Underrated and unnoticed video game music? [Archive]

BetaWolf47

03-26-2010, 12:48 PM

Whenever we talk about music, it's always the same titles that get mentioned: Donkey Kong Country, a couple of RPGs, Mega Man, and some other common title. What are some that have slipped under the radar? Let me begin:

Battle of Olympus (NES) - Pretty much the whole soundtrack
Pandemonium! (Saturn, PC, PSX) - Skull Fortress

AB Positive

03-26-2010, 01:07 PM

I don't think this gets enough press, but EA's crew did a damn fine soundtrack job on the port of Starflight to the Genesis.

Oobgarm

03-26-2010, 01:11 PM

Cobra Triangle (NES)

cityside75

03-26-2010, 01:20 PM

I'm gonna throw in a modern game - SSX Tricky. I especially love the menu music, which starts out very minimalist, and adds an element to the song each time you progress to the next menu.

I love the overall vibe of the game, and I think people will look back on it as a fine example of early 2000's video game aesthetics.

kupomogli

03-26-2010, 01:37 PM

a couple of RPGs

A couple of RPGs? The genre is just as well known for having a lot of good music as it is to, sometimes, having a good storyline.

Anyways. A fairly unknown game so underrated and unnoticed video game music would probably fit. Wild Guns. While there's not much, the music is good. The gameplay itself is also very good. One of my favorite SNES games.

*edit*

Music from the first stage, Carson City, and boss music. Two best music tracks in my opinion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX5cmANKK-Q Carson City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-ryebyLMw4 Boss music

Push Upstairs

03-26-2010, 02:55 PM

I think the "Cheetah Men 2 theme" has no right to be as incredibly awesome as it is.

MissingNo_1231

03-26-2010, 02:59 PM

I kind of like the soundtrack to Friday the 13th on NES.

It's not the same (or as good) as the movies, but there's something about it I enjoy.

Profoundemonium

03-26-2010, 03:09 PM

I really love the soundtrack to Prophecy: The Viking Child.

Blanka789

03-26-2010, 03:46 PM

I love everything about the Sonic Chaos soundtrack, although Gigalopolis Zone and Special Areas are personal favorites.

Aussie2B

03-26-2010, 03:49 PM

Video game music in general doesn't get much attention outside of some small circles, so I'd say the majority of good VGM is underrated/unnoticed. Just looks up any composer you like and I'm sure you'll see at least one or two games you've never heard of among their projects.

Like take Hiroki Kikuta, for example, a lot of people love the music for Secret of Mana and, to a lesser extent seeing as it was a Japan-exclusive, Seiken Densetsu 3. But then you got the soundtrack to Soukaigi, one of his most acclaimed among hardcore game music fans, yet it's a game and soundtrack that most everybody else has never heard of. But even among the hardcore fans that do know Soukaigi, few don't know and/or care about his hentai PC soundtracks for games like Sora no Iro, Mizu no Iro and Sakura Relaxation. Some people who do know of them steer clear when they see the word "hentai", but really that's unfair to Kikuta because we're only talking music here, not actually playing the games. If you listen to them, you can't really tell that the tracks are for a hentai game. They basically just sound like awesome lost Secret of Mana tracks.

This kind of scenario will play out with just about every composer. Even kids that are crazy about Uematsu generally don't know about his early Famicom work or stuff like Hanjuku Hero.

Gavica

03-26-2010, 04:03 PM

Warsong for the Sega Genesis, the Music and Game I think are saddly underrated, I wish they would of brought the sequels to NA.

ShinobiMan

03-26-2010, 04:27 PM

The Shawn

03-26-2010, 04:51 PM

I would have to say the theme music for the game Shadowman on the N64/Dreamcast. I remember plugging the audio into my amp from the N64, I liked it that much at the time.

Wonder if there was ever a soundtrack CD released for it?

robotriot

03-26-2010, 05:04 PM

One of my favourites of the more unknown video game music examples is the Skeleton Krew soundtrack. The game itself is pretty crappy, but I really dig the music on all platforms. It's interesting to note that the CD32 and Megadrive versions had entirely different music, genre-wise. The Amiga floppy version music is closer to the CD32 one, but again slightly different. Here are examples of the MD and CD32 versions:

MD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOJpWhXrmFY
CD32 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsBXYD7co_E

swlovinist

03-26-2010, 05:58 PM

My vote is for Dark Wizard for the Sega CD.

Nintega Grafx-16

03-26-2010, 06:05 PM

China Warrior for Turbo Grafx-16. The game may not be anything special but the music is great.

tom

03-26-2010, 06:08 PM

The pause mode in Snoopy and the Red Baron, excellent stuff.

Doonzmore

03-26-2010, 06:23 PM

Skyblazer (Snes)
Puggsy (Genesis)
World of Illusions (Genesis)
Cold Shadow (Snes)

T2KFreeker

03-26-2010, 06:42 PM

Ah, the world of Videogame Music. Some lost gems out there that get no love for sure.

Tempest 2000 has probably one of the best Techno Soundtracks ever that isn't licensed music and set the tone for things to come.

Robotron X also has some really well done music and is really overlooked.

WipEOut for the PC/PSX/Saturn is awesome sounding.

QUAKE was genius. Trent Reznor was brilliant with this one.

Boogerman, yeah, the Genesis version sounds awesome man. I don't care what anyone says but the mu8sic is awesome on this game. Very well done.

Mickeymania for the Sega CD has some really nice red book audio that gets lost on some people because they skipped it for the SNES and Genesis versions.

All three of the Splatterhouse games are also something to listen to. I would still love to get an orchestral version of these soundtracks as I believe it would be particularly creepy.

Vectorman still puts a smile on my face too.

Legendary Axe for the Turbo Grafx 16 also has some of the most awesome sounding music I have ever heard in a game for said system. Very cool stuff.

There's just a few man.

Therealqtip

03-26-2010, 07:22 PM

OMG LIEK FF7, oh wait.

whoisKeel

03-26-2010, 07:27 PM

Batman NES, though maybe that is too common.

pseudonym

03-26-2010, 07:31 PM

This thread is no good without links. I'll find some more songs later.

Mr. Gimmick/Gimmick
Stage 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OshyhWVquA0
Stage 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEz2CT3Qn00&feature=related
Boss Theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3xgKKo8TyU&feature=related

Solstice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odL0Cgr4OJk

Eyedunno

03-26-2010, 07:49 PM

Street Fighter II (and other series titles from around the same time). One scarcely realizes just how wonderful the music is until Street Fighter Alpha/Zero 3, where they completely changed the spirit of the music and with it the atmosphere of the game. It's otherwise a fantastic game, don't get me wrong, but it's the music and the announcer that make me prefer Zero/Alpha 2.

As far as games not released stateside, Umihara Kawase (so wonderfully catchy) and the main Clock Tower theme (which ranks with many great horror movie themes) from the Super Famicom and Benkei Gaiden for the PC Engine (especially the main random battle theme).

Arkhan

03-26-2010, 07:58 PM

I'm a huge fan of the Bonk games on TG16. Having said that, I feel that Super Bonk on SNES goes highly unnoticed. The music in that game is especially a treat. So fun and vibrant, I sometimes play that game just so I can hear the music from Stage 1.

Here it is - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNQuMFhfku8

I cant spread the file around as it is not my place to share files that may not want to be shared yet..., but a musician I know has been working on remixes of Super Bonk and that particular song sounds prettttty kick ass.

my favorite song from that game is the music when youre in space!

Super Bonk is underrated in general.

and, as far as the OP goes, Battle of Olympus' entire soundtrack was superb.

I think Faxanadu is another barely mentioned soundtrack.

and Fray for MSX/PCE CD. Thats one hell of a soundtrack too

Famidrive-16

03-26-2010, 08:32 PM

MC Kids/McDonaldland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqAXFK8U32U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KJeCensol8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpADmgS1JQs

Just don't look up the DOS version, YEOUCH!!!

Dr. Dib

03-26-2010, 08:36 PM

Personally one of my favorite songs come from NiGHTS into Dream. Specifically it's the song where NiGHTS fights Reala and you can hear it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS0Wq4jf3F0.

The music from Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon is also highly overlooked. This song is perhasp the best: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZQzuxEJl-4

The Shawn

03-26-2010, 08:52 PM

Also I forgot to add 'Mr. Bones' for the Saga Saturm. Actually the tune 'Mr. bones' was quite cool at the time...

Arkhan

03-27-2010, 12:50 AM

MC Kids/McDonaldland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqAXFK8U32U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KJeCensol8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpADmgS1JQs

Just don't look up the DOS version, YEOUCH!!!

I never liked the Amiga sound track. It doesn't have the same charm to it.

Famidrive-16

03-27-2010, 02:38 AM

I never liked the Amiga sound track. It doesn't have the same charm to it.

NES surpasses it a bit but I do love the Amiga version's.

armonigann

03-27-2010, 03:29 AM

Mappy Land for nes has good soundtrack beleive it or not...

Push Upstairs

03-27-2010, 05:10 AM

Mystery of Murasame

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ4NUa-vydI

My prefered version, especially at 3:15

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpzyvADyxTs

Xexyz

03-27-2010, 09:01 AM

Oh man, I'm a video game music freak and have a lot to contribute to this thread, but I'll start off with just one example. I present to you, some of my favorite tracks from G.Rev's arcade shooter Border Down, composed by Yasuhisa Watanabe (of Zuntata):

Purple Town: http://www.youtube.com/user/atomofish#p/u/21/9boFOGPISDg&fmt=18

Girl of Power: http://www.youtube.com/user/atomofish#p/u/20/5KNAG7hGmNc&fmt=18

Bye-Bye Mars take.II-: http://www.youtube.com/user/atomofish#p/u/17/WcSmBMQMK2g&fmt=18

Snow Fox: http://www.youtube.com/user/atomofish#p/u/14/5JhDFhOhBPo&fmt=18

MissingNo_1231

03-27-2010, 09:07 AM

King's Bounty for the Sega Genesis has a rockin' soundtrack.

PresidentLeever

03-27-2010, 09:39 AM

MD:
Master of Monsters
Gauntlet IV
Midnight Resistance
Star Cruiser
The Hybrid Front
J. League Pro Striker Final Stage
Yu Yu Hakusho: Maykou Toitsuden
Dragon Slayer 1-2
Undeadline
Tel Tel Baseball Stadium
Rolling Thunder 3

SNES:
Hamelin no Violin
Radical Dreamers
Cybernator
Front Mission: Gun Hazard
Batman Returns
Mystical Ninja series
Top Gear 2
Tales of Phantasia

Game Gear:
Arena: Maze of Death
Zan Gear

I try to cover what I like in medleys on youtube (see sig) :)

Kiddo

03-27-2010, 12:40 PM

I think the "Cheetah Men 2 theme" has no right to be as incredibly awesome as it is.

Strangely enough, quite a few "Bad" games have some fairly nice music. I mean, I can't stand -playing- Silver Surfer (NES) and Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade's Revenge (SNES/GEN), but they both have nice soundtracks.

Sonic the Hedgehog games also tend to have good soundtracks regardless of actual game quality.

Also, since there's no NeoGeo love in the thread yet, let me throw in Metal Slug's soundtrack. I also liked the Samurai Shodown series' soundtracks.

Xexyz

03-28-2010, 02:22 PM

Looks like this thread's going nowhere fast. I'm quite partial to Manabu Namiki's shmup OST's, one of his best being Armed Police Batrider:

No Way Out http://www.youtube.com/user/ronin1000#p/c/4/QUvZ6BA9h-k&fmt=18

Missile Fever http://www.youtube.com/user/ronin1000#p/c/6/2Ts_iyi07d4&fmt=18

Purple Twilight http://www.youtube.com/user/ronin1000#p/c/8/tOLme91dh6U&fmt=18

Chasing Gang's Need Speed http://www.youtube.com/user/ronin1000#p/c/10/k58SJoTVnhU&fmt=18

I hope more people offer samples of the music tracks in the games they list.

Steve W

03-28-2010, 02:31 PM

Battlemorph for the Atari Jaguar has amazing music as far as I'm concerned.
Leander for the Amiga had a great soundtrack, especially the intro music.
Demolition Racer: No Exit on the Dreamcast has the perfect soundtrack for the gameplay. They picked the absolute best and most appropriate music for that game.

tomaitheous

03-28-2010, 02:42 PM

PC-Engine/CD/TG16
Legend of Xanadu (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXj5h6f_SjA)
Bloody Wolf

Genesis
Burning Force (god, I love that music)

nensondubois

03-28-2010, 02:44 PM

Genesis:
Virtual Pinball
Action 52
Top Gear 2
Earthworm Jim 2
Menacer
Risk
General Chaos
Flashback
World of Illusions starring Mickey Mouse

SNES
Flashback
Winter Gold
Yoshi no Kurropn: Oven de Cookie
Animaniacs (SGB)
Beach Volleball (SGB)
Small Soldiers (SGB)
A Bug's Life (SGB)
Mualn (SGB)
Nuegier
Kirby no Kara Kids

I have an entire list as well for NES, GB and so forth.

j_factor

03-28-2010, 03:55 PM

The Ooze (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRxgL1UGF4A&fmt=18).

And for some reason I've always loved the soundtrack to Global Gladiators. Especially the opening tune (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRMR-wq0YOo&fmt=18).

The 1 2 P

03-28-2010, 07:07 PM

Nes

Contra
Gunsmoke
Life Force
Ninja Gaiden II
Skate or Die
TMNT

Gameboy

Spider-Man
TMNT:Fall of The Foot Clan

Genesis

Sonic The Hedgehog 1-2
Spider-Man

PS1

Medevil
Star Wars: Rebel Assault II
Syphon Filter 2

Xbox

Burnout 3
Halo 2
Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic II

Arcade

Double Dragon
Spy Hunter

Although many of those games are popular you rarely hear about how good their music is. You normally just hear about the gameplay. I would say that Gunsmoke and Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic II are the two most underrated. Both of those games have fantastic soundtracks.

dreamcaster

03-28-2010, 07:13 PM

The entire soundtrack to Jet Force Gemini (N64).

It's epic and more impressive than any other video game I've heard, yet no one sings its praises.

fahlim003

03-28-2010, 10:31 PM

The Ooze (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRxgL1UGF4A&fmt=18).

Word.

PC
Transport Tycoon & Transport Tycoon Deluxe (both jazzy and easy listening soundtracks)
Age of Empires (maybe not too good, but some memorable tunes here)
Doom 2 (some really fine music here, at least from what I've seen DII gets a bad rep., oh well)

Genesis
Jurassic Park

Arcade
Sonic Wings 3 (some weird music abounds, but it's otherwise a nice evolution from SW2/AF2)

Aussie2B

03-28-2010, 11:38 PM

Although many of those games are popular you rarely hear about how good their music is.

I'd never put "underrated game music" and Contra or Sonic the Hedgehog in the same sentence. o_O Same goes for Life Force/Salamander, Ninja Gaiden, and TMNT to slightly lesser extents.

Ruudos

03-29-2010, 10:40 AM

Solstice (NES)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hGWMeazlhg

The Smurfs (NES) (some of these play too fast (pal game on ntsc machine))
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHL_g-hoZPw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr_FLIZ-ACQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfuskX7MIj8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXuIP7zLFBs

Faxanadu (NES)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcJBonKLhqU

Gremlins 2 (NES)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoiZOFC_dBk

shertz

04-04-2010, 02:21 PM

If you like video game music, I DJ for a Video Game Music Show every Friday from 4 - 6pm (westcoast) on KSPC 88.7FM radio. You can listen to the live webcast at www.kspc.org. I have a wide range of VG music....

http://kspc.radioactivity.fm/show.html?showoid=779

vxkens

04-04-2010, 02:34 PM

Mega Man Network Transmission on GameCube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh95W14ZkBY

Also, Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge on GBA.

And the arcade version of UN Squadron

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3UHe1UWgVs

Kitsune Sniper

04-04-2010, 02:48 PM

The Terminator on Sega CD. Buttrock FTW.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-utO7xpuZdA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnGt2w6JHOw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTGNKXFxeaM

Well, most of it is pretty cool. Some of them just... sound awkward. :p

The music turned an average game into an absolute classic for me.

The 1 2 P

04-04-2010, 07:22 PM

I'd never put "underrated game music" and Contra or Sonic the Hedgehog in the same sentence. o_O Same goes for Life Force/Salamander, Ninja Gaiden, and TMNT to slightly lesser extents.

I just mean that none of my friends(today and back when these games were new) ever commented on the quality of music in those games. But it is quite good, which only adds to the overall feeling of immersiveness.

buzz_n64

04-04-2010, 07:40 PM

Sparkster (snes)
Level 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDgqjxzOuc0
Ending http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPNBcc8EyQA

vxkens

04-04-2010, 08:10 PM

Sparkster (snes)
Level 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDgqjxzOuc0
Ending http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPNBcc8EyQA

Sparkster on SNES is filled with awesome music. Here are some more good ones.

Level 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laEbKNVUi7A
Level 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upyECvbp0vI&feature=related
Level 7(shooter stage) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oezLSEFgN7c

Also, speaking of Konami, Sunset Riders had some really great music too.

Stage 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVKgY-xQsZI

BetaWolf47

04-04-2010, 08:34 PM

Here's a good track from Pandemonium, the game I mentioned in my first post:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv77tIKRmDs

Xexyz

04-05-2010, 10:08 AM

I don't remember the composers (I think there were 4) but Masaya's Gley Lancer was not only an awesome import only Mega Drive shmup, but one with fantastic tunes to boot. I finally got to experience this gem and its music last year thanks to Sega and Nintendo's Virtual Console:

Stage 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWutrB0BL1U&fmt=18

Stage 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqZH1F8DItw&fmt=18

Stage 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSSebHIDcb8&fmt=18

Stage 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0IhO0xjKUY&fmt=18

Stage 8: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEpwXVZkHLM&fmt=18

ShinobiMan

04-05-2010, 11:54 AM

I always loved the music in Black Hole Assault for Sega CD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YnFOt_LZ0Q

This is gameplay footage, but check out the music!

Highly underrated game IMO. The story is great! The gameplay may be simple, but so is "Boxing" on Atari, and I love it.

Amnion-Chorion

04-06-2010, 02:42 AM

ShinobiMan

04-06-2010, 10:20 AM

I've always felt Smart Ball for the SNES had a very underrated soundtrack:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djtlzgSHlR8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeAH_mENOnI

The moon stage especially has a very nice and peaceful tune to it.

Yeah! Love Smart Ball (Jerry Boy in Japan, which is the version I owned.) I totally agree, the music in that game is top notch. And it's funny you mentioned the moon stage's music, because that's my favorite from the game.

That game was seriously butchered in the US. In the Japanese version there was an actual story, with towns thats you visited in between levels and people you talked to. You even get swallowed by a whale at one point and go to heaven where you talk to angels! It was awesome.

Some people don't like Smart Ball, but I say give the Japanese version a chance and you'll find a lot to like.

Kamille01

04-06-2010, 04:15 PM

I think the music in the Gaia trilogy (Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma) is really good. Although I am biased towards the series so it might just be me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KelnHjOateU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiW2DbKa_dI

ActRaiser is also fantastic but I guess that was never really underrated or unnoticed.

I agree that Tempest 2000 had some of the best techno beats. Extreme-G for the N64 was also great.

It's not a classic game but the symphonic suite in the American version of Dragon Quest VIII was amazing.

ReTrO-pLaYeR

04-07-2010, 07:03 PM

NerdXCrewWill

04-08-2010, 10:54 AM

Also I forgot to add 'Mr. Bones' for the Saga Saturm. Actually the tune 'Mr. bones' was quite cool at the time...

I came into this thread to specifically add this game. Awesome blues soundtrack. You gotta love that weird spoken word track.

Wraith Storm

04-08-2010, 02:48 PM

I am glad to see Dark Wizard and Solstice have already been mentioned. Solstice is at the pinnacle of NES sound programming and Dark Wizard is at the pinnacle of soundtracks in general.

I have to add Mystaria/Blazing Heroes on the Saturn.

The video HERE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6THAFPe8BU) has several of the games classic tunes. Its easily among the greatest soundtracks ever made IMO. The only bad thing is, like Dark Wizard, there are only a handful of tracks that repeat through the game. But when they kick so much @$$, who cares?

Bad Atom

04-09-2010, 11:39 PM

The music from "Monster in My Pocket" (NES) has always been a favorite of mine, especially Stage 4:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX3xNau0xgg

exit

04-14-2010, 07:23 PM

I'm not sure if this was mentioned, but Phantom 2040 is a true underdog. I randomly looked it up after remembering the commercials for the animated series that I never watched and it was generally praised from what I saw, so I got it for SNES off of Goozex and I was wowed on how well made it is. It's one of those games that should have done well, since it had everything going for it from gameplay to an actual good use of a license.

I'm guessing it did bad because it was a relatively unknown show, which is a real shame.

Guru of Time and Space

04-14-2010, 09:07 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bde7mNPjhlE&feature=related

Time Lord, baby.

-GoTaS

NayusDante

04-14-2010, 09:37 PM

vxkens

04-16-2010, 01:07 PM

Iridion II (GBA)

This is a game that knows it has good music. The title screen even lets you play around with the music engine by mixing different elements.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue-R0tO7BBc

It's a good shooter as well, and it pulled off some neat 2.5D tricks for a unique visual style.

I agree. The quality of music in that game is so far beyond most games on GBA. The song you linked to is maybe my favorite song on the system. Stylistically, it reminds me of an 80's Amiga game.

In comparison, the Nanostray games on DS have fairly generic and unmemorable soundtracks. They also aren't as fun IMO as Iridion II. The pathetic shooter lineup on DS has been quite disappointing.

I also found where someone finally posted some music from Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge to youtube. It's not that great a game, but I love the music. This is the battle song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVcGzW9cQJg

Mathius

04-17-2010, 09:09 PM

+1 Legendary Axe

Ed Oscuro

04-17-2010, 09:16 PM

My vote's in for Tradewest's "PLOK" game OST. It's just incredible, incredible music. It's hard to believe some of the sounds are even possible for the SNES, with only 4 out of 5 sound channels utilized for the music. Hudson's Air Zonk also has a lot of awesome songs, my favorite being the Baseball Stadium one.
Years ago PLOK was pointed out to me for just that reason. It doesn't make the Top 100 on SNESmusic.org (http://snesmusic.org/v2/stats.php) though (nor the bottom 100, at least).

Smashed Brother

04-17-2010, 09:49 PM

staxx

04-17-2010, 10:47 PM

Bonk II (PCE)
Aldynes (Super Grafx)
Thunderforce III
Thunderforce IV
Forgotten Worlds
Spriggan (PCE CD)
Spriggan MK2 (PCE CD)
Thundercross 2 (Arcade) ... it's starting to get some recognition though
Fighting Street (PCE CD)
Soulblazer (SNES)
Devil's Crash (Megadrive)
1941
Hybris (Amiga)
RType (Amiga Load Screen)
LED Storm (Amiga)

Aussie2B

04-17-2010, 10:54 PM

My vote has gotta go for Valkyrie Profile (PS1)! Every review on this game talks about the innovations that it brought to the RPG genre, but few (if any) mention the soundtrack in more than a passing word. The soundtrack for this game is, in two words, f'n beautiful! Especially when fed through a nice sound system. The music fits this game and the story perfectly. In fact, no game soundtrack besides Castlevania SOTN has moved me this much. Seriously.

I definitely agree with you on the quality, but it's a very popular soundtrack among game music fans. It's pretty wildly regarded as one of Motoi Sakuraba's best, and Sakuraba himself is getting fairly well-known among RPG fans these days.

I'd say the problem you're encountering is more the fact that most reviewers can't critique game music to save their lives. If they even bring it up, usually it barely goes beyond "the music is good" or "the music is annoying". I consider myself lucky as a reader if they can even state a genre and describe a few instruments the music has/mimics. And it's not like somebody has to have a background in music to make a basic description and assessment. But game reviewers, especially amateurs, tend to suck in general at writing, and the sound section takes the brunt of that lack of ability.

Ed Oscuro

04-17-2010, 10:54 PM

1941
Speaking of which, I think all the stuff on Capcom Game Music Vol.2 (CD) is rather underrated: Street Fighter 1, Rush 'n' Crash, and Side Arms - the last two especially have some epic sounding stuff, reminds me of music being played on an organ for a silent film, or something.

staxx

04-17-2010, 10:58 PM

Speaking of which, I think all the stuff on Capcom Game Music Vol.2 (CD) is rather underrated: Street Fighter 1, Rush 'n' Crash, and Side Arms - the last two especially have some epic sounding stuff, reminds me of music being played on an organ for a silent film, or something.

Agreed and I forgot about Side Arms. I gotta listen to the PCE CD arranged version again. Street Fighter 1 on the PCE CD/T16 had a great arranged version also.

Ed Oscuro

04-17-2010, 11:05 PM

Nothing compares to the...experience of listening to that CD though. They mixed in yells and other voice sound effects almost randomly, but it's interesting. I uploaded the entire 9+ minute track some years ago and posted it here, dunno if it's still up though.

heybtbm

04-18-2010, 10:09 AM

Herzog Zwei (listen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zol5Dmr2qrg))
...basically anything from Techno Soft in the late 80's.

Slate

04-18-2010, 10:58 AM

I'm not sure if this was already posted but I've noticed multiple games on the Saturn have really "Out there" Soundtracks. The only one I can name off the top of my head is Earthworm Jim 2 but darn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByVPTBpbzPs

Skip to 1:18 to get to the gameplay music.

Austin