Synapse series and Uplink soundtracks is probably close to the top too. And I don't know if it counts but the artist behind the Wheel of Time game soundtrack released a separate almost-soundtrack, which I played A LOT while reading the book series.
And thats just a few of my favorite tracks. I love video game music! I can't really decide on a single best one.
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If you haven't already heard it, I highly recommend Pyre's OST! I'm a little biased, it's one of my favorite games of all time, but I feel the OST especially improves on elements of Bastion/Transistor's soundtracks but with a style all its own.
also yasssss frozen synapse rules
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Lots of great answers here already. To me not only is this extremely subjective, this is highly dependent on how you define "best".
Is it the one that exposed me to the most new music, and most help shape my music tastes today? Then I'm going with Tony Hawk or Guitar Hero.
Is it the best entire original soundtrack, the one that best creates the aesthetic of the game? Bastion comes to mind, but I think there are good arguments to be made for quite a few RPGs. Mass Effect doesn't have a lot of hummable tunes, but damn do they nail the feel of the world.
Is it the most technically impressive? I'm going with the original Mario soundtrack. What they did with so few possible notes and so little memory to create different sounds is nothing short of miraculous, and they are tunes and riffs that are instantly recognizable worldwide.
Is it the best individual song? Hard pick but I really adore the main theme of Skyrim to this day.
Is it just my favorite overall? I think I'd go with Earthbound.
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For the whole soundtrack Shadow of the Collosus. For a specific track the one I listen to most often is Instrument of Surrender, or Off We Go Into The Wild Pale Yonder from Disco Elysium
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It is ** Brütal Legend** by far!!
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Always forget about this game! Also one of the best for sure
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Well thats kinda cheating, most of the music is just old rock and metal! 😊 Though I do have that Swordhenge guitar bit in my playlist. Unforgettable.
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Goldeneye on N64
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There are many great ones. Off the top of my head, each with a sample:
- Baldur's Gate 3 (recent addition)
- Return of the Obra Dinn
- Portal 2
- Deep Rock Galactic
- Doom Eternal
- Deus Ex - Human Revolution
- Ori and the Will of Wisps (haven't played it enough yet but music stood out)
(All links point to a Piped Instance, which is a privacy-friendly YouTube frontend/proxy. If you want to visit YouTube directly and tell Google what you're watching, just change the domain name)
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In bg3 I'm currently in a fight with a certain trickster and the music for that is freaking great.
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Here's an obscure one.
The Batman game for NES.
That stage 1 & 2 song was like no other game music on the NES before or since.
Also, shout out to Blaster Master.
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Like no other before or since? You'll have to jam out to playing Gun Smoke for the nes, released before batman. The entire track is bangers and the game was awesome as well.
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The Last Of Us.
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FF IX for me
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some of my favourites
streets of rage 1 and 2 wave race 64 aerobiz supersonic platoon nes donkey country snes katamari damacy ps2 earthbound snes pictionary nes ristar genesis bomberman hero n64 castlevania 3 nes
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Space Harrier or Outrun, for sure.
Special award for Ghost n Goblins or Commando and some others like Dragon's Lair.
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MegaMan 2 Tony Hawk franchise Halo (Bungie days)
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Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Lelelelelele.... need I say more?
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Bro, you put a Super Giant game and don't mention "Build that Wall" from Bastion, tsk tsk.
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Appearently Trump tried to get the license for that song for his campaign
/s
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aquatic ambiance from Donkey Kong country is up there. Also IGN made an actually cool video about it recently.
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Yes! People like to chalk up DKC2 and having the better music. And while sticker brush symphony slaps, I feel like DKC1 had more memorable music.
Aquatic ambiance, minecart madness, the title screen, bonus stage, hell even the first stage. So good!
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Persona 5 Royal
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Objectively speaking the answer has gotta be something from FFXIV. But which one?? Too many candidates....
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The most I've ever felt from a video game's music to pump me up was "Shadowbringers" playing once you start the fight with Hades.
So I'd say that.
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Team Fortress 2 OST
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Super Mario Galaxy has an amazing soundtrack!
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I think Zelda: Wind Waker's ost is one of the greats. I'm also surprised nobody has mentioned Earthbound and Mother 3 yet. They have amazing atmospheric tracks like nothing else.
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Ori And The Blind Forest is definitely up there
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Surprised I've not seen more people mention this. Will of the wisps music was bomb too. Gareth Coker is an incredible composer.
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Awesome for the Amiga
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For ambience, Anarchy Online.
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Not sure about best but the music the black mesa game did for the half life remaster was amazing.
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I love soundtracks from Splatoon, all series. Especially Chip Damage/Blitz it! is my favourite.
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MW2: Mercenaries was pretty awesome.
Other ones that come to mind are Crazy Taxi and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.
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Final fantasy 6 Chrono trigger Street fighter 2 Street fighter v Super Mario Bros 3 Mega Man 2 Undertale And this is really unfair but Def Jam fight for New York
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So many great answers already, but one I don't think I've seen mentioned yet is the soundtrack for Bastion
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Probably not when you wrote this but now theres four mentions. 😊
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It's nice to see so many different awnsers, gaming has just so many good soundtracks.
Personally, I love the soundtrack of the original Xenoblade Chronicles. "Engage the Enemy" really hits during the cutscene it plays.
Another recomendation is Xenoblade Chronicles 3's "Words that never reached you"
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- GTA Vice City
- NFS Underground 1 and 2
- NFS Most Wanted
- Gris
- Retrowave
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From the windows to the walls!
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I can’t pick just one, but these are among my favourites:
- Prince of Persia 3D
- Grim Fandango
- Descent
- Skyrim
- Far Cry 2
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My fav descent soundtrack https://youtu.be/AWtWrRvsszY
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Turrican 2 on the Amiga
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Im a sucker for the witcher 1& 2. Also stardew valley/minecraft are both worth mentioning
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Stardew valleys' music gets stuck in your head
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Chrono Cross OST
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Overworld theme and Dead Sea tracks are phenomenal.
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Warhammer 40,000 Mechanicus Just embodies the Techpreist vibe so well, a near perfect hybrid of church organs and industrial music.
Its actually hard to pick a favorite track, it evenly split between Children of the Omnissiah and Noosphere.
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The song from the first level of Sonic Adventure 2 (the one about escaping the city). It catchy to listen to while all of the action of Sonic unfolds.
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Okami has a truly beautiful soundtrack, my favourites are the 'The Sun Rises' and The Eight Dog Warriors Theme'. Also Calamari Inkantation from Splatoon is fantastic.
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Definitely the best video game music is from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Stains of Time is my favorite.
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Almost all Deus Ex soundtrack, and maybe the Synapse level was the best of them.
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Total Annihilation
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Halo is my top pick.
Goldrunner was also fantastic in its way.
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Right now I'm going to have to go with a tie between Brok and Graff from Brok the Investigator and the legacy soundtrack piece After The Flames by Josh Woodward from SuperTuxKart.
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90% of the Sonic Frontiers "Cyberspace" tracks are S tier. The best soundtrack in recent memory.
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Jet Set Radio Jet Set Radio Future Bombrush Cyberfunk
You just have to understand the concept of love!
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Personally, Quake (1996). I remember playing it as a teen and actually feeling my heart rate increase with the music. It was the first game that the music really immersed me into the game.
Honorable mention, The Housebuilding Song from RDR2. Just a perfect way to lighten the mood after such a hard hitting chapter.
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Def hollow knight, I think it captures the essence of a long decaying kingdom perfectly.
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Others have mentioned kingdom hearts, donkey Kong country and Jet Set Radio Future which are some of my favorites, but another one I love is Maplestory. Great simplistic map BGMs that I still listen to quite often when studying or focusing
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And now I've got the Henesys music playing in my head. Old MS was so fun back in the day. Mesos pls :'(
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Interstate 76 was my go-to OST for a looooong time. What a gem.
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You know it, swinger.
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SNES Wild Guns final theme Song
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Jet Set Radio Future and Jet Grind Radio. No question. Hideki Nakanuma is a genius.
Oh and Dance Dance Revolution 3rd, 4th, and 5th miss.
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That's a tough one. And I don't think it's fair. From one generation to the next, music in video games has evolved quite a bit.
And each console had its own quirks for the music chip. Some later consoles played directly from CDs.
On the NES, I think Megaman 2 and Journey to Silius had kick-ass chip tune soundtracks.
On the SNES, I'd say Uniracer had a great rock soundtrack. Star Fox also had an epic soundtrack. Oh and Killer Instinct was fantastic. It even came with a music CD with the soundtrack. But my all time fave has to be the TMNT IV game soundtrack. And I'll give a special shoutout to Chrono Trigger.
On the Sega Genesis, I think the Sonic series had an amazing newjack and fusion jazz style soundtrack.
On N64, and PlayStation I particularly LOVED the Wipeout racing game soundtracks with music from my all time favorite electronica bands of the time. Goldeneye 007 holds a special place in my heart as well.
After that it gets really hard because so many games have incredible music. It's hard to choose.
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Some great ones:
Gyruss (arcade)
Bubble Bobble (arcade)
WipeOut 2097(XL) (psx - probably the best example of songs that compliment the gameplay)
Afterburner II (arcade - just one specific track called City 202, at time 15:34)
Edit: 2 more
720 ( arcade - blistering)
Rolling Thunder ( arcade - max funky )
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Ahhh but which Still Alive?
You probably meant the one from Portal, but I much prefer the one from Mirror's Edge! Beautiful song!
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I love listening to Rimworlds OST and Hotline Miamis soundtrack.
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Teenage mutant Ninja turtles iv: turtles in time
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TF2
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I still listen to the NSFU2 soundtrack today when I feel the need for a bit of hard hitting sound, with some variety.
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Risk of Rain 2
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Sonic Mania - Hydrocity Zone Act 2
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I’ll add two of my favourites that haven’t been mentioned yet - Metroid Prime is my all time favourite and Horizon: Zero Dawn and Forbidden West which I’ve been listening to a ton late lately
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This message brought to you by "that one part you can whistle in Chozo Ruins" gang
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Yes to Metroid Prime!
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Celeste and Pokemon mystery dungeon explorers of sky
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half life franchise (seriously every game has perfect and fitting soundtrack) super meat boy (both the original 2010 soundtrack composed by danny b and the 2015 soundtrack made by various artists rock. but the 2010 soundtrack is one of the most iconic soundtracks ever made in my opinion.)
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Mortal kombaaaaaaat
Pa pa pa tum tum tum pa pa pa
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IDK if it's best of all time but the soundtrack to Guardians Crusade, a jrpg for kids on the PS1, is pretty up there and waaaaaaayyyyyy better than it has any right to be.
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Pretty much the entire Castlevania : Symphony of the night soundtrack... It's all so good. And nostalgic too. One of my favorite games, and favorite soundtracks.
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Definitely my top choice. The music added so much depth and it really set the bar for video game music in the disc age.
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Chrono Cross ftw
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Chrono Trigger for me but also a great choice!
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Deep Stone Lullaby fro the Deep Stone Crypt raid in Destiny 2.
It’s an absolutely beautiful piece of music, but so much impactful more when tied to where it appears in the raid as you battle your way across the underside of the space station, all of the other sounds muffled by the vacuum of space.
I don’t know who the guy is, but this video of DrLupo playing it with an orchestra playing the track live while he does is pretty damned amazing.
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Underwater theme from donkey Kong country
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The theme song of Locoroco. Though the lyrics are in a made-up language, I can feel the desire for world peace in this song.
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Tunic has an otherworldly soundtrack. It's perfect music to listen to while working. https://youtu.be/nnvjKf_mRYM
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Hands down, DOOM Eternal
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Eternal had some great beats. Hell on earth is a great track. I love the demonic chant for the arctic hell base too.
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Tony Hawk was a big one. The EA sports games always have some bangers that get stuck in your head. One of my favorite video game moments, though, was bombing the tobacco fields to Bomba Estereo's "Fuego", in Far Cry 6. They employed music well, throughout, but that moment was really enveloping.
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Skyrim was pretty epic… even the “wandering around” music was perfect.
But my #1 is Still Alive (closing theme song to Portal).
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There is a reason Touhou has two fandoms, one for its games and the other for its music. The music alone saved it from being another Oregon Trail and eventually got it its own anime.
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Castlevania, Zelda and Silent Hill (though I'd say all first 3) mentioned so I'm gonna say Alundra. Sure it's very Zelda/JRPG, but that game had some amazing music that just sticks with you.
Also a little tongue in cheek, but Adventures of Lolo. I'm not sure if there's just one song throughout the trilogy, but it sure feels like it. Weirdly it doesn't bother you. It's like a hypnosis that just makes you play one more level. One more try. Kind of like the Tetris soundtrack, but it never gets old.
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I'm going to give honorable mention to Buck Bumble on the N64.
I remember basically nothing about the game, or even if it was any good, but I rented it once at blockbuster and like 2 decades later the theme song still pops into my head once in a while.
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Buck to the bass
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Shadowrun for Sega Genesis
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Not exactly answering the question, but hearing every generational rendition of Proof of a Hero throughout the Monster Hunter games still gives me the feels
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Haven't seen it mentioned, but, Spiritfarer
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For me definitively the soundtrack of Boneworks (which is also the best VR game I know). Especially its main theme ("Bone Theme") and "Who am I"
Some more awesome OSTs in no particular order: Minecraft, Banjo-Kazooie / Banjo Tooie, Witcher 3, Risk of Rain 2
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Just one track? The Requiem of Shield Knight from Shovel Knight.
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Wingspan. I have the Vinyl OST.
Monument Valley is quite nice too.
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Star control 2 was the absolute best imo
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I'm going to go for a bit of a deeper cut and say Mad Rat Dead. They took a genre which relies so heavily on the strength of its music (rhythm platformer), and produced a soundtrack where literally every song is a banger, and produced some great emotional moments as well--the transition from Cottage House to Kind of Hope and Neuchatel still makes me choke up just thinking about it.
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I'm a big fan of the Offworld Trading Company OST.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mKUh4ny0EVAbJNHR9Bd69cS6I49VdHric
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I am personally in love with Far Cry 5's soundtrack.
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Unorthodox opinion here but Wasteland 3, the first time the Battle Hymn of the Republic played over a fight was incredible.
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Ys
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I played a beautiful game last year called Omno, and the soundtrack to that was just breathtaking. I listen to it all the time
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=33ZP8_aAdNI
Kenshi has some of the best ambient music. Scorching wind gives chills every time.
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Ace Combat
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A few i havent seen mentioned.
Sonic 2 and 3 on megadrive. Especially the ice zone with the snowboard on 3. https://youtu.be/hYxlqTpZ-24
Icewind dale. The kuldahar music is epic. https://youtu.be/B92P1-OUNJo or easthaven in peace https://youtu.be/ERd5stTsaBc
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The original Destiny sound track was fire
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Mega Man 3 on guitar is fantastic: https://youtu.be/9__sJWMXjE0
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Really really obscure but I could never take this song off my head, from A Thousand Arms, psx game. Game was a goor jrpg.
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Mario 2.
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Diablo 1 - Tristram Theme
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It’s not better than Tetris I’ll admit. But I’ve always had a soft spot for the Mass Effect soundtrack.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqAYMZSOQao
My pick for best chiptune track
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Samurai Shodown series has an amazing soundtrack. A mix of traditional Japnese sound, rock music, chaotic jazz, and ambient sound that barely resembles a song. The ending of 3 is my ultimate 'get pumped' song:
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Hughe fan of the low roar songs in death stranding
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I listen to "Carmeaty Burana" from Super Meat Boy all the time.
Pretty much any Danny Baranowsky is gonna be good.
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For me personally some of my favorites (most memorable) are:
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin main title (and first half of the OST)
Divinity Original Sin 2 main title
Original vanilla WoW main title music
Sanctuary from Borderland 3’s OST
BFG Division from DOOM
Pretty much the entire Skyrim soundtrack
Most of the Witcher 3 soundtrack. My favorite is probably On the Champs-Désolés, which is from the Blood and Wine expansion.
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I'm surprised that no one mentioned the Metal Gear Solid series. The music was incredible, and it's got one of the most memorable songs in Snake Eater. I'm also a big fan of Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday .
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Mgs3 had some bangers
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The medley in MGS4 at the climax of the story is also incredible.
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Your reality is amazing
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Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
Left 4 Dead
Warcraft classic - TBC - WOTLK - Cataclysm
They are Billions
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Space Invaders
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This is going to be highly subjective.
For me, this may not be the best, but it's one of the more memorable soundtracks.
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, Manaan theme. https://youtu.be/CNe4XHbkEZA
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I'd say Sayonara Wild Hearts. It's a rhythm game so expertly crafted with the musicsoundtrack it gives me chills. It's so, so good
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My favorite is Dragon Age Origins, personally.
The really cool war chant for the Ostagar scene, Lelianna's Song, and the soundtrack of the Brecilian Forest are my favorite.
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Killer 7 end credits https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgSroCxm3vA&abchannel=KyleBrockman
247 comments
Tetris
Why? Because upon having said that I know its now playing in all of your heads.
Korobeiniki
I liked the 'B' music best. 'A' is a classic but 'B' was my jam.
Check out this remix of it from years ago.
https://youtu.be/Tnyk1xoQWJI