Post your top five music themes

[samanosuke]

Righteo, following in the footsteps of the moderately successful top five retro games thread a while back, I'm asking forumites to post their top five music themes (note themes, not soundtracks!)

I'll get the ball rolling with mine. And yes, they are almost all by Sega. Youtube links would be great to save the rest of us searching

Here goes in reverse order:

5. Beat It (Moonwalker, arcade) - simply had to stick a tune in from this game but perhaps understandably I had trouble deciding which one to go for. The sound of Beat It blaring out in an arcade as I played Moonwalker for the first time in Butlins, Minehead, is a memory I will always cherish.

5. Slow Moon (Streets of Rage 2, MegaDrive - can't believe I missed out some Koshiro the first time around... What was I thinking?!?



4. Lotus II Title Theme (Lotus II, Amiga) - can't really say I have a particular memory with this one, only that the tune will stay permanently burned in my mind forever. Incredibly catchy and with great sounding synths.

4. Crazy Sue Goes On (Crazy Sue Goes On, Amiga) - great soundtrack to this game, especially for a PD release. Very Hubbard-esque and very catchy.



3. A-Type (Tetris, Gameboy) - 'nuff said.

3. Stage 2 (Sol Feace, Mega CD) - there was something magical about video game music that came out during the Mega-CD/PC Engine CD era. Music programmers were recreating a particular style of music - video game music - that had arguably been borne out of hardware limitations, yet the advent of CD media allowed artists to do so without these restrictions in place. The result is pure, unbridled gaming music with limitless channels, spanning many octaves, and with fantastic drums and synths. It is such a shame that developers started using 'real' music in games instead of fantastic compositions like this.



2. Shenmue Theme (Shenmue, Dreamcast) - epic, stirring and better than a film score, so immersive was the game that it almost feels like this is a soundtrack to a part of my life spent in Yokosuka.



1. Magical Sound Shower (Outrun, arcade) - I reckon it'd be my number one even without the steel drum bit in it, but with it surely nothing comes close to this?

[monel]

I really can't do a list of my favourites, there's too many to think of and a list would change all the time. So these aren't my absolute favourites, and I didn't try to find super rare stuff, just music I like from games.

1. Thunderforce 4- Stand Up Against Myself- I like another version of this the most but I can't find it on youtube, this is a cover I think:



2. Super Shinobi - Long Distance

3. Streets of Rage theme- so many versions really.



4. Golden Axe- arcade title music- Couldn't find the Arcade version but this Youtube medley is close enough, starting 1.10 / 1.15:



5. By coincidence, Yakumo's mention of Midnight Resistance made me remember the main theme music and I was listening to it a lot yesterday, will take that as number 5, but the MD version, couldn't find it on youtube right now.

[NeoStuey]

Best thing about the Unibios on my consolized MVS was being able to use the jukebox feature. I sure miss it.

[Guts]

There're too many awesome theme songs for me to make a "definite" list, but I'll put some up that come to my mind:

Snatcher - One Night In Neo Kobe



Suikoden - Opening theme



Secret of Mana - Opening theme



Final Fantasy VI - Opening theme especialy from 2:25 onward


Chrono Trigger - Opening theme



Came out a bit RPG heavy. Others include Mario (of course), Zelda, Mega Man games and many more.

Edit: Loving your picks, samanosuke. Moonwalker, Lotus (had it too on Amiga) and of course Shenmue theme is simply beautiful!

[Kit]

Contra 3 - Stage 3



Perfect blend of the Terminator and Aliens OST.

Conkers Bad Fur Day - Overworld theme



Whenever I'm feeling down I listen to this. Perks me right up.

Banjo Kazooie - Click Clock Wood



Metal Gear Solid - Hind D Battle



This is the track I think of when Metal Gear is mentioned.

Resident Evil 2 - Wreckage of the mad experiment



Could really pick any from the Resi series but I've found this is the one I go back to listen to quite a lot.

[Howiee]

Great thread!

Some unorthodox choices here, and mostly main themes, but great nonetheless.

In no particular order:

Syndicate 1993

Level 1, Rococop Vs Terminator (Mega Drive)

By the way, not to include it in the list of 5, but how similar is the music in Robocop Vs Terminator to the main theme of the original Fifa?

Policenauts Theme

Guile's stage SF2

Flashback intro (Mega Drive) - without question, one of the greatest intros ever.

[samanosuke]

I really can't do a list of my favourites, there's too many to think of and a list would change all the time. So these aren't my absolute favourites, and I didn't try to find super rare stuff, just music I like from games.

I completely agree, hence why I had to change my selection. Love Long Distance btw. Haven't heard it in decades, quite literally, so thanks for that

Best thing about the Unibios on my consolized MVS was being able to use the jukebox feature. I sure miss it.

Love the sound chips on the Neo. Stage 2 of Slug 3 very almost made my list.

There're too many awesome theme songs for me to make a "definite" list, but I'll put some up that come to my mind

Great selection Guts, I forgot all about the FFVI theme, mainly 'cause I rarely listen to it all the way through. Nice to see a Snatcher track in there - it surely has one of the most atmospheric OSTs of all time. Would've gone with Innocent Girl myself, it's a great track.

Flashback intro (Mega Drive) - without question, one of the greatest intros ever.

In terms of the music, the Amiga version does it for me:



...and in terms of best intro ever, it has to be Record of Lodoss War every day of the week:



Perhaps we could have a best intro thread next?

Anyway, great going so far... hope we get some more contributions

[acidbearboy]

I tried to pick 5 earlier this week, but ended up just listening through loads of my favourites and not actually picking any. Then I got to the Pilotwings soundtrack and ended up spending ages learning to play the Password theme on the keys. I'd have picked that if it deveolped further than just 4 bars of beautiful jazz chords; but as it doesn't I'll go for the Rocket Belt theme instead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrC2OZ8EBco

Next up we have some more quality SNES chords and melody, this time from F-Zero. I've gone for Mute City as it's the song that most regularly pops into my head at work. The whole soundtrack is amazing though, as is the official Jazz Arrange album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4RQTcLbFds

Another one that always pops into my head at work is the Dark World theme from Zelda: A Link To The Past. I haven't really played that game for at least 10 years, so it must be a classic tune if I still hum it regularly. I think it's those driving drum rolls...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgQaK7TGjX4

I think maybe this will be my SNES top 5. This is the main theme from Jaki Crush (pinball) from Naxat. It chugs along nicely and has one of, if not the best synth solo in videogame music history. Feel free to prove me wrong. Chiptune composer/arranger Hackurl also did a brilliant version using the MSX soundchip. MP3 here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q01cKRvq1DI

Finally, one of the most beautiful tunes ever comitted to cartridge - Stickerbrush Symphony/Brambles from Donkey Kong Country 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IDudDgfcgQ