Music to my Ears (Castle Levels!)

Thought about posting the MK64 one myself, but in the end, it's... just not as good as MK8's. Daytona's is brilliantly stupid though.

Ah - Athers - this is just oing to point out my incredible lack of maturity, and make me look like a complete doofus - I have trouble listening to "serious" songs with lyrics; my cringe gland over-reacts. See also that song from Fire Emblem Awakening, thus making me incredibly unpopular with everyone; I can just about cope with Zelda in Skyward Sword because I don't recognise the words.

However, between your post and mind have been a bunch of silly lyric songs - and I love these! The Daytona one... dig-diggity-dog... I'm fine with this.

*gasp* wait a minute...

WE ALL FORGOT THIS ONE
AND THIS ONE but not so much - actually I feel I've clicked on this recently - did I just miss this?

KD's theme is one of the happiest pieces of music I've ever heard.

Jimbob wrote:

I can just about cope with Zelda in Skyward Sword because I don't recognise the words.

Wait - are you saying you're fluent in Latin in regards to that FFXV track?  

Jimbob wrote:

AND THIS ONE but not so much - actually I feel I've clicked on this recently - did I just miss this?

FUCK YES. What a pick. This week has been won.

I might be the only person who'd enjoy this, but I want a week of moody acoustic covers of pop songs from videogame trailers.

Great shout. I think it reached peak ridiculousness when Dark Souls III of all games got a moody cover. Madness.

No, I've got the next theme sorted after a bit of brainstorming, but I'll file that suggestion under "definitely getting used".

JayMoyles wrote:

Great shout. I think it reached peak ridiculousness when Dark Souls III of all games got a moody cover. Madness.

The worst part is, I love that song!

Time for MGS to shine then

I'll cover my ears during that week! (exit pursued by a )

A new theme, one purposely designed to wind Jimbob up...

What's the best vocal track in a video game?

So, a quick ground rule - try to avoid licensed tracks. That'll be for another week, so keep your GTAs, Guitar Heroes and other rhythm games to yourself for now.

Right, let's get to it:



An obvious one to kick us off, it's Snake Eater from MGS3. The best Bond theme ever written and once you know the lyrics, it's impossible not to belt this out whenever you hear it. I'M STIIIIIIIIIIIIIILL IN A DREAAAAAAAAAAM, SNAKE EAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATEEEEEEEEEERRRRRR.



Context is key with this one, but for those that have played To the Moon, you'll understand why I've chosen this track. Tearjerker city.



You've probably heard this one before. Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive" from Portal might just be the most well-known video game vocal track. You couldn't escape it when Portal came out. I quite like the follow-up song from Portal 2 as well, actually. It's not as catchy as Still Alive, mind.



Right, the next two are from JRPGs, so you've been suitably warned.

A week without Persona? Don't be silly. I couldn't let this week pass without highlighting this banger from P3. I think a lot of Persona fans would rate this as one of the best tracks in the series. They'd be right too. I still find myself humming this from time and time on a whim.



Have I used this yet? Fuck it, who cares - here's Calling from TWEWY. Again, I think folks would rate this as the best track from this game. J-Pop goodness.

And lastly...



ODYSSEY, YA SEE. ODYSSEY, YA SEE. ODYSSEY, YA SEE.

Over to you lot!

I love a good vocal track, so I'll be all over this!

I enjoyed the Persona and TWEWY tracks, though I'm leaving the TTM one for now as I do intend to play that at some point.

JayMoyles wrote:

An obvious one to kick us off, it's Snake Eater from MGS3. The best Bond theme ever written and once you know the lyrics, it's impossible not to belt this out whenever you hear it. I'M STIIIIIIIIIIIIIILL IN A DREAAAAAAAAAAM, SNAKE EAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATEEEEEEEEEERRRRRR.

Never mind belting it out whenever it comes on, I instinctively sing this whenever I climb ladders now, in real life or in games. This remains the best version, though.

The Main One wrote:

ODYSSEY, YA SEE. ODYSSEY, YA SEE. ODYSSEY, YA SEE.

WHAT A BANGER! I've had this in my head since I first heard it. Already some lovely covers coming out.

Drunka's tracks incoming!

Not the week I was thinking off, i thought it be more Mad World Gears of War but

I will try to out Metal Gear, Jay with this choice from MGS

You want some Persona 4 instead of 3, sure you do

Some Final Fantasy VI always goes down a treat along with Kingdom Hearts

The real winner is this Sonic track

Jay's already posted some absolute winners - Calling, One-Up Girl, and Still Alive are all brill enough to overcome my indifference towards lyrics. (Burn My Dread is pretty good too, especially when those violins kick in! Can take or leave Snake Eater.) For real lyrical music quality, though, there's only one game to go for:




XCX continues its tradition of having what they call 'banging choons' (and whoever 'they' are, 'they' should stop right now).


Let's start off with the mini-boss/tyrant theme, Don't Worry. Gets the blood pumping immediately. But what's really great is its combinations: here it is with Battle Against a True Hero, but it's even funnier when combined with YWW music.

Then there's the overdrive music. I never mastered the overdrive mechanic, so I never heard anywhere near this much. But it's great music.

Finally, we have the music that makes you feel like a god: Don't Worry, a.k.a. the mech-flying song. The first time I heard this it shoved a massive smile onto my face. It's incredible.


Oh, and a new entry from a game that's only just been announced: Sushi Striker's theme. It's pure anime and I love it. You may have noticed.


All of these songs have lyrics I can't understand or can ignore, and that's the best way for them.

I was going to post the City Escape remix myself. Folk here use the word 'banger' a lot. An old car in poor condition, this song is not. Open Your Heart from Sonic Adventure is another stoater.

I went looking for some songs from The House of the Dead: Overkill's soundtrack - which is absolutely brilliant - but I couldn't find what I was after. Then I thought about posting stuff from the Parappa The Rapper games, but it's very hard to pick even just a few. I used Daytona USA last week as well. I'll have to think about this a bit more.

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

Then I thought about posting stuff from the Parappa The Rapper games, but it's very hard to pick even just a few.

It's got to be the car rap for me.

JayMoyles wrote:

A new theme, one purposely designed to wind Jimbob up...

JayMoyles wrote:

An obvious one to kick us off, it's Snake Eater from MGS3. The best Bond theme ever written and once you know the lyrics, it's impossible not to belt this out whenever you hear it. I'M STIIIIIIIIIIIIIILL IN A DREAAAAAAAAAAM, SNAKE EAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATEEEEEEEEEERRRRRR.

Actually this is quite good - at the risk of repeating myself, because it's slightly naff. Whereas

masofdas wrote:

I will try to out Metal Gear, Jay with this choice from MGS

feels like it might be trying too hard to emulate the former.

JayMoyles wrote:

Context is key with this one, but for those that have played To the Moon, you'll understand why I've chosen this track. Tearjerker city.

This I would put in the   category if I didn't know what it was about   .

JayMoyles wrote:

You've probably heard this one before. Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive" from Portal might just be the most well-known video game vocal track. You couldn't escape it when Portal came out.

Likewise, this is sort of silly, but in a sweet way. Basically I'm a massive hypocrite.

JayMoyles wrote:

ODYSSEY, YA SEE. ODYSSEY, YA SEE. ODYSSEY, YA SEE.

At the risk of being unpopular, the more I hear this, the more I just think that this sounds badly translated.

masofdas wrote:

The real winner is this Sonic track

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

I went looking for some songs from The House of the Dead: Overkill's soundtrack - which is absolutely brilliant - but I couldn't find what I was after. Then I thought about posting stuff from the Parappa The Rapper games, but it's very hard to pick even just a few. I used Daytona USA last week as well. I'll have to think about this a bit more.

*gasp* - of course, Parappa - get on it!


Even though this topic offends me, I'm going to repost Buck Bumble and Katamari on the Rocks again.

Despite my taking the piss, I'm genuinely adding a Japanese RPG theme - the end of Chrono Cross, which I've never played, but I've had this song aimed at me.

But the ultimate, beautifully sung, emotional video game song is of course this.

Sorry, that wasn't funny! Seriously: the ultimate, beautifully sung, emotional video game song is of course this.

Jimbob wrote:

masofdas wrote:

I will try to out Metal Gear, Jay with this choice from MGS

feels like it might be trying too hard to emulate the former.

Whilst it's no Snake Eater, this one needs the ridiculous context of it playing over Big Boss scrapping with an attack helicopter.

masofdas wrote:

Persona 4 instead of 3, sure you do

There is never a time when that statement is right on a factual level. Never. P3 > P4 erry day all day!


Also shame on everybody for not bringing the only version of Somnus that matters up! Everything about the theme is haunting, its only crime being let down by the actual game itself.


Continuing on from the "made up lyrics" stuff (aka the best kind of vocal themes, or at least the only sorts of vocal music I can normally stand without ripping my ears from my head) I bring in what is unquestionably the single best vocal soundtrack in gaming, Nier Automata, only rivalled by its predecessor Nier. There's Wretched Weaponry, a glorious seven minute masterpiece that starts off chill and haunting and goes from there (those who bail before the halfway mark miss out on a treat), Forest Kingdom comes in next, and finally I pick up the intensity with Dark Colossus (Kaiju), another theme those who bail within the first minute are going to miss a lot from. That Organ is just delicious.


And finally I follow every other Persona mention with some classy Last Surprise from Persona 5.

More MGS with Quiets Theme and Sins of the Father.

This from Bioshock Infinite but it is a cover of Johnny Cash and same with this from Resident Evil 7, what about this upcoming Last of Us Part II.

Jimbob wrote:

But the ultimate, beautifully sung, emotional video game song is of course this.

Sorry, that wasn't funny! Seriously: the ultimate, beautifully sung, emotional video game song is of course this.

Shut this 'week' down, Jimbob's won it.

Talking of Parappa makes me think about other rhythm games. What are we allowed? If it's a 'real' song that happens to appear in a rhythm game, does that count?

Whatever: two remixes from the latter stages of Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise.

SIT DOWN KIDS, TIME TO GET LEARNED.


Fly Me to the Moon
The song existed before Bayonetta, but calling this a licensed track would be outrageous. It's so elegantly woven into the game, with the cute little memories of her mother singing it and the barmy, bombastic climax edition the game is famous for. I'll never hear that song again without picturing seven shades being kicked out of angellic hordes. Bayonetta 2's Moon River is also fabulous, though it isn't quite as well worked into the story and world.


Ai No Uta
A weird one, this. Ai No Uta was a single released alongside Pikmin on the Gamecube, but it struck such a chord with people, perhaps because the lyrics can apply as well to salarymen as vegetable lads, it was much more successful than the game itself. It does actually pop up in the games themselves, though: the Pikmin can sing it!


Eternal Promise
That's one in English and one in Japanese, so here's one in a nonsense language from Monster Hunter 4U. There are a whole selection of songs the Diva can sing, unlocked through quests and requested in a special concert hall. This one is my favourite, but they're all beautiful.


Seven Rings in Hand
Sorry not sorry.


Malo Mart
We already had this bad boy for the shop week, but I'll never get tired of Malo Mart. Delightfully weird and wonderful, catchy and repetitive, slightly creepy- perfect for the little freak that is Malo.


Splattack
I already gave Splatoon the full music week treatment in the old Nintendo Music thread, but it bares repeating. A fantastic game with a phenomenal soundtrack overflowing with lovable personality. Certain forumites will lament it because the lyrics are in Inkling, but these people are just Cuckolds to the loony lefty Mirriam Webster dictionary intellectual liberal elite new world order plot, so their opinions are null and void. An enlightened intellectual like myself can enjoy Splatoon tracks as the pitch-perfect parodies of human music that they are, while also appreciating them for often being better than most music in said genres.
Splaaaa tooooon!

Mas Feedback:

The Balls Man:

Jimminy Jim Jim:

Drunkalilly wrote:

Eternal Promise
That's one in English and one in Japanese, so here's one in a nonsense language from Monster Hunter 4U. There are a whole selection of songs the Diva can sing, unlocked through quests and requested in a special concert hall. This one is my favourite, but they're all beautiful.

That brings all the great memories I have of playing Monster Hunter Tri on wii, wonderful stuff.

Drunka's done a collection of belters there (with two exceptions).  Ai No Uta, in particular, is very nice, and in a completely different vibe to most other songs this week.  I'd never heard the Diva one either, but that was good stuff!  Love me some tribal chanting.

Drunkalilly wrote:

JAY HAS EXPLICITLY SAID RHYTHM GAMES WILL HAVE THEIR OWN WEEK PATRICK.

Then what's he doing responding to Cappa's mention of Parappa?  If the host is going to be a hypocrite I don't see why I should be beholden to his rules.

Drunkalilly wrote:

There is some great music in XCX but there's also this. Ooh ooh, aah aah, ooh, one two three four . . .

We don't talk about that. Or Black Tar.

Drunkalilly wrote:

Balladeer wrote:

Oh, and a new entry from a game that's only just been announced: Sushi Striker's theme.  It's pure anime and I love it.  You may have noticed.

Umm. Each to their own, I suppose . . .

Not surprised you dislike this, especially because of the way you enjoy game music and the game itself flew under the radar.  Being a mid-tier weeb, I love anime opening themes, and this sounds like a pretty good anime theme.  That's why I asked Athrun to listen to it in the pinned music thread, I reckon he's the only one here save me who stands a chance of appreciating this silliness.  (Admittedly I asked you too... eh, we all make mistakes.)

I'll try and give it a proper, more open-minded listen and get back to you.

So, fun story.  I spent the last half an hour or so sitting here in my lounge typing up a post.  Said post was to contain responses and thoughts pertaining to the various musical pieces posted so far, and started off with what I thought was a rather funny joke regarding my typical lack of making these sorts of posts pertaining to flying pigs and how I had finally trained one to fly me to the moon, sheer brilliance if I do say so myself.  I'd gotten through Jay and Mas's lists and was returning after listening to Mas's sonic track to post my thoughts and begin on balla's.  


It was at this point I realised something.  The tab containing this now-likely-believed-to-be-mythical message was missing.  






Don't ya just love it when you take the time and effort to do something, and do it reasonably thoroughly, and then find all that time and effort was for naught.  Because I sure do!  Suffice to say I am absolutely thrilled to bits to find that I accidentally closed the tab on my post by mistake.  

And now I've had my little vent I shall attempt to repair some of the damage done (repairing all of it is entirely impossible as there's zero chance I shall be able to recapture various thoughts and tangents).  So expect some of these to be rather flavourless.  Fortunately closing the tab didn't kill my memories along with it, so at least some of the time spent hasn't gone down the gurgler.  And rest assured this shall not be happening again, god gave man the Windows Wordpad for this very reason!

Jay's picks V.2:

Also yay I think I'm getting my flow back.

Mas's Picks 2.0:

Phew, getting that stuff back down feels like a weight off my chest.  Onwards!

Balla's Picks:

On the Jimbob picks: I can happily say I lasted longer during the DK rap than the chrono song, which honestly put me to sleep.  Lots of people rave about that game's soundtrack, yet I've never heard a theme from it that compelled me, evoked any particular emotion, or frankly interested me to try more of it.  Lots of people swear by it and its composer, alas I just don't see the appeal.  

Drunkalily's picks:

And with that y'all have absolutely no excuse skipping the best music in the thread!  

And while I'm here I think I'll throw in some more picks because, as it turns out, waiting and thinking about things raises choices one wouldn't immediately think of but might prefer!  Earth shattering revelation I know.  



Y'all knew another Persona 5 number was coming with its smooth smooth soundtrack.  Beneath the Mask is one smooth chill number, I don't think I've enjoyed a night map theme this much since Persona 3's.  It's one mellow number and easy to chill out to.  Next up to contrast Persona 3's "Burn My Dread" is the full version of the game's opening theme Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There, continuing the smooth classy feel (or should that be starting it given its role!)  Finally I wrap up the Persona 5 showcase with Last Surprise.  Bet you never saw that repeat coming!     Seriously though I'm in absolute love with this battle theme, might be too early to say it tops Mass Destruction, but I can't see myself getting tired of this one.  





If you thought I was done with Persona you were oh so wrong.  Jay already touched on the opening theme for the original so I'm going to take things straight to the street with the best rap in video games, Wiping All Out, let it remove memories of horrid raps like Xenoblade X's Black tar from your mind!  But why post one standard battle theme when I can post the best one!  Mass Destruction baby!  Welcome to the two songs that made me realise rap can actually be good!  Meanwhile this next number is why Beneath The Mask isn't taking best night theme spot, When the Moon's Reaching Out Stars (engrish yay!), a nice mellow number to end the Persona 3 showcase.  





I pity the fool who thought after Jay and Mas opened the can of worms that is Persona's vocal songs I'd be done already.  Oh, you thought I'd skip Persona 4 as my least favourite of the series?  Skip good numbers like this one brought to the table?  Hell na, not happening.  Contrasting with Persona 3's melancholic air and Persona 5's slick mysterious air is Persona 4's ultra cheerful happy air!  The game's main battle theme was already shown, so I'm skipping straight to the exploration themes!  Signs of Love gets the honour of kicking off this showcase, despite the cheerful nature it's also got a bit of spunk in it.  Speaking of spunk here's the better battle theme Time To Make History, again showing that vocal battle themes can kick ass and, unlike its counterpart, not a theme I got tired of (which is actually kind of funny when you think about it considering I actually probably heard this more than Reach Out To The Truth).  

Lastly, one song I can't omit after raving about it, is Heaven.  This one is f***ing tragic and perfectly fits with and demonstrates the quality of characters Persona often has.  There's also a couple of official arrangements of the song that I absolutely love.


And thus concludes the Persona soundtrack showcase. Let it be made crystal clear however that these are just scratching the surface, between the original soundtracks and official arrange soundtracks there's ton more material here. And with that I think I'm off to give that twewy number another listen.