I'm just going to C&P my Top 20 Game Soundtracks Ever article from another board a long time ago;
I don't know about all of you, but music is one of the most important aspects of a game to me. I think game composers in particular are the true masterminds behind the art form. A great soundtrack can mean the difference between notoriety and mediocrity for me. Over the years, I've encountered so many incredible soundtracks that it's almost overwhelming. I have 97 gigs of game music on my external hard drive, and I listen to it constantly.
Of course, there's a myriad of different types of game music, and a myriad of different qualities. Lots of composers make great game music, but there are a few that compose absolute works of art that compliment every moment of the game. Here's 20 soundtracks I think tower above all others in terms of composition, quality, execution, and pure nostalgia. Along with each soundtrack, I will provide links three themes so you can see for yourself how amazing they are.
#20: Tekken 5 (PS2)
By Akitaka Tohyama, Tetsukazu Nakanishi, Yoshihito Yano, Yu Miyake, Junichi Nakatsuru, Satoru Kosaki, Rio Hamamoto, Keiichi Okabe, Ryuichi Takada, Kohta Takahashi, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Keiki Kobayashi, Nobuyoshi Sano & Hiroshi Okubo
In a fighting game, you need some good music in order to add to the drama of the competition. You need something that'll get your heart pumping and your palms sweaty. Tekken 5 excels in this area like no other fighting game. With its amazing sense of variety and a surprising emphasis on being dramatic, the Namco sound team has created an amazing soundtrack that takes influence from every genre you can think of, from techno to hard rock and even opera. You can almost feel themes like Moonlight Wilderness and Finalizer instill you with the will to fight as they begin to pick up the pace. An amazing soundtrack, to say the least.
Moonlight Wilderness
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/859/8 Antares
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/859/14 Ground Zero Funk
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/859/19 #19: Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (PS2)
By Maki Kirioka, Akihiro Honda, Toshiyuki Katuka & Norihiko Hibino. Song lyrics by Maki Kimura.
It seems that good music is very important to Hideo Kojima, because every single game he's ever developed has had an amazing soundtrack. 2nd Runner is no exception. A very interesting mix of techno, sweeping symphonic violin pumped with middle-eastern flavor, 2nd Runner has a very distinct feel to it. There's a lot of variety, as Kojima invited a host of different composers to join in the scoring of this masterpiece. Akihiro Honda's techno pieces are very catchy, Toshiyuki Katuka's pieces are more atmospheric, Metal Gear Solid's Norihiko Hibino offers some very MGS-feeling pieces, and Maki Kirioka does a wonderful job utilizing the main theme of the game with some very dramatic pieces. Everything is tied together by an incredible vocal song called Beyond the Bounds, easily the best J-Pop song I've ever heard. Check out the links and I think you'll agree.
Beyond the Bounds
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1881/3578 Compression Space
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1881/3557 Air Fight
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1881/3577 #18: Final Fantasy VI (SNES)
By Nobuo Uematsu
I don't need to tell you about this soundtrack, do I? Nobuo Uematsu is easily the most recognizable video game composer in the world today, and for good reason. His distinct style and emphasis on melancholy have given the Final Fantasy games more personality and atmosphere than some of the characters and environments themselves. Of all his works, Final Fantasy VI easily stands out as my favorite (not counting Chrono Trigger, which was a joint effort). What Nobuo Uematsu managed to pull off on a cart-driven system is simply beyond my ability to comprehend, scoring almost orchestral-sounding themes using an MIDI sequencer.
Awakening
bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/ff6...20Awakening.mp3 Devil's Lab
bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/ff6...0Devil-sLab.mp3 Searching for Friends
bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/ff6...r%20Friends.mp3 #17: The King of Fighters '96 (Neo Geo CD)
By SNK Sound Team, Arranged By Takayuki Aihara
Every game in the King of Fighters series, with the exception of 2001 and 2002, has an amazing soundtrack, but I can only include my favorite on here because if I didn't, then this entire list would be flooded with KoF games. KoF96 is often cited for having the most memorable KoF soundtrack out of all of the games, including classic themes for older characters and incredible new themes that would later become synonymous with their respective teams. In all, this is probably SNKs best effort at rock, and that's saying a lot.
ESAKA¿
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/475/2 Arashi no Saxophone 2
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/475/9 FAIRY
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/475/12 #16: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1)
By Michiru Yamane
When I first started playing Castlevania: SotN, I was completely blown away by the music more than anything. The orchestra sounded so real, the guitar sounded so acoustic. Never had I heard a game soundtrack that sounded so clear. It was the first soundtrack of the 32-bit age that really impressed me, both harkening back to the age of the Turbo CD and presenting something on an entirely different level. Symphony of the Night's soundtrack is still often cited as being of the best in all the industry, and it's easy to see (or hear) why.
Wood Carving Partita
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/120/11 Crystal Teardrops
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/120/16 Wandering Ghosts
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/120/24 #15: Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (GC)
By Steve Henifin & Norihiko Hibino
Silicon Knights has an incredible in-house composer in Steve Henifin, who before scoring this amazing remake of the original 1998 phenomenon, Metal Gear Solid, did the soundtracks for such games as Legacy of Kain and Eternal Darkness. Both of those soundtracks exude a dark feel, but for Metal Gear Solid, Henifin brings out a more electronic sound that works quite well along with MGS veteran Hibino's work. The boss themes are particularly amazing, and all in all some of the best electronic pieces you'll ever hear.
Soldier vs. Ghost
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1035/31 Infiltrator vs. Parasite
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1035/33 The Best is Yet to Come
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1035/71 #14: Super Metroid (SNES)
By Kenji Yamamoto
Super Metroid was one of the first games that taught me the power of the atmospheric soundtrack. Before then, every game soundtrack was simply there to add music to scenes. Super Metroid's soundtrack is purely to compliment the environments and the situations therein. Yamamoto's score is well composed, has amazing quality for a cart game, and simply drips with this ominous essence that's amplified by some very lifelike chorus. You'd be hard pressed to find a more atmospheric, film-quality soundtrack on the SNES, and dare I say, it might even be impossible. Sorry, no links to Super Metroid music.
#13: Ys VI: Ark of Napishtim (PC/PS2)
By Sound Team JDK
In the late 80s, Ys revolutionized the way developers approached game music. With the PC Engine Super CD technology, Falcom was one of the first to present a CD audio-quality soundtrack with real acoustics and almost movie-like composition, a feature that has only been mainstreamed recently. After an almost 10 year hiatus, Sound Team JDK, the legendary band that made the original Ys music, returned for the sixth game in the Ys series, and in that decade, they hadn't gotten the least bit rusty. Ys VI's soundtrack sounds very true to its roots and stands as one of the best soundtracks on PS2 or any system for that matter.
Ultramarine Deep
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1074/8 The Pirate Ship
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1074/15 Defend and Escape
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1074/19 #12: Chrono Cross (PS1)
By Yasunori Mitsuda
With his work in Xenogears, Xenosaga, and the Chrono games, Yasunori Mitsuda is highly regarded as one of the most incredible video game composers of all time, and I agree with this angle wholeheartedly. The quality of his pieces, his amazing use of strings, and the celtic flavor of his work give him a distinct style that can't be confused with any other composer. Chrono Cross is easily one of his finest works and is most often cited as his best, although Chrono Trigger still touches me in a slightly better way due to its stronger composition, more thematic material, and the fact that Chrono Cross has one of the worst battle themes of all time.
Time's Scar
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/63/1 Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/63/7 Ancient Dragon's Fort
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/63/7 #11: Chrono Trigger (SNES)
By Yasunori Mitsuda, Nobuo Uematsu & Norikio Matsueda
Chrono Trigger was breathtaking in every way imaginable, but what really drives the game along is its incredible soundtrack. Easily one of the most amazing joint efforts in video game music, Yasunori Mitsuda and Uematsu join forces to create a work of art like no other. Aside from having some of the best synth quality on the SNES with some of the most realistic piano notes you'll ever hear, it's just so nostalgiac and unforgettable. Every theme in the game is hummable, and each character-specific piece easily comes to mind every time you think about that particular character. Although not my favorite soundtrack ever, it's easily the one I have the hardest time forgetting.
Secret of the Forest
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/65/11 Corridors of Time
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/65/51 Black Omen
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/65/58#10. Diddy's Kong Quest (SNES)
By Dave Wise
Dave Wise is one of the most amazing Western video game composers in the industry. As an in house composer for Rare, he's created or assisted in creating a plethora of amazing soundtracks that stretch all across the timespan of the industry, from Battletoads to Conker's Bad Fur Day. Among fans and casual passerbys, DKC2's soundtrack is most often cited as his best, and the subject of many amazing remixes at Overclocked. The synth quality is simply amazing for an SNES game and the composition simply cant be topped. The soundtrack has an incredible amount of variety, consisting of everything from orchestral, jazz, rock, funk, disco, anything you can imagine. This is by far the best soundtrack on SNES, and one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. Ah.. memories. Sorry, no links.
#9. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (PS2)
By Harry Gregson-Williams & Norihiko Hibino
When the most highly anticipated game of the century hit the shelves in late 2001, it was truly a technical and artistic spectacle. The game had the highest production values of anything yet seen, and was a definite example of how this generation should be done. One of the greatest aspects of the game is its awesome soundtrack, containing both catchy electronic tunes by Hibino and some very profound and moving orchestral pieces by professional film composer Harry Gregson-Williams, who is more than capable of capturing the military essence of the game. Because of how well the music fit with every scene in the game, it felt more like a movie than anything we'd experienced prior. A soundtrack for the ages.
Main Theme of Metal Gear Solid
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/247/2 Opening Infiltration
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/247/3 Twilight Sniping
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/248/13 Father and Son
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/248/19 #8. The Last Blade II CD (Neo Geo CD)
By SNK Sound Team
Last Blade II already had an incredible soundtrack for a NG cart, but the CD version's music is nothing short of a masterpiece. Easily the best soundtrack in any fighting game, Last Blade II viers from the typical Japanese themes and rock for a much more somber, melodic orchestral soundtrack that has some of the best quality and composition you'll ever hear in all your days. It's almost too good a soundtrack to be in a fighting game, but Last Blade II is an extra special fighting game that deserves perfection in every respect, especially its atmospheric music that captures the feeling of despair the Bakumatsu era held so powerfully.
The Moon Light Swordsmen ~Decision at Dawn~
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/598/3 Way of the Blade
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/598/5 Violent Emotion
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/598/6 Moonlight
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/598/10 #7. Skies of Arcadia (Dreamcast)
By Yutaka Minobe & Tatsuyuki Maeda
Skies of Arcadia is the second best RPG I've ever played, and one of the reasons is because of its whimsical, powerful, moving, charming, orchestral soundtrack that takes inspiration from every environment and culture you can think of. The game itself has an incredible sense of history, and this is only amplified by the amazing soundtrack. Though a more recent game, SoA's soundtrack is already as memorable to me as tunes from Super Mario Bros. and Zelda. Every character's theme fits perfectly with that character, every environment theme fits perfectly with that environment, and every single piece of music in this entire massive soundtrack is worth listening to.
Air Pirate Secret Base
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/393/6 Ruins Dungeon
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/393/10 Armada
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/393/31 Armada Battle
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/393/57 #6. Unlimited Saga (PS2)
By Masashi Hamauzu
Masashi Hamauzu is by far the best composer ever to have worked for Square. The first time I heard him was in SaGa Frontier II, and that soundtrack easily one of the best of the 32-bit generation. He then composed most of the best themes for Final Fantasy X before moving on to his finest work yet; Unlimited Saga. Although Unlimited Saga's status as a good game is in dispute throughout the gaming community, one thing that cannot be denied is that the game has one of the most incredible and original soundtracks you'll ever hear. There's nothing else quite like it. I can't wait to hear what Masashi Hamauzu has in store for Final Fantasy XIII.
Overture
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/803/2 Solitude
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/803/24 Theme for Myth
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/803/25 BT "Ultimate"
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/803/51#5. Chaos Legion (PS2)
By Hideyuki Fukusawa
For a somewhat low-profile Devil May Cry "clone", Chaos Legion has a surprisingly good soundtrack. In fact, it's downright amazing. First-time composer Hideyuki Fukusawa presents one of the finest, most moody soundtracks in all of the gaming industry. Combining the chaotic, irrythmic beats of techno with high quality orchestral symphonies and topping them off with some fairly profound vocals, Chaos Legion's soundtrack is both catchy, fitting, and infinitely atmospheric. Despite all of the action tracks having a somewhat similar bassline, Fukusawa manages to mix things up nicely with vocals, such as the chilling female vocals in I Can Hear the Shriek, and the basetone male vocals in the Monk's Stage theme. The soundtrack culminates in Be Killed Again, the final battle theme, and one of the most climatic ever written.
Pledge Stage ~Street~
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/617/6 I Can Hear the Shriek ~Cave~
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/617/13 Monk's Stage ~Forest~
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/617/15 Battle Cry Stage ~Town~
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/617/19 Be Killed Again - Theme of Delecroix 2nd
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/617/22 #4. Ys: Oath in Felghana (PC)
By Falcom JDK Band, Arranged By Yukihiro Jindo
The Ys series has always had some of the best music your ears would ever hear. Over the years, Falcom's JDK sound team has released countless soundtracks, arranged albums, and memorial box sets, each of which being better than the last. But none of these arrangements or compilations comes close to the Oath in Felghana soundtrack. Oath in Felghana is the complete retelling of Ys III: Wanderers from Ys. The entire game has been rebuilt from the ground up with an entirely different style of gameplay more reflective of Ys VI: Ark of Napishtim. The music, however, not only stays true to the Ys brand, it exceeds its criteria for sufficiency. Ys III's music was already incredible back in 1991 on Turbo CD... but this is just too much.
Dark Beasts as Black as the Night
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/3841/46497 A Searing Struggle
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/3841/46508 Valestine Castle
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/3841/46498 Chop!!
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/3841/46490 The Strongest Foe
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/3841/46476 #3. Baten Kaitos: The Eternal Wings & The Lost Ocean and The First Wings & The Heirs of God
By Motoi Sakuraba, Lyrics by Mio Sakuraba
Motoi Sakuraba has the largest discography of any video game composer around. He's been composing music regularly since the late 80s, in games such as the Arcus series, Tales of, Valkyrie Profile, Star Ocean, Shining Force, and just about any game Tri-Ace has ever developed aside from Radiata Stories. His latest and greatest work, however, is in the Baten Kaitos games, particularly BK Origins. The BKO soundtrack opens with what is quite possibly the most beautiful vocal song ever written for a video game, Le Ali Del Principio sang by Sakuraba's daughter, Mio. The soundtrack combines beautiful, melancholy orchestral pieces with some hard hitting, synth-heavy rock themes for the battles, a trademark of Sakuraba's. These two games have such amazing soundtracks that I can't decide between them, and have therefore devoted this spot to both soundtracks simultaneously. This is far and away the best work Sakuraba has ever done, and it catapaults him into the ranks of the best video game composers the world over.
Le Ali Del Principio
bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/baten-kaitos-2-ost-soundtrack/101%20Le%20ali%20del%20principio.mp3 Valedictory Elegy
bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/baten-kaitos-2-ost-soundtrack/104%20The%20valedictory%20elegy.mp3 Iconclasm
bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/baten-kaitos-2-ost-soundtrack/107%20Iconoclasm.mp3 Between the Winds
bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/bkost/112%20Between%20the%20Winds.mp3 Azure Soul Fountain
bluelaguna.net/downloads/mp3s/bkost/127%20Azure%20Soul%20Fountain.mp3 #2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2)
By Harry Gregson-Williams & Norihiko Hibino
Just when I had figured MGS2 was the pinnacle in video game presentation, MGS3 came along and blew that theory out the window. Never has a game been so real, so emotional and so thought provoking. This is greatly due to its amazing soundtrack, which uses MGS2's soundtrack as a foundation, but builds on it and refines it to the point where it couldn't possibly be any better. MGS2 had a very modern military theme to it, whereas Snake Eater, taking place in the 60s, needed a soundtrack to reflect the period to make the game feel more authentic. Norihiko Hibino does an amazing job of this by throwing in acoustic guitar riffs, and bombastic trumpeting that movies like James Bond popularized. Indeed, even the main theme of the game, Snake Eater, is inspired by the cheesy romance pieces that open every James Bond film, and comes off as fittingly funny during the opening of the game, and yet somehow becomes incredibly dramatic when it's played during the final battle with The Boss. Harry Gregson-Williams compliments Hibino's rock and techno with some incredible orchestral pieces that take you from feeling triumphant and victorios to holding back tears in a matter of moments. The soundtrack, like the game, is a masterpiece.
Snake Eater
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/249/2 Battle in the Base
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/249/24 Takin' on the Shagohod
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/249/30 Life's End
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/249/33 Debriefing
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/249/38 #1. Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)
By Kow Otani
Shadow of the Colossus really shocked me. When I first got it, I didn't know what to expect. What I got was the greatest gaming experience of my life, and partly because the game has the best soundtrack I've ever heard. Not the best soundtrack in a game, mind you, the best soundtrack I've EVER heard, in anything. Mainstream music, games, film, classical, nothing can compare to Kow Otani's work in Shadow of the Colossus. Kow Otani is mostly known as an anime composer. His most commonly cited work is Gundam Wing. But the style and mood of Shadow of the Colossus is completely different. It requires something much more atmospheric. He pulls this off without a hitch in Shadow of the Colossus, creating a soundtrack that amplifies the feeling of horror, solitude, grandure, tragedy, and intensity that the main character, a lonely wanderer out to sacrifice everything for his lost love, experiences throughout the game. The music wouldn't sound the least bit out of place in a film, with tracks like The Opened Way or the prologue theme sounding not unlike something you'd hear in Lord of the Rings. Other tracks, like Revived Power, Creeping Shadow and the amazingly moody final battle theme, Demise of the Ritual, are simply too original and hard to place in terms of comparison, and the epilogue theme, Those Who Remain, is absolutely the best single piece of music in any video game ever, and the best I've ever heard. Simply put, this is the finest collection of music I've ever heard. To rank Kow Otani amongst composers like Nobuo Uematsu or Yasunori Mitsuda is a crime. They simply aren't even close to being in the same league.
The Opened Way
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/2650/21305 Revived Power
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/2650/21301 A Despair-Filled Farewell
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/2650/21287 Demise of the Ritual
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/2650/21319 Epilogue ~Those Who Remain~
gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/2650/21297 Other AMAZING soundtracks you MUST listen to;
Elemental Gearbolt
Dynasty Warriors 4
Valkyrie Profile
Dawn of Mana
SaGa Frontier 2
Tales of Legendia
Okami