What are your favorite Video Game Soundtracks?

[Viricide Filly]

Okami Full OST by Various Artists

This is honestly my favourite game of all time. I have never seen a more in-depth adventure experience that is this streamlined. And you know what makes the whole thing better? The fantastic soundtrack. There's certain games which have soundtracks that are far too unnatural for such a natural game. Okami's soundtrack features so many different natural sounds as well as an eastern style of music that fits in with the beautiful artstyle and culture of the game. I have never listened to a soundtrack for five hours before I listened to this. Even the music itself puts you into the mind of Amaterasu, even just roaming around restoring nature, feeding animals, or on your way to Oni Island, the island of evil that changes location each day. The sense of immense magnitude of the world and all it's characters, locations, events can literally be summed up in this soundtrack. I recommend buying this AND the full game.

[azerty]

Okami Full OST by Various Artists

This is honestly my favourite game of all time.

Have my babies

Here's a quick, off-the-top-of-my-head rundown for me:

Super Meat Boy by Danny Baranowsky. This guy is the undisputed genius of the indie-game music world, and this soundtrack is his magnum opus to date. Old-school chiptune meets rockin' metal meets dancefloor-worthy electronic.

Favourites: The Battle of Lil' Slugger, Fast Track to Browntown, Rocket Rider

Borderlands 2 by Cris Velasco, Sascha Dikiciyan, Jesper Kyd, and Raison Varner. A surprisingly good soundtrack whose best feature is its unprecedented simplicity - and uniqueness. Seriously, Old West stylings cross with dark ambient, occasionally venturing into dubstep/grime territory? What the hell? Whatever happened, it works, and it sets the mood amazingly well.

Favourites: Sanctuary, Hyperion, Pandora Park

Sid Meier's Civilization V by Geoff Knorr and Michael Curran. This soundtrack is a collection of orchestral masterpieces. Not only did this duo manage to accurately and creatively represent each of a wide variety of cultures and nations with individual themes, but they also managed to take two interpretations of each song, spinning a light, melodic "peace" theme and a powerful, brooding "war" theme off of a recognisable melody. Musical genius and nothing less.

Favourites: Rokudan no Shirabe (Oda Nobunaga, Peace), Chega de Saudade (Pedro II, War), Inhliziyo Yami (Shaka Zulu, War)

[CaptainFluffatun]

Cave Story, by Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya

I love this soundtrack because so many of the songs are either pleasing or catchy or both. It was the perfect compliment to a damn near perfect game. The final boss music, which I've included as the song to be played in the playlist when you click the link, is totally awesome. The soundtrack has been remixed to hell, which is good because, while a lot of the remixes are lacking, there are a few shining gems that totally blow me away (All Levels at Once, Nutritious, Viking Guitar). Oh yeah, and the whole fucking game was made by ONE GUY. That's right, he programmed it, made the sprites, animated it, and you guessed it, did the motherfucking awesome soundtrack. He didn't have access to a fancy DAW, s o h e m a d e h i s o w n m u s i c p r o g r a m

The Elder Scrolls, by Jeremy Soule

Simply amazing. Each different iteration of the main theme holds such varied emotion, and it's incredible that he can do that with one melody. I think my favorite is the Morrowind theme, though I've only ever played Oblivion and Skyrim. I guess I'd say the music seems the most confident in its triumph, and doesn't need pounding drums and blaring horns 100% of the time to show it. The music is steadfast in its climb, unchanging. It's almost reassuring.

No Time to Explain, by Mr. Fuby

I love this composer's chiptune-y style. It worked excellently for this futuristic ride of cool and hilarious time travel bullshit. The horns are just so timey wimey. Not to mention the game itself was awesome. Go play it. Now.

Red Dead Redemption, by various artists

I am a sucker for the old west. This game's music not only perfectly accompanies the game but stands very well on its own. Technically what I've included is not an original song for the game (but there are plenty of amazing original songs in the soundtrack). I linked that one in the playlist because it sent chills down my spine. It plays when you first enter Mexico about a third through the game. That song, coupled with the scenery, was one of my favorite moments from the whole game.


I'm sure there's more but I'll give other people the floor.

[Injustrial]

This. Just... this!

[Facade]

fallout's ambient backgrounds are amazing imho no idea where to find it online

[Mr. Bigglesworth]

Well, the Half Life 2, RDR and Elder Scrolls have been talked about. I woulda gone with them because..well they're great.

So for the sake of originality.

Starbound - Curtis Schweitzer.

My friend bought me Starbound as a christmas gift. Even though it's still in Beta, the game itself is great and the soundtrack is everything it needs to be to fit the game. It's serene when you're in space, Curious and playful when you're exploring a new planet, intense in boss fights. All those good things. I cannot overstate how well this soundtrack works for this game.

For the sake of my childhood, I have to include The Abe's Oddysee OST by ???*

I love Oddworld so much. I've posted aaaaall about it in the Ye Olde Video Games thread. It was a huge part of my childhood, my mum played it and I watched it like a movie of sorts. But what got me is the atmosphere of the universe. When you're 5 years old, you don't really see that kinda dark media, and I loved it. The soundtrack is a perfect reflection of the industrial world of Rupture Farms, and later on it becomes an exploration of the old tribal lands and temples, then back to the industrial stuff for the final act. I could go one forever about this game, jeez...

I can sum it up in one sentence though. Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exodus is so soundtrack and sound effect oriented, a blind man learnt to play it solely by sound.

*if someone knows who did the soundtrack I'll go ahead and edit this.

Of course there's nostalgic stuff like The Jak And Daxter and Crash Bandicoot OST's by this dude I'm linking you to, Spryo 2 by ??? and various others I can't remember just now.

[Conduit]

Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, by Jeremy Soule
All of the music from the Elder Scrolls series is outstanding, but Oblivion holds a special place in my heart. It was one of the first games I ever really played, and one of the first song tracks that really captured me. All in all just pretty outstanding

Forza 5, by Lance Hayes
This one really surprised me. I bought the game a few days ago to play with my dad since he's a big racing game fan. As I played I was constantly impressed by the soundtrack. There are some beautiful synthetic scores, as well as outstanding epic orchestral bits.

To the Moon, by Kan Gao & Laura Shigihara
I played this earlier this year, and I'll admit it had me close to tears. The soundtrack isn't particularly innovation, or unique, but it serves its purpose perfectly. It accents the gameplay well, and "Everything's Alright" by Laura Shigihara is one of my favourite songs.

There are a ton more that I can't remember right now.

[Gray Ham]

To the Moon, by Kan Gao & Laura Shigihara
I played this earlier this year, and I'll admit it had me close to tears. The soundtrack isn't particularly innovation, or unique, but it serves its purpose perfectly. It accents the gameplay well...

This. I don't know how you didn't cry, I was crying like a baby. The theme sounded incredible when I first heard it, and it was especially good because it was the first thing we hear when we're greeted by a wonderful looking main menu. And I won't lie that Everything's Alright still makes me tear up when I listen to it (mainly because it reminds me of the events in the game).
Favourite songs: To The Moon (Main Theme) / Having Lived / Everything's Alright

Moving on...

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (by Koji Kondo, Mahito Yokota, and others)
Come on, it was only a matter of time before someone mentioned a Zelda game. :P
I chose Skyward Sword specifically because all these songs are all so easily memorable, and most of them haven't appeared in any of the previous Zeldas. The theme (yes, I know it's Zelda's Lullaby backwards) is so kickass and I love it as much as I love the game.
Favourite songs: Skyloft / Romance in the Air / Fi's *** (the name is slightly spoiler-y)

Persona 3/4 (by Shoji Meguro with Lotus Juice, Yumi Kawamura, and Atsushi Kitajoh)
I loved the games, I loved the characters, and I loved the OSTs. The reincarnation of Time is stunning, and Shoji Meguro did some good work here. Can't wait to hear what he pulls out for P5.
Favourite songs: Time (reincarnation) / Like A Dream Come True (reincarnation) / Heaven / Memories of You

I also considered putting Super Mario Galaxy (Gusty Garden Galaxy / Rosalina's Comet Observatory), Oblivion (Soundtrack) and Portal 2 (Cara Mia Addio) here.

[ExoBassTix]

Cave Story, by Daisuke "Pixel" Amaya

I love this soundtrack because so many of the songs are either pleasing or catchy or both. It was the perfect compliment to a damn near perfect game. The final boss music, which I've included as the song to be played in the playlist when you click the link, is totally awesome. The soundtrack has been remixed to hell, which is good because, while a lot of the remixes are lacking, there are a few shining gems that totally blow me away (All Levels at Once, Nutritious, Viking Guitar). Oh yeah, and the whole fucking game was made by ONE GUY. That's right, he programmed it, made the sprites, animated it, and you guessed it, did the motherfucking awesome soundtrack. He didn't have access to a fancy DAW, s o h e m a d e h i s o w n m u s i c p r o g r a m

Counts for me too. Goddamn I love that OST; .org music ftw!
The Cave Story Remix Projects are mostly awesome by the way. Even participated in CSRP2 xD (when I was still terribly bad)
And the mods sometimes got some excellent music too. I mean, have you played WTF Story?
Favorite track (of the original game): definitely Last Battle

Riven (The Sequel To Myst) - Robyn Miller
Myst III: Exile - Jack Wall
Myst IV: Revelation - Jack Wall
Myst is the game for me. I grew up with it. Only a few years ago did I realize how good the soundtracks are. They fit the atmosphere perfectly, with that partially adventurous, always slightly melancholic atmosphere. Because that's Myst.
Riven favorite: Temple
Myst III favorite: hmm... That's a hard one. I'll say The Airship Chasm
Myst IV: Enter Serenia

Universe At War: Earth Assault - Frank Klepacki
One of those only games I actively play. Universe At War's OST is an extremely good collection of tracks. They work extremely well together and really tell the story of the game and its style. I love the guitar skills of Klepacki.
Favorite track: hard one... I'll go for Dark Intrusion

Marble Blast Platinum - GarageGames / PhilsEmpire / unknown
Another game I've been heavily addicted to. Platinum is mainly a patch of awesomeness for Gold. It still features the four tracks of the original soundtrack from GarageGames (I have no way of retracing who exactly made it; I've known though. Alex something), with the additional tracks made by the community (partially PhilsEmpire, and I can only guess Matan (IsraeliRedDragon) had a part in it too). It might be just music semi-randomly assigned to a level you start, and it might be very simple, but I still love it so.
Favorite track: Tim Trance (loooove it)

Quake II - Sonic Mayhem
One of the guitar things I still listen to. I don't know what to say about it; I just love it and always have.
Favorite track: tough one, but I'd say Climb

Command&Conquor: Red Alert - Frank Klepacki
I don't know the entirety of the soundtrack, just Hell March. I haven't played the game either. I just know Hell March.
And my god does it deserve a place in this list.

[Injustrial]

fallout's ambient backgrounds are amazing imho no idea where to find it online

You were too late for the free giveaways at gog, unfortunately. If you did get them, the soundtrack is included in your collection ;)

[SevenUpPony]

Portal 2

Portal 2 because I honestly love this soundtrack so much (I was trying to think of a favorite for a while but it seems this one was in front of my face the entire time!)

Medal of Honor: European Assault

I grew up playing this game for the longest time One of my most favorite themes in a game but the soundtrack as a whole is wonderful.

Spyro the Dragon

Finally another game I grew up playing was Spyro and I always found the soundtrack to be pretty cool considering that Stewart Copeland (former drummer of The Police) did the soundtrack!

[The Mad God]

Perfect Dark - By Grant Kirkhope, Graeme Norgate and Dave Clynick

I loved every inch of this soundtrack. Every song fit it's respective mission, each with their own flare, and they have a certain feel about them that makes me love them.

One example is a favorite of mine, Chicago Stealth, from a mission in a city where you have to get into a building to hear a conference including one of the main antagonists. While I was a failure at completing the mission itself when I was younger, it was still a great experience. This song is great for the whole "walking through a city while it rains" feel that the game creates from the level itself. This is then combined with the ambiance of the level including the rain, cars, sirens, and other background noises. Another thing about the level is that none of the NPCs really pay much attention to you until you start fucking shit up, kinda like an actual city.

Another great part of this OST is that they have an "X" version of every mission song, where they make them faster and somewhat differently composed than before. These are mostly to let you know that you need to get your ass in gear and finish the mission. Usually used at the end of levels, or to tell you to that time is running out in a mission.

The RARE team really outdid themselves with this, my favorite OST to date, a probably always will be. Truly the 'perfect' soundtrack.

[Jokeblue]

I can't think of my favorite video game soundtrack right now, but a song definitely comes to mind. It was from some game that my cousin had on sega called Dragon Crystal. I had no idea how to play the damn game, but I remember almost solely playing it because I loved this track so much.

[ChocolateChicken]

The Half-Life games will always hold a place in my heart as the greatest video game score ever, and one of the best musical scores to any media. The music is so appropriate and fits in with the universe, yet it is also great to listen to, and leaves a haunting impression most of the time. The scores to Halo and CoD are nothing close to that haha.

The Ratchet and Clank video games always had an incredible soundtrack too. I still listen to those songs and I love the mix of orchestral with electronic breakbeat and how well they suited the action-packed tone of the games; they're a lot like the fight music in the Matrix movies and it really got you pumped up when playing.

Also the Sims 1 and Sims 2. They got THE Mark Mothersbaugh to do the score for the second installment and that was just magical.

[Coloriot]

Sonic Adventure 2. Mainly for Live and Learn and City Escape.

[Fl Brony]

I have to go with Fallout 3, the music fit the atmosphere of the game so well.

[caprix snare]

1.) shatter 2.)metal gear solid peace walker 3.)terraria 4.)megaman zero

[Needlemouse27]

Minecraft has to have one of my favourite soundtracks of all time! I've got a lot of good memories associated with the sound track, and it's just really relaxing to listen to.
I really love the soundtracks to the old sonic games too (sonic 1,2,3 & Knuckles), plenty of memorable melodies and chip-tuney goodness.

[TWILICORN]

Sonic Adventure 2. Mainly for Live and Learn and City Escape.

Live and Learn - Crush 40
Escape from the City - Crush 40 (I think)
I forgot about this! The first album I ever bought had those songs on it!

Recently I finished Farcry 3 and I thought the soundtrack was great! Really good at building up tension and the the noisy parts when fighting were a nice touch. (Monsoon - Brian Tyler, Fever Dream is closer to what I was describing though.) Apart from those two I'd say the Binding of Isaac, I still listen to some parts of it's soundtrack regularly, especially My Innermost Apocalypse - Danny Baranowsky. Pokemon too, this might just be nostalgia though...
Kyogre/Groundon Encounter Pokemon Sapphire/Ruby
Arceus's Theme
Legendary Encounter Pokemon Black/White
Team Galactic Grunt Battle Theme

There are so many more I want to link but I think I've linked enough already.

[DJ-G6PON3]

Damn...so many to choose...but so little time.
I will just say a few that really gripped me.

Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas
The soundtracks when you battle and travel and when you go into casinos make you feel like you are there.

Halo Series: Combat Evolved to Halo 4
It just sounds so damn beautiful...[Spoiler Alert for those who haven't beat Halo 4 yet] I cried when I saw Cortana die.

Call of Duty Series: COD 1- Black Ops 2
These tracks just get me pumped up for the mission and ready to kick some major butt online.

Edit: I haven't played every single game specifically in the lists that I have told you about but I have played the majority of them.

[caprix snare]

1.)zone of elders
2.)gundam monoeye
3.)white knight chronicles

[xsoft]

To the Moon, by Kan Gao & Laura Shigihara
Favourite songs: To The Moon (Main Theme) /  Everything's Alright

Count me in. I have tears too. Actually I've made two MLP fanfilms which have To The Moon song with Luna at the end.
Adding: For River - Piano / Take Me Anywhere

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (by Koji Kondo, Mahito Yokota, and others)

Totally aggre. I playied every Zelda (since Zelda: TloZ @NES 1986). 
I love original songs from game as well ar remastered/orchestral version.
- The Legend of Zelda (Ocarina of time) re-arranged 

Besides main Zelda and Hyrule themes I like Gerudo Valley. Just compare original vs orchestral version. Really masterpiece.
- Gerudo Valley - Zelda OoT (original) 
- Gerudo Valley - Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra 

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New one ..
I love Music Games (very much). Ive spend more than 10years playing, making, teaching and lecturing around them. My focus are BEMANI games (you know, like DDR from Konami). Since there are more than 50 games and eg. DDR or IIDX have more than 20 version, it would take a lot of time to mention all good songs. Here are few samples (and my favorite one) from top games. It's my favorite games list right? So let's be personal ..

DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) - Blue Rain (song) (play)
IIDX (Beatmania IIDX) - mei (song) (play)
JuBeat - evans (song) (play)
Pop'n Music - Contemporary Nation 2 (song/play)
Reflec Beat - FLOWER /DJ YOSHITAKA (song) (play)

--other music games--
PIU (Pump It Up) - Canyon-D (song) (play)
ITG (In The Groove) - Destiny (song) (play)
SCH5 (Space Channel 5 Part 2) - Mexican Flyer (song) (play)

There are more, but it's all for now.

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There are more game/music I like, so in short: System Shock, Final Fantasy, Borderlands 2, C&C/SC2, and ..
Tyrian (from: Alexander Brandon)

[Jason Martin]

My favorite soundtrack would be that for the upcoming game NIKRA, composed by Aviators. It's just so amazingly powerful in its storyline and such.

[Tambourilla]

---------------------------------------- delet this post plz

[Tambourilla]

I can sum it up in one sentence though. Abe's Oddysee and Abe's Exodus is so soundtrack and sound effect oriented, a blind man learnt to play it solely by sound.

*if someone knows who did the soundtrack I'll go ahead and edit this.

Ellen Meijers, did the soundtracks.
Maybe some inspirational tracks, for Rupture Farm :
Quake 1 OST (1996)
Kraftwerk - Techno Pop
And Monsaic Lines :
Kenji Kawai - Ghosthack