Video Game Music Thread

[CyberAngel]

Ah okay, always thought Touhou's genre was called "bullet hell", never heard of "shmup" before.

"Bullet hell" is a subgenre of shoot-em-ups that Touhou belongs to, so it's not like you were wrong.

[Kasu]

I think it's time I added some more music here, haha.

Level 1 - Choplifter
I couldn't find the exact song for the Sega Master System, but this is close at least.

Revenger - Super Robot Wars J
This game had some pretty awesome music. I enjoy this remix quite a bit as well.

Sekiha Tenkyoken - Super Robot Wars J
Sounds awesome even on the GBA's sound card, haha.

Chaos Angel Act 3 - Sonic Advance 3
I used to listen to this a lot in the Sound Test in the game, haha. Not sure why, but I just really liked the song.

[Leon゠Helsing]

teh shmups

No mention of DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu Black Label Arrange Mode? Shame on thee. :colbert:
INTERCEPTION
SUBURB
CANAL FLEET
DEFENSIVE LINE
EVAC INDUSTRY
DARKENED
SCAFFOLD
NO REMORSE

[nav']

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH_pVzEvFAc
That's the entire soundtrack of Brutal Doom right here. As far as I know, this consists of metal arranges of every original Doom and Doom II song. Extremely addictive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J04Y9i08LGc
Here's one of the original songs, Message for the Archvile, a quiet, moody one from Doom II. It works best in the game itself where it magnifies the already great atmosphere, but it's excellent as a separate listen, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI1HJWTTZ3c
Now for the master of computer game music, Alexander Brandon! This is Tubelectric from Jazz Jackrabbit II, a rather energetic tune.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBzDv24IOYQ
The UNATCO theme from Deus Ex, incredibly atmospheric electronic music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOjvrPLw9Ws
The Vault City theme from Fallout 2, definitely the catchiest piece of music from both games. The other ones are just as moody though, unconventional sound, perfect for the post-apocalyptic setting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDB1b1tvBBw
I've seen Heroes IV and II, but not III? Come on? Fortress, the best town theme in the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-3u9vO9UUE
System Shock (the first one), the tune that welcomes you to the game in the Medical level. It also blends wonderfully with the ambient sounds of the Citadel station.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao9EsDhwtT0
The menu theme from the original Unreal Tournament. Definitely prepares you for the upcoming epic multiplayer fights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMK3AyNcbfA
I could go on for a while, but let's end the list with the nicest Elder Scrolls track I know, Auriel's Ascension. Excellent memories associated with this one. I used to be quite addicted to Morrowind and when Oblivion came out, I desperately wanted to try it,  but my graphics card wouldn't work with Pixel Shaders 2.0, so I had to use an utility called Oldblivion. The game looked worse than Morrowind, but at least it worked! Unfortunately Oblivion turned out to be quite disappointing without proper mods, but I immediately fell in love with this track.

[CyberAngel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDB1b1tvBBw
I've seen Heroes IV and II, but not III? Come on? Fortress, the best town theme in the game.

Is it, really? I'd like to disagree. Even if orksies are underwhelming aside from week 1 Behemoths, the one thing they have is the best town theme in the game.

Heroes of Might and Magic III - Stronghold

On topic of Elder Scrolls, Morrowind is definitely great in music department. Here are my favourite themes.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - Peaceful Waters
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - The Road Most Traveled
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - Nerevar Rising

Speaking of Jeremy Soule... FOR THE EMPEROR!

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Blood Ravens Approach

BONUS: Since I'm playing Daggerfall these days, here's my favourite theme from there as well.

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall - Over Snow

[O4rfish]

King's Bounty series by 1c. Composer: Lind Erebros (nom d'arte)

His best work to date is in the Warriors of the North installment, and carried over to Dark Side, though the best game was Armored Princess / Crossworlds.

Song of the Fildwind

Ride Unicorn

PS: King's Bounty is better than HoMM  :3

[Leon゠Helsing]

DON'T BE AFRAID TO LISTEN TO YOUR OWN HEART
BIG BLAST SONIC TEST THE HEARTBEAT IN YOU
(Hurry up before ARC cops take it down!)

[nav']

Is it, really? I'd like to disagree. Even if orksies are underwhelming aside from week 1 Behemoths, the one thing they have is the best town theme in the game.

Oh well, that's just a matter of preference. The Stronghold theme just doesn't stick in my head like the other themes do. On the other hand, I like how the Fortress music picks up pace and becomes frantic to reflect the terror of the swamp. I like both Behemoths and Hydras themselves equally (best Level 7 units if you use them properly), but that's a bit off topic, so I'll post my favourite, dramatic battle music that never seems to get old:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZVZ8_zCz5s

[CyberAngel]

[...] so I'll post my favourite, dramatic battle music that never seems to get old:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZVZ8_zCz5s

Ah, agree here fully. My favourite battle theme from the game as well.

Since there's quite a nostalgic mood lately, time to show what good old PC MIDI is capable of.

Warcraft II - Human mission 1
Warcraft II - Human mission 2
Warcraft II - Human mission 3
Warcraft II - Human mission 4
Warcraft II - Orc mission 1
Warcraft II - Orc mission 2
Warcraft II - Orc mission 3
Warcraft II - Orc mission 4

Yes, that's pretty much the whole in-game soundtrack, but leaving anything out would be a sacrilege.

Also, as an addendum to that load'o'shmupthemes of mine, I finally found my favourite boss theme from CAVE games.

Espgaluda II - Descend

[CF7]

Lack of latest iteration of Dark Prison in this thread is a crime and should be corrected.
One of my favorite themes in SRW and this is just epic.

[Zil]

Jumpstart 3rd Grade - To the Biosphere!

[nav']

These are DOS shmups and so totally different to the stuff people around here are used to, but here's something from Tyrian 2000 and Raptor: Call of the Shadows.

[aUsernameIsFineToo]

Tyrian 2000

DOS will never have a game with a better soundtrack than that. I remember firing up my old Gateway 2000 to listen to some of the music on its SoundBlaster 16 back in my elementary school days.

Speaking of retro shmups, Cho Ren Sha 68K has an awesome soundtrack for a freeware doujin game.

[CyberAngel]

Huh, old-school game music talk and no one thought about mentioning THE wisecracking blondie in sunglasses yet? Come on. Or rather... COME GET SOME!

Duke Nukem Theme (by Megadeth)

Duke Nukem II - Kick Butt
Duke Nukem II - Squeak
Duke Nukem 3D - Aliens, Say Your Prayers! (e2m7)
Duke Nukem 3D - Plasma (e2m8)
Duke Nukem 3D - Gotham (e3m6)
Duke Nukem 3D - 233.778 Celsius (e3m7)
Duke Nukem 3D - Pissed Office Box (e4m6)
Duke Nukem 3D - Departure (e4m10)
(Such a pity I couldn't find Duke 3D music played with actual Soundblaster, it sounds great in-game.)

On topic of old FPS games, if I were to speak about Doom I'd have to post the whole soundtrack for the first two games, which Pirx did in a way already. But there's one theme that can't stay unmentioned. Also used for what can be called True Last Boss of Spear of Destiny (sequel of Wolfenstein 3D), in all the Soundblaster glory:

Doom II - Evil Incarnate

And while we're at it, here are my favourite themes from a certain other game on Doom's engine.

Heretic - The Docks (e1m1)
Heretic - The Gatehouse (e1m3)
Heretic - The Cathedral (e1m6)
Heretic - The Graveyard (e1m9)
Heretic - The Labyrinth (e2m6)

[nav']

On topic of old FPS games, if I were to speak about Doom I'd have to post the whole soundtrack for the first two games, which Pirx did in a way already. But there's one theme that can't stay unmentioned. Also used for what can be called True Last Boss of Spear of Destiny (sequel of Wolfenstein 3D), in all the Soundblaster glory:

Doom II - Evil Incarnate

My own choice of a single track would be different:

Doom - Sign of Evil

Why? Well, the first Doom was quite a striking experience for the contemporary players. It was part survival horror and did its best to overwhelm the player with its atmosphere of terror and the feeling of a hopeless fight. This tune played on the first actual boss level, the one with the famous Bruiser Brothers, and it does a great job of conveying the atmosphere of imminent danger and despair, which is further enforced by the episode's memorable ending. I sadly never had the chance to play Doom in 1993, and only got a real sound card in 1999, but I imagine it must've been a real shock for the players back then; something we're unlikely to experience again, spoiled with the modern audiovisuals.

As for Heretic, while the game is not as great as Doom, i think it is actually better in some respects: the atmosphere and art feels even more consistent than Doom's. It's a perfect blend. You've already posted my favourite piece of Heretic music (The Graveyard), but I actually prefer the MIDI rendition of this tune where the drums are much more emphasised and it takes on a very intense, aggressive nature (fittingly, since this music also plays on d'Sparil's level).

[Mеа]

The lack of Armored Core music mystifies me

Shape Memory Alloys
Nine-Ball's theme
Morning, Lemon Tea
Morning, Lemon Tea -A Cup with Love
Outcry
Ambiguity
Someone is Always Moving on the Surface
Fall
Thinker
Cosmos
Day After Day


And some Cave music too

Sally (Black Label Daifukkatsu select screen)
Dividing Road of Fate (Daifukkatsu stage 2)
The Battle was just "to Continue that Future" (Daifukatsu stage 5)
Flotage (Black Label Daifukattsu stage 3-B)
Zatsuza (Black Label Daifukkatsu TLB)
Ran (SaiDaioujou stage 1)
Shiten (360 SaiDaioujou main menu music)
Chikara (Saidaioujou Final Boss)
Tenshi (Saidaioujou Hibachi/Inbachi)
Levi-sense (Mushihimesama Boss music)
Requiem of the Sky (Mushihimesama True Last Boss Phase 2/3)
The Prince, Age 9 (Mushihimesama Futari select screen)
Setting Off, Together (Mushihimesama Futari stage 1)
Cry! Scream! (Mushihimesama Futari Last Boss battle)
No Remorse (Doom, aka True Last Boss original ver) I like this one more than the remix, actually
Raging Deicide (Esprade (Last?) Boss) How did no one mention this yet


Someone needs to make a playlist with everything on this thread

[CyberAngel]

Sally (Black Label Daifukkatsu select screen)

Best player select theme ever. Cut it from my list because it's long enough as it is.

Zatsuza (Black Label Daifukkatsu TLB)

Never got the hype behind this one. It sounds much worse than the original, ]-[|/34<#!, IMHO.

[Mеа]

Best player select theme ever. Cut it from my list because it's long enough as it is.

Never got the hype behind this one. It sounds much worse than the original, ]-[|/34<#!, IMHO.

Sally was my alarm tone for a while. Personally, I'm torn between that and Mushihimesama Futari's select theme.
I forgot to add DOOMSDAY, Ketsui's select theme, which is a remix of Doom's theme.
Zatsuza is just one of those themes you just start to uncontrollably laugh at because of how ridiculous the boss fight is. I mean, facing a boss that shoots over 3000 bullets per second at you just demands a tear-stained laughter.

[Esper]

Persona 4: Arena Ultimax - Margaret's theme

I still prefer the original velvet room, but this is still a soft spot for me.

[CyberAngel]

Guilty Gear isn't the only fighting game series with good music, you know.

The King of Fighters '94 - Showdown R&D (Rugal Bernstein's theme)
The King of Fighters '99 - KD-0079 (Heroes Team theme)
The King of Fighters '99 - Tears (

Spoiler:

Kyo Kusanagi's

theme)[/url]
The King of Fighters 2000 - The Trooper (Ikari Warriors Team theme)
The King of Fighters 2000 - Wild Party (Korea Team theme)
The King of Fighters 2000 - Ice Place (Kula Diamond's theme)
Garou: Mark of the Wolves - Spread the Wings (Rock Howard's theme)

[KLH]

Does anyone know of any games with dark drum and bass / darkstep or similar sounds?

No mention of DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu Black Label Arrange Mode? Shame on thee. :colbert:

The entire freaking soundtrack was top-tier, and remains both my favorite soundtrack of all time and the only collection/compilation of music (soundtrack or album/EP) that I genuinely like in its entirety.
I'll give a special mention to NO REMORSE for being the most intense and exhilarating boss theme I've ever heard.

Never got the hype behind this one. It sounds much worse than the original, ]-[|/34<#!, IMHO.

It's incredibly wild to the extent of ridiculousness, just like the Zatsuza boss fight itself.

8-bit music always will have a place in my heart. It was a time when it was clear when game music was good or bad, no generic flair or effects to cover behind. Good 8-bit music means good melody, and that makes it an awesome thing to remix.

Not that I dislike or can't appreciate a good melody (quite the contrary), but I personally would like to hear more non-melodic tracks in games. There are timbres and rhythms that match certain atmospheres perfectly.

[[sGs] Paradox]

Anyone here heard of Crypt of the NecroDancer?
Currently Early Access on Steam. It's basically a rhythm-based roguelike dungeon crawler.

Where you move/attack/interact to the beat. Naturally, it has good music.
(But you do have the option to use your own custom music)

Here's one of the songs in one of the levels:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avmGgd9m2iM

Plus, if you're near the Shopkeeper, he will add vocals to the song, here's the vocal version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6paOj0agDI

[CyberAngel]

Capcom arcade beat-em-ups represent!

Captain Commando - Last Stage theme
Armored Warriors - Stage 2 theme
Knights of the Round - Stage 2 theme
Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom - Ship theme

[CyberAngel]

Did I mention that Cadillacs and Dinosaurs has an awesome soundtrack? Because it does. Best thing to come out of a QSound chip. Besides, it's QSound, the most eargasm-inducing piece of sound hardware.

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - The Forest Poachers
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - Held Captive in the Fortress
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - Shooting Blindly
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - The Dinosaur Wasteland
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - Pursuit
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - Like a Squall
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - The True Colors of Evil
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs - Madness Lurking in the Depths of the Earth

[ErrortheCucco]

I think video game music is especially important to me. It enhances the gaming experience by giving an environment or event a particular mood and atmosphere, in effect to give the player a sense of immersion. I'm eclectic with my musical tastes, so I like a wide variety of video game music. The quality and richness of a piece of video game music doesn't affect my level of enjoyment either; I can enjoy chiptune music just as much as I can enjoy CD quality music, as long as it is melodic and rhythmic. I have narrowed it down to just a few of my most favored tracks, so if anything I link to tickles your fancy, just let me know. It makes me happy to see when other people can enjoy a piece a music just as much as you do.

• Sonic CD, Masafumi Ogata - "D.A. Garden" (1993)
• Zero Divide 2: The Secret Wish, Akihito Ohkawa - "Mirror Image" (1997)
• Spyro the Dragon, Stewart Copeland - "Magic Crafters Home" (1998)
• Sonic Gems Collection, Naofumi Hataya - "Manuals/Extras Menu" (2005)
• Sonic Overture, Mr. Lange - "Sunrise Gate Act 3" (2014)

[CyberAngel]

I nearly forgot how good Final Fight music is. Well, how it sounds in actual games is usually lacking, but the melodies themselves are a good base for remixes. Cases in point:

Street Fighter Alpha 2 - Guy's theme (aka Final Fight stage 1 theme)
Street Fighter Alpha 2 - Rolento's theme (aka Final Fight stage 5 theme)
Ultra Street Fighter IV - Rolento's theme (aka Final Fight stage 4 boss theme ...yes, it's Rolento)

[KazuyaTheSummoner]

I can't really think of a certain theme for a selection of soundtracks, so I guess I'll just share a couple of tracks that I can't get out of my head (For a good reason).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzpnKmbJbNs
Majin Tensei - Omega: This is a updated version of the final boss theme from Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei 2. I like this version a little bit more than the original, mainly because of the sensation of dread it gives me (kinda what you'd expect in a demonic apocalypse).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y0347mS9T8
The Nameless Mod (A mod for the original Deus Ex) - Democracy Pt. I: A nice tune to listen to after going on one of many long and dangerous missions that this game throws at you. Some of these missions are arguably more brutal than the ones in Deus Ex.

[Raikaria]

Oh; this is still going?

Well; I guess I can contribute a few more. Enjoy some CHILDHOOD NOSTALGIA:

Ratchet and Clank 3 - Dr.Nefarious Boss

This is playing during a fight where literally at one point the guy pretends to be defeated, it starts a cutscene and he literally flies away while the heroes are distracted thinking they've won and actually laughs 'AHAHAHAHAHA SUCKERS!'. Also this in general is a pretty awesome fight.

While on the Ratchet and Clank final boss topic...
Chairman Drek's boss theme

After a long journey, after you've visited all those areas you've been seeing in cutscenes [Which in itself is a signal that you are nearing the end, you've been seeing these places the whole game...]; your journy ends where it began, with the villian planning to blow up your homeworld to free the orbit for a world of his creation; literally made from torn-off parts of other planets, because his corporations polluted his planet so badly. [And the kicker is he's gonna do it all over again for the Cash]. This plays while you're fighting him in a giant mech, as he blows up the plateus he's fighting you on as he makes his way to the switch for the Planetbuster gun... where the fight concludes as you struggle to switch the weapon's charging cycle on and off. And the fight is HARD without the RYNO; which you have to grind hard for, requireing you to make use of most of your weapons because otherwise you'll run out of ammo.

And this is after a gruelling level where you're fighting through elite flying guards, tanks and hoverships. With this playing:
Kyzil Plateau - 2nd Visit

Atmospheric Pressure

This is from Wrath of Cortex. Honestly while the game isn't excellent I think this boss theme is, especially combined with the boss fight, a sort of storm-cloud version of Crunch, who is hurling various attacks at you, and you need to attack where the attack is coming from. The catch? Unlike 99.9% of bosses, this one gets WEAKER as he takes damage; his body parts flickering into skeletons, the attacks becoming weaker and shorter, and eventually with a thunderclap; that body part shuts down completely. You can feel your attacks working; unlike most bosses who hit 0HP and just boom.

[Aya Reiko]

MK3 - The Subway
MK9 - The Subway

MK2 - The Tower
MK9 - The Tower

Serious Sam 3 - Hero (Vocal Version)

[An Odd Sea Slug]

I've been really getting into Darius -and by extension, Zuntata- over the past week.

Visionnerz

E-E-G

S E L F

Yasunori Mitsuda also gets in on the action.

The World of Spirit

Iron Fossil from Suite Photoconnectivity

Hello 31337 (Great Thing's battle theme from Burst)