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NEC PC-Engine/SuperGrafx => PC Engine/SuperGrafx Discussion => Topic started by: grahf on August 24, 2006, 05:03:30 AM

Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: grahf on August 24, 2006, 05:03:30 AM
Im going to go with the obvious choices here. Lords of Thunder, followed very closely by Ys book 1&2. Both of which are currently on my ipod.

Any hidden gems out there?
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Black Tiger on August 24, 2006, 09:12:22 AM
You're kidding right? Best-wise, its a given that it's Lords'.

As for other rockin/brutal gems, it depends on whether you consider music to still be rock/metal if it isn't performed with guitars.

Neutopia -final boss fight
Dungeon Explorer 1 & 2
After Burner II
Ninja Spirit (imagine it performed with electric guitars)
Monster Lair -like Ys', its not all metal...
Y's III
Neo Nectaris
Gate Of Thunder
Valis II & III -at least the title theme
Side Arms Special
Forgotten Worlds
Aeroblasters
Dragon's Curse
Devil's Crush
R-Type HuCard(s)

I'm at work right now(my 2nd to last day :D) and can't do much brainstorming...
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Tatsujin on August 24, 2006, 03:12:59 PM
i will go with GoT, even the most of the tracks are not that much hard rock, more like instrumental rock! but the 2nd last stage (city with the huge rocket attack) rox everything away :wink:

anyway, GoT appears IMO with one of the best sound track ever composed in the whole history of Video games! stage 3 - mines is still one of my favorite track of all time and i listened to it several thousand times for sure :D
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: nodtveidt on August 24, 2006, 05:19:15 PM
http://www.nodtveidt.net/ccboss.ogg
is very metal. It's the only metal piece in the whole game, the rest is either surfer stuff (but unusually good surfer stuff) or Beach Boys songs. There is no final boss track, the final boss uses the regular boss theme.

Ys IV I believe has a few good ones, but I've only played through the game once and it was awhile ago (not long after the full English text patch) so I couldn't tell ya exactly which ones they were.

Exile II's http://www.nodtveidt.net/ex2fboss.ogg
are both pretty metal, especially the http://www.nodtveidt.net/ex2boss.ogg
.

Riot Zone is chock full of "nightlife metal"...metal mixed with the sax. The http://www.nodtveidt.net/rzfboss.ogg
of Riot Zone is especially good, though pretty much all the metal tracks in the game have plenty of synth mixed in. A rather mixed bag for sure, but not a disappointment by any means. The http://www.nodtveidt.net/rzelevator.ogg
is probably the most "metal"...nice thick guitars with minimal synth and sax.

Tatsujin: That would be "Dark City" and yes, that's the fastest track in GoT and really fits the frantic pace I believe the designers were trying to portray. Just about every track in that game is pretty rockin' but I myself am particularly partial to the final level's music (Crown Core), although it's certainly not the hardest track (although certainly the hardest level) in the game.

If I manage to think of any more, I'll post more stuff...I heard that Sapphire has a pretty hardcore soundtrack but I've never actually played the game so I've never heard it...
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Keranu on August 24, 2006, 06:06:06 PM
Good choices, nod. Oh and thanks a lot for the song uploads, I'll be sure to download the Camp California one since that sounds promisingly great :D .

For metal, it's Lords easily. For rock, I would say Ys Book I & II and Monster Lair. So many great rock tunes on the Turbo.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Tatsujin on August 24, 2006, 06:16:06 PM
also drac X has a lot of amazing tunez (no comment) which drifts in the rock section though!
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Joe Redifer on August 24, 2006, 06:36:38 PM
Sapphire has some pretty good tunes, but not quite on the level with either GoT or LoT.  Maybe someday when I am not lazy I will upload them as illegal MP3z.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Tatsujin on August 24, 2006, 06:43:05 PM
sapphires best track is that from the 3rd stage i believe! with the guitar solo  :D
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: grahf on August 24, 2006, 06:50:29 PM
Good call on Ninja Spirit Black_Tiger. I wasnt really thinking of card music when i made this thread, but who cares :)

Im ashamed to say i havnt played far enough into GoT to hear everything. Im going to rip the audio and give it a listen.

Nice uploads nodtveidt.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Keranu on August 24, 2006, 08:54:43 PM
Nod I just listened to the Camp California boss song... BADASS TO THE MAX! :D God I want that game so bad.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: esteban on August 28, 2006, 06:33:20 PM
What do folks here think about Download 2? The opening track (title screen) is one of my fave "metal" tracks from the "underappreciated" category. I can't recall if the entire soundtrack is solid, though. I haven't played it in a few years.

:)
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Keranu on August 28, 2006, 09:02:54 PM
I have never played Download 2, but I remember downloading the tracks that the Turbo Station site on PCEFX had for the game and loving them. I can't remember how they went though, so I should really get that game.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: vestcoat on August 28, 2006, 09:59:42 PM
Quote from: "nodtveidt"


Tatsujin: That would be "Dark City" and yes, that's the fastest track in GoT and really fits the frantic pace I believe the designers were trying to portray. Just about every track in that game is pretty rockin' but I myself am particularly partial to the final level's music (Crown Core), although it's certainly not the hardest track (although certainly the hardest level) in the game.



Holy shit.  I got GoT from in the mail from Radio Shack in 97 and when I first made it to Dark City I practically shit my pants.  The music and energy of that level blows me away even today.  Everytime I beat Dark City I find the last level to be too hard and not exciting enough to be worth the effort.  I usually lose patience and turn the game off after I lose my power-ups.

Camp California is awesome.  I picked it up sometime recently for $20 on ebay.  After years of scoffing the Beach Boys this game made me realize that they totally rule.

Shadow of the Beast is worth it for the music alone; especially tracks 1 and 4 on the sound test.

I remember really digging the music on Exile 2 when I was playing it last fall, but I can't get the sound test to work right now.

Cotton has some sweet tunes.  I haven't played to far into it yet but I like the music on the 2nd level a lot.

After listening to the music on Lot and GoT of years, the Super Raiden soundtrack is my current favorite.  It's not the most metal, but I keep pulling the game off the shelf again and again just because the music is so catchy.

Bloody Wolf has my favorite Turbo Chip music.  Totally puts me in the mood to blast through barricades on a motorcycle and stab some terrorists.

On a side note, I remember my friend's mom prevented him from buying Bloody Wolf at Toys R Us in 92 because it looked too violent.  Pretty funny thinking about that now.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: nodtveidt on August 28, 2006, 11:20:14 PM
Quote from: "vestcoat"
Holy shit.  I got GoT from in the mail from Radio Shack in 97 and when I first made it to Dark City I practically shit my pants.  The music and energy of that level blows me away even today.  Everytime I beat Dark City I find the last level to be too hard and not exciting enough to be worth the effort.  I usually lose patience and turn the game off after I lose my power-ups.

The last level isn't quite as intense as Dark City but then again, none of the other levels are that fast. The neat thing about Crown Core though is that the music is in sync with the truly difficult parts...when you reach the top of the level and it speeds up, the music goes along with that fast part (made it this far? it's pretty hard!). It just takes a lot of practice to make it through Crown Core. Fortunately, if you can pass the level, you can beat the final boss as it's not quite as hard (it's still hard, don't let me mislead you) as the level itself. The key to staying alive in that last level is two-part: memorizing where you need to be at each moment, and dodging enemy shots, especially those irritating ones that shoot what look like discs at you...worry more about dodging shots and ships than about destroying them.

I think the slower speed of the last level's beginning gives you a false sense of ease after being able to conquer Dark City...it certainly works. :D
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Vanquish on August 29, 2006, 06:19:30 AM
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 :P
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Keranu on August 29, 2006, 08:57:37 AM
Great posts vestcoat and nod, even more proof that Gate of Thunder is a perfect game :D .
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: runinruder on August 29, 2006, 04:14:04 PM
What, no mention of SEA OF LOVE from It Came From the Desert?  Desert was my first CD game, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing the first time it loaded up.

Also awesome was the song that played during Shape Shifter's end credits.  

Stage 5 in Hellfire S featured some sweet "lead guitar" work.  

Awesome chip rock music: Stage 3 in Legendary Axe 2, Stage 7 in Blazing Lazers, the title screen tune for Double Dungeons.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: nodtveidt on August 29, 2006, 04:47:16 PM
Quote from: "Vanquish"
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 :P

Wrong console. :P

runinruder: LA2 had some of the best chip tunes the console ever had...period. :) I see where you're coming from for lv3 though...definately a good rockish piece.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Joe Redifer on August 29, 2006, 04:53:09 PM
Quote
What, no mention of SEA OF LOVE from It Came From the Desert?

I've never heard it.  uploade mp3 plz k thx.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: esteban on August 29, 2006, 04:54:06 PM
Damn, I thought there were more Download 2 fans here!

Quote from: "runinruder"
What, no mention of SEA OF LOVE from It Came From the Desert?  Desert was my first CD game, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing the first time it loaded up.

Also awesome was the song that played during Shape Shifter's end credits.  

Stage 5 in Hellfire S featured some sweet "lead guitar" work.  

Awesome chip rock music: Stage 3 in Legendary Axe 2, Stage 7 in Blazing Lazers, the title screen tune for Double Dungeons.
Well, of course we love SEA OF LOVE :)

...it's just not "metal" by any means. It's like a great 80's pop song with some country overtones. I rank it as one of the best "made-for-a-video-game" songs w/ lyrics of all time. It's a matter of taste, of course, but I just love that song. Otherwise, the two songs w/ vocals from Final Zone II make my top 10, but they're just plain goofy compared to Sea of Love.

And if Stage 7 is the "boss rush" final stage of Blazing Lazers, then I wholeheartedly agree with you. That final stage has friggin' amazing, high-adrenaline, double bass drum insanity. It *perfectly* suits the stage and gets you pumped up.

On that note: Nod's comments about how one of the tracks in GoT nicely complements the gameplay got me to thinking about Last Alert. One of my favorite "little touches" in this game occurs when you fight the final boss, Indra. The familiar boss music theme starts to play as Guy rides the elevator... BUT, this time you hear Guy screaming "INDRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" as he prepares for battle. It's been years since I played the game, but I reckon there are two tracks in the game... pretty kool!
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: runinruder on August 29, 2006, 04:56:09 PM
Yep, Axe 2's soundtrack was excellent.  I like how it was able to switch gears effortlessly, from sad and somber (level 2) to rocking (level 3).  Perhaps the most memorable tune of all was the freaky one in that crazy fifth stage.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Keranu on August 29, 2006, 06:15:00 PM
Sea of Love is rad as hell, I was amazed when I first heard that song as well :D . Great stuff.

Nod, another cool music sync in GoT is in level 5 (I thought this level was called Crown Core, not the last?), you know the level with the insects (one of my favs). Anyways when you are heading down into the underground water part of the level and you are in the underground tunnel, a guitar solo plays, but it has a sound to it like it's a hollow place, just like the tunnel you are in. It's hard for me to describe the sound, but it fits the tunnel very well.

By the way, I have a harder time with the final boss than the final level itself, interestingly enough.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: nodtveidt on August 30, 2006, 03:18:24 AM
http://www.nodtveidt.net/sea-of-love.ogg


Quote from: "Keranu"
Nod, another cool music sync in GoT is in level 5 (I thought this level was called Crown Core, not the last?), you know the level with the insects (one of my favs). Anyways when you are heading down into the underground water part of the level and you are in the underground tunnel, a guitar solo plays, but it has a sound to it like it's a hollow place, just like the tunnel you are in. It's hard for me to describe the sound, but it fits the tunnel very well.

Level 5 is called Crown. And I know what you mean about the solo part...when you approach that cavern part, the music goes a bit quiet, then as you begin the descent, the solo starts...it's very cool and a great example of how to make the music match the mood of the scene. :D

Quote from: "Keranu"
By the way, I have a harder time with the final boss than the final level itself, interestingly enough.

The final boss isn't terribly hard but you gotta watch what it's doing. Basically, try to shoot down the yellow balls it shoots at you from the four corners (they shoot in order, clockwise) and also keep an eye on the little wave-shooting things...when they change colour, they're going to shoot at you so be prepared to dodge the shots. Also, try to take out either the top or bottom completely before starting on the opposite so there'll be less chance of getting hit. Once you wipe out the wave-shooters, the missle-shooter is more difficult because it comes straight at you and the hotspot is dead center. I use a circular attack pattern that avoids the missles and hits the yellow balls at the same time. Once you take that down, the final part is quite easy...just fire away at the core. Even if you get shot down doing this, just return fire when you come back up and you'll get the win. Dodging the big energy stars isn't terribly hard but they're fast and you have to anticipate their movement.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Keranu on August 30, 2006, 09:10:36 AM
Thanks for the tips. I usually only die once at him, but I'll take your tips into consideration next time I play. If I could take him out without dying, then I could easily beat the game without dying once. :D
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Black Tiger on September 01, 2006, 06:35:36 AM
Quote from: "nodtveidt"
Quote from: "vestcoat"
Holy shit.  I got GoT from in the mail from Radio Shack in 97 and when I first made it to Dark City I practically shit my pants.  The music and energy of that level blows me away even today.  Everytime I beat Dark City I find the last level to be too hard and not exciting enough to be worth the effort.  I usually lose patience and turn the game off after I lose my power-ups.

The last level isn't quite as intense as Dark City but then again, none of the other levels are that fast. The neat thing about Crown Core though is that the music is in sync with the truly difficult parts...when you reach the top of the level and it speeds up, the music goes along with that fast part (made it this far? it's pretty hard!). It just takes a lot of practice to make it through Crown Core. Fortunately, if you can pass the level, you can beat the final boss as it's not quite as hard (it's still hard, don't let me mislead you) as the level itself. The key to staying alive in that last level is two-part: memorizing where you need to be at each moment, and dodging enemy shots, especially those irritating ones that shoot what look like discs at you...worry more about dodging shots and ships than about destroying them.

I think the slower speed of the last level's beginning gives you a false sense of ease after being able to conquer Dark City...it certainly works. :D


Thats another thing that makes the Thunder games' soundtracks so awesome, is how well each track complements their level and how the levels are timed to complement the music.

Like Stage 1 in GoT, as the cymbals play and then first guitar riffs start and then everything kicks in as the enemies and background do the same and later on as the giant ship starts to take off all of a sudden and the music also takes off.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: runinruder on September 01, 2006, 06:51:06 AM
My favorite instance of music matching action is in the second level of Macross 2036.  The music during that stage rocks for the most part, but about halfway through the level it settles into this soft, melodious interlude.  The action follows suit by letting up for a bit as pretty red asteroids just sort of dance about the screen.  It probably sounds lame from my description, but it's awesome when you see/hear it.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Keranu on September 01, 2006, 01:05:21 PM
More great music syncing references.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: akamichi on September 01, 2006, 04:34:11 PM
I already love GoT, which I'm sure everybody here does.  But, reading about other people's experiences/opinions/descriptions just makes me appreciate the game even more.  Thanks all!

Anyway, my most memorable experience was the stage before the last(?).  It was already mentioned earlier, but the music and the game's intensity match so well on that stage that I was just blown away.  Descending that tunnel while those humongous missiles launch barely missing your ship just freaked me out when I first played it.  That stage just isn't the same without the music.

For HuCards, I really like Parodius' music.  It's pretty cool that each character has their own stage opening music that blends into the main stage opening theme.  It's not rock, but all classical remixes. :)  I wish Konami would have done one of the sequels on SCD/ACD.
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Tatsujin on September 03, 2006, 02:21:17 PM
the very nice thing is, since the cd rom-rom came out, you don't buy just a game, no you also buy the complete sound track with it :D
Title: Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?
Post by: Keranu on September 03, 2006, 04:37:54 PM
Indeed :D . I am considering buying Valis II to possibly use as a soundtrack more.