I remember once I was listening to music from a game called Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, a 2014 title that was brought over to the PC from console. Why do I mention this? Because the music is some of the best of its kind, symphony rock, and a whole lot of it. One day I went onto the notorious site 4chan, but not to the part we think of when we think hackers and people who you think could destroy your life from a computer screen, no. I instead went to a different part of the site to discuss something lighthearted that we could all bond over: video game music. I start off by saying I was listening to Metal Gear Rising’s music, where the small forum I created turned into this big nostalgia trip for many, saying they were listening to many of the Super Mario soundtracks, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario 64, sonic the hedgehog, and countless others. It got me feeling nostalgic, I began pulling up playlists of the All-Stars Super Mario tracks, Donkey Kong Country, Mega-Man and one of my personal favorites, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers soundtrack. Bandai in my opinion, crafted to perfectly capture the feel of each stage, from the upbeat city streets to the gritty songs of the sewers you work your way through. It brings me back to a time where I would listen to those soundtracks at my part time job just to pass the time, or more importantly as a kid when I would play that game all the time. And that’s not to say that only happens with that game, Super Mario’s music brings me back to when I was much younger, when gaming was all I had to worry about (and 5th grade math) and always trying to beat the harder squeal, The Lost Levels. The music was the same, but the world was much different. I died a lot, obviously, so hearing the same tunes over and over made me appreciate every note (and hate) the shear amount of times I listened to them over and over due to having to replay the later levels so many times.
While there are dedicated lists and numerous posts that clearly state what games are better than the others, it’s harder to narrow it down to music, because a single game could have as many as ten or twenty different tracks to choose from. On top of that, many different game soundtracks appeal to different people, rather than the game as a whole. It makes it hard to find a list of just arcade games, rather than a list of specifically games from the arcade era. There is a plethora of lists for 16-bit games in general, but I don’t talk about 16bit games specifically, I cover any game that at one point had an arcade counterpart.
I figured I’d keep this post simple due to how difficult it would be to try and make a post based solely on music from games that may or may not have arcade counterparts, and instead share a story that got me feeling nostalgic(and maybe have you think about some of your favorite classic game tracks), rather than just solely give my opinion on what I think are my favorite, I’ll save that idea for another day.
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