My Video Game Music Favorites

Nov. 26, 2022 [gaming]

It is true that back in the day, I used to play all manner of video games, even including console games. They played a formative role in my musical tastes and still occupy a significant portion of my music library to this day. A page over at digdeeper inspired me to share some of what I consider to be the absolute favorites among my collection. If we can put aside for a moment the laughable fact that a self admitted free software extremist has a soft spot for childhood/young adulthood game soundtracks, then let’s dive in!

“In the thick of it” high intensity pieces

• Goldeneye 007 - Runway. Rare, pre-Macrosuck aqcuisition, actually had a ton of great works. Perfect Dark’s OST also among them.
• Goldeneye 007 - Cradle. Goldeneye on the N64 was an unusual instance in which the soundtrack may very well have actually been better than the source film.
• Empire Earth - Shadows. An early epoch track from the best version of Empire Earth. II and III both sucked.
• Megabyte Punch - Hyper Boss Battle. The high energy piece that plays during Megabyte Punch’s “Master Hand” style battle. Very climactic.
• Need For Speed Most Wanted - The Mann. Set the scene perfectly for fleeing from squadrons of police vehicles. This one definitely succeeded at making one feel like a badass carrying out a mission.
• Need For Speed Most Wanted - Kick It Up A Notch. More of the above, but with added intensity. Written for the final boss cop chase. (Starting at 07:10, why can’t this be it’s own genre?… That mixture of tech, brass & symphony, wow.)
• Resident Evil 5 - Wind of Madness. Boss fight against some flying creature. Really good at conveying a struggle.
• Sanctum 2 - Ruins of Brightholme. Only loses points for lack of variation throughout the duration.
• Dungeon Defenders - Castle Combat Phase. Even though the score to Dungeon Defenders is “cutified” to match the rest of the game’s stylization, Castle Combat really punctuates the heat of the moment.
• Planetside 2 - Terran Republic Combat 4. There’s nothing like storming a heavily defended base while this score rages on in the background.
• Planetside 2 - Vanu Sovereignty Combat 1. The Vanu Sovereignty of course had their own. The New Conglomerate faction’s OST was kind of stupid IMO.
• Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. - Tally On Multiple Contacts. Another badass theme. Perfect for high stakes business going down.
• Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. - Ending Credits. Same as the above, extended and also applicable to lists “Building up to something big” and “Met with success, mission accomplished”.
• Starfox 64 - Boss B. Something about media from the 1990s carried a more hopeful tone. Everything went so dark and gritty the following decade.
• Starfox 64 - Starwolf Theme. Very anime in it’s “clash of rivals” scripted usage. The N64 MIDI(?) versions suffer enough quality that a live orchestra version may outclass the original Starfox 64 themes.
• Tribes Ascend - Katabatic III. Also any of the “flag holder” pieces are also very fraught with intensity.
• Deadcore - Scape Mind. Deadcore was the first game I ever played on a GNU/Linux installation. But the music is memorable all its own. Scape Mind’s buildup to 01:52 is just awesome.
• Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon - Sloan’s Assault.
• Metroid Prime - Parasite Queen Battle. I was very pleased when this piece made it’s way into Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Building up to something big

• Barony - Twisting Passages. This piece plays early on in the levels, accentuating the “lost in the dark” feeling that permeates early Barony.
• Barony - Automation. The scoring to the final levels just before Barony’s (very difficult) final bosses.
• Barony - Braving The Unknown. Especially ominous around 02:03.
• Starcraft Brood War - Intro. Starcraft always had very punching cinimatics. Mostly the last 40 seconds of this piece really let you know that you were getting into something huge.
• Megabyte Punch - Ventu’s Lost. Accompanies a moment in the game where the homeworld succumbs just before a climactic battle.
• The Legend of Zelda - Deku Tree. Alright, this link is a remastered version, but the original definitely carries it’s own foreboding mood.
• The Legend of Zelda A Link To The Past - Dark World Theme. By the time you reached this point in the game, you accrued most of the cool gear all the while the world you knew has been transformed. This version is just so awesome.
• Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2 - Over the Caucasus. The vocals make for a very ominous build up.
• Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. - Ghost Rider. Also strong.
• Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2 - Last Stand. Probably my favorite of all Tom Salta’s works. It opens in a kind of somber way before cascading into a bit that just screams high stakes final struggle.
• Starfox 64 - Sector X. A creeping and haunting piece that went well with being out in open space.
• Tribes Ascend - Temple Ruins I. The use of big brass and heavy percussion make for a very ancient sounding theme. It builds until climaxing at about 01:44.
• Tribes Ascend - Sunstar I. Similarly with the Sunstar world map.
• Crysis 2 - SOS New York. This track was used in the waiting lobby of Crysis 2’s original multiplayer. I forget where it was used in the campaign but set the scene excellently for an up and coming battle.
• Planetside 2 - Vanu Sovereignty Combat 3. This piece is a little more chill than the other combat scores so it actually played when completing a capture or some less intense feat.
• Deadcore - Jaws. Deadcore has some of my absolute favorite works. The heavy dark tech trance can hardly be found in any “legitimate” music genre.
• Deadcore - Negative Wave. A little more lively. The piece is meant to work up as the player picks up pace in the speedrun game. Big drop at 01:45.
• Deadcore - Cubik. More tech heavy.
• F-Zero X - Car Select. How to say death race without saying death race.
• F-Zero GX - Lightning.
• Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon - Power Core. A modern take on 80s synth and it works out very well.
• Civilization V - Pedro II War. When you start conflict with Pedro II in Civ V it sounds like you’ve just made a very bad decision.
• Metroid Prime - Title Screen Intro. In addition to setting the scene, it has that dark psy sound that I enjoy so much.

Moving or just distinguished in their beauty

• Dreamfall The Longest Journey - The Hospital Room. Dreamfall does a really good job of making one care about the characters in the story. This track perfectly evokes that during a playthrough.
• Planet Explorers - Main Theme. Such high production value for a game that ultimately failed.
• Halo 3 - Never Forget. The piano in particular is very strong.
• The Talos Principle - Trials. Very calming piano starting at 02:05. Excellent focus music. This also could have gone into the “Building up to something big” list.
• Metroid Prime - Inside the Crashed Space Pirate Frigate. As a nice repreive from the rest of the hostile environment (although there are still encounters in this area IIRC).

Met with success, mission accomplished

• Barony - Hero’s Lament. It captures well the return to peace that the game’s story tries to convey, and is just very peaceful overall, especially after 01:04.
• Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X - Artemis Ascendance.
• Starfox 64 - Mission Accomplished. Aptly named.
• F-Zero X - Goal. You kind of have to experience shooting through the finish gate, your craft smoking and nearly destroyed, into first place as the score rolls. It’s a damn shame that F-Zero GX decided to drop the sound theming in favor of a more techno-y OST.

Just fun I guess

• Crypt of the Necrodancer - Dance of the Decorous.
• Crypt of the Necrodancer - Tombtorial. Excellent crescendos and drops.