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It's funny how a kinda questionable choice to make an all-women race in a 1998 game
Led to a 2017 game making a serious effort to design and world-build the culture of an all-women warrior race
Which led to Age of Imprisonment having the biggest set of dark-skinned women in any Nintendo game.
I've said before that I think a lot of games would benefit from thinking about their music more like a music video than like a movie.
The World Ends With You series is probably the best example of that I could possibly come up with
#56: NEO: The World Ends With You
One of the all-time best game OSTs IMO. Absolutely chock full of great stuff. It's mostly different variants of alt rock/pop, hiphop, apparently a lot of Shibuya-Kei (I've never had a good grasp of that genre).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZlNbHKvHik&list=PLqyizNZTEENKBh0TXif4oYv3DhupVEl0m&index=9
#55: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers
I'm cheating. It's a rhythm game. Think DDR. House, Trance, rock, all over the place
Check out:
- 湘南族 -cannibal coast-
- madrugada
- 少年A
- the trigger of innocence
- Digitank System
- quell -the seventh slave-
- THE LAST STRIKER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBxvOEtMN6U&list=PLbQczxSgSRikpDrnXo6PofmWNJISgeF9R&index=22
Honorary #54: Ace Combat 4
But only because it has maybe the most dramatic final-suicide-mission music of any game ever. Overall it's a worse OST than AC5 imo, but Megalith -Agnus Dei- stands above:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1sIqCQFKVo&list=PL23A635021128F21F&index=37
#54: Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War
Imagine if someone crammed the drama of ten war movies' worth of last stands and suicide missions into an operatic rock OST
Well, imagine no more!:
- The Unsung War
- Reprisal
- Four Horsemen
- Supercircus
- Hanger 2
- Closure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjY6awCr2_c&list=PLB5A294C912C49005&index=55
#53: Catherine
Same composer as Personas 3-5. Similar sound to the jazz tracks from those games. If you liked them, you'll like this.
See:
- It's a Golden Show
- Also Sprach Brooks
- Battle on Stage
- Up Up Up!
(Not-quite-SFW album cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjbToe9eGJo&list=PL5BF6423A5486A30E&index=2
#52: Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer
German-made shmup. Pounding sci-fi synth soundtrack. Kinda standard sound for this genre—It sounds like Ikaruga—but well-executed.
See
- Hyper Space Assault
- Mercenary-X
- Soldier Unleashed
- Massive Attack Syndrome
- Lurking Evil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uNm-q-nb8M&list=PLoD-h5kl7mRDbEiI_JFMyekUudvi-Nxgp&index=10
For that sax solo listen to By the Bay--ideally in full for build-up, but at least from 3:51 to 4:20 or so. Must not be missed
(and yes I've relaxed my standards for how niche my recs are because I was running low on the _really_ unknown stuff, hahah)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=fZi9Q09kxXzhdA0d&t=231&v=o6l1CsqZtnk&feature=youtu.be
#51: SimCity 4 Deluxe
Jazzy ambiance, nu jazz, jazzy 80s synth, jazz, jazz lounge. Songs are long and kinda even-keeled, meant to keep you focused. An all-time great saxophone swell
See:
-By the Bay
-Oasis
-ElectriCITY
-Re-Development
-The New Hood
-Terrain
-Arctica
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6l1CsqZtnk&list=PL3B43D339BA90E730&index=6
#50: F-Zero GX/AX
I'm stretching my rules a bit, but the last time an F-Zero OST counted as "well known" was 1990 xD
It's loud and energetic. TRUE arcade music! Each of the *40* chars had a theme. The only Nintendo OST that they could turn into a Guitar Hero set.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jIMhMjXneE&list=PLS-LG8YFyHqdxIdm9r0Vqc7OPIjnopOjm&index=60
#49: Timesplitters 2
Goldeneye's composer took his style and applied it to a bunch of different movie/music genres
Timesplitters OST is fun shit. I can't articulate it though
See:
- Mexican Mission
- Ice Station
- Wild West
- Siberia
- Siberia Chopper Attack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uia5Nr_lFy4&list=PL216F30F673B0910B&index=12
#48: Secret of Evermore
An SNES RPG made at Square USA, it's a very interesting blend of RPG aesthetics. And it shows in the music, which is a bit less melodic and more atmosphere than most other SNES RPGs
See:
- Hall of Collasia
- Final Battle
- Minor Minion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukeV1P00FP4&list=PL863A2CB725623D2D&index=24
#47: 13 Sentinels
Alternating brooding vs epic electronic battle themes. This is Vanillaware's best soundtrack.
See:
LEUCINE
Brat Overflow
VALINE
Between the Lines
METHIONINE
The Tower of Knowledge
Hard Pill to Swallow
Last Line of Defense
EDGE OF THE FUTURE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYYHT2BMRQQ&list=PLlXLtmVXr6k4CtsJU5tbvMrssJbvcTVGh&index=11
#46: Batman: The Video Game (1990)
Good-ass side-scrolling action chiptunes. Same composer as Journey to Silius. It sounds like Megaman to my ears.
See:
- Gotham City
- Chemical Factory
- Ending ~ Credits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gppJ8K5CWgs&list=PL4BD1DA56FED680DB&index=3
#45: Castle Crashers
Drum'n'bass/synth/EDM, with some "epic" chorals thrown in. It was an all-star cast of Newgrounds musicians, and it shows.
See:
Four Brave Champions
A New Adventure
Barbarian Assault
Factory
Flooded Grounds
Alien Hominids
Medusa
Winterbliss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JawxAgo81Uk&list=PLaEhyKrOpBW1VT_UlbQxGy8YMlk-tVwDX&index=1
#44: Soma Bringer
Mitsuda's trademark minimalist celtic/orchestral-jazz stuff. You'll immediately hear the Chrono lineage. Beautiful work
See:
- Zain, The Floating Continent
- The One Who Soars Over the World
- Graave Stronghold
- Exploration of the Secluded Land
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7k0NTJqotg&list=PL6y9niWh_EgNo5YQI9jN3VsvTc6L-ExoX&index=43
#43: Metal Saga: Chain of Sandstorm
"What if Mad Max was a JRPG and it's soundtrack was somehow really chill, jazzercise-y and/or breakbeat?"
See:
Route 99 (1-04)
Morgue Town (2-03)
Dungeon Dance (2-21)
Junk Mountain (2-22)
Stronghold Ruins Sites (2-24)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8UGCeKl20E&list=PL5EEn4paE0seIoQ67agWPUcHDO-tFknqA&index=4
#42: Eternal Darkness
A well-known game, but I never see discussion of it's excellent and interesting soundtrack. It's a lot less minimal and ambient than you'd expect from a horror game.
See:
- Snake Princess
- The Chosen
- Black Rose
- Gateway to Destiny
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_6vuWMW-OY&list=PLRnwItmM9-WGBvzvgXYYLy1ii5NNZjFMM&index=3
#41: You Have to Burn the Rope
Newgrounds Flash game, circa 2008. As a sophomore game design student I thought this game was CUTTING commentary on the state of AAA games.
This soundtrack has basically only one song in it, by Reachground. It is catchy as hell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaePM7M_pic&list=RDGaePM7M_pic&start_radio=1