The Video Game Music Challenge [Official Game Thread]

[607]

grams' round 2 and 3!

Responses to grams88's picks

2.1: Um... that seems to be the entire soundtrack. I don't know what I'm supposed to listen to. I listened to the first theme, and it is nice! It sounds very familiar, I guess I've heard it before.

2.2: Ah, you don't like Guitar Hero? I wonder why? It seems pretty cool to me. I think you made a mistake, though, it doesn't seem like Through the Fire and Flames is actually a video game song!

2.3: That's pretty cool! It is quite happy for a final boss theme. Here you go, I recorded the Atari ST version.

3.1: I was unable to find this music! atarimania.com says the composer is unknown, that's why.

3.2: Why do you associate that with frustration? It sounds quite calm!

3.3: I've heard about Duke Nukem 3D on various occasions, but the theme does not sound familiar! It's cool, though. Not as hard as I'd have imagined, but I really don't mind that.

[607]

Okay, it's very late for me but I just unexpectedly had a 90-minute long conversation with a housemate, and I want to recover from it. (it was great, but intense conversation does overstimulate me)
So I'll listen to some round 4 picks.
But first a response to Colorful Arty:

Because my round 1 feedback took so long, I'll try to be more concise from now on.

That's interesting. For me, writing comments probably costs negligibly little time, as I do it while listening to the music.

Responses to SQron188's picks

4.1: Yeah, that's pretty uplifting! Sounds nice.

4.2: That is Hot-Head Bop, I think! Donkey Kong Country is a great choice for atmospheric soundtracks in general. DKC 2 is my favourite, though (and my favourite SNES soundtrack), and this is a great track! It's interesting that you picked this over Stickerbush Symphony! That is probably the most famous track from the soundtrack, and very atmospheric as well. Forest Interlude is much more popular than Hot-Head Bop too. But it's cool to see one of the less-played themes get some appreciation, and it certainly is atmospheric!

4.3: Reading the comments about use of headphones, I was expecting obnoxious use of stereo... but that's actually not going on at all! The use of stereo is great, and mostly much more subtle than I was anticipating. This one's also quite atmospheric. But also quite dark! Not sure about gloomy, but I feel like dark and gloomy is an unusual combination anyway. This is quite a long one, but it keeps giving new things to hear, so I'll listen to the end.

Responses to rtw's picks

4.1: Hahaha, big smile!! I will be surprised if I come across any that are more uplifting than this one. Oh, and it's from Yoko Shimomura, I see! I like more of her work. This one's going into my collection, I think.

4.2: Hey, the atmosphere in this reminds me of the track Toad by Andrew Huang. Or maybe a different track from that album, or just the entire album. I like it. Extremely little of the atmosphere actually gets filled in, but rather than shallow that actually makes it feel very wide. I see it is impossible to buy separate tracks from this album, but I'll have a listen to the rest of it later to see whether I'll want the entire album, as it's quite cheap. Edit: Wait! Forgotten is free. I'll go for that, then, as much of the album seems a bit too minimal for me.

4.3: Man, I like your taste! I love this one too. It fits the prompt very well, too!!

Responses to Ichotolot's picks

4.1: I was not expecting to find such a slow song in this category! It totally fits, though. The beat is slow, but it is uplifting. And the melodies and chord progressions certainly are. Very nice one. Am I just in a mood where I love everything this evening or will this become another favourite of mine? I think it is the latter.

4.2: Interesting story about the track. I don't know Purple Rain though, so I probably won't recognise the influences from it. This is once more something I really like, though... I am a bit unsure about the atmosphere. It is certainly atmospheric, but it's neither like the Donkey Kong Country track, where a clear environment was painted, nor like the Fez track, which was very abstract and minimal.

4.3: Finally one that I don't love. I do like it though, it's good.

Hey, I have a theory about why I'm coming across so much music I love now... Maybe I like uplifting music, atmospheric music and dark music. I guess we'll see when I go through the remaining picks.

[Nessy]

This was a pretty tough one for me, but here's what I have come up with!

My Fourth Round!

1) Music with an uplifting beat and sound

Five Nights At Freddy's 6: Pizzeria Simulator - 240 Bits Per Mile

I want to go with this one specific track because I know for a fact that no one's going to post anything like it This is a track that plays in a horror game that starts off as an innocent looking pizza restaurant tycoon kind of game only to quickly show a dark side not only during the office section (being stuck in a very small office space trying to make sure nothing "undesirable" crawls into it via air vents as you work), but also in the form of little Atari minigames that are a stable of the entire series that serves to hint at lore going on in the background. This track plays during one of those minigames that starts off as a racing game. It's very uplifting and fast paced and serves as a nice break from the rest of the game.


2) Music that is more atmospheric sounding

Secret Of Evermore - Hall of Collosia

I've been following an LP of this game for a while now and while I must admit I wasn't sure about it at first... now I absolutely love it and really wish there was some way to play the game now. I noticed that the entire soundtrack seems to lean more towards being atmospheric and it works fairly well. The track I picked, for example, is one that plays in an ancient temple and listening to it you can just picture the atmosphere of an old, crumbling, and forgotten temple.


3) Music with a very dark and gloomy sound to it

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - Song of Healing

What? Another Majora's Mask song? It's kind of hard not to pick certain songs from a soundtrack that can manage to provoke many different feelings in you. Unlike my previous pick (Stone Tower Temple) this one is more well known and has a very sad, dark, and gloomy undertone to it even without the context of its use in the game. For anyone that wants context: it's a song you learn early on that heals troubled souls haunted by regrets and guilt and turns them into masks, making this gloomy sounding tune even more gloomy.

[Proxima]

Time to play catch-up!

Third round

7) Music that seems to be underrated in your opinion

It was difficult to choose here. Like Nessy, I'll slightly cop out here and go with a track that just seems to get overlooked in the midst of so many other awesome tracks from the same game, but is one of my top favourites -- Tyran Castle (Chrono Trigger).

8) Music you associate with frustration

This was a tough one. Sure, I've played difficult levels and gotten frustrated; but mostly, the feeling that really sticks in the mind on those levels is the satisfaction of finally beating them. So instead... Scattered and Lost (Celeste). By far the best track on this awesome OST, this plays on Chapter 3, where Madeline is going through Oshiro's hotel, and the hazards on the level are the embodiments of his negative emotions. (And yes, it is also a huge difficulty spike and was pretty frustrating on my first time through.)

9) Music that makes you feel nostalgic

Much easier: Aquatic Ruin (Sonic the Hedgehog 2). I never had a console when I was a child, but our cousins had a MegaDrive and a SNES. Of the games I got to know that way, Sonic 2 has always stood out as the one I really fell in love with, and this is the best level track from the game (and it counts as underrated too, especially since it's sandwiched between the much more popular Chemical Plant and Casino Night).

Fourth round

10) Music with an uplifting beat and sound

Positive Force (VVVVVV). I don't really need to say much more

11) Music that is more atmospheric sounding

Greenpath (Hollow Knight). "Atmospheric" can fit a variety of moods, but I take it to mean that the music should match the mood of the place or scene it belongs with. Greenpath is the second area of the game, and after the bleak Forgotten Crossroads, you emerge into a jungle of lush greenery -- still part of the forgotten kingdom of Hallownest, with a solemn air of desolation, but still alive with plants growing over the old ruins and insects flitting in and out of the bushes. A place to relax, feel refreshed, and go exploring, but with a haunting feeling that hidden danger might be around the next corner. And the track sums all of that up beautifully.

12) Music with a very dark and gloomy sound to it

Don't have anything for this one right now; I'll come back to it later.

Also, is it time to start the next round?

[Nessy]

Fifth Round!

This time the round has been created by Colorful Arty:

1) Music from a video game that people wouldn't be able to tell is from a video game just by listening to it
2) A really creepy/scary track from a game (Note: unlike dark and gloomy the intention of this one is to actually make you feel fearful/scared)
3) A track from a video game you wish you could forget so you could hear it again for the first time

Round will end on August 22 at 18:00 UTC

[Colorful Arty]

Round 5

Spoiler

1) Music from a video game that people wouldn't be able to tell is from a video game just by listening to it

Revolutionary from de Blob. de Blob is a really underrated game with a phenomenal soundtrack! This track really sounds like a song you'd hear an actual mariachi band play, and it is fantastic! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYLhKfnE-zc

2) A really creepy/scary track from a game (Note: unlike dark and gloomy the intention of this one is to actually make you feel fearful/scared)

Ghost of Rattman from Portal 2. Portal 2 is game that manages to be really creepy from atmosphere alone, and is probably one of the games that has unnerved me the most as a result. This track plays when you find the secret dens left behind by a mysterious psychotic man. Said dens tend to be really creepy, and often have scary drawings scrawled on the walls. This song is definitely the creepiest one I've heard in a video game. If the music alone wasn't scary enough, just wait until you get to the 1 minute mark... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g2cGQirOr4

Honorable mentions go to Shadow Temple from Ocarina of Time and Last Day from Majora's Mask.

3) A track from a video game you wish you could forget so you could hear it again for the first time

I was originally going to post a song from Ace Attorney, because I wanted to experience the song and the twist behind the song again, but I didn't want to risk anyone getting spoiled by it, so instead I'll put the Hyrule Castle Theme from Breath of the Wild down instead. I've always adored the Hyrule Castle theme, but the Breath of the Wild version puts all others to shame. BotW had kind of a lackluster soundtrack to me (I prefer in-your-face music to atmospheric music) but this song sent chills down my spine when I first heard it. After spending hours upon hours exploring the world, making my way here to finish everything only to be accompanied by this epic track from my childhood was just perfect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA3H8Ws8b3Q

I'll try to catch up on my feedback for the previous rounds soon!

[SQron188]

My 4th round

Hey, look at my no. 3, Icho! haha

My fourth round:

Spoiler

1) Jim Power in Mutant Planet

I've known this one for some time now. Obviously, Huelsbeck's music is very good!

@607

Spoiler

Yeah, it's difficult to pick something out DKC2 OST, all the tracks are some of the best ever VGM.
The beginning of "What Lurks" almost always gives me the chills.

[IchoTolot]

Feedback to round 4 will come during the weekend most likely.

Hey, look at my no. 3, Icho! haha

Seems like we had similar thoughts.

My 5th round:

Spoiler

1) Music from a video game that people wouldn't be able to tell is from a video game just by listening to it

Mick Gordon (feat. Omega Sparx) - I'm Back (to Rise):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JapDyUwAu8

I did not play the game (Killer Instinct) here, but this can easily count as a boxing entrance music or similar if you don't know the music's background before.

2) A really creepy/scary track from a game (Note: unlike dark and gloomy the intention of this one is to actually make you feel fearful/scared)

I don't play horror games, so that very limits my choices here. As a result, I go with a track that's not meant to be scary, but can really give you the shivers when you are not prepared at a certain point in the game.

They are Billions - They Are Billions!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFbV-JPc6cI

You need to build up and defend a colony from giant zombie waves in this game and at a point near the end of the mission, suddenly this music+timer starts and the announcer just says (if no other sounds are overwriting him): "Oh my god! They are billions!!" Let's just say shit gets real here and you will be attacked from every angle with each weak point can mean a quick game over. The ticking sound in the track also does not help your nerves.

If you want to see what a final wave looks like I've made a series about this game. Example (11:20): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkrYDM1QdwQ&list=PLKR1N9oJTTlJuqR5C5Z332HqWaumLDch7&index=100

3) A track from a video game you wish you could forget so you could hear it again for the first time

I wish to forget nothing, I rather keep my experiences even if I can't hear things again for the first time.

But if I had to choose a trck it would be Frank Klepacki's Hell March 2 from Command&Conquer Red Alert 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENyxseq59YQ

It's just that perfect invasion soundtrack and together with the opening cinematic it's flawless.

[Dullstar]

Music from a video game that people wouldn't be able to tell is from a video game just by listening to it

Castlevania SOTN: Dance of Gold

A really creepy/scary track from a game

Yep, I'm putting two again, for two different types of scary: one more tense, and the other more frantic. One of them's under 20 seconds, though, and the other's less than two minutes, so it shouldn't be an issue, I don't think.
Tense-scary: Celeste OST - Anxiety
Frantic-scary: I'm not spoiling this one by telling you what it is ahead of time.

A track from a video game you wish you could forget so you could hear it again for the first time

Celeste OST - Summit and Celeste B Sides - Summit (No More Running Mix) and, for the same reason: normally, I appreciate the songs more as I get to hear them more and more, but in these particular cases, coincidentally both Summit A and Summit B, I spent a bit too much time in level and a few too many deaths to these as background songs (just completing Summit B at all, and getting all the strawberries and the crystal heart in Summit A), so the songs have soured a bit from an association with frustration. Honorable mention to the slide music in Mario 64, which I submitted for the frustration prompt: the slides are short and it's fine there, but it never should have been a main level theme - it's not grating enough to immediately dislike, but it IS grating enough that it isn't pleasant on repeat. The examples from Celeste are a little less trivial - they're very well put together, and definitely okay for use on repeat for the most part. What the game really probably needs is some way of changing the theme drastically after you've been in the same area too long, for some added variety. It's also probably why the Merry Go Round music in RCT is so long - you'll be hearing it a lot, so there's literally 40+ minutes of unique music.

[Nessy]

My Fifth Round!

1) Music from a video game that people wouldn't be able to tell is from a video game just by listening to it

World Of Goo - Brave Adventurers

World Of Goo was the very first indie game I have ever played and a game that introduced me to the world of indie games in general. For anyone unfamiliar with this game it's basically a physics-based puzzle game where you build towers and bridges made out of different types of cute little goo balls with different abilities and effects in order to guide the goo balls not used into pipes, and it all occurs under a sinister plot from a newly formed corporation on their seemly peaceful world. I can't recommend this game highly enough, and this track is one of the most memorable for me and it's hard to believe it's not only part of a video game but part of a video game basically made by two guys.


2) A really creepy/scary track from a game

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Riddle Tower

Note: You really only have to listen up to around the 1:25 mark to get the general idea.

This is one of my favorite video games of all time so I really can't resist having another answer related to this game Seriously though this track is extremely creepy not only on its own but it's also fairly creepy for a Mario game. I could go into more detail as to what makes this music track even more creepy but to prevent spoilers I'll put it into a spoiler tag:

Spoiler

You explore the final dungeon of the game only to suddenly come across this huge underground city looking area with the Riddle Tower in the middle. The fact that the existence of this tower is left completely unexplained in the game even though you are almost certain it has some strong connection with the lore of the Shadow Queen, makes this specific music track even more creepy and makes it really highlight the unknown factor.

3) A track from a video game you wish you could forget so you could hear it again for the first time

Mega Man 7 - Wily Stage 1

I mentioned this track in Round 1 and I'm going to make it an official answer in this round for one main reason. When I played Mega Man 7 for the first time I was in a very sour place in my life and I don't remember much of the Wily stages only that they made me rage quit constantly which for me to even get angry at all in a video game now-a-days is rare. Unfortunately, because of this I was unable to fully grasp what an amazing tune this was when I arrived at this stage for the first time. I'll gladly forget about it and listen to it again for the first time, and actually I'll love to forget my first experience with the entire game and play it again blind because it is a very enjoyable game and I'll hate to have such a down moment in my life completely ruin it.

[SQron188]

Round 5:

Spoiler

1. Silent Hill - Esperándote (I know it's the same game as #2 here but it's a very very different track)
2. Silent Hill - Dark Again (there are sooo many I could pick for this... I chose this one because this one appears relatively early in the game and thus doesn't give too much away)
3. Turrican 2 - The Final Challenge (this one was an astonishment to me: plays right after a level with a sparse/creepy soundtrack, is so full of energy that it gives an adrenaline kick, and the composition of it as well as the samples used are perfect in my view)

[LanaAndCo]

Music that people wouldn't be able to tell is from a video game

Heart of Darkness - End Credits (https://vgmdownloads.com/soundtracks/heart-of-darkness-original-soundtrack/kufbzdcc/11-end%20credits.mp3)
It does sounds like it was ripped from a film, hey? Well, that's not too far from the truth. Heart of Darkness was made to mimic kid films from the 80s/early 90s, like The Goonies (they do share some similarities too). Also, it was a famous film composer that did the soundtrack : Bruce Broughton, who wrote the music for The Rescuers Down Under. I think it's one of the first, if not THE first, video game in history to have its entire OST done by directly recording an orchestra. As for the game itself, it is a favourite of mine. It's not purely an interactive cartoon like Dragon's Lair or Space Ace (they all are a pain to get trough because of their difficulty tho), it's closer to Abe's Odyssey and Another World, which its creator, the great Éric Chahi, also worked on Heart of Darkness. If you're interested, I would recommend to watch it rather than play it, except if you're up to the challenge.

Swapped my choices between "dark and gloomy music" and "creepy and scary music" because I didn't know their meanings were different. I can thank Nessy for allowing me to do that!

Creepy and scary music

Kirby 64 The Crystal Shards - Ripple Star Catacombs (https://fi.zophar.net/soundfiles/nintendo-64-usf/kirby-64-the-crystal-shards/029c%20Ripple%20Star%20Catacombs.mp3)
Uhhh... Why is that sort of... "music", if you can call that music, in a cheerful and cute game like Kirby? I know that sometime, the series likes to be dark and frightening, but uh... I would have NEVER expected a track like this one playing in the game. In fact, I was really shocked the first time I heard it. Just look at Kirby himself when you make him listen to it in the sound test!

Music I wish I could forget so I could hear it again for the first time

Resident Evil Director's Cut DualShock - Mansion Basement (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJYvCHm3Ov4)
Now hear me out, I'm serious when I'm putting this thing in here. The first time I heard it, I honestly thought that was from a parody... but no! It really did come from a real and official Resident Evil game! While I didn't play any game of the franchise, I sometime wish I could forget this abomination of a song just so I can hear it for the first time in-game. Seriously, it's sooo amusing! I also know about the "composer" behind this atrocity, and I imagine how Capcom must be embarrassed now that the truth came out. The worst part is that they just needed to change the instrument for it to be actually scary : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oByTUQjCFg.

[SQron188]

@Turrican:

Spoiler

1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvmJZVtD1Rg - I knew I'd heard that somewhere already! Nice choice!
Here's a playlist of Tekken 3 moveset videos; these use music tracks that may be to your liking as well!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebybPbdXdZ4&list=PL0A9C60F2B123563B&index=5

[Nessy]

@LanaAndCo yes no problem you can change your previous choices! Just make sure you put some type of note outside the spoiler tag just to inform people that there has been a change so that they can go listen/comment on the newly changed track

By the way I will post the new round tomorrow.

[607]

I didn't play for a while because SGDQ2020 was on... I'll now do round 5 myself before I continue replying to people's picks from round 4.

5.1:

Spoiler

Well, that's easily the same game I shared a theme from last time. Super Mario Galaxy was done by a full orchestra and would probably be mistaken for film score by most people who don't know the music. Here is the credits theme, for which this happens most easily because it has a beginning and ending, instead of looping. https://youtu.be/lBrwceBdDQQ There are probably elements in here that make it Mario-like, but an actual Mario film should have those too. An honourable mention is Nobuo Uematsu; I wonder how many people will have posted a track of his, considering that they actually appear in mainstream piano books (as I think I've said before in this topic).

5.2: Since when are you into creepy or scary, Arty? Hm... I'm thinking of one for a film, but that doesn't work. Hm, I don't think I can think of one that's actually creepy or scary. Why would you want to compose that, anyway, unless you actually want to scare the player?

Spoiler

However, the Ghost Valley music from either Super Mario Kart or Mario Kart Super Circuit should work. Yeah, the latter is pretty creepy! It's from an amazing soundtrack, too. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LvwF9lEzEpG8xCdKIhAmf1kO2FyKitY9/view?usp=sharing

5.3: Interesting one!

Spoiler

My thoughts go to credits themes once again, because they are usually very rewarding to hear for the first time. You've put a lot of effort into beating the game, and you get to hear a piece you've never heard before in return. Let's close out my top 3 credits themes. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FVZdyOGT7Jx1L2l4pu8-tfbhC2Xwwwrf/view?usp=sharing This is the end of Yoshi's Island. This is my second favourite game, and the entire game would be amazing to play anew without knowing what was coming. This fits the prompt not only because this is an amazing theme that is already very touching on your first listen, but because of the end... and if you play Mario games and haven't beaten Yoshi's Island yourself yet, I'd advise you not to listen to this! Please do hear it for the first time after beating the game!

Round 4:

Responses to Turrican's picks

4.1: Huh, that's very different than what I had expected! It is not at all cheery, but I suppose it is uplifting! I wonder if you had this in mind when you made up the prompts or if you had to think for it?

4.2: I have never heard of that game series. But, this is strange... this does not sound atmospheric to me! There are hints here and there, but I'm not even sure if I would call it more atmospheric than your pick for 4.1. I wonder what other people think of this.

4.3: That's too long to listen all of right now, first off. It sounds sinister! Dark too, I suppose. I don't like it, it's too sinister-sounding for me.

Responses to Dullstar's picks

4.1: Heeyy. Yeah, good pick! It is rather laid-back for an uplifting theme, but I think it works!

4.2: Ah yes, what I've heard from Celeste was quite atmospheric. I personally have not yet fallen in love with the music yet; I'm hoping to once play the game and hear it more (I don't think it's been released on cartridge yet, though). I've heard it praised a lot. Huh, it changes a lot at 3:15.

4.3: Oh, that's a great one for dark and gloomy! Some songs from Majora's Mask would work too, I bet. I think this one is really both dark and gloomy.

Responses to LanaAndCo's picks

4.1: That is hyper, haha! It's got uplifting qualities too, though! Multiplayer bomberman is fun.

4.2: I do not know this music! I do know Rayman 2's soundtrack though, and I've heard about Myst (one theme from its sequel, Riven, is used as atmospheric music in the only tv programme I watch). Yeah, this works. I am going to guess that this game is a 3D adventure game... And I was wrong! It is actually a 2D game.

4.3: I do wonder now what you did pick for creepy and scary, as this sounds creepy and scary. xD I do like it, and it has got gloom too, I think!

Responses to Colorful Arty's picks

4.1: Lol. Well, it does make me smile, at least. I do not agree with it being pure joy, though. I actually hear a lot of sadness in it! It is for sure peaceful and calming, but cheerful? I honestly don't think so!

4.2: I was expecting Metroid music! I don't think I've ever heard this one, but it's pretty much exactly what I had expected to hear a lot of when first reading the prompt. It is cool to finally actually hear such a track.

4.3: Always nice to hear some Humongous Entertainment. Yeah, that is gloomy!