Day 8 – Best soundtrack
This category is a bit tricky for me since I don’t always play games with the music turned on. I find that it can get rather distracting and overwhelm the experience.
Of course this isn’t always the case. There are quite a few games that make music an integral part of the game play and others that have game play centered on the music (Rockband etc).
But there are only a few games that have music so iconic that I could recognize them out of context. One of them is Super Mario Bros. I could probably recognize every single sound that game ever produced; etched into my brain for eternity.
Even so, the award for best soundtrack has to go to Diablo. Not only did it have fabulous music, but it also created this incredibly haunted atmosphere, even in town!
For being creepy and beautiful, unforgettable and unique, the Diablo soundtrack is definitely my first choice.
Diablo 1 – Music Of Tristram Village By Matt Uelmen Video link.
August 8th, 2012 at 11:14 am
Oh nice one, not sure why I didn’t even consider that. Mario & Zelda occupy that same space that you mentioned, every 8-bit chirp and blip has been engraved in my mind, but another game from the same era always stands out for me, and my wife agreed with me on this one – the Nintendo/Game Boy version of Tetris, and of course it’s iconic version of Korobeiniki.
Russian music is pretty epic, so having the game set not only with scenes of Russian culture but also having the music match just made what really is a simple game in design another part of what is already a rich culture. It did sort of hit you over the head with “HAY THIS IS RUSSIAN, DA!” but in the post-glasnost, soon to be post-Soviet era that saw the rise of the game, that’s not really a bad thing to remind everyone of the beauty and longevity of the Russian culture that had survived Soviet rule.
I guess technically one song isn’t a soundtrack, and while some versions had other music choices (including Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy) – I don’t think there is any other game who has been so associated in iconic fashion with a song as Tetris to Korobeiniki.
So, for upholding a proud nation’s beautiful culture in an era where sympathy for all things Russian was not exactly very high; and for doing this in the context of a video game, Tetris remains my favorite soundtrack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmCCQxVBfyM
And a Portland Timbers plug, here’s the Timbers Army version;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQK4zzQQ7JY
August 8th, 2012 at 4:14 pm
That was actually my second choice and I totally agree with you. That song will forever more mean Tetris to me.
Also nice one Portland. =D
August 9th, 2012 at 5:44 am
I did really like the Russian tetris music. That was back when it was 30 lines per level instead of 10.
My favorite piece of video game music will always be this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDUrQSIRgOo
August 9th, 2012 at 10:13 am
Oh midi music, how you make me smile.
August 9th, 2012 at 10:52 pm
I don’t really play enough games to chime in on most of these posts but I had to comment on this one because I actually bought a game soundtrack for a game I don’t even play. GTA San Andreas. My hubby was playing it and I kept running out to the living room to say “oh! I LOVE this song!”. It was like high school all over again. Sadly most of the best songs in the game aren’t on the 2 disc set.
Yes, thirded for Tetris! Along those lines, I played phantasy star (the first three) tons and can still recognize the music from the first one decades later. I swear my heartbeat still speeds up when I hear the dadadaDAH of an attacking enemy scene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3P-3GsiRIw
August 10th, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Woot more midi music. I never played Phantasy Star. Though looking at the video I bet I would have loved it back in the day.
Oh and dont worry about not chiming in all the time. Its purely voluntary. =D
August 13th, 2012 at 10:06 am
MORTAL KOMBAT!!
[dance]
August 13th, 2012 at 11:16 am
Wait, isn’t that from the movie?
August 13th, 2012 at 5:58 pm
In my mind it isn’t.
Also, I just like yelling that periodically. Keeps people on their toes if they don’t know when you might Kung Lao their ass.
(Not that it’s my favorite anyway. I don’t know that any soundtrack has stood out enough that I remarked on it specifically. There are several that repeated enough to get stuck in your head, for sure. Don’t know if that translates to greatness.)
(If I get time, I’m going to try to go back through this list.)
August 13th, 2012 at 6:10 pm
That fictional sometime when you might have time. =P
I actually really like the Mortal Kombat movie soundtrack. And yes I own it. MORTAL KOMBAT!!
August 13th, 2012 at 8:06 pm
Mortal Kombat soundtrack owned so hard. Doesn’t matter if it’s from the movie. :p