What game(s) have the best music?

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[Lengo]

This thread is for entertainment purposes only! It is not a discussion for arguing which is better. It is about music in games, and which games you like because of their music.

This thread is about music only! It is not about other things that make a game enjoyable. Stay on topic. You have the option to start a different thread if you want to discuss the other good qualities of a game. This thread is about game music.

I like the music in Tropico: Mucho Macho. I find it, by far, more relaxing and enjoyable than the music in other games that I have. It is not distracting. It does not cause the player stress. It is not annoyingly repetitive. It is comforting and soothing, and it provides a good atmosphere that is conducive to the game's theme. So, in a nutshell, it is relaxing. I like that. I play for relaxation. Tropico is one of the best for this, and it's music helps it along nicely.

If you are not familiar with this music, here are links to samples.  These are for sale at amazon.com, but I put them here only so that you can sample the tunes.

Paradise Island

http://www.amazon.com/Tropico-Paradise-Island/dp/B00196Y4NI/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1318179506&sr=1-20

Track 13, Perrito Callejero is particularly nice. It is lively and fun. The title loosely translates to Little Street-wise Dog. This is the game's introduction song, and it is played upon first launching the game.

Tropico: The Music

http://www.amazon.com/Tropico-the-Music/dp/B001973AI2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1318179506&sr=1-1

Again, track 13, "Como te Gusta" is most notable (in my opinion). I understand and speak a little spanish. The  title is, in English, "How you Like!" The lyricis, loosely translated, is basically "How you like to dance! You have feet, but you don't use them. Instead you worry and think of your worries".


Do you like what you hear? I find them relaxing and very enjoyable. I play these outside of the game as entire albums, combinations of the albums, and in mixes of Caribbean music. I have bough these albums in a set, when it used to be available as a set.


What game(s) provide you with music that you enjoy? And if available, please provide links to samples, or a YouTube video that contains a song from any game that you think provides excellent music.

We come to enjoy ourselves. Let's find the best of the music and why it is appealing. And lets not argue over which is better or best. And please don't over analyze the music. This is not an intellectual exercise! Relax! That's why we come to citybuildergames. We come to enjoy ourselves. Please keep it that way.

[RhiannOn]

I'm especially fond of the Main theme  from Morrowind.
It may be downloaded here for a listen.
http://www.ubi.com/de/downloads/info.aspx?dlid=308

[Khalan]

I'd agree with Morrowind as well.

Baba Yetu, the menu song of Civ IV.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/IJiHDmyhE1A&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/IJiHDmyhE1A&rel=1</a>

One Winged Angel, Final Fantasy 7.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/t7wJ8pE2qKU&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/t7wJ8pE2qKU&rel=1</a>

[crowebird]

I can no longer hear the Civ IV menu theme without thinking about this:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/aL6wlTDPiPU&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/aL6wlTDPiPU&rel=1</a>

[Lengo]

Good! Except for the parody of Civilization ("with lyrics").  All of these are large and grand, and I had forgotten the Civilization theme which is really super. The Final Fantasy music would be a lot better if it was played by a real orchestra instead of midi synthesis. Once can only wonder how grand it would be.

Good choices! These are all large and epic! The composers do good jobs on all of these. Keep 'em coming!

@Rhiannon, I'm glad that the Morrowind Theme is available for download. I put it in my MP3s/Games folder. Thanks for the heads-up on that!  

My MP3s/Games folder has music from Stronghold Crusaders, Warcraft II (midi), and Civ City Rome.

If you have Civ City Rome, mp3s are in your Civ City Rome/fx/music folder. Just copy the folder to your My Documents/My Music folder, and name it Civ City Rome instead of fx.

Stronghold Crusader\fx\music contains .raw files. However, I think these are available in mp3 format at

http://stronghold.heavengames.com  

That's where I got them a very long time ago, but I can't find them again on the site now. Maybe I can make a few available if you want them, but I can only make them available for a short time.

The Warcraft II files are made with midi, so they're not so hot, but if you played this endlessly like I used to, they'll warm the cockles of your heart (what's a cockle?  )  If ya want a few in mp3 format, just holler. I have no idea where I got them. That was WAY BACK in 1994, I think. DANG! Tha's old!

Good stuff! Keep 'em coming!


Edit:
I found the Stronghold Crusader songs. They can be found here:

http://stronghold.heavengames.com/downloads/lister.php?search=music

[Lengo]

heh heh heh.  I found this:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZU-n8UZM5Cc&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/ZU-n8UZM5Cc&rel=1</a>


Though there is voice overlaid on top of the music, you can get a gist of what the music is like. After posting the last post, I listened to what I have from Warcraft II, and discovered that it's very fitting for Halloween music. It's spooky, it's hokey, and it has a sense of ominous doom. T'would be great for Halloween antics.  

I still have my copy of Warcraft II, but I doubt that it will run under Windows XP (my OS) or anything. It ran under Windows 3. I wouldn't play it even if it would run, though it was one of the best sellers in it's day back in '94. It was the click-fest from hell! Also, there were no walls to protect your town from invasion. Instead of using walls, you placed houses(!) around  your encampment for protection. However, in 1994, there was nothing more sophisticated, and it was a very exciting game.

After listening to the music from Warcraft II last night, I thought I might make a music video for YouTube, and went looking for screen shots online this morning to make one. While doing this (and failing to find adequate images), I decided to look for Warcraft II videos to illustrate the music. I was quite surprised to find this video and others.  But I'm also very pleased because making a video is difficult, so now I don't have to. Still, I can zip the music and put it on my personal server space temporarily. I have all of the music for the Human faction, and all for the Orcs. If anyone is interested, just holler and I'll make the mp3s available.

The music has a Halloween feel to it. It is creepy, hokey (due to it coming from midi voices), and just plain fun to remember the 'good old days' when computer gaming was in it's infancy.  'Good'? I'm not so sure. 'Old'? Definitely!

Let me know if you'd like to have this music in mp3 format. It's fun if you were there. It's fun for Halloween music too. And it's a piece of history. The game was hugely popular despite all of it's short comings. "Come get some!" -- Duke Nukem (do you remember this game?). I'll be happy to put up a zip, but I can't leave it up long or I'll suffer extra charges from my ISP for using up too much server space. Just let me know, and I'll put it up for a week or ten days.

p.s. Humans rule, Orcs drool!   It was fun to use your wizard to turn an enemy into a sheep!   T'was also fun to have an air force of flying dragons in this Real Time Strategy game.

[RhiannOn]

What is it about some of these themes?  I am listening to Morrowind at the moment and I feel like it is stirring up something"longing",lost or perhaps "wonderment" or something inside of me, but I don't know what it is referring too.  Weird eh? 
 Maybe I need to reinstall it on my  upgraded pc as normally it would be there................

Do you folk have any of these sort of "feelings" when listening to  particular game music?

[Lengo]

.... I feel like it is stirring up something"longing",lost or perhaps "wonderment" or something inside of me, but I don't know what it is referring too.  Weird eh? 
 ................

Do you folk have any of these sort of "feelings" when listening to  particular game music?

Yep. Some music conjures up feelings that are eerie. Sorta like deja vu or something.... like I been there before. At other times I wish I had been there! This doesn't only apply to game music. It can be other music too. One that always gets me is Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. I can't say why! I don't know why! It just pulls at me for some reason.

One thing is certain: Music can make or break a game. All of the above are excellent. Some games' music, well, they sorta suck. And always, FPS games' music and I don't get along.

[Khalan]

On the subject of evocative music, this was written in 1939 by Joaquín Rodrigo; this section was written to reflect the loss of his first child via miscarriage:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/iuxb4zs0BNA&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/iuxb4zs0BNA&rel=1</a>

[Lengo]

Nice, Khalan. Andrea Bocelli has performed this piece too. I dunno if there's a YouTube video of it, but Concierto de Aranjuez is very good and even better by Bocelli.

Do you know of Gustavo Dudamel? He is The Los Angeles Philharmonic's new conductor. He's a youngster in his mid 30s. He is one to watch! Look for some of his recordings.