# Game music **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 16, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434 "2011-12-16T18:14:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/1 "2011-12-16T18:14:44Z")
hit by a bout of nostalgia - the \*\*\*Super Mario Bros \*\*\*theme on: handbells - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_bg251hXeqQ&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bg251hXeqQ&feature=related) tesla coils (!) - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O2jcfOylU](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O2jcfOylU) violin - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSBefGi7F-Y&feature=endscreen&NR=1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSBefGi7F-Y&feature=endscreen&NR=1) Minecraft - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSpnx69FZYI&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSpnx69FZYI&feature=related) ocarina - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sw76wHUmk4&feature=results\_video&playnext=1&list=PL6845E3213C7F94AE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sw76wHUmk4&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL6845E3213C7F94AE) sitar - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=argqTTBVK6A](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=argqTTBVK6A) drums - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7jM4Xthxl4](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7jM4Xthxl4) marching band - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r21kjONuUSI&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r21kjONuUSI&feature=related) bottles - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZtBeiGO5MA&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZtBeiGO5MA&feature=related) mobile - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYo9nRe67O0&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYo9nRe67O0&feature=related) stepper motor - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfsBlcH4ao&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfsBlcH4ao&feature=related) laser cutter - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUmrddqU4N4&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUmrddqU4N4&feature=related) cups - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2UQdLNsezQ&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2UQdLNsezQ&feature=related) accordion - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI2a7\_XfKaI&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI2a7_XfKaI&feature=related) saxophone - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_TzaZFW7n0Y&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TzaZFW7n0Y&feature=related) trumpet - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B\_1EMCwSCA&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B_1EMCwSCA&feature=related) theremin - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMshU5ql3vI](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMshU5ql3vI) London Philharmonic Orchestra - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l\_ioujmtqjg](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_ioujmtqjg) which led me to this version of\*\*\* The Legend of Zelda \*\*\*suite by the London Philharmonic Orchestra - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mq8Mnth10o&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mq8Mnth10o&feature=related). i haven’t tried the rest of the album yet, but the few i tried sounds just as good, and my time is not wasted. i shall have to buy it. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/2 "2011-12-17T02:15:14Z")
We got to do a few classes on video game music in my M.A. I’m really intrigued by guys doing “chip bending,” where they use the sound card of old hardware to get this gorgeous, retro sound. Similarly, I was very excited for Megaman 8 and 9, where the developers made it as NES-like as the originals, with a great synthesized soundtrack! ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/3 "2014-02-23T15:29:21Z")
sorry for bumping this but, OCD. 笙 (Free reed instrument) - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM9hH3suOpo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM9hH3suOpo) ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/4 "2014-02-23T16:37:37Z")
I’m really into some game music, although not Mario so much. I was never much of a Mario guy, although I enjoyed Super Mario Land 2 on the Game Boy. Sonic was my thing, and the music from the 16-bit games (Sonic 1, 2, 3, Sonic & Knuckles) is really good. Other games I particularly like the music from: Resident Evil (1 & 2 especially) - some [pretty](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v4jNfTQFiY) [creepy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf6B_YhWYtw) [stuff](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js_aI5BEcxA) and [fun](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gyaVmFM5EI) [boss musics](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77q8pueYujo). Rocket Knight Adventures - [cool boss theme](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0vVmLfCxp8), plus one level with some [ridiculous bass](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vtrzqpozy9A). Silent Hill - I listen to [the theme](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImfFAkV16Qc), which sounds so sad to me, a lot, and the in-game music is scary. RE is more old-school creepy. SH is terrifying. Another good one from Silent Hill 2 [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDKx1Rp1yAA). Final Fantasy IX - so much good stuff. Great battle music, [great boss music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9imGOOqh7uQ), [and](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeVOg9D5q0Q) [so](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxZlJGtFGcw) [many](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ7jRcrDR4s) [other](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCTd-OnrZCU) [great](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyjqNukHitA) [ones](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKAoSY5bhSw). Narrowing it down is really hard. Oh yeah, musn’t forget the [penultimate](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBNBwZe6GTI) and [final battles](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBx6OwnCex0). Apparently FFIX is Nobuo Uematsu’s favourite out of all the FF games he scored. Metal Gear Solid (1, 2, 3, 4) - all I can say is these are possibly the best games ever and the music reflects it. [MGS2 theme](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiPon8lr48U), [something from MGS1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K17utLtRgU), [MGS1 boss music](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJqLQkODKnk), [MGS3 theme](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNVCD1dsnJI). Crash Bandicoot games have some fun music too. Oh, and who doesn’t love [Tetris](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmCCQxVBfyM)? I could talk about the music in these games all day, but I’ve yet to find someone else who can manage 5 minutes. I wonder if anyone will click any of these links… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/5 "2014-02-23T17:03:09Z")
I was a C64 guy, and I just loved [Rob Hubbard’s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE589HrGPkI) game music. That SID chip (the sound IC on the C64) was amazingly rich. Or if you don’t want to sit through an hour of it, there’s his score for [One Man And His Droid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9CwsOOjNAo). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/6 "2014-02-23T17:41:42Z")
Moving this to The Game Room, where it might get some more responses. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/7 "2014-02-23T19:27:12Z")
LucasArts western shooter _Outlaws_ had [some great music.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evXZbJhEl_A&list=PLF179B567F4CA08E6) Sticking with the genre, one of the most profound, purely aesthetic moments I’ve had in video games was _Red Dead Redemption_, after a tough mission to get across the Rio Grande and into Mexico. It was night time in game when I finished the mission, and [this song started playing](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGCKfT472Go) as I walked across the moonlit desert to the nearest pueblo. [This scene](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmZ1de8v5LM) from _Bioshock: Infinite_ had a similar effect on me. And of course, you can’t mention _Bioshock: Infinite_ without bringing up the [wonderfully anachronistic covers that fill the whole game.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aH4o-VblLg&list=PLsJs8eSUgOjFIgwvMK0djgL55RHhNlRzu) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/8 "2014-02-23T21:22:30Z")
Speaking of C64 music, [here’s Roland’s Rat Race](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbZa0PT3UG0) (not the original, though). ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/9 "2014-02-24T02:14:41Z")
Jimmy Wong (he of the [Ching Chong! Asians in the Library](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zulEMWj3sVA) fame) has a multitracked a capella version of the SMB theme: [Super Mario Bros Theme Song!! A Capella Cover - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTB-P5Bt3_Q) He also has an auto-tune version (so he can sound like GlaDOS) of the Portal 2 theme “Want You Gone”: [Want You Gone - Portal 2 Theme Song Cover in the style of Still Alive by Jonathan Coulton - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bcKWtyUBp8) ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/10 "2014-02-24T02:49:42Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > Oh, and who doesn’t love [Tetris](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmCCQxVBfyM)? Better yet. Here’s a link to [The Complete History of the Soviet Union Arranged to the Melody of Tetris](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWTFG3J1CP8) ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2014, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/11 "2014-02-24T09:46:05Z")
> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > Better yet. Here’s a link to [The Complete History of the Soviet Union Arranged to the Melody of Tetris](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWTFG3J1CP8) Thank you. I somehow had managed to never see that and I am definitely all the better for having it in my life. “I AM THE MAN THAT ARRANGES THE BLOCKS!” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/12 "2014-02-25T07:23:18Z")
So I literally just saw this. Unusually accurate [Mario theme](http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/02/20/ancient-chinese-instrument-can-mimic-super-mario-bros-music-perfectly/) on a “sheng.” ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/13 "2014-02-25T15:01:36Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > … I wonder if anyone will click any of these links… 😃 my thoughts exactly with all the links in the OP 😃 i just thought it was interesting how people seemed to be determined to play the Mario Theme on every instrument imaginable. > [@Marley23](#): > > Moving this to The Game Room, where it might get some more responses. thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/14 "2014-02-26T05:04:00Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > So I literally just saw this. Unusually accurate [Mario theme](http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/02/20/ancient-chinese-instrument-can-mimic-super-mario-bros-music-perfectly/) on a “sheng.” See post #3. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/15 "2014-02-26T06:07:50Z")
The [music of the game Arcanum](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCoQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dftvpi-6Z6qw&ei=xoMNU-j5Lq7K0AW_j4CQBg&usg=AFQjCNG6nwGGX_eGmQfTVsxqxtzFCPmPUg&sig2=WFFnpkkoh0ql-6O5_eh-_g&bvm=bv.61965928,d.d2k) really made it for me. Which the composer is obviously aware of, since he’s been [self-publishing](http://www.benhouge.com/arcanumscores.html) it for free ever since. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2014, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-music/606434/16 "2014-02-26T06:28:22Z")
> [@Hoopy\_Frood](#): > > See post #3. Sorry. Not very Ctrl+F friendly though! > [@Kobal2](#): > > The [music of the game Arcanum](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCoQtwIwAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dftvpi-6Z6qw&ei=xoMNU-j5Lq7K0AW_j4CQBg&usg=AFQjCNG6nwGGX_eGmQfTVsxqxtzFCPmPUg&sig2=WFFnpkkoh0ql-6O5_eh-_g&bvm=bv.61965928,d.d2k) really made it for me. Which the composer is obviously aware of, since he’s been [self-publishing](http://www.benhouge.com/arcanumscores.html) it for free ever since. Awesome. I always wanted to replay that with the Idiot Savant trait or whatever it’s called. I like when game designers still support their own games even if the publisher doesn’t.