Ed Bellis' Top 250 Video Game Songs (2010)

A list started by Ed Bellis in the end of September 2010.

Preface
I too have caught the LIST BUG. At any rate, it's time for my semi-annual VGMusic ranking, no?

That said this is TOTALLY UNPREDICTABLE and MASSIVELY AWESOME. Also I upped the number of songs significantly this year, mostly because there's too much good VGMusic out there to try and whittle down to just 100 songs. That and I really like typing.

As usual, each song will have its composer and a brief writeup of borderline quality.

Enjoy!

The Ranking!
'''250. Awakening Will (Mega Man Zero 2)

Composer: Ippo Yamada

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZkb6QHKSUc&fmt=18

The ending song, a remix of sorts of the game's opening song (called “Departure”). Takes the original and turns into something sad, like Zero is reflecting on the game's events. And you can reflect too~

'''249. Hubris (Soul Calibur II)

Composer: Junichi Nakatsuru

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xo1oH8berJ0&fmt=18

Recommended to me by Twilight the Fox. A slow-paced but purposeful track, like a killer encircling its prey.

'''248. Stage 1 & 5 (Journey to Silius)

Composers: Nobuyuki Hara, Shinichi Seya, Naoki Kodaka

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwn-9IiO3MM&fmt=18

The first (of many) chiptune(s) on the list. This track is energetic, but it's got this suspenseful undercurrent to it as well.

'''247. X vs. Zero (Mega Man X5)

Composers: Naoto Tanaka, Naoya Kamisaka, Takuya Miyawaki

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eFI0UFfAJE&fmt=18

Less tawk more RAWK. A really intense track that doesn't let up from the moment it starts.

'''246. No Doubt Get Loud (beatmania IIDX 10th Style)

“Composer”: Asletics

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_e3-9Yq-UE&fmt=18

Oh man. I tried and tried to justify putting this song on the list at all, but I really can't. It's so absolutely cheesy and awful that it becomes an almost Zen-like experience. WHY NOT SUCK MY BOOTY

'''245. Future Tense (Tempest 2000)

Composer: Imagetic Design, Inc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm8eNPliPdU&fmt=18

Stellar techno, with all kinds of weird voice samples and crazy crap going on. It doesn't ever feel cluttered, though; everything works together really well.

'''244. Enter the Vertex (Conker's Bad Fur Day)

Composer: Robin Beanland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21N06eEE9SQ&fmt=18

Some creepy atonality (is that even a word) going on here. Harsh noises and sudden sounds are used to MAXIMUM EFFECT.

'''243. Megalomania (Live A Live)

Composer: Yoko Shimomura

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rf8Dj7PRAI&fmt=18

The best track from a pretty nifty Shimomura soundtrack. A nice rip-roarin' SNES boss theme.

'''242. Building Mode 3 (The Sims)

Composer: Jerry Martin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29xSd-Soezs&fmt=18

A great piano piece; nice, soothing, and wistful. Doesn't really conjure up images (to me, at least) of building things, but hey, whatever.

'''241. The Liberation of Gracemeria (Ace Combat 6)

Composer: Keiki Kobayashi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HGQS5XSoJ4&fmt=18

This song took a long time to grow on me – originally I thought the buildup took too long and wasn't worth it, and I still think it overstays its welcome. But the substantial part of the song is just too good that I'm willing to overlook it.

'''240. Final Destination (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)

Composer: still don't know !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyoR-Pg6o0c&fmt=18

Speaking of overlooking flaws... this song really veers into WALL OF NOISE territory a bit too much, especially right before the loop. But as with Liberation of Gracemeria, the main melody/motif/whatever you want to call it is excellent, and it brings the rest of the song up.

'''239. Yehat (Star Control II)

Composer: Eric Berge, I think

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOE-vVuBXKE&fmt=18

This weird-ass song is the first of many on this list I got from people's recommendations in my “post a song and I'll rate it” topic. There's some nifty synthesizer parts and some awesome bass and a great melody to boot. Plus... pterodactyls, apparently.

'''238. Theme of Crisis Core “Under the Apple Tree” (Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII)

Composer: Takeharu Ishimoto

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb6MF0IfsvQ&fmt=18

A melancholy acoustic guitar-based piece. A tad repetitive, but it still manages to pack a lot of emotion into its timeframe.

'''237. Shadow Boss (Double Dragon 2)

Composer: Kazunaka Yamane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1x1Ao6CxyA&fmt=18

A chiptune for the final boss of the game. It's got a nice, subtle driving momentum to it.

'''236. Rhea's Garden (Atlantis II)

Composer: Pierre Esteve

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV7IX84b38o&fmt=18

This song always reminded me of Baba Yetu, with its world music-esque singing and general soothing vibe. Unlike Baba Yetu, however, Rhea's Garden is a little sadder.

'''???. Another Winter (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)

Composer: Anamanaguchi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WpzCiLIiCo&fmt=18

Anamanaguchi uses NES samples combined with guitar riffs to produce a distinctive sound. Another Winter is the first stage theme IIRC, and it's a nice uplifting and rollicking song. Would have been placed right around this point, actually!

'''235. assemble (Senko no Ronde)

Composer: Yasuhisa Watanabe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acRInv4PwdE&fmt=18

By all rights this track should be much higher. It does everything remarkably well – there's great percussion and the semi-vocals work great. But it's just... I dunno, missing something. It's still a great track, but that's why it's not higher, I suppose.

'''234. system0 (Umineko no naku koro ni 1)

Composer: -45

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93VODUlLuRk&fmt=18

Loud, harsh, and at times abrasive – that's -45's trademark. system0 actually does these things well, starting off with crazy suspense and then going full-tilt into insanity.

'''233. The Man with the Machine Gun (Final Fantasy VIII)

Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jho-peCAKs&fmt=18

This song is full of energy, but it's not overly intense – in fact, it's kind of uplifting in a strange, subtle way.

'''232. Freedom (Mega Turrican)

Composer: Chris Hulsbeck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVTNkkQl4IA&fmt=18

The ending theme to the game. Nice and inspirational, like, “Hey! You did a great job! Now you get to go home and listen to these sweet Genesis synths.”

'''231. Ice Cap Zone Act 1 (Sonic 3 & Knuckles)

Composers: Jun Senoue, Tetsuyuki Maeda, Masaru Setsumaru, Tomonori Sawada, Masayuki Nagao, Sachio Ogawa, Howard Drossin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYxlqTpZ-24&fmt=18

A deserving classic. Great for getting you pumped and for snowboarding down a mountain of ice.

'''230. Chai Kingdom (Super Mario Land)

Composer: Hirokazu Tanaka

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUGPr9zlXPo&fmt=18

Remember when I said I was a sucker for Asian-themed songs? This is another deserving classic. Fear the processing power of the GAME BOY

'''229. Smiles and Tears (Earthbound)

Composers: Akio Ohmori, Ritsuo Kamimura, Keiichi Suzuki, Hirokazu Tanaka

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ydy2QEvtR1M&fmt=18

A very emotional credits song. It's slow-paced and certainly takes its time progressing, but that works out well. Also best random vocal sample ever.

'''228. Theme of Hakan (Super Street Fighter IV)

Composer: Hideyuki Fukusawa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzJQ4p_I-EE&fmt=18

What a strange song. It manages to combine Parisian cafe music, some accordian-type instrument, weird singing, and a bizarre spring sound effect. And you know what? It all works.

'''227. Shin Onigashima (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)

Composer: Masafumi Takada

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45JS6hA0Mcc&fmt=18

I've really cooled off on the Brawl soundtrack, as is evidenced by Shin Onigashima, once my favorite song from the game's 200+ tracks. It's still a great piece though, full of excellent guitar shredding and intensity.

'''226. Halo (Halo)

Composers: Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0mQk7JEVq4&fmt=18

The original Halo theme. Like a lot of my favorites, there's some nifty percussion and a nice fusion of instruments – in this case, tribal with orchestral.

'''225. Fires of Hokkai (Undefined Fantastic Object)

Composer: ZUN

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdmDGphX9vE&fmt=18

I don't like some Touhou stuff, in large part because it's so overwhelming and CUHRAZY. But this is proof positive that you can be intense without being fast-paced. Like Hubris, it uses its slower pace well. The beginning is awesome and even the standard TOUHOU HORNZ are done excellently.

'''224. Sunset Park Act 3 (Sonic Triple Trouble)

Composer: “SEGA”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dot0iGpUL5I&fmt=18

A great Game Gear chiptune. It's fast and FURIOUS with a great melody to boot.

'''223. Fury Sparks (Tales of Vesperia)

Composers: Motoi Sakuraba, Hibiki Aoyama

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwH1hPMyVZU&fmt=18

Congrats to Motoi SAKURABAAAAAAAA for finally making it onto my list! (assuming he didn't do Final Destination) This is a kickass battle-type theme that's actually not too cluttered, with a solid and discernible riff throughout. Good stuff.

'''222. Stage 7 (Fate) (R-Type Delta)

Composers: Haruhiko Kuroiwa, Eisaku Nambu, Hirosi Ebihara, Keiji Ueki

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_nMfpgAvuU&fmt=18

This is kind of like a dirge with a beat. I keep picturing a boat taking warriors into Valhalla or something. About halfway through the song it really intensifies without even changing much.

'''221. Boss Theme (Sonic Spinball)

Composer: Howard Drossin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugb9vGsbznU&fmt=18

Wigs recommended this to me in my topic. I grew up playing this game but never really paid attention to the boss theme (probably because I was too busy trying not to get my ass handed to me). It uses the sometimes abrasive Genesis chip really well, being a little abrasive but still very listenable.

'''220. At Toyotsu-Chou, Suita City... (King of Fighters Maximum Impact)

Composer: Toshikazu Tanaka

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFOqKZUCexo&fmt=18

Piano and guitar normally goes together pretty well, and this is no exception. Loops one time too many, but I try not to hold that against a song.

'''219. Onward to Grasstown (Cave Story)

Composer: Pixel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPjpng9iHAc&fmt=18

A fun, rollicking piece with great buildup from a minimal melody to something that blossoms like a flower in a sea of AWESOME.

'''218. Time Circuits (Chrono Trigger)

Composer: Yasunori Mitsuda

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg513kMhnNs&fmt=18

This used to be my favorite Chrono Trigger song (spoilers: it's not any more). It's still got the same old awesome, world-music-esque percussion and sitar-like main instrument... I just got a bit tired of it, I suppose.

'''???. Twin Dragons (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)

Composer: Anamanaguchi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gs47P1eD36U&fmt=18

One thing you will all learn from this list: I'm a sucker for Asian-themed tracks. This fuses some Eastern influence with the traditional Anamanaguchi sound. Probably would have been... in the 170s or so.