A 2010 Game Music Retrospective

The music that plays during Persona 3's credits always bums me out when I hear it. Persona is one of the few series that I find myself having a emotional connection to.

You made some good points indeed Nick - I like you am very invested in music and its power to heighten the experience in any game.

Alan Wake had an absolutely fantastic soundtrack.

I agree that the immediacy of the tracks played during gameplay in Red Dead really did help to heighten the experience. I loved riding to those tracks as i found myself keeping a slow and steady pace so as to enjoy the song fully without reaching the final destination too soon.

I did once however pause the game and the song cut off. Credit where credit is due - the use of this soundtrack resonated so well with me that i had to reload my save just to get the full experience.

I was a little disappointed that I missed the music track in Undead Nightmare. For some reason the track wouldn't play at all - i knew it was suposed to as the sound effects went down some.

Nier - Exquisite, captivating vocal work. Truly a soundtrack that doesn't come around very often at all, with almost each theme carry their own identity, heart and soul. Flawlessly crafted ear sex.

Xenoblade - An OST chock full of Japanese star composers really made this Soundtrack hold a special place for me. It showcases a wide range of music, from emotional and atmospheric pieces to dramatic battles and somber themes. This soundtrack was much more than I had initially expected from it. Twas' an absolute delight to listen to and I'm sure most people will find at least one track that will tickle their musical fetish.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 - I'm sure we've all heard it by now. A lot of people's complaints stem from that fact that it's not "memorable" enough, a word which I think people seem to correlate with stellar music, but that's not the case. For the most part, this OST consists of real gems that I could listen to over and over again and not get bored and ultimately, that's why I love it, plenty of variety, nostalgic tunes remixed accordingly and just an overall great OST to hold in your collection.

Super.

Meat.

Boy.

No More Heroes 2 was my favorite game soundtrack to come out. It was really diverse, from J-jazz to surf guitar. It's all very stylish and eccentric, just like the game. I loved Bayonetta's really quirky j-pop and jazz based music. Red Steel 2 also had a very cool soundtrack which perfectly reflected it's east meets wild west style. VVVVVV, Mega Man 10 and Cave Story all had some awesome retro tracks that were just hella catchy.
I loved the music of the Mega Man Zero Collection, but I don't think that counts since the games came out individually already.
You can probably tell from all this that I don't care too much for orchestral soundtracks.

Super Meat Boy is easily far and away my favorite video game soundtrack of this year. Im right with you Nick when you say Braid was your favorite of 2008. This years soundtracks werent nearly as good as in years past as a whole. It may sound silly but, for me, a game lives and dies on its soundtrack.

I thought Yakuza 3's soundtrack was very strong, Fly, Clay Doll On The Cradle and Crush & Strike being some of my favourites, not quite beats smashing someone's face through a window while a track like Crush & Strike is playing. I know it came out in 2009 in Japan, but since it didn't make it's way outside of Japan until this year I think it should count.

Halo Reach and Final Fantasy XIII both had good soundtracks, though I felt Reach's wasn't quite as good as some of the other Halo OST's. XIII's was a mixed bag too, it excelled in some parts, but some of the random vocal themes were kind of meh.

If I had to pick a favorite, I guess it would have to come down to Halo Reach and Alan Wake. Reach was an awesome game and the fact that Marty O'Donnell created another soundtrack that fit so well with the Halo series is crazy to me. Alan Wake was definitely an interesting listen with some great licensed tracks and original compositions too.

In the end though, I guess I'll have to pick Reach because... I just fucking love Halo.

"NIER" all day long.

I'd also toss some credit to the orchestrated music from "Bayonetta" and the remixes from "Castlevania: Harmony Of Despair".

Super Meat Boy all the way.

I'd say the best game soundtrack I've heard this year belong to NiER, perhaps my favorite one of all time. It's the only soundtrack I feel I could sit down and listen to any song at any time, any amount of times. Runner up would be Meat Boy probably...

Nice post, its cool things posts like these that put you guys head and shoulders above everyone else.

OST of the year
No more heroes 2 desperate struggle.
I love the music in both games, even if nmh1 only had 1 song just constantly remixed. nmh2 had a unique sound and range, from rock to jazz to techno to even some soul in there. all of it was good and added to the experience. some may dissagree with that and i respect that but god damn, just listen to some of the songs.
search No More Heroes 2 An Assassin Named and tell me thats not one of the most powerful songs you've ever heard.

best cheesiest/happy ost
Sonic colors
the songs are vibant, colorful, and cheesy as all hell, but all of them just sound appealing, even the opening song, given time.

best ost (bit version)
Scott Pilgrim vs the world the game.
I love 8-bit music and this game has some great songs that deserve a listen to.

unless i think of anything else, thats about all the ones i've played so far this year that i think deserves mention.

Cool list Nick, I'm always looking for good soundtracks to add to my library. I actually have Alan Wake, Reach, and Mass Effect on my iPod. I'll check those other OSTs out for sure.

I'm surprised Assassin's Creed Brotherhood wasn't even mentioned though o_o
"Venice Rooftops," "Ezio's Family" and "The Brotherhood Escapes" are all great soundtracks. If you haven't heard them check them out!

For me the best soundtrack easily was the one in Nier, even though i finished the game months ago i still listen to the soundtrack 24/7. It even beats the sountracks from Red Dead Redemption and Yakuza 3 in my opinon, which are my runners-up.

I hate to keep saying this, but NIER has possibly my favorite soundtrack of all time. Each song is so different and when some are remixed, they are spot on awesome. I love the soundtrack, even tho I have yet to play the game :/

Despite popular belief, Fallout New Vegas had a pretty good soundtrack! Its just a shame that obsidian doesn't know how to play songs randomly without occuring very often[fail].

I totally agree with the people that said Nier. Fantastic fucking soundtrack and tremendously underrated game.

Even though I loathed Heavy Rain, I have to agree with Nick that the soundtrack was pretty amazing. Red Dead too, Far Away with Jose Gonzales is magical.

Also, Fallout New Vegas had some nice tracks. Johnny Guitar was probably my favorite of the bunch.

halo reach, well only a few songs seemed to really catch my attention (winter contingency, new alexandria, the package and the pillar of autumn)

the devil may cry series and the monster hunter games also had a good sound track

I feel like just repeating what others had already commented but NieR has one of the best OSTs I have ever heard in any video game.

If I am not entirely mistaken Nick hasn't played that game so it is understandable that he did not include it in his list.
However, I would highly recommend to listen to the soundtrack, even if you are not going to play the game.

I really enjoyed the original scores from Alan Wake they really knew how to add a sense of dread and suspense. Really intense when you have to decide wheater an enemy is behind you or a shrub decided to shake.