#loudcore

Hello everyone!

It has been a while since I've made a post and I thought I'd answer a fun question I get every so often. That question is: What are your main influences as well as favorite video game songs/soundtracks?

I'll try my best to keep it short (it wont be easy), but I love so much game music. When I was young, I didn't like anything my parents listened to, and I couldn't afford to buy music CDs. Back then, you could put PS1 game discs in your CD player and most of the time, listen to the soundtrack. You could also listen to the soundtracks of dreamcast games on the dreamcast system. Because of that, most of what I listened to was video game music.

The genre of games I played the most when I was a kid were racing games. I was good at them and I found them to have the best replay value. They also had the coolest soundtrack to me as they were upbeat and exciting.

Here are some soundtracks that have really influenced me or that I really enjoy. (Kinda the same thing really.)

Lets get started shall we? 

Music by: Big Idea Music Productions (Chuck E. Myers, Lance Lenhart & Tom Hopkins) I pick JetMoto as one of my top 5 favorite soundtracks. How can a racing game on the playstation have such an amazing soundtrack? The chord progressions, the intense strings, the wild shredding guitar, the stuttering drums, are all top notch. To hear this in a PS1 game is just absolutely insane and over the top. I also LOVED the game too. Hard, but so much fun. I honestly cant explain why its so amazing, you just have to hear it yourself. --

Music by: Various Artists

This soundtrack is absolutely gold. Need For Speed: High Stakes has some of the best moody driving music I have ever heard in a game. Everytime I listen it I get so lost into this car/driving atmosphere and it's just absolutely beautiful. Even the fast paced songs have such a great vibe to them. Rom Di Prisco, and Saki Kaskas did most of the soundtrack and it's just flawless. Crispin Hands, Junkie XL, and a lot more are featured in the soundtrack and they are all great too.   --

Music by: Kazuhiro Nakamura

ACTION! Again, another over the top soundtrack for a PS1 game. Time Crisis was a game I would play so much and feel so immersed in the games setting. I absolutely love the composition of the songs and how the melodies create this unforgettable heart pounding tension. I still get goosebumps till this day from the soundtrack.

--

Music by: Michael McCann If you know me personally, I'm sure you know that I never shutup about Deus Ex: Human Revoltuion's soundtrack. It is absolutely, unbelievably, flawlessly perfect. A huge influence of my music today has been because of this game. The synth plucks and ridiculously atmospheric tone really hits a giggly spot for me. 

--

Music by: Solar Fields The Mirrors Edge soundtrack really really touches my heart for some reason (especially the song I linked). Its elegance of composure and art form hits every single art style fetish I have, to a point that I get goosebumps and sit still. Well, not that dramatic, but you know what I mean. You can feel the games story within the music. The corruption of the games setting and atmosphere. It's truly an outstanding game and soundtrack. --

Music by: Sascha Dikiciyan & Cris Velasco Last but not least, the Mass Effect 3 soundtrack. Not the most original choice but I absolutely love the dynamics in every song. It always feels fresh and moving. It's amazingly well produced and it sets a great atmosphere for the game. The emotions that are in the composition are greatly exaggerated and allows you to be really immersed into what's happening. Anything that is triumphant really sounds awesome to me. It's not my favorite, and it's not flawless, but it's damn great.

The problem is, there are way too many good soundtracks out there, old and new. I know I'll probably keep coming back to this post and updating it with soundtracks I forgot that I really like. Those are the ones I think about regularly though.  I guess why I like older songs more because they're just a lot more fun. They define what a video game is and supposed to be.

It seems this whole game industry within the past decade has tried to make everything (gameplay, graphics, etc) more realistic. More like a movie, than a video game. As it's easier to take something that's existing than something that is new and fresh. I understand the factor of trying to portray an emotion through cinematic story telling and media (music, sound, graphics). But whatever happened to those games that only focused on fun factor and replayability? Just my opinion on things.

Here are some more favorites, although I can't write a paragraph about every single one of these.: Einhander: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5fNBNTXYlQ Phantasy Star Online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxDP6RI-DMI Ridge Racer Revolution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWjLDfmmSSs NFS2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69-J2m_GyhI Sub-Terrainia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYBvjKdH5fY Sega GT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16iw9cN-Xr0 Gran Turismo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbSwJFluTjU