I’m a geek. So far, nothing new. But I feel especially geeky when I sit at work listening to old game tunes. People drop in to my office and go “hey, isn’t that some racing game” now and then; that is, when I’m not listening to NOFX or Johnny Cash or the 1812 Overture. I brighten up like a Christmas tree every time someone recognizes an old game song, and happily inform them of the title. That’s about when they start to back away slowly again. Anyway, I’m sure that all of you are familiar with video game songs; but in case you’re not I decided to put together a strange little top ten list.

First of all, what are the criteria?

1. The song must have been made exclusively for the game. No covers, no movie songs, etc.
2. Remixes are fine, in the cases where I feel that the remix is an actual improvement.
3. I choose the songs that affect me somehow; I don’t care about musical quality, technical skill and such things.
4. No pooftas!

Okay, let’s bring on the songs… I’ve made an attempt to embed a cool flash-based mp3 player. We’ll see if it works. Try pressing the play button again if the song doesn’t start - that seems to work for me. I hope that some of the songs will touch you like they’ve touched me.

Number 10: Final Fantasy IX – Loss of Me

This marvellous little piano piece is simplistic but extremely emotional. It’s one of the few things I really liked about FF IX; the rest of the game was a bland mix of meh and bleh and yay, but this song stuck out and metaphorically grabbed hold of my metaphorical heart the moment I heard it. The soft piano in the beginning is a great way to conjure a feeling of weakness and hurt.

It’s also not too hard to play on the piano – I managed to struggle my way through the first part after an hour’s training. (Yes, that long. I play the piano about as often as I say no to alcohol.)

Number 9: Mega Man II – Intro

I instinctively feel that this song should be placed higher, but it fits in pretty nicely at place nine. It’s short and sweet and to the point; it contains excellent energy; it really makes me want to get into the action. Despite all of this I must place the other songs higher, because I fear that it’s pure nostalgia that makes this song appealing. It lacks depth somehow.

Either way, it’s a classic and probably a song that would feature on many others’ top ten lists as well. But the next song might be a bit more obscure:

Number 8: Final Fantasy Mystic Quest – Last Castle

What the hell? FF MQ?! Am I insane? That’s a sucky game! Yes, it is – but this song rocks. There’s no other word for it: it just rocks in a way that few other FF songs do. They’re all beautifully composed, but this beast leaps up and grabs you by the throat with its opening riffs. “Look laddie, you’re at the last castle now. You’d better be prepared to kick som ass or go home crying to mama.”

And I can’t tell you how refreshing it was after eight hours or so of dull FF MQ, to finally get close to the end and be greeted by this song!

Number 7: Lotus II – Intro

Time for an Amiga game, and a great racing game to boot. This game looked great, felt great to play, had a good split-screen mode in which one could humiliate one’s friends, and had a kick-ass intro tune. Seriously, just listen to the first minute and tell me that you don’t dig the techno beat accompanied by the catchy melody.

In fact, this is the first song I’m going to play when I finally get my thumb out of the arse and get a driver’s license. It’s going to be so sweet, cruising down the street in a Mazda MX-5 listening to this song. Or possibly the next one…

Number 6: Out Run – Magical Sound Shower

Who doesn’t love the music to Out Run? This is a remix by Instant Remedy, though. I love the original song from ’86, and the new version from Out Run 2 isn’t bad either. However, this remix feels more appropriate for a racing game. I may be a punk rocker at heart, but a melody-driven techno tune with a good beat does get my blood pumping at times.

As you know, you got to select your background music in Out Run. I really don’t see how some people can prefer Splash Wave or …Something Something Breeze to this one. Some people just don’t have any taste.

Number 5: Wizardry – Title

I was never a big fan of Wizardry to be honest, so I don’t remember if this is from the first one or not. This song is actually something of an anomaly in this list: I don’t have a strong connection to the game at all – I simply love the song itself. I can’t even say why it appeals so much to me. It just does. Naa na naa naa na na na na naaa, na na naa na naa na…

Curiously enough, a few years ago I had just picked out this one on guitar when a friend asked me if I could help him write a mobile phone ring tone based on this melody. It seems more people than me get lured in by its intoxicating sound.

Number 4: Cannon Fodder – Intro

A classic from the good ol’ Amiga days! The game was terrific and this song was jaw-dropping. The music is great, the melody is catchy, the sarcasm is stinging – the song is excellent on so many levels. When I listen to it now I can hear the (relatively) bad quality, the slightly off-beat vocal sample joinings…but it doesn’t matter, ’cause the song carries itself well despite that.

I actually taped this song from my TV’s speakers so that I could have it on one of my oh-so-typical-for-the-time mix tapes. I wonder if the terrible sound quality made the low sample quality and the mixing sound a bit better.

Number 3: Turrican II – Level 1

When I do a search for songs from Turrican II I often see the title song remixed. Sorry lads, you’re barking up the wrong tree: the first level tune is the real shit. This is a remix by Pointless Trace, but I think it captures the original very well. Man, how many times did I not start Turrican II only to realize that I had spent a minute listening to the song instead of playing the first level.

Maybe it’s a good thing that I sucked at the game; this way I got to hear the level 1 tune many many times. I doubt I ever came farther than level 2 in the game, in fact. Games were real games back then. Games that didn’t fall over and submit that easily.

Number 2: Enlightenment – Druid II - Title

Speaking of games that won’t submit: this C64 one is a killer. First it begins with a pair of massive doors swinging shut, forming a sinister logo. Then the title screen is shown and this song begins to play. Slow, mysterious and menacing….

After pressing the fire button you’re thrust into a world of constant dread. There are undead everywhere, you must gather spells and defeat the evil demon lords, and it’s all bitching hard. I know that I suck at games, but this can’t have been a simple game for anyone. I think I just managed to kill one of the demon lords!

Many people have made remixes for this song, and I’ve listened through maybe half a dozen of them. Not a single one one-ups the original, though. This version combines sombre beauty with menacing undertones in a marvellous way; the high notes combined with the simple low bass makes it far superior to remixes where there’s simply too much going on. Sometimes less is quite definitely more than… Um. More.

Number 1: Secret of Monkey Island – Title

I know, I know. This is so boringly predictable. But I must give this song the first prize. First of all, the game is one of the best ever. Secondly, the musical quality is astounding with its caribbean steel drums and jazzy undertones and dream-like melodies. Thirdly, I feel that the first version has much better dynamics than – for example – the title to Curse of Monkey Island. It simply speaks to me in a more powerful way.

And no, I’m not insane. It doesn’t really speak to me. It just whispers suggestions for what I should do. “Make me number one in your list,” for example.

Of course there are countless other worthy songs that are omitted from this list: Bubble Bobble, Last Ninja, IK+, Bomb Jack, Wizard & Warriors, Pinball Fantasies, and many more. They’re all great in their own ways, but they mostly conjure nostalgia in me; they don’t really affect me as much as these do. That’s actually pretty amusing considering that there are basically no new games featured in my list: obviously I am letting nostalgia guide my decisions to some extent. But to my defense I must also claim that newer games may have technically superior music, but the melodies are almost non-existent. How am I supposed to remember the music from Titan Quest or Half-Life 2 for example?

One modern game has impressed me immensely with its music, though, and I’ve found myself humming many of its songs. Guess which one?

Guitar Hero II.

Go figure.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 14th, 2007 at 1:00 am and is filed under Games, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.