DP’s Favourite Video Game Music

June 4th, 2008

cranky kong music

So you’ve read my reasons why I enjoy listening to video game music and still aren’t convinced that video game music is awesome? Looks like I’m going to have to post up some music samples of particular video game music which I enjoy. I know that this is cliché among us gaming bloggers but I thought that I’d jump on the bandwagon and give it a go. As usual I’d love to hear your thoughts on this and other great game music below.

The Moon – Ducktales (NES and Gameboy)

I don’t think that any song represents the 8bit era quite like this one. I can’t quite put my finger on it but somehow this music captures nostalgia down to a tee, even to people who never played either of the DuckTales games. Capcom owned the rights to Disney games in the 8 and early 16bit eras which paved the way for a solid (infact very good) line up of licensed material sporting the comical cast of Disney characters.

The Best is Yet to Come – Metal Gear Solid

There are only a few songs that I can honestly say tug at my heart strings (some of them I have listed here) and The Best is Yet to Come is one of those songs. Sung completely in Irish the song evokes a strong sense of loss and sorrow which is extremely overpowering and representative of the original Metal Gear Solid. The fact that I cannot understand the lyrics adds further reason as to why this song is a natural beauty. This song reminds me a little of Massive Attack’s Unfinished Sympathy (listen here).

Main Theme – Metal Gear Solid 2

With my anticipation for Metal Gear Solid 4 at fever pitch, this song helps ease my waiting pains. When comparing this to the original MGS Main Theme this is almost laughably better (but the original has its own, PSone campy qualities). MGS2’s Main Theme is again highly representative of this game due to the traces of digital sounds and instrumental arrangement. The sample that I have selected represents a certain pride that I have for the game and captures the heart and soul of this deep series.

The Legend of the Hero – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

I vividly remember this song at the start of The Wind Waker and if you love this game dearly as well then I think you’ll feel the same way. This track made you feel as though Wind Waker was going to be the game which would sequalize Orcarina of Time in terms of coherent story (that is the described story on the scrolls would actually be the story of the Wind Waker). Unfortunately The Wind Waker actually created a gapping hole in the series timeline but in anycase this music reaches into the core of the Zelda experience. The music itself provides background to the main themes surrounding the Zelda franchise; courageous, youthful adventuring on an encompassing scale all which The Wind Waker made good use of.

Title Black – Final Fantasy Tactics

Honestly I could choose any one of the 71 tracks on this soundtrack and it would still be worth listening to. Title Black is the perfect song to symbolize one of gaming’s most widely acclaimed soundtracks. Stop listening and just buy this soundtrack because it is 100% worth your cash especially to those who played and enjoyed the original.

Bramble Song – Donkey Kong Country 2

I can’t find an actual rip of this song so I am just going to post up an accurate enough version taken from VG Music. Donkey Kong Country 2 was unfortunately my least favourite game in the series and despite my deep affection for this series I only played the DKC2 this year (I had finished DKC and DKC3 back in the day, never had DKC2 though). Upon hearing this music my jaw hit the floor. This music is just so compelling and deep for a song of the SNES era. There is also a track from DKC3 that I like which is the remix of the main theme in the mountain levels. I’ll post it up if I can find it again.