I’ve always been a fan of non-mainstream music. Some of my favorite songs come from movie soundtracks or scores. But as I’ve grown older (I’m 29) and the video game industry has progressed as a medium, I’ve found myself loving and listening to more and more music composed exclusively for video games. Needless to say, most people who look at my playlists don’t recognize much. Frankly, though, I don’t like to tell people that I listen to this type of music, and have never told anyone I listen to video game music.
In both movies and games, the ability of a song or track to evoke a recognizable and memorable emotion is what wins me over. When I hear the track on my iPod, I want to immediately feel what I did the first time I heard it.
Keep reading to learn a little about the evolution of video game music. Otherwise, skip to the end to tell us about your favorite video game music!
From Beeps to Beethoven
Obviously, it's only been in recent years that serious production resources have been invested in video game music. What started with computer beeps has now evolved into world class orchestras and composers. That's not to say that old games don't offer great music. Compared to the later and more advanced NES, Venture on the ColecoVision offered some pretty scary music at times (although most parts had absolutely no sound or music). The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (now available on the Wii Virtual Console!) and Sim City for the Super Nintendo were two of the first games I hooked up to my boombox ("ghetto-blaster" is also accurate) and recorded onto a tape (links provided for you damn whipper-snappers).
The music in Sim City was so soothing, I listened to it while studying and am certain it is just as intellectually stimulating as Bach or Beethoven. I'd say I had it on a loop, but tapes don't work that way, so I just recorded it over and over again to fill up the tape. The only part I took from Mystical Ninja was the title screen which I can still hear today despite not having played it in almost fifteen years. Games like Castlevania and Final Fantasy are also heralded as pioneers in the development of video game music.
For a look at the evolution of video game music through 2001, check out this Gamespot article.
Warming Up the Instruments
Fast forward to today, and gamers are now treated with full scale, professionally composed music for many games. Two of the best video game soundtracks I've heard are from two of the best and most respected games in the industry: Shadow of the Colossus and Halo (although I hate even mentioning them in the same sentence). Both convey the feeling of being involved in an epic adventure.
I am certain that music is one of the biggest factors that turned Halo from being just another futuristic space action game into one of the greatest all time first person shooters. Although the music overall is better in Halo, my favorite song comes from the title screen of Halo 2, which starts with the original title theme using (primarily) just voices and extends into what I believe is a remake of Halo's "Remembrance." After the original theme is over, the title screen music will sometimes turn into a slow, excellent piece using just string instruments - although I was never able to determine what causes this to play as opposed to the more recognized Halo game theme music. Some of my other favorites are "Heretic, Hero", "Impend", and "In Amber Clad".
Shadow of the Colossus, hands down, has some of the best and most emotional music I've ever heard in a game. Songs like "The Opened Way", "Prohibited Art", "The End of the Battle", and "Demise of the Ritual - Battle with the Colossus" are some of my favorites and spark emotions ranging from tension to sadness to fear to romance to desperation. Don't forget to check out what many SOTC fans consider the best song on the soundtrack, "Swift Horse", which didn't even make it into the final version of the game. My favorite song, by far, is "Prologue - To the Ancient Land" from the opening cinematic sequence (also the game trailer) which follows Wanderer and Agro as they travel to the land of the colossus. If you like "Prologue", be sure to check out "Epilogue - Those Who Remain" as it is similar but just different enough to make it unique.
Make no mistake, the music from Shadow of the Colossus would fit right into major motion pictures on the level of The Lord of the Rings and Gladiator - it's simply that well done. If there's any question as to how popular video game music has become, one need only look to offerings such as videogameslive and AOL Radio's Video Game Scores channel.
How to Get Video Game Music
Unfortunately, very few games have actual soundtracks released for purchase. However, this is changing as the industry continues to diversify and widen its customer base and also because of the effort and money being put into producing game soundtracks. For games that do release a soundtrack, they usually have to be imported, as is the case with Shadow of the Colossus.
Many soundtracks can be found on Play-Asia.com, which has its own section devoted entirely to video game soundtracks and is emerging as a favorite source for gamers looking for soundtracks. Another excellent website I found is bluelaguna.net, which has an extensive list of games and soundtracks. Amazon.com is also helpful in finding game soundtracks as is eBay. One thing to remember, however, video game music is protected by copyright laws and gamers should treat songs no differently than they do typical music downloads.
If all else fails and you either can't find the soundtrack or song you're looking for (or no soundtrack was ever made), then you'll have to take matters into your own hands - which is how I got the Halo 2 title screen music and, most recently, some music from flOw. This requires hooking your computer up to your TV and using audio capture programs to record the music. Obviously, exactly what you have to do depends on your TV and computer set ups. For me, I simply used a cable that has a 2.5mm jack on one end and RCA (red and white) connectors on the other end. Rest assured, this is not a difficult task.
If you've made it this far in this article, you must be a fan of video game music. So tell us about your favorites!
