10. Legend of Mana - Song of Mana
When RPGs entered the compact disc ages of the original Playstation, composers realized that for at least one song in their soundtrack, they could use a live orchestra. Yoko Shimomura jumped on this bandwagon, and we were treated to a formulaic, yet still noteworthy opening track for Legend of Mana. Using the traditional Squaresoft theme formula of "soft part-heroic part-tense part-soft part", she basically encapsulated mediocrity. I am totally ok with that, because as mediocre as the song may be, it still hits every note that it intends to.
9. Turok II: Seeds of Evil - Port of Adia
Is a chord progression still a progression if there are only two chords in it? Whatever the answer, this song is just that: two chords. The catch comes when you hear the building strings, the moving piano, and the 2 snare-drum duel at the end. I bought this shitty game just for this song back in the N64 days, and I used to just let it play in the background while I was doing other stuff. I don't care that it's simple. I still love it.
8. Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura - Caladon
Ben Houge, when presenting his ideas for the Arcanum soundtrack, was met with some flak. The game's producers didn't think that a string quartet would provide enough variation to a game's soundtrack. Houge composed the piece "In Memoriam" to prove them wrong, and was allowed to follow his muse. This is my favorite theme from the game because again, it shows how simplicity is sometimes the key to a great song. The repeating quarter note-double eighth note-quarter note pattern is the cornerstone of this song, and is present throughout the soundtrack, providing a bit of commonality to the otherwise varied material.
7. Super Castlevania - Dance of the Holyman
Ok, so I cheated a bit with this one. It may be chiptune in nature, but the method of creating those sounds is the stuff of nerd legend. A sampled bass and percussion section are digitized, and the rest of the stock sounds are molded around this foundation. The driving bassline around a syncopated drum pattern was something of a departure for the Castlevania series, as well as gaming in general. And its catchy as hell. It does have the traditional "Castlevania organ" though. Oh, and notice that the organ is the same one from Mario Paint. I bet you'll never un-hear it now.
6. Actraiser - Birth of the People/Offering
I cheated twice this time. Again, the songs are originally chiptunes, but oh well. The SNES chipset was pretty good, right? At least it wasn't the Genesis. *shudder* So yeah, the seminal Actraiser theme wins out, and in this arranged version, the Offering theme is also included. Offering is probably one of the saddest songs ever to come out of an SNES.
5. Icewind Dale II - Skeleton of A Town
The beauty of this song perfectly reflects the cold-hamlet feel of Targos, one of the Ten-Towns of Icewind Dale. Inon Zur is a staple of gaming soundtracks, and has gone on to compose for Fallout 3 and many others. Notice how he wanted the low end to come through so much, that it almost sounds like a blowout in your ears. He manages to hit that threshold pretty good though, creating one of the most soothing songs I've ever heard in a game.
4. Halo 2 - Unforgotten
Are you surprised? Well, just because a game may be overhyped, and not as good as people may think it is, doesn't mean that it doesn't have some great qualities. I remember my friend getting this game at a midnight release, and going over his house to play it. Seeing the blackness of space, and hearing this song coming through, I thought I was in for something special. I was wrong, but the song is still amazing. It has that save-the-world-lose-the-girl quality that so many great themes have. Not ironic, giving the story of Halo.
3. Chrono Cross - Scars of Time
This is my idea of the perfect theme for a sequel. Take a key part from the first game's melody, and mess with it enough to make it new, but still retain the same emotional qualities that the first one exhuded. Scars of Time does this without missing a beat, by taking the bridge to Chrono Trsigger' theme, and molding it into the bridge of Chrono Cross' theme. Although the gameplay of Chrono Cross ended up being pretty lackluster, the storyline was excellent, and the soundtrack is regarded as one of the best ever. This is a great kicker for that. By the way, notice a similar formula in composition as I stated in the Legend of Mana theme. Square really likes their traditions, don't they?
2. Metal Gear Solid 2 - Theme
Before he began composing for cartoons, Gregson Williams had one note. Yeah, I said it. The themes for every action movie he made were pretty nearly interchangeable. Metal Gear Solid 2 was the first video game, however, that used his brand of techno-orchestra. Heavily reliant on percussion and rhythm, the music is basically an embodiment of the tropes that MGS rides on. Its really perfect, if you think about it: MGS is basically The Rock - The Game, so why not just come out and admit it by getting the same composer? You can not listen to this song without getting pumped up. Bonus: In MGS3, the theme comes back as a sad tribute to The Boss, in a stirring omen of the things to come for "Naked Snake". This has much more impact as we, the players, already know what's in store for him. Here's an embarrassing secret about myself. I used to blast this song while driving home from my ex-girlfriend's, which was about 2 hours away from me. I always drove fast.
1. Wild Arms - Into The Wilderness
My favorite game theme of all time, I can never hear this song without getting a bit nostalgic. It just has that quality to it. Hauntingly beautiful, but with that certain hint of redemption. Everytime I would load this game up to play, I would watch the introduction. The entire game's soundtrack is amazing, something that unfortunately wouldn't carry on into future installments. Wild Arms: Alter Code F utilized a remixing of the soundtrack from the original game, and while it is impressive, it lacks the charm that the original held.
Chiptune themes are next.
Discord
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