My Top 5 Video Game Tracks
Donkey Kong Country 2 - Disco Train
Donkey Kong Country 2 : Diddy Kong’s Quest was one of the first games I got to play as a kid, and I catch myself thinking of the music in the game even now – it ranges from orchestral, to pirate-themed, to electronic music seamlessly, making each level feel unique with its own atmosphere.
R-Type 3 - The Forces
The soundtrack to side-scrolling SNES shoot-em-up R-Type 3: The Third Lightning is up there with the original PC version of Doom for its ability to set the tone of the game within one minute and keep it there until the very end. This track greets you when you first start the game and it preps you for the frantic rush of avoiding enemy fire and making a mad dash for power-ups as they float across the screen.
Deus Ex - Begin The End, Boss Fight
Deus Ex is highly regarded for its immersive RPG elements and narrative that depicts a near-future cyberpunk dystopia where you play a rookie agent for a shadowy United Nations task force. Not surprisingly, the soundtrack leans extremely heavily into late-90’s electronic and dance genres for inspiration. This late-game boss music is no exception and provides the perfect accompaniment to either a laser-sword duel, or just flailing some glow sticks around.
Castlevania - Dracula's Castle
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night lived up to its name with an orchestral soundtrack full of re-worked versions of previous themes in the series along with a few new ones. This version takes full advantage of the then-new Playstation’s ability to include recorded audio in games to full effect (even if the voice acting in the game’s original 1996 release didn’t).
Metal Gear Solid 3 - The Fear
Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear series has one of the most confusing and incoherent narratives in any piece of media (MGS 3 is the fifth in the series and the first to occur chronologically), but it always delivers what it says on the box – “Tactical. Espionage. Action.”, sometimes with a side of oddball but entertaining game mechanics. This track plays during a boss fight where you can feed your enemy spoiled food until they pass out.