Does anyone else feel that music in video games tended to make a greater impression and have more powerful melodies in older games, like NES, SNES and Sega Genesis, for example?
When I play newer games nowadays I often find myself almost trying to find an actual melody in some compositions, but I often only hear some kind of elevator music or random orchestras - and sometimes they hardly even have any music, which can sometimes work in some games, but usually it just feels "empty".
Then I try out some old game, usually from the NES or SNES, and the music in those games just has a lot more "spark" to it.
I mean, listen to these tunes, for example.

1. Gradius 2 - "Burning Heat""
2. Gradius 3 - "Sand Storm"
3. Star Fox - "Corneria"
4. Bucky O'Hare - "Red Planet"
5. Wild Guns - "Boss"

See what I mean?
All of these tunes have that "wow!" factor, like the game is telling you "welcome to this awesome game, let's have fun!", and there is a lot of passion in all of them;
they are the kinds of melodies that you can play with almost any instrument, and they will still sound awesome, just because the core melodies as so well written.
I don't often feel this kind of passion in newer games, and it seems like music has become more and more secondary.
Some newer (read: "released after year 2000") games have had great soundtracks, like for example "Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater" and "The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess", although the music in those kinds of games seem to become more and more rare.