As a prospective game developer I tend to like to pop some questions like this out in random places for feedback. It helps in getting an idea of what people look for in a game, what catches attention, and what sort of things remain memorable for years to come. So, without further delay:
What games do you remember for not their graphics, not their game play, but their music?
Donkey Kong Country, definitely.
Wipeout XL, though that's not made-for-the-game music.
I'd say X-Wing... but it's hard to say if that really counts. The star wars themes were pretty much ingrained BEFORE I played the game.
Final Fantasy III(6) is good. I never even played the game, and I know half the songs by heart just because I was in the same room where my brother was playing it all the time.
Chrono Trigger had music that really set the mood.
Zelda and Mario both have very memorable themes, but they were such great games music or no, that I think that might just be nostalgia that makes me like the music so much.
And, of course, Tetris... I haven't played tetris since the mid-90s, and I still have days where I wake up with those songs stuck in my head. Dang it, there it is again! :-)
Mind Rover!
The game got boring, but I kept the CD for the soundtrack.
Let's see...
There was an old DOS game called Shooting Gallery. The game got old, but I can still hum the music. (We haven't had the game in at least 10 years)
Another one of those older DOS games (Though it was originally for the Amiga), Treasure Trap, has my favorite rendition(s) of "Row Row Row your Boat". Ever. (I think it's abandonware now, though)
There's also an older game...I think we played it in Windows 3.1...called Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure. The game was alright, but I preferred the music.
I'm with Xepher on the Mario and Zelda songs...they're great, though the game was great too. Not sure if they count.
Shadow The Hedgehog--the game is an abomination, though a couple of the songs are actually pretty good. (If you can suffer through the gameplay to get to them)
I know there's more, as I play a lot of games just for the music. (I'm weird like that) This list is the ones that stand out right now. I may add more later.
Zelda
Chrono Cross
Soulcalibur 3
Okami
ummm.... i cant remember any other that i like the music enougth to want to buy the soundtrack. maybe finalfantasy....
Frankly I fully expected both Mario and Zelda to make it in here pretty much as fast as it did. Wind Waker had one of the best sound tracks out of any Zelda game, but is now rivaled with Twilight Princess (and to hell with whether it's midi or not it still sounds great).
Quote from: dragyn on July 26, 2007, 10:19:57 PM
There's also an older game...I think we played it in Windows 3.1...called Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure. The game was alright, but I preferred the music.
I remember that one. Excellent game!
Just noticed I had two of the tracks of this game in my playlist: http://wired.st-and.ac.uk/%7Ewong/agent/
The tracks are only around 1-2 minutes each, but they loop perfectly and sound great.
Also Sid and Al's Incredible Toon Machine had a good music selection.
Wow, Cosmo... that was such an awesome game at the time. First one to do multi-layer backgrounds that gave it "depth." And being able to grab walls and such was awesome. Speaking of old Id games though, Commander Keen 4 had an awesome song when you first get to the space station that was sweet. Chinese BattleChess had awesome music (and some great sound clips.) Also have to remember Escape from Monkey Island... can't beat a rousing chorus with barber pirates trying to rhyme "orange." The dueling bit was awesome as well. I just realize I really liked the theme from Mortal Kombat, even though I hated the game itself. Though it may be the movie version of the theme I'm remembering.
Definitely the Final Fantasy stuff, the Chrono games, Lunar Legend, Mario and Tetris, but those are classics....
I also really like the Sims and Sims 2 music, as horrible as that sounds.
I'm not sure if my stuff counts - I have to be into the graphics, the gameplay, and the music before I'll buy it, much less finish it. So I can't say there's really one game I know of where the music is better than anything else....
Someone's gotta mention Mechwarrior 2 here, so I will. And I agree that Wind Waker had some great music. (As did Super Mario World, I still love the treetop level music.)
As I sidenote, when I have a computer in my car, the startup sound *will* be the MW2 mech startup voiceover "Reactor, online. Sensors, online. Weapons, online. All systems nominal." ;D