What are y'all's all time favourite game OSTs?

strudel6242@beehaw.org to Gaming@beehaw.org – 30 points –

Personally, I'm a huge fan of Hollow Knight, Ori and the (Blind Forest/Will of the Wisps), and Kingdom Hearts. Orchestral soundtracks are just something else...

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I really vibe with Minecraft. The nostalgia just hits different when I listen to it.

NieR: Automata

The Weight of the World

Japanese version!! Like dang the emotion the singer carried into the song and the director allowed it to go official. It bring tears to my old soul more than the story itself.

I have so many favorites, Ori soundtracks are amazing, Kingdom Hearts, Genshin Impact, Minecraft

For more lighthearted yet genius silliness though: Part Time UFO

Not really a game but a visual Novel everyone needs to read and listen to: Umineko

I never realized that Minecraft used an outside musician for their songs. I always thought it was in house until one night my wife was listening to one of her sleepy time playlists and it suddenly started playing a Minecraft song. I asked why she was listening to Minecraft and she had no idea what I was talking about since she had never played the game. I checked her phone and sure enough it was on the artist's album and not on a Minecraft one.

For focused work:

  • Shenzhen IO
  • Exapunks
  • Opus Magnum
  • Into the Breach
  • Firewatch
  • IXION

Other:

  • Blue Archive Symphony
  • 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim Branched Remix
  • Minecraft
  • Stardew Valley
  • Spelunky
  • Undertale
  • Hades
  • Helltaker
  • Kirby

There are so many good game soundtracks listed in this tread!

Here are some of my favorites:

  • Chrono Trigger
  • Diablo II
  • Elden Ring
  • Final Fantasy <insert number> (and pretty much anything by Nobuo Uematsu)
  • Hades (and all of the Supergiant Games soundtracks)
  • NieR: Automata
  • Witcher III

Xenoblade 2, Xenosaga 2, Sonic 3 and Knuckles, Final Fantasy 6, Octopath 2, Jet Set Radio Future 😎

Far too many to list, but Final Fantasy IX's soundtrack is a tremendous work of art, and a perfect final bow for Nobuo Uematsu from the series. It's always stuck with me among nearly ever other soundtrack.

Notable Mentions (in no order):

  • Sonic 2 and 3&K
  • Hotline Miami 1 & 2
  • Street Fighter 2
  • Nier Automata
  • Castlevania (Whole Damn Series)
  • Donkey Kong Country & 2
  • Doom I & II
  • Undertale
  • Freedom Planet
  • Golden Sun 1 & 2
  • Hollow Knight
  • Skyrim
  • Kirby Series
  • Mario Series
  • MegaMan 2 & 3 (Shout-out to The Megas)
  • Super Meat Boy

And so many others, but I'll be here all day if I keep going.

Celeste's OST is really nice. Love it's high energy with the B-side tracks. In game, experiencing Reflections and it's progression throughout how it reflects it's dream that becomes more intense and nightmarish made me fall in love with Lena Raine's style. If anyone wants to hear

I grew up with a GC and a Wii, for me it is the Metroid Prime saga and TloZ: Twilight Princess.

Ridge Racer Type 4

I have yet to find a racing game that makes me trance away with their scenic levels and music like this one.

Been replaying it since forever waiting for Namco to make a remaster or continuing the series

Indie games in general have great OSTs, MGS:R and Persona (and SMT in general) are obvious popular picks.

The World Ends With You is less mainstream (with one of the few gripes being the lack of boss-specific themes, at least in the DS original I played - but it makes up with the diverse overworld and normal battle themes), as is Etrian Odyssey.

I think orchestra is mixed, it's either the best fucking tracks ever (often when mixed with electric guitar or other modern instruments, but not necessarily), or they kind of blend with other orchestral tracks I know and don't end up being unique enough to remember.

The world needs more TWEWY and Etrian Odyssey love. Great picks.

The World Ends With you has amazing OST, thanks for reminding me!

TWEWY is grossly underrated in general, but when it comes to the OST, that's doubly true.

Make's me wonder what they were thinking when they made the anime that was so sparse, even void at times, of all this amazing music they had to work with.

Eh, on one hand it's overrated when people keep saying "it's a better Persona, those fans just don't play anything except Persona 5", I think that's stupid. TWEWY genuinely has a lot of flaws. A slightly too fast endgame, the second screen, etc.

But for me the gameplay is just so goddamn fun and well designed (making your own set of attacks, combining input methods, all the risk vs reward difficulty systems), and it has a few really good ideas that make me want to recommend it to anyone. I imagine you can beat the game in like, 10 hours on Easy without optional fights too, so, it's not a big time investment. (Though actually getting the game is difficult. Switch I heard sucks at controls, phone version doesn't seem to work on new ones, emulating the DS probably sucks too)

In fact, I thought the OST would be the overrated thing, since its style might not be for everyone.

I love the Subnautica soundtrack that much I have it in my music library on my phone

They really succeeded in creating good ambience for all of the different areas!

The Subnautica dilemma™️ "Oh no, my Cyclops is on fire, do I

  • Put out the fire Or
  • Do I have a mini-rave to the soundtrack while my Cyclops disintegrates around me

I am wondering why this hasn't been said more often, but Undertale! Also, the super smash series always had great osts too> Undertale

Persona 5 is my jam. Liked it so much I bought it on vinyl. Nier Automata is good too, more haunting and lends to the game's mood/ambience. I think Firewatch is like this too. Jet Set Radio Future and Persona 3 are also really groovy.

Hades

Absolute bangers all the way through. Along with everything else in the Supergiant lineup.

The Tunic soundtrack is very good, great music for putting on while getting some work done!

Legend of Dragoon soundtrack composed by Dennis Martin.

Bajo Kazooie soundtracks by Grant Kirkhope.

Donkey Kong soundtracks by David Wise.

Sly Cooper soundtrack (first game) by Ashif Hakik

Metroid soundtracks by Kenji Yamamoto.

All made insanely long lasting impressions where I could hear just a bit from one of the songs and instantly know what it is. Having played lots of video games, these seem to be the ones that have created the most lasting memory. They also absolutely slap as well.

The Legend of Zelda games BOTW and TOTK get mention here as well, though I don't find it as memorable. the sound design in these games is just top notch though.

Tetris definitely deserves a shoutout.

LA Noire by Simon Hale is fantastic though it's mostly just riffing off of Chinatown's soundtrack and I wouldn't say it really implants itself in the memory like the ones mentioned above.

Other honorable mentions

Vice City

Jet Set Radio – Hideki Naganuma

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater

FFVIII or FFX

For me, FFVII wins But only because I payed through the rename recently and rediscovered how much I love it and then played the original again.

To Zanarkand is still one of my all time favourites

There's this french MMO i played as a kid called Dofus and that soundtrack still hits hard when I listen. I think part of it is nostalgia but also its just so beautiful

Granado Espada is a favorite classic and then there's Suikoden 2for the nostalgia

Jake Kaufman always does amazing work, here's some of my favorites of his from the Shantae series: https://youtu.be/ovk4ygEzMCI
https://youtu.be/3OhJnSL4XWA
https://youtu.be/MZ7bCDjif9M
https://youtu.be/6wJmVxvJTEs

Cave Story has some great retro tracks. Some people prefer the originals but I played it with the arranged versions: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLr5fTLogAd5tW_oPORRtgznxL-kUt9z7h

Little known PC game called Chenso Club has a pumping soundtrack by Knasibas: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nHBZFT82t4__lHXCD8bi3WhA98hQaSGuo&feature=share

Symphony of the Night has an entire pile of bangers and is my clear winner in this category.

Most of my favorites are already here, but one that's unfortunately overlooked is the soundtrack to Arcanum: of Steamworks and Magic Obscura. It's all this really moody, atmospheric string quartet music that just fits the game perfectly. I really recommend you give it a shot, it's really unique!

  • Hardspace: Shipbreaker
  • Risk of Rain 2
  • Gran Turismo (literally all of them, but 4 is a classic)
  • Super Mario Galaxy 1&2
  • Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies (still get chills from it every time I listen)

Ori and the Blind Forest's ost is phenomenal.

I think all of the Supergiant Games have great soundtrack. Transistor was what got me into their games, and it was the soundtrack that caught my attention first.

Ar Tonelico 2 has one of the most beautiful musics I've heard, not limited to games. Not too surprising, given how the entire franchise is basically about glorifying music to divine levels and brings top notch singers like Shikata Akiko and Shimotsuki Haruka to sing songs like METHOD_IMPLANTA and EXEC_SOL=FAGE/.. The BGM is also great, with tracks like Rustling Throb Cloche.

Other great OSTs that never leaves my phone:
-Einhander (Sample: Bloody Battle)
-Omega Boost (Sample: Orbital Flight)
-HellSinker. (Sample: Apostle of the Seed)

Finally, special mention to Space Invaders Extreme 2. I wouldn't say it's the best OST but it's the most fun example of adaptive music I've seem (heard?). Edit: Also Silver Surfer from NES, given the miracle Tim Follins does to play this through its sound chip.

Undertake and Persona 5 will remain my top two for a while, and in that order.

Citizen Sleeper, Mass Effect, Disco Elysium, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Neon White, Valheim, Minecraft, Sable.

TUNIC, FEZ, Nier Automata, Outer Wilds.

I also have a soft spot for Paper Mario and TTYD, those soundtracks are full of bops

I need to go back and play FEZ again. Tunic was an awesome experience that felt like I was playing a Zelda game made by Phil Fish.

It just has to be Undertale. I constantly keep coming back to it. Deltarune is nice too but the Undertale OST is just so good.

Recently I've been starting my day of with the title theme from NES Pictionary to help wake me up, that track slaps way more than it has any right to. When I'm working I often put on one of the Zero Escape OSTs to help me think, especially 999 or Virtue's Last Reward. If I'm looking for bangers then Furi or GhostRunner are frequent favourites.

For me:

  • Hollow Knighnt
  • Ori (both)
  • BloodBorne (!!!)
  • Nier Automata (!!!!)
  • Nier Replicant
  • Sonic Mania
  • Dark Souls 3
  • RDR 2 (!!)
  • The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
  • Guild Wars 2
  • Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
  • Metroid Prime

XENOBLADE CHRONICLES 2

Yes, let me list some of my favs! This is generally starting from my fav, but it's not strictly ordered.
Counterattack
Driver VS
Monster Surprised You
Gormotti Forest
Battle!!
Exploration
Still, Move Forward
Battle In The Skies Above

I also adore the OST for Octopath Traveler (even if I didn't like the game much) ::: spoiler Octopath Traveler Songs Sunlands
Battle 1
Battle 2
Boss Battle 2
They Who Govern Reason
The One They Call The Witch :::

Persona 5 Royal. Close 2nd is Nier: Automata. Both amazing OSTs

Check out J-music Ensemble's Persona 5 cover album Metagroove! It's really well made, I couldn't go back to listening the vanilla soundtrack without thinking of it.

P5R had an excellent soundtrack

My main wish after P5R soundtrack was released... is that I wish there was a definitive playlist of the order once both soundtracks are merged. As of right now, there is a set list for P5 and then a separate one for P5R...

Maybe I need to keep looking, or generate it myself (it's harder than it seems though).

Is the P5R soundtrack missing music that was in the original P5? I never played the original, but I absolutely loved P5R.

Yeah, it basically includes the new intro, ending theme, and the music for the added story.

P5 OST has 110 songs P5R OST has 30

So to get the full P5R soundtrack you'd need to add both, and zipper up the list somehow. :)

  • SimCity 4
  • openTTD's openmsx (admittedly I have a soft spot for MIDI in general)
  • DOOM (1993 - again, it's MIDI)
  • Need for speed underground 1
  • Tony hawk's Pro skater (N64)
  • Factorio
  • Minecraft (the C418 era particularly)
  • Terraria (this is just awesome and makes the game so engaging

The list goes on, but these are the ones I can list rn

Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross will always bring me to tears. 💙 Also Robo's Theme is a banger!

I used to fall asleep to a Morrowind OST CD.

It’s got to be Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, and really everything by Nobuo Uematsu.

Also you can’t go past Koji Kondo. Ocarina of Time is a great example of how talented he is.

This is going way back, but the 7th Guest soundtrack had lived in my head since the first time I saw the game. Really great atmosphere, equal parts creepy and playful, perfect mood for a haunted mansion filled with puzzles.

All-timer has to go to Chrono Trigger. Absolutely incredible soundtrack from start to finish.

Hollow Knight ofc, but also love Risk of Rain 2's OST, cyberpunk 2077 has a lot of bangers in there too. Unironically Spore has a nice soundtrack, but ofc it's better when you're in-game. Mass Effect has several bangers per game, especially love the OSTs of ME2 and 3. I love a lot of game music, especially when it's enhancing a moment in the game. Like in Spore when you're on the main menu with the spiral galaxy, or in ME2 when you're on the final mission. The thing that sold me on Cyberpunks OST was two fold: the radio stations are great, but the secret ending while listening to The Rebel Path is an adrenaline rush.

Vanilla WoW, Celeste, and Mirrors Edge all makes me feel like when I played the games for the first time as soon as I hear them. Fantastic evocative soundtrack.

I've been listening to some choice tracks from Final Fantasy XIV, mostly from the big epic finales. I probably should be excited for XVI, but I just reaaally don't trust the action JRPG setup.

However, an even better soundtrack to me is Ori and the Blind Forest, as you mentioned - it has some epic bangers to it, but it's also an incredible soundtrack even for the calm, peaceful tracks playing while exploring.

Credit to Nier Automata for what it's worth...there's some tracks I really like in there on their own, but...I honestly feel like those really good tracks just don't often fit the gameplay. They have some hard-hitting vocal tracks playing while 2B is wandering the city or standing around, and it really warps the feel of the pacing. I mention it because it's just an interesting example to me of "good music" not actually fitting as a soundtrack.

Primarily a mix of Old School RPGs (FFVI, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger) and some current RPGs (Persona 5, NieR: Automata)

For me it's Stellaris, hands down, but also the Hammock album that was made for Far Cry 5 (Hammock being one of my favorite bands).

Wild for me to scroll through a thread like this without seeing Halo: ODST mentioned.

I haven't finished the game yet, but Journey's OST is simply amazing.

Agreed! Such a great and relaxing album for winding down after a stressful day.

Hollow Knight

Omori

Doom 2016 and eternal

Mario odyssey

Terraria

Resident evil 4

Deathloop

Bloodborne

Nier Automata

Spectre tourment

Crypt of the necrodancer

Amnesia a machine for pigs

Metroid prime

Persona 5

Guilty gear strive

Undertale

Cuphead

These are all of my favorites personally. Omori or hollow knight being the best.

Fantastic choices here... based on the quality of the list... I gotta listen to the ones on your list that I haven't heard yet: Deathloop, here we go.

As for Spectre tourment, is that Shovel Knight: Spectre of Torment OST?

Yeah Shovel Knight Spectre of Torment ost is it. Insane how much better it is than the base game.

  • Ico
  • Final Fantasy XIII
  • Final Fantasy XIV
  • Stellaris
  • Warhammer 40k: Darktide
  • Kingdom Hearts
  • Mirror's Edge
  • Modern Warfare 2
  • Need for Speed: Most Wanted (OG)
  • Ratchet & Clank
  • Halo 3: ODST
  • Persona 5

Every Korean anime online game i've ever played has had an unnecessarily good soundtrack. Maplestory, Mabinogi, LaTale, S4League, GunZ: The duel, the list literally never ends.

Man, this list gave me a rush of nostalgia. I played all of these (except Mabinogi and LaTale) growing up, and their soundtracks are still deep inside me, especially Maple Story.

Halo 1-3 and probably reach too. There is just something about those strings that hit differently. The music perfectly portrays the feeling of loneliness and being the "last" spartan trying your best to save the human race from extinction.

Persona 3-5 and Doom 2016 win by virtue of being the only ones I listen to regularly outside of playing the games. Doom is probably at the top, the album version is just incredible.

Honorable mentions go to the entire Zelda and Mario catalog, especially LttP and Super Mario World. They're the nostalgic sounds of my childhood and stuck in my head often, I just don't go out of my way to listen to them.

Seriously. I'm not into metal in general (want to, but haven't found a band for me yet) Rip & Tear off of Doom (2016) is such an amazing track that even I, a metal noob, have it in heavy rotation.

Deus Ex 1, Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines, and if it counts GTA III.

I wouldn't count licensed music, personally.

The Deus Ex theme is indeed a banger.

Several OSTs that have stuck with me through the years:

The FTL composer also composed the Subnautica Below Zero soundtrack. It's a nice mix, almost a combination of FTL sci-fi sounds and the more soothing ambience of the original Subnautica.

Oh, awesome, didn't know that. Will check it out 👍