I love game music. Well, I used to. I find few modern OSTs to be that compelling these days, compared to the 5th gen or so (PS1/Saturn/N64/mid-to-late-'90s PC era).
Speaking of which, right now on NeoGAF, there's a
voting thread for the best OSTs of that particular generation (a few months ago there was one for gen 6 as well, aka PS2/Xbox/Gamecube/early 2000's PC). I'll just repost my whole thing, because why not...
It's probably the best generation of game soundtracks for me; production values got better than in the 16-bit era, but not everything was suddenly bland "Hollywood orchestral" shite and there was tons of creativity going on. Youtube embeds are not supported on GAF so they're all links, but at least that won't crash your browser... xD
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1.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1) ; Michiru Yamane
IMO the greatest video game soundtrack of all-time. Contains a great variety of tracks, from poppy hooks to blazing metal to somber baroque to eerie ambient, all whilst still retaining that "Castlevania feel". Michiru Yamane is a goddess. <3
Dracula's CastleFestival of ServantsWood Carving PartitaAbandoned PitDance of Pearls2.
Final Fantasy Tactics (PS1) ; Masaharu Iwata & Hitoshi Sakimoto
I rented this game and heard "
Backborn Story" (one of the intro movies after idle title screen), and I was immediately sold on the game. Glorious and epic from beginning to end.
TrisectionBattle on the BridgeUnavoidable BattleDesert Land3.
Panzer Dragoon (Saturn) ; Yoshitaka Azuma (RIP)
My first exposure to the 5th gen was through this game. My jaw dropped when I heard the title screen music. I had never heard fully orchestral music with real instruments in a game before, so this was quite the leap. The whole OST is a mix of real orchestral, "fake" (synth) orchestral (still sounds great!), and electronica. My random Googling of the composer just now revealed that he passed away in 2012.
I had no idea, very sad to hear.
Main TitleOpening ThemeThe Imperial District Goes Up in FlameStaff Roll4.
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (PS1) ; Steve Henifin
My second PS1 game, my brother and I rented it and immediately got hooked despite having no memory card to save (bought it + a memory card a few weeks later). The soundtrack just oozed atmosphere. Some tracks are pretty much like melodic/atmospheric black metal without the metal, haha. Too bad there's no CD of it that I know of, 'cause I'd buy that in a heartbeat.
On the Road to VengeanceNupraptor's ThemeAvernus CathedralAwakening to the World5.
Wild ARMs (PS1) ; Michiko Naruke
Classic JRPG music but with an Ennio Morricone-style western tinge! So good. One track is actually pretty much a direct cover of Ecstasy of Gold, but why would anyone have a problem with that? Also, the intro theme is legendary for a reason.
Note: the original OST CD is garbage, with less than half of the game's total music. If you ever want to buy the CD version make sure you get the later re-release titled "Complete Tracks".
To the End of the Wilderness (dat Anime intro!)
Migrant Bird of the Wilderness (Ecstasy of Gold!)
Warrior's Whistle (Boomerang's theme)
Oops... (aka "Wh-What?", or Zed's Theme)
After the Chaos and Destruction6.
Soul Blade (PS1) ; Takayuki Aihara
Epic and glorious, yes. I always picked the "arranged" version in the options, since they sound so much nicer.
The Winds and the Clouds (Mitsurugi)
The Gears of Madness (Voldo)
Kkaduri (Seung Mina)
Future Dancin' (Taki)
Bravely Folk Song (Cervantes, also my favourite)
7.
Xenogears (PS1) ; Yasunori Mitsuda
Mitsuda's best work IMO, surpassing even Chrono Trigger.
Fun fact: Dazil's theme sounds very, very similar to the Loreena McKennitt song
Marco Polo. Pure coincidence as the Loreena McKennitt album came out the same year as Xenogears did in Japan.
Light from the Netherworld (FMV intro)
Dazil, City of Burning SandsAwakeningThe One Who Is Torn Apart (my favourite)
7.
Panzer Dragoon Saga (Saturn) ; Saori Kobayashi, Mariko Nanba
For Saga and Orta, this duo just slayed it. I'm just gonna re-write what I wrote for the Orta soundtrack in the 6th gen voting thread since it also applies to the Saga OST:
So epic, unique and fresh. It really fits the vaguely apocalyptic sci-fi/fantasy setting the games are known for, with a lovely Eastern folk tinge mixed with a more "futuristic" electronic sound. The credits song, with the vocals sung in the invented Panzer language, is absolutely stunning (first link above).
Sona Mi Areru Ec SancituThe Black FleetPure Blood Seed (battle theme)
Rest (firecamp theme.... most soothing music ever? I can feel its warmth!)
9.
Suikoden (PS1) ; Miki Higashino, TAPPY
Suikoden II's soundtrack is probably more well-known, but I always felt that the original game had even better music. Hard to pick though, they're both so good.
Forgotten DaysDistant MountainBlack Forest (only heard in the very first dungeon and never again... criminal!)
Theme of the Advancing Army10.
Astal (Saturn) ; Tatsuyuki Maeda, Tatsuya Kousaki
This is like prog rock, except actually good. xD Very epic and atmospheric for a platformer, with an occasional touch of Pink Floyd influence that I really like.
The Adventure BeginsInto the DarknessSea of CloudsThe Evil Eye----------------------
Honourable mentions (so many of them! some of them were heartbreaking to leave off the top 10...):
x.
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (PS1) ; Kurt Harland
Not quite as amazing as Blood Omen, and the electronic darkwave style is an odd choice for a dark fantasy game, but it works surprisingly well. Plus, another legendary intro! And I like how the music evolved on the fly whenever there was combat and resumed its more normal pacing after you killed the enemies, without any odd or jarring transition. The music also changed slightly whenever you entered the spectral realm, with more weird reverb and bass to make it sound more... spectral, I guess.
Fun fact: Ozar Midrashim was actually a 1993 composition that appeared on Information Society (Kurt Harland's former synth pop (later darkwave industrial) band!)'s album, "Don't Be Afraid".
Ozar Midrashim (aka FMV intro)
Drowned Abbey,
(danger),
(combat)The Citadel (combat)Creditsx.
Panzer Dragoon Zwei (Saturn) ; Yayoi Wachi, Junko Shiratsu, Tomonori Sawada, Teruhiko Nakagawa
It's really as deserving as the original game and Saga, but I just had to make hard choices.
Prologue (Omen)Intro (Legend of Light)Episode 2 (The Empire), Part B Route 1Episode 3 Boss (Hanuman)x.
Final Fantasy VII (PS1) ; Nobuo Uematsu
Don't think I need to say anything about this one...
Opening Theme - Bombing MissionMako ReactorStill More FightingJ-E-N-O-V-Ax.
Alundra (PS1) ; Kōhei Tanaka
Axelstream (a GAF poster) wrote a lot about it in the GAF thread, so I'll just add a couple of great tracks he didn't mention:
Ra's Underground HideoutThe Child's Dream (probably my favourite along with The House of Taran)
The Black Angel Comes Forthx.
NiGHTS into Dreams... (Saturn) ; Naofumi Hataya, Tomoko Sasaki, Fumie Kumatani
Impossibly fun and memorable. Normally I don't care for jazzy proggy stuff but somehow they make it all work.
The Dragon Gave a Loud ScreamShe Had Long EarsSuburban MuseumNiGHTS and Reala (metal!)
x.
Skullmonkeys (PS1) ; Terry Taylor
Funniest OST ever? Funniest OST ever.
Be bop bo! (Main Theme)Science Center IILil Bonus Room (try not to laugh... I dare you)
x.
Metal Gear Solid (PS1) ; TAPPY, Rika Muranaka, et al.
Worthy a mention if only for the amazing credits song,
The Best is Yet to Come. Reminds me of Loreena McKennit quite a bit, which is a good thing.
x.
Shining Force III (Saturn) ; Motoi Sakuraba
Motoi Sakuraba can do no wrong, I think.
The Legend BeginsFlying Dragon on the BattlefieldFlowing River, Light of the Moonx.
Genso Suikogaiden vol. 1 and vol. 2 (PS1, import only) ; Miki Higashino, Keiko Fukami
I actually imported both volumes of the soundtracks despite having never played the games. They are remixed and remastered versions of select Suikoden II tracks, and they sound absolutely divine. So I list these instead of Suikoden II because they just sound better than the original game...
Withered Earth (opening),
orchestral version (both are glorious!)
The ChaseGothic NeclordChildren Playing in the Fieldx.
Shadow Madness (PS1) ; Brad Spear
While it got a mediocre reception I thought it was actually a decent game, it just had kind of shitty art direction for the character design. I never finished it, though I own it. It had really cool music (and a whole bunch of different battle themes, which was rare at the time):
Battle Theme 1Battle Theme 2World Map - HomelandsBattle 3 - HomalandsKarillion - Oldetown parts I, II and IIIKarillion - Middletown I & IIx.
Guardian Heroes (Saturn): Katsuhiko Suzuki Norio Hanzawa
Fun rocking soundtrack for a fun rocking beat-em-up.
The SwordRough and ReadyFighters of Painx.
Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge (Saturn) ; Takayuki Iwai, Hideki Okugawa
Catchy Capcom fighting game music. Lord Raptor! \m/
Lord RaptorAnakarisDemitrix.
Legend of Oasis ; Not quite as memorable as Beyond Oasis, weirdly enough, but still a solid effort from Yuzo Koshiro.
Samples are sadly impossible to find on Youtube, apparently. O_o
x.
Earthworm Jim 2 (PS1 and Saturn) ; Tommy Tallarico
Second funniest OST ever? Probably.
Anything but Tangerines!Granny Chair BonusPuppy Love (ok, cheating since this a classical song but... xD)
Udderly Abductedx.
Rayman (PS1 and Saturn and Jaguar) ; Rémi Gazel
Not quite as awesome as the later Origins/Legends games, but still, beautiful atmospheric stuff.
Deep ForestFlight of the Mosquito + Hold On Tight!Moskito's RageFear of Heights + Blazing Brass