2/10/00

Soundtracks Every Gamer Should Own

If you have been gaming for as long as I have, chances are that you have acquired a taste for video game soundtracks. The opening theme of Ninja Gaiden II, the victory fanfare of Final Fantasy, and any Castlevania track – chances are these have been engrained in your mind forever. So, why not pick up soundtrack CD’s from your favorite games? Lord knows that American music is truly heinous these days, so what else are you going to listen to? Of course, most of the good stuff is from RPG’s, but that’s just the way it is. Would you rather listen to the epic Lunar soundtrack, or that crap from Diddy Kong Racing? That’s what I thought. Anyway, here’re my picks for the best soundtracks available, and a few that aren’t readily available, in no particular order:

Chrono Cross Original Sdtk – 3 discs. Sweet merciful crap! I just heard this for the first time yesterday, and it is truly amazing. A mix of great new tracks and remakes of Chronotrigger classics that will bring a tear to your eye, this set should be owned by any Chrono-fan.

Chronotrigger Original Sdtk – 4 discs. Whilst on the subject of Chronotrigger, this set will remind you just how good Chronotrigger music, and Square music in general, really was. Very nice.

Final Fantasy Tactics Original Sdtk – 2 discs. This bad boy’s only two discs, but man, they cram a lot on there. If you have ever played the game, you know what a rousing classical score is to be found here.

Xenogears Original Sdtk – 2 discs. Another Square classic, composed by the same guy as the Chrono-games. Me likey.

Suikoden II Original Sdtk – 2 discs. Man, everything about this game rocks, especially the music. Another amazing classical score.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest Original Sdtk – 1 disc. This one is actually pretty good, even if the game itself was kinda for the kids. Final Fantasy mixed with metal, this disc is pretty unique for the series and is worth picking up.

Final Fantasy IV Original Sdtk – 1 disc. Final Fantasy 2 in the U.S., this game came out, like, almost a decade ago, but the music still holds up well. One of my fave’s. Definitely worth the money.

Final Fantasy V Original Sdtk – 3 discs. I never should have doubted Uematsu-sama, but I wasn’t sure if this one would be good until I played Final Fantasy Anthology. And, of course, it turned out to be great.

Final Fantasy VI Original Sdtk – 3 discs. Another amazing set from the Great One (and I’m not talking about Gretzky here). For some reason, all three discs are sold separately, so it may be tough to track down all three at once. They’re definitely worth searching for, though.

Final Fantasy VII Original Sdtk – 4 discs. In my opinion, not as good as Nobuo’s previous works, but it’s still better than 99% of the game soundtracks out there. This set is about 75% really good stuff and 25% somewhat-annoying stuff. Still worth picking up.

Final Fantasy VII Reunion Tracks – 1 disc. This one is nice. This has 10 of the composer’s favorite tracks from FF7, which is cool. However, the real draw is the last 5 tracks, which are major themes from the game performed by a full orchestra, including the Sephiroth opera! Get this one for sure.

Final Fantasy VIII Original Sdtk – 4 discs. While I only liked the soundtrack for FF7, I love FF8’s. Man, this stuff is good. And, right now we are getting in the funky box sets, which have the four discs, a limited edition FF8 poster, a cool art book, and more. It’s pricey (around $80), but if you have the cash, it’s definitely worth it.

Sonic Adventure Original Sdtk – 2 discs. I still can’t believe how good this one is. A funky mix of 80’s pop and glam metal, this one is great from beginning to end. And, I swear that’s Dio doing the intro theme! If you like this kind of stuff, do yourself a favor and pick it up. Just make sure that you get the ORIGINAL soundtrack, as the remixed one kinda sucks.

Dracula Best 1 and 2 – 3 discs total. This is probably the only collection of 8-Bit music that I would ever recommend (unless, of course, they released a Ninja Gaiden CD). It sounds pretty simplistic by today’s standards, but these themes are still as catchy as ever. These discs have tracks from all four NES Castlevania’s, as well as music from the SNES, and even Gameboy versions. It’s not exactly a must-own, but it’s still pretty cool.

Dracula Battle 1 and 2 – 2 discs total. This stuff is quite possibly the coolest music I have ever heard. Think classic Castlevania tracks a la heavy metal. Freakin’ awesome. This stuff is great for rushhour traffic – it really puts you in the mood for bloodletting. If you find these, buy them – it’s that simple.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Original Sdtk – 1 disc. This disc is much more subtle than the usual jumpy Castlevania stuff. It’s still very good, and many of the classic themes are here, but they are toned down a bit, and are more moody. Recommended. Now, if they would re-release that TurboDuo Dracula X soundtrack, I could die a happy man…

Lunar: Eternal Blue Sdtk – 1 disc. This one is REALLY hard to find, but it is SO worth it. There’s nothing quite like a GameArts soundtrack, and this is one of their best. Track it down through any means necessary.

Grandia Original Sdtk – 4 discs. If you can’t find the Lunar disc, this is a fine consolation prize. Much easier to find than any Lunar discs, this score was composed by the same team that did Lunar. Sold in two sets with 2 discs each, the whole set will probably run you $60-$70, but man, is it nice. A totally unique experience. Now I can’t wait for Grandia 2.

Secret of Mana Original Sdtk – 1 disc. The music in this game is pretty hard to describe, but suffice it to say that if you liked the game, you’ll love the soundtrack. ‘Nuff said.

Panzer Dragoon Azel – 1 disc. Whoa, mamma! One of the best scores around comes from one of the best RPG’s in history. Another classical work of art.

Bust-a-Groove Original Sdtk – 1 disc. This is a truly funky collection of techno, disco, and J-Pop tracks all on one disc. If you like any of these genres, you owe it to yourself to grab this one. "I’m a natural playboy…"

Shenmue Original Sdtk – 1 disc. I’m still in shock over this one. I never expected it to be THIS good. Right up there with the best of Square, if you like RPG music, you MUST own this disc. That is all.

Well, that’s about it for my favorites. I’m sure I probably missed some good ones, but hey, I’ll throw ‘em in next time. For most of these, I usually recommend playing through the game first, if possible. If you’ve heard this stuff several times during the game, chances are you’ll truly appreciate each track. Of course, you probably can’t do that yet for Shenmue and Chrono Cross, but those two are so good that it probably doesn’t matter. Also, if you have acquired a taste for J-Pop, chances are that you’re having a tough time finding places to buy it. I feel your pain. The best place I have found is Easiagate.com. They seem to have pretty much everything, and I have always gotten my stuff with no problems. I suggest checking out Speed and Chara – that thar’s good stuff. Happy listening!

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