Battle of the BGMs

[qwertysaur]

One of the things that really can make or break a game is the sounds and music that come along with it. We have a forum for it even, so it must be important. But what is the best background Music EoFF? with so many games repeased over time, there are too many choices for one person to search through. So I need you to assist me in finding some of the best your ears have ever come across. There is no linit to the amount you can suggest, but i would appreciate it if you included the game the song comes from for organizing purposes. Oh, and your nominations must be actual background Music, not extra tracks on the OST please.

Edit: Also some key details I should have mentioned earlier.
1) This is for any game ever released. So long as it is a BGM, it has a chance to win this.
2) Nominations will close when any 1 of the following occurs

1. 1 day after I get more than 128 nominations <-- Will be this
2. as soon as I get 256 nominations
3. or Monday evening, GMT the latest

3) Limit of 36 nominations per person. If you already nominated then under the spoiler below is your current amount.

(SPOILER)This may or may not be compleatly ripped off of Agent Proto's style tournament thingies.

Also Nomination ammounts by person
Del Murder: 1
Momiji: 12
Blackmage_nuke: 15
Vice Nebulosa: 13
Agent Proto: 1
Vermachtnis: 6
Levian: 19
Denmark: 36 (Full)
Wolf 34
Vivi22 27
Total 166

[Momiji]

Is this Final Fantasy music only, or from any video game?

[Del Murder]

The music when you select a monster in Mega Man 4.

[Momiji]

I'll roll with 'any game', judging from Del's post.

Let's see...

Final Fantasy VII's Main Theme

Trauma Center: Under The Knife 2 - Severing the Chains of Fate

Trauma Center: New Blood - Cardia II

Touhou 8: Imperishable Night - Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke

Touhou 8: Imperishable Night - Flight of the Bamboo Cutter ～ Lunatic Princess

Touhou 8: Imperishable Night - Plain Asia

Touhou 10: Mountain of Faith - Native Faith

Touhou 4: Lotus Land Story - Faint Dream ~ Inanimate Dream

Touhou 5: Mystic Square - Plastic Mind

Touhou 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom - Bloom nobly, cherry blossoms of Sumizome ~ Border of Life

Mushihimesama Futari - On the Verge of Madness

Mushihimesama - The One Who is Always in the Forest

I could go on for hours about Touhou music; it's just that epic. ZUN and Manabu Namiki are my favorite video game composers.

[blackmage_nuke]

Argh you took most of the Touhou ones.

Touhou 7 Withered Leaf (Chen's theme)
Touhou 12 Solar Sect of mystic wisdom ~ Nuclear Fusion (Final boss theme)

Final Fantasy VI Celes' Theme
Final Fantasy VI Relm's Theme
Final Fantasy VI Ending theme
Final Fantasy VI Prelude
Final Fantasy VI Fierce Battle (Atma Weapon Theme)
Final Fantasy I Prologue

Chrono Trigger - Frog's Theme
Chrono Trigger - Time Circuits

Final Fantasy X - Some day the Dream will End

Monkey Island I - Main Theme (Pc Beep Version)
Monkey Island I - Lechuck's Theme (Pc Beep Version)

[Momiji]

Argh you took most of the Touhou ones.

Hardly. Every single one of ZUN's songs is wonderful in its own way. I just tried to condense it down to some of my top favorites.

[Vice Nebulosa]

Oh boy, just experienced mental inundation as fifty tracks came to mind . . . I will go with the elite ten or so, though, and attempt to give credit to some relatively new discoveries, as well.

The Elite Standbys

"Corridors of Time" - Chrono Trigger (Yasunori Mitsuda)

It feels as if I have already spoken to excess about this piece elsewhere on the forums, but it is just a fantastic, intricate piece of music that is both an utterly serene area track, and the source of a hell of a lot of personal inspiration. It is "the Kingdom of Zeal", it is "a young Magus"; it is Chrono Trigger, in many ways. Hell, I ended up doing a slight remix of the piece late last year (with a piano lead; heavenly ) in a somewhat suped-up version of Garageband, and my brother, a friend, and myself got together and attempted a trio (piano, electric guitar, and tuba, if you can imagine :laugh arrangement of it.

"Chronopolis" - Chrono Cross (Yasunori Mitsuda)

Thoroughly unorthodox, percussive menace. No track in Mitsuda's repertoire better captures the sense of "poisoned nirvana", if you will; it carries an immense cold, and, appropriately to its in-game setting, it suggests a horrible, mechanical stillness that could morph into panic at a pin's drop, but is disconcerting enough as is.

"Dead Sea - Tower of Ruin" - Chrono Cross (Yasunori Mistuda)

What "Chronopolis" does for emotionlessness, "Dead Sea" does for emotion. It is vast stillness taken to its most unnerving extreme. A world frozen in an instant in time, where things neither breathe nor rot, live nor inch closer to death. It is as if someone asked for "the perfect world", where no conflict or misery existed, got the Dead Sea, and is horrified at what has been created.

"Ancient Dragon's Fort" - Chrono Cross (Yasu-freaking-nori Mitsuda)

Mitsuda's best go-to "ominous track". ^_^ Mitsuda himself has indicated that this was one of his most troublesome compositions for the Cross soundtrack, as Kato was continually displeased therewith, but two main sets of keyboards (piano, organ), plus the sundry percussion effects interspersed throughout do the job to imperious perfection. It is best to have Guile in your party during the scenes where it plays; he contrasts and flows through the darkness with just the dramatic audacity called for.

"Infiltration" - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Harry Gregson-Williams)

I never tire of this one, oddly enough. Gregson-Williams' trigger-happy stringwork is not without its presence here, but overall it is extremely mellow sneaking track, hovering primarily around the force of a single note. No area track better epitomizes the "urban" atmosphere of Sons of Liberty better, as far as I am aware.

"Arsenal's Guts" - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (Harry Gregson-Williams)

Some artistic demon of Gregson-Williams' got its exercise during the composition of "Arsenal's Guts". It borrows certain elements of the Solidus battle track ("Father and Son"), heard later, and it is easily the freakiest, most immersive area track to appear at any nonstandard point in the game. Ideal for the bizarre revelations that occur in-game, or for simple late night music-binges when you wish to play with your state of mind.

"Judgment Day" - Final Fantasy VII

I have only given the game itself a single playthrough, but its most iconic image remains the descent into Sephiroth's domain to the strains of "Judgment Day". Forget Cloud and his party; this track is about Sephiroth; can he be stopped? I.e. Do you, as the player (potentially sympathetic to the antagonist instead of/in addition to the protagonists) want to stop him? I.e. Do you wish to see what happens when the only person in the plot with real ambition accomplishes something without precedent, or is the rebuilding of just another commonplace society your desire, so that all the insecure Clouds, naive Tifas, and numbskulled Barrets may have their day, and the tragic abominations like Vincent may live on? His dark presence throbs somewhere at the base of the chasm, and as he would destroy you in a heartbeat, you have no choice whatsoever but to fight him. This track is "your reason for fighting", as I see it.

"Guadosalam" - Final Fantasy X (Junya Nakano)

Percussive depth like nothing else. "Dark grandeur" would be my two-word description, and perhaps after the "Judgment Day" rant, I will leave it at that.

"Via Purifico" - Final Fantasy X (Nobuo Uematsu)

Certainly the most surprising area track I came across during the first playthrough. The lingering Uematsu minor-key piano solo was hitherto a mythical creature in my understanding, and I intentionally found reason to remain in the prison area while it played.

"Blow Me Away" - Halo 2 (Martin O'Donnell & Michael Salvatori)

Note: referring to the guitar lead version that only appears in-game (is absent from the soundtrack, where there is an inferior vocal version, instead ) during the Brutes vs. Elites & Hunters in one of the "pursue the Prophet" levels. On an overall basis, I dislike the FPS genre, and the acclaimed Halo series (Combat Evolved and Halo 2, anyway) has failed utterly to change my mind. Nonetheless, this music assisted in creating what is, bar none, the most inspiring scene I have come across in the genre. There is something very energetic and (loathe though I am to say it ) "epic" about the experience of watching the Elites make their stand, clearing this area of Brutes and knowing damned well that their chances of making it out of the building alive are nonexistent, as the place is in "lockdown".

Recent Discoveries

"Westopolis" - Shadow the Hedgehog (Jun Senoue)

Awesome opening for the game's initial level. Say what you will about the game itself (as I intend to, in the relatively near future ), but Jun Senoue has crafted a genuinely compelling soundtrack. Now, if you are interested in unlocking the game's true ending and viewing the best of the small handful of cinematic sequences, you will be hearing this track on an extremely regular basis, but 'tis not really unpleasant. ^_^ Particularly before the game has a chance to disappoint with its plot and gameplay limitations, Shadow's ridiculous speed and menacing "aura" mesh flawlessly with an unorthodox synth-guitar track such as this. Really quite a find.

"GUN Fortress" - Shadow the Hedgehog (Jun Senoue)

Senoue has proven beyond question that he can handle an electric guitar like Bach can handle an organ (), but he often fails pretty thoroughly when handed a string section or more than a few orchestral elements. :\ This is a rare success in a subdued, even melancholy track for Senoue, and it shines incomparably in his recent Sonic work. It only plays when Shadow has followed the plot's "Dark" arc to its end stage, and, as I intend to discuss in a rant elsewhere, it creates the game's most utterly profound moment.

"The Vengeful Spartan" - God of War (Gerard K. Marino)

Now, I should mention that I am not "playing" this game so much as watching it being played, but this circumstance arguably provides a better perspective on the interaction between environment and music, so I consider my viewpoint legitimate. It is rather remarkable -- absurd, even -- how far this soundtrack is taken on basically a single melody :laugh:, but it works so damnably well. I have not seen the PS2 title that has a more fluid, innovative battle system than God of War, and ripping through unabating hordes of (even individually, considerably powerful *_*) minions in the aural company of Kratos' gutteral challenges and tracks like "The Vengeful Spartan" is undeniably . . . addictive.

[Agent Proto]

I'm going with this, because it's smurfing awesome.

Megaman II - Dr.Wily Stage 1

[blackmage_nuke]

What I meant to say was most of the Best Touhou ones.

I assume we can post songs in more than one post

Final Fantasy VII - The Birth of a God
Final Fantasy VII - J-E-N-O-V-A

[Momiji]

Maybe in your opinion.

[Vermachtnis]

EXEC_over._METHOD_SUBLIMATION/.~omness chs ciel sos infel - Ar Tonelico 2
Prettiest final boss theme ever. And my favorite final boss theme. It's just so fitting.

Despedia - Ar Tonelico 2
Not as touching as the first one. It's very intense and it's one of Jacqli's and is so awesome.

Bitter Dance - Star Ocean 3
Don't give me that look. I actually like the song. Giant earworm that it is. Its just a weird song.

Reason Boss Battle - SMT: Nocturne
My favorite boss theme from the game. And its a good thing. The freakin' fight with Noah took me over fifteen minutes.

Divine Entity - SMT: Digital Devil Saga 2
Another Final Boss track. And another battle that took a really, really long time. But not too long cause the bastard that has an attack that gets stronger the more he uses it and after a couple of times you are dead.

[Levian]

Duck Tales - The Moon

[Denmark]

Yoko Shimomura - Beware the Forest's Mushrooms (Super Mario RPG)

Hiroki Kikuta - Fear of the Heavens [opening theme]
Hiroki Kikuta - Monarch on the Shore [Tasnica theme]
Hiroki Kikuta - Leave Time for Love [Mana Fortress theme]
Hiroki Kikuta - The Oracle [Dark Lich theme]
(all above from Secret of Mana)

Mega Man 2 - Crash Man
(also Wily 1 but Proto said that already because he knows what's up)

Nobuo Uematsu - Kingdom of Baron (Final Fantasy IV)

Nobuo Uematsu - Opening Theme
Nobuo Uematsu - Locke
Nobuo Uematsu - Kefka
Nobuo Uematsu - The Unforgiven [Cyan trying to save Doma, among others]
Nobuo Uematsu - Phantom Train
Nobuo Uematsu - Slam Shuffle [Zozo theme]
Nobuo Uematsu - Overture
Nobuo Uematsu - Aria di Mezzo Carattere
Nobuo Uematsu - The Wedding
Nobuo Uematsu - Grand Finale
Nobuo Uematsu - Mog
Nobuo Uematsu - Strago
Nobuo Uematsu - New Continent
Nobuo Uematsu - Gogo
Nobuo Uematsu - The Magic House
Nobuo Uematsu - Umaro
Nobuo Uematsu - Last Dungeon
Nobuo Uematsu - Dancing Mad
(Final Fantasy VI)

Mother 3 - Porky's Theme

Koji Kondo - Gerudo Valley (Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
Koji Kondo - Temple (Zelda II: The Adventure of Link)
Koji Kondo - Tal Tal Heights (Zelda: Link's Awakening)
Koji Kondo - Dragon Roost Island (Zelda: The Wind Waker)
Koji Kondo - Hidden Village (Zelda: Twilight Princess)
Koji Kondo - Easton Kingdom (Super Mario Land)
Koji Kondo - World 1-1 (You have to know this.)

Super Metroid - Lower Norfair (Ridley's Lair)
Metroid Prime - Magmoor Caverns

Tetris - Type A

Okay, I'm done.

[Levian]

Might as well add my Megaman favorites.

Megaman 1
Cut Man

Megaman 2
Bubble Man
Air Man

Megaman 3
Spark Man
Snake Man
Top Man

Megaman 4
Bright Man
Dive Man
Skull Man

Megaman 7
Shade Man
Freeze Man

Megaman X
Spark Mandrill
Storm Eagle

Megaman 9
Concrete Man
Galaxy Man
Splash Woman

Ending theme of Super Mario Bros. 2
Ken's Stage (Street Fighter 2)
Guile's Stage (Street Fighter 2)

[Slothy]

Is there a deadline on when the nominations end? I won't have time to get my list together today, but I could have it by tomorrow I think.