Editor
This is not anywhere near complete; it's missing about 30-40% of the topic and doesn't have scores for everything that has been added. I
--
I've noticed that I don't pay nearly as much attention to music in video games as other people. This topic is an attempt to remedy that! Every day (or at least semi-regularly), I'll post a track I like here. Some might be obscure, some will be pretty mainstream. Most of these will probably be from games I've played recently.
You are welcome and heavily encouraged to join in!
Since this is the first day, I'll start with two:
Cosmo Canyon - Final Fantasy VII
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei3i996VsNQ
I've been humming this the last few days for some reason. I really dislike the first 25 seconds or so, but it's okay because once it gets going, it's pretty much awesome straight through to the end.
This song plays in Cosmo Canyon, an area I really didn't like at all just because it was sorta confusing to navigate, even if it looked gorgeous. The music made it like a hundred times more tolerable because, even if you got lost, it just meant you could listen to the music a bit more!
Final Act - Sonic Chaos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWWuSQWldGs
I posted about this in my other topic, but I'm reposting it here (a lot of these are going to be repeats of ones I've already mentioned somewhere, at least for a while, just FYI). Unlike Cosmo Canyon, I really like the start of this one, but at about 15 seconds and especially at 26 seconds I start liking it a bit less. Still good, though, especially for a game that didn't have very much good music.
This plays during Electric Egg Zone Act 3, for about 10 seconds, before you reach the final boss and the (much worse) final boss theme kicks in. I'm not sure why there are three separate tracks here (one for Electric Egg Zone, one for the Final Act, and one for the Final Boss), but I appreciate it, because this one is the least necessary and also by far the best. For some reason it sorta reminds me of Bloody Tears, which is nice. >_>
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDl_s6GAzt4
So TWEWY had a really good soundtrack in general, and this is my absolute favorite song from it. One thing I really liked about TWEWY's soundtrack was that a majority of the songs had lyrics, which is less common than it should be. I of course cannot understand this song's lyrics at all - in fact until buying the song in-game and seeing its name I always heard it as "happiness", not "emptiness" - but it's still good. It's also way different from most of TWEWY's music, being a good deal... harsher or some such than the rest of the soundtrack, which is nice. Provides a good contrast.
I forget when exactly this plays during TWEWY. I think, and correct me if I'm wrong, it's one of the battle themes from Week 2. I mainly remember it because I set it as my menu music, so it always played there, and led to me spending like 5x longer in the menu than I needed to just to listen to the music longer. <_<
(And no, I have no idea why that YouTube link has like 3 minutes of dead air after the song ends.)
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
Now, I wouldn't say "Emptiness and" is the best TWEWY song, but it's probably Top 5, and definitely the best battle song in the game (Deja Vu, Three Minutes Clapping, Calling, and Underground being the 4 I might put over it, and probably in about that order).
---
xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
And Calling is probably my second favorite song from TWEWY. I don't remember the others just based on names so I'll have to check them out before I can say anything about them.
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
Yeah, I know. I just said list because... I dunno, it is. I know it's not ranked or anything.
What's wrong with Cosmo Canyon?
I just don't like it. It's kind of hard to "explain" it. I also really dislike the beginning of the song, but where you see the song getting better, I... don't really. I mean, yes, it's a lot better later on than the beginning, but it's nothing beyond even average and so it can't redeem the song or even do anything better than dragging the song itself to average at best.
---
xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
Okay, I just checked these out.
Calling - Like I said, I like this one. Probably my second favorite after Emptiness And.
Underground - To be honest, I don't like this one at all. It's like, it seems good, but it feels like it's all build-up for the entire song and never any sort of pay-off. It would work fine as a lead in to something else, but by itself... I dunno. There's nothing really bad about it, but it's just sort of unsatisfying.
Three Minutes Clapping - ...I'm going to be completely honest and say that I'm really surprised to hear that you like this song. >_>; I'm not even sure why, it just surprises me for some reason. But I actually like this one a lot. It's odd, though, I don't feel like it works within TWEWY very well, but I like just listening to it on its own. And it has lyrics I can actually understand, which is a plus!
Deja Vu - okay wow nostalgia overload for some reason. Should I be having nostalgia about a game I played like... earlier this year? That's not normal, right? But yeah, I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. I like it a lot within TWEWY, but I'm not sure I like just listening to it. Sort of the opposite of 3MC in that regard.
At risk of sabotaging my later material, I also forgot about Detonation. That's definitely top 3 in TWEWY for me, might even beat Calling now that I think about it. >_>
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
Not every song needs a "pay off." =(
Three Minutes Clapping - ...I'm going to be completely honest and say that I'm really surprised to hear that you like this song. >_>; I'm not even sure why, it just surprises me for some reason.
lolz
But I actually like this one a lot. It's odd, though, I don't feel like it works within TWEWY very well, but I like just listening to it on its own. And it has lyrics I can actually understand, which is a plus!
Nah, it works fine.
Deja Vu - okay wow nostalgia overload for some reason. Should I be having nostalgia about a game I played like... earlier this year? That's not normal, right? But yeah, I'm not quite sure how I feel about this.
That it's the best song in the game because it is?
At risk of sabotaging my later material, I also forgot about Detonation. That's definitely top 3 in TWEWY for me, might even beat Calling now that I think about it.
This sabotages your list for a completely different reason. Namely that this is several tiers below the ones we've been discussing. >_>
---
xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap8fYmatJSk
Just like in my games list, one thing you are going to have to deal with a lot in this topic is Pokemon, Metroid, Castlevania, and just... Nintendo in general. Look I don't ****ing pick this stuff BECAUSE it's Nintendo, these are just the games I happen to own. At least I have a good amount of diversity in terms of number of consoles. <_< But anyway, might as well kick off the Pokemon music with Route 2, possibly my most nostalgic piece of VG music period. I dunno. I haven't given that a lot of thought. I imagine it's something from Pokemon Red/Blue - might be the title screen music or something. But anyway, the song. This is a really, really upbeat, happy song. I usually don't like those very much, but this particular one is probably saved just because it's Pokemon. Also, I've always felt it had a sort of Caribbean feel to it. I'm not sure why. I know I've listened to at least one Caribbean style remix, though, so I can't be the only one that thinks that. And I like Caribbean music, so this is a good thing.
Pokemon never really gets dark but it certainly starts out much lighter than it is at the end of the game and especially in the middle, so it's pretty appropriate that this song would play during the first route, when you just got your first Pokemon and the whole world is waiting to be explored. You've got a Bulbasaur/Charmander/Squirtle, everything in the route is weak as hell, you don't have to worry about type advantage or catching rare Pokemon or gym battles or any of that stuff yet. You just get to have a jolly-good time, delivering packages and such.
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc7ULfOWX2M
Meteos can be a pretty intense game even on the lower difficulty settings, just because it's so stylus heavy and because when you're about to lose, the flavor tie-in is that your entire home planet is about to explode. Therefore, after a long campaign mode, I can reallllly appreciate some chilled out credits music. The credits are actually playable, but it's pretty much impossible to lose unintentionally, so you can just sit back, relax, earn a few Meteos, and listen to the music.
For full effect, you can't listen to the track by itself, unfortunately. You see, each playable level's BGM has a certain note or beat or sound effect that plays whenever you launch some Meteos. For the credits, the sound effect is a seagull's cry. This obviously cannot be replicated without actually playing the game, which is a shame, because it really adds to the atmosphere and somehow makes it even more relaxing.
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjazC45Qkww
Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kban8-_C4tA
I figure on Tuesdays I'll post a song and a remixed version of that song, to help prevent cluttering the topic with multiple versions of one song spread out over different days. Why Tuesday? It's a pun, you see. I am very clever.
But anyway, Bloody Tears. Definitely the most iconic song from Castlevania and definitely one of the most liked. I'm not sure when this plays in Castlevania II - might just be normal stage music, I dunno - and I certainly can't remember when, if ever, it plays during normal gameplay in DoS, so I can't comment on that. That said, this song is all about pumping you up to go kick ass. I don't know about you, but just listening to it makes me want to go find a vampire and suplex him or something. This would be suicidal (if it was possible), but well, that's just what happens when you listen to Bloody Tears.
Now, as for which version I like better... It's pretty close since they're both just so goddamn awesome, but I have to say I like the original Simon's Quest version a bit better. Why? Dawn of Sorrow takes the song in a different direction, making it much more haunting and melancholy to mirror the shift from sidescrolling action centered gameplay to atmospheric exploration centered gameplay. I actually really like this change, but I don't like it more than the original, if that makes sense.
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Advanced
Here's some tunes i can never not comment on:
Smash Brothers Melee - Saria's Song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdtSDkD4Muk
The Smash Brothers version of it is alot more crispy and clean. almost sounds 8 bit in some way. and it's just a freakin flute!
Resident Evil 2 - Screaming Target
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAhiS7iOo7k
Who can forget the first 'real' horror game scare tune? especially when it's damn crows...
Koudelka - Waterfall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Eu_zij3Rz8
Sweet Home - Battle Theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H11vSCVfDfs&feature=related
These are battle themes i tend to enjoy the most. Final Fantasy 6 would be included, but i don't have that one saved at the moment. however, i should also mention Shadow's Theme. That one is badass enough as it is (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSIkHrjPWTc)
Kagero - Deception 2 - Visitor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9AteqNsTsQ
Being the nature of the game itself, the theme song that plays as you look up your victims (Visitors) is downright creepy and haunting. The theme makes it feel like the character you're playing is basically Jason or Freddy incarnated, and being how the main character's powers work, it works well to get into the mind of the killer on the data screen. a downright chilling theme imo.
---
Maybe we haven't introduced ourselves yet: I'm Francis! This is Grandpa Bill and THERE'S ZOMBIES OUT HERE OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR!!! - Francis's talk to the Church man ~ Left 4 Dead
Editor
<3 Saria's Song, in all forms
Koudelka - Waterfall
And I really like this one. It's got a really good adventure vibe to it. Sort of reminds me of Okami's soundtrack, actually.
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ3sMdOsT-k
AKA Captain Gordon's theme. I honestly wasn't a huge fan of Captain Gordon as a character - I know some people really like him so I apologize if I'm trashing your favorite character or whatever - but man does he have an awesome theme song. It's especially awesome when it kicks in right as Gordon starts laying into Kurtis verbally. That was just fantastic; probably my favorite moment in the entire game, and it was the music that really made it so good. I think I commented on this during my Disgaea playthrough, but it definitely bears repeating.
Now... technically speaking, the DS version has different music from the PS2 and PSP versions. I'm not sure if the only difference is quality or if the songs were actually remixed, but it sounds pretty different when I compare the linked video to playing the track from my actual DS. And I absolutely cannot find the DS version online (within like 10 seconds of searching). Which is a shame, because oddly enough, I like the DS version better. The linked version just seems too busy, while the DS version is more blunt and to the point. That said, both versions get an A+ from me, so it's not worth complaining about.
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
...
...
...
*Explodes*
---
xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
You are welcome and heavily encouraged to join in!
Also
I'm not sure if the only difference is quality or if the songs were actually remixed [in Disgaea DS]
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
It would have to be remixed so hard that it became a different song!
But really, if I made a list of songs in Disgaea that I preferred to Anthem of the Braves it'd get out of hand!
...
...
...
lets do this
(I'm actually going to restrict this somewhat just so I don't end up listing like the entire soundtrack, I'm going to keep this to "merely" those songs I'd put way ahead)
I'll try to keep this somewhat ranked.
The Invasion From Within (It's a shame that only the PS2 Version got this and not the PSP or DS Versions. This is usually what I'd rank as the best song in the game, though on a rare day maybe it slips.)
Disgaea (As time has gone on I've liked this song more and more.)
Battle Comrade (Instrumental or Vocals. I'm not actually sure the Vocal Version plays in Disgaea 1. I used to prefer the Instrumental, but now I prefer the vocals. Instrumental might have dropped a little, but might have stayed right here anyway.)
Beautiful Round Dance (aww yeah Mid Boss. My opinion of this song has actually gone somewhat down over time, but that's kind of to be expected because this had been my favorite song before.)
Witch Hunting (And this is arguably hurt by Disgaea 2 because it has the nerve of interrupting whatever song I set for the Item World whenever I reach a floor with an Item General/King!)
Battle of Eight Beat (Beautiful Round Dance, Witch Hunting, and this are very close. This ends up as last among the three because it takes a good deal of time to get going.)
Sorrowful Angel (If the entire song was just like the very beginning, this could maybe be Top 3. As it is, it falls behind a bit. Though, depending on the situation this could still storm the list and take down most, if not all, of what's listed ahead of it.)
Flower of Happiness (Honestly this would probably rank higher if for some reason I didn't seem to be giving the battle themes an edge, probably still under Sorrowful Angel, I think, but again, same situation as with Sorrowful Angel.)
Planet X (This and One With The Stars are close. If Planet X stayed like it was in the first 80 seconds or so, it'd be far ahead and might just give every single battle theme on the list a run, but after that point it does decline and so the others can pass it by.)
One With The Stars (This takes a little to get going, but once it does it's pretty much killing everything else left on this list.)
Lord Laharl's Hymn (My opinion on this fluctuates pretty wildly. That said, I don't think it's going much higher than where it is right now even under the best conditions. Probably wouldn't fall under Running Fire in the worst of cases though.)
Underworld (I just tend to associate this with Witch Hunting for whatever reason, and that's the superior of the two.)
Great Wilder (This song grew on me when initially I didn't really care for it at all.)
Fancy Ball (This is a pretty good theme as well, though it also needs quite a bit of time to get going, but it never gets going as well as One With The Stars.)
Running Fire (I think I used to like this song a bit more before, as is, it's still good, but outclassed by a good deal of other songs.)
Dear Friends (Mostly for the very beginning, but the song stays pretty good even later on)
---
xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
Disgaea - Assuming I found the right song (searching for songs with the same name as the game on YouTube is HARD), I like this one a lot. I think I'd like it more without the weird vocals, though.
Battle Comrade (Vocals) - This reminds me of... some song from One Piece, I think, I can't remember. Might have been Spirit of Zoro. Or it might not even be from One Piece, I dunno, I've listened to enough assorted J-Pop and J-Rock that it all sort of blends together in my mind. Anyway this song is pretty good, not spectacular, but good enough for me to want to listen to it again.
Battle Comrade (Instrumental) - Hmm... I'm not sure if I like this better or not! Luckily they're different enough that I don't have to choose!
Beautiful Round Dance - Not my favorite, but definitely enjoyable. For whatever it's worth, I don't like the DS version of this song at all. It's like, totally different and not anywhere near as good.
Witch Hunting - I immediately started loving this song pretty much the second it began. So awesome.
Battle of Eight Beat - I'm not sure what to say about this one. I like it, but it's like... I dunno, it seems really generic or something. Like "RPG Battle Theme #82638".
Sorrowful Angel - I really like this one though. Might be the first one I'd put in contention with Anthem of Braves! (Sorry, xp.) Definitely better at the beginning, though, like you said.
Flower of Happiness - ...I have absolutely no idea whether I like this song or not. It's like... I enjoyed listening to it, but at the same time I really don't want to listen to it again. If it was like 2 or 3 minutes long, maybe, but it really starts overstaying its welcome well before the nearly 6 minutes are up. I do like it though... I think...
Planet X - Awesome song zone. Won't say more because this is on my list of songs to use in the future.
One With The Stars - Wow, I actually really, really like this one. This might be my favorite Disgaea song now.
Lord Laharl's Hymn - I didn't like this at all until the lyrics kicked in. For some reason, this has a really Indian feel to me. I know the lyrics are in Japanese, but they don't SOUND Japanese. To me, at least. I give an A+ once the lyrics start, in any case.
Underworld - You're pretty much 100% right that this is reminiscent of Witch Hunting, and also 100% right that it isn't as good. I mean, it's still good, but eh.
Great Wilder - Overall I like this one, but it sorta feels like a medley. There are lots of different "parts" in it that don't always play nicely with the song as a whole, and some are a lot better than others. (Hopefully this isn't ACTUALLY a medley so I won't look like a fool!)
Fancy Ball - Ehhh this one is just sorta average. You can definitely tell it's meant to be BGM. I sorta just zoned out and forgot this was even playing for a while, honestly. And now I'm not going to listen to it again, and you can just deal with it. <_<
Running Fire - I feel like if this was slowed down a bit, I'd enjoy it, but it's just way too fast and I don't like it. It really doesn't even seem normal. It's like they recorded the song and then sped it up to like 1.2x speed.
Dear Friends - Oh man. This is just what I needed after Running Fire. See, this is great. This is a great way to end this 18 song marathon. With some awesome, chilled out music.
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Message last edited by Kenri of the Yuri on 5/13/2010 at 03:24:24 AM
Editor
The Birth of a God - Final Fantasy VII
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGHkjLhIpU8
Ugh, I'm so sorry I'm already repeating games. I am not very good at this. But I do want to get this one out of the way while it's still fresh in my mind.
So anyway, I hear "one-winged angel the best" and "no, OWA is overrated, J-E-N-O-V-A is way better" and "you're both wrong, Those Chosen by the Planet is the GOAT" and blah blah blah bad taste everywhere. Nobody ever talks about Birth of a God. Not just the best battle theme in FFVII, not just the best track relating to Sephiroth, but the best song in FFVII period. I'm not even a really big fan of One-Winged Angel! It certainly won't show up on this list unless I really run low on material, which I admit is very possible. Birth of a God, though. It's like, "hey, you're fighting a final boss, I've given you like 40 hours to get used to this ****, you should really be at least somewhat competent at this easy-ass game by now. let's rock."
The fight against Bizarro*Sephiroth (who the FF Wiki has informed me should have been named Sephiroth*REBIRTH or some such; thanks, translation!) was by far my favorite boss fight in the game, possibly my favorite part of the game as a whole, and it was in no small part thanks to this track. I would say it's pretty different in theme from the majority of the game's music, but it sorta reminds me of the theme that plays during the stupid motorcycle swordfighting minigame. I... Wait a sec...
...
Oh goddammit they're not just similar, it is THE SAME SONG. Listen to BoaG and Crazy Motorcycle back to back. I swear I didn't realize that until I was already doing this writeup. Goddammit. I don't want to be associated with that stupid-ass minigame. I should really scrap this writeup but whatever, TOO LATE TO GO BACK NOW. I've already made a fool of myself. So anyway, while the game's other boss themes have a feeling of "you are ****ed, you should just give up right now", Birth of a God is, ironically (considering who it plays for and its name), closer in theme to "bad guys better watch the hell out because
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
---
xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
Correct FFVII Battle theme Rankings:
Fighting (Normal Battle Theme)
Jenova Absolute
One Winged Angel
These three are really close and I could probably arrange them in any order depending on when you asked me to rank them. I used to despite OWA, but it has grown on me, thanks to Kingdom Hearts, actually, but now I also like the FFVII Version. I may be an oddity though in that I despise the AC Version.
---
WEAPON Raid
J-E-N-O-V-A
Second Tier. Nothing too special here.
---
The Birth of a God
Still More Fighting
Bottom Tier. Truthfully, I should split this up into two tiers itself because I don't like Still More Fighting and I'm fairly neutral with The Birth of a God, relatively speaking.
Shinra Company is probably the best song in the game though. As for Those Chosen By The Planet, the superior version is the variant that plays when you're in Shinra Mansion. Instrumental isn't quite the right word for it, but I suppose it's close enough. It blows the other ("full") version away and is amazing. There's a number of other songs from FFVII I quite like but I won't go into list mode unless asked.
I just hope if you do more songs from FFVII that the Main Theme or Aerith's Theme don't show up. >_>
---
xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
Bottom Tier.
Well.
At least you've got this right.
Shinra Company is probably the best song in the game though.
It's pretty good, yeah.
Really, FFVII just has a good soundtrack overall. I can't think of any songs from it that I really hate. Well, Still More Fighting, a little bit, but other than that...!
I just hope if you do more songs from FFVII that the Main Theme or Aerith's Theme don't show up. >_>
I only have one more FFVII song on my list of songs to do (because I don't want this to turn into "Kenri talks about FFVII's soundtrack"), and it's another area BGM. Probably another one you hate, but meh!
...You know, I just checked out Aerith's Theme, and I actually don't hate it, though it's not amazing or anything. I definitely don't like the Main Theme very much, though.
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Message last edited by Kenri of the Yuri on 5/15/2010 at 12:29:21 AM
Editor
Planet X - Disgaea
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8hayXfA5mE
You know what, screw it, I don't even care if I have two Disgaea songs right next to each other. I already revealed this one so I might as well do it.
This song. xp was completely correct when he said it declines after the first 80 seconds or so, but it's still good. To me, Planet X has a very techno feel, which, I'm not gonna lie, can start to grate a little bit when there's five minutes of it. It also has the Sakuraba-esque wall of noise thing going on, which I know some people hate but I usually don't mind. You know, thinking about it, I'm not even sure why I like this song. It's just good. What can I say? It's got a great beat and it basically charges you up to kick ass, which is exactly what a battle theme should do. And I think this plays during like, the final chapters, when you're fighting angels, who are generally jobbers and just not threatening at all, so asses will indeed be kicked. Thoroughly.
The DS version pretty much drops the wall of noise aspect and somewhat tones down the techno influences, which oddly makes the song almost calming. Exactly the opposite of the PS2 version. Both versions are good, but they're really different. o_O
Lost Courage - Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g33NAdYB8GU
An underrated song from an underrated game. Yes, you have to listen to this thing again. I pretty much link to it whenever I possibly can find an excuse to do so because it's so good. One of my favorite VG tracks period. It's sort of weird, too: I downloaded the entire DBZBT2 soundtrack, and it sucks. I mean... at best, it's mediocre. This is literally the only noteworthy song in the whole game.
I think, and I might be incorrect, that this plays during multi-part battles, which are pretty common. So, what generally happens is like, you'll be fighting Cell, and you'll win the match, but then during the resulting cutscene Cell won't be hurt at all and your characters will be out of breath and/or dead (even the ones you didn't use in the actual fight!). It's annoying, yes, but this song pretty much captures the feeling of struggling in vain perfectly. It has a sort of action-y, "we're ready to kick ass" beat while tune itself evokes something closer to tragic melancholy. The end result is "we're going to kick ass. It might not be enough, but, well, we'll take our chances."
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esYm9q-bi4w
I have decided that, if a song is closely associated with a game via a commercial or promotional material or whatever, it's fair game for this topic. Technically this one is also in Brawl, but seriously, who cares about Brawl?
First of all, this time is one time that you actually do need to watch the video (and not just put it on in the background), because it provides subtitles. Second, you might not want to do so unless you're ready to get extremely depressed. This is a depressing song with depressing lyrics. (Music that is actually upbeat and happy is going to be a rarity in this topic, if you couldn't tell.) I'm not going to say it fits Pikmin perfectly, because it really doesn't, but it makes this list by being absolutely beautiful (and that might be the only time I say that about a song that features a harmonica prominently). And knowing the lyrics just makes it better. The lyrics are slightly silly at parts - which is good, because Pikmin is a slightly silly game - but it somehow works by constrasting with the darker parts.
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpcZILkffpw
Okami's music definitely works better in-game than it does by itself, in my opinion, but this one is definitely good enough to stand alone. Okami is really split up into three parts, and Kamui's the last part. You are, as the name implies, up north. Aside from the game itself being harder, you get a sense of the adventure becoming harder in-universe. Gone are the coastlines and forests, to be replaced by harsh snow. The sky has started to darken as Amaterasu is literally running out of time to save Nippon.
This song captures all of that while remaining absolutely beautiful, a balance that can be pretty hard to strike. (Like I said previously, I like Emptiness And a lot, but I'd say in that case the harshness overpowers any sense of beauty - not that that is necessarily a bad thing.) The other thing this song - and Okami's music in general - manages to pull off is not sounding like video game music, yet working very well as video game music. How many games manage that? ...Not many in my experience. Okami and, again, TWEWY, are pretty much the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEp2pasUwB4
Super Mario Sunshine isn't a very good game in my opinion, but its production values are outstanding. The graphics - especially the water physics - are breathtaking and the music is amazing. There's only track I can think of that I genuinely hate (the Yoshi theme, which I hate enough to just avoid Yoshi completely unless he's required). I don't hate this song, though! In fact, the hub of SMS is another of its good points, probably in parts thanks to this music.
It's suitably island-y, but it's not TOO island-y (would you necessarily know this was an island-themed track just by listening to it? No, you wouldn't), and while it is upbeat, it's not cheerful, really, when you think about it. It's more a kind of breezy, laidback sort of upbeat. It's also a rare mix of catchy but not distracting; it doesn't annoy you when you're actually playing the game, but you might find yourself humming it later. This is definitely one song that's helped by the game's ambient noise, but well, hard to replicate that in a recording. Also, it's got an accordian. Just 'cause. (At least I'm pretty sure that's an accordian.)
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Advanced
Legend of DRagoon - Boss Battle theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrWsyNJL91o
Secret of Mana - Dark Lich (Theme name:Oracle)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCUdhcRQMC4
Suikoden 2 - The Beast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEIDjrxREpk
and who can forget pretty much all of Final Fantasy tactics? but here's one i like the most. It happens when you discover what is actually a "Holy" Story is actually very, very Dark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyntbkSdPfs
---
"A Unicorn?!? That's girl stuff!"
"But i am a girl,silly! I think." - Bino and Sasha, Housepets!
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98RdRDaOsNg
Magmoor Caverns - Metroid Prime
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQCZIb0fbt8
It's interesting that when people hear this song, they're like, "that's the Magmoor Caverns BGM!" and never "Oh hey, Lower Norfair!" Super Metroid wasn't that long ago, folks!
Anyway... hopefully I haven't been doing too bad a job mixing obscure tracks with more well-known stuff. I think during my Top 50 Games list I asked you to forgive my generic taste in music, but I don't think I've been doing so bad so far. This one is definitely generic, though. I don't think I've ever seen anybody who's like, "god I hate Lower Norfair/Magmoor Caverns BGM so much, it suuuucks".
So, really, no matter which version you like more, you probably like it for these reasons: 1) It's incredibly foreboding. Lower Norfair is basically the Super Metroid equivalent of Ridley's Lair, and let's be honest here, Ridley IS the main villain of Super Metroid, he's just not the end boss for some reason. Magmoor Caverns doesn't quite lend itself to this sense of intensity or imminent danger as well as Lower Norfair, being like the third area in the game, but in fairness, it is pretty damn hazardous. Lava everywhere and what not.
2) While it does register as music - good, enjoyable-to-listen-to music - the constant pounding and... I'm not sure what you'd call it, the chanting? make it also work as ambient noise. In Lower Norfair, the pounding works as Samus' footsteps... or maybe the footsteps of something big and dangerous, somewhere nearby but where you can't see it. In Magmoor, which in many places resembles an engine room or some such, the pounding works as the rhythmic pulsations of the machinery, working tirelessly, perpetually, towards some unseen purpose. In both cases, the "chanting" is nondescript enough to work as wind, or steam, or the screech of machinery, or any number of other things your mind can dream up. Northern Country Kamui and Emptiness And were examples of songs that work as VG music without being instantly recognizable as VG music. Lower Norfair/Magmoor Caverns does the opposite: it focuses on what makes VG music unique, emphasizes those aspects, and makes it really work with the setting so that both complement each other.
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwH1hPMyVZU
IIRC xp thinks this one is really overrated, so... sorry again, xp! <_<
Really though, I like this one a lot. This plays when you're fighting against Flynn, the main character's rival. I forget if it plays anywhere else. Anyway, it's a very intense, action-y song, and it almost heads into "theme music powerup" territory in terms of theme. It's not just a normal "time to fight somebody" tune, it's definitely closer to "all right, I've gotten beaten around enough, comeback time", even if that's not its actual purpose in the game. I'm not sure why I think that, but I can identify what part of the song makes me think it: at 40 seconds, it suddenly picks up in intensity, and...
...Okay, this isn't TECHNICALLY spoilers, I think, but now would be a good time to turn away if you haven't played through Tales of Vesperia, because it's definitely surprising the first time it happens.
Still here? Good. During almost every boss fight in Tales of Vesperia, there's a special task you can accomplish to get a special item and an achievement. The Secret Mission for your only real storyline fight against Flynn involves getting him to use all his Artes, including his Mystic Arte. However, he won't use it normally. To get him to do it, you need to use your own Mystic Arte, at which point he will interrupt your Mystic Arte with HIS Mystic Arte. And, I swear to god, whenever that happens, it happens right as the song picks up. I may have pretty much hated Flynn for the entire game, but damn if he doesn't have a couple moments of complete awesome.
---
"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic