Doom
Transport Tycoon Deluxe
Indycar 2
Theme Hospital
Warcraft 2
The Need for Speed
SimCity 2000
Duke Nukem 3D
Aladdin
Little Big Advanture 1,2
Wolfenstein 3D
Lotus III: The Ultimate Challenge

I don't really *have* any favourites.

But I tend to listen to things from obscure or otherwise terrible games:

Island Peril
H20
Forbidden Forest 3
Dark Vengeance
Severance: Blade of Darkness

Though, alot of what I listen to isn't really from games but rather from the demoscene. Some of it ends up being used in a few games anyways, like Unreal and UT99.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icXcc3u4Po4

For PC-DOS only:

Soundtrack:
Warcraft II (with expansions)

Themes (in no order):
Monkey Island (Main theme)
Pinball Illusions (Menu)
Raptor (Wave music 1)
Lotus (Main theme and Miami ice)
One Must Fall 2097 (Main theme)
Duke Nukem 3D (Menu - Gragbag)

This would be a long list for me. Some highlights though:

DOS: Hocus Pocus, Dune II, Loom, WarCraft II, Mech Warrior II, Terminal Velocity, Epic Pinball
Post-DOS PC: StarCraft, Myst (Riven, Exile, ...), Diablo, Fury3, Bastion, Transistor
Nintendo: Mega Man 2, Contra, Super C, Castlevania III, Gremlins 2 (Game Boy)
SNES: Castlevania IV, Donkey Kong Country, Final Fantasy 4 + 6, Chrono Trigger
PSX: Chrono Cross, Castlevania SOTN, Wipeout XL, Legend of Dragoon, ... this could go on for a while.
one more...
PS3: Journey

pc - jazz jackrabbit, the blood theme, monkey island, xcom, command & conquer, red alert
playstation - ridge racer

The opening tune in the floppy version of System Shock is awesome on both OPL3 and GM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz1wlcZnhv8

And I regularly fire up my C64 to play this SID tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0CNak8vfbQ

Not much of a game but it's a great track 👍

PC:

Realms of Arkania trilogy (german Star Trail 2-CD edition the most)
Alone in the Dark 2 CD
Witcher trilogy

Amiga:

Ishar trilogy
Universe
Jaguar XJ220

C64:
Last Ninja trilogy
Golden Axe
Iron Lord

I can't narrow to favorites so i'll say a bunch of names for now. Hitoshi Sakimoto Nobuo Uematsu Masahiko Takagi Hiroshi Kawaguchi Hideaki Kobayashi Hideki Naganuma Hisayoshi Ogura

NES Power Blade and James Bond jr.
DOS Jazz Jackrabbit and One Must Fall 2097
Windows Quake 4 and Plant Versus Zombies 😂

Oh, let's include Machinarium. I've got that in my headphone mix of atmospheric-electronic-drone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03l0ksPHYG4

One that comes to mind is the soundtrack of the PC game, The Dig (Lucasarts). But, you have to have a taste for orchestral music to enjoy it.

And, two of my other personal favourites are At Doom's Gate (from Doom 1 E1M1) and Space Quest 3's intro song (as played back on an MT-32).

Here's game soundtracks I like the most. I'll provide some examples for each game.

Arcade:

Golden Axe (1989) [You Takada] - Wilderness, Boss fight

Sega Genesis (Megadrive):

Golden Axe III (1993) [Naofumi Hataya & others] - The Vast Field, The Bloody Street

Sharp X68000:

Akimajou Dracula (1993) [Shin-chan & others] - Vampire Killer

PC (DOS):

MIDI:

Codename Iceman (1989) [Mark Seibert] - Bar theme 1
Duke Nukem 3D (1996) [Lee Jackson, Robert Prince] - Grabbag, Stalker
Dune II (1992) [Frank Klepacki] - Rulers of Arrakis
Heretic (1994) [Kevin Schilder] - The Dungeons
Highway Hunter (1995) [Serge Shishkin] - Prologue
Magic Carpet 2 (1995) [Russell Shaw] - Main Menu
Ski or Die (1990) [Rob Hubbard] - Main theme
Space Quest V (1993) [Timothy Steven Clarke, Christopher Stevens] - Starcon Academy, Cleaning the Academy Crest
Time Commando (1996) [Philippe Vachey] - Ending Titles, Rome
Tyrian (1995) [Alexander Brandon] - Gryphons of the West
UFO: Enemy Unknown (1994) [John Broomhall] - Intercept, Geoscape alternative
Warcraft II (1995) [Glenn Stafford] - Orc 2, Human 2

Tracker modules:

Another World (1992) [Jean-François Freitas] - Ending
Epic Pinball (1993) [Robert Allen, Joshua Jensen] - Menu theme
Jazz Jackrabbit (1994) [Alexander Brandon] - Main Menu, Bonus
One Must Fall 2097 (1994) [Kenny Chou] - Menu
Vanguard Ace (1997) [Björn Gustafsson] - Alone

PCM or CD Audio:

Baryon (1995) [SeokGee Jeon] - Stage 1, Stage 4
Carmageddon (1997) [Lee Groves & Fear Factory] - Zero Signal
Command & Conquer (1995) [Frank Klepacki] - Act on Instinct, Industrial
Descent 2 (1996) [Type O'Negative & others] - Haunted
Dungeon Keeper (1997) [Russell Shaw] - The Horned Reaper, Soft Flute
Dungeons of Kremlin (1995) [unknown Russian composer] - Intro
Heroes of Might and Magic II (1996) [Paul Romero] - Swamp, Battle Theme 3
Little Big Adventure 2 (1997) [Philippe Vachey] - LBA Theme
Lords of the Realm 2 (1996) [Keith Zizza] - Setup, Scroll 1
Redneck Rampage (1997) [The Beat Farmers & others] - Baby's Liquored Up, Gettin' Drunk

PC (Windows):

Tracker modules:

Fury 3 (1995) [Kyle Richards] - Terran, Fog
Unreal Tournament (1999) [Michiel van den Bos] - Run, Foregone Destruction, Botpack #9

PCM or CD Audio:

Beyond Divinity (2004) [Kirill Pokrovsky] - Crystal Cave
Civilization V (2010) [Geoff Knorr & Michael Curran] - Askia peace theme
Darkwood (2014) [Artur Kordas] - Morning theme, Menu theme
Diablo (1997) [Matt Uelmen] - Tristram, Catacombs
Diablo II (2000) [Matt Uelmen] - Sisters, Docks
Disciples II (2002) [Philippe Charron] - Battle 2, Ingame 3
Divine Divinity (2002) [Kirill Pokrovsky] - Stones and Trees, A Wind of Aleroth, The Song of the Wind
Divinity 2 (2009) [Kirill Pokrovsky] - Here be Zandalor
Evil Islands (2000) [Andrey Fedorenko & others] - Kania, Ingos
Frostpunk (2018) [Piotr Musiał] - The Last Flame, The City Must Survive
Heroes of Might and Magic III (1999) [Paul Romero] - Rampart, Combat Theme 4
Heroes of Might and Magic IV (2002) [Paul Romero] - Sea, Hope
Icewind Dale (2000) [Jeremy Soule] - Kuldahar Theme
Icewind Dale 2 (2002) [Inon Zur] - Skeleton of a Town
Mass Effect (2007) [Sam Hulick] - Map theme
Might and Magic VI (1998) [Paul Romero, Rob King] - Moonlit Journey - Snow, The Hive
Neverwinter Nights (2002) [Jeremy Soule] - Main Theme
Paradise Cracked (2002) [Alexander Shukaev] - Title 01, Skytown 01a
Power of Law (2004) [Alexander Shukaev] - In The End, Megapolis
Quake II (1997) [Sonic Mayhem] - Descent into Cerberon, The Underworld
Starcraft (1998) [Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford & others] - Terran 1, Zerg 1
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) [Jeremy Soule] - The Watchman's Ease, Wings of Kynareth
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) [Jeremy Soule] - The Streets of Whiterun, Ancient Stones
The Witcher (2007) [Adam Skorupa, Paweł Błaszczak] - The Dike, Ominous Place
The Witcher 3 (2015) [Marcin Przybyłowicz] - Outskirts of Novigrad, The Nightingale, King Bran's Final Voyage
The Wolf Among Us (2013) [Jared Emerson-Johnson] - Office theme, Woodlands
Total Annihilation: Kingdoms (1999) [Jeremy Soule] - Song of the Siren
Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War (2004) [Jeremy Soule] - Force Commander theme, Fallen City, Chant, Acid

After I compiled everything I thought that there are many Russian composers on the list. My overall top of game composers is:

- Jeremy Soule (US) - incredibly immersive orchestral music
- Marcin Przybyłowicz (Poland) - very immersive medieval music
- Piotr Musiał (Poland) - incredibly immersive orchestral/ambient music
- Matt Uelmen (US) - incredibly immersive and atmospheric music, with rock elements
- Kirill Pokrovsky (Russian but migrated to Belgium in 1991) - very immersive music but he lacked mixing skills, at least by the times of Divine Divinity (2002). He was a keyboard player and songwriter in several Russian rock bands (Aria, Master) before his emigration, so his lack of sound engineering skills is explainable.
- Paul Romero (US) - incredibly immersive orchestral music, often with female choirs
- Philippe Charron (France) - very immersive and catchy orchestral music
- Andrey Fedorenko (Russia) - immersive music but lacks mixing skills, at least by the times of Evil Islands (2000). He is a leader and a vocalist of Russian power metal band 'Archontes' existing since 1993, example: Archontes - Lullaby.
- Alexander Shukaev (Russia) - electronic dreamy music. He is not much of a gaming composer but he runs an electronic project by the name 'Sensorica'. Example: Sensorica vs. Jin Key - Only One. Actually, I know him personally, and we even had a collaboration track: Sensorica & Geryon - Euphoria.

From the DOS era, I think Heroes of Might and Magic 2 was the first game that had a soundtrack which completely blew me away. Those opera-like CD audio tracks sound amazing even to this day. Some samples:

• Sorceress town (original)
• Barbarian town (expansion)
• Sea theme

I still remember the first time I heard those epic vocals kick in. Never thought music of that quality could be found in games.

bristlehog wrote on 2020-02-02, 03:39:

Little Big Adventure 2 (1997) [Philippe Vachey] - LBA Theme

I was curious if this ever got a soundtrack release so I looked it up and found something interesting:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wayo/lit … symphonic-suite

(copyingbristlehog's format)
Probably have a lot in common but my favorites are stuff from Eric Brosius, NIN, Stéphane Picq, Matt Uelmen, Jeremy Soule and Paul Ruskay..

Double Dragon 2 - Title

MegaRace 1 - NewSan / NewFac
Dune Spice Opera
Jill of the Jungle - Funky
Tyrian - Savara, the return
Wacky Wheels - Spacey
Warcraft II - Intro / Orc 1
Raptor - Wave music

Jazz Jackrabbit - Diamondus
Fury 3 - Ares / Sabek (the tracker version sounds better imo)
Hellbender - Theme
Time Commando - Title
Duke Nukem 3D - Grabbag / E1L1

Outlaws - Sanctuary / Sanchez the Outlaw / Two Feathers / The Last Gunfight
Tomb Raider 1 - Theme
Megarace 2 - Loading Music
Mechwarrior 2 - Track 2 / 9 / 11
Quake 2 - Gravity Well / Descent into Cerberon / Operation Overlord / Quad Machine

Unreal Tournament - Foregone Destruction / Mechanism Eight
System Shock 2 - Ops 2 / Med Sci 1 / Engineering / Hydro 1
Ballistics - Curver / Fat children deluxe / DeLeo is the man
Dungeon Keeper - Soft Flute, Intro / Mystic Tunnels
C&C Red Alert - Workmen / Mud / Hell March
Starcraft - Terran tracks
Dark Colony - Track 1 / 2
Diablo - Tristram / Dungeon / Caves
Diablo II - Wilderness / Desert / Harem
Homeworld - Adagio for Strings
Homeworld 2 - The Pride of Hiigara / Captain Soban / The Bentusi Arrive

Icewind Dale - Easthaven in Peace
Icewind Dale 2 - Skeleton of a town
Morrowind - Nerevar Rising / Peaceful Waters / The Road Most Travelled
Oblivion - Harvest Dawn / Wings of Kynareth / Watchman's Ease
Skyrim (never played it still 🤣) - Far Horizons / From Past to Present / Kyne's Peace

Quake 1 - Persia Inversion / The Hall of Souls
Thief Gold - Intro / Credits / I just Saved the World
Thief 2 - Blackmail / Trail Of Blood / Shipping and Receiving / Accingite Vos (Credits)
Thief 3 - South Quarter

Guild Wars Factions - Theme / Kaineng
Guild Wars 2 - The Silverwastes / SAB: Sunny Glade / Fear Not This Night
Ruiner - Paranesian Circle / Ritual / Memory / Underwater Sun
Devil Daggers - III (Remastered version)
Brigador, Up​-​Armored EP - Solo Nobre
This War of Mine - No Good Choice / Still Alive Inside
Ashes of the Singularity - PHC Battle 4 / PHC Battle 5 / PHC Ambient Gibbs 1

My list of favorite game soundtracks would be neverendless, so I'll post just one example 😉

Rob Hubbard - Skate or Die intro: NES/C64/Rearranged tune

jesolo wrote on 2020-02-01, 19:07:

One that comes to mind is the soundtrack of the PC game, The Dig (Lucasarts). But, you have to have a taste for orchestral music to enjoy it.

And, two of my other personal favourites are At Doom's Gate (from Doom 1 E1M1) and Space Quest 3's intro song (as played back on an MT-32).

last night i learnt that the music from space quest 3 was mainly made by the drummer of supertramp (logical song, give a little bit). love that intro song to bits but i've never played the game at all.

i got a question about the dig. i loaded it up for the first time and chose "play the dig for windows 95", it plays all the speech and FMV audio correctly but i have no music in the puzzle levels. does it use windows direct sound or does it auto detect a sound card's address/port etc?

would be very helpful to know. thanks bud.

svfn wrote on 2020-02-04, 13:05:

Probably have a lot in common

Actually I'm shocked about how close our musical tastes are. I never played neither TES series nor Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale, but now I see that I missed lots of beautiful music there, like 'Skeleton of a Town' by Inon Zur or 'Wings of Kynareth' by Jeremy Soule.