Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Americans! This is a day to celebrate all the best, most awesome things we enjoy about being Americans – and that includes our love of video games! So to celebrate, I’ve gathered together some of the top patriotic songs of the USA as they appeared in popular game soundtracks. Enjoy!
Guitar Hero 5 – My Country, Tis of Thee
Civilization V – America the Beautiful
Fallout 3 – Yankee Doodle
Civil War 2: Generals – When Johnny Comes Marching Home
BioShock Infinite – You’re A Grand Old Flag
Fallout 3 – Hail Columbia
Civil War 2: Generals – Battle Hymn of the Republic
Civilization IV – Marines’ Hymn (The United States Marine Corps)
Winifred Phillips is an award-winning game music composer with more than 11 years of experience in the video game industry. Her projects include Assassin’s Creed Liberation, God of War, the LittleBigPlanet franchise, and many others. She is the author of the award-winning bestseller A COMPOSER’S GUIDE TO GAME MUSIC, published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press. Follow her on Twitter @winphillips.
Last year I did a series of posts about classic video game music that’s perfect for the night of fright, and since you guys enjoyed that, I thought I’d bring back some favorite tracks from that series:
Castlevania Symphony of the Night – “Abandoned Pit” (1997)
Developed as an action roleplaying game for consoles, Castlevania Symphony of the Night focuses on the story of Dracula’s son Alucard, and his struggle to destroy his father. This slow and hypnotic composition proceeds in a stately triple meter while creatures of the night weave their voices into the serenade.
Resident Evil Code: Veronica – “The Suspended Doll” (2000)
As the fourth game in the Resident Evil series, this game had players fighting mutated monsters on a prison island, all set to grim music such as the track below. At times this track may make you think of John Carpenter’s theme to the movie Halloween, while other moments take on a bit of gothic grandeur with the introduction of a cathedral organ.
Arcanum – “Dungeons” (2001)
There’s nothing like a slimy dungeon to invoke those feelings of horror that are so complimentary to the Halloween season. Fortunately, the Arcanum roleplaying game has multiple dungeons, some crawling with the undead. This track, written entirely for string quartet, captures the mood in a horrifically elegant way.
Evil Dead: Hail to the King – “Menu Screen Music” (2000)
Sometimes, only a strong dose of demonic Latin will make a Halloween music experience complete. This track delivers. Evil Dead: Hail to the King continues the survival horror adventures of Ash Williams, the star of the Evil Dead franchise in video games and on the silver screen.
Xenogears – “Omen” (1998)
Dungeons are great for finding creepy music for Halloween. Luckily, a lot of roleplaying games have creepy dungeons. This track was written for dungeon-exploring in the Xenogears sci-fi roleplaying game. The track features a constant low suspense tone, with harp and bells weaving a hypnotic pattern while metallic impacts punctuate the gloom.
I hope everybody has a delightfully frightful Halloween!! And if you have a favorite Halloween tune from a classic video game, please let me know in the comments – I’d love to hear it!
It’s here! Halloween! The night of spooks and phantoms, and little children running around in Batman and Wolverine masks! In this last installment of my four part series exploring some examples of dread-inducing music from classic video games, let’s listen to some music displaying horrifyingly epic grandeur. These tracks are perfect for making an impressive entrance to your Halloween party. Make sure you have the music cued before you start shuffling and moaning your way inside.
Tekken 2 (1995)
Music in fighting games usually isn’t quite as dire as this track from the soundtrack to the second installment in the Tekken series. Entitled Here is the Point of No Return, this track sets the mood for fighting in the desert against a wrestler wearing a jaguar mask. Even considering all this, the track is still plenty creepy.
Blood (1997)
This first-person shooter tells the story of a gunslinger in the American West who joins a cult, is killed, then rises from the grave to hunt down the dark god that killed him. The track below features wailing winds, moaning voices, pounding drums and surreal sound design.
Xenogears (1998)
As we discovered in last week’s musical excerpt from the score of Arcanum, dungeons are great for finding creepy music for Halloween. Luckily, a lot of roleplaying games have creepy dungeons. This track was written for dungeon-exploring in the Xenogears sci-fi roleplaying game. The track features a constant low suspense tone, with harp and bells weaving a hypnotic pattern while metallic impacts punctuate the gloom.
D2 (1999)
This track starts innocently, and may lull you into thinking it’s another low-keyed spookfest, but just wait. The harmonic structure builds into a nightmarish repeating pattern that may be just perfect for your Halloween party entrance, if your costume involves mutations, mangled limbs, and lots of blood. Otherwise, beware – this one is very disturbing.
Well, that’s it, friends – classic video game tunes for an unforgettable monster mash. I hope everyone has a great night, full of visits from loads of little Trick-or-Treaters, and enlivened by your favorite gothic festivities for an eerie and magical October 31st. Happy Halloween, everyone!!
Halloween is only a little over a week away, so let’s enjoy some more horror tunes. Continuing my four-part series on classic game music for Halloween, this week’s offerings focus on sinister symphonies and virtuoso villainy. A little classically-inspired doom and gloom is sure to add a tone of sophistication to your Halloween festivities.
Castlevania Symphony of the Night (1997)
Developed as an action roleplaying game for consoles, Castlevania Symphony of the Night focuses on the story of Dracula’s son Alucard, and his struggle to destroy his father. This slow and hypnotic composition proceeds in a stately triple meter while creatures of the night weave their voices into the serenade.
Shadow Man (1999)
Remember when they used to say that if you played certain heavy metal records backwards, you’d hear Satanic messages? Well, this certainly isn’t heavy metal, and the message is more disturbing than outright Satanic. Who knew that Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata would be so creepy in reverse? The game is a horror-infused action-adventure mixing voodoo mysticism with apocalyptic dread.
Evil Dead: Hail to the King (2000)
Sometimes, only a strong dose of demonic Latin will make a Halloween music experience complete. This track delivers. Evil Dead: Hail to the King continues the survival horror adventures of Ash Williams, the star of the Evil Dead franchise in video games and on the silver screen.
Arcanum (2001)
There’s nothing like a slimy dungeon to invoke those feelings of horror that are so complimentary to the Halloween season. Fortunately, the Arcanum roleplaying game has multiple dungeons, some crawling with the undead. This track, written entirely for string quartet, captures the mood in a horrifically elegant way.
Halloween stealthily approaches like a creature of the night, creeping through the shadows of our innocent October days… so let’s party! This is my second blog about music from classic games that can put us into the Halloween spirit, and this week I’m focusing on tracks that set an apprehensive mood. Through dark waves of sound, heavy chords and swirling sound design, these tracks from classic video games can create a perfectly appropriate atmosphere for your favorite haunted house.
Nightmare Creatures (1997)
This survival horror game pitted an American doctor against the forces of Hell in 19th century London. The track below features a deranged, ungodly whispering set against deep waves of tonal horror.
Aliens Versus Predator (1999)
While this may be categorized as a sci-fi shooter, it features a horror-infused score that’s perfect for putting your Halloween guests on edge. They’ll hear clusters of despairing human voices, unsettling swells, metal objects that alternate between deep moans and huge impacts of doom, all punctuated by large “gotcha!” moments.
Resident Evil Code: Veronica (2000)
As the fourth game in the Resident Evil series, this game had players fighting mutated monsters on a prison island, all set to grim music such as the track below. At times this track may make you think of John Carpenter’s theme to the movie Halloween, while other moments take on a bit of gothic grandeur with the introduction of a cathedral organ.
Wild Arms 3 (2002)
This adventurous roleplaying game isn’t a particularly horrific experience, but it does have its moments, especially when a deceptively attractive demon of dreams is moving forward in her plan to destroy the world. The track below creates its unsettling atmosphere with a combination of pretty bells and dissonant clusters.
The holiday season is encroaching, and you may have already been jarred by TV commercials for holiday layaway, but before we give our thanks and jingle our bells, there’s one very special day that we get to celebrate. Yes, it’s the time to practice our sinister laughter, friends – Halloween is coming!
For gamers, Halloween may seem like a natural extension of our passion. Gothic and grim elements are often plentiful in our favorite pastime. Plus, some of the more die-hard gamers already enjoy donning colorful costumes at conventions, so these folks need only open their closets to find a stylish Trick-or-Treat fashion statement. Games have provided plenty of macabre experiences, accompanied by suitably spooky music. So, to celebrate the approach of Halloween, I’ve decided to dedicate the month of October to creepy and classic game music. Every week I’ll post a handful of Halloween-appropriate tracks from some venerable video games. This week, I’ll be starting with music from the lo-fi era of game scores. The sound in these games was designed to be generated by the sound cards of early personal computers and the limited audio resources of game consoles such as the Nintendo 64.
Alone in the Dark (1992)
Inspired by the stories of H.P. Lovecraft, this survival horror game trapped players inside a haunted mansion. Some of the music is surprisingly atmospheric, considering the limitations of the personal computers that were expected to render the chilling soundscapes of this nightmarish adventure.
Zombies Ate My Neighbors (1993)
The music of this tongue-in-cheek horror game clearly shows its age, having been created for the Super NES and the Sega Genesis. Amusingly, though, this bleep-and-bloop game score has its moment of reverential horror symbolism in the form of the Gregorian chant melody that appears during the track “Curse of the Tongue.” The Dies Irae, translating as “The Day of Wrath,” has been woven into many movies, from The Shining to Sleeping with the Enemy. Here, the melody does its best to sound gloomy, using the cutesy sound palette it has available:
Super Mario 64 (1996)
Here’s a mind-bendingly creepy moment from, of all places, Super Mario 64. In this part of the game, Mario climbs a staircase that never ends, no matter how hard he tries to reach the top. The music for this gameplay sequence creates the impression of an ascending musical pattern that continues on its upward course forever. The technique is a musical illusion known as the Shepard Scale, in which the ascending notes progress in simultaneous octaves – the upper notes imperceptibly fade away, while the lower notes subtly fade up and take over. This process happens repeatedly, creating the illusion.
Donkey Kong 64 (1999)
A very creepy track from Donkey Kong 64, this music emulates the sound of the traditionally Halloween-associated xylophone and theremin, making for an early game music ditty that fulfills our Trick-or-Treat expectations.
The vast repertoire of video game music offers countless delights for the ears, but sometimes we feel the need to do more than just listen. Sometimes we want to sing along. Fortunately, there are lots of recent games that offer enjoyment for those of use who want to flex our vocal muscles, but I’d like to point out a few rather unique ditties from classic games. One is as timeless as an (oddly disturbing) children’s song, but the rest are explosions of retro nostalgia. Whether you like your music cheesy, funky, or just plain creepy, you’ll find something to enjoy in these four blasts-from-the-past:
“Little Bonus Room” – Skullmonkeys
This track is pure genius. In the game Skullmonkeys from 1998, this song plays when you stumble upon a hidden room, where you are safe to explore and find prizes hidden there. The song introduces you to a tenderly sympathetic invisible fellow who may (or may not) be your friend. He’s companionably creepy.
“We are Burning Rangers” – Burning Rangers
As I write this, popular music is enjoying a disco renaissance, best exemplified by the album Random Access Memories by Daft Punk. With this in mind, perhaps the time has come to revisit “We are Burning Rangers.” From the 1998 third-person-shooter game developed for the Sega Saturn, this song is a disco-rap hybrid that will make you happy if you ever wanted to go to “Funky Town,” if you ever partook of “Rapper’s Delight,” if you ever spent some time “Gettin’ Jiggy With It,” or if you’ve ever gotten your groove on to Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.”
“Girl In The Tower” – King’s Quest VI
If you love a classic rock power ballad, you’ll enjoy this song from the 1992 adventure game King’s Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow. If you’ve ever found yourself singing along to “Oh Sherrie” or “I Want to Know What Love Is,” you may get a kick out of this.
“Got to Move!!” – Um Jammer Lammy
From the 1999 game for the original PlayStation comes this exceedingly cheerful guitar-driven track that’s good for those people who have a secret love for bubblegum pop and want to put on their high-top sneakers and dance.
Winifred Phillips is an award-winning game music composer with more than 11 years of experience in the video game industry. Her projects include Assassin’s Creed Liberation, God of War, the LittleBigPlanet franchise, and many others. She is the author of the award-winning bestseller A COMPOSER’S GUIDE TO GAME MUSIC, published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press. Follow her on Twitter @winphillips.
