I remember doing this over at SlightlyDark years ago, thought we might be able to try it out here. It's simple! Pick any track from a video game soundtrack/release or rip, original or arranged and highlight it for the audience. Submit the artist name (if you know it), the game it originates, and provide an explanation about the track and why it stands out to you. I'll begin!

"Mission to the Deep Space" by Motoi Sakuraba from Star Ocean Till the End of Time Original Soundtrack Vol.2

Has a progressive-rock style like Sakuraba is known for but "Mission to the Deep Space" sounds like it's name insists beginning with a guitar and sax journey into orbit before entering into a conflict where the instruments portray the hardship of the endeavor. Having three parts: a blast off, a conflict, and a denoument, it's a blast of a listening experience and some superb guitar and other instrumentals apart Sakuraba including a "crabby" saxophone performance by Shigeo Fuchino makes it one of the notable and stand-apart tracks on the disc(s).

EDIT: I probably should've posted this in the "Game" category.

"Rumbling on the City" from King of Fighters 96 Arrange

This is the Neo Geo original arrange with a live band, complete with drums, bass, synth and at least one guitarist (I think the last part may have been overdubbed) and it comes out smelling rosy. It's a rocker that features an underlying, recognizable riff from start to finish  (SNK fans who know this piece know which one I'm talking about), which occasionally becomes the melody in the piece and morphs several times between the two. Best part is the last 40 seconds or so, where it becomes the melody and has a last minute key change (ala Vixen) to build excitement, but a guitar solo is played overtop of it as well. This is basically what I want to hear on the Megaman arrange...guitar tones that are warm and versatile and neither too light or too heavy (reminds me a lot of Slash), bass and drums that get the job done and are clearly defined and mixed in well...the one nitpick is I think the synth in the lead could have been greatly minimized, as it's kind of generic.

"Demo 1" by Toshihiko Horiyama from Rockman X4
This is a real simple track but man do I love it... Horiyama totally nails the idea of mistrust in the conversation between X/Zero and the Colonel of the Repliforce following the Sky Lagoon incident. At the same time however, it cleverly avoids that full-blown feel of treachery as we all know there is someone (gee... who could it be) that is orchestrating things from afar.

"Leon with Claire" by either Masami Ueda or Shusaku Uchiyama or Syun Nishigaki from Bio Hazard 2
This piece plays when Leon and Claire meet up in the S.T.A.R.S. room in the Raccoon City Police department. Personally I forgot about this piece piror to picking up the OST and I'm glad it wasn't cut and only on the Complete Track album. Anyway, this piece seamlessly weaves hope, despair and hope again into one complete, cohisive experience and reminds me tracks for cut scenes can sometimes rule.

"Pulse Phaze", Yu Miyake - RIDGE RACERS direct audio

Best. Song. Ever.

Audhumla -- from Ar tonelico

I think the lyrics to the song write the review for itself...

Causin' much mayhem, droppin' drama
Radical rebel with a need to bomb-a
Fake MC dare not hang 'em higher
The mic is mine, time to pay the piper
Crime an' rhyme goin' on as I kick them
You an' the beat hold trait as the victim
Maniac, as I cut the balances
Supreme, with the war and challenges

We all knew it from the DDR song "Put Your Faith In Me." But here it is in Ar tonelico. Weeee!!!

I think the usage of crappy American hip-hop here would later inspire the Persona 3 OST.

Ramza

"The Liberation Of Gracemeria" from ACE COMBAT 6

This is the best orchestral VGM ever. Save for the initial one or two minutes where a clarinet and bassoon play rather a dull melody on the arppeggiating strings, almost everything else is really stunning. The most memorable trombone melody ever! The most effective orchestral hit use ever! The least jarring contrabass slap use ever! My absolute favorite part however is the drum fill-in at 3:41 and its subsequent key change from where violins/violas start to take over the lead. After those epic, heroic and uplifting moments, a french horn and a trumpet plays the same melody, yet in a more melancholic way. That adds another color and character to the track.

My major problem is the rest of the soundtrack doesn't utilize this wonderful motive fairly well (instead another theme was called "Main Theme", despite it being a generic Eastern Europe classic music imitation). That boys soprano song also underwhelmed the crap out of me. Someday, someday, this track will be re-rendered in the same formula as "The Unsung War" or "Zero". Just thinking about it makes me pumped up. Then, I face the reality, and get depressed.

There's an interesting variation of those lyrics on the song "TOMBOY [huge side]" from the Street Fighter 3 New Generation Original Arrange Album. They go:

Causin' much mayhem, droppin' drama
Radical rebel with a need to bomb-a
Fake MC dare not hang 'em higher
The mic is mine, time to pay the piper
Quicker-picker up you like Bounty
Born and raised in Ishikawa-kan county (not sure about the name)
Mic is the omen raising hell like Damien
Punch through your chest like the creature in Alien

Yeah, it sounds as bad as it reads I still love it, though. I've heard one of these variations on the Capcom Fighting Jam soundtrack as well.

Same lyrics / rap-samples are also in Higashino's JUNK ! JUNK JUNK ! track on Moonlight Shadow album.

And somewhat I remember Sakuraba sampling same stuff also in SO3 on those Bitter Dance tracks, could be wrong.

And I really would want to know in what library these samples are from. And it's fun to found the same stuff used by different composers in different games

Is this sample some kind of joke between game musicians or something?

I would but I'm unable to rise to the level of the rest of you.

Sorry.

-Joshua

?

Gonna cull from one of my "archives" post, cleaned up a bit.

Final Fantasy VIII's "FORCE YOUR WAY", by Nobuo Uematsu and The Black Mages

Quote from Adam Corn's Soundtrack Central review of the Final Fantasy VIII OST:

"The boss battle music "Force Your Way" uses some coolly melodic cascading of a catchy electronic pulsing sample, as well as some nice keyboard hooks and guitar melodies."

That's FYW in a nutshell.  As awesome as the original is, the backing instruments lacked a certain 'oomph' that always held it back. The beat and drum samples were admittedly weak, and the guitar parts could've been so much more. When I'd heard that the song was to be featured on the "The Black Mages" - an album that boasted hard rock arrangements of FF battle tunes - I was beside myself with excitement. Finally, here was a chance for Force Your Way to reach its true potential. Not only did TBM's version meet my expectations by remedying all the problems that plagued the original, it also exceeded it, creating the perfectly-balanced piece that I'd always envisioned it to be.

A wavy, almost dream-like intro proceeds to explode into the song proper.  Sweet axe chipping combines with said electronic pulsing sample, which has faithfully been restored here in all its cascading glory.  I know I've downplayed the organ instrument in several Black Mages pieces, but with Force Your Way, it's an apt trademark of the original.  The original synth melody is replaced by a slammin' lead guitar at [0:59], which really lays down that Toccata & Fugue-esque riff. 

[1:23] I've always liked this particular moment of the song, where the time sig fluctuates to a slower speed, only to immediately pick up again. What follows is some chaotically-badass improvisation work; that organ is flying, and the screaming banshee-like guitar keeps up surprisingly well as accompaniment. On first impression, I thought this part dragged on a bit long, but now it's one of my most favorite parts of the piece. [2:15] means it's time to come out of that wild musical tunnel, and into the absolute most crucial part of the song.  Here, it's make or break time; if they screwed this part up, the entire piece would've effectively been a wash.  The pounding percussion and lead guitar take center stage, while the second beat loop is subdued at [2:56], continuing with the constant pattern changes that we've come to expect of the song. The synth and guitar play against each other for the final segment at [3:07], soaring into a reprisal of the opening at [3:20] and bringing the song full circle as it segues into a final throwback of the Tocatta melody.  In short, they pulled it off flawlessly.