[blingdenston]

Hmm...there actually is music from Lunar and its remakes/sequels that AREN'T awful.  Howsabout...

Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete by Noriyuki Iwadare and Working Designs
Magical Weapon Nash - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDOU5n3Gd5A
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue (Sega CD) by Noriyuki Iwadare
Brave Warriors - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CprABrE4InQ
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony (PSP) by Noriyuki Iwadare
To Protect Those Important To You - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luRUa_fNnLo

Howsabout some more CD based games?  Hearing these songs in video games as a teenager blew my mind!

Myst by Robyn Miller
Un-Finale - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0khcX_DJjw
Ys Book I&II by YUZO FUCKING KOSHIRO, arrangement by Ryo Yonemitsu
Ruins of Moondoria - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZjj_8mmhM4
Palace - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38dR1YYulio
The Last Moment of the Dark - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eybzypDGR5A
Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the sacred, Blood of the Damned by Rupert Holmes and David Henry
Main Theme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oy2t_Ru3rQ

(Choosing only three Ys tracks was like choosing only three fingers on a hand to save...have to do a post entirely from Ys games later on.)  And, to settle it for now, a track that never, ever fails to send me back to elementary school:

Kirby's Dream Land by Jun Ishikawa
Green Greens (performed by PoopPoopFart) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk_lNykpHBo

[blingdenston]

Hmm...Game Boy...why don't we stick around Nintendo a bit?  Howsabout three from the NES, Game Boy, and SNES each?

NES
Crystalis (which had the kinda Nightwishy title God Slayer: Sonata of the Far Away Sky in Japan) - 'Wild Fields' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckwYeesRJl0
Mega Man 3 - 'Wily Stage 2' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXrqr4OKASM
Journey to Silius - 'Stage 1' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjG2ZjPqzzE

Game Boy
Final Fantasy Legend III (which had the even more stilted title The Ruler of Time and Space ~ SaGa3 [Final Chapter] in Japan) - 'Steslos' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NsETnuRgr0
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters - 'Underworld Tower' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=relroNy1NSE
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - 'Song of Awakening' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KftKvz0LK4

SNES
F-Zero - 'Mute City' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0WzWdSVFmE
Ys IV: Mask of the Sun - 'Field' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj0F9NaEN_w
Chrono Trigger - 'Corridors of Time' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESqZb7hY1S0

[Auryn]

MY TURNSES. I have been collecting movie and video game soundtracks for years now, and of the latter definitely a few favourites stand out.

Shadow of the Colossus OST, by Ko Otani
A live orchestra and the most cinematic music experience I've ever come across in a game. This is one of my all-time faovurites - both the game and the music, and I find many tracks to be very inspiring for writing. 'The Open Way' has become an iconic classic.
My personal favourites: 'Prologue: To The Ancient Land', 'The Open Way', 'Silence', 'Creeping Shadow' and 'Counterattack'.


Bastion OST, by Darren Korb
I actually heard this full soundtrack before playing the game itself, and it is likely what lead to me both playing the game and having such a strong emotional connection to it. One of the vocal tracks reduced me to tears the first several times I listened to it. It's got a lot of both Eastern and cowboy-Western influences which makes a truly unique listeeing experience.
My personal favourites: 'Terminal March', 'Mother I'm Here (Zulf's Theme)', 'Setting Sail, Coming Home (End Theme)'


Sang Froid - Tales of Werewolves OST, Various Artists
A collection of tracks from local artists, the Sang Froid OST is a melting pot of the best of European folk music. Each track manages to be incredibly unique whilst all matching the same tone. I am not a big fan of the game or the art style, but the music I love.
My personal favourites: 'Réel à Bouche', 'Chapitre Bordeau', 'Les Deux Vendredis'


Persona 4 OST, Shoji Meguro
Otherwise known as the most feel-good game about MURDER ever~

This one you might notice is very boppy and vastly different from those above... but damn, it's catchy! At times a bit hit and miss, but otherwise a very pleasant soundtrack of uplifting, dramatic and emotive pieces.
My personal favourites: 'Pursuing my True Self', 'The Poem For Everyone's Souls', 'Signs of Love', 'Backside of the TV', 'I'll Face Myself -Battle-'

[Taelyn]

Posting this really quick before I head to work so sorry, no YouTube links:

Final Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu

[Tyria]

Metal Geaaaar!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q07vkhocnlc

[blingdenston]

I don't know how we can do the best Metal Gear music without the best theme from the best game...

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater by Norihiko Hibino, vocals by Cynthia Harrel - 'Snake Eater' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmB8ywJYMww

And here're a few of my favorite tracks/reinterpretations of tracks from Persona and the Shin Megami Tensei series in general:

Persona 2: Innocent Sin by Toshiko Tasaki, Kenichi Tsuchiya and Masaki Kurokawa - 'Velvet Room' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTIBbvTxMhA
Persona 3 by Shoji Meguro - 'The Battle for Everyone's Souls' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kBqP06eDRY
from the album 'Never More -Reincarnation: Persona 4- by Shoji Meguro - 'I'll Face Myself -Battle-' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDr_krEQNrU
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2 ~ Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon by Shoji Meguro - 'Theme of Raidou 2008' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9ddwd5dEn8
Shin Megami Tensei IV by Ryota Koduka, Kenichi Tsuchiya and Toshiki Konishi - 'Battle B2' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6cSbof7Pik

(SMT IV has a REALLY cool throwback soundtrack that sounds a lot like the music from the PSX remakes of the original Super Famicom SMTs.  I'm way into it!)

Here's a song my best friend and I just couldn't stop singing while we were making chili last night.  Don't ask me why, we just were:

Burning Rangers by Naofumi Hataya, Fumie Kumatani and Masaru Setsumaru - 'Angels With Burning Hearts (English Version)' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMyHJhe2ggM

WE ARE ALL
HOPING FOR
SETTING OUT TO LEAD US TO THE NEW UNIVERSE!

Also, fuck it, take a melody, simple as can be:

Mother (1989 vocal album) by Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu Tanaka - 'Eight Melodies' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmZMMSDx3Yg

[Hawking]

The very newly released...

Fallout 4 - Main Theme by Inon Zur( The dude behind Prince of Persia and Dragon Age Origins/2's OSTs!)
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzvZE4BY0hY)

[Sasmi]

Bloody Tears - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxHgrQSaXkg - This is also wonderful when remixed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdIYAEqTt6s

Gong - Super Robot Wars Alpha 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BPGN2fyi1k - A powerful moving song.

Theme of Lamia Loveless: Ash To Ash - Super Robot Wars: OG 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXeIUr-Wfjs - Fast but graceful.

Trombe! - Super Robot Wars: OG - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCmTJVew_tY - Ratsel Feinschmecker theme gallops like the namesake of his horse, Trombe!

The Gate of Magus - Super Robot Wars: OG - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihqXPQwXEVU  - You want music for fighting a villain, this is my go to.

Steel Beowulf - Super Robot Wars: OG -  https://youtu.be/3_jxiwI0qnA - Strong, charging beat and tempo, he's a hero who doesn't back down.

Royal Heartbreaker - Super Robot Wars: OG 2 - https://youtu.be/ghfswHJXbyA - Yes, it's poppy but it's good.

Wild Arms Opening - Wild Arms - https://youtu.be/VVOFibwVMw0 - This opening will always bring a tear to my eye once the whistling starts.  I taught myself to whistle this song when I was working at a camp.

Cornered - Phoenix Wright - https://youtu.be/Y3R8tkvlAlk - For when you need to put pressure on that enemy.

[blingdenston]

I promised I'd do a whole thing on Ys music...so here goes!  The Ys series (pronounced like 'geese' without the 'guh' part) is rather near and dear to me...I first discovered it while at a friend's house in 1994, as he'd rented the not-particularly-good SNES version of Ys III: Wanderers from Ys.  While that is, by far, the least of the series (it's a very grindy Zelda II type action game, while the rest of the series tends more towards being a reflex-based Zelda I type game), the pumping music and Japanimation-like (that's what we were calling it, then) style captivated my imagination.

As the series is comically obscure in the West, I've only gotten to play them in fits and starts, and always out of order and at great effort.  I snagged a copy of the American Master System version of the first game Ys: The Vanished Omens and played it on my neighbor's Game Gear using the Master System Converter (R.I.P many, many batteries)...I traded my copies of Earthworm Jim 2 and OutRun for a used copy of the Genesis version of Wanderers from Ys...I took a deep-dive into MSX emulation to try and play the second one (and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake)...I blew off romance time with my girlfriend to play her brothers' TurboCD copy of the first two games (I was extremely teenaged, at the time)...I printed the entire translated script of Ys IV: Dawn of Ys and read it during the cutscenes while running an imported disc using Ootake (WORTH IT)...I bought the remake of III, Ys: The Oath in Felghana, for the PSP, and actually beat it (my poor, poor hands...)

While the games vary wildly in quality (you can actually get many of the versions of the games released in the 2000s on Steam, right now...I'd suggest Oath in Felghana, for gameplay quality, localization effort and musical awesomeness), the music seldom does: it's always some sort of Japanese speed-metal/80s arcade game/classical fusion wizardry that takes the fast-paced action and jacks it up to 11/10.  To conserve space (and, almost certainly, interest), I'm just gonna do ONE track from ONE version of all eight games (plus a bonus track from the most recent release, Ys: Memories of Celceta, which is a remake of Ys IV).  For your perusal...

Ys I and II Chronicles [Ys Book I], PSP 'Holders of Power' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AifWabjUQEg
Ys Book I&II [Ys Book II], TurboCD 'To Make the End of Battle' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmDgcbJv0E8
Wanderers from Ys, Sharp X68000 - 'The Theme of Chester' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu4qXoLOX-8
Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys, TurboCD  - 'Quickening of the Ancient City' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aQeQaZMYqQ
Ys V: Lost Kefin, the Kingdom of Sand, Super Famicom - 'Theme of Adol' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysW8d4AeBVE&list=PLzFTGYa_evXhcgbL1TCE10EAbqOv8j-sG&index=51
Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim, PC/PS2 - 'Mighty Obstacle' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02A9KsvsoW0
Ys Origin, PC - 'To the Next Generation' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiyBOBcw-xU
Ys Seven, PSP - 'Mother Earth Altago' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FleAlncLO8I
Ys: Memories of Celceta, PSP Vita - 'The Foliage Ocean in Celceta' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuLvRhOhGNM

[blingdenston]

Hmm...what next?  Something more modern?  Some throwback stuff?

Howsabout both?

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is completely insane.  Taking place after MGS IV, it details the adventures of cyborg ninja Raiden and his dog-shaped robot buddy Blade Wolf as they take on the corrupt Desperado PMC, who plan to - and I'm not kidding here - steal orphan brains to raise as cyborg soldiers to instigate a libertarian New World Order.

It's a Platinum game (the guys who did Bayonetta and Wonderful 101), so it's got great, crunchy action and a style even more ridiculous than MGS itself.  Each boss is a unique robot or cyborg with their own gimmicks, and a cool, unique nu-metal song that increases in volume and introduces lyrics as you do better or worse in the fights.  Here are some selections, each of which describes the boss you fight in a comically overwrought lyrical manner:

Rules of Nature (Metal Gear RAY/Grad's Theme - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LmYHOZorwc
I'm My Own Master Now (Blade Wolf's Theme) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RlSgnpLbro
A Stranger I Remain (Mistral's Theme) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-rj8HVW3PQ

I started playing the Elder Scrolls games with the second one, Daggerfall, which remains unmatched by any of the others in the sheer breadth of the game world (even if it is mostly empty-ass wilderness peppered by comically buggy random dungeons).  This was a game where you could buy houses, ships, and horses...where you could take out loans from banks, and undertake occult rituals on unholy days to trade favors with Daedra Princes for power.  It was also a game where the floor was always about two seconds away from disappearing under your feet, and hilariously pixelated naked ladies were everywhere.

I stuck around for the followup titles Battlespire (a dungeon crawler based on Daggerfall, the Icewind Dale to its Baldur's Gate) and Redguard (a sort-of Tomb Raidery adventure game), but it was the third proper title, Morrowind, that really raised the bar.  While not as huge as Daggerfall, it was a lot tighter and more focused, and far less buggy (and, if you ever played Morrowind, that'll tell you just what an anthill Daggerfall was).  Since Morrowind, the Elder Scrolls series has had the wonderful Jeremy Soule working the soundtrack, and his compositions have only grown more epic and bold as the series has matured.  Here're two selections: the horrifying general store MIDI from Elder Scrolls II, and a collection of the main themes from Elder Scrolls III-V:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM8EaL1Zm6w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMao-aSeO2w

And, finally, let's go with Barkley: Shut Up and Jam Gaiden.  Barkley: Shut Up and Jam Gaiden is canonical.  Barkley: Shut Up and Jam Gaiden tells the tale of Charles Barkley in the Post-Cyberpocalypse, as he struggles to raise his son Hoopz amidst the ashes of his greatest mistake.  Barkley: Shut Up and Jam Gaiden is, again, canonical.

Space Jam https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9JA7IWfFNA
Sadness aka the laughing jew https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5_-FkL-pu8&index=25&list=PLOJyW97d5rB3nhH80vdsd5B_9nILtUI36
Battle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y1fQx5zmhM
Victory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkXsGAsfvxA

[Iaera]

For when you must crush your opponents utterly and subjugate their realms, accept no substitute! Ride Forth Victoriously!

[SquigglyV]

Wooooo I love soundtracks. Here's a variety of rather good stuff i've found over the years.

Anno 2070
Project Earth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBhzBe9gKrY
This track just nails everything. The rest of the soundtrack (and the game itself) is outstanding, but this one sticks out for being outstandingly outstanding.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
Nemesis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8_I6kK0Bfk
And its sister Stampede: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVZDgVE4DjE
On their own they're okay, but combined they become excellent in my opinion. The way that violins and choir give way to electronic beats really fits the game, and even more so when you actually play it.

Company of Heroes
Month of Valiant Effort: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axGyRCHsYgI
Perfect for killing Jerry tea time.
O My Brother, Be Strong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l-52i2Qw00
Perfect for killing fascists 5 year plans training more conscripts.
Panzer Elite's theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nIogXo3sS8
Perfect for killing innocents crappy tanks painting Hummel spam.

Civilization: Beyond Earth
ALL OF IT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4mPA-tPvtc
AND THE EXPANSION TOO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prl6vr6SLZc
ALL CAPS BECAUSE IT'S ALL AMAZING

The Old Republic
KOTFE Romance Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRCD_iYFlsU
The Outlander: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8VtD3tljRc
Rebuilt Jedi Enclave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__gLIyeQYDU
The Mandalorian Blockade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5MoBb8-75E

Command and Conquer
The Prophet's Ascension: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UxSw7_ZUd0
Whatever you thought about Tiberian Twilight, you have to admit that this track is pretty damn good.
Command and Conquer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0HrrezInSw
I'VE GOT A PRESENT FOR YA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgYtIuiW-3k

Call of Duty: World at War
Russian Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfW1bkPI8Kc

Halo
Skyline: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q-HxbVbuMA
Winter Contingency: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jhDOPuh5TI
Greatest Journey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMkpET7Ffgs
Status Quo Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiC5nMbxQpE

[Hawking]

Company of Heroes 2:
Western Front 07: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8sS5iKGVAI

Red Orchestra 2: Rising Storm
All of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlbRZjp_nbo

METAL GEAR!:
Sins of the Father: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZAHk0g-Nfk

[Audaine]

Audaine's musical suggestions! Volume #2!
Mark Morgan Special

Fallout 2:
Radiation Storm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w-LZrSPs5Y
Full OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGyB093QOIo

Fallout 2 is cherished as one of my favourite games of all time. Mark Morgan produced a wonderful soundtrack that was even recycled into Fallout New Vegas, and still stands strong to this day in many aspects.


Wasteland 2:
Rangers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJc6LjJsz3k
Full OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEynzyZVe5c&list=PL1Uj0cNo6vn3N8cfcsPMXDdTnOqMTf9bi

As above. Mark Morgan is a wizard at music things.


Freespace 2
Battle D: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1LCeleZrWU
Full OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dywzc7HRMLw&list=PL-dE3EzobLKdhz02qbwr7SDfbUOzMfMLK (ignore the rest of it, some silly decided to put less-cool space-sim songs into it.)

Freespace 2 is another of my most-favourite games. The music, though often forgotten beneath the action-packed combat, is quite wonderful. Battle D will forever remain in my heart; as will my hate for SF Dragoons. Stupid horse-shoe fighter bugger poopyheads. Composed by Dan Wentz.


Half Life 1 & 2:
Military Precision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WQjLRIM3zM (Freeman's Mind, anyone?)
Xen Relay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwMBjvxKA2A
Full OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaXsb5kS31s [and] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt2sbtvBuk8

Kelly Bailey makes music wonderful. Xen Relay in particular I crush on like there's no tomorrow. I really enjoy spoopy space ambience.


Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
No Surrender: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxbvqhmrAEM
Full OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UvhGekNIk8&list=PL509ED17D90F5EAD1&index=1

A slight letdown of a game (though not inherently bad! Just not exactly the vision Westwood had for C&C3), Frank Klepacki never fails to let down the crowd with his wonderful musics.

* Audaine stops spamming with a crazy amount of suggestions, goes back to hoarding the good music for self

[Malkerik]

Not really a video game 'soundtrack' perse, but CHECK THIS KRIFF OUT.

Kazoo covers (no I'm not kidding) of several famous pieces from Nintendo related games. And yes, they are freaking awesome (Together We Ride, which was already my favourite, is now what I jam to in the car).

Super Smash Bros. 4 Wii U/3DS - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASaP1NAzm0o
Phoenix Wright - Cornered - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq95HHAwh0g