Here's the first for 8-bit soundtracks:

http://games.ign.com/articles/811/811667p1.html

Agree?  Disagree?

Terrible.  Mega Man II honorable mention, what? Looking forward to the 32 bit generation where it's going to be all Maddens, Tony Hawks, etc.

I agree with Metroid being in there, but the big MIA for me is Mega Man II. Mega Man II's soundtrack is without a doubt one of several scores that inginted my interest in VGM. Yeah, it sometimes seems it gets an overabundance of love, and I think some of the later MM scores have a bit more instrumentation and texture to them, but MMII still holds strong today.

Also, I'd honesly would have loved to see Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos on there. The music for that game made it come alive. I still get chills from the opening intro piece when Asthar recieves word from his minions that (that big spider dude who's name I can't remember or spell) has been defeated by Ryu. The build up at the end with the game's various characters being displayed on screen was truly powerful.

Edit: I agree with Kid Icarus being an honorable mention.

Crystalis and Shadow Gate definitely had some amazing music that's for sure.  For forgetting to put Megaman II in the top 10 they get points for mentioning those two.

Mike Tyson's Punch Out?

SRSLY?

Hey Mario and Zelda ... surprise!

I like that they put Castlevania at number 2. But as EVERYONE else has said, no MM2 in the top 10 is blasphemous. That music is so memorable, I dare say it should trump Zelda (at the very least, MM2 has more songs than Zelda).

Here's my own top 10, loosely based on what they put:

10. Metroid (this was a good choice, sort of a "just barely makes it." Brinstar and Kraid's area ftw).

9. Ninja Gaiden (sorry Ashley, but I thought the first one had the superior soundtrack).

8. Final Fantasy III (it's got the prelude and main theme that we'd know from I, but it also has "Legend of the Eternal Wind," which is one of the best NES tunes in the world).

7. The Legend of Zelda

6. Castlevania

5. Goonies II (TOTALLY awesome)

4. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (yes, I went there. I love this score SO much).

3. Super Mario Bros (so memorable, it belongs up there).

2. Megaman II (there it is!)

1. Dragon Quest III (widely regarded as having one of the best soundtracks in the series, even its chip-tune versions are awesome sauce).

That's me and what I like.

I wonder if IGN will remember to do 4-bit handheld (aka GameBoy)? Because there are some excellent choices for that platform, like: Seiken Densetsu (FF Adventure), Kirby, SaGa (FF Legend), Kirby, Mario Land (particularly the second one), did I mention Kirby?

Ramza

I haven't laughed quite that hard in a little while. I love IGN dearly and eagerly look forward to their future lists.

I'll touch on something a little different: did anyone notice how absolutely terrible the samples they picked were? Out of all the tracks in Contra, why the seven-note title screen theme? And the Dr. Mario game over track over Chill and Fever?

Meh, pretty lame. Did anybody actually LISTEN to some music before making the list? Seems more like they're naming series rather than individual games (note how there are no sequels listed other than Mega Man II). I'd probably put SMB3 over the original Super Mario Bros. and ditto with Castlevania III and Castlevania. Zelda II has some great music too. I guess they were taking the safe route, picking the all of the series that people know the best and not necessarily those with the best music and choosing only one game (the first game) from each series in order to get the most variety and represent the largest amount of big-name titles (so the readers don't whine). The list is solely lacking some Batman too, and there's way too much of that "bleeps and bloops" bullshit. Is it necessary to insult the music at the same time that you're praising it? Is Tommy Tallarico writing this crap?

I can appreciate all the love given to Hip Tanaka, though.

Yeah, I noticed that.  It reeks of fantastic laziness.  They basically picked the easiest track they could rip and barely recorded it.  It would make a lot more sense if they picked the actual best or most memorable tracks from each game and then included samples that were longer than 15 seconds, but then I guess they'd have to do some actual work.  The whole feature is rubbish.

I think it's really difficult to pick ten.  I think they did a good job.  I think 8-bit era games would be the hardest to have to pick just ten.  While there are maybe two games that don't belong, I think they did a great job in the honorable mention category making sure they covered most of everything.  The placing is so subjective, but at least they have all the important ones there!

Mike Tyson's Punch Out has no business up there. Contra was awesome. Wizards and Warriors was great. Shadowgate was meh...Deja Vu and Uninvited had better soundtracks for point and click games (and SG had that annoying music when your torch was about to die) Dr. Mario...I could make a decent argument for, but isn't the first thing to come into my head. Haven't heard Blades of Steel. Mario and Zelda are icons, but no way they deserved the top spots (I never liked the Zelda theme all that much) No arguments against Castlevania...Other than CV3 pwns it. I always thought Metroid was overrated, but it's a good choice, if just for the Kraid's hideout music. Yay for Tecmo Super Bowl getting an HM. That game had just one hook after another.

But no Megaman or Ninja Gaiden? That's ridiculous. Many I could make a decent case for, but those two would have been the focus of such a list. Also surprising...No Final Fantasy 1.

I actually think it's rather dumb to try and pick a top 10 when there are SO many wonderful soundtracks! Although I'm sure they did it simply because people have a thing for top 10 lists... I actually think the games they picked were very good, but then again I could easily pick plenty of other games which also had superb soundtracks.

cheers,

-avatar!

From the NES era....

I can't start at 10 and work backwards. I don't think that way, so I'll start at #1. And I'll keep things locked by series. If I think of a game from a series, then logically, I should include the others next to it. I can't understand placing CV III at number one and then having another game from the same series somewhere else on the list.

1. Castlevania III
1a. Castlevania
1b. Castlevania II

Wicked Child is my favorite 8 bit song, but CV III has a better soundtrack overall, ranking in at #1 out of the entire 8 bit library in my opinion.

2. Ninja Gaiden II
2a. Ninja Gaiden

The music from those 2 games makes me feel like going crazy; it increases my adrenaline. I was the happiest 14 year old alive when I used to access the sound test in NG II. I actually can't hum a single tune from NG III, since I never owned that one when I was younger.

3. Madara

Considering the fact I wasn't aware of Madara till about age 25, I never played this one nor could I have. Being affected emotionally by the music does not require any memories of having played the game, not with music like this.

4. Mega Man II
4a. Mega Man III
4b. Mega Man

I'm not familiar with MM music past part III. I know I've heard some of it, but I can't recall any. The first 3 are what I know and remember. Part II, especially, is rather important. The fact that IGN did not place it within the top 5, at least, indicates their taste in good music is rather poor.

5. Batman

I dream, I mean, I have dreams about a boxed set of arranged music from this game. The melodies are very strong and, well, extremely cool. I haven't played this game for years, but I still find myself humming the music.

6. Lifeforce

A.K.A. Salamander. I had a significant amount of play time with this one, since it allowed 2 players at once. Part of the reason is the amount of exposure, but I imagine this would affect me emotionally like Madara did, regardless. Playing the game in this case is not a prerequisite.

7. Legend of Zelda
7a. Adventure of Link

I don't see why I need to spend time explaining my decision to put Zelda on the list.

Now things are becoming difficult...I didn't have any problems choosing the first 7.

8. Metal Gear

The main music that plays when you start in the forest is what gets me. I have, in the past, put that on repeat and lost track of time. The other songs are good, but the forest song is one of the best 8 bit songs overall.

9. Double Dragon II
9a. Double Dragon

I've never played part 3, nor have I even heard the music. The DDII AST is a dream come true, producing sonic orgasms on demand. It's like a droud (from Ringworld), a device that releases endorphins 24/7. Hot damn. Anyway, DD1 is just as good and I would love to have an AST of the same caliber as part II.

10. Contra
10a. Super Contra

Konami, yet again, continues to please. Contra just has wicked hardcore mad melodies. I don't know how to describe this music, other than the fact it makes me want to go crazy, like with Ninja Gaiden.

SORRY...LO SIENTO...

Hey, don't feel bad. You guys were good, but the guys above, well, they were better. Thanks for coming! See you next time!

Rush 'n Attack
Jackal
Adventures of Bayou Billy
Gradius (I know it's related to Lifeforce, but I don't consider them the same series)
Lagrange Point
River City Ransom
Gauntlet
Kid Icarus
Metroid
Super Mario Bros. (1, 2, 3)
TMNT
Strider
Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Sweet Home
Rygar
Faxanadu
Final Fantasy (1, 2, 3)
Wizards and Warriors
Megami Tensei
Bubble Bobble
Daiva
Famicom Detective Club (1, 2)
Fire Emblem
Mysterious Castle of Murasame
Mother

I think I started to zone out when they included Punch Out on the list. The only thing I remember from that game is the fighting track, which played over. And over. And over. And over. And over again.

It's practically blasphemy they didn't include a Megaman game (I'd pick 5, but both 2 and 3 are top-notch as well). Then again, it's IGN. Whenever they focus on videogame music, hysterics almost always ensue.

Don't forget the retirement music (after you're KOed 3 times). Touching piece, but it's about 14 seconds long! The ingame music was pretty typical stuff, though it works good as an arrangement.

Megaman II as an honorable mention was pretty bad, I guess, but to be honest, my own list, done completely honestly would be the six Megaman titles, the three Super Marios, and River City Ransom, if only I can't remember music from any other games on the NES.

GAH! I hated that game... but in my defense, I was really bad at it. I heard Tyson was especially tough to beat but I'd never know as I never got back the second rank of fighters.

Hahaha, man, what a bunch of poppycock. IGN really knows their stuff. It should be interesting to see how the other lists shape up (or shit out).

It is obvious even from the majority of the comments on the IGN Boards that ommitting MM2 is tantamount to VGM treason. Bunch of idiots.

Also, I would have liked to see some TMNT (any of the three) in there.

With this abysmal list, I don't know if I can even stomach their selections for the next consoles.  Where the f*** is Blaster Master or even Startropics?!  Mike Tyson's Punch-Out?!  That had like one track!  This just confirms my belief that VGM should be left to those who know it best (us).

If memory serves, Startropics was one of the last NES games, and also one of the best! It was like Zelda, only it took place in the modern world, and your yo-yo attack was cool There was even a Startropics 2!! Great stuff...

cheers,

-avatar!

lol, nothing to add
Later,

Alcahest

IGN has made my list of top ten websites not to take seriously.

I agree. I do subscribe to IGN Insider because the high res movies and the occasional Insider exclusive and high res videos are worth the annual $20 to me, but I have trouble actually taking the site seriously. Ever since they gave God Hand a 3.0 (come on...) I have been able to trust their opinions whenever any amount of subjectivity is involved. Sometimes they have cool features and articles, but unless it's straight up fact, most of the time it's crapola.

I would've liked to have seen Bionic Commando make the list.  Area 2 is godly.  Maybe my single favorite 8-bit tune.  The rest of the soundtrack is awesome as well.

I'm actually holding out some hope in that regard since they say 'original console game soundtracks'.  Even so, I can already tell how predictable it'll be.  I guarantee SOTN, Chrono Cross, FF7 and maybe PaRappa just to show how keen they are.  They may not have any Saturn soundtracks at all (if they do, it'll be Nights, Dragon Force, or one of the Panzer Dragoon scores) and they probably won't have any N64 soundtracks except for Zelda OOT, and in a less likely scenario, Mario 64 as well.  Zelda will surely be there for the simple reason that in the general view, Zelda HAS to be on any list of best things ever, or else the world shall crumble.

16-bit would probably be the hardest for me.  There are a fair number of worthwhile Genesis soundtracks and the SNES/Super Famicom by itself has a boatload of good scores.  Since I also think it was the most experimental and revolutionary period in VGM, I'd have a tougher time coming up with the ten best versus other eras.

Who wants to bet that the top 3 for 16-bit will be Super Mario World, Sonic the Hedgehog, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past in some order? :P

I bet there's going to be barely any, if any at all, PC Engine representation too. They'll probably ignore Neo Geo as well.

Yeah knowing IGN I'm sure FF VII is a lock for #1.

Ha ha, perhaps.  All good soundtracks to be sure, but top ten caliber?  I have more respect for the Lttp soundtrack than I did in the past, but I'm not sure if it'd make my top ten.  It's a very crowded field.  I think Sonic 2 is a top ten caliber soundtrack, but given how the 8-bit list unfolded, they'll probably avoid the sequels when it comes to the most popular series.  They better make an exception for FFVI though.  I'm sure that Chrono Trigger will be there as well.  It's always there, almost to the point where it bothers me.  I think Mitsuda is a Sith Lord.

I was wondering about the PC Engine as well.  If it's technically considered an 8-bit system, then would the Super CD stuff like Rondo, Thunder series, and Valis series be eligible for 16-bit consideration?

That will be interesting to see.  I think SOTN might actually get it, though if not, it'll be in the top three for sure.  Anyways, I'm still surprised by how they picked FFVII as the number one pick in their 'games as art' list, so your prediction might be right.