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?
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.
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.
Warlords Battlecry II had an epic soundtrack, just another thing that makes it my favourite game. I absolutely love it.
Evil Genius also had a pretty cool soundtrack, which I'm pretty sure it won an award for.
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.
Rabish has gained 100 cool points for having played Evil Genius.
Evil Genius is actually one of my favourite games.
And another game with an awesome soundtrack be my second favourite game of all time, Metal Gear Solid.
Another truly epic soundtrack.
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:
-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
* 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.
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:)
FFVII: One Winged Angel!Oh you didn't...
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, but can't.
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:
- The Kotor series
- The Hitman series
- Cod4 had some good music as well
-Kotor Series.
-Elder Scroll Series.
-Nexus:The Jupiter Incident.
-Total War series.
-GTA Series, specialy Vice City.:D
-Half Life Series.
-Halo series
-Republic Commando
-Kotor series
-EAW: FOC Expansion (The theme song for Forces of Corruption is awesome)
* Shadow of the Colossus. Tokyo Philarmonic Orchestra did awesome... The composer was...
FFVII: One Winged Angel!
Point me a bad song on that game.
Aerith Theme is another honorable mention.
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)
-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
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...
- 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.
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.
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.
The Mass Effect soundtrack has really made an impression on me. The main theme is, of course, superb, and along with it, my personal favorites are "Infusion," "From The Wreckage," and "The End (Reprise)." This could quite possibly become the first game soundtrack I've ever bought/downloaded.
Deus Ex
Freedom fighters
IW had a so so soundtrack, had the game not been an utter piece of rubbish I might have liked it more.
My list of the best game soundtracks: (In Order)
#1 - Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodline
#2 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic I
#3 - Star Wars: Clone Wars
#4 - Shivers II
Oh you didn't...Yes, I did. I'm a sucker for dramatic music :P
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 goosebumpsOh, how could I forget this? I loved it! I found it so strangely wistful.
I have the Gears of War soundtrack. And that's really the only game soundtrack I listen to, besides the GTA IV soundtrack. Both are fairly decent.
So many have already been mentioned, but just to confirm it:
The Hitman series - this game has the best music around.
Assassin's Creed - has to be on second place since the same guy did the music for this game and for the Hitman series.
Dawn of War - Very very cool music.
VTM: Bloodlines - excellent themes and even better songs at various ingame clubs.
Mafia - it'll really make you feel like you're living in the thirties.
Warcraft 2 - this game has some really great music themes, even better than Warcraft 3, which also has a very good soundtrack.
Command & Conquer series - take your pick, every game has great music.
Grim Fandango - not only is this the best adventure game I've ever played, it also has the best music among adventure games. Monkey Island follows closely.
Heroes of Might and Magic III, IV and V - regardless of what you think of the HoMM series, you can't deny it has a great soundtrack.
Legacy of Kain series - let's not forget these games. Besides having a great story and the best voice acting I've heard, there's also some great music.
Deus Ex: Invisible War - say what you want, but I think it's a great sequel with some very good themes and songs.
Jade Empire - do I really need to go into detail when it comes to this game?
KoTOR 1 & 2 - great games with great original soundtracks.
I forgot: Intro music in BF:1942
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.
Pavlos gains 100 cool points, and to answer your question: I only realized it after I was making more money shooting rats than curing people (I thought the toilet sign above their heads was a new disease, so I sacrifised them to the science machine):D
Freedom fighters
had a so so soundtrack, had the game not been an utter piece of rubbish I might have liked it more.
There's something about the Divine Divinity theme...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aweZbaSHWmQ)
World in Conflict
Halo series
Hitman series
Rome and Medieval II: Total War
Oblivion
Crysis
"Still Alive" from Portal
and i could probably keep on going, but those are the most memorable. ;)
Halo 3 had an awesome intro song, the one with the voice going over, the one which always plays each time you turn it on. Epic song that.
And any game, if any, with Release Me on it is epic, that's an epic song.
My friend said of the Halo 3 theme that, and I quote, "It just sounds like they tried to make riverdance epic. Furthermore, they tried to do so by adding Gregorian chant and someone wailing occasionally." :xp:
Which is true... but I quite like my epic riverdance music; even if the game it was attached to was a bit, well, naff, really. >_<
^Hmm, well, IMHO I quite like it, and thought it was a great piece of musical art.
Some other games with good music that no one's mentioned yet:
- Knights of Honor
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time; a nice blend of rock and persian music
- Ico; especially the ending/credits song "You Were There"
- Battle Isle 2 (
http://mirsoft.info/gmb/music_info.php?id_ele=MTM3MA==);) particularly tracks 2, 3, 16, and 'Jogrwai'
- Drakengard (or at least the track that plays on its website (
http://www.square-enix-usa.com/games/drakengard/home.html) - I've never actually played the game...)
- Ahriman's Prophecy (
http://www.amaranthia.com/modules/ahriman/)
- Princess Maker 2 (
http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?id=843)
I don't really remember Freedom Fighters having exceptional music; I'm inclined to agree with mur'phon....
@Arcesious: Republic Commando's title screen/menu music always reminds of 'Duel of the Fates.' Love it!
@igyman: I liked Warcraft 3's soundtrack better; Warcraft 2's music all seemed like minor variations on essentially the same song. WoW has some good music, too.
@Rabish Bini: Wikipedia says "Release Me" can refer to 3 different songs (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Release_Me). Which one were you referring to?
-Any game with music by Jeremy Soule (all Guild Wars campaigns, Kotor, Elder Scrolls III and IV, etc.)
QFE.
The Ace Combat Series has it's good songs, like the AC5 and AC6 main themes.
Republic Commando had some really good orginal Star Wars-y songs.
The First Splinter cell game had some good music in it, and I also think it was made by Rage Against The Machine, if I'm not mistaken. It has Tom Morello's theme throughout the songs.
Metal Gear Solid Series FTW.
Through my nostalgia glasses:
Turbo Outrun - C64
Thunderforce IV - Megadrive
Streets Of Rage - Megadrive
More recently:
Silent Hill - Playstation
I've plainly got to play more games. I can count the number of games I've seriously played this last 3 years on one hand. Hmmm, let me do it:
- Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
- Tomb Raider: Legend & Anniversary
- Pro Evolution Football
- X2 (Egosoft)
- Kotor
- Civilization IV
From these none has a stand out soundtrack, tho' the Tomb Raider soundtracks were well done. Good to see plenty of tips from yous anyway.
Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver - the only game that I have the entire soundtrack on an album on both my ipod and my 360
Final Fantasy VII, XI - Very nice songs suiting the mood
Grand Theft Auto Vice City - Awesome actual songs
Holy crap this is an old thread. I'd have to say the Halo series has the best music
Riven has a really freakin good soundtrack IMO.
Im gonna have to add Red Faction, some of the music is ignorable, but some of it, like when you're on the elevator leaving the mine you start in was perfect for the setting, it made me almost feel bad for the guards and miners I hadn't killed for ammo.
*revive thread*
Found a couple more soundtracks I thought sounded pretty good, both made available for download by the developers:
- Universe at War (
http://universeatwar.filefront.com/file/;85202) (particularly the Masari tracks)
- Shaiya (
http://shaiya.aeriagames.com/media/music)
Red Dead Revolver. - The spaghetti western music is just awesome.
Off ze toppen mein headt:
Deus Ex
Pretty much all the soundtrack, sheer beauty
Deus Ex: Invisible War
Average soundtrack, but the main menu theme is the second best I've ever heard
Age of Empires III
Music gets weary, annoying almost, but is pretty awesome until it doesn't
Morrowind
Few tracks, but very good ones; extremely memorable main menu theme
Dungeon Siege
Another Jeremy Soule classic, fantastic themes
Knights of the Old Republic
Unique themes give it a very exotic, elevated air
Knights of the Old Republic: The Sith Lords
Not memorable, but the extensively builds the gloomy atmosphere
Planescape: Torment
As quirky as the game's aesthetic, not particularly smashing or likeable, but very very good
American McGee's Alice
The most gothic soundtrack I've heard yet, very atmospheric, morose and macabre
Rome: Total War
Absolutely brilliant workmanship, immersive, grandiose and intense. Sheer brilliance.
Golden Sun & Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Very beautiful melodies and incredible work for a GBA game (then again, the production values for the game were way beyond other GBA games, so it doesn't come as a surprise)
Unreal Tournament games
Difficult to name any one, all of them have some tracks that are very catchy, especially the Onslaught ones in UT2004 and the HyperSpace track and of course, UT2003's opening
Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Half-Life 2 has delivered some good music overall, but Vortal Combat and Sector Sweep are absolutely indispensable
Call of Duty
Very hard-hitting tracks, especially the main menu track and the Stalingrad track, very professional
Civilization IV
Not only a great selection of classicals, but the greatest main menu track ever: Baba Yetu
Portal
'Still Alive' makes it all worth it ;)
Republic Commando
Very different music for a Star Wars game, very forceful and unique
Golden Sun & Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Very beautiful melodies and incredible work for a GBA game (then again, the production values for the game were way beyond other GBA games, so it doesn't come as a surprise)Pure Win.
Pure Win.
*hugs maverick*
You're like the only person I've seen on LF who has played what Golden Sun. ^_^
For me it is a tad difficult to choose.
Games that I enjoyed listening to were games like Deus Ex, Kotor, Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect etc. But the problem with those games is, I could never really enjoy listening to their music outside of the game. Their music suited the game too well
Games that I really enjoyed their soundtracks outside of the game as well however were most of the Grand Theft Auto series except for the first game and Liberty City stories (absolutely no good music in that game. One of the worst GTA games I have ever played. Felt to much like a rip off of both San Andreas and GTA 3 except with a lot of the good stuff taken out). Along with Half Life (the first game's music was really, really good), Max Payne (Byzantine Power game FTW), the Driver series (in every game excluding the mobile games and Parallel Lines, it's music always suited the tone and was especially good outside of the game. Perfect music to listen to while actually driving. One of the main things I always enjoyed using the film editor for ingame was to listen to that great music while the video was playing.), Syphon Filter (the first three games had perfect hardcore action music. Really was cool to listen to on my 360 to other games) and Golden Sun (a lot of its music had a perfect fantasy theme to it. I often enough found myself playing Morrowind on the Xbox to these tracks or even more rarely Oblivion *shudders*