Forum Game 31-Day Game Music Challenge

TheouAegis

Member
I saw this on Game Sack and decided to try my own. My music familiarity is much worse than his, but whatever.

The list is meant to be filled out one day at a time, but it's crunch-time.

Rules: Name one original (unless specified) video game track for each category. Only one song per game allowed (a.k.a. "Hard Mode"). Days 3 and 8 will be swapped, because it makes more sense once you get to day 16. Added day 31: Game Over Music, since not all months have 30 days. No embedded videos, URL links only.



Day 1: Title Screen Music
Mega Man 2 (NES) "Opening and Title" Takashi Tateishi

Day 2: Opening Level Music
Kid Icarus Uprising (3DS) "The Return Of Palutena" Yasunori Mitsuda, Motoi Sakuraba

Day 3 (formerly 8): Music from a Shooter
Pocky & Rocky (SNES) "The Haunted Shrine" Hiroyuki Iwatsuki

Day 4: Music from a Console-Exclusive Series
(Note: I interpret this to mean Nintendo-only, Sega-only, Playstation-only, or XBox-only, or Neo-Geo; no arcade, PC or mobile ports)
Ape Escape 2 (PS2) "The Blue Baboon" Koji Hayama

Day 5: Hub/Overworld Music
Chrono Trigger (SNES) "Wind Scene" Yasunori Mitsuda

Day 6: Music That Makes You Feel Relaxed
Shining: The Holy Ark (SS) "Desire Village" Motoi Sakuraba

Day 7: Music from an Indie Game
Guacamelee (PC) "La Mansion del Presidente" Rom Di Prisco

Day 8 (formerly 3): 8-Bit Music
Comic Bakery (C64) "Main Theme" Martin Galway

Day 9: Music from a Licensed Game
The Adventures of Batman & Robin (SMD) "Big Boss" Jesper Kyd

Day 10: RPG Battle Music
Shining Force (SMD) "Battle Scene" Masahiko Yoshimura

Day 11: Puzzle Game Music
Magical Drop 3 (NG) "Exuding Courage" Hiroaki Yoshida

Day 12: Music That Makes You Sad
Terranigma (SNES) "The Way Home" Miyoko Kobayashi

Day 13: Music You Like From A Game You Don't Like
Street Fighter II (ARC) "Ken's Theme" Yoko Shimomura

Day 14: Music Featuring Vocals
Tales Of Phantasia (SNES) "Yume wa Owaranai" Toshiyuki Sekiguchi, Yukari Yoshida (voc.)

Day 15: Boss Battle Music
Dragon Force (SS) "Tool of the Wicked God" Tatsuyuki Maeda

Day 16: 16-Bit Music
The Last Blade 2 (NG) "Decision At Dawn" Shinsekai Gakkyoku Zatsugidan

Day 17: Music You Never Get Tired Of
Secret Of Mana (SNES) "The Oracle" Hiroki Kikuta

Day 18: Music from the Year You Were Born
Pac-Man (ARC) "Intro Theme" Toshio Kai

Day 19: Cover by a Different Artist
Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES) "Surf Rock Remix" Viking Guitar

Day 20: Music from a Racing Game
Top Gear (SNES) "Track 1" Barry Leitch

Day 21: Music You Associate With Frustration
Sonic The Hedgehog (SMD) "Drowning" Masato Nakamura

Day 22: Town/Village Music
Castlevania II (NES) "Silence Of Daylight" Kenichi Matsubara, Satoe Terashima

Day 23: Underrated Music
Parallax (C64) "Title Theme" Martin Galway

Day 24: Music Stuck In Your Head
Chrono Cross (PS) "At the Shore of Dreams" Yasunori Mitsuda

Day 25: Music That Gets You Pumped
Star Fox (SNES) "Corneria" Hajime Hirasawa

Day 26: Music You Like from a Game You Never Played
Cuphead (PC) "Sugarland Shimmy" Kristofer Maddigan

Day 27: Music From A Handheld Game
Advance Wars: Days Of Ruin (NDS) "Cruel Rose" Yoshito Hirano

Day 28: Music That Makes You Nostalgic
Pin-Bot (NES) "Gameplay" Chris Granner

Day 29: Final Boss Music
Castlevania: The Arcade (ARC) "Black Night" Kinuyo Yamashita, Masayuki Maruyama, Go Fujiwara

Day 30: Credits Music
Okami (PS2) "Reset" Ayaka Hirahara

Day 31: Game Over (Loss) Music
Dr. Mario (NES) "Game Over" Hirokazu Tanaka
 

ceaselessly

Member
Fun game!

Day 1: Title Screen Music
"Dearly Beloved" from Kingdom Hearts (PS1)

Day 2: Opening Level Music
Green Hill Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis)

Day 3 (formerly 8): Music from a Shooter
Steel Beast (Boss Theme) from Metal Slug (Arcade)

Day 4: Music from a Console-Exclusive Series
Rock Village from Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS2)

Day 5: Hub/Overworld Music
Crossing Those Hills from Final Fantasy IX (PS1)

Day 6: Music That Makes You Feel Relaxed
Theme from Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch)

Day 7: Music from an Indie Game
Honestly, just the entire soundtrack from Celeste.

Day 8 (formerly 3): 8-Bit Music
Perhaps it's an obvious one, but... Super Mario Bros. Theme from Super Mario Bros. (NES)

Day 9: Music from a Licensed Game
Jellyfish Fields from Spongebob: The Battle for Bikini Bottom (various)

Day 10: RPG Battle Music
Battle Theme II from Octopath Traveler (Switch/PC)

Day 11: Puzzle Game Music
Theme from Candy Crush Soda Saga (Mobile) -- say what you want about Candy Crush, this is a pretty good soundtrack :p

Day 12: Music That Makes You Sad
Through the Sea of Time from Pokemone Mystery Dungeon (DS)

Day 13: Music You Like From A Game You Don't Like
Theme from Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

Day 14: Music Featuring Vocals
Eyes on Me from Final Fantasy VIII (PS1)

Day 15: Boss Battle Music
Boss Theme from Golden Sun: The Lost Age (GBA)

Day 16: 16-Bit Music
Theme from Mortal Kombat II (various)

Day 17: Music You Never Get Tired Of
Concept of Love from Jet Set Radio Future (Xbox)

Day 18: Music from the Year You Were Born
Green Greens from Kirby's Dream Land (Game Boy)

Day 19: Cover by a Different Artist
Main Theme from Metal Gear Solid 2 by the London Philharmonic Orchestra (PS2)

Day 20: Music from a Racing Game
Rainbow Road from Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64) (one of my favorite video game tracks ever)

Day 21: Music You Associate With Frustration
Escape Theme from Super Metroid (SNES)

Day 22: Town/Village Music
Cosmo Canyon from Final Fantasy VII (PS1)

Day 23: Underrated Music
Boss Theme from McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure (and the whole soundtrack, tbh) (Sega Genesis)

Day 24: Music Stuck In Your Head
I mean... all of the tunes I've been listening to as I prep this post? :)

Day 25: Music That Gets You Pumped
Circuit 1 from Smash TV (Arcade)

Day 26: Music You Like from a Game You Never Played
Loneliness from Skies of Arcadia (Sega Dreamcast)

Day 27: Music From A Handheld Game
Battle Theme from Pokemon Red & Blue (Game Boy)

Day 28: Music That Makes You Nostalgic
Theme from PacMan

Day 29: Final Boss Music
Andross Brain from Star Fox 64 (Nintendo 64)

Day 30: Credits Music
Credits from Super Monkey Ball (GameCube)

Day 31: Game Over (Loss) Music
Game Over from Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Genesis)
 

Lukasmah

Member
Well, looks like I failed this challenge. I don't have an example for every slot. Still, here's some music.




Day 1, Title Theme:
I believe that good background music isn't necessarily good standalone music and vice versa. This is true for a lot of Stargunner tracks, which are great in the game but really repetitive on their own. Still, I consider the title theme an exception to this.
Stargunner Title Theme

Day 2, Opening Level Music:
It's a metroidvania, so it's more of an opening area, but close enough, right?
Hero Core Natural Caves

Day 3, Music From A Shooter:
God, the pixel art in the Metal Slug games is gorgeous.
Metal Slug Stage 3

Day 4, Music From A Console Exclusive:
I don't really play console games, so this will be one of the popular ones.
Megaman 2 Wily's Castle Theme 1

Day 5, Hub World Music:
This game is filled with covers of older game music. (Fun fact: I assume a few of you have played Seiklus, which gets a lot of its music from the same sources.) I don't know which of the Platypus soundtracks are original and which are remakes, but all of them are amazing.
Platypus Overworld

Day 6, Music That Makes You Feel Relaxed:
This one's short but pretty good.
Team Fortress 2 Rocket Jump Waltz

Day 7, Music From An Indie Game:
Pffffft, who even plays indie games?
Airships Main Theme

Day 9, Music From A Licensed Game:
I only know about this because Space Station 13.
Gameboy Robocop Title Theme

Day 10, RPG Battle Music:
I have mixed feelings about OFF. There's a lot I like about it, but also a lot I dislike, averaging out to meh. Same is true for the soundtrack, which I'm not a massive fan of, but I do like this track.
OFF Pepper Streak

Day 11, Puzzle Game Music
The mechanics of this game are pretty good, but the puzzles themselves could be better. I have no such complaints about the soundtrack, though.
Crazy Machines 2 Factory

Day 13, Music You Like From A Game You Don't Like:
I know Doom is a beloved classic, but I don't think it's aged as well as some other games from that era. Sure, it inspired a lot of great games and did a lot for the genre, but I personally don't enjoy it. Still, its metal and rock inspired music slaps, and this track is iconic.
Doom E1M1

Day 14, Music Featuring Vocals:
I was tempted to put the legendary Halo theme here, but it felt like low hanging fruit.
Asura's Wrath In Your Belief

Day 15, Boss Battle Music:
This whole game is a massive high effort shitpost with absolutely ridiculous situations played completely seriously, and the music fits that style of humour.
Barkley, Shut Up And Jam: Gaiden Jonathan Taylor Thomas

Day 17, Music You Never Get Tired Of:
Rob Hubbard is a genius.
Monty On The Run Theme

Day 18, Music In A Game Released The Year You Were Born:
I don't know much about this game, I just needed something to fill this category.
R-Type Delta Dead End

Day 19, Cover Of Music By A Different Artist:
This track is a cover of Popcorn by Gershon Kingsley.
Eggsucker

Day 20, Music From A Racing Game:
There's not that much different music in this game, but what's there is pretty good.
Dirt Track Racing 2 Menu

Day 21, Music You Associate With Frustration:
Despite its art quality, Mibibli's Quest is a great game with excellent music. It makes me want to break my keyboard, though. Here's a track.
Mibibli's Quest Crystal Cars

Day 22, Town/Village Music
Is this cheating?
Pokemon Red/Blue Lavender Town

Day 23, Underrated Music:
Outlaws as a whole is an underrated gem of a game, music included. While not all of them, a lot of the tracks are very clearly inspired by the works of Ennio Morricone. Here's one.
Outlaws Track 1

Day 24, Music You Constantly Have Stuck In Your Head:
This one's really obscure, you've probably never heard of it.
Tetris Theme

Day 25, Music That Gets You Pumped
I feel like the meme status of Zero Wing's Engrish distracts people from the fact that it's still a pretty decent game.
Zero Wing Opening

Day 26, Music You Like From A Game You Haven't Played:
There's a lot of that even on this list. Still, for this entry, I'm going with something from Iconoclasts, which has an amazing soundtrack. Picking one track was really difficult, they're all so good.
Iconoclasts Jet Black

Day 27, Music From A Handheld Game:
Dunno, I don't really play console games, I just looked up a random Game Boy game and picked a track I liked.
Metroid 2 Final Boss

Day 28, Music That Makes You Nostalgic:
It's an okay game with decent music, but I played it a lot years ago so I may or may not be looking at it through a pair of rose tinted glasses. Shhhh.
Hunt For The Red Baron Track 1

Day 29, Final Boss Music:
Most of you have probably heard of Iji. There's actually an amazing cover of Tor's theme, but since this is about game music, here's the track from the game itself.
Iji Tor Theme

Day 30, Credits Theme:
It's okay, can't think of anything else that's not from a game I've already used.
Tomb Raider Legend Credits Theme
 

TheouAegis

Member
Monty On The Run's theme was bloody brilliant! The violiny part at the beginning was ok, but holy crap that rocking outro was amazing. The SID guitar riffs blew me away when I first heard them. I had seriously considered putting that somewhere on my list.
 
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I really like this as a game. I'd love to see it reappear every so often with new categories. Here's my crack at it, and apologies in advance for the rather obvious JRPG choices (only one week of Final Fantasy!). I think game music, and that's where my mind goes:

Day 1: Title Screen
Intro, Legend of Zelda
Still a classic.

Day 2: Opening Level
Vampire Killer, Castlevania

Day 3: Music From a Shooter
Facility, Goldeneye

As someone that's primarily been a console gamer (sorry, I know), this was probably the multiplayer shooter a played the most back in the day. Up until Perfect Dark, which also featured this level.

Day 4: Music From a Console Exclusive
The Choice, The Last of Us

With Last of Us 2 out this week, I've been replaying a bit of the original. The music isn't anything terribly flashy, but damn if it doesn't get the job done.

Day 5: Hub or Overworld Music
Terra's Theme, Final Fantasy VI

And the Final Fantas-ization of my list begins. Don't worry, there's more. I love this theme, and I love the way it works its way into most other songs in the game.

Day 6: Music That Makes You Feel Relaxed
Far Horizons, Skyrim

Day 7: Music From an Indie Game
Hydrogen, Hotline Miami

And its a GameMaker game! One of the things this game does so well is fusing the music and the gameplay into a trance-like experience.

Day 8: 8-Bit Music
The Moon Theme, DuckTales

Could have been a crappy licensed throwaway game. Wasn't. Shovel Knight owes a lot to DuckTales.

Day 9: Music From a Licensed Game (didn't I just do one of these?)
Moonrunners Fight Theme, The Warriors
No reason I picked this track in particular, I just really liked the game (and the movie).

Day 10: RPG Battle Music
Battle With the Four Fiends, Final Fantasy IV

This link is from one of the Distant Worlds albums rather than the original game. Either version is a classic.

Day 11: Music From a Puzzle Game
Versus Type B, Yoshi's Cookie

A lot of people start out with GameMaker by trying to copy a game from their childhood. Yoshi's Cookie was mine.

Day 12: Music That Makes You Sad
Dead Man's Gun, Red Dead Redemption

This actually showed up in my YouTube recommendations a few weeks ago, as if to say, "Hello. I can still hurt you."

Day 13: Music You Like From a Game You Don't Like
Limit Break, Final Fantasy XIII-2

This is kind of a cheat, because I'm not in love with this song. Unlike a lot of songs on this list, I wouldn't necessarily listen to it on its own. But I think it could make a good Boss Theme in a game that wasn't My First Time Travel Adventure Starring the Most Annoying Moogle in the World.

Day 14: Music With Vocals
Leave Her Johnny!, Assassin's Creed Black Flag

Saw this category, couldn't resist doing a Black Flag sea shanty. Fun fact: back when this game first came out, I used to hum this to myself on particularly rough days at work.

Day 15: Boss Battle Theme
Esper Battle, Final Fantasy XII

I love all the boss battle music in FF XII. This particular track is just so orchestral and epic.

Day 16: 16 Bit Music
Battle Against a Machine, Earthbound

Hell, pop this in Hotline Miami, too.

Day 17: Song You Never Get Tired Of
Shuffle or Boogie, Final Fantasy VIII

Clap-clap. Clap. Clap-clap. Clap.

Day 18: Music From the Year You Were Born
Stage 1, Gyruss

Kind of also a cheat, because this is from the NES version of Tempest, er, Gyruss, which came out a few years after I was born. But I was born, along with the arcade version, before the era of the Talkies.

Day 19: Cover of Music By Different Artist
God Only Knows, BioShock Infinite

Wasn't sure if this meant someone else covering a song from a game, or a game featuring a cover of a song. I went with the latter, because I wanted to fit this in the list somewhere. It tells you all you need to know about the world of BioShock Infinite on multiple levels.

Day 20: Music From a Racing Game
Wario Stadium, Mario Kart 64

The track I raced on the most from the Mario Kart I played the most.

Day 21: Song You Associate With Frustration
Main Theme, Bubble Bobble

There are certain levels of this game that are controller-throwingly aggravating. And this song plays through all of them. Other than a game over stinger, it is the only song this game has. It loops.

Day 22: Town/Village Theme
Town Theme, Dragon Warrior/Quest IV

So odd to hear this without the accompanying collision SFX, for some reason.

Day 23: Underrated Music
Rigor Mortis Rag, Death Road to Canada

I don't know if the song itself is underrated, but I happen to like the game and I don't have definitive proof that anyone else has ever heard of it.

Day 24: Music That Gets Stuck in Your Head
Katamari on the Rocks, Katamari Damacy

My apologies for this.

Day 25: Music That Gets You Pumped
Venice Rooftops, Assassin's Creed II

The drums in this track are just awesome. It also kind of reminds me of the main theme from the TV show Angel.

Day 26: Music You Like From a Game You Haven't Played
Disco Descent (1-1), Crypt of the Necrodancer

Day 27: Music From a Handheld Game
Abyss, Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift

Day 28: Music That Makes You Feel Nostalgic
Main Theme, River City Ransom

Take you Double Dragons, your Final Fights, and your Golden Axes. River City Ransom was my brawler of choice. River City, where lives were cheap, mistakes were expensive, and the smiles, as always, were free.

Day 29: Final Boss Theme
Lavos' Theme, Chrono Trigger

Day 30: Credits Theme
Hollow, Final Fantasy VII Remake

When they first played this in promotional materials, I wasn't overly impressed. But it plays over not just the credits of FF VII Remake, but a scene at the end of the game that has easily become one of my favorites in the entire series.

And finally...

Day 31: Game Over Music
Game Over Theme, Contra

There could be no other.
 

TheouAegis

Member
Day 22: Town/Village Theme
Town Theme, Dragon Warrior/Quest IV

So odd to hear this without the accompanying collision SFX, for some reason.
I've always liked Ragnar's theme. It gets stuck in my head sometimes. I loved DQ4 as a kid. My local library had the strategy guide and I would check it out even when I didn't have the game. I only made it to chapter 3 as a kid. I couldn't justify paying late fees on the rental and someone deleted my saves.
 

TheouAegis

Member
I just realized I didn't list anything from Power Instinct: Matrimelee. That's one of my top all-time favorite game soundtracks, and I didn't list a single track from it. :eek:
  • Let's Go! Onmyouji!
  • Our Secrets
  • Overclock Excitement
  • A Little Happiness
  • 375 kg (Heavy!)
  • Fighting Games For Youth
  • Poor Man, Kanenaiger!
  • Matrimelee March (Mendelssohn rock cover)
  • How Wonderful! Internet!
  • Ninja Love
 
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