I have some pretty strong opinions on video game music, but I'll try to keep it brief!
My favorite song from any video game is Forest Interlude from Donkey Kong Country 2. David Wise was at the pinnacle of video game music during the SNES era, and it's incredible to see how he was able to produce such a huge depth of sound in the DKC 2 soundtrack.
There are so many good Final Fantasy songs all the way from the first game through to FFXV, but if I had to choose one to listen to it, it would be Searching for Friends from FFVI.
I actually got into shoot-em-up games because of the music, and I have to say that Gradius Gaiden for the PS1 had one of the best soundtracks for that genre. It's full of energy and this song for the start of the final stage is a great primer for the toughest level.
I've played a ton of rhythm games over the years...probably too many. It's so hard to narrow so many good songs made specifically for a rhythm game down to a favorite, but my gut tells me I would choose Xenon from Beatmania IIDX 8th Style.
Finally, not to ignore modern games entirely...Journey for the PS3 completely surprised me when I first played it, and it's stuck with me because of how well the game told the story and how the music changed based on what you did. Watching chemgear play the game along to a live performance of the music was so amazing and I'm glad I got to see that in person.
Honorable mentions:
- Bubble Man (Mega Man 2)
- Hydro City Zone Act 2 (Sonic 3)
- End Credits (Mario Kart 64)
- Lost Paintings (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night)
- Uncharted Theme
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