3. Top 20's, 10's or 5's of a particular subject...who knows what though....as an idea for future projects. Well, it's only taken a year and 5 months for that simple idea to come to fruition. Yes, this is Part 1.5 of my nostalgia thingy-majig, the reason being it isn't quite Part 2 but it's more Part 2 than Part 1, if you see what I mean. No, Part 2 is going to be a much more fully-formed piece about nostalgia, this is just a Top 11 of my most nostalgic pieces of gaming music. I thought it about time to do a Top 10, or 11 in this case, and the idea came from listening to one of the songs on the list earlier today. From that, all these other songs and whatnot joined in for the fun and now I've finally got a list to show and tell, hurrah!
This is probably going to be quite a lengthy post, as I ramble on about why these pieces of sound are so damn good. And that of course poses a problem - nostalgia is something entirely based on the individual person, so despite me ranting on and on, the following songs may mean nothing to others. Therefore, just enjoy the songs and music for what they are, and ignore my incessant childhood memories...
11 - GoldenEye N64 - Wrist Watch Theme
Ahhh, the obligatory GoldenEye reference whenever someone mentions childhood gaming. Of course, of course. Well, I was no different as a kid and played the hell out of GoldenEye, despite it freaking me out on a number of occasions (particularly on the Cradle level where you see the guys run towards you in the distance). Playing again not so long ago, I do wonder how we all managed to play on the N64, the controls were just awful, but being 9 we persevered. This pause menu music is the one I remember most, probably due to the fact I had to keep checking what the hell I was doing with the objectives lists. I can't say I was very good at this game...
10 - Crash Team Racing - Hot Air Skyway
CTR was such a fun game, and I actually knew about this game before Mario Kart, which is odd. It's not so much the particular level I've chosen above which is nostalgic, but I feel that theme is a good example of most of the music - wacky and very fitting with the game. This was one of the first games I played multiplayer, as a friend and I would often try to destroy each other in the battle mode. The square shaped map for that comes to mind first, with a little maze in the middle. Oh, and that friend was one of those gamers that moved around with the controller - highly amusing to watch, and due to the distraction often led to my defeat!
9 - Red Dead Redemption - Far Away
Ok, this game may be a little too new to actually count as 'nostalgia', but oh my did Rockstar do a great job with this one. I've mentioned RDR before on this blog, but the precise moment of this game where I was blown away was upon entering Mexico for the first time, when this song starts to play. Rockstar knew exactly what they were doing here because at that point in the game, for me anyway, I was a tad disappointed. I wanted to go to Blackwater, where it's new and fancy, not Mexico. So you go in, are surrounded by rocks and more rocks, alone on your horse when this starts. Absolutely stunning. That point was so much more than just gaming, (and trying not to sound too soppy) it was more an experience.
P.S. One of main tunes for RDR came very close to being put on here -Trigonometry, simply for its badass-ness.
8 - Super Mario 64 - Dire Dire Docks
Again, the obligatory reference of Super Mario 64 when discussing childhood gaming. So much has been said about Super Mario 64 and its soundtrack that I don't have much to put here. Oh, except, it's strange that such a peaceful and relaxing song was put with a level that always made me, and I'm sure plenty others, stressed as not to drown...
7 - Simpsons: Hit and Run - Lisa's Theme
All the music in Hit and Run is superb, but I've chosen Lisa's Theme in particular because it's just so damn cool, plus I really liked her world hub. This was one of the first games I played on my PS2, as it came bundled with it. Being such a huge Simpson's nerd, having played Road Rage and Wrestling, as well as the GTA games, this game was just amazing to me. The locations, the collectibles, the missions (though I really hate timed missions as they make me panic, a lot), everything was good. Originally when I first played, I never completed it, finding the last mission too difficult (and give me a break, it involved a car chase, a car race and the need for careful driving...pfft, I had no chance). Luckily, another friend and I did a marathon session over a weekend with it, and together we managed to do the final mission. What a great way to spend 48 hours!
6 - Minecraft - Piano 3
I realise Minecraft is just everywhere now, infiltrating every corner of the internet, but I don't care. I can safely say, in a hippster fashion, I was there before it was cool, man! Well, kinda. I first bought the game around August 2010 (in fact, http://droppedbanana.blogspot.com/2010/08/double-poop-but-dont-worry-minecraft.html) and it was only around Christmas the game exploded in popularity. C418's soundtrack is beautiful, and it's this piece especially that takes me back to that August. Back to that first time playing Minecraft, not knowing everything about it, being afraid of the caves and nervous about trekking too far away. The amazement of finding landscapes and recipes. I think that's what a lot of people strive for in Minecraft again, that apprehension, yet sadly once that feeling is over, it's over. Listening to this helps though...
5 - Super Mario Land - Birabuto Kingdom Theme
I really don't remember much about playing this game, I must have been too young, but this theme sticks out. That's probably why it's so high on the list, because of its vagueness. I certainly remember those creepy Easter Island heads though. Either way, it's a happy little tune and those 8 bit sounds take me back to...well, I'm not too sure, but young anyway.
4 - TimeSplitters 2 - Ice Station Theme
My, oh my, this is a goody. Ice Station was in my opinion the best map on TS2, simply for that middle tower where you could effectively camp from the virus-infected AI. Then, if it all got too much, you could simply escape by smashing out of the windows and run around shooting like a lunatic. This theme for me is synonymous with sleepover's round my old friends house, where we'd wake up around 7-ish and turn on TS2 immediately for our morning game of Virus on multiplayer. It seems so odd now looking back. I even remember turning it on and playing by myself whilst I waited for my friend to wake up!
3 - GTA: San Andreas - K-DST Radio
I really wanted to post a playlist, featuring all the songs from the station, alas Blogger restricts me from doing so. Therefore, I urge you to do it yourself. GTA: San Andreas, as we all know, was and still is an amazing game with a phenomenal amount of content squeezed into that pathetic PS2 disc. Apart from its sense of humour and real-but-not-too-real quality that transcends it above GTA 4, the soundtrack for San Andreas is just far too good. My favourite, being a classic rock fan, was obviously K-DST with Tommy 'the Nightmare' Smith presenting. Who can forget that feeling of flying a jet over the rocky Bone County whilst listening to David Bowie's 'Somebody Up There Likes Me', or racing over the hills of Red County with Rod Stewart's 'Young Turks' in the background. I can thank GTA: San Andreas for introducing me to some fantastic songs and artists.
2 - TimeSplitters 2 - Wild West Theme
TimeSplitters 2 again? Well, yes. The Wild West mission was good (I remember killing that woman a few time from exploding the dynamite a tad incorrectly), but every time I used to play it, the music would capture my attention. For such an underrated game as TimeSplitters 2, it's just outstanding. Graeme Norgate, the composer for the TimeSplitters series, created a Western theme near equal to the likes of the great Ennio Morricone (particularly 'Ecstasy of Gold'). In fact, all of Norgate's music is brilliantly marvellous. I must admit, this song isn't too nostalgic for me, but the sheer quality of the piece, tied with the game pushes it to second.
1 - Kings of Leon - Because of the Times (Halo 3)
Kings of Leon? But they're not a piece of video game music!? Ok, ok , I'm cheating a little with the number one spot. The reason behind all this is because as good as the Halo 3 soundtrack was (and I mean, come on!), I always used to play my own music on top of it. This was mainly due to the fact I was amazed by the Xbox 360's ability to play music and games at the same time! Long story short, I was too lazy to upload any more albums after Because of the Times so it was just the same 13 songs that played. So whether it be the campaign, co-op campaign, online multiplayer or the incredible forge mode, I'd always be hearing Kings of Leon in the background. It was hearing the above song earlier that triggered all these memories of making race tracks with my mates on forge, playing custom games like Jenga and Ghostbusters and trying to get that achievement by playing the final mission on Legendary with 4 player co-op. Sigh. Those were the heydays of the Xbox 360, when all my friends were on it, in a party, chatting away and having a laugh. Now it's like a ghost town and that's partly the reason I don't play it any more. Such a shame really, but those times from late 2008 to late 2009 were a blast and I always wish there was a last sort of reunion where we all play Halo 3 together...*goes off to sob in a corner*...
Ahem, *sniff sniff*, well there we are, my Top 11 nostalgic pieces of gaming music. It's been quite a ramble but if you have read it all and got this far, congratulations! I think this post just goes to show that gaming isn't just about shooting and messing around and being lazy, it's about socialising with friends, having a laugh and in the process, creating some pretty damn good memories to keep...
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