History AwesomeMusic / FourthGeneration

* VideoGame/GarfieldCaughtInTheAct has the final boss theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mxCV7MW0Q4 "Season Finale"]]

* The arcade version of ''Battletoads'' has some awesome hard rock tunes, particularly [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0wre2-ohvo this one.]]

* ''Creator/JRRTolkien's Literature/TheLordOfTheRings vol. 1'' for SNES may have been an inexcusably clunky and frustrating snore-fest of a game, but it did boast two tracks that are among the greatest pieces of game music of the entire era - the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=366MGt6zBRA title theme and the Shire theme]]. Even though the game itself is borderline unplayable it's almost worth checking out just for these two songs (although Website/YouTube means you fortunately don't have to). Music so magnificent deserved a ''much'' better game.

** Oersted's theme, AKA [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJdYKG3ytfU Wings That Don't Reach]] is a heroic-sounding, but melancholy theme with hints of sadness, that fits Oersted very well [[spoiler: before and after his transformation into Odio]].

* ''Creator/JRRTolkien's Literature/TheLordOfTheRings vol. 1'' for SNES may have been an inexcusably clunky and frustrating snore-fest of a game, but it did boast two tracks that are among the greatest pieces of game music of the entire era - the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz3euzGYg3c title theme]], and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MjJFAjIH3I Shire theme]]. Even though the game itself is borderline unplayable it's almost worth checking out just for these two songs (although Website/YouTube means you fortunately don't have to). Music so magnificent deserved a ''much'' better game.

* ''John Madden Football 92'' has an iconic theme that fully embodies the Genesis. It is still considered one of the best themes in the series [[https://youtu.be/lI5kGyDk3Ro to this day]].

* The music playing for the first track in any national cup, or just the Stonehenge track from ''Film/TopGear''. Once those opposing cascades kick in, you'll feel the hair on your neck stand up.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8laT12p_Mo "Super Turrican Stage 1-3"]]. And speaking of ''VideoGame/{{Turrican}}'', the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fvha_2hAzq0 Turrican II title music]].

* Though the original UsefulNotes/Commodore64 version of Manfred Trenz' ''VideoGame/{{Turrican}}'' already blew many minds by pushing the graphical capablities of the computer beyond what many believed possible in 1990, it also featured a first class soundtrack by a variety of composers including Chris Hülsbeck. But when the game was ported to the Amiga, Hülsbeck brought his "A" game and completely re-composed the soundtrack to create [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmejjYr_rKs one of the most kickass scores]] ever heard on the Amiga. From the haunting title screen theme to the pulsating energy of the level background themes (a different one for all fifteen levels) to the sheer intensity of the boss tracks, it complements the action on screen beautifully throughout. And when ''Turrican 2: The Final Fight'' came out the following year, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-ceYmpT-dI Hülsbeck did it again,]] producing another soundtrack full of rocking melodies sure to get the adrenaline racing for the shmup antics the player must navigate. As if that wasn't enough, when ''Turrican 3: Payment Day'' (the Amiga port of the Genesis game ''Mega Turrican'') came out in 1993, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abEMHBxVLQY Hülsbeck - yes - did it AGAIN,]] giving the series yet another blood-pumping soundtrack with a different theme for every level and boss in the game.

* An after-market example - ''Eternal Champions'' has some pretty good music, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erKpPsJR7iQ 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 ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'' look tame, setting a compilation of them all to Masterplan's "Spirit Never Die" somehow makes the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Champions#Original_characters struggle of each character]] and their quest to win their ''lives'' much more emotional.

* ''VideoGame/MortalKombat''[='=]s opening theme is just awesome. Particularly [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E52vH6QtBNQ Matt Furniss' Genesis/Mega Drive arrangement]]. As, for that matter, is [[https://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=55EAE914BEF35D88 the whole rest of the soundtrack]].

* ''Last Armageddon'' is a game about [[CoolVersusAwesome Demons vs. Aliens]]. While the gameplay may be okay at best, and the monsters nightmare fuel-inducing, the main thing that stands out is the AWESOME [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-IuvOoXB_g battle music]]. Then there's a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXlGaM9zOBM Doujin metal version]] from the Newtype Destroyer album.

* Also, many of the songs in 1994's ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'' video game. They sound best in the PC version.

* ''Disney/TheLionKing''[='=]s [[VillainSong "Be Prepared"]] was awesome in its own right but the UsefulNotes/{{SNES}} version gave us [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W0eQl5Or5Y an instrumental midi version]]. It's suitably epic.

* ''Franchise/{{Lunar}}'':

* ''Last Armageddon'' is a game about [[CoolVersusAwesome Demons vs. Aliens]]. While the gameplay may b okay at best, and the monsters nightmare fuel-inducing, the main thing that stands out is the AWESOME [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-IuvOoXB_g battle music]]. Then there's a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXlGaM9zOBM Doujin metal version]] from the Newtype Destroyer album.

* Creator/{{Codemasters}}' [[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Mega Drive]] port of ''Super Skidmarks'' doesn't feature much music, but what it does have features some impressive hard-rock guitar and sharp-sounding percussion. Witness its [[https://youtu.be/OV969EDyJr4 title screen]] and [[https://youtu.be/GqCmzBtG_Kc end-of-race]].

* Creator/{{Codemasters}}' [[SegaGenesis Mega Drive]] port of ''Super Skidmarks'' doesn't feature much music, but what it does have features some impressive hard-rock guitar and sharp-sounding percussion. Witness its [[https://youtu.be/OV969EDyJr4 title screen]] and [[https://youtu.be/GqCmzBtG_Kc end-of-race]].

* The SNES RPG ''VideoGame/BrainLord'' may be obscure, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5y9cb8PPD4 its music rocks]]. In particular, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHoyqBpaSW0 the first town theme]] has serious EarWorm potential (and an ''awesome'' bass line).

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeLz5vYu9tM Stage 2-2]] is a slower, somewhat darker theme with an addictive bassline and is one heck of an EarWorm.

* The underrated Sega Genesis beat-em up ''VideoGame/MysticalFighter'' had some pretty funky music that sounds rather like traditional Japanese music with a jazzy twist. Some good examples are the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs3b9DN5EiE Stage 2 theme]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6x8Tee1vUU Stage 4-2's theme]]. Be warned, this music ''will'' [[EarWorm loop in your head.]]

* ''Eek! The Cat'' for the SNES is a shining example of TheProblemWithLicensedGames, but its soundtrack was a different story, sometimes pushing the limits of the sound chip. Hell, if we listed examples, the whole soundtrack would be here. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-QISdkNSH0 So, behold!]]

* As WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd points out, the ''Terminator'' Sega CD version's music. According to his IMDB Biography page, with this game, Music/TommyTallarico 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.

* 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.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDugFzwNREk The Sega CD version of Batman Returns]] had this trope in spades, the ending theme being especially epic.

* ''Contra: Hard Corps''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kajbLZ9Qkz8 FM]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiy3ehfjQdg synthesis]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLO5PDrgO1Q roxors]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGJFjNGwX7w your]] soxors. Hard driving techno with metal overtones (or maybe the other way around) are not to be argued with. Especially [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Iu2ZqRyF-k "The Last Springsteen".]] And because Konami can't resist referencing their other games, they even threw in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf06_j4GDu8 a gabber version of "Vampire Killer"]].

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ome6XI_KuIw The morgue theme]] from the SNES version of ''Shadowrun''.

* The opening theme for ''Maximum Carnage'' is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbnihYENjC8 freaking awesome]] in fact the whole damn soundtrack for the game probably counts. Green Jellÿ's goal may have been to make music SoBadItsGood, but with ''VideoGame/MaximumCarnage'', they went for headbangingly awesome metal.

* ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheRobots'' was a game whose soundtrack was promoted with BlatantLies-- [[Music/{{Queen}} 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 [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoSNsVbkk_U Loader]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR4-bSOr05o Builder]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWsOTG5Jnyc Supervisor]].

** The SNES version of ''Super Valis IV'' also gives us such gems as the chilling [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM4F6iWLR6I Crystal Pillar]], the fierce [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa6Dqrkwgy8 boss theme]], and the energetic [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnvsu2A-xa0 Babylon]] theme.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tVDVC1p4E8 The Options and Game Over Screen]] for ''Daffy Duck in Hollywood''.
* ''Super R-Type''. Sure the game was ''NintendoHard'' but it opened with tracks like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYF9aCc5Cs0 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.

* 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:

* Hudson's ''Super Star Soldier'', and its sequel, ''Soldier Blade'', both on the UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16.
* ''Yume Wa Owaranai'', the VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia 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.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj2uGcED2M8 Data Zone]] from ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers : Fighting Edition''. Also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht6NxT6cDTs Grand Canyon]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELGRcU8plhw Dragon Space Platform]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELGRcU8plhw Ivan Ooze]].
* The soundtracks of the ''Power Rangers Movie'' tie-in game (both of them!) were also pretty wonderful. The Genesis version uses songs from the TV show ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELGRcU8plhw Fight]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPN4ubJxhEA 5-4-1]] for example), while the SNES version uses original arrangements that have a hard-rocking ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' vibe ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U7ihB-WlDo Aircraft Carrier]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilvfBrixnqk Ivan Ooze]]).

* The underrated Sega Genesis beat-em up ''Mystical Fighter'' had some pretty funky music that sounds rather like traditional Japanese music with a jazzy twist. Some good examples are the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs3b9DN5EiE Stage 2 theme]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6x8Tee1vUU Stage 4-2's theme]]. Be warned, this music ''will'' [[EarWorm loop in your head.]]

* ''J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings vol. 1'' for SNES may have been an inexcusably clunky and frustrating snore-fest of a game, but it did boast two tracks that are among the greatest pieces of game music of the entire era - the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz3euzGYg3c title theme]], and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MjJFAjIH3I Shire theme]]. Even though the game itself is borderline unplayable it's almost worth checking out just for these two songs (although Website/YouTube means you fortunately don't have to). Music so magnificent deserved a ''much'' better game.

* ''Eek! The Cat'' for the SNES is a shining example of TheProblemWithLicensedGames, but its soundtrack was a different story, sometimes pushing the limits of the sound chip. Hell, if we listed examples, the whole soundtrack would be here [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer (no, really)]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-QISdkNSH0 So, behold!]]

* The ''MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' SNES game has some pretty bitchin' tracks by Kinuyo Yamashita, known for her work on ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania|I}}'' and ''VideoGame/MegaManX3''. Example tracks include but are not limited to:

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj2uGcED2M8 Data Zone]] from ''MightyMorphinPowerRangers : Fighting Edition''. Also [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht6NxT6cDTs Grand Canyon]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELGRcU8plhw Dragon Space Platform]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELGRcU8plhw Ivan Ooze]].

* An after-market example - ''Eternal Champions'' has some pretty good music, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erKpPsJR7iQ 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 MortalKombat look tame, setting a compilation of them all to Masterplan's "Spirit Never Die" somehow makes the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Champions#Original_characters struggle of each character]] and their quest to win their ''lives'' much more emotional.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gyiPK-8hko The Savior of Those On Earth]]. Just...listen. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvS6sDkj0FY Remixed for the DS]] Too bad the game itself did not live up to the soundtrack.

* For SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic on the Mega Drive, see ''Thunder Force IV''. Particularly any of the the boss music - you definitely know you're in a fight.
** The appropriately named [[https://youtu.be/oTQIiIKummw "Metal Squad"]] is also rocks Sega's 16-bit system hard!

** And then there are the tracks taken from previous Psygnosis games for levels which pay homage to said games, including the blood-chilling ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBOAhd2BWL4 Shadow of the Beast]]'' and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XUS5X0kP6Y Shadow of the Beast II]]'' and the adrenaline-charged ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLZYJCBAoNM Menace]]'' and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUuFp646yFo Awesome]]''.

* The isometric Neo-Geo shooter ''[=Viewpoint=]'' has plenty of neat music, [[https://youtu.be/E6EqukELiSE such as]], [[https://youtu.be/VsZI_WT3aws these]], [[https://youtu.be/b_ToTWiqyqQ tracks]], as well as a [[https://youtu.be/EVfij_ApacI catchy high score theme]].

* ''Uniracers'', a fairly obscure game from the people who eventually made ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' (and would also get complaints from Creator/{{Pixar}} for their use of sentient unicycles), cranked [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY8NTdhmYMc this little gem]] out of the SNES sound processor...and that is hot.

* ''J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings vol. 1'' for SNES may have been an inexcusably clunky and frustrating snore-fest of a game, but it did boast two tracks that are among the greatest pieces of game music of the entire era - the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz3euzGYg3c title theme]], and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MjJFAjIH3I Shire theme]]. Even though the gamt itself is borderline unplayable it's almost worth checking out just for these two songs (although Website/YouTube means you fortunately don't have to). Music so magnificent deserved a ''much'' better game.

* ''J.R.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings vol. 1'' for SNES may have been an inexcusably clunky and frustrating snore-fest of a game, but it did boast two tracks that are arguably among the greatest pieces of game music of the entire era- the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz3euzGYg3c title theme]], and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MjJFAjIH3I Shire theme]]. Even though the gamt itself is borderline unplayable it's almost worth checking out just for these two songs (although Youtube means you fortunately don't have to). Music so magnificent deserved a ''much'' better game.

This is the AwesomeMusic page for SNES, Genesis, Neo Geo, Turbografx-16, Jaguar etc.