I was having a conversation with my roommate the other day where we were listening to some video game music, specifically to video game cover band 8-Bit Big Band. They turn popular video game songs into retro big band covers. We were discussing what video game soundtracks influence are taste and interests. Which made me think if I was trying to use video game music to describe me and my interests, what would be the five I would choose. So these are not what I consider the five best video game soundtracks of all time, but the ones that describe me and my taste in video game soundtracks. This is very subjective and is not me declaring these five the best in the world
Galak-Z: The Dimensional
The first one on the list is an interesting one because of me not really liking the game that much. Galak-Z: The Dimensional is a 2D, top down shooter with some rouge-like elements to it. The game was okay to me but the part that stood out to me was the soundtrack. There was a GiantBomb Game of the Year discussion where this soundtrack that came up and it was described as “If John Carpenter decided to make a cyberpunk space music” and I think that describes what Scntfc did with this soundtrack. Some of my favorites from the soundtrack include tracks like “White Tusk” and “The Alcazar Gambit” (which are also just AMAZING titles for songs) Where I think a lot fo the John Carpenter influence comes in are the “Mech Versions” some of the tracks. Those versions feel darker, with some horror elements to them, and you really feel it with “Into Battle (Mech Version)”. I have not really thought much about the game since it came out in 2017, but the soundtrack has been part of my rotation on Spotify since then.
Persona 5/ Persona 5 Royal
This one was a hard decision for me, and not because I had to decide on if Persona deserved to be on this list but which Persona game I was going to put on this between Persona 4 and Persona 5. I decided to go with Persona 5 because I think the overall soundtrack is better, and has been my go to for when I need background music for writing. The in-game use is also amazing, the music feels like the DNA that unites the style of Persona 5 with the gameplay.
My favorite selections from the OST include “Wake up, Get Up, Get Out There” which you hear for the first time in the intro video that plays when you boot up the game. “Beneath the Mask” is the music that plays when you are walking around the cafe, which also changes based on the weather (my favorite is the rainy day version)
I also want to shoutout the added songs with the release of Persona 5 Royal, including the Royal intro song “Colors Flying High” and “Take Over” the new Royal battle theme.
Hades
Just like with Persona, I struggled with which Supergiant game I was going to put on this list. I decided to go with their most recent release and my favorite (by a small margin) of their games: Hades. Darren Korb is one of my favorite composers in video games today, every soundtrack that he works on feels unique and created specifically for the game that is being made. You can feel the mythology influence in this soundtrack, specifically with some of the instruments used. One of the songs that sticks out from the Hades soundtrack is “Good Riddance” which is a duet between Korb and Ashley Barrett, who voices Eurydice in the game. Other favorites of mine include “God of the Dead” which plays during the titular fight with Hades, and “Field of Souls” which plays during combat in Elysium.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
The Metal Gear Solid franchise is known for memorable opening songs and for having reverence for its history. Both of these don’t get any better than Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. This is kind of the opposite of Galak-Z, where I listened to that soundtrack almost exclusively outside the confines one the video game, for MGS3 it is the exact opposite. What Harry Gregson-Williams, combined with Cynthia Harrell and Norihiko Hibino have made here might be the best Bond movie soundtrack ever. What I mean by that is the style and tempo of the songs that are on the soundtrack. The best and most obvious example to this is the titular song “Snake Eater” which is Kojima’s James Bond song would sound like. The way this song gets remixed throughout the game, like when climbing the ladder, or when is starts to slowly fade into the final boss fight with The Boss, it is just magical. Other favorites on the soundtrack include “Operation Snake Eater”, “Eva’s Unveiling”, and “Underground Tunnel"
Hotline Miami
The reason I put the limit to just five soundtracks was to make me think hard on what I wanted to put here and thinking of what the fifth on would be could change if you asked me on a different day, but I kept coming back to Hotline Miami. I would not have played this game if I had not heard the soundtrack first, which is the biggest compliment I can pay to the music. It feels like music that you would want to put a mask on, do a ton of drugs and murder people in a club too.
I am a huge fan of the M O O N tracks that are on here, including “Hydrogen”, “Crystals”, and “Release”. The standout though is “Paris” which was the first track I saw in a Youtube video for the game and made me immediately buy it.
There are many honorable mentions to this list (I am looking at you Doom 2016) but I think this list describes me very well when it comes to what I like in video game soundtracks.