Video Game music... on Vinyl? Also, General Appreciation, Because Why Not?

With E3 being this past week and all, I've lately been in "gamer" mode. Revisiting my favorite oldies, dusting off the controllers, playing with some friends. It's been a good time. I'm not a very serious gamer or anything but I always loved them, and always loved collecting systems games and memorabilia. It's almost like my less-serious hobby outside of music.
I think one thing that's really hooked me into these games and allowed me to connect with them is the music. Even the most simple of chiptunes can bring back such great fond memories, no matter how raw the sound may be. The simplicity of the tunes also allows the brilliance of the melodies to really shine through, and also allows us to greater appreciate their beauty when more complex arrangements are made later on. Composers such as Koji Kondo and his contemporaries are true musical geniuses in every sense of the word. They can evoke mood through melody alone, and that is no small feat.

Being that games really came to be in the 1980's, there are a plethora of game related records to be found. PacMan and Donkey Kong themed children's records. Japanese imports with arranged versions of Nintendo/Sega tunes. Not really music per-se, but there were even some records with the actual data for a computer game on them - meant to be recorded onto a cassette, and then played back in a C64 tape drive.

The Japanese market for OST recordings is huge, and many games do have soundtrack releases available that can be imported. I never had things imported as a kid, but I loved coming across these, although this was a rare occurrence and they were often pricey due to their rarity, I did snap them up whenever I could. These were all on CD, of course.
In more recent years, we've seen some video games receive a pressed LP soundtrack. Bioshock and Red Dead Redemption come to mind. In Australia, there was an exclusive put out by Sega - Preorders of their Genesis and Dreamcast collections for the xBox 360 or PS3 came with a colored vinyl soundtrack with a selection of music from various games of the respective system.
I do have a record intended for use by DJs with music clips and sound effects from various classic games, which I purchased about 8-10 years ago.

Although it isn't really music that is meant to sound "good" or played back with the intentions of high-fidelity performance, I do enjoy these songs and appreciate them for what they are, and wouldn't at all mind seeing some more put out on wax, even if just for the novelty and collectibility of it. The chance to have large well-printed artwork from these games is always a nice prospect as well.
Which game soundtracks would you like to see put out as records?

 

don't know if was ever released but I like it! theme from game Cannon Fodder

 

Ghouls'n Ghosts
Wizards and Warriors
Blaster Master
Mega Man 1, 2, 3

 

Not much of a gamer either, but I enjoyed Katamari Forever, and really like the indie/twee/dance soundtrack, which is on cd in Japan. If that was on see through pink vinyl, I would probably be tempted.
This is my favourite track

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=XuXmsMqwhV8&desktop_uri=/watch?v=XuXmsMqwhV8

I also like the music from Little Big Planet, although that's a compilation of already available indie stuff. It made me aware of Jim Noir, who I had never heard of.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=jSBOM32NEoo&desktop_uri=/watch?v=jSBOM32NEoo

 

This remake of the Mega Man 3 Soundtrack is pretty good: http://rushjet1.bandcamp.com/releases

I also like the Minibosses medley:

Have seen them perform it live, and it's such a crowd-pleaser

 

Hey, that is pretty nice!

 

IMHO the best piece of video game music ever courtesy of Rob Hubbard.

 

The music from World of Warcraft (and it's expansions) is fantastic. Available on CD but no vinyl.

 

I'd considered starting a videogame music thread on here many times in the past, only to drop the idea because I was afraid there was little demand for lengthy conversation on the subject. However, since it's clear I'm not alone, here's a list of a few personal favourites and some brief comments on each title recommended for you all:

Richard Jacques - Sonic 3D Flickies' Island (Sega Saturn/PC CD-ROM version)
SEGA Sound Team - Virtua Fighter 3 Sound Tracks (my desert island game by far)
Gamer's Guide To... Rez (a truly incredible collection of songs by various artists)
Tatsuya Uemura, Yuzo Koshiro & Mikito Ichikawa - Slap Fight (Megadrive version)
Tim "CoLD SToRAGE" Wright - WipEout 2097/XL (Sega Saturn/PC CD-ROM version)
Hideki Naganuma & Various Artists - Jet Set Radio OST ("eclectic" isn't the word)
Tomoko Sasaki & Naofumi Hataya - NiGHTS into dreams... Perfect Album (beautiful)
Sons Of Angels - Thrill Of The Feel (pre-Crush 40 project of Johnny Gioeli and Jun Senoue)
SEGAROCKS - Live In Japan (CD+DVD featuring tribute group Cheap Purple vocalist Naobow?!)
Masami Ueda - Biohazard 2 OST (or Resident Evil 2 as it's known outside Japan)
Takenobu Mitsuyoshi - Shenmue OST ~Chapter 1: Yokosuka~ (epic, indeed)
Bad Religion & The Offspring - Crazy Taxi 1 & 2 OST (self-made compilation)
KCE Japan Sound Team - Metal Gear Solid Original Game Soundtrack (need I say any more?)
OutRun 20th Anniversary Box (worth getting just for the 1986 arcade machine songs, IMO)
Breakdown Records - Club Saturn (also released in the form of a limited edition EP on vinyl)

Yes, I'm an unashamed Sega fanboy... shoot me!

 

Has anyone else heard the Zelda Symphony cd that came with Skyward Sword for the 25th Anniversary of Zelda? Really good. And they've been touring an orchestra playing all the Zelda music. So much good music in that series.

 

The music in Super Mario Bros. (and the two NES sequels, for that matter) has always been a favorite of mine.

 

For great gaming music you can't go past Blizzard. Diablo and it's expansions, Starcraft but particularly World of Warcraft have unbelievably good soundtracks. Zelda: Ocarina of Time from the late 90's has a great soundtrack aswell.

 

So many great responses in this thread! glad to see we have our fair share of people who appreciate these classics within the ranks of our community.

The Minibosses are awesome, always loved their rendition of Contra after first hearing it about 10 or so years ago. And they do in fact have a record pressed and available for purchase!

So many excellent choices. No shame about the Sega fanboyism - I am a Nintendo diehard, but I firmly believe Sega won the 16bit wars. Proud owner of a Genesis (or Megadrive, as you are probably used to calling it in your territory) with 32x processor addon AND CD drive. Still so fun, entertaining, and impressive even 20+ years later.

A big fan of the Resident Evil series, ever since the time 2 came out (this was actually the first I had played, never played 1 till a few years later.) Personal story regarding the Biohazard 2 OST you listed - I remember around the year 2000 I went to Florida for the summer vacation, and I was about 8 years old at the time. Already a big fan of the game, M-rating be damned. We were walking down a street when I came across a small comic book store. In hindsight, I'm not so sure why I decided to stop in, since I never had even a vague interest in comics in my life, but I recall we must have been waiting for something or someone, so my mother probably let me go in to kill some time.
I walked in, and immediately noticed in a glass display case at the counter was the Japanese import for the Biohazard 2 soundtrack. This was actually how I first learned the series was titled Biohazard in japan, but I recognized the cover art. It was a bit pricey, but I didn't even have to do very much whiny childish begging to get it there was no mistaking how absolutely excited I was to find this from my initial reaction. My eyes must have popped out of my head like an old Tex Avery cartoon! Anyhow, I think I took that thing everywhere with me for the rest of the trip just to look through the awesome artwork printed in the booklet. Over the years I'd cut them out and glue them to various things, and most of my discs were left out of their case... I was never very good with cds, somehow even worse with the ones I seem to have treasured the most. I'm going through the process of purchasing the ones that I miss dearly and was too stupid to not take care of in the first place. I only came across the disc again very recently and found that there was a small crack running through it and it was heavily scratched. Buffed with a scratch remover I tried out on it when I was about 10. And then heavily scratched again. I tried ripping it with EAC anyhow, and even though it took over 3 DAYS, it actually managed to extract a bit perfect rip without errors, so I am very grateful that I now have a lossless copy of the disc, and still have the original for the sentimental value.

I also purchased the biohazard 4 soundtrack when that was released, as I instantly fell in love with the 4th game in the series. Perhaps my favorite game of all time. The Resident Evil music is very well done and serves it's purpose in the game, but I'm not so sure it would be suitable for the vinyl format. It's mostly extensive and long ambient pieces that would require multiple sides to fit all that is included on CD for RE4. At least 2 does have some discernible melodies. Either way, as a collector and fan of the series I'm glad that at least CDs of the material are out there.

I have this, but actually have not listened to it all the way through. I remember it being a quite underwhelming recording, especially compared to the same tracks that were orchestrated within the game. But it is nice to hear the older Legend of Zelda melodies in a "real" recording.
The Zelda series is perhaps the only I can think of that the music plays such a major role and is so iconic that the series as a whole can be defined by it's music.
One of the few VG soundtracks that can be listened to for enjoyment as music like any other album, and not just as a novelty.

I wouldn't hesitate for a second if presented with the opportunity to purchase an LP of the Ocarina of Time soundtrack, even though it is just basic MIDI instrumentation. The music is that good. The songs of the Windwaker were also very good and memorable. I have probably listened to the soundtrack of the Windwaker more than that of any other videogame. I don't see how it could all be released on vinyl without being spread over at least 4 LPs, but I personally would still buy it. The gamer demographic intersects with a very small percentage of the vinyl collecting demographic, so I don't think there would be enough sales to warrant the release of what would surely be an expensive set. But I can always dream...

 

Austin Wintory's soundtrack for the Thatgamecompany release Journey ended up being the first score nominated for a Grammy. Very effective for a single motif score.

 

When I buy games from ATLUS they always give you the soundtrack on the first run of games. I have a lot of them but its all on CD. I would love to have them on LP.

 

The opera from Final Fantasy VI. Enough said

 

Yes, that is an excellent soundtrack. I have the CD, but unfortunately it seems to have been sourced from the 320kbps mp3s, so no gain in quality.

Another game with a soundtrack that played an integral role in the atmosphere: the original Medal of Honor. One of the first PS games with a full orchestral score. Here's one great track:

 

Came here to specifically mention the Diablo and Zelda series, with a special mention of Ocarina of Time. Despite being permanently implanted in my brain, I doubt I will ever tire of listening to those songs.

The somewhat obscure Playstation 1 game Ehrgeiz also had fantastic music in it, particularly in the RPG section of the game, but I am unsure if it was ever released as on OST.

 

If you're down with the VGM, you might be interested in an online radio station I'm the general manager/programming director for: nerdy.fm.

We specialize in a mix between nerdcore/VGM/geek rock/chiptunes. I'm crazy about it, but I think that as a representative of Nerdy Show, I pretty much have to be, haha.

 

There was a 2CD soundtrack released in 1998 in Japan, with CD1 being the original music and CD2 apparently being arranged versions of selected pieces. Long out of print but it doesn't seem impossible to get.

 

Awesome, thanks for the link! Definitely going to track that down.

 

My longest gaming phase was PC gaming, so this is more along the lines of what I think of:

 

I remember some incredible music from all those brilliant SNES SquarSoft RPGs (going through this list brings back some memories), . Really game defining stuff. I don't really have any desire to hear video game music outside the context of games.

Off the top of my head one of the first "big name" composers working on a soundtrack was the opening theme of Metal Gear Solid 2 by Hans Zimmer. I remember that one really stunned me. Any way I wouldn't consider any video game music true genius (same with film scores), it's quite simple compared to the complexity of Bach, Wagner, Schubert, etc.

 

I'd like to hear Leslie Wai release some of his fantastic covers of music from Sonic the Hedgehog...


Marble Zone cover: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oD9syLOucE

 

I have the Zelda: Ocarina of Time Soundtrack on CD. It came with the pre-order of the remake of Ocarina of Time for the 3DS. It's great listening to the Forest Temple theme while I'm working

I also have the Super Mario Bros. CD that came with the Super Mario All-Stars, Mario anniversary game on Wii. I don't have Wii anymore but I kept the CD

Both are ripped to my iPod.

Back in the 90's I had the Star Fox 64 soundtrack, but it got lost over the years...