There is an Oscar given for the best background score in movies every year. From this statement, you can easily understand how important the background score is for a movie. Similarly, video games also need background scores to bring out the feel of real battle. Basically, a background score is a music track that complements the scene you are watching. It is used to make you understand the situation and the feeling of the characters involved in the game. Earlier the background scores used to be simple and melodious. But in recent days, they also have got background scores like the movies. There are lots of companies that use a very apt and particular background score which makes the games more interesting.
The Home of Background Music
Till the time the background music has been induced with video games, Japan has its rich history and legacy of these kinds of music. Some famous composers like Shinji Hosoe, Nobuo Uematsu, Koji Kondo, Hip Tanaka are from Japan itself. There are also some famous composers from the western world like Jeremy Soule, Austin Wintory, and Garry Schyman. The work of designing the background music of video games has opened a new horizon of the job for the music aspirants. These music tracks are very useful to make the games popular for gamers.
Early Technology of Video Game Background Music
Since the 1970s video games have emerged as one of the very popular means of entertainment. Those music scores were stored in the physical mediums in analog waveforms like the phonograph records and the compact cassettes. They used to make video games expensive as well as not very compact and breakage-prone. The only way to make them handy was to shift the technology to the microchips which could make it handier.
Due to the invention of newer technologies and cost reduction, the new generation of arcade machines allowed for severe changes in the music to accompany the game. After a decade, the arcade games started using the digital to analog converter technology and started producing sampled tomes in place of the tone generator. It also took into account the technology of speech synthesis.
The Best Soundtracks
As we are discussing the best soundtracks of video games here, we can’t deny the best games which are applauded throughout the world. Without music the games may have seemed to be dumb ones, so the background scores are the most interesting mean to grow the interest of the players. As the looks and appearance of the games are very important to make it a popular one, similarly the background music is also a very important aspect of it. Here are some of the games that have the best background music.
- Persona 4
This game contains the soundtrack of the famous music composer Shoji Meguro. He has wide knowledge and expertise in jazz, rock, pop and hip-hop style music. He has designed the music of Persona 4 which is a perfect mix of these styles. The experiences of the gamers say that the background music runs like a breezy in the autumn with the game. It is neither very loud nor very dim. It contains theme music for battle like the Almighty along with the music of the soft dance with pop ones. The CSGO skins info brings out the views of the players about all the aspects.
- Secret of Mana
Hiroki Kikuta, the famous Japanese music composer composed the tracks of the game. His fluent bending and amicable works with the music has made it one of the teen gaming secessions. The game named Secret of Mana has to go with verdant visual scenes in the game and the music has complemented it in a similar way. The soundtracks named Fear of heaven have a ruminative mixing effect of the strings and the piano which might take you to the hallucinatory world of computer games.
- God of War
The game God of War is the best example of such a game that has been made famous due to the background scores used in it. The stunning music was composed by the great composer Bear McCreary, the famous composer of the 10 Cloverfield lane soundtrack. The instruments like hurdy-gurdy have evoked the eternal sounds and the vibes of the war. The way the music has compiled with the actions and sequences of the game is tremendous.
- Grim Fandango
The game was published in 1998 and the composer Tim Schafer made the background score with all his expertise and experience. The game though is an old one; still, it has popularity similar to then. The contribution of Peter McConnell is unforgettable along with Tim.
- Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
No list of video game soundtracks can leave this one, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. All the themes and the motives of the game have been well supported by the background music and pose a link with the past happenings. The creator is Koji Kondo, a famous Japanese music composer. His brilliant work of musical art has made the series of games unforgettable. This is just not due to the excellent music it contains, but the history of the game also.
- Castlevania 3, Dracula’s Curse
The name suggests that the game is full of exciting, fearing, and surprising moments along with suspense of the appearance of the Dracula. The music composed by the famous composer Michiru Yamane has made it one of the best seller games due to its suspicious appearance. The themes of the game like the Beginning, Mad forest, and Prelude are very apt with the game visuals and the suspension of the moments. The great artwork of music of the composer has made it one of the most popular games despite being a game of the 8-bit era. The legacy of the game has got an extension beyond the time only due to the apt and particular music in it.
