Which game has the best rock or metal soundtrack ?

[Keranu]

Great posts vestcoat and nod, even more proof that Gate of Thunder is a perfect game .

[runinruder]

What, no mention of SEA OF LOVE from It Came From the Desert?  Desert was my first CD game, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing the first time it loaded up.

Also awesome was the song that played during Shape Shifter's end credits.  

Stage 5 in Hellfire S featured some sweet "lead guitar" work.  

Awesome chip rock music: Stage 3 in Legendary Axe 2, Stage 7 in Blazing Lazers, the title screen tune for Double Dungeons.

[nodtveidt]

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

Wrong console.

runinruder: LA2 had some of the best chip tunes the console ever had...period. I see where you're coming from for lv3 though...definately a good rockish piece.

[Joe Redifer]

What, no mention of SEA OF LOVE from It Came From the Desert?

I've never heard it.  uploade mp3 plz k thx.

[esteban]

Damn, I thought there were more Download 2 fans here!

What, no mention of SEA OF LOVE from It Came From the Desert?  Desert was my first CD game, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing the first time it loaded up.

Also awesome was the song that played during Shape Shifter's end credits.  

Stage 5 in Hellfire S featured some sweet "lead guitar" work.  

Awesome chip rock music: Stage 3 in Legendary Axe 2, Stage 7 in Blazing Lazers, the title screen tune for Double Dungeons.

Well, of course we love SEA OF LOVE

...it's just not "metal" by any means. It's like a great 80's pop song with some country overtones. I rank it as one of the best "made-for-a-video-game" songs w/ lyrics of all time. It's a matter of taste, of course, but I just love that song. Otherwise, the two songs w/ vocals from Final Zone II make my top 10, but they're just plain goofy compared to Sea of Love.

And if Stage 7 is the "boss rush" final stage of Blazing Lazers, then I wholeheartedly agree with you. That final stage has friggin' amazing, high-adrenaline, double bass drum insanity. It *perfectly* suits the stage and gets you pumped up.

On that note: Nod's comments about how one of the tracks in GoT nicely complements the gameplay got me to thinking about Last Alert. One of my favorite "little touches" in this game occurs when you fight the final boss, Indra. The familiar boss music theme starts to play as Guy rides the elevator... BUT, this time you hear Guy screaming "INDRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" as he prepares for battle. It's been years since I played the game, but I reckon there are two tracks in the game... pretty kool!

[runinruder]

Yep, Axe 2's soundtrack was excellent.  I like how it was able to switch gears effortlessly, from sad and somber (level 2) to rocking (level 3).  Perhaps the most memorable tune of all was the freaky one in that crazy fifth stage.

[Keranu]

Sea of Love is rad as hell, I was amazed when I first heard that song as well . Great stuff.

Nod, another cool music sync in GoT is in level 5 (I thought this level was called Crown Core, not the last?), you know the level with the insects (one of my favs). Anyways when you are heading down into the underground water part of the level and you are in the underground tunnel, a guitar solo plays, but it has a sound to it like it's a hollow place, just like the tunnel you are in. It's hard for me to describe the sound, but it fits the tunnel very well.

By the way, I have a harder time with the final boss than the final level itself, interestingly enough.

[nodtveidt]

http://www.nodtveidt.net/sea-of-love.ogg

Nod, another cool music sync in GoT is in level 5 (I thought this level was called Crown Core, not the last?), you know the level with the insects (one of my favs). Anyways when you are heading down into the underground water part of the level and you are in the underground tunnel, a guitar solo plays, but it has a sound to it like it's a hollow place, just like the tunnel you are in. It's hard for me to describe the sound, but it fits the tunnel very well.

Level 5 is called Crown. And I know what you mean about the solo part...when you approach that cavern part, the music goes a bit quiet, then as you begin the descent, the solo starts...it's very cool and a great example of how to make the music match the mood of the scene.

By the way, I have a harder time with the final boss than the final level itself, interestingly enough.

The final boss isn't terribly hard but you gotta watch what it's doing. Basically, try to shoot down the yellow balls it shoots at you from the four corners (they shoot in order, clockwise) and also keep an eye on the little wave-shooting things...when they change colour, they're going to shoot at you so be prepared to dodge the shots. Also, try to take out either the top or bottom completely before starting on the opposite so there'll be less chance of getting hit. Once you wipe out the wave-shooters, the missle-shooter is more difficult because it comes straight at you and the hotspot is dead center. I use a circular attack pattern that avoids the missles and hits the yellow balls at the same time. Once you take that down, the final part is quite easy...just fire away at the core. Even if you get shot down doing this, just return fire when you come back up and you'll get the win. Dodging the big energy stars isn't terribly hard but they're fast and you have to anticipate their movement.

[Keranu]

Thanks for the tips. I usually only die once at him, but I'll take your tips into consideration next time I play. If I could take him out without dying, then I could easily beat the game without dying once.

[Black Tiger]

Holy shit.  I got GoT from in the mail from Radio Shack in 97 and when I first made it to Dark City I practically shit my pants.  The music and energy of that level blows me away even today.  Everytime I beat Dark City I find the last level to be too hard and not exciting enough to be worth the effort.  I usually lose patience and turn the game off after I lose my power-ups.

The last level isn't quite as intense as Dark City but then again, none of the other levels are that fast. The neat thing about Crown Core though is that the music is in sync with the truly difficult parts...when you reach the top of the level and it speeds up, the music goes along with that fast part (made it this far? it's pretty hard!). It just takes a lot of practice to make it through Crown Core. Fortunately, if you can pass the level, you can beat the final boss as it's not quite as hard (it's still hard, don't let me mislead you) as the level itself. The key to staying alive in that last level is two-part: memorizing where you need to be at each moment, and dodging enemy shots, especially those irritating ones that shoot what look like discs at you...worry more about dodging shots and ships than about destroying them.

I think the slower speed of the last level's beginning gives you a false sense of ease after being able to conquer Dark City...it certainly works.

Thats another thing that makes the Thunder games' soundtracks so awesome, is how well each track complements their level and how the levels are timed to complement the music.

Like Stage 1 in GoT, as the cymbals play and then first guitar riffs start and then everything kicks in as the enemies and background do the same and later on as the giant ship starts to take off all of a sudden and the music also takes off.

[runinruder]

My favorite instance of music matching action is in the second level of Macross 2036.  The music during that stage rocks for the most part, but about halfway through the level it settles into this soft, melodious interlude.  The action follows suit by letting up for a bit as pretty red asteroids just sort of dance about the screen.  It probably sounds lame from my description, but it's awesome when you see/hear it.

[Keranu]

More great music syncing references.

[akamichi]

I already love GoT, which I'm sure everybody here does.  But, reading about other people's experiences/opinions/descriptions just makes me appreciate the game even more.  Thanks all!

Anyway, my most memorable experience was the stage before the last(?).  It was already mentioned earlier, but the music and the game's intensity match so well on that stage that I was just blown away.  Descending that tunnel while those humongous missiles launch barely missing your ship just freaked me out when I first played it.  That stage just isn't the same without the music.

For HuCards, I really like Parodius' music.  It's pretty cool that each character has their own stage opening music that blends into the main stage opening theme.  It's not rock, but all classical remixes.  I wish Konami would have done one of the sequels on SCD/ACD.

[Tatsujin]

the very nice thing is, since the cd rom-rom came out, you don't buy just a game, no you also buy the complete sound track with it

[Keranu]

Indeed . I am considering buying Valis II to possibly use as a soundtrack more.