2015 is nearly upon us, so let’s listen to some more holiday music from classic video games!
Jazz Jackrabbit 2: Holiday Hare (1995)
Jazz Jackrabbit is a green bunny from a sci-fi future in which tortoises and hares have waged war for generations. Despite the oddly grim premise, the games featuring Jazz Jackrabbit are light-hearted cartoony platformers developed by Epic Games (best known for Gears of War and the Unreal series). In 1998, Epic released a Christmas edition with additional levels and a new boss. This is the music from the first level of the Christmas edition.
The 3rd Birthday (2012)
In this roleplaying shooter game, the city of Manhattan is decimated by a swarm of horrific creatures that burst forth from under the city on Christmas Eve. Despite this, there is some festive holiday spirit to be found in the musical soundtrack. Taken out of the context of the ghastly backstory, the holiday music in this game is perfectly warm and comfy for a fireside evening. Here’s a low-keyed, jazzy track called “Come Again to Christmas.”
Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix + (2007)
This was a re-release of the hit game from 2005 that mixed Square Enix and Disney characters and settings. This music came from an area patterned after Disney’s Nightmare Before Christmas. The recording below is a newer orchestral version from the composer’s compilation soundtrack album, entitled “Drammatica.”
Ragnarök Online (2002)
A Korean massively multiplayer roleplaying game, Ragnarök Online is set in an elaborate fantasy world based on Norse mythology. Incorporated into this solemn fantasy setting is a more cheerful place called Lutie, the town of eternal Christmas, which can only be reached by talking to an NPC character resembling Santa Claus. This track is a mellow theme that greets players while wandering this holiday-inspired town.
The Polar Express video game (2004)
This game is a tie-in to the CGI theatrical release and stays faithful to the plot of the original film, with the exception of a larger role for an evil puppet of Ebeneezer Scrooge. Here’s some music from early in the game. The track is called “A Christmas Eve.”
Happy New Year everybody! 🙂
