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Favourite Videogame Soundtracks pt 1

Today, I’d like to share with you some of my favourite Videogame Soundtracks for a generation of gamers who think the answer has either Band, Hero or Singstar in the title.

Some of these are title tracks that you hear every time you boot up the game and some from early levels that you play over and over. Familiarity may be a big part of why everyone loves them but they have to be good to start with.

First up is Jet Set Radio (AKA Jet Grind Radio)

Jet Set Radio burst forth in 1999 with it’s infectious mix of remixes and Japanese Electronica. Whilst the sequel has has good tunes in its own right, it’s the original that still sounds the business. The game itself is great but it’s the soundtrack that stands the test of time long after the disc has gathered a think layer of dust.

Medal of Honor

Michael Giaccino (who did ALIAS, Lost, Star Trek, etc) contributed one of the finest WWII themes ever and every time you watch Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan, you wish it had this music appended to it. It’s not just the fabulous theme tunes, but the soundtrack is so old skool you, you can see yourself standing dazed on the beaches of Normandy, looking for your arm.

Next up is the Metal Gear Solid soundtracks

The music for the various iterations has been handled by several of Konami’s internal artists with many of the later games using Harry Gregson-Williams, a respected action-movie composer. The original theme tune is still my favourite though it similarity to a traditional Russian piece of music has meant it is MIA from MGS4.

Donkey Kong Country

Rare appears on lists of best music rather more than they do on lists of best games. But their back catalogue is spectacular. I love the main DK theme but it’s actually the first level music I like the most (mainly from its use in DK64)

Duke Nukem

This is the Megadeth version of the theme tune. Sometimes I find the best way to find out how good an 8bit song is to see if people can update with modern synths/real instruments and not sound worse. This is one case where the original was attempting something very particular with limited hardware.

Guitaroo Man

Catchy as all fuck. Like syphillus in a Bangkok brothel.

Banjo Kazooie

Rare again. About the only thing I liked about Nuts and Bolts was the way the music was redone without the limitations of system memory and MIDI.

Katamari Damacy

This tune brings a smile on my dial whenever I hear it. The game may have gone from masterful to just meh but this music is fantastic. I will never buy a J Pop album but these songs are tempting.

Voodoo Vince

What? Well Voodoo Vince was a decent platformer from Microsoft for the original Xbox with a beautiful New-Orleans style jazz soundtrack. I don’t normally like New-Orleans style jazz soundtracks but this a good ‘un.

Still Alive (Portal)

Big shock this is here. I also like the theme music from TF2 despite despising the game.

No One Lives Forever

so TF2 shows I like faux 60′s spy themes. Sue me.

In the same vein- Space Channel 5

It’s actually remixed 1000 times in Space Channel 5, but Mexican Flyer is by Ken Woodman and His Piccadilly Brass circa 1966.

And how could you not have:

Samba De Amigo

This kind of breaks the rule but I like how music in games can make you like something you previously hated. I despised Samba De Janeiro when it was a huge summer hit in Europe around 97/98. yet I liked it when it was on the Dreamcast. I’d never listen to Offspring, but I can’t image Crazy Taxi without them. And I can’t play Tony Hawk 1 or 2 without those songs.

Yes, I also love Mario and Zelda tunes, but you’ve heard them all a million times anyway. We’ll hear from Cameron in time when he shares his picks. That will be in about two months time once we finish swapping floppies