Awesome Music/Fourth Generation
This is the Awesome Music page for SNES, Genesis, Neo Geo, Turbografx-16, Jaguar etc.
- Shining in the Darkness is a relatively unheard of game made by Sega, due to being overshadowed by its Spiritual Successor the Shining Force series and the Phantasy Star series. Nonetheless it does have a few tunes that are great.
- 'The Ancient Temple', a great way to start your first forays into the mysterious labyrinth to perform the trials of the light.
- 'Searching for Princess Claire', the dungeon theme heard in the later half of the game as you search the labyrinth proper for the hero's father and the princess, it is quite epic.
- 'Fateful Battle', if you have ever beaten Shining Force 1, you'll immediately recognize this theme, which originated from this game. Only played at two points in the game, once when facing the Dark Knight and again when battling the final boss, naturally. And it is worth it!
- "Midnight Wandering" from Metal Slug 3 or "Heavy African" from MS 5 for some guitar facemelting. Assault from Metal Slug 3 ranks pretty high on the heroism meter. And the End Title from 3 contains pieces from most of the previous themes, making it some form of epic remix.
- Metal Slug 5 has a truly awesome soundtrack. Besides Heavy African, 'Intrigue', 'Ruins Excavation' and 'Windy Day' stand out among the rest of the tracks.
- Marine Diver and Escape from Metal Slug 3.
- That Old Army Game, Nightmare Buzz, Buzz Battle, and Inside the Claw Machine from the SNES Toy Story Game.
- The Mega Drive version of the Claw Machine theme is somehow even more awesome, replacing the piano line with a synth lead and making the drum line even more prominent. Similarly, Nightmare Buzz sounds even more nightmarish.
- The Mega Drive version of the final stage theme Rocket Man manages to be incredibly awesome with its heavy bass.
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4: Turtles in Time: Sewer Surfin' and Technodrome - Let's Kick Shell!
- Daddy Mulk from The Ninja Warriors is one of the most awesome, catchy and unique songs ever.
- Secret of Mana/Seiken Densetsu 2 has some of the best music of the SNES, which is saying a lot.
- Danger, the boss battle theme. Fast-paced, segues from fast to dangerous to victorious to slow and about to burst and back again, and really gets a person's blood racing.
- The Oracle, used for the Dark Lich battle. Starts out with three ominous gongs and just gets creepier from there.
- Fun trivia, most of the sound from the song comes from the Indonesia chanting called Kecak. Kecak is comprised of five different groups chanting in different patterns in unison, which gives it its unique sound. And true to this form, five sound channels out of eight on the SNES audio chip are dedicated to the chanting.
- Meridian Dance. The final boss music. Words do not do it justice, just listen.
- On the calmer side of things, Fear of the Heavens, the opening theme, begins with the distant cry of a dragon, and fully pulls the gamer into the ambience of the game.
- All three Flammie themes qualify.
- Flight Into The Unknown is a happy affair, highlighting the sense of freedom the player gets from receiving a white dragon as a Global Airship.
- The Dark Star, however, is a heavy-hearted, sombre tune. Appropriate, as it replaces Flight Into The Unknown after The Lost Continent, and the Mana Fortress, rise from the sea.
- And Prophecy, the theme that plays after the Mana Fortress rises, is a fast-paced, exotic-sounding tune, making good use of bells.
- The overworld theme, Into the Thick of It, never manages to get old despite playing very often in the game.
- A Curious Tale which plays in Southtown and on Gold City. This is one of the best town themes in all RPGs.
- Suffice to say - there's a reason that the composer is the second credit listed in the opening.
- Seiken Densetsu 3, its sequel, likewise has one of the best soundtracks on the SNES, doesn't get nearly the attention of its more widely published predecessor though.
- The Sacrifice, Part III, the final battle theme.
- Nuclear Fusion.
- Meridian Child.
- Decision Bell.
- High Tension Wire.
- And the new opening theme, Where Angels Fear to Tread, every bit as sobering as Fear of the Heavens and then some. Throw in songs like Innocent Water, Delicate Affection, Hope Isolation Pray, Farewell Song, and the aforementioned Meridian Child...
- Legend. Shame it gets used so rarely.
- Frenzy.
- F-Zero features some nice scores. "Port Town" is good; even better is F-Zero GX's Fire Field.
- "Silence" from F-Zero X. Or GX's remix of "Mute City," or the theme music for "Dr. Stewart" or "Blood Falcon". Or the indescribably awesome trance remix of "Big Blue".
- Climb Up! And Get the Last Chance from F-Zero X.
- The BGM for Lightning in F-Zero GP Legend, and its remix in F-Zero Climax.
- F-Zero X: Guitar Arrange Edition. "Climb Up! and Get the Last Chance!"
- Area88 (known in the West as UN Squadron) gives us the Forest Fortress theme
- A lot of the soundtrack of Illusion of Gaia should be mentioned here. 'The Guardian' (normal boss theme) and 'Clash of Darkness and Light' (the final boss theme) are certainly awesome, but we can't forget the peaceful Itory Village.
- Don't forget In the Earthen Womb, probably the only track that could be used to truly convey the majesty of outer space.
- Similarly, much of the soundtrack of Terranigma deserves mention here. Some of the better tracks include the opening movie (and fanfare), the Underworld Theme and the final battle theme.
- Any soundtrack for a Sega Genesis game composed by Howard Drossin, most of which pushed the sound processor to its limits. Sonic Spinball, Comix Zone, and The Ooze
- Phantasy Star has plenty of CMOA to speak of:
- Phantasy Star III's music for the penultimate dungeon, Lashute, is sheer, unadulterated Nightmare Fuel. And it's awesome.
- The same could be said for "Maia's Abduction," (Track #6) which kicked off the entire adventure in the first place. Never let it be said that 16-bit sound hardware is incapable of conveying a character's bubbling, seething rage and hatred born of age-old wars.
- Searren -Type 386-: [dead link] when Wren Transforms into the Global Airship or Aqua skimmer
- How about Phantasy Star IV's remixes of the Dungeon themes from the first game? [1] [dead link] [2] [dead link]
- Of course, the game has its own original music, too: "Behind the Circut", Her Last Breath (Careful, that one's a spoiler), A Terrible Sight, and more.
- Takeuchi sure knows how to do depressing music. Her Last Breath was about ten times the Tear Jerker that Aeris' theme could ever hope to be.
- Awesome PSIV music: Laughter.
- Truly a shame that it was only used twice in the entire game - when you fight Zio and later the reincarnated Lashiec.
- I don't know what you're talking about? It's the music both times you fight Zio, and is basically his theme (as opposed to The Black Blood, which is the theme for any serious bad guy).
- Truly a shame that it was only used twice in the entire game - when you fight Zio and later the reincarnated Lashiec.
- Requiem for Lutz was sad and haunting and conveyed the feeling of thousands of years of history and heartbreak in the Espers' Mansion to a tee. It's also interestingly reminiscent of the Phantasy Star III main theme.
- This piece, which tends to play as the theme of female party members who have a connection to the Algo system's past has a similar feel, invoking feelings of sadness for the lost history of a bygone age.
- The Age of Fables, another track that was sadly only used twice, will give you goosebumps. Especially if you hear it in its in-game context - that of everything finally coming together and the story becoming complete.
- Organic Beat deserves special mention, both for being objectively awesome, and also for how it is used in the story. This is the music that plays the first time you enter the fort of the game's first Big Bad, which is the moment in the game you realize you're up against something far older and more frightening than you at this point are prepared for. Pretty soon, shit gets real, and this is the music that lead up to it.
- Likewise, the Black Blood which plays on your first encounter with Big Bad Zio.
- And how about the music for the opening sequence: Made. Of. Pure. Win.
- Of course, the game has its own original music, too: "Behind the Circut", Her Last Breath (Careful, that one's a spoiler), A Terrible Sight, and more.
- I find it disappointing that nobody has mentioned the Land Rover battle theme: Cybernetic Carnival or Thray or even the Landeel's theme.
- How has nothing been said of PSII? Every single track is awesome, but special mention must be made of the opening title sequence, Death Place (which is used as boss music), Mystery, and perhaps the most crowning of this game's awesome music would be this piece, called Rise or Fall. Final boss music? No, that's the basic battle music in PSII!
- Ecco The Dolphin: The whole damn soundtrack. Choice mentions go to "Aqua Vistas", "The Machine", "Jurassic Beach" and "City of Forever".
- This cannot go without mentioning Sea of Darkness from Tides, which plays in two levels -- one of which is pitch black and has aliens that can instakill you, and the other is a terrifying game of cat and mouse with the Big Bad during the Playable Epilogue.
- Also, the Tides title theme.
- The Sega Mega-CD versions are equally awesome!
- We are Worms, we're the best, and we've come to win the war...
- Amiga shooter Superfrog had some great tunes, but World 5 particularly stands out.
- Two words: Dynamite Headdy. The entire soundtrack is downright amazing, but Sky High and Dark Demon's Song are quite possibly some of the most intensely awesome 16-bit boss themes ever, and Crosswalk of Love stands out for really making you feel victorious at the end of the game.
- "You're Izayoi", "A Man of Sun", and the surprisingly moving "Ballad for You".
- You're Izayoi gets double points for being played during an utterly Badass boss (if very hard), and triple for the epic Mood Whiplash that leads into it.
- Maruyama Hustle. The opening to that song was what made the Backstage and Flying battles against Trouble Bruin so entertaining.
- I have to clarify the context. You are grabbed by a metal claw rigged to a rocket, dragged through the background, and Maruyama pulls you at extremely high speed through the backstage trying to smash you into scaffolding.
- Ohnami-Konami, for the slightly unnerving Puppeteer, and I Sing, which marks the point where the game starts to get really weird.
- "You're Izayoi", "A Man of Sun", and the surprisingly moving "Ballad for You".
- The Ristar soundtrack.
- Made all the more awesome by Planet Sonata making the BGM into a gameplay element. Round 4-1 is one big MacGuffin Escort Mission where you must literally build the BGM a piece at a time by transporting metronomes through the level to a composer. At the end of the level the composer summons a mini-boss that not only attacks in time with the now-complete tune, but times its attack phases to the different phrases in the song.
- Earthworm Jim. Who could forget this lovable worm and his game full of music goodness? If the music were chocolate then we'll be fat. Seriously, Jim+ music check out the music .
- What the Heck especially. It may not be strictly the best of the game's OST, but it's certainly the most entertaining.
- Don't forget Andy Asteroids. Who would've thought one of the most awesome tracks in the game would involve a banjo?
- How could anyone forget the numerous renditions of New Junk City?
- While Lufia II had many great tracks, the Boss Theme stood out as one of the most orchestrated-sounding pieces of the SNES's early days, proving that a lot could indeed be done with mere synthesized music.
- Speaking of Lufia II's music, how about The Land Nobody Knew? It's incredibly fitting for an isolated town that happen to be situated right underneath Doom Island.
- The boss theme=great. Sinistral theme=the utter bullshit sickness!!!
- Also, many of the songs in 1994's Aladdin video game. They sound best in the PC version.
- Romancing SaGa 3 is a Crowning Soundtrack of Awesome. From the Light King's Palace to the battle theme to the Winter Galaxy. It also pushes the SNES' sound chip to its limits with orchestral sounds.
- Rudra no Hihou is not a very well known game, which is a shame, not only is this game one of the most well done RPG of the SNES era, it has a crowning sountrack of awesome. Those Three Boss Themes are Actually remixes of the three main characters themes. Basically a Theme Music Power-Up, which does a lot to show that despite the fact that the game's story happens Just Before the End, the heroes are NOT going to give in to despair.
- E.V.O: Search for Eden has once been described as having some of the best music tracks in the SNES era, marred by a spattering of absolutely horrid 10-second loops. Some of the better ones: The Ocean, the Boss Battle theme, and the Final Showdown against the Big Bad Eldritch Abomination.
- Don't forget Live a Live! There are several, but one of the greatest standouts is the impossibly epic BURIKI DAIOH THEME! GO! GO! BURIKI DAIOH!
- The Bird Flies In The Sky, The Fish Swims In The Water is very nice.
- The translated version was kind enough to give us Romaji, making it karaoke giant robot battle theme. It doesn't get any more epic.
- Also, the game's main theme/final chapter battle music Live-A-Live, and the Medieval Chapter battle theme, Awe-Inspiring Battle
- A lot of the battle themes are great, like Akira's Murder By A Psycho!, Sundown's The Wilds, Masaru's Knock you down!, and the Shinsanken Master's War In China (which, by the way, you will now never be able to not think of as the Singing Ninja Tank theme)
- The boss theme Megalomania rocks pretty hard too.
- But in terms of creepy ambience, there is simply no beating The Demon King Odio. More than any track in the game, it tells you that things have just gone wrong.
- Oersted's theme, AKA Wings That Don't Reach is a heroic-sounding, but melancholy theme with hints of sadness, that fits Oersted very well before and after his transformation into Odio.
- Prelude to the Demon King is just awesome.
- As The Angry Video Game Nerd points out, the Terminator Sega CD version's music. He looked at this one, but this music is cool too.
- According to his IMDB Biography page, with this game, Tommy Tallarico became the first person to ever use a live guitar and 3-D audio in a video game. Awesome and innovative. You can't beat that.
- Soul Blazer is FULL of truly good music... especially this one.
- The music playing for the first track in any national cup, or just the Stonehenge track from Top Gear. Once those opposing cascades kick in, you'll feel the hair on your neck stand up.
- This guy's not sure if it belongs in this category for being a public domain Venezuelan Genesis game released freely in 2004-2005, but the soundtrack for CrazyBus is damn good. In a So Horrible, It's Freaking Hilarious way.
- The original arcade version of Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair had ear-bleeding FM synthesized music, but the TurboGrafx-16 CD port had a funky awesome Redbook soundtrack. Listen to this.
- Rocket Knight Adventures has what is possibly one of the best boss themes to ever grace the Sega Genesis.
- Also worth checking out: the music from the inevitable Mine Cart Madness level. Starts off as a dark classical tune, then changes keys and sounds like something from a carnival, before finally turning into a jazzy syncopated number in the end. The level may be frustrating, but the music more than makes up for it.
- Are we forgetting the incredible Stage 1 theme? Stage 4 is similar and is perfect for a sky level.
- Mind's Eye from Tempest 2000.
- Comix Zone needs to be brought up. The music was amazing considering what composers normally did with the Genesis soundchip. Although, the Sega Tunes version is awful.
- The Sega CD version of Batman Returns had this trope in spades, the ending theme being especially epic.
- Bio-Hazard Battle isn't exactly a household name, but it had an epic soundtrack, especially for a Genesis title. The background track from Stage 2 and 6 is particularly memorable.
- Though Bonk's Adventure (a.k.a. BC Kid) was perhaps best known on the TurboGrafx 16, there was a sequel, Super Bonk, released on the SNES. That game's outer space levels had this epically awesome theme.
- You've probably never even heard of the SNES RPG Brain Lord, but you can't deny that its music rocks. In particular, the first town theme has serious Ear Worm potential (and an awesome bass line).
- Eliminate Down, a VERY obscure Shoot'Em Up, has a soundtrack that rivals the above-mentioned Thunder Force IV.
- I humbly submit the music for Mario Paint. Yes, it was mostly background, but the three tracks were very well done, and the third option was the single most relaxing piece of music I have heard to date - comparable to Wii Weather Channel's Globe theme and Donkey Kong Country's Aquatic theme.
- Earth Defense Force(the arcade Shoot'Em Up, not Earth Defense Force 2017: Most of the music, especially Stage 2 and the boss theme.
- An obscure Neo-Geo puzzler named Money Puzzle Exchanger had this incredibly catchy opening theme that wouldn't have sounded out of place in a '90s anime. This level theme from the game is also great.
- Twinkle Star Sprites' soundtrack includes "Love Me" and "Love So", two variations on an incredibly catchy house tune.
- Contra: Hard Corps? Took us long enough to put it here. FM synthesis roxors your soxors. Hard driving techno with metal overtones (or maybe the other way around) are not to be argued with.
- And because Konami can't resist referencing their other games, they even threw in a gabber version of "Vampire Killer".
- Yes, we all know Zero Wing for a few reasons, but the soundtrack may be some of the best 16-bit music the Genesis ever pumped out, even on par with the blue blur himself. Just listen to the introduction, Open Your Eyes, Hit Man, and the second end theme. And let's not even begin with the Megadriver cover...
- The Arcade and PC Engine CD/TurboGrafx-CD versions of the songs are quite epic as well.
- Sunset Riders had a very effective soundtrack to evoke its Spaghetti Western theme, along with being good listening on their own. The best example: the theme of the Smith Brothers.
- The morgue theme from the SNES version of Shadowrun.
- An after-market example - Eternal Champions has some pretty good music, but this mash-up of the game's extremely gory finishers is great. To sum up; the game is about a god of balance bringing together several fighters from various points in history who are murdered before their time, and before they would've changed the world for the better. The winner of a to-the-death contest receives the foreknowledge to avoid their death. While the finishers make Mortal Kombat look tame, setting a compilation of them all to Masterplan's "Spirit Never Die" somehow makes the struggle of each character and their quest to win their lives much more emotional.
- Lunar. While short, the original Battle Theme is certainly sweet (So's the remake version). Then there's the Overworld and Grindery themes.
- And of course, we can't forget "Wind Nocturne", a.k.a. The Boat Song, which kicks ass in Japanese or English Whatever your feelings about the remake may be, this song, this scene alone was worth it.
- I kid you not, that song was (eventually) remixed into Shiilol, or what is well known as "Longcat's Song". Longcat. As in, that very long white cat.
- And also the theme "Go Go Go!" which plays during battles with the Magic Emperor.
- Don't forget the one that plays when you fight him in the sequel.
- But for pure, unmitigated heart-wrenching, nothing tops Luna's "La La" song. No one who has played that game can hear that song without tearing up a little.
- While I'm not aware of an in-game instance wherein it's heard, the Lunar 2 music sampler disc had an AMAZING rendition of Ghaleon's theme that took the mood from "evil and foreboding" in the first game to "heroic and defiant" in the second. Here, have a listen.
- And of course, we can't forget "Wind Nocturne", a.k.a. The Boat Song, which kicks ass in Japanese or English Whatever your feelings about the remake may be, this song, this scene alone was worth it.
- The Mortal Kombat's opening theme is just as awesome. Particularly Matt Furniss' Genesis/Mega Drive arrangement.
- As, for that matter, is the whole rest of the soundtrack.
- While were on the subject on Midway's games (with Acclaim's porting), the Main Theme and the Team Select themes from NBA Jam are also pretty cool.
- As pointed out in the Rule of Cool page, Road Rash.[3]
- Speaking of Road Rash, the title theme of the original and its melancholic remix in the sequel.
- The main theme of the cult Sega CD widget game Panic! is made of pure brilliance.
- The opening theme for Maximum Carnage is freaking awesome in fact the whole damn soundtrack for the game probably counts.
- Indeed it does. Green Jellÿ's goal may have been to make music So Bad It's Good, but with Maximum Carnage, they went for headbangingly awesome metal.
- ANYTHING from Power Instinct: Matrimelee. Here are a couple of tracks:
- Let's Go, Onmyoji, Chinnen's stage theme
- Hyakkan, Keith and Olof's stage theme. IT'S A SONG PRAISING BEING FAT.
- To add more to that, all of the song are about something miniscule or off-subject. Take for instance, Clara and Anny's song Small Happiness (sorry no link), which is about a depressed girl getting even more depressed about the waitress at the restaurant she's eating at taking her most satisfying thing ("Small Happiness") from her: POTATO WEDGES!
- And then there's Buntaro and Shintaro's theme Overclocked Excitement about "excitement" from "overclocking" (your computer).
- The ending theme from Tetris Attack, A Walk on a Rainbow.
- Rise of the Robots was a game whose soundtrack was promoted with Blatant Lies-- Brian May's name was mentioned prominently on the packaging, but he only contributed one very short tune for the game. The rest of the soundtrack wasn't even rock; it was techno by Richard Joseph. Yet interestingly enough, Joseph's tunes are actually quite good in their own right, and hold up quite well 16 years later. Check out Loader, Builder, and Supervisor.
- Secret of the Stars was a generally forgettable SNES RPG with some fantastic music: especially the Kustera overworld theme, the Aqutallion overworld theme, and the Kustera battle theme.
- Pretty much all of Fantastic Night Dreams Cotton PC-Engine soundtrack.
- The Japan-exclusive Super Famicom game Super Back to the Future II has a real good rendition of the main theme.
- The title theme to Chuck Rock. Pretty cool by itself. Machinae Supremacy takes it Up to Eleven.
- Amazing how we went this long without mentioning the underrated Uncola game that is Cool Spot. Obviously, the Bonus Stage has the best music, regardless of whether it's from the Sega Genesis, the SNES, or even the Amiga versions.
- Mr. Nutz was a cutesy platformer from 1994 featuring a mascot character who, in stark contrast to most of the video game mascots of the '90s, barely had any attitude at all. And yet, its music is quite amazing. Just take a listen to Woody Land Stage 3, an atmospheric tune that goes for a whole three minutes without looping-- and then, once you've done that, listen to this hard-rock cover (uploaded by the original composer!), which somehow makes it even more awesome. Adventure Park is also quite catchy.
- Arcana features Second Armageddon, the music for the game's final battle. Jun Ishikawa does a wonderful job of emphasizing the all-or-nothing nature of the fight, especially since by this time Rooks stands alone against Empress Rimsalia and he's the last hope in the darkness, the only thing that stands between her and the total destruction of Elemen.
- Devil's crash, also known as Dragon's fury is a pinball game with a hell theme and really badass music that really sets up the mood for a trip to hell and back. Here, have a listen, and get a musicgasm.
- The TurboGrafx-16 Valis games have pretty epic Redbook soundtracks. Such as Fantasm Soldier and Flash of Sword from Valis: The Fantasm Soldier, and Level 1 from Valis II.
- The Options and Game Over Screen for a game called "Daffy Duck in Hollywood"
- Super R-Type. Sure the game was Nintendo Hard but it opened with tracks like Solo Sortie and just kept going. The worst part is, the song was long enough for two stages, and the second half can only be heard from the main menu.
- Wet As a Fish and A Submerging Titan were good too.
- My personal favorite: National Anthem of Bydo Empire.
- Data Zone Mighty Morphin Power Rangers : Fighting Edition.
- The mediocre CD-i brawler Mutant Rampage Body Slam has a surprisingly good soundtrack, done by the same composer behind Zelda: The Faces of Evil and Wand of Gamelon. The highlights are this level music and the title screen theme.
- For the Crowning Music of Awesome on the Megadrive, see Thunder Force 4. Particularly any of the the boss music - you definitely know you're in a fight.
- The Waterworld SNES game is usually known as a pretty bad game. Neverthelesss Dean Evans was able to composer a spectular (but small) OST for this game. Some examples:
- Obscure though it is, Namco's 1989 arcade/Megadrive shmup Dangerous Seed is often lauded for its soundtrack. Some of you may recognize the Megadrive version of the themes for the Strike-Ants and Roller-Snail battles, considering they were drafted for Sonic Megamix.
- Hudson's Super Star Soldier, and its sequel, Soldier Blade, both on the TurboGrafx-16.
- Yume Wa Owaranai, the Tales of Phantasia opening theme. Not only because it was a very epic J-Pop song, but it was the first (and possibly, only) song on the SNES to be fully voiced, something developers of that time thought was impossible to do without a CD-ROM add-on and costly co-processor chips.
- The TurboGrafx-16 CD version of Raiden. For example, Gallantry.
- The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers SNES game has some pretty bitchin' tracks by Kinuyo Yamashita, known for his work on Castlevania and Mega Man X3. Example tracks include but are not limited to:
- Stage 1 theme
- Stage 4 theme
- Boss theme
- And last but not least, the title theme and the music for the final bosses which are, not surprisingly, the Power Rangers theme song, the former including samples of the lyrics, the latter being an instrumental version.
- Uniracers, a fairly obscure game from the people who eventually made Grand Theft Auto (and would also get complaints from Pixar for their use of sentient unicycles), cranked this little gem out of the SNES sound processor...and that is hot.
- Be Prepared was awesome in its own right but the SNES version gave us an instrumental midi version. It's suitably epic.
- "Cargo Ship" from Jurassic Park:Rampage Edition
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