[Very Top] Five great video game songs

On this website, my particular weakness for soundtracks in video games is not a secret to anyone. We already had, in fact,a whole topic of the month dedicated to this sectionwhich, on more than one occasion, does not seem as recognized as those that occupy most of the focus, such as graphics or gameplay. It is true that they are the core of the game, especially when it comes to gameplay, while the entire experience will be derailed if the title proves unmanageable. But, as I saidSenua_gamegirlin yourgreat article on the subject, it is precisely the great soundtracks that can draw the line between a great game and a true masterpiece.

Returning to that topic of the month, as for my part, I took a bird's eye view of the titles that I consider stand out the most in that aspect. It is true that I give some examples of topics that stand out above the rest, but that time I was much more general. On the contrary, in this installment of Muy Top I am going to be much more specific, reviewing five titles that, transcending the framework of video game sessions, have become my go-to topics. Five examples that I have tried to correspond to types of games that are as varied as possible (both in saga and genre), but also as less typical as possible. That is why some exponent of what I am commenting on has been omitted here, no matter how many merits he has made for it (although many are already on that topic of the month, anyway).

I don't rule out doing a second part in the future, as I come up with some that I haven't noticed, or as I discover others. For now, here are these five great songs.

Space World (Mario Party 2)

For many of us,Mario Party 2was in practice aMario Party1 for the fact that it was the first title that they deigned to translate into Spanish. This offered the best of board games based on the chance of dice, a kind of thematic Goose game, with six perfectly differentiated boards. The speed at which we crossed each of them depended on the number we obtained in our turn (you know, the thing is to advance the number of squares marked by the dice) and, at the end of it, we had to face a minigame in free-for-all or team mode, depending on the color of the square in which each player landed. There were also other types of mini-games, such as duels, in case of landing on the same square when there were only a few turns left to finish. And the thing is that, instead of ending the game when reaching the finish line, it came to an end when the stipulated number of turns was exhausted, with the winner being the one who obtained the most stars.

The Super Mario franchise has accompanied me for almost my entire gaming life. Many memorable themes come to mind. For a long time, it was Bowser's Castle.Super Mario Worldthe one that topped my top. But recently I have rediscovered to my surprise that it is the musical theme of one of those six Mario Party 2 boards that deserves to be here. I mean the Space World. It is possibly the best quality of all of them, something that, for some reason, I was not fully aware of at the time. Always, of course, from my perspective.That epicness and grandiloquence that he emanates puts him on a different level from so many others.. It almost seems reminiscent of the well-known Darth Vader theme song, fromStar Wars. I wouldn't be surprised to hear it in some JRPG setting either.

There are those who say that it is a preview of the musical style ofsuper mario galaxy, and in several ways it is like that, but I consider that it continues to surpass it.

Neuron Headquarters (Astral Chain)

Open world games are in fashion. I am not going to get into the controversy about to what extent they are a panacea, since a huge, empty world can end up making the player desperate, but it is true that, well implemented, it can provide an important feeling of freedom and an interesting exploration component. Well then,Astral ChainIt is not among those games. I'm not going to go into much detail about it, because I have aarticlein which I do it. Suffice it to say here that the game is structured in phases and subphases that occur as we progress, demonstrating in these times of "open world" that this does not prevent us from achieving a satisfactory exploration experience. In any case, there is a reference place from where we will start the different missions, we will stock up on different healing items or fighting improvements and, well into the game, we can even select which phase we want to play again. It is aboutNeuron Headquarters, operations center of the Ark police.

The game's soundtrack has a quite characteristic style, a musical thread where techno predominates, with several rock elements. Dissonant voices abound especially when we have to face the creatures of the Astral Plane, or simply explore said world, which sounds even more exotic to our Western ears. In any case, my favorite topic is that topic about said Headquarters. Although techno is not a genre that I am passionate about, that insistent and hammering rhythmIt sonorously describes perfectly the movement and hustle and bustle that a headquarters of these characteristics has., while helping to stimulate our senses inside and outside of the video game.

Johan's Waltz (Victory 2)

If there is a company that can be considered synonymous with grand strategy, it is Paradox. Its numerous titles, which cover practically all eras in human history, show that it is possible to create enormously complex and deep simulators without large graphic displays. What's more, what we see all the time are world maps, text boxes and technology trees. Ultimately, the focus of interest is on technological and social changes and, of course, the simulation of battles from cold numerical calculations, quite far from the action of first-person shooter war games or even strategic RPGs in which, although statistics are also what determine the fate of the fight, we see the troops fighting in real time.

These complex and dense games are accompanied by the most memorable soundtracks, which are an immense help in getting through them. The “culprit” that we enjoy this sound experience is the prolific and multifaceted Andreas Waldetoft, who is so quickly able to compose medievalizing themes in theEuropa Universalislike others of a futuristic nature that mentally immerse us in distant interstellar space (I am referring, of course, toStellaris).

In the theme of the month related to music, I already stopped at these games, placing special emphasis on EuropeUniversalis III. However, in particularI prefer the song Johan's Waltz, from Victoria 2. It seems to me to be the best introduction to the nineteenth-century theme of this game. It is relaxing and exudes elegance and distinction.It makes us feel like a great statesman who rubs shoulders with his select social group in large, luscious rooms.while he decides on the life and death of thousands of soldiers, he does business, oblivious to the tribulations of the working class and expands his empire at the expense of the blood of the native population.

Colony 9 Night Theme (Xenoblade Chronicles)

Xenoblade ChroniclesIt was one of Nintendo's most popular novelties in recent years. The second-party company Monolith Soft was able to provide the breath of fresh air that the plumber's company needed. It is true that its plot becomes excessively far-fetched in its attempt to surprise the player with its unexpected twists, but its entire story never ceased to fascinate me from beginning to end. The same must be said about its vast open worlds waiting to be explored and its original and direct battle mechanics. Unfortunately (and waiting to try the third installment, which seems to put its finger even more into the wound), it seems that the latter has been artificially overloaded, making it more confusing than it should. This can already be seen in its second part, with mechanics that in themselves are nothing special, but that I had some difficulties internalizing. Also, in the end the story was not completely clear to me. And this tendency to convolute the story seems to increase with each installment.

All in all, I will always be a die-hard fan of theXenoblade Chroniclesoriginal. This title is a display of virtues in all the aspects already mentioned, and is not far behind in the musical section. In fact, I am not going to surprise anyone here since, in contrast to the other five topics chosen for this article, I do repeat (although I will not stick to the most typical ones). And I can't help but mention again theCologne 9 night theme. If the lively and lively rhythms of its daytime version were a sonic description of everything we have left to do and discover in this game, its nighttime variantimmerses us in the peace and quiet of the nightbut which, in its compositional richness, describes a universe that in those untimely hours continues to overflow with life. In fact, it will often give way to the first battle theme as soon as we encounter any wild animal that crosses our path.

Wheels of Progress (SimCity 4)

Conocersim city 4allá por los primeros años del siglo XXI, para mí fue sinónimo de primera toma de contacto con los simuladores de ciudad. Vamos, que me abrió todo un mundo. Puede que nunca haya sido el mejor ciber-urbanista del mundo, pero pasé horas y horas de lo más entretenido edificando ciudades que tuviesen todos los servicios básicos cubiertos sin entrar en déficit o bancarrota. En esa época me parecía increíble que un juego pudiese contener semejante cantidad de datos estadísticos sobre la población de una ciudad virtual, incluyendo gráficos, rutas para ir a trabajar y un largo etcétera. Hoy se vería algo cojo en algunos apartados, como en la no simulación de la producción, pero hay otros que todavía no he visto que hayan sido implementados en condiciones. Por ejemplo, ver un mapa que muestre una miniatura de todas las ciudades construidas, formando una totalidad, como si de un país o región se tratase.

En parte, este es un apartado “repe” con respecto al tema del mes, pero no lo es el ejemplo que voy a poner. Es cierto que temas comoEpicenterson grandiosos. Ese, en concreto, estuvo en todo lo alto de mi lista de favoritos, pero hay otro en el que (como me pasa con el de Tierra Espacial) he redescubierto la magnitud de su calidad compositiva, como si mis oídos no estuviesen preparados en ese entonces. Me refiero aWheels of Progress. Si uno escucha atentamente, verá que hace justicia a su título. No hay melodía secundaria que nome recuerde a un tren, ya sea su rítmico traqueteo en las vías, el sonido de su silbato o cualquier otro elemento relacionado con el trasiego viario. Me parece prácticamente un cuadro sonoro.