Possible spoilers ahead
1. Space Trip Steps
Game: Sonic Adventure 2
Released: 2001
Artist: Hunnid-P
This song is easily a top on the list without question, from both a musical and thematic setting it just fits. First off it's a song for Knuckles, all his music in the SA games are hip hop themed, which makes me like his more so than other characters. Also as a character I think he's pretty cool, although I'm not too keen on his levels being all about finding emerald pieces. The stage that the song takes place in is Meteor Herd, the 14th stage of the hero story. It takes place in space, and one of the interesting things about the song itself is that both the instrumental and the lyrics match the stage. They're pretty direct and simple yet fitting and catchy, for example:
"Took a shuttle to space, and left from our home, At least we're with friends, and I'm not all alone, Bad thing was, that the Emerald spilled, Got to search space, man, time to get in"
He's telling the story of why he's in space in the first place, so the song is seen as more of a narrative told from the perspective of Knuckles himself.
Overall it's a great song from one of my favorite video games of all time and I find myself listening to the song even out of the context of the game itself.
Overall it's a great song from one of my favorite video games of all time and I find myself listening to the song even out of the context of the game itself.
2. Weltall
Game: Saga Frontier 2
Released: 1999
This track here plays during the Desert Megalith scenario once you get to the town after the desert. It's not only one of my favorite ones in the whole game but it is one of my favorite of all games entirely. The story of the game at the time of hearing this track is that Wil Knights is searching for the man who can tell him what happened to his parents. That man would be Alexei Sergein, long story short, Alexei and his brothers are responsible for the death of his father, which you learn from talking to various npcs in the town and piecing together the story while this beautiful music plays in the background. It really brings back memories, nostalgia for the times as a child playing this game full of wonder and excitement. It makes me think of what happened that fateful day with Wil's father and his group of fellow adventurers. It's a purely instrumental song with various instruments that I can't even begin to name but the name of the song translates from German to English as Space, Universe, or Comsos. A beautiful song that still gets replay to this day for me.
3. Title Theme
Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Released: 1998
The title theme of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time is a masterpiece, from a classic game. The piano chord is beautiful, and the various other instruments in the background combine for a truly memorable listening experience. I'm sure I'm not the only one who started the game and would just listen to the song for a while before starting to play, if even playing at all. The song is calming yet a bit sad, and seems like a bit of foreshadowing for some events of the game. It really sets the mood for jumping right into one of the best video games of all time, and is one of the first games I've played that really showed me how important music can be to video games. This is a song that can have you shedding tears, or even something you can just relax and fall asleep to. Beautiful
4. Boss Fight Theme
Game: Megaman X5
Released: 2000 Japan, 2001 NA.
Once again another song with a pretty generic title but still great. This one plays during a boss fight, it's very uptempo and the type of song I could hear being played in a club that plays a form of EDM. It definitely puts you in the zone for fighting the eight robot masters without a doubt, it makes you want to dance too which is not the greatest idea while you're fighting perhaps, but surely listen to it out of context and it's still a great song. My favorite boss theme of any Megaman X game, and a proper fighting tune.
5. The Supernatural
Game: Sonic Adventure 2
Released: 2001
Artist: Everett Bradley
Another song from Sonic Adventure 2, this is the song for Shadow the Hedgehog's stage Final Chase, and as the name says it is the final stage for Shadow. Also as the name says, it's basically him trying to catch up to Sonic the Hedgehog, which the song really puts you in the zone for. Clearly a fitting song told from the perspective of Shadow as noticeable from the lyrics like such:
"I am the ultimate life, a flawless existence
Nothing is unpredictable to me, nothing can surprise me
I am the mystery of the world, I can tell it by their cold eyes
I am the warrior, it's my way to go"
Definitely seems like something Shadow would say, no? The lyrics might be hard to understand, but that great EDM sounding beat more than makes up for it to me.
6. Fly in the Freedom
Game: Sonic Adventure 2
Released: 2001
Artist: Tabitha Fair
Once again another song from SA 2, this is the last one on the list however from that game. This is the theme song for Rouge the Bat, who happens to be the only female playable character of SA 2 and is the rival to Knuckles pretty much. Her levels, like his involve searching for the pieces of the master emerald and chaos emeralds. Albeit for different reasons, she is more of a jewel hunter and he is looking for them to put the emerald back together, making them surely at odds for most of the game. With lyrics like "Fly in the freedom" referring to her ability to fly, as she is a bat and "Is it my treasure? Tell me what I've really looked for" hinting at the fact that she's a treasure hunter always on the search for her next jewel. Her song, is a kind of contrast to Knuckles, where his is Hip Hop, hers is more on the Jazz side of things. To me though they both have the best theme songs out of any character in the SA games.
7. Disharmonie
Game: Saga Frontier 2
Released: 1999
A track from SF 2 again, this one plays during some tense situations, the one that sticks out is a scenario called the Southern Fort. Gustave's fort is under attack by a seemingly enormous horde of monsters and this is the song that plays during the time of the fort being set on fire, followed by Johan the Assassin standing guard out front of the fort ready to crumble to pieces at any moment but fighting solo against the monsters regardless. Assuming you've never played the game, just imagine that scenery and listen to the song at the same time, trust me they go quite well together. Anyways, it's a song that gives you a sense of urgency and danger, one that I find myself listening to still now years after I've played the game multiple times. It definitely fits the mood of the game in the times that it is played, and a great song outside of that as well. Also, the name of the song once again is in German, but the English translation is pretty obvious if I even need to mention it, it is Disharmony.
8. Moonlit City Roa
Game: Legend of Mana
Released: 1999 Japan, 2000 NA.
Easily a favorite from the Legend of Mana soundtrack which was no slouch when it comes to the music selection. Some words that come to mind, beautiful, mysterious, melancholy, and thought provoking. This song plays during your stay in the city of Lumina, which involves a bit of a romantic subplot, and this song covers that so nicely. Such a peaceful piece of music, it brings me back to my days of childhood playing this game and enjoying the music.
9. Open Your Heart
Game: Sonic Adventure
Released: 1998 Japan, 1999 NA.
Artist: 40 Crush
This is the main theme of Sonic Adventure as well as playing during the fight against the final boss of the game, Perfect Chaos. PC being the form of Chaos once he's absorbed the negative energy of all seven chaos emeralds. Once again the lyrics are quite fitting for the fight, such as "Thunder, rain and lightning
Danger, water rising
Clamour, sirens wailing" because during the fight with PC and preceding to it, the whole city is flooded. "Ancient cities blazing
Shadows keep attacking
Little children crying" Another callback to an event that happened in the game, or perhaps foreshadowing if you've heard the song before playing that part. The song gives a sense of dramatic times where someone has to step up and defeat their rival, and if that's what the people behind it were striving for then they did it surely. One of my favorite songs of the game and series.
10. Forest Temple
Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Released: 1999
As the title says, this is the song that plays during your time in the Forest Temple of the game. If you ask some people who've played the game they would say that the song is perhaps creepy and mysterious, and when you listen to it while in the temple itself it adds on a whole other level of mystique. The temple itself is quite odd at times and confusing, the song adds on to it greatly. From constant rattling noise to the wind instrument in the background coming in and out every so often, then the sound of a voice making some kind of grunt that is also quite randomly placed throughout it. The song is somewhat eerie, but also quite peaceful and calming, which is what I really like about it. Probably my favorite song out of the temples, and one of my favorites in the whole game.
Game: Megaman X5
Released: 2000 Japan, 2001 NA.
Once again another song with a pretty generic title but still great. This one plays during a boss fight, it's very uptempo and the type of song I could hear being played in a club that plays a form of EDM. It definitely puts you in the zone for fighting the eight robot masters without a doubt, it makes you want to dance too which is not the greatest idea while you're fighting perhaps, but surely listen to it out of context and it's still a great song. My favorite boss theme of any Megaman X game, and a proper fighting tune.
5. The Supernatural
Game: Sonic Adventure 2
Released: 2001
Artist: Everett Bradley
Another song from Sonic Adventure 2, this is the song for Shadow the Hedgehog's stage Final Chase, and as the name says it is the final stage for Shadow. Also as the name says, it's basically him trying to catch up to Sonic the Hedgehog, which the song really puts you in the zone for. Clearly a fitting song told from the perspective of Shadow as noticeable from the lyrics like such:
"I am the ultimate life, a flawless existence
Nothing is unpredictable to me, nothing can surprise me
I am the mystery of the world, I can tell it by their cold eyes
I am the warrior, it's my way to go"
Definitely seems like something Shadow would say, no? The lyrics might be hard to understand, but that great EDM sounding beat more than makes up for it to me.
6. Fly in the Freedom
Game: Sonic Adventure 2
Released: 2001
Artist: Tabitha Fair
Once again another song from SA 2, this is the last one on the list however from that game. This is the theme song for Rouge the Bat, who happens to be the only female playable character of SA 2 and is the rival to Knuckles pretty much. Her levels, like his involve searching for the pieces of the master emerald and chaos emeralds. Albeit for different reasons, she is more of a jewel hunter and he is looking for them to put the emerald back together, making them surely at odds for most of the game. With lyrics like "Fly in the freedom" referring to her ability to fly, as she is a bat and "Is it my treasure? Tell me what I've really looked for" hinting at the fact that she's a treasure hunter always on the search for her next jewel. Her song, is a kind of contrast to Knuckles, where his is Hip Hop, hers is more on the Jazz side of things. To me though they both have the best theme songs out of any character in the SA games.
7. Disharmonie
Game: Saga Frontier 2
Released: 1999
A track from SF 2 again, this one plays during some tense situations, the one that sticks out is a scenario called the Southern Fort. Gustave's fort is under attack by a seemingly enormous horde of monsters and this is the song that plays during the time of the fort being set on fire, followed by Johan the Assassin standing guard out front of the fort ready to crumble to pieces at any moment but fighting solo against the monsters regardless. Assuming you've never played the game, just imagine that scenery and listen to the song at the same time, trust me they go quite well together. Anyways, it's a song that gives you a sense of urgency and danger, one that I find myself listening to still now years after I've played the game multiple times. It definitely fits the mood of the game in the times that it is played, and a great song outside of that as well. Also, the name of the song once again is in German, but the English translation is pretty obvious if I even need to mention it, it is Disharmony.
8. Moonlit City Roa
Game: Legend of Mana
Released: 1999 Japan, 2000 NA.
Easily a favorite from the Legend of Mana soundtrack which was no slouch when it comes to the music selection. Some words that come to mind, beautiful, mysterious, melancholy, and thought provoking. This song plays during your stay in the city of Lumina, which involves a bit of a romantic subplot, and this song covers that so nicely. Such a peaceful piece of music, it brings me back to my days of childhood playing this game and enjoying the music.
9. Open Your Heart
Game: Sonic Adventure
Released: 1998 Japan, 1999 NA.
Artist: 40 Crush
This is the main theme of Sonic Adventure as well as playing during the fight against the final boss of the game, Perfect Chaos. PC being the form of Chaos once he's absorbed the negative energy of all seven chaos emeralds. Once again the lyrics are quite fitting for the fight, such as "Thunder, rain and lightning
Danger, water rising
Clamour, sirens wailing" because during the fight with PC and preceding to it, the whole city is flooded. "Ancient cities blazing
Shadows keep attacking
Little children crying" Another callback to an event that happened in the game, or perhaps foreshadowing if you've heard the song before playing that part. The song gives a sense of dramatic times where someone has to step up and defeat their rival, and if that's what the people behind it were striving for then they did it surely. One of my favorite songs of the game and series.
10. Forest Temple
Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Released: 1999
As the title says, this is the song that plays during your time in the Forest Temple of the game. If you ask some people who've played the game they would say that the song is perhaps creepy and mysterious, and when you listen to it while in the temple itself it adds on a whole other level of mystique. The temple itself is quite odd at times and confusing, the song adds on to it greatly. From constant rattling noise to the wind instrument in the background coming in and out every so often, then the sound of a voice making some kind of grunt that is also quite randomly placed throughout it. The song is somewhat eerie, but also quite peaceful and calming, which is what I really like about it. Probably my favorite song out of the temples, and one of my favorites in the whole game.
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