Best video game song ever made? Big boys leage: no favorites.

[the_dramatica]

I think having a discussion on the greatest video game song ever made with an objective lens could yield and interesting discussion, since the conversation, appropriately, usually veers in the direction of personal favorites. But we've all had the discussion a million times about how we spent hours sitting at the main menu of wow or some fighting game just soaking in the ambience.

But let's take it up a notch for the sake of 2018 and see what is truly the best song ever made, no questions asked. Some contenders:

Gehrman, The First Hunter - Arguably the best souls song
flight from Jerusalem - One of Jesper's many great songs
deus ex HR Icarus - One of the most popular songs made in gaming, easy option
Brave soldat -Hits a really rare appeal that most other songs miss by margin
Neotokyo, Annul - Another insanely popular contender
rainbow six, main theme - Brings back the Heat(1995) score for some sexy touchups
Bamble Blast, brawl remix - Just a really well made song

 

[Mcgeezaks]

I-C-O-N-I-C

 

[Dalisclock]

Snake Eater from MGS3:Snake Eater.

Arguably the one of the best Bond Theme songs as well.


Also, an old adventure game intro.

 

[Squilookle]

Checkmate.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

Bah, amateurs.

 

[Erttheking]

I-C-O-N-I-C

Proper iconic, not Ubisoft iconic.

OT: I never actually played Kingdom Hearts unless I was over a friends house, but this song is one that will never leave my head.


And for a lesser known one that's more of a personal favorite.


A beautifully melancholy song.

 

[Mikejames]

I'm sorry, I don't know how objective I can be for a question like this...

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

Easy. This one.


Ok ok, no favorites, fine. I'd have to say the Skyrim theme, I mean by the time it was recognized for how good it was, the influence was unmistakable. The number of covers and collaborations, interpretations and improvisations, it was just such a masterpiece, and not just from fans of the game.

Seriously though, Yuzo Koshiro is a master of game music composition. Besides this brilliant example which incorporates Japanese sounding scales, and jazz, and a dirty fat backbeat, he also worked on miracles such as the Streets of Rage soundtrack, and the catchy tunes in the 8 and 16-bit Sonic games. On pretty dinosaur hardware to boot. These are the soundtracks that still live with me today, I guess because 16-bit games didn't have the entire orchestral sounds at their disposal, and had to do with more catchy tunes to really stick out and have a presence that represented the game's action well.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

1) No such thing as objectively best music or game or movie or whatever.

2) Best video game music for 2018:
- Vampyr's score, it's really amazing with heavy emphasis on the cello, though the game isn't good.

Spoiler: Vampyr's Main Theme

3) Best video game song ever:
- Metal Gear Solid 2's ending theme 'Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday'. Composed by Rika Muranaka with vocals from Carla White. It's just such a great song on it's own, and something you could imagine being performed in the same club as the Rat Pack themselves; the definition of timeless.

Spoiler: Can't Say Goodbye to Yesterday

 

[wings012]

How can you believe something is best without it being one of your favourites? Break down songs via musical theory or somesuch?

I'm not educated in music so here's some of my favourites.


Yes I really like Ace Combat.

I can always reimagine myself exploring Morrowind again every time I listen to this.

While people tend to be really partial to the main Halo themes, I really like Earth City. I think part of it is that it was used for the Halo 2 trailer, which got me really hyped for the game so I kinda got really attached to the song. I can pretty much always hear Cortana saying, "Bet ya can't stick it" towards the end.

 

[Saelune]

Iconic, video gamey, and genuinely pleasant to listen to.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

There are many to like, but I also like this one with playful notes, Kotake and Koume's theme. Or...Koume and Kotake's theme. They're like the chuckle brothers of Zelda witches. Chuckle sisters?


This one was off a Telltale episode game, they often have pleasantries, this being the most pleasantatious of them all

 

[the_dramatica]

I think having a discussion on the greatest video game song ever made with an objective lens could yield and interesting discussion, since the conversation, appropriately, usually veers in the direction of personal favorites. But we've all had the discussion a million times about how we spent hours sitting at the main menu of wow or some fighting game just soaking in the ambience.

But let's take it up a notch for the sake of 2018 and see what is truly the best song ever made, no questions asked. Some contenders:

Gehrman, The First Hunter - Arguably the best souls song
flight from Jerusalem - One of Jesper's many great songs
deus ex HR Icarus - One of the most popular songs made in gaming, easy option
Brave soldat -Hits a really rare appeal that most other songs miss by margin
Neotokyo, Annul - Another insanely popular contender
rainbow six, main theme - Brings back the Heat(1995) score for some sexy touchups
Bamble Blast, brawl remix - Just a really well made song

Technicality incoming...aren?t songs sung? Anyways, for Bloodborne I would have to go with The Hunter. I love how it gradually builds its energy, starting with what could be considered a trot or a gallop but eventually morphing into unbridled rage. It has layered strings, pronounced cadence, thick and sinister sounding brass, choral reinforcement, and it all makes the fight with Father Gascoigne feel like an frantic event rather than a mere encounter.

The whole soundtrack is killer. Omen, The Night Unfurls, Cleric Beast, Bloodstarved Beast, The One Reborn, etc. The only thing it was really missing was a wicked pipe organ mixed in somewhere for a boss fight.

 

[the_dramatica]

Really though, and far as composition quality, I also always think of Killzone 2 [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPbURgbvRZk&t=0s&index=2&list=PLC61256EF927FAA41], the first and one of only two game soundtracks (AFAIK) to ever win an Ivor Novello. The whole thing is soaked with atmosphere in a game that?s already dripping with it, and invariably adds to the feel of what each level is attempting to convey.

 

[CaitSeith]

Inherently a trick question. If you don't define the "objective lens" criteria, everyone is going to use their own personal criteria.

Some contenders:

Gehrman, The First Hunter - Arguably the best souls song
flight from Jerusalem - One of Jesper's many great songs
deus ex HR Icarus - One of the most popular songs made in gaming, easy option
Brave soldat -Hits a really rare appeal that most other songs miss by margin
Neotokyo, Annul - Another insanely popular contender
rainbow six, main theme - Brings back the Heat(1995) score for some sexy touchups
Bamble Blast, brawl remix - Just a really well made song

If those are objective contenders, you would have an objective explanation for each one of why they are listed, wouldn't you?

 

[Xprimentyl]

Inherently a trick question. If you don't define the "objective lens" criteria, everyone is going to use their own personal criteria.

This. As music appreciation is 100% subjective, I can?t wrap my head around what objectively positive (or negative) qualities might be; it?s like asking what?s the objectively best food. About the only thing I can think is what?s most universally recognizable as some have offered obvious tropes like the Super Mario Bros. or Halo themes, but that is not a measure of quality.

That being said, I?ll offer what I feel is the idyllic (and iconic) blending of music and gameplay, Inside?s ?Shockwave? chapter. Given the dark and overtly cruel tone of the game up to that point, when this contrastingly bright and melancholic ambient music kicks in at one of the most tense and unnerving points in the game, it?s extremely moving and achingly beautiful. It just fits so well; it?s what I would hope a near-death experience, seeing ?the light? and all, would be like: it?s not getting better, but it?s going to be ok; I literally had to stop and soak it in. Inside had several moments like this, but this was the epitome, imho; the entire ?soundtrack? is amazing.

Spoiler: ?Inside ? Shockwave Chapter?

 

[Bad Jim]

You'd think there'd be a Zelda tune in here by now.


The same for Blizzard tunes

 

[Wakey87]

Beat me to Diablo 2 =)

 

[BrawlMan]

Easy. This one.


Ok ok, no favorites, fine. I'd have to say the Skyrim theme, I mean by the time it was recognized for how good it was, the influence was unmistakable. The number of covers and collaborations, interpretations and improvisations, it was just such a masterpiece, and not just from fans of the game.

Seriously though, Yuzo Koshiro is a master of game music composition. Besides this brilliant example which incorporates Japanese sounding scales, and jazz, and a dirty fat backbeat, he also worked on miracles such as the Streets of Rage soundtrack, and the catchy tunes in the 8 and 16-bit Sonic games. On pretty dinosaur hardware to boot. These are the soundtracks that still live with me today, I guess because 16-bit games didn't have the entire orchestral sounds at their disposal, and had to do with more catchy tunes to really stick out and have a presence that represented the game's action well.

Glad to see another Yuzo Koshiro fan. Sadly, he did not do the music for Shinobi III (Super Shinobi II). The composers for that game are Masayuki Nagao, Hirofumi Murasaki, and Morihiko Akiyama. Still an awesome song. I actually like the Shinobi 3 ost more than Revenge of Shinobi.

I recommend you look at this.

Yuzo Koshiro's Influences In Music>My favorites:

 

[anthony87]

You guys all have a funny way of spelling Ozar Midrashim.