Follow Us on Tumblr

troperville

tools

toys

SubpagesAwesomeMusic

main index

Narrative

Genre

Media

Topical Tropes

Other Categories

TV Tropes Org
random
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.
  • That Old Army Game, Nightmare Buzz, Buzz Battle, and Inside the Claw Machine from the SNES Toy Story Game.
  • 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 5 different groups chanting in different patterns in unison, which gives it its unique sound. And true to this form, 5 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 ambiance 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, somber 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. In this troper's opinion, one of the best town themes in all of RPGs.
      • Suffice to say - there's a reason that the composer is the 2nd 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.
  • F-Zero features some nice scores. While this troper isn't a big enthusiast of fan favorites "Mute City" and "Big Blue", he melts upon "Port Town". Even better is F-Zero GX's Fire Field.
  • 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~: when Wren Transforms into the Global Airship or Aqua skimmer
    • How about PSIV's remixes of the Dungeon themes from the first game? [1] [2]
      • Of course, the game has it's 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 10x the Tear Jerker that Aeris' theme could ever hope to be.
      • How did we manage to talk about awesome PSIV music and forget 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).
      • 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.
    • I find it dissapointing 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".
  • 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.
  • 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. This troper deliberately delayed beating the boss so he could keep playing along.
  • 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 .
  • 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.
    • This troper considers this to be one of the "great tracks" mentioned.
    • 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!
  • 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. [[supersecretspoiler:In a So Horrible, It's Freaking Hilarious way.]]
  • This Troper still remembers fondly the Wonder Boy/Monster World series on Sega consoles, and one tune in particular. Sure, when it was featured for the first time in the final level of Wonder Boy in Monster Land on Master System, it was just OK (sorry for the gameplay video, I couldn't find a video with just music). Then, came Wonder Boy 3: The Dragon's Trap, the immediate sequel, with a playable intro which took place in this same level, and it was good. But then came a remake of the former game on the Mega Drive, Wonder Boy in Monster World, and the tune became purely awesome.
  • 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.
  • 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...
  • 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.
  • This troper is surprised no one's pointed out the morgue theme from the SNES version of Shadowrun yet.
  • An after-market example - Eternal Champions has some pretty good music, but this mash-up of the game's extremely gory finishers is what did it for this troper. 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.
  • The Mortal Kombat's opening theme is just as awesome. Particularly Matt Furniss' Genesis/Mega Drive arrangement.
  • 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]
  • 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.
  • ANYTHING from Power Instinct: Matrimelee. Here are a couple of tracks:
  • The ending theme from Tetris Attack, A Walk on a Rainbow.
  • Rise Of The Robots was a game whose soundtrack was promoted with Blatant LiesBrian 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.
  • 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 PC Engine 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:
  • 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 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIqXzcSN_e4

Third Generation Or EarlierAwesomeMusic/Video GamesFifth Generation

random
100262
31