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17 videogame soundtracks ahead of their time

Hear the games that dared to be more than noise

Words: on April 28, 2009
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72 comments

  • blademage20 - May 1, 2009 8:04 p.m.

    If they make a sequel to this article, they should put in the Too Human OST. While the game is ok, the music is absolutrly beastly. If u havent heard it, find it on iTunes (yes its there, I have it) and listen to some of the samples.

  • AyJay - May 1, 2009 7:23 a.m.

    ssbb has the best vg soundtrack evaar!!!

  • VideoGameKing - May 1, 2009 2:45 a.m.

    what the name of the Super smash bros. brrawl theme

  • iHeartNintendo - April 30, 2009 11:07 p.m.

    i simply loved this article great job and amazing song the one that was second to last i so dig that song ! infact im dowloading it as we speak >:3 gratz on article once again !

  • Skykid - April 30, 2009 10:03 p.m.

    What, No Halo?!?! Dude, the soundtrack was epic! I mean, seriously, why not Halo? Is it lame, or didn't make the cut?

  • noobeater - April 30, 2009 4:32 p.m.

    i agree with rare hero...any ridge racer game has awesome soundtrack but banjo kazooie has some of the most memorable tunes with slightly changes when in the water etc...youtube it. Now also has to be said all those tunes are great

  • SirChukSumthng - April 30, 2009 4:19 a.m.

    I think legendary should be on here because its soundtrack was amazingly composed and gives the player(at least me) an amp before I evan started playing. Best Example is the main menu song just perfect for FPS.

  • SandroTheMaster - April 30, 2009 12:01 a.m.

    @JakkedGamer They didn't include Duke Nukem because GamesRadar cares not about PCGaming, save the odd decade-and-half old adventure that is. Several RTS and TBS had unique ahead-of-its-time music themes, but they couldn't bother, as long as they can say their praises to 90ies Nintendo nostalgia. Even in the Best Games by platform (or somesuch) they separated the companies by console generation (which lasts about 5 years each) and the PC was separated by decade (when the game generations are way faster in PCs, about 3 years). Do you notice that whenever they make these lists there's only a chance in hell a PC game will show on it (and a RPG won't be a Final Fantasy) if it's a list about adventure games?

  • PCG_Evan - April 29, 2009 5:26 p.m.

    Also: Shatterhand is maybe the best least-appreciated NES soundtrack out there. Have a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8Q-5NnDc90

  • Ban - April 29, 2009 4:41 p.m.

    my faves Donkey Kong Country & PaRappa awesome nice article Brett

  • Unoriginal - April 29, 2009 4:31 p.m.

    I agree with all of theese except the OutRun one. It may just be the sample but the tune sounds like a Genesis crashing. Great list.

  • peaceful765 - April 29, 2009 4:06 p.m.

    Tracks I think were ahead if their time? -Megablast from Xenon 2 ( although not an original game track, was amazing for its time) -Chaos Engine with its electronic music that changed when you got to a certain parts of the map.

  • BenitoMasterSystem - April 29, 2009 3:54 p.m.

    Oh, and i can't believe there's nothing from Jet Grind Radio on here.. Also, I'm a sucker for ambient, haunting music and aquatic ambience is awesome..

  • miiketakashi - April 29, 2009 1:27 p.m.

    I'm reliving some classic C64 games and soundtracks, so this article couldn't have come at a better time. I remember One Man and His Droid being used during Ghostbuster's game-within-a-game, Invade-A-Load! It still sounds fantastic today, that was the power of the C64's SID chip, it was always ahead of its time.

  • FinalGamer - April 29, 2009 12:18 p.m.

    As my first post ever in this place, lemme just say I wholeheartedly agree with this entire article. I mean I'm a real fan of videogame music, BIG fan, it's the only thing I listen to all day even, and I didn't even realise about a few of these until now. I love when you guys do articles on music, thanks for this one.

  • TheWoolyMammoth - April 29, 2009 12:06 p.m.

    Remember, it's not a list of every soundtrack ahead of it's time, just 17 examples of said tracks! =)

  • teamRAMrod37 - April 29, 2009 11:23 a.m.

    I almost drowned in nostalgia when I heard Aquatic Ambiance.

  • bruce - April 29, 2009 10:06 a.m.

    It's a shame that DK devolved to that Kong-Rap or whatever it was called in DK64. Also I'm going to start listening to Out Run in my car! Prime driving music!

  • GamesRadarDavidHoughton - April 29, 2009 8:35 a.m.

    Aquatic Ambience and Terra's Theme back-to-back? Are you trying to kill my ears with joy, Brett?

  • garnsr - April 29, 2009 5:22 a.m.

    I think Wipeout XL definitely deserves a place, it got me into techno-type music. Castlevania has the best music in any video game. Whatever happened to Yuzo Koshiro, he was so huge in the 16 Bit era. And nothing from Tommy Tallarico?

Showing 41-60 of 72 comments

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