There are quite a few people on Music Banter who love video games, and have a passion for seeking out interesting soundtracks. I'm not nearly as much of a gamer as I used to be, but I can vaguely recall the feeling of being transported to another world by a well-crafted song that perfectly fit the action taking place on screen. Here are some of my favorite soundtracks over the years!
GUN (2005)
It's difficult to explain just how much influence this game and the others of it's kind had on other shooting games, and the industry as a whole, especially since it's become relatively forgotten as time has gone on. GUN was one of a wave of games in the early 2000's that tried to break a certain stereotype; that Video Games were for children, and that they would never be able to compete with movies when it came to mature themes and dialogue, tension, and visual action. While many looked at the game's (at the time) incredibly graphic violence, and called it juvenile and pointless as they likened it to the kill-fests of the past like Doom and Wolfenstein, the dialogue and action throughout the story made it very clear that there was depth and maturity to the story being told. This was one the first games to ever really offer a presentation that felt
identical to the quality of a movie experience, while still letting you free-roam at your leisure. There was quality writing, a professionally crafted soundtrack, voice acting by people you recognized from movies, large set piece battles... GUN took everything that video games were trying to incorporate at the time, and brought them to the next level.
It's a shame, though, that the game hasn't aged well. The story and the villains seem laughably corny, the hero seems like nothing more than a one-liner machine out for revenge, and there are
many plotholes and inconsistencies. But GUN and it's peers changed the face of shooting games drastically, pushing them in a new direction. First and third person shooting franchises that used to be focused on rigid goal-based actions carried out by nameless grunts suddenly became about over-the-top heroes destroying larger than life villains in huge set piece battles as a larger story was played out, making them more and more like Adventure franchises (like Zelda), and pushing them to compete story-wise with movies. In many ways, GUN was the "Ocarina of Time" of third person shooters, complete with a very memorable soundtrack.
In my opinion, the best part of the game is the amazing music. The songs in GUN are absolutely gorgeous, and make the perfect match for the Western atmosphere of the game. I put some of my favorite songs in the spoilers tag above (and even though I put quite a few, it was still hard narrowing the choices down), but I highly recommend that you listen to the full soundtrack if you ever get the chance. Even if you hated this game and consider it to be wholly unimportant, I still think you ought to give the music a shot.
Wild ARMs (1997)
I'm going to be completely honest; I love Wild ARMs, but I have to admit that it isn't very different from many other RPGs that came out of Japan during the time period that it was developed. In fact, this game was highly influenced by franchises like Final Fantasy, which was soon to release it's seventh installation when Wild ARMs came out (and, in terms of sales, blew Wild ARMs out of the water). Still, it's a solid story with fun characters and some great moments, and the random breaking of the fourth wall ("This is a game! You should always carry a secret weapon!") was enough to endear people to the game to the point where it actually managed to build a fairly large fanbase, and became a franchise.
But putting all of that aside, the part of Wild ARMs that sticks with people the most is usually the opening cutscene that plays alongside the main theme of the game. It's hand drawn in the Manga/Anime style, and fits the exceptional music that plays alongside it remarkably well. The rest of the music in the game is also well made (especially for the variant of the main theme that plays after you beat the game), and actually this was one of the first games to feature various songs that were created by an actual orchestra specifically for it (although I believe a few games and franchises, like Final Fantasy, did it before them). But even putting the orchestral songs aside, the 8/16-bit era style music is also interesting and fun.
Dynasty Warriors 4 (2003)
The fourth installation of the Dynasty Warriors series, this is the game that most fans agree was the strongest point of the franchise, and it's really everything that a good sequel should be. The developers kept the trademark hack-'n-slash formula, but spiced it up by offering new mechanics, new characters, updated graphics, new weapons, new stages/battles, and a soundtrack that
is metallic beyond belief! Not only are the songs
very fun and catchy, they also helped to break the stereotype that video game soundtracks had to be either compositions made from pre-recorded sound bites, or orchestral arrangements. This soundtrack is well crafted Rock and Metal through and trough, with a splash of traditional Chinese added to the mix, and it all adds up to being one of the most memorable video game soundtracks of it's time.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms X (2005)
Released by the same developer of the Dynasty Warriors series, this lesser known franchise was less about destroying thousands of soldiers single-handedly, and more about managing a faction while using various tactics to destroy your rivals and unify China. This installment was the most RPG-like that the series would ever have, allowing you to play the game however you wanted. You could join or leave forces fluidly, complete side missions to improve your experience and learn new abilities, visit different towns, talk to the hundreds of officers in the game (each with a unique portrait and historical background), create your own character, become a warlord or emperor, or even just mess around as a free officer or bandit. But the best part of the game was, by the far, the wonderful orchestral soundtrack.
Morrowind (2002)
If I started to write about Morrowind, I'd end up writing all day, so I'll keep this short. If you haven't played it, give it a shot some time, and if you have, then isn't about time that you revisited the lovely swamplands and ash storms of Vvardenfell?
