Classic soundtracks!

Corazon de Leon wrote:Especially nowadays where there are entire sub-genres of “proper” music dedicated to sounding like a Super Nintendo game.

Probably just the games I grew up with and maybe the younger generation feels the same about N64 MIDI, but now that I think about it it’s not just Chrono Trigger - it’s games like LttP as well. While NES chiptunes still have a beautiful clear quality to them, the SNES was trying to do ‘proper’ instruments and I just don’t think they’ve aged well on the whole. It’s like SNES visuals (2D sprites or very basic polygons, different enough from current graphics that they’re ‘retro’ rather than ‘shite’) compared with N64 ones. The GBA has the same problem: I loved the following piece when I was younger, for example.



Can’t get past the awful grainy quality to the sound now (and they stuffed it in the remake). There are still tracks from GBA/SNES games that I think just about hold up, but they’re despite the sound set and in a minority.

did you do that on purpose?

Maybe. I hate the Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire remix they did, though, but Mikel's Poke & Chill Remix is spot on.



But since this isn't the thread for that, I do think the original is still good.

I discovered this via switch online

Spindash wrote:

No idea of the game but that sounds great.

To respond to previous discussion - some of my favorite game music is without the context of me actually playing the game proper:



But I also don't agree that game music is always just music. I agree that it's too varied to just lump as a genre, and that melody and so on translate across whatever their source medium was.

But I also think there are a few trends I like, a lot of what I like about game music is its persistence, the repetitive loops (often back grounding player play) and sense of being an accompaniment instead of a front-and-center song in itself to be wrapped up in 3-minutes.

EDIT: But yes I suppose that's still music!

Corazon de Leon wrote:I don’t understand why people make a distinction between “game music” and “music,” if I’m completely honest. If you like a tune it doesn’t really matter what the source was. Especially nowadays where there are entire sub-genres of “proper” music dedicated to sounding like a Super Nintendo game.

Absolutely - game music is music. I don't think I articulated myself very well in my longpost, as I didn't mean to argue otherwise!

What I wanted to say was: sometimes I wonder if the game music that I think is great music, is actually not much good, but I like it because of the positive associations I have with it. It must happen (otherwise the first page of this thread wouldn't have been Sonic tunes!) but no one thinks it happens to them...

Dandle in the Wind wrote:What I wanted to say was: sometimes I wonder if the game music that I think is great music, is actually not much good, but I like it because of the positive associations I have with it. It must happen (otherwise the first page of this thread wouldn't have been Sonic tunes!) but no one thinks it happens to them...

It definitely happens. One of my favourite pieces in gaming is the opening 'level' of Celeste (the entire soundtrack's belting), but that's only because it gels so well with the gameplay. I'd like to think it happens less to me because I have some form of musical background outside gaming, but I could be talking out of my bottom on that one.

On the other hand, there are pieces of music where I've never played the game, or even don't like the game, but love the tunes. Case in point:



More obscure case in point:

Alvin Flummux wrote:

I actually think that one holds up reasonably well! Here's another example from another game where it doesn't. Used to be one of my favourites.

Dandle in the Wind wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:I don’t understand why people make a distinction between “game music” and “music,” if I’m completely honest. If you like a tune it doesn’t really matter what the source was. Especially nowadays where there are entire sub-genres of “proper” music dedicated to sounding like a Super Nintendo game.

Absolutely - game music is music. I don't think I articulated myself very well in my longpost, as I didn't mean to argue otherwise!

What I wanted to say was: sometimes I wonder if the game music that I think is great music, is actually not much good, but I like it because of the positive associations I have with it. It must happen (otherwise the first page of this thread wouldn't have been Sonic tunes!) but no one thinks it happens to them...

I was assuming that at least some of those Sonic suggestions were intended ironically...

Jenuall wrote:

Dandle in the Wind wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:I don’t understand why people make a distinction between “game music” and “music,” if I’m completely honest. If you like a tune it doesn’t really matter what the source was. Especially nowadays where there are entire sub-genres of “proper” music dedicated to sounding like a Super Nintendo game.

Absolutely - game music is music. I don't think I articulated myself very well in my longpost, as I didn't mean to argue otherwise!

What I wanted to say was: sometimes I wonder if the game music that I think is great music, is actually not much good, but I like it because of the positive associations I have with it. It must happen (otherwise the first page of this thread wouldn't have been Sonic tunes!) but no one thinks it happens to them...

I was assuming that at least some of those Sonic suggestions were intended ironically...

I genuinely believe that the Sonic 2 soundtrack is close to the pinnacle of classic-era gaming soundtracks.

Corazon de Leon wrote:

Jenuall wrote:

Dandle in the Wind wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:I don’t understand why people make a distinction between “game music” and “music,” if I’m completely honest. If you like a tune it doesn’t really matter what the source was. Especially nowadays where there are entire sub-genres of “proper” music dedicated to sounding like a Super Nintendo game.

Absolutely - game music is music. I don't think I articulated myself very well in my longpost, as I didn't mean to argue otherwise!

What I wanted to say was: sometimes I wonder if the game music that I think is great music, is actually not much good, but I like it because of the positive associations I have with it. It must happen (otherwise the first page of this thread wouldn't have been Sonic tunes!) but no one thinks it happens to them...

I was assuming that at least some of those Sonic suggestions were intended ironically...

I genuinely believe that the Sonic 2 soundtrack is close to the pinnacle of classic-era gaming soundtracks.

Oh don't get me wrong, Sonic has some brilliant, brilliant tracks in his back catalogue (and I agree that Sonic 2 is up there with the best ) ... but some of those suggested in here are not the ones that I would be picking out personally!

He’s called ‘Sonic’ for a reason.

Jenuall wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:

Jenuall wrote:

Dandle in the Wind wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:I don’t understand why people make a distinction between “game music” and “music,” if I’m completely honest. If you like a tune it doesn’t really matter what the source was. Especially nowadays where there are entire sub-genres of “proper” music dedicated to sounding like a Super Nintendo game.

Absolutely - game music is music. I don't think I articulated myself very well in my longpost, as I didn't mean to argue otherwise!

What I wanted to say was: sometimes I wonder if the game music that I think is great music, is actually not much good, but I like it because of the positive associations I have with it. It must happen (otherwise the first page of this thread wouldn't have been Sonic tunes!) but no one thinks it happens to them...

I was assuming that at least some of those Sonic suggestions were intended ironically...

I genuinely believe that the Sonic 2 soundtrack is close to the pinnacle of classic-era gaming soundtracks.

Oh don't get me wrong, Sonic has some brilliant, brilliant tracks in his back catalogue (and I agree that Sonic 2 is up there with the best ) ... but some of those suggested in here are not the ones that I would be picking out personally!

Sorry I should’ve disclaimed that I agree wholeheartedly that the stuff on page one is largely shite.

Jenuall wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:

Jenuall wrote:

Dandle in the Wind wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:I don’t understand why people make a distinction between “game music” and “music,” if I’m completely honest. If you like a tune it doesn’t really matter what the source was. Especially nowadays where there are entire sub-genres of “proper” music dedicated to sounding like a Super Nintendo game.

Absolutely - game music is music. I don't think I articulated myself very well in my longpost, as I didn't mean to argue otherwise!

What I wanted to say was: sometimes I wonder if the game music that I think is great music, is actually not much good, but I like it because of the positive associations I have with it. It must happen (otherwise the first page of this thread wouldn't have been Sonic tunes!) but no one thinks it happens to them...

I was assuming that at least some of those Sonic suggestions were intended ironically...

I genuinely believe that the Sonic 2 soundtrack is close to the pinnacle of classic-era gaming soundtracks.

Oh don't get me wrong, Sonic has some brilliant, brilliant tracks in his back catalogue (and I agree that Sonic 2 is up there with the best ) ... but some of those suggested in here are not the ones that I would be picking out personally!

Spindash wrote:

Jenuall wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:

Jenuall wrote:

Dandle in the Wind wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:I don’t understand why people make a distinction between “game music” and “music,” if I’m completely honest. If you like a tune it doesn’t really matter what the source was. Especially nowadays where there are entire sub-genres of “proper” music dedicated to sounding like a Super Nintendo game.

Absolutely - game music is music. I don't think I articulated myself very well in my longpost, as I didn't mean to argue otherwise!

What I wanted to say was: sometimes I wonder if the game music that I think is great music, is actually not much good, but I like it because of the positive associations I have with it. It must happen (otherwise the first page of this thread wouldn't have been Sonic tunes!) but no one thinks it happens to them...

I was assuming that at least some of those Sonic suggestions were intended ironically...

I genuinely believe that the Sonic 2 soundtrack is close to the pinnacle of classic-era gaming soundtracks.

Oh don't get me wrong, Sonic has some brilliant, brilliant tracks in his back catalogue (and I agree that Sonic 2 is up there with the best ) ... but some of those suggested in here are not the ones that I would be picking out personally!

For the record, I love Sonic Adventure 2's music much more than I should.

Corazon de Leon wrote:

Spindash wrote:

Jenuall wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:

Jenuall wrote:

Dandle in the Wind wrote:

Corazon de Leon wrote:I don’t understand why people make a distinction between “game music” and “music,” if I’m completely honest. If you like a tune it doesn’t really matter what the source was. Especially nowadays where there are entire sub-genres of “proper” music dedicated to sounding like a Super Nintendo game.

Absolutely - game music is music. I don't think I articulated myself very well in my longpost, as I didn't mean to argue otherwise!

What I wanted to say was: sometimes I wonder if the game music that I think is great music, is actually not much good, but I like it because of the positive associations I have with it. It must happen (otherwise the first page of this thread wouldn't have been Sonic tunes!) but no one thinks it happens to them...

I was assuming that at least some of those Sonic suggestions were intended ironically...

I genuinely believe that the Sonic 2 soundtrack is close to the pinnacle of classic-era gaming soundtracks.

Oh don't get me wrong, Sonic has some brilliant, brilliant tracks in his back catalogue (and I agree that Sonic 2 is up there with the best ) ... but some of those suggested in here are not the ones that I would be picking out personally!

For the record, I love Sonic Adventure 2's music much more than I should.

Same, it's got some great songs, plus the cheesy stuff like Pumpkin Hill is just the right kind of cheesy!

Off the top of my head City Escape, Metal Harbor and Green Forest are three excellent tunes from SA2.