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[SonicMegaDrive]

I don't know what hes complaining about.

Mega Man 9 is a new game, and that had an AWESOME soundtrack.


Oh, wait...


Well, music is done differently nowadays. It used to be that composers were merely trying to come up with catchy and memorable tunes that would stick in your mind. Remember all of those early NES title screen themes done by Hip Tanaka? Remember Donkey Kong or Wild Gunman? Just simple, basic, memorable themes that you associate with the game.

Nowadays, there's a greater emphasis on immersion and making the music match the feel of what's going on around you in the game. And since games nowadays are more cinematic than ever, you're going to get music that's more cinematic-feeling as well.

 

[HappyBivouac]

For some reason when I try to think "extremely memorable soundtrack from recent game" my mind keeps going IMMEDIATELY to "Katamari."

 

[Ranger X]

For some reason when I try to think "extremely memorable soundtrack from recent game" my mind keeps going IMMEDIATELY to "Katamari."

Super Mario Galaxy and LittleBigPlanet...

.

 

[Haly]

Came to this exact conclusion after an discussion with Jiggy.

Now if only the problem will get more exposure.

 

[HK-47]

Came to this exact conclusion after an discussion with Jiggy.

Now if only the problem will get more exposure.

That because you two are 2D nostalgia whores. There is no problem. Gaming music isnt worse, its different

 

[Attack You]

As an absolute whore for Castlevania music, I have to say I vastly prefer the CD soundtracks (starting from Rondo) over the chip-tunes of old -- and I still fucking LOVE the chip-tunes.

 

[pizzaguysrevenge]

Three pages without any mention of God of War? Are you guys kidding me?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXaR9tU4Bow

God of War series music > any 8-bit music you can find.

And saying that current-gen music isn't memorable is bullshit.

Is there a single gaffer who hasn't hummed the Gears of War battle song at least once?

 

[Iam Canadian]

Counter-counterpoint: Mega Man 9 soundtrack with the reorchestrations, which are better than the tunes as they are in MM9.

I disagree. I like the Rockman 9 Arrange album, but there's not a single song on there that I prefer to the NES-style original. And some songs, like "Flash in the Dark" (the Wily 1 song) were just ruined.

Gaming music isnt worse, its different

Different in a worse way, in my opinion.

For my money, some of the best (and most overlooked) video game music was composed for the early CD-based systems, like the Sega CD and the Turbo-CD. The music in some of those games contains both the catchy, memorable qualities of the cartridge-based consoles of the time with the high quality that CD audio provides. I'm thinking of games like Lords of Thunder, Super Air Zonk, and the Japanese version of Sonic CD, for instance.

Is there a single gaffer who hasn't hummed the Gears of War battle song at least once?

I wouldn't. Not memorable in the least.

 

[pizzaguysrevenge]

I wouldn't. Not memorable in the least.

bumbumbumbum BUM bumbumbumbum BUM
bumbumbumbum BUM bumbumbumbum BUM

BUMBUMBUMBUM BUM BUMBUMBUMBUM BUM
BUMBUMBUMBUM BUM BUMBUMBUMBUM BUM

danananananananananana

 

[Davey Cakes]

I agree the original is more distinctive. I also like it better. However I was really only discussing it as someone said the FO3 score was terrible

Whoa. Slow down tiger. I never said FO3 was terrible, I just found that, in comparison to the orchestrated work in games like Halo and Super Mario Galaxy, Fallout 3's soundtrack is just more generic with that "bleh" summer blockbuster feel, though admittedly it's not on the level of Gears of War in this regard.

 

[Amir0x]

So, Amir0x, new bleeps and bloops (MM9) are ok, but old bleeps and bloops (nostalgic whimsy) aren't?

Strawman. I have not once argued that old NES-style music is "bad". Quite the contrary, there are plenty of fond, memorable tracks from the old days, and many games today take influences directly from that time.

My argument was purely that videogame music today is not worse than old music, but simply far more complex, diverse and developed. You may love some old music better, you may even have that as your preference, but there is absolutely no way there is something systemically wrong with game music today.

And using Amir0x's argument against him, if someone said that today's music had so much more variety than yesterday's, could someone still say that he preferred yesterday's music and be rational about it? I'm pretty sure you can, so, really, the discussion is kind of useless....

I just quoted this because I found it amusing that I wrote up this reply to SnakeXs before reading it, and I pretty much accurately answered that question in this post.

 

[Amir0x]

Oh, I was thinking of all the great game music today, and man I love what they did in Lord of the Rings Online:

Things to Come
Vale of Imladris
Red Stones and Golden Leaves
Hills of the Shire

And these are all pretty much from one region of LOTRO, except the Shire one. Such a fucking incredible soundtrack that game had. One of the best of all time, yet so underrated.

 

[Jiggy]

That because you two are 2D nostalgia whores. There is no problem. Gaming music isnt worse, its different

Well, I wouldn't frame it in the same way this article's title does, in terms of something being "wrong" in an objective sense. (What I do agree with are the sentiments that "Too much 'dramatic' music ruins the drama" and that "distinctive music can be created by playing against convention," which I think are by far the most interesting points in the entire thing--but oddly enough, people haven't been discussing those points.)


What I would say as an example, though, is that I don't like that I played Metroid Prime 3 three times and can't remember a single tune despite thinking it all worked great in-game. It bothers me. And you actually nailed why already, but sure, I do have an overbearing love of catchy music as opposed to atmospheric, ambient, mood-setting, or evocative.

When I'm outside a gameplay context, I want that game's music to still be with me; when I'm inside a gameplay context, I want to be playing with the music--and maybe even humming along--instead of disregarding it because it's only there for the sake of a mood. That's me. Can't deny it! In fact, I disliked nearly the entire soundtrack of Retro Game Challenge for just that reason: as different as it is from certain modern epics in so many ways, it shares with them that it didn't make me feel like the music was meant to be memorable with its composition so much as it was meant to provide an atmosphere with its instrumentation. (If they were trying for compositions that stood on their own, then... well, I guess that aside from the amazing tune on the last level of Haggle Man 2 I sure hope other people liked the music more than I did.)

 

[manzo]

Game music really hasn't gone any worse than it was in the 8-bit era. The style just has changed.

However, strong melodies are what makes me remember the songs.

I can't remember anything from Shadow of the Colossus, Gears of War, God of War, since they all had basic orchestrated John Williams blur, one main tune which is modified into 60 different variations.

Songs that stay in my head are songs with really catchy melodies. Examples of this are Manabu Namiki's songs from Mushimesama and Mushihime Futari, Romancing Saga 3 last boss, Valkyrie Profile boss songs, etc.

We need more music with good and catchy melodies.

 

[maniac-kun]

you arent playing enough blizzard games:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1smvvUNpnY4 <- ogrimmar city song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efjJz4_t02E <- thunder bluff city song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DP5MVx-a-I <- teldrassil nightelf starting area
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8WI2VT8sXY <- stormwind city song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipQBFDb_SFI <- Lament of the Highborne <- silvanas windrunner sings this in undercity at night
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0ANT3fQwqU <- from the wrath of the lichking opening cinematic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsjJHxGdRZ8 <- sholazar basin (wotlk area)

 

[HK-47]

Stormwind and Ogrimmar are awesome city songs.

 

[Zaptruder]

The only 8-bit music I ever liked was Megaman 2 themesong.

But then, I like the updated fan interpretation even more.

 

[HK-47]

Well, I wouldn't frame it in the same way this article's title does, in terms of something being "wrong" in an objective sense. (What I do agree with are the sentiments that "Too much 'dramatic' music ruins the drama" and that "distinctive music can be created by playing against convention," which I think are by far the most interesting points in the entire thing--but oddly enough, people haven't been discussing those points.)


What I would say as an example, though, is that I don't like that I played Metroid Prime 3 three times and can't remember a single tune despite thinking it all worked great in-game. It bothers me. And you actually nailed why already, but sure, I do have an overbearing love of catchy music as opposed to atmospheric, ambient, mood-setting, or evocative.

When I'm outside a gameplay context, I want that game's music to still be with me; when I'm inside a gameplay context, I want to be playing with the music--and maybe even humming along--instead of disregarding it because it's only there for the sake of a mood. That's me. Can't deny it! In fact, I disliked nearly the entire soundtrack of Retro Game Challenge for just that reason: as different as it is from certain modern epics in so many ways, it shares with them that it didn't make me feel like the music was meant to be memorable with its composition so much as it was meant to provide an atmosphere with its instrumentation. (If they were trying for compositions that stood on their own, then... well, I guess that aside from the amazing tune on the last level of Haggle Man 2 I sure hope other people liked the music more than I did.)

How could you forget Rundas's Theme!? I have that song stuck in my head at least once a week for days. Or Gandrayda's Theme or anything in Bryyo?

And just so you know, I vehemently disagree with you on most things Jiggy, and I speak to caustically sometimes, but I do respect your opinion.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

you arent playing enough blizzard games:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1smvvUNpnY4 <- ogrimmar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efjJz4_t02E <- thunder bluff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DP5MVx-a-I <- teldrassil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8WI2VT8sXY <- stormwind
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipQBFDb_SFI <- Lament of the Highborne <- silvanas windrunner sings this in undercity at night

All these songs made me do is remember why I turned off the music the first day I got WoW and have not turned it on since (except to hear the battleground music, which was very disappointing as well).

 

[eso76]

Games being much longer than before has something to do with it.
We often hear people complaining about games lenght these days, but back in the day you had stuff like Strider port on Genesis (example) which lasted, start to finish, something like 15 minutes with lots of different short, heavily characterized (?) compositions accompaning the action.
A 7 hours long game these days is generally considered 'short'. Having to make longer games to appeal to the customers forces devs to put some generic music as background, nothing too recognizeable (so that it doesn't get repetitious) instead of having a sountrack which is perfectly tailored on the action. Of course than there's movie influence.

 

[DC R1D3R]

let's just cut this short.

Not enough Yuzo Koshiro / thread.

 

[ilikeme]

Nothing is

 

[M3d10n]

He's probably the main offender.

However there are times when composers who do get stuck in a rut tend to jump onto something completely different and they seem to outperform themselves. Uematsu with Lost Odyssey, Sakimoto with Valkyria Chronicles. Sakuraba impressed me a lot with his Golden Sun work, and there have been glowing impressions about his Eternal Sonata scores.

While Golden Sun indeed has an awesome soundtrack, many tracks are very close in style to what he did in Shining Force 3.

Answer: You are no longer eight years old
Sub-Answer: Shadow of the Colossus, for example, has a soundtrack infinitely superior to the game music of old, you just don't have your nostalgic jollies to back it up. So does Super Mario Galaxy.

The issue is not MIDI versus orchestra. It's the composition itself. Super Mario Galaxy and Shadow of the Colossus are are entirely orchestrated, yet both games have melody-based compositions (I can hum the SotC "fanfare"). It's the melody, the actual basic "shape" of a music, that is easier to memorize. Many modern games are moving towards pure "ambient" music, which lacks melodies. They might sound awesome in context, but after it's done it fades from memory right away.

 

[Kitschkraft]

all you gotta do is compare Ninja Gaiden NES and Ninja Gaiden Xbox

NES: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP_D_YKnwi0
vs
Xbox: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBU_9gTyjcg

the NES game has memorable emotive tunes that have become classics and memorable
the XBOX game whoever have drowsy ambient background music that is easily forgettable

You would really take this chip tune stuff in a current gen game?

Whatever...I mean, I love me some Crystal Castles, but the 8 bit, childish sounding stuff is only fun on a nostalgic basis for me.

 

[orioto]

Let's face it, the only way to save vgm is to give more work to Hiroki Kikuta.

 

[Kitschkraft]

For the record, I do agree somewhat that the orchestral stuff is a little played out...but that goes for everything from Gears to Final Fantasy.

I feel the same way about movies. I'm really starting to tire of the Spiderman/Pirates/LOTR/whatever comic book/whatever fantasy movie soundtracks. And I don't mean that I want a bunch of pop music or guitar rifts either. I recently saw Atonement for the first time...loved the soundtrack to that (The typewriter being used as a part of the music was great). I really liked In Bruges soundtrack as well (Classical stuff, but not meant to be all "epic" sounding).

If the argument is Orchestral versus Electronic, thats one thing. But it seems to me that the writer of the article and those defending it are arguing for nostalic, 8-bit sounding stuff.....anything can be fucking catchy, but being able to recite it later doesn't mean that it added anything to the material while I am actually taking part in it.

 

[proposition]

The people who are arguing that old music is better because it's more memorable have a pretty catastrophic problem with their argument. They're remembering the music that was memorable, to use that as evidence that old music was more memorable. The old music that was crap, you don't remember. So of course it seems like old music was better in retrospect; the bad stuff was forgetable.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

I will substitute "is boring" for "sucks" for the ease of this post.

Most music sucks.

Most TV music sucks.

Most soundtracks suck.

Most games, period, suck.

So yes, add that together and most game music does suck.

That said, many games don't need expansive, Hollywood type soundtracks. Many get away with being minimalist, many don't. Many try too fucking hard for it and are worse off for it.

There's plenty of great game music, though especially in quality games.

Non issue, really. Play better games.

I think this really hits the nail on the head.

I don't like much movie music, I don't like much standard music, it's just a matter of the majority of things being crap, as is said here.. I think there is a lot of great game music, but there is also a lot of bad music.

 

[Nooreo]

When ever i re-play MGS1, i am reminded of how awesome the sound effects were,imo all the other metal gears cant compete with MGS1 when it comes to sound, probably MGS3 but that's it. And FF7,8 had awesome sound tracks,and i feel that FFX-12 slacked off. I think Thats why i never beat FFX or FF12 :lol :lol.

I think the music used back then were just simple but still compelling.I loved the music and sounds they used back when PS1 was still alive, now i feel nostalgic .

 

[Madman]

My argument was purely that videogame music today is not worse than old music, but simply far more complex, diverse and developed.

At least there is some sense in this thread. Plenty of modern games have good to excellent scores. That is all.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

The people who are arguing that old music is better because it's more memorable have a pretty catastrophic problem with their argument. They're remembering the music that was memorable, to use that as evidence that old music was more memorable. The old music that was crap, you don't remember. So of course it seems like old music was better in retrospect; the bad stuff was forgetable.

I certainly don't think all old music is memorable, but I do think the ratio of memorable retro music to memorable modern music really shows just how bland game music has become. Maybe it's because of how much games have changed and music just doesn't fit them anymore. After all, why take the time and effort to focus on music when players won't be able to hear it over voice chat anyway?

That's not to say all modern game music is terrible. Red Alert 3 has great music that actually fits the gameplay very well. Who doesn't love listening to your faction's theme build as you gain momentum?

On the other hand there are games like Company of Heroes, where the music is boring enough that if I don't mute it and listen to something else I wouldn't be able to stand playing the game.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

I like game music.

But what I really can say is I won't ever forget the title screen music for Phantasy Star. There's something about simple tunes like that which stick.

 

[thefro]

I'd like composers to develop catchy melodies first, and then arrange around that, even if that takes passing the composition to a different team member.

The big problem is that some of these newer composers are trying to do movie-style scores when they don't have the talent to make it memorable.

 

[djtiesto]

Most of the game music nowadays is about as forgettable as the games they're in... I think the best soundtracks were in the 16 bit era, followed closely by the 32 bit one... Ys, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Super Metroid, LTTP, FF6, fucking legendary soundtracks. There are some good stuff today (Rez, although that's about 8 years old already! SMG, LBP, FF12), but for the most part, game soundtracks try and ape film soundtracks, and everything blurs into one another.

 

[Dead Man]

A couple of the comments on the article raise a good point. There are maybe 20 scores from the 8 bits days most gamers would consider memorable. Probably not the same 20 or 30 or whatever for each gamer, but certainly only a percentage of all games from that era. If you look at the soundtracks being done today, I would say a similar percentage are great, it's just that you only remember the great ones from previous eras.

There also seems to be a difference in demand, with some gamers wanting memorable catchy tunes, while others want a soundtrack that evokes the mood of the game rather than being upfront. I think there is room for both, and some games would not work without the correct type of soundtrack. Catchy melodies for Bioshock? Ambient for Mario? Wouldn't work.

Edit:

The people who are arguing that old music is better because it's more memorable have a pretty catastrophic problem with their argument. They're remembering the music that was memorable, to use that as evidence that old music was more memorable. The old music that was crap, you don't remember. So of course it seems like old music was better in retrospect; the bad stuff was forgetable.

Of course, I missed this post, which sums it up better than me.

 

[HK-47]

When ever i re-play MGS1, i am reminded of how awesome the sound effects were,imo all the other metal gears cant compete with MGS1 when it comes to sound, probably MGS3 but that's it. And FF7,8 had awesome sound tracks,and i feel that FFX-12 slacked off. I think Thats why i never beat FFX or FF12 :lol :lol.

I think the music used back then were just simple but still compelling.I loved the music and sounds they used back when PS1 was still alive, now i feel nostalgic .

Well thats too bad cause they are among the best FF osts

 

[GhaleonQ]

You would really take this chip tune stuff in a current gen game?

Whatever...I mean, I love me some Crystal Castles, but the 8 bit, childish sounding stuff is only fun on a nostalgic basis for me.

Doesn't that require a bit of explanation? "I love the most famous example of chiptune-influenced music, but sounds produced with more primitive chips are childish." I had no idea that tones can only be used for certain age groups.

I'm not saying that hack video game creations deserve more than perfunctory soundtracks, but I can think of a dozen deserving series that would mesh well with an Anamanaguchi soundtrack.

 

[Kitschkraft]

Doesn't that require a bit of explanation? "I love the most famous example of chiptune-influenced music, but sounds produced with more primitive chips are childish." I had no idea that tones can only be used for certain age groups.

To clarify, I just meant to say that while I have nothing against specific sounds or genre's, I think that the style of old would be quite a regression today, at least for most genres. I can't really explain it, but, I find something inherently more impressive about say, Vanished or even Through the Hosiery compared to the catchy Super Mario Bros theme. I give it all the props in the world for being hummable by millions of people, but I'm not gonna place it on the pedestal of music that I find more atmospheric, better arranged, and more complex.

Hence, I really like Crystal Castles, and electronic music in general, but what they bring to the table I find to be a lot different from the stuff that is found in most 8-bit games. Maybe I'm misinterpreting what the writer of this article is arguing for, but he doesn't help his case when he points to two examples of this current gen that are actually quite good...seems to me that he wants LESS effort put into music or something.

I'm not saying that hack video game creations deserve more than perfunctory soundtracks, but I can think of a dozen deserving series that would mesh well with an Anamanaguchi soundtrack.

Never heard of these guys before...Helix Nebula is pretty cool. This isn't really what I'm trying to argue against (Unless you're trying to throw this stuff in Halo, in which case, I would disagree).

----

The article is deriding game soundtracks for being too "movie like"..but I find his "I can't remember them" argument to be buying into the same kind of mindset that causes big Hollywood productions to always have some obnoxious, overly sentimental, powerful horn led orchestra. Looking back, of all the big blockbuster movies I've seen in the last couple of years, The Matrix is like the only one that didn't have some easily recognizable theme (It did have the little high note/low note thing, but that was more of a motif than a theme). Can't remember if Ironman did or not (I think the Black Sabbath song was the main theme, not sure though). I like Star Wars and Indy, but I really hate hearing the main themes from a lot of movies coming out these days. I like it when the music complements the action/dialogue, not when it is used to replace them.

With all that said, just gonna throw this out there : DOA4 has the worst music of any game I own this gen. Hell, the fighting genre in general seems to struggle with this aspect of development, aside from Soulcalibur, I tend to play my own mix over fighting games.

 

[etiolate]

1. Sometimes better tech means the ability to get something out that sounds nice with less work, but it voids the other effects that greater work yields.

1a. Composition vs Sample quality
1b. The more work involved meant pursuing different avenues of sound composition.
1ba. Improving the feel of music by integrating it into the game more
1bc. Sound effects can be made strong enough to exist on their own, and thus are no longer integrated with music.

A modern rocket explosion which is independent of the game soundtrack vs the way the opening level of mario bros music matches up to the first coin block hit and how the coin block hits match the music

1bd. Specifically matching music to visuals and feel of level/game then heightened the music. A more modern example of this would be the way Beyond Good & Evil's varied tracks all matched the game's different locations. Inventing space rasta music to match a space bar makes you like a track that would be out of place in say a Sonic game.

2. Game industry has been trying to be the movie industry since the 32 bit era and that has had an effect on the types of Soundtracks you get. Movie scores can sometimes be bombastic or too bombastic(average epic movie OY). Even TV scores and TV dramas with their 'large ominous tones' has eeked into gaming.

3. Game budgets ballooning and two of the ways to cut costs that companies use are sound and script. Go cheap with sound, make something not too bad and get away with it.

 

[Narcosis]

I don't think the overall game music landscape is any better or wors than the 8 or 16 bit era. Just as it is today, where there's a few games with excellent music amongst a sea of titles releasing with average to below average music production, so it was back in the day as well. I think as time passes it;s easier for people to just remember the stuff they like and forget about all the stuff that didn't catch their interest.

 

[eXistor]

The more tools someone gets the easier he will think he'll get things done. In the olden days, it was all about tunes, not about how complex or multilayered music was. Ever since the PSX game music has been in a steady decline. It's been getting better lately, but for years videogame music was pretty damn bad.

The same goes with movie-directors (you can probably replace that occupation with almost any other). Someone will make a low-budget film and get recognized for his talent, he gets offered a blockbuster Hollywood movie and gets a huge budget to work with. All of a sudden his creativity is numbed, instead of really thinking creatively about how to get things done without spending too much money, he just does things as he sees fit, thus losing his edge in the process.

 

[Graphics Horse]

The fuck?

Game music "technology" ended with the original Playstation. With the CD format, you could do whatever the fuck you wanted with the music. And there's certainly been a shit ton of great game soundtracks since then.

That's a bit like saying graphics technology ended with prerendered backgrounds on the Playstation. Dynamic, interactive music is still a worthy goal. Shadow of the Colossus might have a great soundtrack, but the transitions between tracks can sound really shoddy at times.

 

[Talon]

There's plenty of quality new game music out there.

Mass Effect's music was pretty unique and quite memorable.
Super Mario Galaxy perfectly reused the nostalgic pieces and new music to make a great soundtrack.

We've already mentioned Halo's music and a couple others. Personally, I think Gears' music is crap, but, hey, different strokes for different folks.

 

[Amir0x]

The issue is not MIDI versus orchestra. It's the composition itself. Super Mario Galaxy and Shadow of the Colossus are are entirely orchestrated, yet both games have melody-based compositions (I can hum the SotC "fanfare"). It's the melody, the actual basic "shape" of a music, that is easier to memorize. Many modern games are moving towards pure "ambient" music, which lacks melodies. They might sound awesome in context, but after it's done it fades from memory right away.

The key point isn't that many games are using one musical/audial technique more than before. It's that videogame music today is such a VAST field of diverse types and techniques, that it is impossible to try to pin something as a "problem."

Ambient/Atmospheric music may not be your thing, but the vast majority of games today aren't using that. Neither are the vast majority using orchestrated. The vast majority of games are using a great mix, so many hundreds of times greater in variety than the NES age. It makes sense that people therefore have their taste more spread out, and selectively choose certain trends which they don't like.

I would choose game music today over any era not because it is inherently better than NES (though I would nearly always choose orchestrated v. midi, for basic reasons), but simply because there is more variety in what I can choose and listen to. It never gets old because it is always changing depending on genre, setting, composer and even system/platform.

So, in basic. There is nothing wrong with game music today. There is merely something wrong in the perspective of those who feel there is a problem with game music today. "You" are older, "you" are more mature, and as a result music does not intertwine with "your" nostalgic memories of carefree gaming as a kid (note: not necessarily you, but anyone in this thread who thinks there is a problem).

 

[Teknoman]

There isnt a problem with game music, its just blockbuster games dont have soundtracks that match the production values...if that makes any sense.

 

[Chao]

You whiny assholes complained about synth music for years and you asked for orchestral shit.
Now your videogame music is boring. Well, fuck you now.

 

[Htown]

Oh, I was thinking of all the great game music today, and man I love what they did in Lord of the Rings Online:

Things to Come
Vale of Imladris
Red Stones and Golden Leaves
Hills of the Shire

And these are all pretty much from one region of LOTRO, except the Shire one. Such a fucking incredible soundtrack that game had. One of the best of all time, yet so underrated.

I fucking LOVE Lotro music. One of the reasons I play the game so much.

I like these as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6YAA8Nxm4w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PioKSsyeX3Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnFxamaQ4bg

 

[Iam Canadian]

In fact, I disliked nearly the entire soundtrack of Retro Game Challenge for just that reason: as different as it is from certain modern epics in so many ways, it shares with them that it didn't make me feel like the music was meant to be memorable with its composition so much as it was meant to provide an atmosphere with its instrumentation. (If they were trying for compositions that stood on their own, then... well, I guess that aside from the amazing tune on the last level of Haggle Man 2 I sure hope other people liked the music more than I did.)

Well, I also liked the music that played in the second level of Haggle Man 3 (which is pretty much the sole reason I'd like for someone to put the music up on Youtube or something), but in general I agree that Retro Game Challenge had pretty forgettable music. It sounded like generic eight bit music that didn't have any real appeal beyond the NES-style sound.

You whiny assholes complained about synth music for years and you asked for orchestral shit.

Synth, orchestrated...I don't care as much about the style of music; it's the strength of the overall melody that makes the difference for me.

 

[_Alkaline_]

Something that frustrates me is how many atmospherical pieces are put in games today without any thought to melody whatsoever.

Yes, sometimes melody isn't required in these instances, but often it can benefit an atmospherical piece. And we're seeing less and less of this as time goes on.

Just look at Red Brinstar, for instance. A moody, haunting piece that is melodically one of the best songs gaming has to offer. Or the Forest Temple.

You can still convey the same atmosphere as you would with a standard, non-melodic piece.

 

[Fourth Storm]

There's nothing "wrong" with game music at the moment. It's very much similar to the situation with film scores. It's not necessarily the main objective of the project. Some scores will be generic, and others will be quite moving. There will never be a point when all game music will be considered masterpieces. There are quite a few wonderful game soundtracks out there already, and since the PS1 era in many instances, technology is no longer a barrier. If those works don't get the attention they deserve, it's more a reflection of the public's view of the industry in general.