N

Nert

Member

• Oct 4, 2010

• #1

Table of Contents

1) Introduction
2) "Where Do I Start?"
3) VGMHQ Spreadsheet
4) Other YouTube Channels and Music Playlists

Introduction

Hello, Gaming GAF! The primary purpose of this thread is for me to share and discuss my YouTube Channel (channel link: http://www.youtube.com/user/RoeBlogThing?feature=mhum) with everyone. Additionally, I'm hoping to encourage a broader conversation about music in modern video games.

The basic purpose of this channel is to share selections from some of my favorite video game soundtracks. The videos are all uploaded in at least 720p (to allow for a higher bitrate on the audio) and are fairly minimalist, with no bizarre AMVs, popup messages, or personalized introductions. More important, however, are the guidelines that I follow when selecting songs. I want to highlight modern video game music, including music from more obscure games, that is often left out of conversations about game soundtracks.

Part of the impetus for the channel's creation was reactionary; although I've seen a widespread appreciation of video game music, a lot of seems to be intensely concentrated. Some franchises (including Final Fantasy, Mega Man, Sonic, Chrono Trigger/Cross, Halo, and Mario, and many others), while having soundtracks that are very worthy of praise, can crowd out others. There are many excellent composers out there that deserve more accolades for the work that they do, yet they are often assigned to smaller and more niche titles that don't have the same level of exposure. While I occasionally include selections from the "obvious" franchises, I'm also hoping to introduce people to at least a few pieces that they haven't yet heard. In other words: this channel is not there to tell you that Donkey Kong Country 2's soundtrack is great again.

Outside of discussing just the channel (and any suggestions you may have for it), I'd love to read what you all think about modern game music in general. Are you content with the current state of game soundtracks compared to what's been composed in the past? Do certain genres provide music that you enjoy more consistently than other genres? What types of music do you think are under utilized in current games?

Spoiler

The correct answer to that last question is hip-hop, of course. More soundtracks like the one for the Afro Samurai game would be welcome.

 

N

Nert

Member

• Oct 4, 2010

• #2

"Where Do I Start?"

Well, inquisitive hypothetical person, I'm here to help. If you have the time, you should start from the beginning and enjoy it all, but for those of you with schedules and responsibilities, combing through almost 300 songs might be too daunting a task. Listed below are three simple subcategories that should serve as more manageable starting points.

The Moon in My Palm (Dear Esther)

Swimming While It Rains (Dustforce)

Jowd ~A Captive of Fate (Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective)

Pulse (MilkSnake)

you can't fxxk me (Karous)

For You (Runaway 3: A Twist of Fate)

Card Castles in the Sky (Alice: Madness Returns)

When Good Heists Go Bad (Saints Row: The Third)

Neon Mines (Shatter)

Furueru Kokoro (Asura's Wrath)

The Battle of Lil' Slugger (Super Meat Boy)

Brainiac Maniac (Plants vs. Zombies)

Leave the Past Behind (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)

Fire Aura (The Impossible Game)

Deeper (Frozen Synapse)

March of the Dreadnoughts (Final Fantasy XIII)

Theme of the Unwound Future (Professor Layton and the Unwound Future)

Transition (Bit.Trip Beat)

March of the ilomilos (ilomilo)

David's Theme (Gray Matter)

Color of the Heart (Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color)

Trample Machine (Another Bound Neo)

Life (Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru)

invAde yOu (Space Invaders Extreme)

Anun Teimei (Muramasa: The Demon Blade)

Whoa I'm In Space Cuba (Mighty Switch Force!)

Build That Wall (Bastion)

Baluchons (Knytt Stories)

Blue the True Hero (Viewtiful Joe)

Kimono Dance (Afro Samurai)

 

N

Nert

Member

• Oct 4, 2010

• #3

Comprehensive VGMHQ Spreadsheet

If you would like a quick way to see every song (and game) that has been featured in the channel, take a gander at this spreadsheet. At the moment, it only lists the video number, the song, and the game. Future updates will add the corresponding composer name(s) for each song, a link to more detailed album information, and more.

Other YouTube Channels and Music Playlists

Note: If you would like something to be included here, let me know and I'll make it happen.

SupraDarky's YouTube Channel (This larger channel more heavily features music from older games, but there is still a high degree of variety)

??? (I don't know who created this playlist, but there are a lot of great fan-made remixes in it)

 

S

Snuggles

erotic butter maelstrom

• Oct 4, 2010

• #4

Modern

Overlooked

Viva Pinata OST

It's some good shit. The tracks don't really have titles but "Night 3"

Oh, now I see the list. Nevermind.

 

V

V_Ben

Banned

• Oct 4, 2010

• #5

This is a very nice idea, and I'll certainly be subscribing to it. Love the Prince of Persia soundtrack

 

L

LAMBO

Member

• Oct 4, 2010

• #6

VVVVVV music reminds me of all that great music that Warez groups used to add to their launcher programs.

 

H

Hop

That girl in the bunny hat

• Oct 4, 2010

• #7

I wholly endorse this product and/or service. Really annoying to hear bad video game music when it's so often done so well.

Funny you post this the day after I announced VVVVVV songs for Rock Band 3. And now the Super Meat Boy guys are sending me emails too.

 

N

Nert

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #8

I'm starting to update the free soundtrack session; I should have a good chunk of them up by later tonight.

 

S

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder

• Oct 5, 2010

• #9

If you're gonna focus on under appreciated game soundtracks then you gotta include some Rise of the Triad in there.

 

C

Cosmo Clock 21

Banned

• Oct 5, 2010

• #10

Shit, gonna listen to the oil blue now.

Trip report: worth a listen, but too short

 

N

Nert

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #11

In addition to the free game soundtracks section, I'm also gradually working on providing links to individual videos that have been uploaded to correspond with the "Games Featured Thus Far" section.

While I'm tinkering with all of these links, I might as well pose a question: would people be interested in having links for albums that are available for purchase (through something like iTunes or Amazon) as well?

 

S

sixteen-bit

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #12

Nert said:

would people be interested in having links for albums that are available for purchase (through something like iTunes or Amazon) as well?

Click to expand...

for

 

N

Nert

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #13

_dementia said:

for

Click to expand...

Alrighty then; I'll get that information up tomorrow.

For now, here is today's upload: Moonsong from Cave Story.

 

D

DaBuddaDa

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #14

Nert said:

Part of my impetus for the channel's creation was reactionary; although I've seen a widespread appreciation of video game music, a lot of seems to be intensely concentrated in music from specific franchises and time periods. There are some similar channels on YouTube, for example, that heavily feature songs from the usual franchises (Mario, Zelda, Mega Man, Sonic, Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy, Pokemon, Kingdom Hearts, etc.); some also seem to focus more on invoking the nostalgia of playing the games than on celebrating the music itself. These aren't at all bad things, and I will likely pull music from some of these sources on occasion, but I think that there is a lot of other great music in gaming that deserves similar accolades and attention.

Click to expand...

One of the best gaming soundtracks of all time comes from a little known SNES mascot platformer called Plok. Now, this isn't nostalgia speaking. I've never played the game in my life. It sounds like it was written by some huge progressive rock nerds who somehow got the job to make a video game soundtrack. Some of it sounds like King Crimson outtakes in MIDI. Even though it is from the same era as the games you mentioned, more people need to go check this out, it's truly amazing stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jbJSftFr20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ODKKILZiYY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OHV_ByQIIw

Also, props to making an awesome thread!

 

H

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.

• Oct 5, 2010

• #15

Get Mask of the Betrayer's soundtrack in there. Everyone remembers Alex Brandon for Deus Ex, but MotB is really solid.

System Shock 2's metallic beats and the music from Vampire Bloodlines. Chinatown would be a good choice for the latter.

Also good choice for Aquaria and Demon's Souls, though I would have gone with Deionarra's Theme for Planescape.

And excellent choice in ODST. Best soundtrack in a series of great soundtracks.

 

J

John

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #16

Ah, so Bailey and Morasky did Portal. didn't know that

 

T

thcsquad

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #17

I like that Neotokyo track. Kind of makes me want to try the game.

 

J

Jintor

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #18

Cool thread, cool channel.

 

N

Nert

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #19

I just finished throwing up a link for every track; it's a good thing that I'm done, too, because my hands are starting to cramp up something fierce

I'll be back with some more thread and channel updates tomorrow; thank you for all of the feedback!

 

T

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion

• Oct 5, 2010

• #20

I liked their choice from the Neotokyo soundtrack, but there are better songs on that OST.

 

J

Jintor

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #21

Holy shit, this Sims 2 song is that Sims 2 song

Oh man, I forgot how great simlish radio is

 

J

Josh7289

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #22

I just downloaded and played some Another Bound Neo because of the OP mentioning it. It's a pretty Metroid Prime-like game, and the Metroid clones can kind of kill you pretty fast (on normal difficulty mode, at least), to the point where it didn't really feel fair.

But it's interesting to see a Japanese FPS like this. It seems to be pretty story heavy and the graphics are good enough for an indie game apparently made in 3 months (according to the interview at the bottom of this review: http://www.vector.co.jp/games/review/1342/1342.html). The mouse controls are a little strange, though, like it's kind of floaty, and the lock-on system seems like it would be unnecessary if the reticule were a little easier to control. Though it could be another Metroid Prime type idea.

Anyway, why am I reviewing this game :lol

Oh right, this thread. Yeah, the music is definitely a high point of it. It contributes a lot to the atmosphere of the game. Listen to that track in the OP and download the game here if you want (you have to set Windows to default to Japanese for non-Unicode text in Control Panel, though, for the game to run): http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA029904/anotherbound-neo/

 

jufonuk

not tag worthy

• Oct 5, 2010

• #23

Great Channel, gonna listen to a lot of it while at work

 

S

Solune

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #24

Trauma Team music is so good. Soooo gooood. A Brighter Day and Unfulfilled Life. Whole bunch of other tracks are worthy as well. Anyone who likes Trauma Center games and hasnt checked out Trauma Team should check out the music at least.

 

S

simtmb

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #25

Sweet, will sub.

 

N

Nert

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #26

thetrin said:

I liked their choice from the Neotokyo soundtrack, but there are better songs on that OST.

Click to expand...

NeoTokyo is definitely a soundtrack that I'll pull from more than once over time; just for the sake of discussion, though, which tracks do you prefer?

 

B

BlazingDarkness

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #27

Nert said:

Outside of just discussing my channel, I would love to see what other soundtracks (or individual tracks) that people have been enjoying from the past decade or so of gaming.

Click to expand...

You should check out the Folklore OST, woefully overlooked game and stunning soundtrack;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVBCzQxH2G0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9xGl8IKSVA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0slP2Eo0FmY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgqDEhy-suQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5YSqSs0hms&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiT8QwgJhYQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn6pQLkZSdY&feature=related

 

M

Myriadis

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #28

Great selection.BG&E <3
Recommendations?

The Orginal "Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles".Pick one,they are all great (except the overworld theme,maybe).Sadly overlooked,but one of the best soundtracks,if not even the best soundtrack I ever heard.

Same with Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon,the best Soundtrack ever done on a N64."Kai Highway" and "Goe Goe Spark" are recommended.

My favorite track from Iji is "Smash Organ",a bonus track on the Iji HQ Music pack,which is of course freely available.

The game "The Underside" (basically a Cave Story Spinoff) has a wonderful track which plays in the ruins.I just don't know how to use .pttunes files right now.

 

W

web01

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #29

Needs more tropico 3.

 

F

FireCloud

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #30

BlazingDarkness said:

You should check out the Folklore OST, woefully overlooked game and stunning soundtrack;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVBCzQxH2G0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9xGl8IKSVA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0slP2Eo0FmY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgqDEhy-suQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5YSqSs0hms&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiT8QwgJhYQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn6pQLkZSdY&feature=related

Click to expand...

Thanks for that! I would love to get hold of a the Folklore OST but haven't been able to find one. Folklore is easily in my top 5 PS3 games.

 

S

SatelliteOfLove

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #31

Always good to see more people shilling VG OST goodness.

 

N

Nert

Member

• Oct 5, 2010

• #32

I just thought of something that I forgot to explicitly mention in the OP; if you guys have any similar projects of your own or other recommendations of game music channels, feel free to let me know. I'll likely carve out a section in the OP later tonight with links to other channels and playlists.

 

N

Nert

Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #33

For today's update, I've selected Wolvercote Catacombs from Trine.

I'd like to thank everyone that's suggested some soundtracks for me to try out; I'll definitely give them all a listen soon. Keep them coming

 

D

Dizzy-4U

Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #34

I subscribed to the channel. Very good stuff in there.

 

S

SatelliteOfLove

Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #35

Nert said:

I just thought of something that I forgot to explicitly mention in the OP; if you guys have any similar projects of your own or other recommendations of game music channels, feel free to let me know. I'll likely carve out a section in the OP later tonight with links to other channels and playlists.

Click to expand...

I've always bounced around that idea, but haven't bothered to put forth the effort one afternoon to start it, nor guarentee the upkeep. Maybe some day soon.

 

turnbuckle

Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #36

Excellent channel, Nert. Subscribed.

 

R

RedFalcon

Neo Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #37

Much appreciated YouTube channel. Will be checking it out for the week to come and subscribe.

 

F

faceless007

Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #38

I recommend the soundtrack to Headhunter, little-known PS2 shooter no one played. But it has a fantastic orchestral/synth action score by Richard Jacques and it's one of my favorites.

 

T

trinest

Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #39

Jintor said:

Holy shit, this Sims 2 song is that Sims 2 song

Oh man, I forgot how great simlish radio is

Click to expand...

Pretty much- love the sims in general music.

 

G

Geneijin

Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #40

Nert said:

I just thought of something that I forgot to explicitly mention in the OP; if you guys have any similar projects of your own or other recommendations of game music channels, feel free to let me know. I'll likely carve out a section in the OP later tonight with links to other channels and playlists.

Click to expand...

Try looking through SupraDarky's channel. It has a nice selection.

As for some recommendations, The Tales series music is usually composed by Motoi Sakuraba, whom I'm not much of a fan of honestly, so Go Shiina's score in Legendia was quite a welcoming surprise. I'm a big fan of it.

Tales of Legendia
melfes ~ Shining Blue
Delkes Black Wings
The Birds Chirp, I Sing
Chasing Shirley
Enemy Attack
Short Circuit
To Deliver The Feelings
my tales

But I do like a few tracks especially from Sakuraba's Infinite Undiscovery.

Infinite Undiscovery
Dewdrops in the Morning Wind
Beguiling Mirage
Colorful Days
Towering Behemoth
Air of Authority
Forgotten Bard
Bridge to Happiness

 

N

Nert

Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #41

Geneijin said:

Try looking through SupraDarky's channel. It has a nice selection.

Click to expand...

Definitely, I've been a fan of his for a while now; I'll throw that up in the links section.

 

T

Threi

notag

• Oct 6, 2010

• #42

Muramasa: Demon Blade has a horribly underrated soundtrack. Definitely among the top ones this gen.

 

T

The Shadow

Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #43

DaBuddaDa said:

One of the best gaming soundtracks of all time comes from a little known SNES mascot platformer called Plok. Now, this isn't nostalgia speaking. I've never played the game in my life. It sounds like it was written by some huge progressive rock nerds who somehow got the job to make a video game soundtrack. Some of it sounds like King Crimson outtakes in MIDI. Even though it is from the same era as the games you mentioned, more people need to go check this out, it's truly amazing stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jbJSftFr20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ODKKILZiYY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OHV_ByQIIw

Also, props to making an awesome thread!

Click to expand...

I remember renting it thinking it was some crappy game because I never heard of it but there was nothing new or decent available at the time. I was really surprised. It's actually a pretty awesome platformer. The best track though, is probably the title screen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTSW4M28XQg

Samples from a bunch of areas in the game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRarpk3WaR0&feature=related

Not sure if it counts according to the OP's request. I know the bigger franchises are mentioned but I've always liked the music in Super Mario RPG. It's not a soundtrack that really sounds like other Mario games so I recommend it.

Let's go down the Wine River
Hello Happy Kingdom
Ripple Town (my fav)

And yeah, second System Shock 2. The theme for Engineering being my fav:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtdQ5roMuEA&feature=related

 

N

Nert

Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #44

Wow, the soundtrack for Headhunter is excellent! I'll definitely be selecting something from that in the near future.

 

J

jett

D-Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #45

Nice idea, I suggest adding Soukaigi.

 

C

ckohler

Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #46

Great concept. I'm subscribing to your channel.
Here's my recommendation for your playlist:

Minstrel's Lament from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

 

1

10011101001

Neo Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #47

Just thought I'd let you know the music for the new deus ex trailers is up on their main site if you would like to add that to the list http://www.deusex.com/

 

K

Keikaku

Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #48

faceless007 said:

I recommend the soundtrack to Headhunter, little-known PS2 shooter no one played. But it has a fantastic orchestral/synth action score by Richard Jacques and it's one of my favorites.

Click to expand...

Dude . . . Headhunter is an awesome DREAMCAST game. The PS2 version came afterwards >:|

Poor, oft-forgotten DC :lol

Also, great thread Nert. I'm officially a fan of your channel

 

N

Nert

Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #49

After faceless007 recommended it, I went through the Headhunter soundtrack and decided to upload Jack's Theme from Headhunter. I should have time for another upload or two today as well.

 

N

Nert

Member

• Oct 6, 2010

• #50

DaBuddaDa said:

One of the best gaming soundtracks of all time comes from a little known SNES mascot platformer called Plok. Now, this isn't nostalgia speaking. I've never played the game in my life. It sounds like it was written by some huge progressive rock nerds who somehow got the job to make a video game soundtrack. Some of it sounds like King Crimson outtakes in MIDI. Even though it is from the same era as the games you mentioned, more people need to go check this out, it's truly amazing stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jbJSftFr20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ODKKILZiYY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OHV_ByQIIw

Also, props to making an awesome thread!

Click to expand...

Oh cool, this soundtrack was done by Tim Follin. I've loved all of the stuff that I've heard from him so far (including the Ecco the Dolphin track I've uploaded). This might be a bit too retro for the channel itself, but I'll definitely give this a listen.