Patient Gamers

I have lots of favourites but I feel like most will be suggested by others so I’ll go for one that isn’t as popular: Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine. The whole soundtrack is amazing start to finish. Some of the best piano tunes to ever be in a video game, and a super under-appreciated game. It should’ve been way bigger than it was. Unfortunately it’s being tainted by its less-than-stellar sequel which came out recently. Don’t play the sequel, but definitely play the original. It’s fun solo but it really shines co-op with a friend (or three). It supports up to four players and I’d definitely recommend co-op if you have the means. I used to play it on 360 with a friend of mine and it’s some of my most fond gaming memories. It’s not a difficult game to figure out but it’s not an easy game to get good at. But all that is to say, play the game, or if you can’t, absolutely listen to the soundtrack. It’s awesome.

pictionary nes. trust me. wave race 64 but slow it down to 56% speed. waterworld platoon alcahest evergrace spiderman nes - first level solar jetman aerobiz supersonic uncharted waters dune msdos

i could go on

All the Astro Bot games have phenomenal soundtracks, Kenneth CM Young (of MediaMolecule) is brilliant and knows how to write really catchy earworms. Really got stuck listening to Trapped in Time and Papa Tree.

Some which come to mind are:

• Bastion
• Lost Eden
• Duke Nukem 3D
• Flatout 2
• System Shock
• Arcanum ...

But there are probably a lot more which I have played and are great.

Citizen Sleeper

Megaman 2 still reigns supreme IMO. The most consistent soundtrack for any video game ever. Bangers end-to-end.

Sexy Parodius is also fantastic. It's a demented mix of jacked up, synthesized classical and folk tunes. This is probably my favorite track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlRO9Q0dbQA&list=PLAdIErLpAnQCc5Mk19_MAyeV5bMGsFRpG&index=24 The synth-sax is incredible!

World of Warcraft

I really like the Rome Total War Soundtrack by Jeff van Dyck

Cyberpunk has ton of awesome tracks

Pon Pon Shit

SUPER MARIO GALAXY. IT HAS SUCH A LEGENDARY SOUNDTRACK. If you wanna just try it out, first listen to "Gusty Garden Galaxy" Literally one of the most beautiful game soundtracks.

final fantasy, anything thats NOT 7 simply because its played to death.

Ape Out really only has the one song... but it is perfectly utilized to puncuate the gameplay experience.

• Bravely Default kicks with both special and battle themes (go give vagrant of love a try)

-Gran Turismo 4 suuper nice menu themes i especially like hypnosis, the motorious zone, don't kick yourself and be at home

The answer is always Chrono Trigger.

30 years later, and still nothing has topped it. No game even comes close.

I think nothing top the JRPGs. My current favs would be Nier: Replicant & Nier: Automata. There's also this rather obscure game I love called Ar Tonelico in which the music is part of the story; of course that wouldn't do if the music suck.

Other than that, I love the entire soundtracks for both Cult of the Lamb as well as Stray.

skyrim might be THE greatest soundtrack of all time

fallout 1 and 2 (and new vegas as it reuses the soundtrack) are really cool and eerie. fallout 3 and 4 are good too

i quite enjoyed the soundtrack for south of midnight

also, this next one isnt an official soundtrack made for the game but a collection of good songs. but madden 10 has probably the most ludicrously stacked soundtrack ive ever heard for a sports game

/u/tal@lemmy.world is a hero for linking all the tracks in this thread.

Literally every Supergiant game.

In no particular order:

• Warhammer 40k Mechanicus
• Total Annihilation
• Doom 2016
• Hotline Miami
• Rome Total War
• Witcher 3
• Halo
• StarCraft

Risk of Rain 2, by Chris Chris, is such a fucking bop! I particularly recommend The raindrop that fell to the sky and The rain formerly known as purple

RoR one is good too, but not as much

Civ 3 has my fav soundtrack. My favorite is this gem you get in the modern era:

https://youtu.be/MPe5an9VltI

Rimworld
Starsector
Project Zomboid

i'm ngl most nintendo games really got banger music. i esp love mario kart 8's soundtrack, peak fusion

Persona 3/4/5 are goated on their own ways in my opinion.

The Final Fantasy X soundtrack is great too

but rn my obsession soundtrack is Neon White, I love machine girl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9X15iDR7z8

Mirror's Edge, as well as Hardspace Shipbreaker

Katamari Damacy.

Na na, na na na na na, na na, na na na na na na...

Quake 2

Guild Wars 1

Jetset radio

Dustforce

Scott Pilgrim vs the Wolrd the Game

River City Girls 1 and 2

Okami

OTXO and what's even more impressive is that the developer of the game made the music himself! GhostRunner had a bangin' ass soundtrack too.

Bunch of bangers on this list already, but the one that sends shivers up my spine to this day is Crusader Kings 2.

Chrono Cross.

Hyperlight Drifter

Cobalt Core

They're in the same vein but it's some of the best chiptune-esque music I've ever heard. They're not these one note, one tempo, same vibe over and over again tracks. They have feeling and movement. Almost melancholic at times. Scary in the case of HLD. They remind me a lot of mid 2010s prog metal in some respects. Not the heaviness or the distorted guitars, but the melodies and creativity with sound that pushed music forward in those years. Like the last track of the Cobalt Core ost flows right into My Last Serenade by Killswitch Engage and it's a chefs kiss of greatness. They're both top 5 video game ost for me.

A lot of great ones have already been mentioned: (Old School) Runescape, Bastion, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Braid, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Celeste, Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, Crypt of the NecroDancer, Cyberpunk 2077, Deus Ex (2000), Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2, Doom 2016, Earthbound, F-Zero GX, FTL, Hades, Halo, Hi Fi Rush, Hotline Miami, Jet Set Radio and JSR Future, Kirby (any of them), Legend of Mana, Mother 3, Neotokyo, Nier: Automata, Pizza Tower, Quake, Ratchet & Clank (any of them), Risk of Rain 1 and 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Shantae (any of them), Shatter, Shovel Knight, SimCity 3000, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic CD (Japan), Sonic Mania, Sonic Rush, Stardew Valley, Tower of Heaven, Transistor, Trine, and VVVVVV

Here's some that haven't been mentioned yet:

Ape Escape

• PS1 game, soundtrack by icon of the 90s era Japanese House music scene, Soichi Terada. All of his tracks are bangers. I've seen the soundtrack described as House, Jungle, and DnB. Probably my favorite game soundtrack ever, but that's probably nostalgia talking.
• Soundtrack: Game Rip, Fan Remastered or Originape Soundtrack/Official Soundtrack CD (Note: Terada has released his own remastered tracks in the 2020s since the Originape CD, but they are split over multiple albums and I'm too lazy to track them down at the moment)
• Standout tracks: Peak Point Matrix/Galaxy Monkey, Primordial Ooze, Thick Jungle- Woods, Dark Ruins, Crumbling Castle, Specter's Factory- Outside, Time Station

Final Fantasy Legends III / SaGa 3 Jikū no Hasha: Shadow or Light

• Originally on Gameboy, Japan only remake on DS (fan translation patch exists). This is really a game in the SaGa series, but was released under the Final Fantasy name internationally for marketing purposes. Characters don't have levels, their stats change based on what they do. Enemies also drop meat and parts that you can apply to a character to change their class, with some unique mechanics for different types. Features a time traveling stealth bomber, THE TALON, that may possibly be the only airship in gaming with a working toilet. DS Remake is generally better, but it kills overworld exploration by turning it into "select an adjacent POI" instead of free roam.
• Soundtrack: Gameboy, unfortunately I can't find this version with track names. DS Remake
• Standout Tracks: Setting off into the future, Holy Ruins (a criminally underused track in game), Oasis (has some odd animal sfx added in the middle in this remake version), Stronghold (imo, one of the best dungeon themes in gaming), THE MOTHERFUCKING TALON THEME (this is the GB version, as the DS remake loses the countermelody which imo weakens the track)

Ghost Trick

• Originally for DS, has been remade for just about everything now. It's effectively a VN with fancy gameplay segments, and the music really helps carry the whole thing. Beautifully done sprite animation too.
• Soundtrack: DS, 2023 Remaster
• Standouts: Ghost Trick, Lynne- Red-Headed Target, Awakening, The Mystery Surges Ahead, Cabanela - Lanky and Loose Lawman, Jowd- Fated Jailbird

Gunpoint

• Old indie sidescrolling noir stealth game. The main gameplay revolves around puzzle solving by hacking buildings' electrical systems. Hook that lightswitch up to the secure door lock. Rig that motion sensor up to short out a power plug and take out a guard instead of it just turning on the lights. Delightful jazz soundtrack.
• Soundtrack
• Standouts: Security, Circuitry and You, Subterfuge Shuffle, Cold Halls and Footfalls, The Five-Floor Goodbye

Megaman ZX

• DS sequel to the Megaman Zero series for GBA, but now with a Metroidvania twist.
• Soundtrack: ZX Tunes- Official remix/rearrange soundtrack
• Standouts: Innocence- 90s style anime opening, Green Grass Gradation, Rockin' On, Brilliant Show Window, Cinq Ville - C`est Notre Espoir, Gauntlet

And I've spent way too much time on this comment. Here's more not mentioned so far that I don't have time to do a writeup for: Skies of Arcadia, Super Meat Boy, Tomba 2: The Evil Swine Returns, Uplink, XCOM (Original), XCOM (Reboot), XCOM 2 (Reboot)

Fantastic game soundtracks are the ones which I actually go out of my way to acquire. Chrono Trigger, PixelJunkMonsters Deluxe, SimCity 3000, and Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair.

Not sure if mentioned yet, but EVE Online has an amazing soundtrack. Their 10 Year Anniversary Symphony is just the cream on top.