Music that ROCKS!

[§ Gideon §]

Dudes of the roundtable, I beseech thee. Let's make a list of video games with music that rocks.

The type of music I'm thinking of is hard to describe, so I'll give some examples off the top of my head:

MegaMan
F-Zero
Battletoads

MegaMan is the best example above. The kind of music that I'm talking about is heavy, largely generic, showy, and energetic but cool (Battletoads fits because it compensates with a lot of coolness). It's sort of Japanese (often times synth is added), but it's not "Jap rock", rather, it's more closely related to 80s heavy metal (I want to say Man o' War and Rush). This genre has a good dosing of industrial to it, and you can expect screaming guitar solos, distorted riffs, rapid bass, and the drums taking a backseat with the occasional fill. The kind of music that I'm talking about is hard to come by these days, so most examples will be SNES/Genesis and before. I expect a lot of arcade games, too.

So, will you help me out? Get a huge list going.

[Kroogah]

F-Zero X = Win.

Mach Rider!
Punch-Out games
Gaiares

[NE146]

On the G4TV special about Megaman (it was an episode of "Icons"), the creator said that the Rock in "Rockman" is not like a stone or pebble, but rather it's comes from Rock and Roll. So he had rock music in mind when designing the artwork and characters. And the game is designed with music in mind and that the music is very important to the series.

..Was cool to find out Megaman is really "Rocker" man

[Sotenga]

The style of music you're describing is interesting... here are a few possible examples, you don't have to agree.

R-Type
Contra
Jackal
Thunder Force III
Bionic Commando
M.U.S.H.A.
Run Saber
Alien Soldier
Axelay
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (All games)
Rocket Knight Adventures (and Sparkster)

And I'm not sure how much more semi-Japanese rock you can get than Guilty Gear X (and XX). \^_^/

(P.S.: F-Zero has kick-ass music, especially the Big Blue tune. )

EDIT: I guess I'll include my fave game series of all time, Castlevania, as well, though, to be fair, I'm not really sure if it's the type of music you're looking for, Gideon. But two songs that seem to fit are "Tragic Prince" and "Wandering Ghosts" from Symphony of the Night.

[Gamereviewgod]

Both Super Turricans on the SNES....just awesome stuff.

[§ Gideon §]

Thanks, guys! I came back to add R-Type and Contra, and saw they were already here. So, I'm glad you know what I'm talking about. Most of the games that you mentioned I haven't even played, so I'll check out the music soon.

I like that story about Rockman, by the way.

[ManekiNeko]

I always liked Theme of the Golem from Life Force (or Salamander, if you prefer). It's the game's boss battle music, and it perfectly sets the mood for battling gigantic brains and fire serpents. It really gives you the impression that the situation has become dire and that you'll be damned lucky to survive.

JR

[Sand_monkey]

Hmmmmm that's a tough one....

Desert Strike (well the title music anyway)
Decap attack
Rock man 2 (I think... i aint played it in ages)

[suppafly]

Lightening Force (The intro music is awesome)
Lords of Thunder (SCD)

[pango]

Flying Warriors III has probably the coolest intro music I've ever heard in a famicom game.

[GameGuru]

Pong

[ClubNinja]

Besides the already-mentioned Mega Man series, I'm quite fond of the music from most of the Sonic games. Some pretty memorable tunes in there. Starlight Zone from the first game is one of my favorite game songs ever.

[gamegirl79]

While you can't technically "rock" to it, Chrono Cross has the best music I've ever heard in a game.

[Oobgarm]

While you can't technically "rock" to it, Chrono Cross has the best music I've ever heard in a game.

And I can't let a cool music thread go by without mentioning the amazing score of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence.

[cheesystick]

SNES Rock N Roll Racing....Oh yeah.
-crispy

[Kroogah]

Taken from Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music:

VIDEO GAME MUSIC
aka VGM, Nintendo
Video Game Music. Since our entire generation grew up playing Super Mario Bros. and Tetris for hours on end, we have the tacky, 8-bit, synthesized melodies of Hip Tanaka literally grafted into our consciousness. Remixes and reworkings galore, and also the sampling and utilization of oldskool game consoles to make itself a fully realized genre of techno. It's still somewhat gimmick music, but I don't mind it at all. I'd go nuts if someone played the Metroid theme song at a party.

[dreamcaster]

"Rocking" game music:

Sega Rally Championship (Saturn) - mainly the (default) Mountain and Desert track music. Listen to both all the way through, and you'll know what I mean. \^_^/

Also, Guilty Gear (PSX) springs to mind.

[Jasoco]

I love game music.

I'm currently into a bunch of OverClocked Remixes of various games.

Mario's Tropical Paradise is fairly new. A mix of a bunch of Mario themed songs from some of the best games. These are my picks. I highly recommend you download them and try them out.

Wolfenstein 3D Nazi Requiem OC ReMix
Super Mario World Ghosts of the Marble Hall OC ReMix
Kid Icarus IcarusOrchestrated OC Remix
Super Mario Kart Trippin' On Rainbows OC ReMix
Banjo Kazooie Oldskool Squarewave OC ReMix
Jurassic Park Mountains GipsyNewAgeDanceMix OC ReMix
NiGHTS SoftMuseumJam OC ReMix
Super Mario Bros MariosTropicalParadise OC ReMix
Kid Icarus MegaloKidMarch OC ReMix
Final Fantasy 6 Anthem of Exile OC ReMix
Starfox Space Cowboys OC ReMix
Doom demonik elektronik OC ReMix
Final Fantasy 7 ROBOVoice OC ReMix
Marble Madness Marble Dancefloor OC Remix
Kid Icarus Funky Dungeon OC ReMix
Shenmue Come to Bob's Pizza OC ReMix


Wolfenstein is a great remix of the Menu Screen.
Ghosts of the Marble Hall is Ghost House music first then faded into a very emotional Castle music.
Jurassic Park is cool. Catchy.
FFVI Anthem of Exile is a great piece.
Space Cowboys is the Boss Viewer music remixed.
Demonik Electronik is my favorite DOOM remix so far. But I love them all.
FFVII Robovoice is a hilariously worded Title Music. "Final Fantasy.. it consumes my life. And that is probably why.. I'll never have a wife.."
Marble Dance Floor is a remix of my favorite MM Music. (Level 2)
Tripin' on Rainbows is freaky.
Banjo Kazooie Oldskool is a nice shorty.
IcarusOrchestrated is the title music redone beautifully and almost perfectly to speed with the NES tune. (I know, I tested it.)
Come to Bob's Pizza is like elevator music. Tranquil.


There are more I'd recommend, and you should try them all. Some are really cool.

Anyway, I also like the unremixed versions of a lot of game music. I downloaded Audio Overload to listen to a few f my favorite game musics.
Star Fox has some really cool music.
Link's Awakening is my favorite Zelda game and has great tunes. Genius.
Startropics has nice island beats.
The DKC Series has some of the most ambient music. Nice background tunes.
Sonic 1, 2, 3, etc all have some really rocking tunes as well.
As for DOOM music, well, I could listen to that all day.

[SoulBlazer]

well, if you define my favorite video game music by what I bought imported from Japan, you'd have the Final Fantasy, Mega Man, Castlevania, and Chrono Trigger/Cross series.

Also Front Mission, Gradius, Metal Gear, and Gunsmoke are very good.

[Solid Snake]

Guilty Gear X2 and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night rank high on my list, and I've always found the Solid Snake theme song to be awesome.