As far as I can tell, no one has ever tried to set down what the video game music canon should be (I'm using the word "canon" in the sense of the most influential soundtracks in the history of video game music or the shortlist of masterpieces that a community like ours could all agree are worth listening to).

Let me preface this by saying: a canon is obviously going to be affected by the personal tastes of the voters. And so there will be some soundtracks that people will want on the list that others don't. Many of those will have to be left off because they wouldn't fit the parameters of a canon.

Regardless, what I want to work towards is a catalog of the greats of each system put in a convenient form (1) for new fans of video game music to use and (2) for experts to add to as new classics come along. In a bigger sense, I want it to be a representation (even if not complete) of how diverse and rich video game music is.

This should be a list where we can say: if you’re new and would like a basic education in video game music, these are the soundtracks you should listen to. These are the soundtracks we all know (even if we don’t love them all). These are the classics. This is a list that could enable someone to say, “Yeah, I know the basics.”

The qualifications for what goes on this list should be that the soundtrack is either:
A) the soundtrack for a game that is hugely popular or important
B) one of the greatest soundtracks in video game music history
C) or a soundtrack that is important to the history of video game music

Thus, there's some wiggle room for soundtracks that aren't the best, necessarily, but that we all know (ala Super Mario Bros.--it's not Shadow of the Colossus, but it's good and we all know it). That should level the playing field between old soundtracks and new ones.

As a side note, if you'd like to see a list of the greatest songs in video game music history and help add to it, click here (Thread 58397).

I'm going to start things off by posting a list of what I think would be in the canon. It's the community's job to decide what else should be added on, and what should be taken off. Make sure to give a reason why something should be added or taken off. Each selection should be able to stand toe-to-toe with all the others. Again, what I think this should be is a list where the majority of us can say, regardless of personal preference, that each selection is worth listening to for artistic merit and/or importance in the history of video game music.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Here's the list so far:

AMIGA / COMMODORE 64
Comic Bakery (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASchShvp4WI&feature=related)
Commando (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fFU347a1mA)
Ghouls and Ghosts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBMZsx6Xlnc)
Great Giana Sisters (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMTdr026bZU)
Green Beret (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LorQ_zyBto)
LED Storm (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkhdTEAobB4)
Monty on the Run (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7Ht2nmoy-A)
Neverending Story (https://www.isound.com/martin_galway)
Turrican 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9InJOcdzvY), 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmmslIbjfH8), 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icNxUxo11D4)

NES / SEGA MASTER
Batman
Bionic Commando
Blaster Master
Castlevania 1, 2, 3
Contra
Dr. Mario (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZpStvem3HI)
Dragon Warrior
Duck Hunt
DuckTales
Faxanadu
Final Fantasy 1, 2, 3
Journey to Silius
Kid Icarus
Kirby’s Adventure
Legend of Zelda 1, 2
Lifeforce
Mega Man 1, 2, 3
Metal Gear
Metroid
Mike Tyson’s Punch Out
Ninja Gaiden
Shadowgate (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmGp_uMqAoo)
Silver Surfer
Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Tetris
Wizards and Warriors

SNES / GENESIS / TURBOGRAFX-16
Actraiser
Breath of Fire I, II
Chrono Trigger
Donkey Kong Country 1, 2
Earthbound
Earthworm Jim
F-Zero
Final Fantasy 4, 5, 6
GunStar Heroes
Killer Instinct
Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Live A Live
Mega Man X
Ogre Battle
Phantasy Star IV
Ristar (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT-_5lgJYx4)
Secret of Evermore
Secret of Mana 1, 2
SimCity
Sonic 1, 2
Sonic CD (Japanese ver.)
Street Fighter II
Streets of Rage II
Super Mario RPG
Super Mario World
Super Metroid
Tactics Ogre (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVQTQ_LeuGI)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time
Terranigma
ToeJam and Earl
Treasure Hunter G (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87BCF9rTmSw)
Yoshi’s Island
Ys Book I and II
Zombies Ate My Neighbors

PS1 / NINTENDO 64 / SATURN
Banjo Kazooie
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Chrono Cross
Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9
Final Fantasy Tactics
GoldenEye 007
Grandia
Guardian Heroes
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Lunar 1, 2
Metal Gear Solid
Parappa the Rappa
Resident Evil 2
Silent Hill
Star Ocean 2
Suikoden I, II
Super Mario 64
Turok 1, 2
Vagrant Story
Valkyrie Profile
Xenogears

PS2 / GAMECUBE / XBOX / DREAMCAST
.hack//Infection (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aFqjEuicUY)
Devil May Cry
Final Fantasy X
God of War
Guilty Gear X
Halo: Combat Evolved
Ico
Katamari Damacy
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts II
Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
Metal Gear Solid 2
Metroid Prime
Okami
Shadow of the Colossus
Shenmue
Shinobi
Sonic Adventure
Silent Hill 2, 3
Skies of Arcadia
Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time
Suikoden III
We (heart) Katamari
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=75103D71E579CE86)

PS3 / WII / XBOX 360
Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Lost Odyssey (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=0FF1BAEB1AD803AC)
Super Mario Galaxy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0isE7jpUdE&feature=PlayList&p=942802DEE373711A&index=0&playnext=1)
Valkyria Chronicles

PC GAMES
American McGee’s Alice
Cave Story
Deus Ex
Diablo
Dig, The (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7RDhKMCHIQ)
Doom
Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_7n16vh79k&feature=related)
Hobbit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXnul41qfJk&feature=related)
Little Big Adventure 1 (http://www.lbahq.com/music.htm), 2 (http://www.lbahq.com/music.htm)
Monkey Island 1 (http://www.scummbar.com/resources/downloads/index.php?todo=MP3), 2
Quake
Total Distortion
World of Warcraft

HANDHELD GAMES
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCWcb_qRkN8)
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
Mother 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qk9pdHtc4io&feature=PlayList&p=FD7C8D9D61C16453&index=30)
Pokemon Red/Blue (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hM6GQOV84OE&feature=PlayList&p=61B646ED7B059AEB&playnext=1&index=4)
Shantae

As far as versus fighter game soundtracks go, Street Fighter II should definitely be on the list and ranked above Killer Instinct.

Well, there's no ranking involved, but I agree that Street Fighter meets the requirement because it's recognizable to most of us (although I do think Killer Instinct is a more diverse, cohesive soundtrack than any of the individual Street Fighter OSTs).

Thanks! I'll edit the list.

Good idea. A few suggested OSTs w/reasons:

SNES
-Earthworm Jim
I'm not a fan personally, but a lot of people consider it classic Tallarico.

Genesis
-Streets of Rage II
If I'm going to selfishly include one OST I personally love it's Yuzo Koshiro's take on techno.

SEGA CD
-Sonic CD
This was one of the first (if not the first) games to make use of CD quality sound so this is suggested for reasons of historic importance in the realm of vgm.

PC
-Quake
Trent Reznor (NIN) meets the gaming industry.

PS2
-Kingdom Hearts
Hugely popular.

Edit: Forgot to give a reason for Sonic CD.

Good idea. A few suggested OSTs w/reasons:

SNES
-Earthworm Jim
I'm not a fan personally, but a lot of people consider it classic Tallarico.

Definitely. I'm not a huge Tallarico fan myself, especially nowadays, but I think this is a good and interesting intro to his style.


Genesis
-Streets of Rage II
If I'm going to selfishly include one OST I personally love it's Yuzo Koshiro's take on techno.

No, that's a good one. Streets of Rage should definitely be represented.


SEGA CD
-Sonic CD

This is the only one of your recommendations I haven't heard. But I'll be the first to admit I don't know enough about the Sonic series beyond the first two. Is this a good one?


PC
-Quake
Trent Reznor (NIN) meets the gaming industry.

Absolutely.


PS2
-Kingdom Hearts
Hugely popular.

Yeah.

Thanks so much for the suggestions!

For PC:

There is this hidden gem of an adventure game called "Little Big Adventure" and its sequel "Little Big Adventure 2". The OST for each has only about 10 songs, but they are all great.

Here is a link to the OSTs:
http://www.lbahq.com/music.htm

My favorite song from the OST, is the theme, which you can check out on my list.

For PC:

There is this hidden gem of an adventure game called "Little Big Adventure" and its sequel "Little Big Adventure 2". The OST for each has only about 10 songs, but they are all great.

Here is a link to the OSTs:
http://www.lbahq.com/music.htm

My favorite song from the OST, is the theme, which you can check out on my list.

Oh, I forgot about those. Both of those soundtracks are great! I'll add them. And thanks for the links. I'll start adding links to all the soundtracks when I can.

Is there anything that anyone can see that they don't think should be on the list? Be sure to suggest deletions as well as additions.

This is the only one of your recommendations I haven't heard. But I'll be the first to admit I don't know enough about the Sonic series beyond the first two. Is this a good one?

The JP version's OST sounds pretty good while the US version's was composed locally and sounds less great. Galbadia Hotel (http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/s) has gamerips of both if you're interested.

Thanks for the heads up about the differences between the two versions. I'll check out the Japanese version first.

For the Wii you definitely want to add "Super Mario Galaxy"

Added it. Thanks!

Metroid Prime should be under Gamecube, not N64.

Thanks for the edit.

Three other soundtracks that should be considered are the Guardian Heroes soundtrack and the two Lunar soundtracks. I'm pretty sure Guardian Heroes is regarded as one of the best games for the Sega Saturn, as well as one of the best beat 'em up games ever, and its soundtrack is also described in a similar manner. It is one of the best, if not the best, beat 'em up soundtracks to date. The same could be said of both Lunar: Silver Star and Lunar: Eternal Blue for the Sega CD as both games received a remake on the original Playstation. Their soundtracks are usually placed on the same level as Grandia's.

I added Guardian Heroes but was wondering if you meant the original Saturn versions of Lunar 1 & 2 or the Playstation remakes? I've heard the Playstation versions, but not the Saturn versions of the songs. Is one better than the other?

Chris H�lsbeck's soundtracks for the games in the Turrican series. Most well known are turrican1, 2 and 3 for the amiga. Probably the most well known european game soundtracks to ever be made.

The series also have parts for snes, megadrive(genesis), pc, c64 etc. all with great music.

the japanese sonic cd soundtrack for sure.

on the c64

by martin galway
comic bakery
green beret
never ending story

by tim follin
bionic commando
ghouls and ghosts
LED storm

by rob hubbard
commando
the great giana sisters

I would add Final Fantasy X to the list. Some particularly memorable tracks in that...

I added Guardian Heroes but was wondering if you meant the original Saturn versions of Lunar 1 & 2 or the Playstation remakes? I've heard the Playstation versions, but not the Saturn versions of the songs. Is one better than the other?

I was thinking of the Sega CD versions as they were the originals while the Playstation/Saturn versions are more or less, the same composition with upgraded synth. As for the difference between Saturn and Playstation versions of the soundtrack for the remake, there wasn't a huge difference in terms of quality, though I would give the slight edge to the Saturn version.

Chris H�lsbeck's soundtracks for the games in the Turrican series. Most well known are turrican1, 2 and 3 for the amiga. Probably the most well known european game soundtracks to ever be made. The series also have parts for snes, megadrive(genesis), pc, c64 etc. all with great music. the japanese sonic cd soundtrack for sure.

on the c64
by martin galway
comic bakery
green beret
never ending story

by tim follin
bionic commando
ghouls and ghosts
LED storm

by rob hubbard
commando
the great giana sisters

Thanks for those! I hadn't heard any of the above in their Commodore 64 iterations. And the only Turrican I knew was Super Turrican. Second generation console and earlier music is something I don't know too much about. Much needed additions to the list.


I would add Final Fantasy X to the list. Some particularly memorable tracks in that...

Missed that one. Thanks!


I was thinking of the Sega CD versions as they were the originals while the Playstation/Saturn versions are more or less the same composition with upgraded synth. As for the difference between Saturn and Playstation versions of the soundtrack for the remake, there wasn't a huge difference in terms of quality, though I would give the slight edge to the Saturn version.

Got it. I just finished Lunar last night (hadn't played it in years, so I thought I'd sprint through it for a refresher) and there are some good tracks in there. I had misremembered the music being very bland. I was pleasantly surprised. I'll check out the Saturn version sometime, too.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to all for your help! Keep the recommendations coming!

There are now 132 soundtracks on this list. Would it be a good idea to cut it down to, say, 100? Or does it matter? Are there any soundtracks that shouldn't be on the list that are on it already?

POKEMOn

by rob hubbard
the great giana sisters

Are you out of your fucking mind? Giana Sisters were very much also by H�lsbeck.

Ok I'm going to side with Garamind and say pokemon definately should be on here so a new sectio nshould be added for handhelds and on that list I'd put:

Pokemon Red & Blue
Pokemon Gold & Silver
Pokemon Diamond & Pearl

Obviously the original music has its place, but I think the second series was musically different than the first (ignoring the sound chip) and it was all fantastic, and the latest series has some of the best music out in terms of style diversity and quality.

Still on handhelds I'd add Link's Awakening. - It's just another great work by Kondo.

Adding to the n64 section I'd put:
Super Mario 64 - Dire Dire Docks pretty much should do it in my mind, the fact that kondo used a large portion the n64's sound capability shows this was a significant game. Not to mention some of the area sounds like the ghost level.

Now for the PC games, there definately is a gap in your luas arts collection:
I would add Monkey Island 2 - the music is just as fantastic as the first with a completely differen't sound (still rooted in reggae of course)
The Dig - Easily some of Michael Land's greatest work, it really creates a powerful experience when you listen to those strings in the intro.

For NES: I would nominate Final Fantasy Gaiden and Faxandau (sp?)
Final Fantasy Gaiden started the Mana series and it has some excellent music (when redone) and of course it was on an early system so I'd excuse the sound chips.

One album I didn't see up there that I was shocked was Albert Odyssey Gaiden, that is some amazing musical work by Naoki Kodaka. Even today I'd say it beats many a modern soundtrack in originality and sound. I think it was sega saturn but you could toss it in master system maybe?

Well thats my 10c

I think one of the things which makes it difficult to suggest deletion is reason B). This is by far the most subjective reason to keep a (seemingly) undeserving soundtrack on the list. A) and C) are far easier to measure statistically.

Take the post above me which submits nearly all of the handheld Pokemon games as having the best music. Opinion plays a part in any suggestion, but I think reason B) allows the poster to take it to extremes.

I did not say they had the best music doom jockey, but if we're building a canon we might as well include Video Game Music. just because the playstation has better sound does not mean we should only take it, and exceptional games at that. If you want a compilation, you have to include every system. Handheld was NOT covered at all, and the pokemon games are a standout in that system. I do like the music, but that has nothing to do with it. Maybe you haven't played or listened to all of them but in no way do they sound the same. And by your logic we might as well remove zelda 2 from nes because it's good but not deserving.

Actually, another standout would be Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, I still honestly can't believe it's on a gameboy when you compare it to the terrible quality of aria of sorrow versus it. Dance of Sadness is definately one of those tracks that stands out.

I did not say they had the best music doom jockey, but if we're building a canon we might as well include Video Game Music. just because the playstation has better sound does not mean we should only take it, and exceptional games at that. If you want a compilation, you have to include every system. Handheld was NOT covered at all, and the pokemon games are a standout in that system. I do like the music, but that has nothing to do with it. Maybe you haven't played or listened to all of them but in no way do they sound the same. And by your logic we might as well remove zelda 2 from nes because it's good but not deserving.

Actually, another standout would be Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, I still honestly can't believe it's on a gameboy when you compare it to the terrible quality of aria of sorrow versus it. Dance of Sadness is definately one of those tracks that stands out.

Dial it back a bit. I didn't say or insinuate half the things you're defending.

Merely that reason B) might allow too much latitude for a concise list.

Maybe I did take too much offense, 3 pokemon games is a bit excessive and so I would elimate the gold and silver series but I still feel that the original and the latest are definately necessary to the canon, being that they are many years apart, on two different systems, and have entirely different music styles.

I noticed Albert Odyssey Gaiden: Legend of Eldean was not on there. I believe that is under sega saturn and it should definately be on the list because it's a fantastic soundtrack with diverse instrumentation and excellent quality easily ahead of its time. I mean, Naoki Kodaka, what more do I have to say?

For PC, I would suggest DOOM, The Witcher, and Tabula Rasa. Tabula Rasa really pulled off a hard rock/techno/electronic sound that I hadn't heard before. The game was a little disappointing, but Tracy Bush's music was outstanding. The Witcher blends celtic tunes into the game and does a great job of conveying the grit of the Witcher world. DOOM because it set the standard for music in FPS's.

For Xbox 360, I suggest Mass Effect. Another great soundtrack for an RPG that doesn't rely on an orchestra to convey emotion or feeling. Another electronic sci-fi sounding soundtrack that fits the IP perfectly.

For the Xbox, I suggest Halo. The soundtrack that brought Halo all together and may well have helped save the XBox.

For the Game Boy Advance, I suggest Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. Quite literally the best handheld music I've ever heard; this is what people should expect from their handheld games.

For the Game Boy, I suggest The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening: the first time someone tried to make a HUGE epic adventure in handheld form, and the first truly epic soundtrack to go along with it. Oracle of Seasons/Ages could be nominated as well.

For the Wii I suggest Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Quite literally the best assembled soundtrack EVER. So many different choices and sounds, plus the ability to choose the music for each stage sets a new standard for games that don't have their own original soundtrack.

Thanks for all the suggestions, and sorry to be out of touch for awhile. I will update the list soon!

But initial thoughts:

1) Super Smash Bros. Brawl's OST is almost entirely comprised of updated versions of songs that are already on this list. I think they're good updates, but I don't see why they should be placed in the canon alongside their earlier versions.

2) Mass Effect has a good soundtrack. But it hasn't even been out a year. Does that really qualify it for any of the categories? It's not historically important. It's not hugely popular (the game is; not the soundtrack). And it's, arguably, not one of the greatest soundtracks of all time. Just really good.

3) Halo is an extremely popular game, but is the music really that good? So good that it deserves to be on a list of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time?

I'm opening this up to you all to discuss. If someone wants to speak up in defense of these soundtracks or any others, I'm all ears.

I haven't heard quite a few of the other suggestions--Castelvania handhelds, The Dig, Witcher, Tabula Rasa--so I'll check those out.

Arguments for/against any of this stuff?

Disclaimer: Please understand that I am not trying to insult anyone's tastes by criticizing some selections.



I have to support arthurgolden's decisions on Mass Effect and Halo at least. While both have decent soundtracks, I personally don't think either could be considered canon as defined by the given criteria, ME especially.

Historically, Halo launched on the very same day as the Xbox so I'm not sure how that applies to saving a console that was just released. Also I agree that the soundtrack fits very well with the epic nature of the plot, but I'm not sure it's that great on its own.

While still possessing a nice soundtrack, CotM consists manly of remixes from previous Castlevanias which have improved mainly in sound quality and not much else.

Well, according to the criteria set in the original post to this topic, a Halo soundtrack should be considered for this list as it is "the soundtrack for a game that is hugely popular or important". You could also make the case that one of the Halo soundtracks is the first major commercial success for an American video game music soundtrack.

As far as the quality of the Halo Soundtrack, I would say that the Halo soundtrack is one of the all time best. The quality of the soundtrack should not be an issue at all. With that in mind, I will simply echo what Lackadaisical said: Halo should be considered for the list because, not only is the soundtrack very good, it is a soundtrack "for a game that is hugely popular or important." Halo was arguably the most important game of its generation. I don't think any VGM Canon can afford to not have Halo: Combat Evolved on its list.

Your points are well taken on Mass Effect, but I would still consider Brawl, simply because it is the most ambitious and most well done compilation style soundtrack that has ever been done BUT, I guess we'll have to wait and see what kind of influence it has, just like Mass Effect. A little time will let both of them see how they stand up.

So, no to Mass Effect and SSBM, but I hope the other games on my list will continue to be considered.

Edit: Doom on the list; good. : )

I also would like to nominate World of Warcraft and its expansion, The Burning Crusade for the PC category, not only because the soundtrack is so awesome, but because WoW is one of the most influential games in history, changing the MMORPG landscape forever.

Eh, still waiting on Albert Odyssey Gaiden. I haven't heard an arguement against it so..

and I did nominate a castlevania handheld (is anyone reading my posts?) I put up Portrait of ruin up for nomination because it had excellent original tracks and sounded fantastic compared to the other cvanias in terms of quality and original music.

Yes, I did see that though the game is for Nintendo DS and not for Game Boy as you said.

I agree with you; the soundtrack is outstanding and ought to be considered.

As for the other game you mentioned... I've never heard of it... much less heard the music.

I would happily host it but this site here hosts a decent amount of tracks from it.

http://www.flyingomelette.com/gamemusic/mp3download_a.html

I've listened to a few tracks from it, there are some that are pretty good but some that I thought were just average at best. Radoria's Castle is a good one, but the Battle theme is just; bleh.

Not knowing the mood of the game, I can't say whether or not the music fits the mood. The soundtrack overall is a little on the light and fluffy side for my tastes, especially if this game is supposed to be a serious one. But... as I said, I wouldn't and couldn't know that.

As far as the quality of the Halo Soundtrack, I would say that the Halo soundtrack is one of the all time best. The quality of the soundtrack should not be an issue at all. With that in mind, I will simply echo what Lackadaisical said: Halo should be considered for the list because, not only is the soundtrack very good, it is a soundtrack "for a game that is hugely popular or important." Halo was arguably the most important game of its generation. I don't think any VGM Canon can afford to not have Halo: Combat Evolved on its list.

While the quality is something we'll probably never agree upon, I can't find reasons to disagree with Lackadaisical's argument for historical value. For the record, I have mentioned that I don't think aesthetic quality should be much of an issue either.

Hey guys--Just got back from an out-of-town wedding and I'm headed to another next weekend. Not to mention this is the last week of the summer session and I'm teaching and taking classes. Consequently, I haven't gotten to listen to all the suggestions I hadn't heard before. But this thread is still my number priority on the site.

Before I get started, though, I want to reiterate something doomjockey said. I don't think it'll be productive to criticize anyone personally for their "taste" level--or to take any criticisms of each other's nominations personally. Subjectivity is an obvious, unavoidable, and important part of the listening experience. So what I'm about to say comes from my sincere interest in VGM, which I know you all share, and my sincere interest in starting a dialogue about this stuff. I offer my thoughts as a peer and as someone who's simply trying to come up with a kick ass list we can all basically agree is worth having in existence.

Okay, moving onward. I agree with everything that's been said about the Halo soundtrack. According to the criteria I set out at the beginning, it deserves to be on the list. I'll add it.

On to what I've listened to so far:

1) The Dig OST is gorgeous. I'd never heard of the game or the soundtrack before and it's not something I've seen mentioned too many times. That rules out qualifications (A) and (C). So the question is: Does it qualify for (B) One of the greatest soundtracks of all time? I'd say no. I think it's beautiful and varied. But the resistant part of my brain is saying that it isn't of such a high quality that it deserves to be on the shortlist--or if you want to look at it this way the "first draft"-- of the VGM canon. What do you all think?

2) I re-listened to Link's Awakening and wasn't blown away. I think there are good tracks on it, but not great tracks. I could see an argument being made for its historical importance for handhelds because, I mean, what else would go on that list? Handhelds are definitely my weak area because I've never owned any. So does anyone want to stand up for this one based on the historical importance criteria?

3) I basically feel the same way about Final Fantasy Gaiden/Adventure. I simply wasn't blown away. I didn't feel like it could stand toe-to-toe with the other albums on the list, nor did I hear anything that really expanded my conception of what handhelds could do, musically, in 1991. But I'm happy to defer to an argument for its historical importance. What do you think?

4) On the other hand, Castlevania: Circle of the Moon really stood out to me. Not only did it provide an interesting, diverse collection of tracks, it had that X factor for me, that sense of an entire world being created by the music. It sounded exciting and weighted with significance on its own. I think it deserves a place on the canon.

So those are my two cents. Let's start with those four OSTs (or others that you want to bring up).

Link's Awakening
Final Fantasy Gaiden/Adventure
The Dig
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

What do you think? Yea or nay?

Hopefully, this seems like a fair system. If not, we'll work out something better.

Yea for The Dig definately. It marked a totally different movement in PC games. Clint Bajakime(sp sry) himself said that it was as close as to what he had always wanted to do composing, and honestly I don't think another video game has ever come close to the unique sound of The Dig.

As for Albert Odyssey Gaiden, the picks on that website were good, but I'll host some of my own for why I think it should be on the list. In all honesty, the sound quality is astonishing for a Sega Game, and the composition is very unique (I.e tracks like Palace of Pleasure - of which, only Pokemond Diamond came close to with the legendary battle theme)

Give me a minute or two to host my selections.
Just note that the sound quality for all of this sounds like Chrono Cross and it's on sega.


Adagio - An excellent intro piece that continues to build until the end.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/5c6alu

Main Theme 1 - An excellent sound with great string work.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/dh6aft

Estranto - This flute work in this song is excellent, if it weren't for the MIDI of the strings this sounds fit to be in the Lord of the Rings.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/9t6kvv

Remembering Those Who Have Passed On - This track makes excellent use of echo and sonic space, not to mention delicate harmony to make a gripping, sad song.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/wqcals

Assault - If you went to the site you probably already heard this one, but it has some excellent instrumentation. Taking ever changing drums, a great filler organ that even includes a solo and overdriven guitar, it becomes one powerful melody.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ag1iyw

Palace of Pleasure - The game makes a nice shift to some spanish influence with a catchy beat and an excellent classical guitar melody.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/grier4

In the Gentle Sunlight - I think this is one of those tracks that just hits their name and purpose head on. I can't imagine a more relaxing track to listen to than this.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/a5f6ik

Heaven, Resounding Wings - This theme reminds me strongly of Starfox with its marching themes. Another excellent track.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/g6p1pr

That's all for me, its up to you guys I guess.

I nominated both COTM and Link's Awakening so... I don't have much to add on those fronts. I think they are great and should be on the list.

As far as Ninja Guyden's suggestions: I'm not a fan of Main Theme 1 or Estranto. Palace of Pleasure sounds pretty "catchy" as you said and I love Assault. Into the Gentle Sunlight, while not fitting my personal tastes, seems to do exactly what it sets out to do; a quality calming melody. I disagree with your assessment of Adagio. I was waiting for it to build into something epic, but it never does. It is pretty much the same the whole way through, just going up on the scale a little bit and increasing in volume. Heaven, Resounding Wings is by FAR the star on the on the list. Emotional, fast paced, keeping it interesting; very well done.

I vote NO to that game, but would be willing to vote for a couple of songs (Heaven and Assault) in the Hall of Fame vote list (which I will be remaking with Cogito's permission; stay tuned!).

As far as the Dig, I give this a HUGE Thumbs up. What an incredible orchestral score. Based on what I know about the game, this would fit the mood PERFECTLY. This is just about the only soundtrack I've gotten behind for a game that I haven't personally played. This is truly the best of the best.

I couldn't find any links for Final Fantasy Adventure. If somebody could link a few important tracks from that, I'd appreciate it.

PS: What about World of Warcraft and The Burning Crusade?

Well, for handheld systems... I think Kirby's Dream Land definitely should make the Game Boy list. That game is the origin of the Green Greens theme and King Dedede's theme, which are series staples. Both have been remixed in other games in the Kirby series, and both are remixed in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Hoshi no Kirby Super Deluxe/Kirby Super Star/Kirby's Fun Pak should also be in the Super Nintendo list. Super Smash Bros.'s Dream Land theme is a remix of Super Star's Gourmet Race. Dream Land 3 also features a stage with Gourmet Race transposed to a different key, and there's a Gourmet Race remix in Brawl also. The Great Cave Offensive minigame in Super Star also features a remix of the Green Greens theme, which is probably the origin of the Green Green's theme in SSBM and SSBB (the one with the trumpets and horns).

Kirby games may not have the best soundtracks out there, but these two games in particular have historical soundtracks when it comes to the Kirby series.

True, but is historical soundtracks in a single franchise enough to be considered historically relevant? I would suggest that it is not. If Kirby had made it to the stature and importance of Mario, then maybe I would be able to see that more.

True, but is historical soundtracks in a single franchise enough to be considered historically relevant? I would suggest that it is not. If Kirby had made it to the stature and importance of Mario, then maybe I would be able to see that more.

If that's the case, I don't see why Kirby's Adventure should be on the list. That game had mediocre music, and I believe it less relevant than both Kirby's Dream Land and Kirby Super Star.

Here's some of my votes:

Dreamcast
Shenmue II
Skies of Arcadia

Genesis / Megadrive
Mega Turrican
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
Thunder Force II
Thunder Force III

MSX
Feedback

PS2
Shadow of the Colossus

Saturn
Blast Wind
Thunder Force V

If that's the case, I don't see why Kirby's Adventure should be on the list. That game had mediocre music, and I believe it less relevant than both Kirby's Dream Land and Kirby Super Star.

I'm not sure about that; I have not played a whole lot of Kirby.

the Deus Ex OST is a great one because it really fit the game well, and made great use of tracking to create very high quality music.

Here's some of my votes:

Dreamcast
Shenmue II
Skies of Arcadia

Genesis / Megadrive
Mega Turrican
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
Thunder Force II
Thunder Force III

MSX
Feedback

PS2
Shadow of the Colossus

Saturn
Blast Wind
Thunder Force V

Could you post some links?

Hi guys,

I'm trying hard to keep up with the soundtracks I haven't heard before.

Re: World of Warcraft, I don't feel the music is that good, but I agree that it is part of a historically important game. If Halo gets on the list, I guess World of Warcraft does, too. Enough people know the music that I would guess it's potentially as recognizable as a piece from Mario.

Re: Kirby, it's my opinion that Kirby's Adventure contains better music than Super Star or Dreamland, plus it's my opinion that Adventure was the game that put Kirby on the map (even though Dreamland came out the year before). I don't think Dreamland or Super Star are good enough or important enough for the list. But that's just my opinion. What do you think?

Re: Pokemon, how about adding Red/Blue? I agree that it has historical importance, and they're not bad soundtracks.

Re: Albert Odyssey, I did listen to the Eldean soundtrack and thought it was good. I'd be okay adding it, provided more of us believe it should be on the list. What do you think?

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So here's what I'll do. I'll add to the list
1) World of Warcraft
2) Pokemon Red/Blue
3) Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
4) The Dig
5) and Albert's Odyssey: Legend of Eldean
UNLESS anyone has any objection to any of them and wants to post why in the next 3 days. So you have 3 days to object before they go up.

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The next soundtracks I'll listen to are Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, Witcher, and Tabula Rasa, followed by ShmupFighter's suggestions.

Thanks guys.

I agree with Pokemon R/B for historical importance; I just hope we don't have 800 Pokemon games on there unless later soundtracks do something really significant.

I'll try to get a listen on Albert's Odyssey. Like I've said before, if you can post links of the stuff when you nominate, that would be great. I've been guilty of this too so I'll try to do better in the future.

Hey Link,

I think I got the Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean soundtrack off this link: Thread 37088

I'm unclear as to whether people are nominating any other Albert Odyssey soundtracks besides that one.

Don't forget the Space Quest series on PC!

Boakon, I'm unfamiliar with that series, and I'd bet a lot of the rest of us are, too. Galbadia Hotel has 1, 1 VGA, 2 Apple, and 2 Tandy. Plus, GoronMoron has 3, 4, and 5 at this link: Thread 39734

With all those options, which is the absolute best of them all?

I enjoyed the Witcher in-game, but when I listened to the OST outside of it. It sounded almost bad, at most it was dull. I really wanted it to be good because of the awesome celtic blend, but at best there were maybe two tracks I liked.

I basically agree with that. Witcher has some good tracks, as does Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin, but I don't consider either one of them one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time. Tabula Rasa is more interesting and well-produced, but one-dimensional. Almost every track has the potential to be a great song, but none of them really pay off in the end. What do you guys think?

Thanks again to all of you for keeping this going. Besides giving suggestions, if you see a soundtrack that's already on the list but shouldn't be, let me know.

Next I'm going to listen to ShmupFighter's suggestions. Several of the soundtracks can be found on GoronMoron's thread: Thread 39734

ShmupFighter has his own thread with Blast Wind here: Thread 52753

I haven't found Thunder Force II, II, or V or Feedback yet.

Definately 2 and 3 but do we really need all of them? I mean if we can't include all of the pokemon, why them?

Definately 2 and 3 but do we really need all of them? I mean if we can't include all of the pokemon, why them?

Are you referring to Thunder Force? Well, nothing from ShmupFighter's list is being included in the canon yet. I was just looking for links so we all could get a chance to listen to the music.

In all probability, you're right, though. We won't include II, III, and V unless each makes a separate and inarguable statement for why it should be on the list. But I still think each is worth a listen, right?

Looking over the list again, while keeping the three main qualifications in mind, I would have to contest the inclusions of Gremlins 2 and Ducktales. I don't believe either of them would fall under qualification A or C. The only possible way they could make this list is if they're "one of the greatest soundtracks in video game music history", which is qualification B. Even cutting them some slack, it's kind of borderline as to whether or not they should belong on such a prestigious list. So, any discussion for those two soundtracks, either for or against them being on the list, might prove helpful.

I would also like to nominate the Lost Child game for the PC onto the list via category A and/or B.

Bubble Bobble for the NES is also a good canididate, though like Tetris and Duck Hunt, it feels kind of weird of having games with very limited soundtracks on this particular list.

I listened to the Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean soundtrack. First question; is this Alber Odyssey Gaiden? (the one that was linked earlier by ninjaguyden). If this is a different game, than the two games share WAY too much music to be included. If it is not the same game, then I must stand by my original assessment; no, but there are tracks I would vote for in the Galbadia Hotel Hall of Fame if nominated.

Oh.. and I agree; No DuckTales; No Gremlins.

silent hill 2.. nothing more to say

I'll stand up for DuckTales. "The Moon" is frequently listed as one of the greatest NES songs (right up there with "Wily Stage 1-2" from Mega Man II), and "Transylvania" shows up on those lists as well. Plus, the "Boss" music and "African Mines" stage theme show the versatility of the composers, besides being great songs. As a final note, I think the theme song was the most successful translation of all the theme songs from 90s-TV-shows-turned-games. Given the technological constraints of the era, I would consider it one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time.

As for Gremlins 2, I think it's a kick ass soundtrack, but I'll agree that it probably doesn't deserve to be on the list.

Shinobi III is interesting, but I don't think it passes muster. What do you guys think?

Blast Wind is pretty awesome, but one of the best video game soundtracks of all time? I don't know. We need a couple people weighing in on this one, because I think it's a contender.

As for Bubble Bobble, I think it's a cool soundtrack that does some interesting things with the limited technology, but I don't know if it has any standout tracks or anything that puts it in the category of "one of the greatest ever."

Any arguments for/against these three?

By the way, I still haven't found Thunder Force or Feedback (found downloads for both but the Thunder Forces were down and the Feedback was a corrupt file).

Also, the main site has Lost Child here: http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/873
And Lost Child (side B) here: http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/1430

Definitely a no for Bubble Bobble. I definitely would not put that in the category of "greatest ever."

As far as Lost Child though... it's a tough one. I really like the soundtrack... I think it's a very well done heavy metal soundtrack, which is not too common in games (at least that I have played). I think it merits consideration... but I'm not sure it's one of the all time best.

I'd definitely be willing to vote for a few of those songs in the Hall of Fame though (see my sig for the link).

I'd definitely be willing to vote for a few of those songs in the Hall of Fame though (see my sig for the link).

Also linked in the original post and in my signature.

By the way, I really enjoyed Skies of Arcadia. See what you guys think.

Currently trying to find time to get to Shenmue II, Mega Turrican, and Lost Child.

Shenmue II gets a yes from me.

Mega Turrican is good, but I'm not sure if it does anything substantially different from Turrican 1, 2, and 3, which are already on the list.

Any thumbs up or thumbs down for either of these, Shinobi III, Blast Wind, or Skies of Arcadia?

I'll listen to Lost Child next.

Like I said before, I threw in Bubble Bobble for consideration because, like Duck Hunt and Tetris, the soundtracks are limited to around five tunes. With Bubble Bobble, it's basically just that one song that plays over and over again, which becomes very memorable if you played through the entire game. Probably not one of the best soundtracks of all time, but it's definitely a memorable one. I would favor Bubble Bobble over Tetris, however, solely because the Tetris soundtrack is composed of tunes that are heavily based off of compositions that are not original to the game itself.

Anyway, I have never played the Lost Child game(s) before, so I'm not sure if Lost Child - Side X and Side Z should also be heard for a fair consideration. It's definitely one of the best PC soundtracks I've ever heard, though. Like Link006 mentioned, it's one of the few soundtracks that's composed primarily of metal/rock.

Speaking of PC games with great soundtracks, I'm surprised that no one has brought up any Falcom games yet. VM Japan should be given consideration as it has one amazing soundtrack and I've always felt that it was superior to Okami's soundtrack, which it is slightly comparable to. One of the Ys games should also be considered for the list as the music to those games is always being praised. Zwei, another Falcom game, also has a decent soundtrack.

As for some of the previous nominations:
*I'll let Duck Tales remain for the time being as I have to go over the game again, but is it safe to assume that Gremlins II is off?

*Shinobi III/Super Shinobi II does have some great tunes and it deserves an official soundtrack release, though I wouldn't place it on a list like this. I think most people would say that the Super Shinobi's soundtrack is better than Super Shinobi II's soundtrack, anyway.

*Eternal Arcadia is one of the few RPG original soundtracks I didn't get around to while I was on my RPG music stint, so I never gave it much thought to what it might sound like. All I knew is that it was expensive and I can see why now. It's not as great as some people make it out to be, but the soundtrack on a whole is very effective on its own and thus deserves a spot on the list.

*Shenmue II gets a no from me because I believe it lifts some tunes from the original Shenmue and because I found the original Shenmue soundtrack to be slightly better than its sequel in both use and composition. So, Shenmue before Shinmue II is where I'm getting at.

*Never heard of Blast Wind before, so I took a look at some gameplay videos on YouTube, but I couldn't hear much over the constant blasting/explosions. Seeing as it's a shooter/shoot 'em up, I would probably base Blast Wind's soundtrack against Einhander and Radiant Silvergun, two popular shooters with soundtracks people usually praise. I'll get back to Blast Wind later on today since I haven't checked out the game rip by ShmupFighter yet.

**EDIT**
After giving the Blast Wind soundtrack a whirl, I'm leaning against giving it my recommendation because I think there are better shooter/shoot 'em up soundtracks out there. However, I will admit that my knowledge of shooter/shoot 'em up games is very limited, and given that ShmupFighter is more of an expert in this field of VGM, I am willing to concede that it might be one of the better shooter/shoot 'em up soundtracks. Anyway, I don't think we have any representatives of that sub-genre of VGM and that's something that we should fix soon.

i like ratchet & clank series the best!

Lackadaisical,

Thanks for the great post.


Lost Child game. . .It's definitely one of the best PC soundtracks I've ever heard.

It didn't do anything for me the first time around, but I want to give it a second listen, considering how much support it's getting.

Also, I listened to Thunder Force V, and I was bored.


Speaking of PC games with great soundtracks, I'm surprised that no one has brought up any Falcom games yet. VM Japan should be given consideration as it has one amazing soundtrack and I've always felt that it was superior to Okami's soundtrack, which it is slightly comparable to. One of the Ys games should also be considered for the list as the music to those games is always being praised. Zwei, another Falcom game, also has a decent soundtrack.

VM Japan (torrent) (http://www.hongfire.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31561)

Which Ys did you want to nominate?

Zwei (http://www.filefactory.com/file/50625f/) (thanks go to GoronMoron)


As for some of the previous nominations:
*I'll let Duck Tales remain for the time being as I have to go over the game again, but is it safe to assume that Gremlins II is off?

Yep. Removing it after I post this.


*Eternal Arcadia is one of the few RPG original soundtracks I didn't get around to while I was on my RPG music stint, so I never gave it much thought to what it might sound like. All I knew is that it was expensive and I can see why now. It's not as great as some people make it out to be, but the soundtrack on a whole is very effective on its own and thus deserves a spot on the list.

Anyone else want to throw in a vote for Skies of Arcadia/Eternal Arcadia?


*Shenmue II gets a no from me because I believe it lifts some tunes from the original Shenmue and because I found the original Shenmue soundtrack to be slightly better than its sequel in both use and composition. So, Shenmue before Shinmue II is where I'm getting at.

Shenmue (http://www.filefactory.com/file/1af1bf/n/Shenmue_Original_Soundtrack_rar) (thanks again to GoronMoron)

I'll listen to this again. Maybe there's room for Shenmue I and II? What do you guys think after listening to them both?


**EDIT**After giving the Blast Wind soundtrack a whirl, I'm leaning against giving it my recommendation because I think there are better shooter/shoot 'em up soundtracks out there. However, I will admit that my knowledge of shooter/shoot 'em up games is very limited, and given that ShmupFighter is more of an expert in this field of VGM, I am willing to concede that it might be one of the better shooter/shoot 'em up soundtracks. Anyway, I don't think we have any representatives of that sub-genre of VGM and that's something that we should fix soon.

I agree with all of that. I'm okay with leaving off Blast Wind, but we can certainly use more recommendations for that genre.

Final note: Feedback (Thread 57031) is now working for me.

Okay, so here's where we stand:

Sounds like a no for:
Shinobi III
Blast Wind
Bubble Bobble
Gremlins 2

Sounds like a yes for:
Skies of Arcadia

We need more votes on:
Lost Child
Shenmue I and II
Thunder Force V

These have now been nominated:
VM Japan
Zwei
A Ys game
Ratchet & Clank
Feedback

Got a chance to listen to Feedback; the soundtrack seems very repetitive to me, but I'm not sure if that's due to the music or just a limitation of the medium. It sounds well put together for what it's playing on. I just don't hear the same depth that I do in an NES or Game Boy game. I'd be willing to vote if it was one of the best of its kind, but until I hear another MSX game, I have no point of reference.

With that in mind, I vote no (Though I'd be willing to back up a nomination for the Boss theme in the Hall of Fame for individual tracks).

I think Banjo-Kazooie should be on the list as well as Mother 3, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Sonic Adventure 1 and 2.

Thanks for giving this thread a little kick. I just listened to Mother 3 the other day and would support its inclusion.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl has already been discussed in this thread. Any counter-arguments are welcome.

Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 I'll listen to again, along with the others I was supposed to listen to a month ago. Sorry about that to everyone. I've been trying to stay afloat with work and school.

Hi everyone. Sorry for the huge delay in updates over the past few months. I had some free time this morning, so I listened to some soundtracks and also updated the OP with links, like I said I would so long ago. With Galbadia Hotel down, I had to find the links where I could. It's incomplete, and I'll keep working on it, but if you happen to know a link for one of the soundtracks, go ahead and send it to me.

Regarding the most recent suggestions for the list, I have to agree with Link and give a "no" to Feedback, mainly for the same reasons.

I'm currently listening to Zwei and really enjoying it, but I'll edit this post when I reach the end.

Next I'll listen to Rachet and Clank, Sonic Adventure 1 & 2, and Banjo Kazooie.

I still haven't found VM Japan.

The original Shenmue should be on the list. NOT Shenmue II. Streets of Rage II should definitely be added if it hasn't already. The original Megaman? Legend of Zelda?

Thanks for giving this thread a little kick. I just listened to Mother 3 the other day and would support its inclusion.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl has already been discussed in this thread. Any counter-arguments are welcome.

Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 I'll listen to again, along with the others I was supposed to listen to a month ago. Sorry about that to everyone. I've been trying to stay afloat with work and school.

Sonic Adventure I is probably the better of the two soundtracks.

Streets of Rage II, Mega Man, and Legend of Zelda are on the list, which is in the OP.

As far as Zwei, I thought it was a very good soundtrack, but I wouldn't qualify it as A) the soundtrack for a game that is hugely popular or important
B) one of the greatest soundtracks in video game music history
C) or a soundtrack that is important to the history of video game music. So I'd give it a "no."

Next is Rachet and Clank, Sonic Adventure 1, and Banjo Kazooie.

Thanks, as always, for keeping this alive. I've added a lot more links to the OP, so check it out. I'll keep working on it when I have free time.

Nominations, eh?

Well, as far as handheld Castlevanias go, I would honestly put Aria of Sorrow ahead of Circle of the Moon. The diverse soundtracks fit into every area they are played in, and as near as I can tell, there IS no reuse/remix of old CV songs. Plus, I think all of us who have played AoS would recognize Heart of Fire instantly.

For the Genesis/SNES era, I'm throwing Phantasy Star 4 in. I'd like to think that at least 70% of the OST would be memorable, and it is the best(bar none) of the Phantasy Star series. On the other side, I'd also like to throw in Metal Warriors for consideration. I feel that its OST was unique in that in a few minutes(sometimes even a minute and a half), the composers conveyed a sense of urgency/preparation from the game.

To end my nominations, I'll just say that I also think Resident Evil 2 from the PSX era should be considered. Aside from its memorable tracks, I think its ambience alone speaks volumes.:)

And just to head off any questions, I consider PS4 and RE2 to represent the best...while others in their series may also have their merits, I don't think they measure up to my noms...but I welcome any discussion!:D

- Thanks for the nominations, ChazA4. Aria of Sorrow has already been discussed, but I'll give it a listen anyway.

- I'd say "no" to Ratcher and Clank. In the context of the game, I like it as background music, but on its own I didn't find it to be one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time, and I don't think it qualifies for the other two criteria.

- I finished the links for the SNES/GENESIS section in the OP.

- Next up: Sonic Adventure 1, Banjo Kazooie, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Phantasy Star 4, Metal Warriors, and Resident Evil 2.

- Although they're all really good soundtracks, I have to give a "no" to Resident Evil 2, Metal Warriors, and Phantasy Star IV. Considering the three criteria, I don't think any of them are among the greatest soundtracks of all time (although they are good), and I don't think any of them qualify for being a soundtrack for a universally recognized game or for being important to the history of video game music. To me, RE2 isn't so well known, like Mario, that a majority of video game players would know the music, especially since so much of it is ambient. What do you guys think? Does anyone want to argue for any of those three?

- I've added a ton of links to the original post. Check them out.

- Next up: Sonic Adventure 1, Banjo Kazooie, and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.

All soundtracks have now been linked. If possible, I linked to a download page or a thread with the download page linked. In a few cases, the best I could find were YouTube videos with some of the songs playing.

Also, Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Thread 39734) from the Genesis has been nominated for the canon. Any votes--yes or no--are appreciated.

Perfect Dark (N64) for sure.

Being one of the best FPS, not only for the N64, but for any system to date, this game was highlighted by the amazing and easily remembered music. It's ambient, techno music allowed for great moments in the tracks to showcase exciting moments in each level. Reminescent of both Goldeneye 007 and the Timesplitters soundtracks, this soundtrack was a defining piece of video game music.

Samples:

Crash Site X (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOV8F8KvQ6Q)
Alien Conflict (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YupIybVN_iY)
Maian Tears (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twhH5OrxLP8)

Added.

Thanks for the recommendation!

Wait, why was Perfect Dark added, but not Lost Child or Zwei? There was no vote for it, either for or against it.

Personally, I don't see it fitting any three of the criteria, though I would have given it a nod if it were not for GoldenEye being the primier FPS on the N64. What gave both Lost Child and Zwei an edge is that they are both PC games with one of them being adult-oriented. However, a Ys soundtrack should come before any other Falcom PC soundtrack (Zwei) as Ys is the most popular Falcom PC series.

Because more people have heard of Perfect Dark than the two you listed, I am guessing? Not trying to be mean or anything, just my opinion.

No, I'm pretty sure the Ys series (going on its 8th game with many ports/remakes) is more popular than the Perfect Dark series (only 2 games in the series). I don't think the Perfect Dark series qualifies as a popular FPS series, much less a popular game series in general. Musically, I don't think it can touch the Ys series or even the Lost Child one. So, the only way it could qualify for this list is if it was an important soundtrack to game music history, but that would be quite the stretch to make.

In my opinion GoldenEye deserves a spot much more than Perfect Dark, it introduced the gamestyle, and the songs for each level fit perfectly their enviroment (Facility, Archives, Statue, Caverns, etc).

I think No More Heroes should be under Wii on the list. Masafumi Takada created his most extended and best score up to date with that game.

Wait, why was Perfect Dark added, but not Lost Child or Zwei? There was no vote for it, either for or against it. Personally, I don't see it fitting any three of the criteria, though I would have given it a nod if it were not for GoldenEye being the primier FPS on the N64. What gave both Lost Child and Zwei an edge is that they are both PC games with one of them being adult-oriented. However, a Ys soundtrack should come before any other Falcom PC soundtrack (Zwei) as Ys is the most popular Falcom PC series.

There hasn't been much input for anything in months, so I figured no one was looking at this thread anymore. I'm actually happy you called me out on Perfect Dark because it made me question my original assumption that this was one of those games, like Halo, where everybody knows the music. I think you're right that GoldenEye is a more appropriate choice since it's the forerunner to Perfect Dark.

I'm also still waiting for people to comment on Lost Child, Zwei, or any of the Ys games.


No, I'm pretty sure the Ys series (going on its 8th game with many ports/remakes) is more popular than the Perfect Dark series (only 2 games in the series). I don't think the Perfect Dark series qualifies as a popular FPS series, much less a popular game series in general. Musically, I don't think it can touch the Ys series or even the Lost Child one. So, the only way it could qualify for this list is if it was an important soundtrack to game music history, but that would be quite the stretch to make.

I agree with most of that. It's under consideration because of the first game's popularity. The remake Perfect Dark Zero didn't make much of a splash.


In my opinion GoldenEye deserves a spot much more than Perfect Dark, it introduced the gamestyle, and the songs for each level fit perfectly their enviroment (Facility, Archives, Statue, Caverns, etc).

I agree. What do others think? Should I include both Perfect Dark and GoldenEye, or just GoldenEye, or just Perfect Dark, or neither?


I think No More Heroes should be under Wii on the list. Masafumi Takada created his most extended and best score up to date with that game.

Which of the three criteria would you use to nominate No More Heroes?

P.S. Sorry for the delayed response.

For the time being, I'll remove Perfect Dark since there have been justifiable arguments to not include it.

Any thoughts on Sonic Adventure 1, Banjo Kazooie, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Lost Child, Zwei, the Ys series, GoldenEye, or anything mentioned in the above posts that I'm forgetting?

Any nominations?

Here's a new question:

What single would you choose for the albums on the list?

In other words, if you could only choose one song from the album to represent why this album should be heard by everyone, what would that song be?

Should Twilight Princess really be on there? Out of all six hours or so of music on it there's only maybe fifteen memorable things and even less of them are actually good, in my opinion. I doubt if anyone has yet been converted to a VGM enthusiast from that soundtrack and it's doubtful very many ever will. Certainly not required listening in my book, aside from it having a significantly cool arrangement of the classic overworld theme and "Midna's Desperate Hour" or whatever it's called.

I agree that Twilight Princess is not Kondo's best, but I think it qualifies for "A) the soundtrack for a game that is hugely popular or important," since probably everyone knows the music from every Zelda game. But maybe I'm off there. What do you guys think?

Also, I'm waiting on permission from Sarah to start a VGM Rumble. If it's cool with her, I'm gonna rely on you guys to bring on the suggestions! Should be fun.

Kondo didn't actually do anywhere near a majority of it from what I understand. I guess he's got more of a management role now, just like Nintendo did with Miyamoto. I don't know why they move these great creators to management positions, but Twilight Princess's music suffered for it I think. That Midna track is probably going to be the only lasting contribution to the series' music.

Sure the game may have sold very well but it isn't really an important one in game history. And who here really knows all of this soundtrack more than casually? Ultimately, would it be a great loss to VGM if we didn't have it, like it would be if we'd lost any of those listed Final Fantasy soundtracks? I think it'd barely be a loss at all. That's the end of my case, it's alright whichever way you wanna go.

Kondo didn't actually do anywhere near a majority of it from what I understand. I guess he's got more of a management role now

I didn't know Kondo took a back seat with this one. But I looked it up and it's true and, I guess, not surprising...

From Wikipedia:

Music
The score of Twilight Princess was composed by Toru Minegishi, Asuka Ohta, and Kōji Kondō.[45] Minegishi headed music composition and sound design in Twilight Princess, providing all field and dungeon music under the supervision of Kondo.[46] The official soundtrack, published by Nintendo Power in 2006, contained seven tracks. For the E3 trailer, Michiru Ōshima created three pieces of orchestral arrangements written by different composers, although only one piece, by Mahito Yokota, was used. Working on the trailer prompted Kondō to consider using orchestral music for the game as well. He envisioned a full orchestra for action sequences and a string quartet for "lyrical moments".[47]

In the past, Kondō had always waited until he could observe the gameplay of a title before composing the score, to ensure that they meshed well.[47] When the trailer for E3 was created however, gameplay development had not progressed enough for Kondō to decide if an orchestra would be feasible. In the end, the final product used sequenced music instead. Kondō later cited the lack of interactivity that comes with orchestral music as one of the main reasons for the decision.[48] Minegishi followed Kondō's example of matching the score to the gameplay, and created music to elicit the feeling of melancholy he observed. As Link begins to save Hyrule from the effects of the Twilight Realm, the music takes on a more relaxed mood.[46]


Sure the game may have sold very well but it isn't really an important one in game history. And who here really knows all of this soundtrack more than casually? Ultimately, would it be a great loss to VGM if we didn't have it, like it would be if we'd lost any of those listed Final Fantasy soundtracks? I think it'd barely be a loss at all.

You've got a valid point. It's hard to know what should be considered part of the canon, because of the expansiveness of a lot of the soundtracks. How many songs must be excellent compositions or, at least, recognizable before the entire soundtrack is considered worthwhile? How many soundtracks are really universally known by those who are serious about video game music? And who are the "experts" on video game music making these decisions? Although I'd make a case that our community is uniquely equipped with the broad range of knowledge and tastes needed to make a first draft of the canon, I don't have a lot of these answers, and I'm completely open to removing soundtracks from the list or changing the criteria for adding music, based on what makes the most sense to everyone. I could see this list being more useful to newcomers to vgm if it were, say, 25 soundtracks instead of 100+.

So I'll turn the questions to the community.
1) Should Twilight Princess be removed from the list?
2) Are there any other soundtracks that should be removed?
3) Is the list too long?

I barely know videogame music outside of Square games and Zelda, so I'm no expert. In fact, I should be using the list! My opinion on the length of it though is that it could never be too long if it stays relatively consistent in quality and recognition in the community. Consider that since VGM is such a broad term and it covers such a range of sounds, styles and sound qualities, the bigger this list the better I say. Just to catch everyone's needs. Say I didn't like the sound of 16-bit era music or below, then I can just skip over those sections. But if the list were made to include only 50 games or something, surely loads of those would be from that time and it'd be at the cost of stuff that fit my hypothetical taste. Some classics shouldn't be excluded for the sake of brevity. If it's a classic, it's a classic goddammit and the more the better for everyone.

Additional question: Do you think it would be helpful to group things according to musical genre, rather than console? I could do both, too...

EDIT: Although, of course, this creates difficulties, too. If you've heard the Final Fantasy: Crisis Core soundtrack, you'd be classifying something that has trip hop, string quartet pieces, and heavy metal on it.

Yeah, normally there is a range. I would say let people create a thread and ask for music of the genre they want.

Well, hopefully people consider it consistent in quality and/or importance. That's the goal. I just checked, and there are 143 soundtracks on there (if I counted correctly).

EDIT: There's also the idea of adding singles next to each soundtrack so that someone new to video game music can get at least a small sense of what the soundtrack is like and, therefore, judge the question of consistency himself/herself.

Right, as it should be. You've got no objections from me. Now if someone else around might post their thoughts...

I got the ball rolling here.

Hey guys,

I've been away from the topic for awhile but it keeps coming to my mind. I everyone still around and interested in working on it? I kind of want to write an article on for my retro-gaming blog continueonline.wordpress.com so I was curious if we still want to expand.

As for:
1. No I do not believe TP should be removed. I honestly think it's a better work than some of the previous games and that it has more well developed and better tracks than others. Not to discount the landmark soundtrack that is OOT but I prefer TP to it. I feel it's more musically diverse and 'adaptive' - in the actions tied to sound - than any of the previous osts. Now of course for the same reasons I'd nominate WW but anyway..

2. I haven't taken a hard look at it so I'll get to that later

3. No I think the list could certainly be augmented because the list of VGM is also always growing, and I think we could cover a lot more ground still.

Nominations from Me:
-Clock Tower (SNES) (Japan)
This is one of THE Survival-Horror games and the soundtrack is unique in it's minimal and adaptive quality. The song actually varies based on the distance of the killer, and the 'Looking for Mrs. Mary' will haunt me forever. Yes, it's a very small OST, but it's a historical landmark in the gaming world (particularly the gaming word of: Not sent to America because it was too scary)

-Modern Warfare 2
I'm not nominating this soundtrack because of fanboyism or anything of the sort. I'm proposing it because it was a large work with excellent music and carefully planned cues, but particularly because Hans Zimmer - a major movie composer - was brought in to work on the project. and I'd call it a success.

-REZ (dreamcast)
This is a kind of random shooter that disappeared with the lackluster success of the dreamcast. This game should be nominated, I feel, because it was a game soundtrack entirely based on the actions of the player. Whatever you did or shot determined where the melody would go. The idea was also that based on sound and visual that you would have a synestia response to the music, which is why a vibrating pocket ball was made to further attune your body to the beat and the on-screen visuals.

I'm interested in restarting the conversation and updating the list. But it's going to be a while before I can contribute much because I'm in the middle of finishing my thesis, and the little extra energy I have is being used to keep the VGM Rumble going. In the meantime, I'd be happy to see this used by other people, though, and I'll pop in when I can.

That sounds like a plan as long as everyone else can reappear and make additions. I could also advertise this to a one or two more forums

PSX - "Tekken 3"
GBA/PSP - "Yggdra Union - We'll Never Fight Alone"
PS3 - "Valkyria Chronicles"
PS3/X360 - "Call of Duty World at War"

@sdg657: Thanks for your input. I really appreciate you taking the time to help with this thread. And I mean that. I'm not trying to be mean. But...

"The qualifications for what goes on this list should be that the soundtrack is either:
A) the soundtrack for a game that is hugely popular or important
B) one of the greatest soundtracks in video game music history
C) or a soundtrack that is important to the history of video game music"

In your opinion, which of these criteria do each of your soundtracks fulfill? It's important to have that information because (and maybe I'm just ignorant) I've only heard Tekken 3 off that list. COD: World at War, of course, is a popular game, so that might be its criteria. But as for the rest...(and, again, maybe I'm just ignorant) I've heard of Valkyria Chronicles but I've never heard anyone talk about the soundtrack. And the same goes for Yggdra Union. Are you suggesting these are commonly considered some of the greatest soundtracks to have ever been created?

I have to agree with Chaz4a on this one, I think "Genesis - Phantasy Star IV" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZjspVPHRUY) fits... As phantasy star was competing the spotlight with FF on Genesis's nemesis, this by far was probably one of the best Phantasy Star games out of all of them... dunno about PSO (I love PSO, but that's DC).

PS2- Silent Hill 3
It's quite popular and I personally love it.

PS2- Silent Hill 3
It's quite popular and I personally love it.

Its already on the list under PSX

I would have to listen to Tekken 3 and definitely Valkyria Chronicles as I haven't really heard either. I'll try to make a list:

I thought this game was 'tied' to valkyrie profile but apparently besides Sakimoto still composing there is no connection.
I actually support this game going on, this is really top of the line Sakimoto
1)Valkyria:
"Main Theme"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDlIEhLozDg&feature=related

"Beautiful Gallia"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKa4yK-IQCY&feature=related

"Everyday Training"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niihFMXFCmE&feature=related

"The Barracks"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1D5S56yy-8&NR=1



This soundtrack would make an excellent benchmarker for the PS3 and for Orchestrated music
I think the game itself will be a standard because it blends a tactical game with a 3rd person shooter and srpg.

It's been a while since I've made a contribution to this topic and I still can't believe that there is not one Ys game on this list. It's partially my fault for not making a better case for the series in general, however, I'm going to rectify that minor oversight now.

I am going to nominate that Ys I and Ys II (the pair are usually thought of as one game) as they are the ones that started it all.

Qualifications:
A) "the soundtrack for a game that is hugely popular or important"
The first game in the Ys series debuted in 1987 for the PC, and the lastest installment of the series, Ys Seven, hit the markets in 2009. This makes the Ys series one of the older, more enduring [PC] game series ever, which is a testament to how popular the series has been over the years. Ys I and Ys II, in particular, have been remade several times on various platforms that include the Master System, the TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine, the Nintendo DS, and the PSP; Ys II was also on the Famicom.

B) "one of the greatest soundtracks in video game music history"
One of the major reasons for the Ys series popularity is its great music that is almost always universally praised on both game and soundtrack reviews. The popularity of the music to the Ys series probably stems from the many, many upbeat, catchy melodies and their easy transition into remixes with varying amounts of the rock element. The soundtracks for Ys I and Ys II have quite a few soundtracks dedicated to them and their respective songs have been remixed for use in other Ys games.

C) "or a soundtrack that is important to the history of video game music"
Considering the age, quality, and popularity of the music to the Ys I and Ys II games, I think that down the line, the two soundtracks will be recognized as one of the best PC game soundtracks to come out of that time era.


If you haven't heard either soundtrack before, you may want to listen to the "Music From Ys" and "Music From Ys II" (the oldest soundtracks) first and then "Ys I&II Chronicles Original Soundtrack" (the newest soundtracks). You could also listening to the official soundtracks to Ys Renewal, Ys II Renewal, Ys Eternal, and Ys Eternal II.

When I started this thread almost two years, I probably hadn't heard the Ys soundtracks. Now it seems incredible to me that they're not on the list. I'm 100% behind Ys I and II being added.

Big thanks to Lackadaisical for the thorough analysis. I'm going to set some time aside to listen to the other suggestions made above. Thanks to everyone for reviving this.

Wow, I can't believe we did forget Ys on that list.

I'll throw in my two cents on some of the nominations (additions and subtractions) that have been made since my absence from this topic or ones that I just didn't get the time to look at before.

Phantasy Star IV - The Phantasy series has been out there as long as the Final Fantasy series, and continues to make its presence known in the video game community with the Phantasy Star Online/Universe games, so the series itself has the recognition. Phantasy Star IV, in particular, is usually considered one of the best Genesis/MegaDrive games. Personally speaking, I completed all three games on the Sega Genesis back when they were first released and most of the music, at least to me, is relatively memorable (even more so than the Final Fantasy games of the same generation). I attribute this to the smaller soundtrack ("less is more" concept) and a "futuristic" vibe which was generally uncommon back then; at least as far as RPGs are concerned. Phantasy Star IV was the last game to the original series and does have the best music out of the four, so while I would like for the music to be updated one more time (via an accessible Phantasy Star IV remake) to solidfy its right to be on "VGM Canon", I would give a pass to Phantasy Star IV being added onto the list. The original Phantasy Star could also be a nice candidate for this list as you could make an argument that it had one of the best Sega Master System soundtracks. Nomination through qualification A.

Resident Evil 2 - While I recognize that the Biohazard/Resident Evil series is a popular video game series, the majority of the music to the series has too much of that "background music" feel for the tastes of most people. With that said, the soundtrack to Resident Evil 2 is the best that the series has to offer, and I wouldn't have a huge problem with having it added to the list. After all, it is the most well-known survival horror game series to date with all the games and films under its belt. Could be nominated through qualification A.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Looking at the games on the "VGM Canon" list, there are seven Zelda games currently on it. I'm not entirely sure that they all deserve to be on the list as I have only played up to Zelda: Link's Awakening, but the only locks for me are the original Zelda, A Link To The Past, and [probably] Ocarina of Time. To my knowledge, Zelda II's music has not been used much in later games, so I'm guessing it got on the list due to popularity. If that's the case for some of the other Zelda games, then we may have to consider putting a limit on the number of games a franchise can use to represent its music on the "VGM Canon" list.

Clock Tower - The original Clock Tower was probably one of the first survival horror games, but was definitely overlooked by most, I suspect. It's definitely not the most recognizable survival horror game series despite having 4-5 games in its collection. I do not think the music to the first game is something that would do well on its own merit, either.

Call of Duty: World at War/Modern Warfare 2 - I have only played Modern Warfare 2, so I cannot give a fair opinion on what I think of the music to the entire series on a whole, but from what I have heard from Modern Warefare 2, I would have to pass on it. Modern Warfare 2 is a decent game, but even as I write this post, I cannot recall a single song from the game (at least in its entirety).

REZ - This game could only make the grade through its significance to game music history as the game itself is relatively unknown and the soundtrack isn't that great on its own. I'm not too familiar with the concept of synesthesia, but the use of musical effects in place of standard sound effects for a shooter is pretty unique.

Tekken 3 - I'm going to go out on a very large, thick limb here and say that the Tekken series was the first popular 3D versus fighting series on a home console. I'm also fairly certain that the height of the series popularity involved Tekken 3 as well as Tekken 2 (its predecessor) and Tekken Tag (its successor). My biggest problem with the music to the Tekken series, in general, is that there really are no reoccuring [character] themes like you would find in most other versus fighting game franchises, so the music isn't as memorable as say the Street Fighter, Samurai Spirits, or even the Asuka 120% series. That aside, if I had to throw in one Tekken soundtrack onto this list, it would probably be the Playstation soundtrack for Tekken 2; the Playstation soundtrack for Tekken 3 would be a close second. Nomination through qualification A or B (Tekken 2, Playstation version).

Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone - Yggdra Union (including its spin-off, Yggdra Unison), along with Rivera: The Promised Land and Knights in the Nightmare, belong to the relatively new Dept. Heaven series. The series has limited itself to handheld systems for the time being, so the popularity of the series is not as large as some well-established console RPG series, but it does have a following. The audio for the games is one reason for that as it does have a similar feeling to the music for the Ys series. By that I mean each soundtrack has several energetic songs while also maintaining an old school vibe to it. Most [Dept. Heaven] songs are not as "complex" as the ones found on Ys arrange albums, but I think the Dept. Heaven soundtracks are more entertaining than most of the orchestrated-heavy soundtracks that have been produced for recent games. I would like to see a Dept. Heaven game on the "VGM Canon" list, and even if it isn't added now, I expect that it would be sometime in the future as the series grows. Actually, if the "just released" Yggdra Unison soundtrack is any good, I'll try and make a better argument for Yggdra Union, but I believe it will be Rivera that gets added to "VGM Canon".

Valkyria Chronicles - This is one of those instances where I would say "no" to Vakyria Chronicles solely on the basis that there might be a few strategy roleplaying games with more memorable music and/or belong to a series that is more popular than Valkyria Chronicles. Strategy roleplaying games are known for having primarly orchestrated soundtracks, so Valkyria Chronicles isn't exactly breaking the mold there. The music itself does not seem more memorable than any soundtrack to a strategy roleplaying game from the 16-Bit era.

Grand Theft Auto should be on there because it was the first to have radio stations. Other games have since copied this idea.

Grand Theft Auto 3 was the first to have a talk radio show. Other games have copied this idea also.


some others:

metal gear solid.
metal gear solid 2
metal gear solid 3
metal gear solid 4

Lair
Super Smash Bros Brawl

Final Fantasy Crisis Core

Lost Odyssey

Suikoden Series
Wild Arms Series
Dynasty Warriors
Star Ocean Series
Resident Evil
Dragon Quest
Guilty Gear X
Silent Hill 1, 2, 3.



Final Fantasy XIII

Bayoneeta

Disidia Final Fantasy

Kingdom Hearts 1, 2
Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections
Distant Worlds music from Final Fantasy
ff Piano Collections
The black mages

Tekken 3,4,5,6.

Vagrant Story
Jet Set Radio Future

Halo 3

Ridge Racer

Awesome posts! I want to write detailed, point-by-point responses to honor the work you all put in. However, I'm out of time for tonight. I'll be back with more to say soon. But I want to raise one thing for discussion: Lackadaisical made a really interesting point about limiting entries from a series (with specific reference to Zelda). I can see both sides of that, and I'm not sure how I feel. What do you all think?

About Twilight Princess: I enjoyed playing the game very much, and it's one of the best Zelda games available. However, I don't think it deserves to be on the list of best sound tracks. Oddly enough, I looked up the sound track on youtube today, and I found that it wasn't as enjoyable by itself. I did enjoy the sound while playing the game, and there were some very nice compositions in the game, but the music itself wasn't the best I've ever heard. What made the sounds great to me was the in game sound effects and the atmospheric feel of the music. It really blended well with the environments, and made the game more enjoyable, but that's just me.

That said, I don't think that TP should be included in the best video game sound tracks of all time. There are plenty of other zelda games out there with very memorable sound tracks. We don't need every single one of them. Although I wouldn't object to picking a few of the best tracks from the game and listing them.


tl;dr version: TP has good sound, but the music doesn't measure up to the best sound tracks of all time. If there's nice arguments for keeping it and removing it, leave a few of the most memorable songs.

But I want to raise one thing for discussion: Lackadaisical made a really interesting point about limiting entries from a series (with specific reference to Zelda). I can see both sides of that, and I'm not sure how I feel. What do you all think?Compare them not with each other, but against the other sound tracks. If each game brings new and interesting music to this list, and none of them are below the quality of the other sound tracks on the list, then keep twenty games with the same title as long as they've all got great music.

With this list, that probably means some should probably be removed. Seven Zelda games seems silly, considering most people know the music from OoT. Deciding what ones to remove is the hard part.

Maybe create a list of the best tracks from that series and just link to that play list instead of the individual games?



In other news, I was very happy to see cave story on this list. I'm also going to have a lot of new music to listen to. Thanks for assembling this list, although it still has some work needed.

Going to focus on some of the nominations made by 140.48 this time around:

Grand Theft Auto series - We will probably need various opinions on this, but I think the only Grand Theft Auto (GTA) soundtracks that can be nominated are the soundtracks for the original GTA and GTA2. Every Grand Theft Auto game following GTA2 relies more[heavily] on licensed music and that's not something that I would consider "game music". The talk show aspect is not necessarily music, but the idea of being able to "change" music in-game might be noteworthy if it was the first game to implement that concept.

Metal Gear Solid series - Although we have the original Metal Gear soundtrack already listed (I would have gone with the MSX version), the original Metal Gear Solid was probably more suited as the best overall choice for this list. The game ignited interest in the Metal Gear series as a whole, and even though its soundtrack was a bit on the "short" side, it still provided arguably the most memorable soundtrack of the series. Notable are the opening and closing themes featured in the "End Title / The Best Is Yet Come". Then there's the combat theme, "Duel", and for good measure, "Cavern" is pretty sweet as well. All of these can be heard on the Metal Gear Solid Original Game Soundtrack. The nomination could go through Qualification A and possibly Qualification B.

Lair - My feelings about Lair's soundtrack are somewhat similar to those that I posted for Valkyria Chronicles: There's just too much orchestrated music without a whole lot of melodies that are memorable. I will admit that I am biased against orchestra-heavy soundtracks for console games that came out after the fifth generation, but I would sooner take the music from a Panzer Dragoon game (a dragon-riding rail shooter) over Lair's soundtrack.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl - I'm going to assume that the soundtrack for Super Smash Bros. Brawl is very similar to Smash Bros. Melee in that it's mostly remixed tracks from various games. If that's the case, then I would be against the nomination as its music is essentially an arranged, "best of" compilation soundtrack. That aside, it probably is an amazing soundtrack

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII - In my last post I suggested that we should limit the number of representatives for a franchise; especially to those soundtracks that are added through Qualification A. The Final Fantasy series was the reason I emphasized the "Qualification A" part as it is one very popular franchise (we currently have 11 soundtracks on the list for Final Fantasy). As for Crisis Core, I would have a hard time justifying the inclusion of a soundtrack to a spin-off game over a soundtrack to one of the games included in the main series. Morever, most of the better, more memorable tracks in Crisis Core are lifted from the original Final Fantasy VII score.

Lost Odyssey - The soundtrack to this game was surprisingly better than I had expected with some above average compositions and varied instrumentation. However, I would not consider it one of the better soundtracks I've heard, and being one of Uematsu's scores, it will almost always be seen as a relatively weaker effort compared to most of his Final Fantasy works. If not for Lost Odyssey currently being a standalone title, I would consider giving this a larger push.

Wild Arms series - My next post was initially going to focus on games that I felt were worthy of being nominated and Wild Arms was one of the first soundtracks that came to mind. Much like the setting, the music to Wild Arms is relatively unique in that it has an underlying "Western" vibe to it. As such, acoustic guitars, whistles, and harmonicas have been the signature instruments for the series. The composition for the series, especially the first three games, is usually held in high regards. So with that said, I'm going to nominate the original Wild Arms soundtrack (which debuted in 1996) under Qualification B as it is the first of its series and because of it diversifies the list with some great Western-based compositions while being an overall great soundtrack. The following songs off the Wild Arms Complete Tracks will give you some idea of what Wild Arms brings to the table: "To the End of the Wilderness", "Critical Hit!", "From Axiety to Impatience", "Migrant Bird of the Wilderness", "Ballad of the Shadow Wolf", "Town", and "The Way Back".

Guilty Gear X (Dreamcast) - This is another game I was planning on bringing up for nomination: A popular versus fighting game with a rock-heavy soundtrack with decent melodies. The Dreamcast version of Guilty Gear X has long been considered to be one of the best examples of the Guilty Gear sound with its arranged soundtrack comprised of actual instruments. With Guilty Gear's popularity rivaling Street Fighter and The King of Fighters, it could definitely be nominated through Qualification A. Likewise, I feel the soundtrack to Guilty Gear X is strong enough to be nominated through Qualification B. For examples of Guilty Gear X's music, please check out the following tracks on the Guilty Gear X Heavy Rock Tracks ~ The Original Soundtrack of Dreamcast: "Awe of She", "Blue Water, Blue Sky", "Still in the Dark", "Momentary Life", and "Write In Pain".

Dissidia: Final Fantasy - As with the score for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, I would object to the inclusion of this soundtrack on the basis that it's mostly a "best of" soundtrack featuring battle tunes from prior Final Fantasy games in the main series.


EDIT: I will get to the others when I have some more spare time.

Crap Double Post.

Hello all,

I hope you're doing well. Some news: I'm working on organizing the nominations tonight. By my rough count, we have about 50 nominations currently, which is excellent, but also way too many for me to remember, "Oh, right. This person wanted it on the list, but that person didn't," which is how I've run this thread in the past. So I'm creating some tables and lists in a Word .doc, and I'm going to get us all on the same page soon.

In the meantime, thank you for your continued participation and, more importantly, your patience. You all are awesome (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qae_TUTeGo)!


P.S. I'm going to evaluate every soundtrack on the list, too, to make sure they all should be there.


P.P.S. As I'm going through the list, I'm seeing some things that maybe don't deserve to be in the canon. If you see any soundtracks like that, let me know.

Well, it took me four nights. But I re-read every post and catalogued every nomination and every vote. We currently have 85 nominations waiting. :shock: And I'm not exactly sure yet how to proceed, although I want to go about this in a more organized way than I have before. Regardless, I'm ready to dive back in, if you all are. :D So I'm going to start big with soundtracks that I think will be familiar to most people. Let's get back to this!

At least, in one second. Before I start, let me say again that I'm so sorry this has taken me so long. I turned in my thesis (which I'd been working on for 10 months) in February, then had my defense in March, then had revisions due in April. It was the culmination of 14 years of dreaming about getting my Master's and working towards that goal, so it had to be my priority. And it was so unbelievably stressful that I really couldn't focus on anything else. But I hope we can attract some attention back to this thread, because it was always an important one to me--not to mention that I have a lot of ideas about how to improve it that we'll get to when the time is right.

Okay, let's cover some of the bigger nominations...

1.) Ys Book I and II (Thread 39734) - Lackadaisical has already made (http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1430815&postcount=110) an excellent case for its inclusion. I also think it deserves to be on the list for reasons A and B, at least, if not C as well. That gives it three votes for "Yes."

2.) Phantasy Star IV (Thread 39734) - Same deal. Lackadaisical has made the case (http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1438596&postcount=113) for it, and I agree. This has three votes for "Yes" and one vote for "No."

3.) GoldenEye 007 (http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/121) - This falls under category A as a benchmark FPS that's considered a classic. It has three votes for "Yes."

4.) Metal Gear Solid (Thread 39734) - Another benchmark title that falls under category A. When I first started this thread two years ago, I doubt I had heard the MGS soundtracks. But when MGS became a theme for the VGM Rumble, I listened to all of the soundtracks. I'll be talking about them more later. But just limiting ourselves to MGS 1, I think we have a quality addition. This has three votes for "Yes."

These 4 all seem worthy and have enough votes to go on the list. Do you all agree? If so, we'll move into dicier territory. :zillayay:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some apologies and extra thoughts...

P.S. Sorry I screwed up on Silent Hill 2 and 3 and listed them under "PSX." That has been corrected.

P.P.S.
Maybe create a list of the best tracks from that series and just link to that play list instead of the individual games?I want this thread to attempt something different than that. But my buddy Link006 is doing what you're talking about in this thread (Thread 58397), which is well worth checking out.

P.P.P.S.
In other news, I was very happy to see cave story on this list. I'm also going to have a lot of new music to listen to. Thanks for assembling this list.You are very, very welcome! :D

I never did have a N64 so I dunno how good GoldenEye is (but I have played it at a friend's house, but never gotten a real taste of it). I, for one, hate FPS games.

But yes, I am for the other 3 up there.
- I really never had the system that Ys first came upon, but when I heard it, I was like... "this doesn't sound like bleeps and boops to me, it feels like 'real' music"... the music was so good, I went and bought the OST
- Phantasy Star IV... I love the music especially the title.
- Metal Gear Solid, I bought the OST for it... because it was that good.

---

One game that had really good music is "Headhunter". First appeared on the Dreamcast, then re-released on the PS2. The 2nd game's OST wasn't really good.

I also liked "Lemmings" music, but it's more of various artists though. "She'll be coming around the mountain when she comes... she'll"---it... got me singing the dam song again

Thanks to Arthur for bringing this back!

Also I think it is important to point out that this discussion ONLY pertains to music; not the actual quality of the game. We are only caring about what it sounds like.

As far as Twilight Princess' inclusion, as a Zelda fan, I think TP has the best music in the series (Overworld theme, Hidden Village, Midna's Theme just to name a few noteworthy tracks) plus the historical significance of being the last AAA title released for GCN and one of the first to launch for Wii. At the time, Zelda: TP was given a LOT of credit for the Wii's initial launch success which was not universally predicted.

As far as the limiting the number of games from a series into the canon, I don't think that fits how the canon works. I'm no English major or student of the arts, but I'm sure there are certain canon for written works. Would you cap the number of entries from Shakespeare because they were from Shakespeare? Or the number of movies from Hitchcock because he made them? Or the number of books from X, or Y or Z.... I don't think that's a good reason.

Obviously, I am biased... look at my avatar; I'm never going to be in favor of removing Zelda. :) I'm also not proposing that these games are on the same level as other forms of art (though there's a great discussion by the Game Overthinker on this subject: http://gameoverthinker.blogspot.com/ ; you may have to click the ScrewAttack link at the bottom).

Finally, I think the GH Hall of Fame is dead; there just wasn't enough participation. It was a design problem because after you make your original votes, there really isn't an incentive to keep checking back. If I have time, I may try to redesign it to promote return customers like the Rumbles do.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts! I think a week has probably been sufficient time to discuss these four. Since a majority opposition hasn't sprung up, each of these will be added:

- GoldenEye 007
- Metal Gear Solid
- Phantasy Star IV
- Ys Book I and II

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I think it's best to continue with the nominations that have received the most attention. Far and away, the most frequently nominated soundtrack is Super Smash Bros. Brawl. That has come up five times and has consistently been rejected because it is almost exclusively a collection of remixes of songs from older games. I still think that's a fair reason for rejection, and I'd like to use that same justification to reject:

1) Final Fantasy: Dissidia - These are remixes.

2) Final Fantasy: Distant Worlds - These are live performances.

3) Final Fantasy Piano Collections - These are piano arrangements.

4) The Black Mages albums - These are arrangements.

5) Kingdom Hearts Piano Collections - These are piano arrangements.

More pointedly, #2-5 deserve to be rejected because they're not the soundtracks to video games.

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I'd also like to do a final vote on other soundtracks that have already received several votes:

6) Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean (Thread 37088) - A mid-90s RPG for the Sega Saturn that was nominated under B (one of the greatest vgm soundtracks of all time). Without strong support, it will be rejected. This has one vote for "Yes" and four votes for "No."

7) The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Thread 72984) - This was also nominated under B. It seems on the verge of making the canon. It has two votes for "Yes" and one vote for "No."

8) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Thread 38206) - This was added to the canon early on under category A (the soundtrack for a game that is hugely popular or important) but came under scrutiny. Without a majority of votes for rejection, it will remain on the canon. So far it has three votes for "Yes" and two votes for "No."

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This probably hasn't been said enough, but any thoughts you have on any of these soundtracks are greatly appreciated. You don't have to comment on all of them. Let me know if you have suggestions, too. Right now the idea is to do a couple soundtracks at a time until we've caught up. I'll keep popping in to keep things moving. Thanks for your help!

Well I proposed Albert Odyssey so my case is pretty much already out there. Though if I could just add that it is one of the better, and few known games from the Saturn itself maybe that would help.

I suspect I've already voted for the two Zelda games, but comparitively for the gameboy I'd say Link's Awakening is much better. Oracle of Season's and Ages are the only other main options and I don't think either of them are half as good.

TP is obviously a fantastic work on the Wii and I would likely second that it is potentially the greatest Zelda OST. The Midi Samples are excellent and all the music is carefully cut and designed to flow.

Additionally, I'd like to propose:

Shantae
-Jake Kaufman
-Gameboy Color

This game was the final title for the gameboy color, as such it is extremely rare and valuable, but also because it was acclaimed for it's excellent and expansive gameplay.
This game is massive and like Zelda, it incorporates music into the gameplay, and as a result, has a massive soundtrack. The cool thing about this soundtrack is that it blends numerous genres of music that you wouldn't think would work on the GBC soundcard. The quality of all the music is really topnotch and I'd say really sets the standard for the max potential of GBC music also. It's a long listen so I'll grab some samples.

"Burning Town"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEp6GFqSgDY

"Harbor Town"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLUZU8Jk9vY&feature=related

"Oasis"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQc6ZhwaiB4&feature=related

"Bandit Town"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4vpqNADIZc&feature=related

It's amazing how many genres you can hear: it's like arabian hip hop with some techno and blues riffs.

Albert's Odyssey... I can't think of one song that sticks to my head atm. Saturn games huh? Guardian Heroes, Burning Rangers, hmm what else...

As for Link's Awakening & Twilight Princess... I 'never' played any of them.

---

Super Smash Brothers Brawl? I like all of the remixed songs of "I saw a legend" (forgot what it was in Latin again, it is remixed a lot in that game... though there are 'other' songs I liked in the OST that isn't remixed as well) and Master Hand Battle.

When's the Shantae remake for the DSi coming out btw?

All I can find is Q2, which I assume to be second quarter. WHatever that means.

Thanks to everyone for your participation! Here are the results:

The Legend of Zelda: Link�s Awakening will be added.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess will remain on the list.

The others have been rejected.

That took a good chunk out of the list of nominations, so thank you for taking on 8 soundtracks at a time. We�re now down to 79. So let�s keep going. :zillawalk:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sidenote: I�m still choosing the biggest and most popular nominations to deal with at first. But I will include some more of the recent nominations as well. This time we�re voting on�

Shenmue II (Thread 39734) � The original Shenmue is already on the list, and I tend to like this one better. However, this soundtrack became a point of contention early in the canon�s history. It was nominated as one of the greatest vgm soundtracks, and I�d hold up �Sweeping the Temple Wall� as one of the tracks that might justify that claim. However, without strong support it will not be included. It has two votes for �Yes� and two votes for �No.�

Banjo Kazooie (Thread 39734) � Grant Kirkhope�s most famous work, it was nominated as one of the best vgm soundtracks, but could have also been nominated as the soundtrack for a game that is hugely popular. It�s unusual for its heavy use of polka conventions as well as its interactivity. The themes dynamically change style to reflect the environment and dangers to the characters. For example, whenever the main character dives into a body of water, the music changes into a harp arrangement of the main world theme. This technique is not unique to the game, but was still relatively rare at the time of its release and may give some added oomph to its justification for being on the canon. It currently has two votes for �Yes.�

Kingdom Hearts II (Thread 38084) � I doubt this game needs any introduction. It was nominated as the soundtrack for an extremely popular game, but based on its popularity around here could probably have been nominated as one of the greatest vgm soundtracks, too. The first game in the series is already on the list, and this one seems appropriate to add as well. It has two votes for �Yes.�

Valkyria Chronicles (Thread 61601) (YouTube ( http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=9D4813964A37A691)) � This was nominated as one of the greatest vgm soundtracks of all time and as a benchmark soundtrack for the PS3. Info about the game can be found here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valkyria_Chronicles). Thanks to ninjaguydan for making specific song recommendations here (http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1430537&postcount=109). I still need to listen to the rest of the soundtrack, so I'll save my vote for later this week. This has two votes for �Yes� and one vote for �No.�


Please vote "Yes" or "No" on the above four soundtracks. Thanks for your help!

All I can find is Q2, which I assume to be second quarter. WHatever that means.

Divide the months by 4 and you get 3 months each. These 3 months are considered a 'quarter'. If a game is going to be released Q1, then it has a probability of being released from January to March. That's usually how I understand it. Usually, I think they give this much time because sometimes something can go wrong in the final production.

---

Hmm, to be honest, I've never played any of the games 'above' except Valkyria Chronicles. The soundtrack is pretty good and fits the mood of the game. I've also seen the anime, so some tracks have been reused.

Now, I'm getting to a point where we're getting into newer games and now my interests have been starting to diverge. Back then, there weren't a lot of games out, but now, it's getting somewhat a lot. Sure we have good composers and good game developers and most people will play stuff that a lot of people want to play. Though now I'm getting to a thing where, if it's new and recent and somewhat famous, it's going to get somewhat a good decent amount of votes. So, basically, as I'm typing this, I really don't know if I'm getting my point across because I have trouble what I'm try to type.

Esvoide, I understand what you're trying to say, that now we're running the risk of fanboyism, but that just means we have to be extra careful not to be biased. I think even looking at past games we can suffer from that problem simply because of the nostalgia effect. Still, despite that, I think we can do quite fine pulling out some excellent new stuff. For instance, I'd pick Shadow of the Colossus over Biohazard Umbrella Chronicles (which I just listened to) anyday, even if I was a big fan of the Biohazard series.

Also as to the idea that there are more games now, that also isn't very true. There were tons of games back then, but the market for video game music just didn't hit america, or japan until the late 80's. There also was not as much promotion and mechanisms for displaying games back then because there was no internet for the public. In fact, there were so many (shitty) games that the market crashed around 84.

--
thanks for explaining the quarters, it's been awhile since I've taken Economics and tried to forget all of it :s

Shenmue II I'll need to listen to and get back to.

Well I would definitely vote for Banjo because I think it is an impressive soundtrack by Kirkhope, and all of the dynamics in it are excellent (and I think a decent chunk of it was carried into Donkey Kong 64). But the style of it is still very unique and deserving of merit. I think adaptive sound was a well developed tool in N64 games particularly, and this one along with DK and Super Mario 64 and Zelda really did it well.

KH2 Definitely gets my vote. It's an excellent work by Shimomura and I love the vocal song from it also. It's a huge ost and there's tons of quality tracks, and weird disney creations too.

I believe I already voted on Valk

Banjo Kazooie should probably be in there. Valkyria Chronicles as well, I'd say, especially since there are only a couple games from this console generation on the list. It seems to be regarded as a modern classic with most of our (admittedly few) Western videogame critics. I can't vote for or against Kingdom Hearts II since I haven't heard either game's soundtrack, but isn't the second one in large part a retreading of the first? "Passion" is amazing though.

I must propose some glaring omissions from the list. First, Vagrant Story. Highly revered game, most people seem to love the soundtrack as well, and it's universally considered to be one of Sakimoto's landmark works. Next, the Panzer Dragoon series, especially Azel ~Panzer Dragoon RPG. Have you heard this? Really, I don't think I even have to explain this one, it is that loved by those who know it. And Terranigma and Treasure Hunter G are considered to be two of the best Super NES soundtracks, and I'd agree.

I could think of at least one more but I'll stop for deliberation on these.

I would second Terranigma, I even did a review of it, so I can save you guys the linking. It easily has one of the greatest end themes ever.

http://continueonline.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/top-10-soundtracks-terranigma/

Apologies on the hosting though, I'll swap out the links for youtube videos unless you guys already checked.

Doesn't bother me because I know the songs very well. :)

@nothingtosay: No worries. Vagrant Story, Panzer Dragoon, Terranigma, and Treasure Hunter G are all in the pipeline--and I'm very familiar with all of them as well. Do you all want me to post the list of nominations so you can see it?

Eh Might as well if you don't mind to make everything fancy, I mean I don't mind making the post either. Tomorrow I'm going to be gone for a few weeks though, but I should still be able to reach this site.

I haven’t found a way to put a table in vBulletin, so I’m going to do a messy copy/paste job to get the list of nominations to you all. That will be posted very shortly!


I can't vote for or against Kingdom Hearts II since I haven't heard either game's soundtrack, but isn't the second one in large part a retreading of the first?

Thanks for asking that, because I forgot to check how significant that crossover might be. There are several tracks rehashed on the KH2 soundtrack, but there is also a substantial number of new pieces—enough so that I think it merits its own listing. Looks like people agreed, too. :D

After a week, the results are in...

Shenmue II did not get enough votes, so it's out.

However, Banjo Kazooie, Kingdom Hearts II, and Valkyria Chronicles have been added.

Thanks for all your input!

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Next up…

Bubble Bobble (Thread 39734) (YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-pUAK1gR2M)) – A classic game with four songs, but really only one notable one. This caused a big debate back in this thread’s infancy. Does one song merit a place on the list? If you can hum a song from memory 24 years later, does that mean the song was good? Or it just played so many times during the game that you couldn’t avoid memorizing it? It was nominated as one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time. This has one vote for “Yes” and two votes for “No” and without strong support will not be included.
<br>
Sonic Adventure (Thread 58376) – This is a 1998 title for the Dreamcast and GameCube with an array of rock, funk, jazz, electronic, and orchestral music, which helped distance the 3D Sonic from his old sound. Most probably regret this time in the Sonic series, but the music has remained well-respected. The most famous song off it is “Open Your Heart.” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7997StUCDc0) The question is whether it’s one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time. It has two votes for “Yes” and one vote for “No.”
<br>
Metal Gear Solid 2 (Thread 39734) – This was nominated as the soundtrack to a game that is hugely popular or important. It seems to have as important a place in the hearts of Metal Gear fans as the first soundtrack. Notable tracks include Harry Gregson-Williams’ reinterpretation of the “Main Theme” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiPon8lr48U) and the jazzy closing credits song “Can’t Say Goodbye to Yesterday.” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztS6IB0IuWI) This currently has two votes for “Yes.”
<br>
Shantae (Thread 39734) – Ninjaguydan made a strong case for this one here (http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1475599&postcount=124) with links included. I’ll need to listen to the entire soundtrack before I can make a call, but we certainly could use more soundtracks in the handheld games section! This currently has one vote for “Yes.”
<br>
Terranigma (Thread 30315) – Nothingtosay (http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1479436&postcount=131) and Ninjaguydan (http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1479442&postcount=132) have already supplied us with some music samples and significant evidence, and I agree that this one qualifies as one of the greatest soundtracks on the SNES. This already has three votes for “Yes” and barring any serious arguments against it, will make it onto the list.


Please vote "Yes" or "No" on the above five soundtracks. As always, thanks for your help!

Hey guys,

I'm not one to give up easily, but putting a table in vBulletin is a nightmare. The BB code and HTML are at war with one another, and the only way to keep things from imploding is to string the code as a single line of text.

For example, look at this...

[EDIT: this is where a table would appear if it hadn't migrated below my signature. :-\ What the hell?)

[EDIT: Okay. The table just wrapped itself around the "edit" and "quote" buttons and distorted the borders on the entire thread. This is some Ghostbusters shit. I'm completely removing the table for fear of crashing the entire forums. I was about to make a point about the code being too messy. The problem now is that the table seems to want to eat my browser window.]

[Resume broadcast.]

So we're going with Plan B. Just a simple list, without the current number of votes. But it'll at least give you an idea of what's been nominated.


In the order in which they were nominated...
Pokemon Gold/Silver (retracted)
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
Final Fantasy Adventure
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
The Witcher
Tabula Rasa
Mass Effect (retracted)
LOZ: Oracle of S/A
Kirby�s Dream Land
Kirby Super Star
Mega Turrican
Shinobi III
Thunder Force II
Thunder Force III
Feedback
Blast Wind
Thunder Force V
Space Quest
Lost Child
VM Japan
Zwei!!
Ratchet and Clank
Gremlins 2 (retracted)
Sonic Adventure 2
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Metal Warriors
Resident Evil 2
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Perfect Dark
No More Heroes
Clock Tower
Modern Warfare 2
REZ
Tekken 3
Yggdra Union � We�ll Never
Call of Duty: World at War
Phantasy Star
Tekken 2
Riviera: The Promised Land
Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto 3
Metal Gear Solid 3
Metal Gear Solid 4
Lair
Final Fantasy: Crisis Core
Lost Odyssey
Suikoden IV
Suikoden V
Wild Arms
Wild Arms 2
Dynasty Warriors
Star Ocean
Star Ocean 4
Resident Evil
Dragon Warrior
Guilty Gear X
Final Fantasy XIII
Bayonetta
Tekken 4
Tekken 5
Tekken 6
Vagrant Story
Jet Set Radio Future
Halo 3
Ridge Racer
Metal Gear (MSX)
Headhunter
Lemmings
Ristar
Burning Rangers
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Treasure Hunter G
Persona 3
Persona 4
Xenosaga: Episode 1

In alphabetical order...

Bayonetta
Blast Wind
Burning Rangers
Call of Duty: World at War
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin
Clock Tower
Dynasty Warriors
Feedback
Final Fantasy Adventure
Final Fantasy XIII
Grand Theft Auto
Grand Theft Auto 3
Gremlins 2 (retracted)
Halo 3
Headhunter
Jet Set Radio Future
Kirby�s Dream Land
Kirby Super Star
Lair
Legend of Zelda: Oracle of S/A
Lemmings
Lost Child
Lost Odyssey
Mass Effect (retracted)
Mega Turrican
Metal Gear (MSX) (replacement for NES ver.)
Metal Gear Solid 3
Metal Gear Solid 4
Metal Warriors
Modern Warfare 2
No More Heroes
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Perfect Dark
Persona 3
Persona 4
Phantasy Star
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl
Pokemon Gold/Silver (retracted)
Ratchet and Clank
Resident Evil
REZ
Ridge Racer
Ristar
Riviera: The Promised Land
Shinobi III
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Space Quest
Star Ocean
Star Ocean 4
Suikoden IV
Suikoden V
Tabula Rasa
Tekken 2
Tekken 3
Tekken 4
Tekken 5
Tekken 6
The Witcher
Thunder Force II
Thunder Force III
Thunder Force V
Treasure Hunter G
VM Japan
Wild Arms
Wild Arms 2
Xenosaga: Episode 1
Yggdra Union � We�ll Never
Zwei!!


If you see some favorites on there, shout it out and I'll add your vote at any time--not just when we'll be featuring the soundtrack.

Sadly, I have not played Terranigma, but I would actually go for all the soundtracks.

I'm voting "Yes" for Shantae as one of the best soundtracks on its system. I'd qualify that in terms of the quality of the compositions, the technical manipulation, the diversity of genres, and the ambitiousness. Few soundtracks, even today, try for so much. Fewer still succeed. That said, subtlety is not in abundance here, but I can overlook that because a) it's on the Game Boy Color and b) I'll take a funky Arabian Tim-Follin-esque soundtrack over music that's too "precious" any day.

The results are in...

Bubble Bobble did not get enough votes, so it's out.

However, Sonic Adventure, Metal Gear Solid 2, Shantae, and Terranigma have gotten three votes (which seems to be a fair cut-off point, given our average number of votes) and have been added.

Thanks for all your input! Again, the full list of nominations is here (http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1484223&postcount=137). If you want to start a vote on something from that list, just say so. Otherwise, I�ll continue picking the soundtracks that I think will get the most interest.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next up�

Guilty Gear X (Thread 39734) � This is a rock-dominated Dreamcast / PS2-era soundtrack nominated through qualifications A and B. Lackadaisical talks about it here (http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1456159&postcount=117), with recommended songs. I haven�t heard it in a long time, so I�ll have to re-listen to give my vote. But this already has two votes for �Yes.�
<br>
Resident Evil 2 (Thread 38084) � This is, of course, the ambient soundtrack to the extremely popular survival/horror game. Lackadaisical talks about it here ( http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1438596&postcount=113), mentioning that this isn�t necessarily stuff you can hum in the shower, but it�s effective in-game. That raises the question: does a soundtrack have to be effective during gameplay and outside of it to be in the canon? Are we judging the music on its own or the music�s relationship to the visuals or both? This currently has two votes for �Yes� and one vote for �No.�
<br>
Dragon Warrior (Thread 68372) � At the risk of repeating myself, this raises the same questions as Bubble Bobble. It has a limited soundtrack, but I could hum the main tune off the top of my head right now. Does one song merit a place on the list? If you can hum a song from memory 20+ years later, does that mean the song was good? Or it just played so many times during the game that you couldn�t avoid memorizing it? It was nominated as one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time. This currently has one vote for �Yes� and one vote for �No.�
<br>
Final Fantasy: Crisis Core (Thread 39734) � Lackadaisical brings up several interesting points here (http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1456159&postcount=117). I really like this soundtrack. I think it�s a fascinating mix of heavy metal, trip-hop, and string quartets that actually works pretty well. Some of the original themes are lovely and get interesting and challenging variations that cross genres, too. But much of it is a re-tread of Final Fantasy VII, and much of it is disposable, too, in my opinion. I don�t think it covers sufficiently new ground to merit a placement on the list, and I�d be more likely to point a newcomer to vgm towards the Guilty Gear soundtracks for heavy metal instead of this one. This has one vote for �Yes� and two votes for �No� and without strong support will not be included.
<br>
Vagrant Story (http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/205) � Nothingtosay already made a strong case for it here (http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1479436&postcount=131). This is a Playstation-era dungeon-crawling RPG with a lot of puzzle-solving. The soundtrack is by Hitoshi Sakimoto and features very thick textures and slow-moving melodies that fit the game�s wet, bleak French architecture and overriding darkness very well. Nothingtosay has also noted an interesting connection between this soundtrack and Kingdom Hearts' here (http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1453172&postcount=94). This has two votes for �Yes,� and I�m inclined to give it one more to clinch. But I want to listen to it again since it�s been a few years.


Please vote "Yes" or "No" on the above five soundtracks. As always, thanks for your help!

Yes for Guilty Gear X.

Yes for Vagrant Story & Resident Evil 2

MegaTen games need to be on that list.

Persona 3/4 for the PS2.
<3

Well seems like I missed a bit after being in Mexico for a month, Im surprised bubble bobble didnt make it but not too bothered.

I would argue yes for DW because it would be futile to say no as all the songs of Dragon Warrior have successive themes based around the first game like the prelude in the final fantasy series. Not to mention much of the music from the game is excellent.

I would strongly argue for crisis core because its one of the first soundtrack to utilize a full drum kit very well while also being new to the field in utilizing a large amount of live guitars. Songs like 'price of freedom' 'flower in the slums' and 'night of seclusion' should be enough. But the string arrangement of the closing theme sounds better to me than a larger portion of the original FF7 soundtrack

Vagrant story I have only listened to a few times but I think it is a solid soundtrack and I'm honestly always inclined to say yes to Sakimoto because he rarely produces poor work. and an older work that makes a benchmark for him would certainly be helpful in a canon for listeners



~Also, not to be prudish guys, but when you vote do you think that you could provide a sentence or two for why, it makes it more helpful in determining the validity of the game I think, and its just more helpful to simon as he works on it too, I think also.

I keep seeing this thread and thinking "I should check this out," so, here I am.

First I would like to suggest adding Xenosaga Episode I. One of my favorite soundtracks, done by Yasunori Mitsuda.
Example tracks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkej74Bmmp0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVG0bCOpWxI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpluvYmlbU4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBjbUPXk2z0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw5eQ5FvPtI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqiSdeyxZFc

The other thing I would like to bring up would be one already on the list: American McGee's Alice. It is listed under "PS1 / N64 / Saturn" but I can't seem to find any mention of it being on anything other than PC. Is this just a mistake, or is it really on one of those systems?

The results are in...


Dragon Warrior (Thread 68372) � At the risk of repeating myself, this raises the same questions as Bubble Bobble. It has a limited soundtrack, but I could hum the main tune off the top of my head right now. Does one song merit a place on the list? If you can hum a song from memory 20+ years later, does that mean the song was good? Or it just played so many times during the game that you couldn�t avoid memorizing it? It was nominated as one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time. This currently has one vote for �Yes� and one vote for �No.�

Yes for Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest). Dragon Quest is too huge of a franchise to not give credit for Koichi Sugiyama's contribution in this first installment. It might be easy to dismiss the simple themes, but they are very effective. I actually like the overworld theme quite a lot, as well as the town theme.

Wolf you're right, American McGee's alice should be under PC, it was never on a console as far as I know.

Ok I'll be honest, I just listened to Vagrant story, and I don't think it's that good. So many of the battle tracks are just toneless I think.

Listen to it again. :laugh:

I actually have seen a few people say it took them more than one listen to warm up to it. I pretty much took to it right away, but it's true that hearing it once isn't really enough to get the full impact of at least some of it. I think "Climax of the Greylands Incident" just kind of goes by on first listen, but once you get a little more familiar... damn, 11 minutes isn't quite enough.

Maybe you won't love it however many times you listen and I wouldn't want you to waste too much time trying, and it's easy to space out during it instead of actively listening since it's relatively ambient. But I think you could find a lot of people to agree it's worth giving it another shot.

Vagrant Story is probably my fauvorite Sakimoto OST.
It goes through all the facets of his style, excepting the ones that he presented on Legaia 2: Duel Saga.
The Music of Sakimoto is always thematic, that's the main reason it never gets to you on the first few times.

Give it another shot.

That I suppose I can do, but that's really your favorite by him? I mean for me it's Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen easily.

It confuses me why people give Sakimoto so much credit for Ogre Battle. He wrote about 12 minutes of music for it. Matsuo wrote 8 minutes and Iwata did the most with 21. Tactics Ogre he wrote a little more than half of and that was the first soundtrack where he and Iwata wrote the mature music they're known for. I think Tactics Ogre is easily much better than Ogre Battle and has pretty much the best work of Iwata's career too.

That I suppose I can do, but that's really your favorite by him? I mean for me it's Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen easily.

I've said probably, not that it is for sure, but I consider it at least in his top 3. Along with Romeo X Juliet & FFT.
Vagrant Story also has the particularity of using a lot of sounds & instruments, that makes it also the soundtrack of Sakimoto that has more sound variety, the kind of melodies it uses it definitely inflenced him on his next works (Valkyria Chronicles comes to mind).
The other thing that makes this work unique, it's that it's his only shot on a dark & mature thematic with also a mature Visual artwork, FFT may had it's great dark & mature storyline, but it's visual artwork disguised it, in Vagrant Story that doesn't happen at all.

The contributions that he gave to Ogre Battle are little but in great quality, but at that time he didn't polished his style IMO.


It confuses me why people give Sakimoto so much credit for Ogre Battle. He wrote about 12 minutes of music for it. Matsuo wrote 8 minutes and Iwata did the most with 21. Tactics Ogre he wrote a little more than half of and that was the first soundtrack where he and Iwata wrote the mature music they're known for. I think Tactics Ogre is easily much better than Ogre Battle and has pretty much the best work of Iwata's career too.

I didn't payed attention on that you know XD, but it's interesting that you've mention it, I should listen to Tactics Ogre more closely.

They've probably give it so much credit for that because Overture & Revolt are two songs that are easy to like, as I've said his style wasn't polished so his music wasn't that thematic at that time IMO.

Ok I'm on my second listen through and I would definitely vote for it this time. I think one of the things that rubbed me wrong initially was the midi male chorus he uses that sounds like machine gun chanting, it's used in Secret of Mana in "Oracle" and I wasn't digging it, but listening more closely to all of the layering, there's a lot to appreciate.

Haha! So you did come around. It's probably only going to get better too.

I think part of the reason it's such a revered soundtrack is that, yeah it takes multiple listens to love it for a lot of people, but even though the game wasn't a blockbuster, the people playing it got to hear it enough times in-game, and with the added context, to appreciate it fully. I'm sure somebody on YouTube uploaded the beginning sequence of the game, the "Greylands Incident". You should check it out, the music is absolutely perfect to the scene.

I'm sure somebody on YouTube uploaded the beginning sequence of the game, the "Greylands Incident". You should check it out, the music is absolutely perfect to the scene.

The prologue where "Conspiracy" is played & then the opening sequence of the game is AMAZING!, there are some badass lines & the storyline flows great.
Though the beginning of the opening sequence is different from the Soundtrack.
In the game it starts with the intro of "Town Center of Le� Monde" then hooking it with "Graylands Incident Climax", Weird Stuff, but it works great.
I love the game & it's soundtrack.

And what are we thinking for Guilty Gear and RE2? I still have to listen to those two. I'm currently listening to Heavy Rain, but once I finish I can give my impression on them.

Don't know about Guilty Gear, but, RE2 is the best soundtrack in the whole series IMO.

*cough* So where are we at the moment? sorry I've been away too. Any new suggestions?

Sorry to be away. I'm going to round up the latest bunch of votes & suggestions and post an update soon. It may take me a few days, though. I'm stuck in a kinda grueling schedule right now. :-\

The results are in...

Final Fantasy: Crisis Core did not get enough votes, so it's out.

However, Guilty Gear X, Resident Evil 2, Dragon Warrior, and Vagrant Story have gotten three or more votes and have been added. American McGee's Alice has also been moved to the PC list.

Thanks for all your input! Again, the full list of nominations is here (http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1484223&postcount=137). If you want to start a vote on something from that list, just let me know. Also, if you want to nominate something, please say why it should be included.

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Next up�

Xenosaga: Episode 1 (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=75103D71E579CE86) � Wolfmaster913 talks about it here (http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1496802&postcount=145), with recommended songs. This has two votes for �Yes.�
<br>
Persona 3 (http://www.youtube.com/user/lovinani7#p/c/5F940A19771CFF18/20/S6sbHnBO0WY) � No reason given for nomination. This has one vote for �Yes.�
<br>
Lost Odyssey (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL-rDuve72I&feature=PlayList&p=0FF1BAEB1AD803AC&index=0&playnext=1) � Nominated as one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time, and one of Uematsu�s best. This has two votes for �Yes� and one vote for �No.�
<br>
Treasure Hunter G (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87BCF9rTmSw) � Nominated as one of the greatest soundtracks of all time. This has two votes for �Yes.�
<br>
Ristar ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT-_5lgJYx4) � Nominated as one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time. Its �Splash Down� made it to the final round of the Aquatic Level Themes rumble, but lost to Metroid Prime�s �Underwater Frigate.� It�s also currently alive in the Genesis rumble. This has one vote for �Yes.�


Please vote "Yes" or "No" on the above five soundtracks. As always, thanks for your help!

For Xenosaga: Ep 1. I vote hell yes, this stuff is absolutely fantastic. I have yet to find a track that I do not like as I listen to it. The composition is excellent, the sound quality is tops, and all of it has a very balanced sound between every track. It's a nice benchmark for the PS2, and another fantastic work out of Mitsuda.

For Persona 3, I say no. The whole soundtrack to me is very dull. The quality isn't bad by any means, but not too much happens in the music and it manages to be solid ambient at the least, but I think out of the series, 4 is probably a better candidate.

For Lost Odyssey: I vote yes. The music for this game is absolutely fantastic. The main theme, the prologue, parting, I just keep finding tracks with amazing composition. This game makes a nice benchmark for the xbox360 and also a statement that Uematsu can still write amazingly post FF.

For Treasure Hunter G: I also say yes. I think this is an excellent soundtrack for the super nintendo that has excellent written music and also uses a diversity of instruments from the snes soundcard also. Not to mention it has like 6 freakin composers.

For Ristar: I say YES for sure. This soundtrack is absolutely bangin. Not only does this OST have fantastic music, but it really embodies the style of the genesis soundcard - something that can funk and has a killer beat (with added vocal samples usually too) - and it's just great music.

Persona 3 - Yes. Although I do agree with ninjaguydan that P4 has a better soundtrack in my opinion, I still think P3 deserves a place.

Ristar - Yes. Thanks to the aquatic rumble for getting my attention with Splash Down, and then the whole soundtrack.

yes for ristar as well. that was a great song.

Wait why not nominate 4 then if it is a better soundtrack. I don't follow why you'd still highlight 3

Yes for Xenosaga, it marked a major turning point on Mitsuda modern work as a composer, not that I liked the Soundtrack though.

No for Persona 3, for no particular reason, I just don't like it.

Yes For Treasure Hunter G, Multiple composers, probably the best use of the SNES soundchip capabilities & many songs are just astounding.

Yes for Ristar, I kinda see it as a turning point on the fun & playful types of soundtracks, this Soundtrack Influenced Crash Bandicoot music in my opinion.

Wait why not nominate 4 then if it is a better soundtrack. I don't follow why you'd still highlight 3

Because, unless I'm completely misinterpretting the point of this thread, it's not about "which is the best soundtrack", more "the best collection of soundtracks". So yes, while I'd rank Persona 4 pretty highly on my list, I still think that P3 is in the acceptable range for this collection, albeit lower down on my list.

Anyway, it looks like it won't matter anyway with at least 2 votes against it. :rolleyes:

Well no, the idea is to pick the best of the best to get a standard for people to listen to. We don't want a collection of 'acceptable music'. If persona has it's own unique style amd 4 is the best representation of it, then it would be the logical choice.

Well I originally thought that, but went with my school of thought since "best of the best" would likely limit everyone's selections to maybe two dozen at most.

Acceptable was a bad choice of word; what I meant was I have my 2-3 dozen "excellent" soundtracks including Persona 4, then great/good ones - where Persona 3 would fit in the great side of the spectrum.

I know for sure if I was voting in that "best only" mentality I wouldn't have said yes for Persona 3 or Ristar. Hell, most of the ones I'd say yes for in that case are likely already on the list.

I would like to nominate Halo Wars (360) and Jersey Devil (PS1)

Halo Wars because I think it is a great title for the 360. Not only because it's a great soundtrack in quality, but also because it's a break for the Halo series I feel. There is a new composer behind the seat and the style is much more soft and ambient, it has its rough and tough spots, but it mostly conveys an emotional and pulling atmosphere than really taking the foreground.

From it I recommend Spirit of Fire (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z89adFGjR3g) . Part of the Problem (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NY5-BxfadE) . and Bad Day Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RVPJ86xlnA) also Through Your Hopes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogWQH6QmyuE&feature=related)

I recommend Jersey Devil because I think it's another high quality soundtrack that makes a great benchmark for what an orchestral soundtrack can sound like on the PS1. The whole thing sounds great, and the composition is top notch.

Jersey Devil - Level End (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq3mOUTm-lk&feature=related)

Boss Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U4dtKpaZwI&feature=related)

Stage 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzBwEoUBckw&feature=related)

RAWR

Yeah, I listened to some Jersey Devil and I was surprised. It's all CD audio, so I downloaded the ISO and I've got the whole soundtrack, I just forgot to listen to it all. :laugh:

*sneeze*

Will update soon. Computer is crash happy and keeping me from doing a lot of stuff.

I'm not that versed in vgm, as I've mostly focused on PSX/PC soundtracks, and have a grand total of only 80 of them, but have heard many throughout my gaming years.

But may I still recommend a few.

My apologies if any of these titles were mentioned in the last 7 pages, I couldn't be bothered searching for each and every one of them.

____________________

Ridge Racer Type 4 - Silhouette Dance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hOjoZAp-jY) | Revlimit Funk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFX_vx-ARYw)
I'd say this one is pretty much a)b)c) material.

Tekken 3 - King (psx ver) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofx66gejGLM) | Yoshimitsu (psx) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-P7t3zPrNw) | Nina Williams (psx) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2CQ3HEcBbc)
I haven't heard a better electric guitar/electronica fusion to date.

I'm a fan of quality electronic music and have heard a lot of it, and I'm telling you, these soundtracks beat the cr*p out of 70% of the albums out there, ever made.
Also, many consider the late 90's to be the golden age of the Namco Sound Team / SamplingMasters.

_____________________

Spider the videogame - Display Cases, Dinosaur Bones (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3DnPJV6bcQ) | Sinks, on the ceiling (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MmftR1x2A0) | Volcano, Model City, Temple (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQJkV5Qg_cI)
A very elusive soundtrack, never published as a stand-alone album, composed by mr. Barry Leitch.
He's a really monumental figure in the videogame music world, and I believe he needs no introduction.
It's a fusion of rock and electronica, in a very creative and quality manner.
The game unfortunately didn't become a classic, and is very underrated.

I've made a thread (http://forums.ffshrine.org/f72/spider-videogame-psx-81225) with the link to the full direct audio rip for your listening pleasure :)

_____________________

Imaginarium (Skullmonkeys part) - Little bonus room (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al0XOLM9FPw) | She reminded me with science (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngajEwTy2d4) | Elevated structure of terror (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2dI3FaJpUk) | The secret egg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEixWBfqLBA)
Imaginarium (The Neverhood part) - Dum Da Dum Doi Doi (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgfzWLP2pPE) | Olley Oxen Free (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ezKiARF3YA) | Operator Plays a Little Pingpong (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiIomFNNNxo)

Neverhood is officially one of the most underrated games in history.
Skullmonkeys' soundtrack is easier on the listeners, while mr. Terry S. Taylor really went bananas on Neverhood (thank God for that!)
Also, one of the most creative soundtracks in history, period.
Sorry, I'm pretty fierce when it comes to this soundtrack, and with full right I believe.
I'd really like to hear constructive counter-arguments for this masterpiece if someone should vote it down :)


That would be all from my amateur little self :)

Not sure if I'm the right person to vote on previous recommendations, having already told you of how many I've actually listened.
I've got even less knowledge on the chronology of the soundtracks, composers, their styles so I really can't go around pointing fingers that easily.
Still, I'd love it if you guys would take my recommendations into consideration, as they're not just personal favorites, but widely accepted classics.

[edit]
Having browsed the thread a bit, I see that Tekken 3 has been voted down. My recommendation still stands though, if anyone's up for a re-trial.
Also, I find it sad that such a little number of people are participating, this makes it seem like a very biased thread to outsiders (don't worry, I've read all the arguments so far, and they're great!)
so I'm not sure how will the final list be received by the general memberlist. The thread needs more manpower! :D


One more little recommendation, this one is actually mr. Leitch's favorite soundtrack of all time, so that should count don't you agree?
Spellbound on C64
In Leitch's words "an amazing piece of music...technically what he did on 3 channels was out of this world"

Ok I listened to Ridge Race and I would definitely accept it because it is excellent work, and the same goes for Spider also. I think they're both good OSTs for the PS and they still sound impressive today.

I would definitely accept both of the Imaginarium OSTs because they are hilarious, absurd, completely unique, and of a great sound quality to boot.

umm, that would be Ridge Racer, not Ridge Race.

I appreciate the feedback and the green light given to them. Hopefully they will find their spot on the first page because they definitely deserve it.

@ace thanks, *r

You're welcome Noiz, now we just need a few more people to comment on them so that they can be officially accepted. The only problem with adding good stuff here is the fluctuation of active members on this topic.

The results are in...

Persona 3 did not get enough votes, so it's out.

However, Xenosaga: Episode 1, Lost Odyssey, Treasure Hunter G, and Ristar have gotten three or more votes and have been added.

Thanks for all your input! Again, the (nearly) complete list of nominations is here (http://forums.ffshrine.org/showpost.php?p=1484223&postcount=137). If you want to start a vote on something from that list, just let me know. Also, if you want to nominate something, please say why it should be included.

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Next up, a big ol� selection to talk about. Some old, some new�
<br>
Tekken 3 (Thread 39734) � noiz talks about it here ( http://forums.ffshrine.org/f63/vgm-canon-54768/4.html#post1553105), with recommended songs. This has two votes for �Yes.�
<br>
Persona 4 (Thread 57800) � Argued to be the best of the already well-regarded Persona series. This has two votes for �Yes.�
<br>
No More Heroes (Thread 49967) � G-Han talks about it here ( http://forums.ffshrine.org/f63/vgm-canon-54768/2.html#post1235373).Nominated as one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time. This has one vote for �Yes.�
<br>
Final Fantasy Adventure (Thread 39734) � ninjaguydan talks about it here ( http://forums.ffshrine.org/f63/vgm-canon-54768/#post1085185). Nominated as historically important. This has one vote for �Yes� and one vote for �No.�
<br>
Halo Wars (Thread 81114) � ninjaguydan talks about it here ( http://forums.ffshrine.org/f63/vgm-canon-54768/4.html#post1535268). Nominated as historically important. This has one vote for �Yes.�
<br>
Neverhood (Thread 66101 ) � noiz talks about it here ( http://forums.ffshrine.org/f63/vgm-canon-54768/4.html#post1553105), with recommended songs. This has two votes for �Yes.�
<br>
Panzer Dragoon Saga (Thread 39734) � nothingtosay talks about this here ( http://forums.ffshrine.org/f63/vgm-canon-54768/3.html#post1479436). Nominated as one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time. This has two votes for �Yes.�
<br>
Sonic 3 & Knuckles (Thread 39734 ) � This was nominated as one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time. This has one vote for �Yes� and one vote for �No.�
<br>
Perfect Dark (Thread 39734) � StillAlive1364 talks about it here ( http://forums.ffshrine.org/f63/vgm-canon-54768/2.html#post1228433), with recommended songs. Nominated as historically important. This has two votes for �Yes� and one vote for �No.�
<br>
Zwei!! (Thread 39734) � Lackadaisical talks about it here ( http://forums.ffshrine.org/f63/vgm-canon-54768/2.html#post1144961). And I�ll say that it has really grown on me. I now listen to several of the songs regularly and find it to have a lot in common with Suikoden�s music. This has two votes for �Yes.�


Please vote "Yes" or "No" on the above five soundtracks. I'll add my votes to the soundtracks, as well as YouTube links, as well as the updates to the OP, soon. As always, thanks for your help!

Not to make our burden bigger, but I realized that we don't have Legend of Mana on the list.

This soundtrack is easily one of the greatest OSTs of all time, not to mention it's a defining piece for the PS1, and it's also an exemplary piece of Shimomura.

World of Mana - YouTube - LEGEND OF MANA - MUSIC SELECTION - 03. World of Mana (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07JIv6J11LE)

Sparling City of Ruin - YouTube - Legend of Mana - Sparkling City Of Ruin (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hkZIqwWug0)

Memory of Running - YouTube - Legend of Mana OST - Memory of Running (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nikNVvJLPl8)

Title Theme - YouTube - Legend of Mana OST - Legend of Mana ~ Title Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBeMTXZ56XY)

Earth Painting - YouTube - Legend of Mana OST - Earth Painting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lif289qdN9o)

I'd vote for Legend of Mana. We can put it up on the block next round. :D

*bump!*

*out of the country* bump

*bump again*

Everyone please vote!

Parasite Eve
Shovel Knight
Fez
Bastion
Kirby's Epic Yarn