Posted by We’re back with our “Let’s Talk About…” series! Check out the previous chats here.
Let’s Talk About…: the game with the best OST
Well, I think there are way too many great soundtracks out there to really pick one that objectively has the best soundtrack, but let’s talk about some soundtracks that have really found their ways into our hearts and memories. I’m not sure what else I can say for this particular day’s challenge, as I’ve talked about some of my favorite soundtracks, and even wrote a post about times music in games quietly manipulated you. Oh, and I’ve talked about what it is about music that immerses players in game worlds so effectively, and even analyzed some of the reasons we find horror music horrifying, complete with extra examples.
Seriously, guys. I’m not sure what else you want me to tell you about music in video games.
So, let’s talk.
What are some of your favorite video game soundtracks? What is it that you like about them? If you had to pick one song from a game as your “favorite,” what would it be?
Or, if you prefer:
If you still want to know more about music in video games, send me questions and I’ll either answer them in the comments or write a future post about them!
Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll see you soon!
~ Athena
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The Zelda overworld theme always gives me goosebumps when played by a full orchestra. This year though, the Nier Automata soundtrack just blew me away.
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The little bit of Nier I’ve seen has been beautiful in so many ways, and the music is no exception! And yes, Zelda brought to life by a full symphony is certainly something amazing and chilling!! I love it 🙂
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I’m not normally a fan of country music, but Chuck Ragan’s soundtrack for The Flame in the Flood was pretty amazing and perfect… Just check out the main theme in the trailer https://youtu.be/kNm0u_XxHJ4
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Seconding this comment. The Flame in the Flood has such a great soundtrack. ❤
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It’s impossible for me to pick a favourite video game song. I’m thinking of SO MANY songs right now, haha. I’ve rambled about the FFXIII trilogy soundtracks a lot, but another one I love, and that just came to mind, is Donkey Kong Country 2 on the SNES. David Wise at his best! There’s just so much good music in games. It’s really hard to rank anything, honestly.
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Excellent! I agree that at the end of the day, it’s very hard to rank soundtracks, because some are really great and they can be so different from each other.
Oh, David Wise… he was the composer for Yooka-Laylee, too, wasn’t he?
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Yep! He’s also the genius composer responsible for Banjo Kazooie and Diddy Kong Racing. His music is the highlight of my childhood gaming adventures 😀
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One thing I like in video game soundtracks is when a composition plays during normal gameplay only for the music to gain more force to it when something significant is happening. For example, a map theme plays when maneuvering units in Fire Emblem: Awakening and Fire Emblem: Fates, but when a battle scene is playing out, more instruments are added to the mix.
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The slow build of intensity is definitely a great tool, and incredibly effective for building tension! Those are great examples, too. I’m also reminded of Super Mario Bros., which didn’t use instruments, but speed to convey the impending doom of the character. So interesting, the way subtle details can make the biggest differences.
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Now that I think about it, the Metal Gear series does something similar with the Alert, Evasion, and Caution phases.
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I surprisingly hadn’t noticed that before! Now that will be all I hear when I play those games… haha
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The soundtracks to both Nier games are exceptional. My favorite track is the overworld theme from the original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGq_APyTXVc
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That’s a great song! It sounds very wild and free, which seems like it fits the game. Thank you for stopping by! I hope to see you again 🙂
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Xenoblade Chronicles, hands down. In fact, I’ve listened to the soundtrack far more than I’ve played the actual game.
The pieces therein are very evocative. They’re quite well-composed, but more than that, it’s that they make me feel things that works for me more than anything else. That’s what a lot of video game music is set up around, but the evocative pieces are often so simple that they fade to to background of the mind. Not so much with Xenoblade. It keeps enough moving parts and complexity in its soundtrack to always be up front, but the pieces are just quite good on top of that.
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I’ve listened to the Xenoblade Chronicles soundtrack. It’s really great. Since I’ve never played the game(s), I can’t speak for how they fit into the gameplay, but that’s really interesting to think of music being so prominent during a game. I suppose as an RPG that might make sense, though.
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