Video Games...Discuss Them

[Idioteque Stalker]

Playing through Ocarina of Time for the first time has me thinking about great video game soundtracks. For instance I found this awesome dungeon cut from the original Legend of Zelda. It's so easy to imagine this game getting under some 80s kid's skin.

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I ended up finding FACT's top 100 list. Some of this music made a huge impression on me, but I realized while clicking through that I usually let gameplay overshadow soundtracks so that the best music ends up making a lasting impression primarily in my subconscious. Regardless, while sampling music from FACT's list there were some cool moments when it all came back to me: "Oh yeah! Fuck yeah!" Most of my gaming has been done during the Sony era, so as a result most of my favorites from the list are more recent, less chip-tuney--I guess on the whole more ambient?

Machinarium
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee (so crucial to the perplexing humorous/haunting tone of that game)
Fez (didn't realize it's the same guy who did the It Follows soundtrack)
Kirby's Deam Land
FTL (this might be my all-time fave)
Chrono Cross (major nostalgia)
Superbrothers: Sword and Sorcery EP
Bioshock Infinite
Super Mario Bros. (duh)
Journey (duh)
Ocarina of Time (duh)
The Last of Us
Ico (I think the clip is from the save points where they sit together? So gorgeous--sounds like Aphex Twin)

Super Metroid is currently making a big impression, and I'm now even more eager to play Kentucky Route Zero.

[Gittes]

I'd have to think more about which soundtracks are best, but there are several specific tracks from various games that I think are very nice. This beautiful thing Koji Kondo prepared for the closing credits of Super Mario 64 is pretty special:



Also, shout-out to Kelly Bailey's "CP Violation" from Half-Life 2, AKA the most propulsive bit of video game music ever?

Then, of course, there's "Gerudo Valley" from Ocarina of Time. Another Kondo track. That one felt like a real eye (or ear) opener back in 1998, in terms of making me realize what video game music could be and the heights it could reach, etc.

[megladon8]

Best video game soundtrack of all time is Unreal.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Nice call on Half-Life 2. Never played Unreal.

It's funny going over the list again. Rez is one of my favorite games, and people who have played it know how integral the music is--but divorced from the gameplay it sounds pretty typical imo. Trance or whatever isn't really my favorite genre anyway.

Conversely, Jet Set Radio is a game I tried recently but couldn't get into--and the music is awesome.

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EDIT: Wow, Katamari Damacy is super cool as well. Never played it.

[Skitch]

I'm playing Bioshock Infinite now and it reminds me the original had one of the creepiest scores ever. I never tire of the Link to the Past music.

[Milky Joe]

Earthbound and Mother 3 both have two of the greatest game soundtracks (games too).

[Idioteque Stalker]

I'm interested to hear your thoughts on Bioshock Infinite as a whole. As far as the soundtrack goes, the way it ties in story and theme is enough for me to call it a favorite.

As for the the original Bioshock, I haven't played it in a while but I can't wait for the remasters.

[Stay Puft]

Mirror's Edge might be my favorite.

Ico and Shadow of the Colossus have gorgeous soundtracks, as well.

[megladon8]

[Dukefrukem]

We're talking about best soudtracks? I think you guys are confusing Unreal with Unreal Tournament

[Dukefrukem]

Also the best video game soundtrack is Final Fantasy VIII

[Morris Schæffer]

Great game soundtracks? Here are some of mine

- The Last Ninja (c64) basic of course but catchy.
- contra 3, axelay (super nes)
- alien 3 (super nes)
- metal gear solid (psone)
- turrican 2 (amiga 500)

[Morris Schæffer]

I'm interested to hear your thoughts on Bioshock Infinite as a whole. As far as the soundtrack goes, the way it ties in story and theme is enough for me to call it a favorite.

As for the the original Bioshock, I haven't played it in a while but I can't wait for the remasters.

Mine? Good game good story gorgeous visuals. Still, more of a visual and narrative masterpiece than a gameplay one. I found the shooting action somewhat pedestrian and repetitive. Take those powerlines. Metroid prime corruption did it earlier and better in the Skytown levels.

[megladon8]

So I've already come across a planet that was discovered by someone else.

I thought the chances of this happening were supposed to be almost nil? Let alone within the first week.

[Scar]

So I've already come across a planet that was discovered by someone else.

I thought the chances of this happening were supposed to be almost nil? Let alone within the first week.

Were you free exploring on the galaxy map or did you warp to an area already discovered?

[megladon8]

I just warped to a new star system and the first planet I went to had already been discovered.

[Dukefrukem]

So I've already come across a planet that was discovered by someone else.

I thought the chances of this happening were supposed to be almost nil? Let alone within the first week.

This is why I didn't buy the game.

Someone somewhere is lying.

http://www.techradar.com/us/news/gam...expect-1326352

[Idioteque Stalker]

Mine? Good game good story gorgeous visuals. Still, more of a visual and narrative masterpiece than a gameplay one. I found the shooting action somewhat pedestrian and repetitive. Take those powerlines. Metroid prime corruption did it earlier and better in the Skytown levels.

Haven't played that Metroid game, but I agree with everything you said. Narratively/thematically the game blew my mind (exposing me as a sci-fi noob I'm sure), but I'm scared I wouldn't even be able to make it through again if I tried because of the monster closets, etc.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Kill Screen gave No Man's Sky a shockingly high score. Never would've pegged them as fans. Still probably not going to buy it, but I'm slightly more interested.

No Man’s Sky is not a “walking simulator,” but it is a game where wandering, exploring, and experiencing landscapes is its most powerful aspect. This relationship to landscape is not an abstract quality—it stems from the lived experience of Murray and others and from their need to share the fantasies that grow within those experiences. Many see games as the chance to fulfill our dreams as players, to achieve our impossible desires. No Man’s Sky, despite appearances, refuses to bow this, becoming instead the actualization of the dreams of its creators, their well-cultivated obsessions.

[Gittes]

I was just thinking that there is nothing I'm interested in playing in the remainder of 2016, but then I remembered The Last Guardian is actually coming out in October, which is amazing.

[Dukefrukem]

[Dukefrukem]

[Dukefrukem]

[Dukefrukem]

PS4 slim incoming ( i think it's the size of a Wii )

[Morris Schæffer]

Haven't played that Metroid game, but I agree with everything you said. Narratively/thematically the game blew my mind (exposing me as a sci-fi noob I'm sure), but I'm scared I wouldn't even be able to make it through again if I tried because of the monster closets, etc.

And I should add that the finale on that airship was baaaaaaaaad. An obnoxious onslaught of ennemies with nary a chance to seek cover and tasked to somehow to defend a generator from being destroyed while the slowdown makes it quite difficult to aim.