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Okay...I need to do this. If for no reason than to get Silent Guardians from Hyrule Warriors unstuck from my head.
In my nearly 40 years of life, I've played a lot of games and heard a lot of music. One thing I've noticed is that there a lot of songs that exist that could be really great if they were used in video games...even though they were never made for the purpose of games.
So...after seeing both JoshScorcher's "Top 10 Music Battles" and Green Scorpion's "Top Ten Overworld Themes" lists, I was inspired to make this list giving homage to twenty artists that made some great game themes...that technically aren't game themes.
Now...for this list, I'll only be looking at songs that didn't start as game themes. So...no remixes from DJtheS for example, as much as I REALLY wanted to put the song used as the number transistion theme in Green Scorpion's list. However, songs that ended up on Guitar Hero, for example, are still up for grabs since those didn't originate as game songs. Also...to be fair, only one song per performer.
One fair warning: Some of these songs may get stuck in your head (like the aforementioned Silent Guardians did for me), so I do apologize in advance.
Anyways...without any further ado or a don't, let's rock!
NUMBER 20
Kanye West - Heartless
We start with a song that I feel could make for a character theme. Specifically for any evil female characters that may exist out there. But...let's be honest, when we talk about a girl who's "heartless", there's one character you already have in mind: Larxene. Sadly, it's the fact that she's pretty much one the very few this song could be a theme for that this song's lower on the list.
Pity that. I would love to see some lovely (and lethal) leading villianesses get this as their theme. Especially if they're glaoting over some minor success. NUMBER 19
Air - Alone in Kyoto
From the soundtrack for the movie "Lost in Translation", we have this absoultely beautiful atmospheric piece. When I first heard this, it was on RainyMood as a song suggestion to hear with the rain sound to help relax.
When I hear this, it reminded me of a theme you could use for a hidden glen or any other naturally beautiful area. In fact, I see a lot of similarities between this song and "Synapse" from the game "Deus Ex - Conspiracy", as both are very reminicent of the areas they represent and provide a lot of atmosphere. Heck, I could even see this song used in some way in a Orisinal game...and any one who's played those games know how beautiful some of the songs in those games are. NUMBER 18
Fall Out Boy - My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark
Wow. Not sure why Fall Out Boy gets a lot of hate, but if they make songs like this regularly they do NOT deserve the hate.
First thing I thought of? Yeah...this was either a Pyro from TF2 or Kreig from Borderlands 2 theme. How could it NOT be? "Light em up...I'M ON FIRE!!!" Come on...
I've actually suggested that someone needs to make an AMV of Kreig using this song...but I've gotten no takers. Actually, I've wondered why no one has made one already. A vid like that would be epic! NUMBER 17
Animusic - Heavy Light
Once this song gets going (around 1:13), it's easy to see just how great this song is. For some reason, despite the "techy" sound of the song, I could see a song like this or something similar being used as a theme for some kind of ruin like the kind Miss Lara Croft would traverse.
Actually, I suspect the weird ruins in the video might be something Miss Croft would unlock as a puzzle. God only knows what it would unlock...
At any rate, the melody is great on its own without the visuals, and I would love to see something like it for an area theme. NUMBER 16
Peter Gabriel - Shock the Monkey
God that's such a weird video...
It helps that "Burn Me Up, Burn You Down" and "Curtains" by this man were used in the Myst series. But this song sounds like it could be a good game theme too. Probably for some platforming or action game which involves going through an area with a lot of electricity flying about. (Alternate Elecman theme?)
It's definitely got a great beat and I could definitely see either Megaman or even Beck from Mighty No. 9 heading through some area to this tune. Let's just hope you're wearing a good pair of rubber boots... NUMBER 15
TRUSTCompany - Downfall
I actually referenced this song in my fic "Sonic Adventure - The Arcadian Adventure", which read and played out like a game script. In this case...it was the theme for the Dark Gamemaster boss fight.
The lyrics for this song seem to point to fighting a dark side. "Fear in me", "another side of me", "face to face with me". Defintiely something I could hear being played while fighting Shadow Mario, Shadow the Hedgehog, Dark Link, Dark Samus, or any other dark sided doppleganger. Also...it helps that if you lost against said dark side, it would be a downfall.
Feel free to use this for your own dark side theme, guys! TRUSTCompany deserves the love. NUMBER 14
Edvard Greig - In The Halls of the Mountain King
Could someone PLEASE make this a Dwarven theme of some kind?!?
Seriously...this classical piece could easily have been the theme for Thorin Oakenshield and his band as they fought through their adventures through Middle Earth. Especially when the tempo picked up, making it sound like something I could SERIOUSLY see used for a battle theme of some kind.
Songs like these are the reason why I believe a lot of classical songs should be used for more games. I mean...any who saw Josh's Top Organ Songs list know what I mean. NUMBER 13
Junior Senior - Move Your Feet
Remember that warning about catchy songs earlier? Yeah...here we go...
To be honest, I wasn't sure if it was just the video that was making me think this could be a good game theme. However, I soon realized a song like this could work as something that could play in some sort of city setting, like Luca in Final Fantasy X. It's got a sort of bouncy tempo that could really work for high energy locations, specifically for locations that don't need a lot of action.
Again...I could be biased. Just look at the video...but don't say I didn't warn you about the potential earworm the song is! NUMBER 12
Jerry Goldsmith - First Dream (Opening theme to Total Recall)
First movie starring Arnie was okay...NES game was total CRAP...movie remake wasn't that good. But this theme was awesome!
This theme reminded me of something you'd hear during the final stretch of some RPG where you are about to face off against the final boss of the game. (The ACTUAL final boss.) Just the heavy sound of the beats of this song added a bit of ominousness, kind of like the feeling of dread you'd get not knowing what you are about to face beyond that final door.
It's a great song that I wished could have been associated with a better movie. NUMBER 11
Metallica - Master of Puppets
Okay...this song makes me wanna fight! *puts in Street Fighter...then thinks for a bit and chooses a BlazBlue game instead, choosing Relius Clover* Had to do it.
Seriously, when I heard this, for some reason I actually saw this as a fighting game theme...with the original game being Virtua Fighter. Still...I could definitely see this used in some kind of fighting game or beat-em-up.
Actually, this almost became MY theme! But, then Hero by Nas came out, and that seemed more appropo... NUMBER 10
Obsession (.hack//SIGN opening theme)
Okay...this MIGHT seem a bit of a cheat since .hack is also a game series, but since this was just used for the anime, it's fine.
Still...I would LOVE to see this used as some kind of battle theme used for when you are beating up mobs in a .hack game remake. Maybe even rework it for the SAO game that's coming out? That'd be one heck of a nod to another MMO anime.
I actually was a fan of the .hack series, both the games and the anime. I also loved how the anime and games merged with each others' stories. Heck...when the Twin Blade class came out for Maple Story, I modeled my character after Kite from the games! NUMBER 9
Real Life - Send Me an Angel
When I first heard this song, despite the lyrics, one of the first things I thought of was "GAME OVER". I still think this would make for a good Game Over theme as no doubt you'll be asking for an angel to come down to get you. (Or...if you are of Norse blood like I am, a Valkyrie.)
But more recently, "send me an angel" took on a different meaning. Especially considering Sakurai's baby boy, Pit. I actually heard this song playing in my head while playing Uprising, and it worked well with some of the flying segments. So...here, the people of the world below may be calling for Pit with this song!
Lady Palutena...that's not you doing the angelic voice, is it? NUMBER 8
Dead or Alive - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)
Their only major hit and the first song you hear Adam Sandler sing in "The Wedding Singer", and a very very catchy song.
Weird thing is, as soon as I heard this song I had the Topman stage from Megaman 3 pop into my head, and realized it would would work PERFECTLY for it. (If the theme wasn't already good.)
This is definitely a platformy, shooty game theme. It has the right kind of beat and could work well for any kind of run and gun style game. NUMBER 7
Faith No More - Last Cup of Sorrow
I like this song more for the atmospheric part created by the...glochenspeil? What IS that instrument? Anyways...that part of the song sounded like it was reverberating, almost like you were inside a cave or something. As such, I could see a song like this used for a cavern area in an adventure game or RPG.
Actually...it was weird, but I DID have a dream one time where I did hear this song used in such a manner for a Dragon Quest style RPG. Though...why was my party composed of generic characters that could exist in other video game worlds? I mean...one was a Sonic-esque skunk character that WASN'T named Geoffrey! NUMBER 6
Doctor Vox - Hero
Geez...I seem to be finding a lot of Megaman-esque themes...
This one is definitely the most Megaman-ish of them, though. As such, I would love to see something like this used as a stage theme for Mighty No. 9, since it would seem to be an awesome fit for it. There's definitely a high tech feel to this song, and a great beat perfect for action oriented games.
I'd recommend listening to a few of the other Creative Commons songs as well. There are some talented people behind this music. NUMBER 5
Disturbed - Prayer
This was another song I used for "SA-TAA". In this case, a stage which Shadow was racing through. I loved this song because there seemed to be a level of desperation inherit in the song. This seems like a good song for any action sequence where the player has to survive. Hordes of zombies in Dead Rising seems like a good choice.
At any rate, whether you love or hate Disturbed, this is a great song to listen to. I would definitely have this playing in the background while playing games. NUMBER 4
Rush - Subdivisions
This is one of my favorite songs from Rush. It really does give kind of a feeling of being in the city. And...it sounds like the perfect song for any sort of city stage, especially if you are trying to get through it without getting killed. Even better if you're trying to make your way through a sewer level.
When I heard this, one thing I thought of was Sonic trying to sneak through Robotropolis in SatAM. Heck, I even kept that idea in mind when I was trying to think up what HOA-TGL could be as a game. Maybe an idea to keep on the backburner? NUMBER 3
Dethklok - Castratikron
BOSS BATTLE TIME!
Yeah...JoshScorcher will probably appreciate this song being on here. This song just SCREAMS boss battle. Something born of evil? You life is gone? Oh yeah...someone big's coming for you, and he's out for blood. YOUR blood!
Actually, I would love to have seen this used in a battle sequence in Brutal Legend. Actually...was it used? I haven't played it and I should've. Eddie would probably have loved hearing this play as he's laying waste on mooks. NUMBER 2
Swedish House Mafia - Greyhound
I don't believe it. A song from a VODKA COMMERCIAL is one of my favorite songs of all time...
This is definitely one of the bounciest songs I've heard, and works well for...well, as you can see from the commercial video, it was used for a race. In fact, this would be a great racing game song for anything from Mario Kart to F-Zero. (New F-Zero track, maybe? MAKE IT HAPPEN, NINTENDO!)
Actually, it's not just racing I could see this used for. Any high speed game, like a Sonic game, could also make use of music like this. But despite how awesome this song is...there's one more song that is even more awesome...
So let's get to it! NUMBER 1
So here it is. The number one song I think would sound good in a video game. This song...is from an anime. A very popular anime. A song so great, many have claimed it is the Guile's theme of anime songs as it could go with anything. I agree...as I could imagine some games it could go with.
That song...
...is Linked Horizon's "Guren No Yumiya" otherwise known as...
I've seen the anime...I've heard this theme...I understand the hype. This is still my favorite of the hype...because this song is just EPIC!!!
Now...what to use it with? How about...JUST ABOUT ANYTHING!! Action games...fighting games...racing games...
Heck...I want to see a theme like this used for Dynasty Warriors or Hyrule Warriors! Imagine this song playing while Ganondorf is plowing through Moblins left and right! It...would...be...GLORIOUS!!!
So...there it is. My list of twenty great songs that could make great game themes. Have any songs you think would also work as game themes? Leave them in the comments!
I'm Gamemaster Anthony Bault, and I'll see you on the other side of the fourth wall! As for now... *draws two swords* ...I've got some mooks to slice down to the tune of that last theme...
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A very interesting countdown. In fact, it may be one of my new favorites...
There's a lot of music I've heard over the years that got me thinking "man, this should be a game theme". I might have to make my own list one day.
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I'd definitely like to see it! In fact, are there any songs I didn't have on my list that you think would work?
Actually, I should post some honorable mentions, shouldn't I?
Bone Thungs N Harmony (Feat. Henry Rollins, Tom Morello, and Flea) - War (Battlecry)
A remake of a classic for the "Small Soildiers" soundtrack. I actually think is better than the original...but that's just me. This has a great beat I could see in a shoot-em-up...but sadly, the rap parts tend to break it up, so it couldn't make the cut.
M4SONIC - Virus
This guy has some serious skill on the Launchpad. I could definitely see this song used in a racing game or any other action oriented game. But...since I wasn't sure if this guy used game songs for the samples (which would have disqualified it), I decided not to include it.
The Watchtower Four - All Along the Watchtower
A vocalless remake of the Jimi Hendrix song made for the soundtrack for the movie "Ali". This was another song I referenced for my "SA-TAA" fic, this time for a scene on Prison island with Tails at the helm of the Cyclone Mech and Gamemaster sporting some Exo-Squad inspired exoarmor. Sadly, because people would probably remember the original more, this version is easily forgettable. Pity...this version could work well for a mech based game.
Morris Day and the Time - Jungle Love
I couldn't find a non-live version? Odd...
This is another one of those bouncy songs that, AGAIN, could be good for a Megaman game or Mighty No. 9. Problem is, well, I already had enough of those on the list and there's the fact people will probably think of the Steve Miller Band song instead.
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(08-29-2014, 05:09 PM)GamemasterAnthony Wrote: I'd definitely like to see it! In fact, are there any songs I didn't have on my list that you think would work?
If I mentioned them here, what would be the point of my own list? 
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