Sad Music in Video Games

[Catalyst]

Making this thread 'cuz I realized the only sad music related thread we had dealt with game overs and my own thread to an actual game called Sadness. Also, oddly enough going thru the back pages we have like 5-6 threads devoted to creepy music. But enough of that, onto the man tears!



Okay, the first time you run into this song in part 2, after Maya's been accused of killing that guy and you have no one to turn to. And than Mia shows up and tells you you're stronger than you think you are, I believe in you; I basically knew then that this game was playing with my emotions. Truly beautiful song to go along with Mia's first and strongest appearance in my opinion.



This song right here just beautifully superimposed over the scene of Jowd comforting Lynne who just went through something rather frightening as a child. And the idea that it might've gone a lot more horribly if not for the love of characters like Missile and Sissel just made me long for my pet. Compound that with the fact that after that you find out some rather amazing things (Oh Ray you waited so long...) I'll admit as soon as I could get away from this game I went out back and brought in my dog.

[docmarionum1]

Link and Marin's song from Link's Awakening, which plays when you two look out onto the ocean and talk.



The OP and ED from Solatorobo



After the Rain from Deadly Premonition



And pretty much the entire Nier soundtrack will make you depressed.

[Ike]

Someone is about to meet a tragic end every time this plays.

[Weasel]

God, even the main town music in this game is sad!

[Bobinator]

Sadly, I can't find an actual video of the song itself, but...



This is the continue screen theme to Rolo to the Rescue on the Genesis. ...At least it is when you actually have continues you can use. When you DON'T, you get this really somber, slow version of theme, and to rub it in even further, the part of the continue screen where you go to continue is literally CLOSED to you.

...How does a game about baby elephants get so damn depressing?

[Ike]

Feb 1, 2012 17:34:19 GMT -5 Weasel said:

God, even the main town music in this game is sad!

Yeah it took some restraint not to post VP's entire soundtrack. Outside of the battle themes I don't think there's an upbeat song in the entire game.

[9inchsamurai]

Found this recently. The title really accents the music quite well.

[Deleted]

I don't usually dig most orchestral game music, but... this particular one in Arkham City struck a good tone with me. This is just all too appropriate, considering it plays... [SPOILERVISION]if you find the spot in Park Row where the chalk outlines of Bruce's parents can be seen and Strange trolls you with an audio recording. Jerk.[/SPOILERVISION]



Unfortunately, this one somehow ISN'T on the official soundtrack release. What the dammit.

[Catalyst]

I remember I had to search for that piece online as well. Disappointment it wasn't on the soundtrack. Also, I agree that their were some really beautiful pieces in Link's Awakening. They carried a bit more emotion than normal LoZ tunes. Oddly, enough I have both Deadly Premonition and Nier waiting for me to play them at my side. It's kinda sadder in the case of Deadly Premonition seeing as I'm the one that started the thread on the forum here. Either way I need to track down a certain Okami song that plays immediately after you fight Rao the first time, as well as a Theresia song.

[shelverton]

This is still one of the saddest pieces of VG music I've heard. It's probably 50% the song and 50% the scene where it plays though. I've never really felt for a video game character the way I felt for Celes when she went up that hill to... you know... IT WAS TEH HOPELESS SITUATION!!!1 (Then again I was 13 years old. But still.)

[Catalyst]

One of the saddest video game realizations epitomized in the credit song.

[docmarionum1]

Been listening to this soundtrack. Kyle Gabler did a good job of making songs both sad and upbeat at the same time.

[saucedupone]

lots of sad songs ITT I feel sad and blue ;(

[jjmcjj]

Probably only really works while playing the game proper as it's just a several-second loop on repeat, but as someone who both loves this game and minimalist music...



God damn, its sheer desolation hits me every time. Lots of other sad and also some highly unsettling music in the game (imagery too!). The game's possible interpretations and ending certainly don't help.

[akirikasu]

Time for a Yasunori Mitsuda Kick guys. Starting with his Magnum Opus, Chrono Cross:


People Imprisoned by Destiny. It makes you think about people who's lives have ended suddenly, and the life they could have lived.



Star-Stealing Girl. There's just so much pain in the song. The occasional female voice accent gives a personality to the music, making the song into a girl who's suffering that you just want to hug and tell her that it'll be all right.

There's actually a ton of very sad songs in the soundtrack, but the end theme is the real killer:

Radical Dreamers ~ The Jewel that can not be Stolen ~
Admittedly it's not nearly as sad or depressing as the other songs in the album without beating the game with the cannonical ending. To my knowledge, it is the only Square game that has come to America without an english-version song, which is a testament to it's power. The real beauty of the song is that the sadness isn't the main focal point; rather, it's about hope. It makes up for a really painful song.

Here's a translation for the lyrics I found online:

I hid that trembling light in my young hands
I've traveled this far, wandering the abyss of time

I continued to search for you, though I know not even your name
I wanted to hand over to you just one single feeling

Times catches deep in its arms both love and pain
And erases them, but I remember them
And always will...

It's reverberated deep in my breast for I know not how long...
Though it's a whisper fainter than a drop of evening dew

May the prayer I spun towards the darkness of the frozen stars
Reach all the way to your distant sky...

One more song, for good measure.

Kokoro
This is, in my opinion, the apex of Yasunori Mitsuda's emotional expression in his music. Though I don't personally think it fit the game very well. Honestly, it's hard to say much of anything because it's just done so perfectly in every aspect. Even when Joanne Hogg isn't singing, the song wordlessly conveys the emotions which perfectly match the lyrics. The lyrics after the singer's break are actually so powerful, that if you're not crying, you probably don't have a soul.

Kokoro is brilliant in many ways. One of the most amazing parts of it is that even though it uses a lot of 'musical cliches' common to the keltic-inspired ballads that were somewhat popular in the mid-90s, Mitsuda managed to pull off a song of much higher quality and effectiveness than any other attempt. The production values are actually so high that they are worth noting; this is one of the few soundtracks you should actually hunt down a CD for so you can have the full aural experience.