The single greatest piece of video game music

[Shale_Dirk]

I was already beaten to SotC, but I would argue Kow Otani's best 'video game' work on that soundtrack was 'The Opened Way':

The memory of coming across that first colossus with this song beating steadily in the background still lingers in my mind. The epicness of the whole scene gives me mental shivers just thinking about it.

 

[Jimmybobjr]

It's this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJiHDmyhE1A

East and West in one beautiful piece.

Oooooh thats up there. I remember opening Civ 4 for the first time, the day it came out in Oz.

And suddenly, BABA YETU!

I was sold.

 

[blazinwings]

the gerudo valley theme from ocarina of time. there is no other.

 

[Febel]

-snip-
This, because it's awesome and because it's spawned dozens of remixes that are frickin' amazing. Like these

Spoiler

A fellow Touhou lover!!! And an Utsuho one at that

OT: I like Phoenix Wright's "Cornered" song. It just fits. Well.

Yup. And we could probably fill this entire thread with great music from Touhou, couldn't we? Maybe I should do that tommorow.

 

[LittleBlondeGoth]

It's not even close.

The correct answer is clearly Nobuo Uematsu's Aria di Mezzo Carattere from Final Fantasy VI.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDtDvi8OUY8.

I'm going to see Distant Worlds in London in November, and I'm taking tissues with me because if they play this I will, no matter how much I might try not to, cry like a girl.

(Alternatively, I'd go for the theme song for Cannon Fodder on the Amiga - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cch0wrwg4tg).

 

[Proverbial Jon]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

This music is just, gah.

this or THIS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO1y7WQfD9c&feature=BFa&list=WL23C124E7EBBD9AA8&index=40

Halo has some beautiful music beyond the main themes. For example:




I could list Reach's entire soundtrack actually.


Also, non Halo related, one of my favourite pieces:


Simply beautiful.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

Anything from Turok 2. Just listen to the bgm for level two:

http://youtu.be/pJ5di2hHniE

Keep in mind that this is on the Nintendo 64, and each of the games six levels had an equally awesome bgm.

 

[Quick Ben]

Lots of excellent music mentioned here, but I'm dissapointed that The Witcher 2 hasn't been mentioned.

This is one of my favourite pieces from the game. Gets your adrenaline pumping in a fight. (Sadly I think it's only used once, and only on one path, if I remember correctly.)

Spoiler: Some other nice ones

 

[Kodachi]

Hmm... Most of Touhou's music is top notch in my books. I've played very few games where the music actually does it's job well in conveying the overall feel the player should have while playing, a crucial assessment point in my own personal immersion factor. Picking this one simply for it being the last one I heard, also the character is as adorable as I'm willing to admit for it being a fictional anime thing.


... although on reflection I always seem to feel like I've irreversibly lost a piece of my soul fighting Flandre, so I guess kudos goes Owen Was Her..

 

[Tasteslikecake]

Comet Observatory Theme, from Super Mario Galaxy. It's just so happy ^_^

 

[TheHappySquid]

Hell, I'm sure I've posted this in other threads before, so I will again

 

[Goldeneye103X2]

ARGH!!! Way too many too choose. Between the Silent Hill Series, Killer7, and No More Heroes, there?s just way too much good stuff. I can post something, but I?m pretty sure my opinion will change by tomorrow or something. I could go on forever, but seriously, check out some of Akira Yamaoka?s and Masafumi Takada?s work. The Another Code/ Trace Memory series also had some decent music. But if I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be?..

I just adore the lyrics, and how it?s a fairly upbeat song, with some quite dramatic meaning.

 

[Callate]

I've got to go with something a little more retro.

From 1:50-3:44
[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g2eQeA15-s[/link]

Sure, there have been plenty of orchestral video game scores that gave movie scores a run for their money (and in some cases, were written by the same people.) But the above is the first time I remember video game music that was unquestionably and unequivocally music, and pounding out of the speakers of that arcade cabinet, it sounded absolutely freaking awesome.

A near second (From about :46-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04q7lJULIVY&feature=related

 

[Agent_Dark]

Couple of my favourite 'level' songs:
Brinstar from Metroid (1986 - NES)

Which was pretty awesomely covered in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008 - Wii)

Terran One from Starcraft (1998 - PC).
Terran Two and Terran Three are also pretty good, as is Heaven's Devils from Starcraft 2.

Razorback from Unreal Tournament (1999 - PC).
In fact the whole UT99 soundtrack is amazing; other favourites of mine from it are Mechanism Eight and Foregone Destruction

And of course the big daddy of FPS themes - Doom E1M1 (1993 - PC)

 

[k-ossuburb]

Admit it, this is one of the most awesome themes ever. I was going to go for Tetris, but I think I've milked that cow way too much recently.

 

[Sonicron]

-Halo snip-

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

This music is just, gah.

You win this thread.
None of the Halo titles are within spitting distance of my favorite games, but I've yet to come across a theme as iconic, memorable and, quite frankly, amazing as this one.

 

[Strixvaliano]

This is my most memorable theme from any game and it happens to be one of my favorite JRPG's EVER.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Oh, and just so people know, It's by Jeremy Soule [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Soule] of Morrowind/Oblvion soundtrack fame.

Dear God, not that twat again. Everything he does sounds EXACTLY the bloody same!
Since I've already done this rant before, if you are interested look under this rock [http://shinshiroken.blogspot.com/2011/03/battle-of-composers-jeremy-soule-vs.html].

Every Elder Scrolls Soundtrack since Morrowind. Jeremy Soule is a musical genius.

Oh, and you're just trying to annoy me, aren't you?

You know that he deliberately makes it similar becuase its thematic right?

Morrowind


Skyrim


They both have similarities to deliberately hark back to the previous games and give an association of the Elder Scrolls but they are different. Morrowind is alot more peacful and almost sad while Skyrim is very warlike and dramatic. This was referred to in one of the skyrim interviews.

As for my favourite, It has to be this :3 So many nice memories and yay beer bottle version.

 

[42]

Nah man SUPER MARIO BRO MUSIC FOR DA WIN HURP DURP

kidding of course, anyway i think the best video game music is actually the menu music from L.A. Noire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uWjJrgw56s

It just felt so aesthetically pleasing to listen to every time i turned the game on. (that's what she said). if it can accomplish that then i think that makes it a freat piece of game music.

honourable mention would go to the Modern Warfare 2 OST, Hans Zimmerman is just too good of a movie/game composer. don't believe me? Inception man, now that was one fucking epic soundtrack