Top 1000 VGM - Poll Results

[Wildcat]

Okay, here foes the two I called earlier:

Wicked Child
As Simon Belmont steps onto the outer terraces of Castlevania, Kinuyo Yamashita delivers an incredibly pulse-pounding tune that sets the mood for the upcoming battles with twitchy flea men, annoying crows and the waving medusa heads. As is usually the case with any Castlevania title, the emotion of an area is very much derived from the music, and Yamashita does it in style here.

Dire Dire Docks
Mario games were not necessarily known for their slower moments beyond the occasional credit before the Nintendo 64 - Super Mario 64 allowed Koji Kondo a chance to evoke a mellower feeling magnificently for the game's water stages. As Mario swims around in the three stages it's used for, the delicate melody gives off a relieving quality that many other water levels can not match.

I'll need to revise those a bit, but they're decent enough for now.

[docmarionum1]

Oct 6, 2011 19:57:07 GMT -5 Sturat said:

Western games were under-represented and games like Donkey Kong Country are hardly the best the world outside of Asia has to offer, but I'm more disappointed with how few of the songs were from games that weren't released in the west. I think the only ones to break the top 100 were Umineko no Naku Koro ni and Mother. I guess nobody should be surprised that a popular vote favors the games played by the most voters, but I'm still pretty disappointed to see only one Lords of Thunder song in the entire 1000.

Not very surprising. I'm sure I'm not alone in not liking to listen to game soundtracks from games I haven't played.

For one, if it's a game I'm planning on playing, I don't want to spoil it by listening to it in advance. (Good) music is often an integral part of the game, and that moment in the game is much more powerful if you're hearing the music for the first time. And if it's not good, it's a moot point.

For example, this is from Supergiantgames' blog: "Spoiler Warning: The music in Bastion is key to the experience. We advise playing through the game before listening to the soundtrack." This might be especially true for Bastion, but I think it holds true for any good game music.

And, related to that, we think much more of game music because it brings back those great moments in the games.

As much as I love game music, I think a very small portion of it can really stand on it's own, or, at least, compete with the great music of those great games we played and loved.


With all that said, it still is disappointing. As I mentioned before, I was really disappointed to see the Last Story fare so poorly. It looks like I was the only one who voted for it. And that's still a big name title in the west!

I think we should demand a recount. All those inexplicable votes for Pat Buchanan MUST have been intended for Toberu Mono. I knew it was a bad idea to use a butterfly ballot!

[Discoalucard]

Updated the OP with fixed links and taking a few double counts into account.

Oct 6, 2011 20:34:54 GMT -5 docmarionum1 said:

As much as I love game music, I think a very small portion of it can really stand on it's own, or, at least, compete with the great music of those great games we played and loved.

I think it depends. Tracks like Rave On from Killer7 and Godot's Theme from Phoenix Wright 3 probably sound boring when divorced from the context of the game. But I loved the hell out of the Monty theme songs featured here before playing the game and knowing only of the name. I think I find it harder to relate to slower tracks if I haven't played the game, but fast paced (i.e. battle) tracks are still quite listenable. That being said, I do like tracks more if I'm familiar with how they're used.

Genesis stuff I don't think gets voted on because a lot of people (sadly) hate the sound chip. It's in a middle ground where it's not retro chic like the NES stuff but isn't sample-based like the SNES. There's that prevailing misconception that SNES music is always awesome and Genesis music is always crap, when it really depends on the style of the track and how good the sound programming is. Despite the lack of Shinobi (which, in all honestly, I've always found a bit overrated anyway), most of the bigger hitters were mentioned - Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage, Castlevania Bloodlines and Thunder Force, with some scattered mentions of Comix Zone, MUSHA and Adventures of Batman and Robin.

I actually started compiling a list of my favorite Western composed songs. Most of it is 90s-era Sega CD or PC stuff, with some more recent indie tunes too. Maybe it would be worthwhile to at least start something? That way we can at least expose each other to some new stuff and maybe the rankings will look a little different next year. We really need more C64/Amiga music fans here!

And some of my own write-ups:

Scott Pilgrim vs the World - Another Winter
Amanaguchi's blend of guitar and NES chiptunes have always been kinda cool, but their songs felt a little too long and meandering. When concentrated into the context of a 1-2 minute video game song, though, their talent for composition really shows through, resulting in a retro soundtrack that still has a distinctly modern edge.

Final Fantasy X - To Zanarkand
Final Fantasy X, with its themes of filial hatred and perpetual loss, might one of the most melodramatic entries of the series. But even those with a distaste for that particular brand of storytelling will find their heartstrings pulled at this tender, piano-driven piece that acts as an overture for the whole quest.

Chrono Cross - Dreamwatch of Time
Chrono Cross never quite felt like it jelled with the universe of its predecessor, but this beautiful piece, which combines the main themes of Chrono Trigger and Radical Dreamers (the visual novel which Cross was based on), unites the two more than any other aspect.

Chrono Cross - Dreams of the Shore Bordering Another World
In Chrono Cross, the protagonist, Serge, crosses over into a parallel dimension that seems largely similar, with one major exception - in this universe, he died many years ago. The overworld theme of his home dimension is an upbeat remix of the Chrono Trigger theme - in this other world, it's a somber yet hauntingly beautiful violin piece. The hero never speaks, but the contrast communicates both the haunting otherworldniness and the sense of profound loss far better than any cutscene ever could.

[scooterfox]

I think it's pretty normal we favour the music from the games we played over masterpieces from games we've never seen. This is at least true in my case. Only 4 picks out of 100 were from titles I haven't played and since I don't touch new stuff almost at all, exceptions being mostly Touhou games, I picked many themes from NES/Famicom. If I were to look at them objectively, of course they are inferior to tons of other VGM, but they hold a sentimental value for me. Two of my picks, IIRC, are loops under 10 seconds long, but I still love them.
edit: they are actually both 11 seconds long

My list might have looked different if I had any time to go through the stuff previous posters picked though.

[Plumbum]

Capcom Vs Snk 2 - True Love Makin' (London Stage)

I voted for this because it was unlike anything I had ever heard in a videogame before. It nearly sold me on the experience. When I hear it, I go back to an equally complicated, but more positive time, where I actually discovered a bit of a fighting game community in my dead end town.


I'm actually surprised that it made in the top 300. The people I played the game with are gone, but the fun memories last forever.

[neozeedeater]

Oct 7, 2011 12:44:23 GMT -5 Discoalucard said:

Genesis stuff I don't think gets voted on because a lot of people (sadly) hate the sound chip. It's in a middle ground where it's not retro chic like the NES stuff but isn't sample-based like the SNES. There's that prevailing misconception that SNES music is always awesome and Genesis music is always crap, when it really depends on the style of the track and how good the sound programming is. Despite the lack of Shinobi (which, in all honestly, I've always found a bit overrated anyway), most of the bigger hitters were mentioned - Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage, Castlevania Bloodlines and Thunder Force, with some scattered mentions of Comix Zone, MUSHA and Adventures of Batman and Robin.

I actually started compiling a list of my favorite Western composed songs. Most of it is 90s-era Sega CD or PC stuff, with some more recent indie tunes too. Maybe it would be worthwhile to at least start something? That way we can at least expose each other to some new stuff and maybe the rankings will look a little different next year. We really need more C64/Amiga music fans here!

I always figured for most people that composition quality would factor higher than technology for video game music polls or else we would see nothing but disc-based stuff.

I would absolutely love to see a Western top 1000. Sure, I'm bound to whine about something on it but I think in some ways it might end up being more varied. I can't picture any single franchise taking up 80+ spots like Final Fantasy did at least.

[Discoalucard]

Oct 7, 2011 16:56:06 GMT -5 neozeedeater said:

I always figured for most people that composition quality would factor higher than technology for video game music polls or else we would see nothing but disc-based stuff.

If you want to feel a little worse about the world, read this thread:

People actually like Genesis music over the SNES?
www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=424879

There actually is a lot of love in that thread, but a good idea of why people tend to not like it.

[cj iwakura]

I'd rather see the Lunar: Eternal Blue songs linked to the original's, but that's just me. At least the remake kept the melodies intact, unlike Silver Star Story. The music was COMPLETELY redone for SSSC.

[Discoalucard]

Oct 7, 2011 23:40:53 GMT -5 cj iwakura said:

I'd rather see the Lunar: Eternal Blue songs linked to the original's, but that's just me. At least the remake kept the melodies intact, unlike Silver Star Story. The music was COMPLETELY redone for SSSC.

I'd wanted to link various versions of each of the entries with multiple versions - like, the NES, PCE, PSP, and Judgment versions of Bloody Tears - but then I realized doing that for 1000 songs might take awhile.

[Gilder]

79. Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, Windmill Hut
828. Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, Song of Storms

These two are the same song. Official song title being Windmill Hut.


Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros Theme
Quite possibly the most iconic and recognizable video game theme ever to gamers and nongamers alike. The theme kicked off a resurrection of home video games after the crash, and it hasn't looked back since. Also, it is damn catchy and no one could imagine the Mushroom Kingdom with out it.

[neozeedeater]

I like that except for the second sentence. Nintendo industry saviour myths need to end. Home gaming was far from dead after the Atari crash on computers.

[Gilder]

Oct 8, 2011 10:22:43 GMT -5 neozeedeater said:

I like that except for the second sentence. Nintendo industry saviour myths need to end. Home gaming was far from dead after the Atari crash on computers.

Fair enough. How about this:

Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros Theme
Quite possibly the most iconic and recognizable video game theme ever to gamers and non gamers alike. The theme kicked off Nintendo's dominance in a waning video game market and it hasn't looked back since. Also, it is damn catchy and no one could imagine the Mushroom Kingdom with out it.

[neozeedeater]

Yeah, I think that works better.

[discountviscount]

Of the few hidden gems in my list of votes, I really wish Treasure Master had made the list, but given how late I posted it was certainly far too late to actually influence anyone else who would have clicked on the link and discovered the title theme, or anyone who would have been reminded of it. And I know I'm kicking myself for not voting for a few others.

Oh, and I just bought Mighty Flip Champs! DX this week, much too late to discover the music and vote for it. Another quality virt soundtrack.

[docmarionum1]

I just noticed that a few songs moved up into the list from the outliers at the bottom. I suppose it was because there were a few duplicates? Were the songs that you moved up just arbitrary?