The last iconic video game theme - and also why I think it's Skyrim's

[I'm Retarded?]

I think an iconic theme, at least in terms of consensus opinion, is kind of hard to nail down in the modern era, since gaming as an industry and a hobby is so fractured. I think normies would readily recognize shit like Skyrim, The Witcher 3, or Doom 2016 (gag). Undertale also seems to be pretty popular. but for nerds like me, and I assume many of the people in this thread, experiences with gaming go so much further and deeper than that, that I think your favorite videogame music has more to do with where your tastes are. that said, I think Final Fantasy XIV is a very strong contender, as it's very popular, in ongoing development, and the music is something widely celebrated by its community. here are some boss themes from the current expansion that I would consider "iconic", at least among FFXIV nerds like me:

Spoiler

https://youtube.com/watch?v=XP0mZbpndFoI challenge anyone to find a midi theme that slaps harder than Descent.

I love Descent but this gaming era is full of killer MIDI soundtracks:

Spoiler

and that's just on PC. consoles obviously have stuff like the Final Fantasies and Goldeneye/Perfect Dark, among many others.

Oh, there's plenty of great video game music.
Apparently, in terms of time listened, video game music is the most popular kind of music out there and has been for years.
It's just that there are so many games out there that a game score can be really known and "iconic" among 2 million people and still be niche to everyone else.
For example, here's a track I like that I've never heard anybody talk about.
Very catchy shit:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=-h5snZTfoEA

both Hotline Miami games have absolutely killer soundtracks. the one that stuck with me the most was the level clear screen music from the sequel:

Now here's a good contender that totally escaped me as I was writing and honestly I'm surprised it hasn't been posted yet.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=QHRuTYtSbJQ
As a matter of fact, this game's entire soundtrack spawned a subgenre that other artists emulate.

Mick Gordon fucking sucks and this is one of his worst tracks. I have no idea why people idolize it so much. it's barely more coherent than random noise, it almost sounds like an AI-generated electro-metal track. I guess if you just bash against drums and electric guitars wildly enough people will eventually confuse it for something that "GOES SO HARD". REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

 

[HyperboreanRightsActivist]

 

[Jewthulhu]

The Battlefield Theme, and its iterations, are fairly iconic

Also, I've seen this one used in memes and shit

 

[Jeff_the_Thriller]

and that's just on PC. consoles obviously have stuff like the Final Fantasies and Goldeneye/Perfect Dark, among many others.

Goldeneye was definitely iconic. You could play a track and I can tell you the level. I think that's what gives it that iconic status. Perfect Dark had a banger soundtrack but nowhere near as memorable as Goldeneye.

both Hotline Miami games have absolutely killer soundtracks. the one that stuck with me the most was the level clear screen music from the sequel:

That track is on my workout playlist. I'm absolutely shit at Hotline Miami but the soundtrack is killer.

 

[I'm Retarded?]

You could play a track and I can tell you the level.

 

[Asian tech support]

Post any examples of iconic pieces made in the 2010s and beyond.

None of you read that part.

 

[vomitusdeux]

None of you read that part.

Okay I'll do better then. The game might have been hot dog poop at launch but it's actually pretty decent now. The entire OST is great and multigenre. I'll die on this hill.

 

[Asian tech support]

Okay I'll do better then. The game might have been hot dog poop at launch but it's actually pretty decent now. The entire OST is great and multigenre. I'll die on this hill.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=WoaciaBBCvc

I haven't played Cyberpunk since before it got "fixed" but the soundtrack was good and the radio was a highlight. Whatever station played this song was my go to.

 

[vomitusdeux]

I haven't played Cyberpunk since before it got "fixed" but the soundtrack was good and the radio was a highlight. Whatever station played this song was my go to.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=FV3_G3NDCPg

I wouldn't listen to this kind of thing on my own, but these two are the ones I play full blast while driving recklessly. They just really make me feel so in character.

 

[I'm Retarded?]

Okay I'll do better then. The game might have been hot dog poop at launch but it's actually pretty decent now. The entire OST is great and multigenre. I'll die on this hill.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=WoaciaBBCvc

can confirm Cyberpunk fucking owns now. CDPR has officially stopped development on it completely now, so if you haven't played it or bounced off of it, now is a great time to try it. the expansion, Phantom Liberty, also fucking owns. I normally loathe open world busywork games but CP2077 has a special spot in my heart. it's difficult to showcase specific parts of the soundtrack because a lot of it, especially the stuff that plays during the big story missions, are context-sensitive loops and snippets. the album version is definitely weaker than how it sounds in-game.

 

[vomitusdeux]

stuff that plays during the big story missions, are context-sensitive loops and snippets. the album version is definitely weaker than how it sounds in-game.

Hole in the sun doesn't hit the same when meredith stout isnt pegging V

can confirm Cyberpunk fucking owns now. CDPR has officially stopped development on it completely now, so if you haven't played it or bounced off of it, now is a great time to try it.

This is 100% truth and I want everyone to try it again now that it's not the absolute mess it was at launch and for like a year afterward.

 

[sasazuka]

The most recent game I have that a good percentage of people with a console or gaming PC have likely played is Grand Theft Auto V.

Obviously, there's the main theme, "Welcome to Los Santos", but the piece of original, non-licensed music I find to be most memorable in the game is actually the "Flying Theme", heard whenever you're flying a helicopter or airplane.

 

[Hongourable Madisha]

Danganronpa and Persona have great weird jazzy soundtracks. There's also some good Bond-inspired stuff in Evil Genius 2 and I Expect You To Die.

I think Stellaris is the most recent game I played where the soundtrack was interesting and memorable: it reminded me of Christopher Tin's work on Civ, but it was its own thing. Very much captured the feel of hard sci-fi and grand exploration and strategy.

 

[¨¨¨]

The (now discontinued) Medal of Honor franchise was renowned for it's excellent OST (not to mention that it popularized the WW2 FPS genre that resulted in the creation of Call of Duty) :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdIO0aYKZ2E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E55CXNfMTgk

 

[Daddy's Angry Juice]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=uXcWxw7UHME
Halo 3 in every way possible.

Whelp that was a quick thread.

 

[Patrick Bait-man]

CS2, despite being worse than CS:GO, has a pretty solid and memorable theme.

 

[._.]

I was gonna put Megalovania but someone beat me to it, but thinking about it I spent so many hours as a kid in this game and its maybe one of my favorites I guess, I remember this theme in particular and looking at some character and hearing 'Speak quickly traveler' in that gruff voice.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

One of the rare examples of truly iconic post-90s video game themes, I believe, is Skyrim's "Dragonborn", composed by Jeremy Soule.

Skyrim has a good one. Post-90's is a pretty wide range, so there's definitely some more, but they are rarer.

Here's a couple of the most iconic themes that come to mind, though the first is not an opening theme.

Ace Attorney's Objection theme:

Kingdom Hearts' Title theme:

 

[Power Ranger Monster]

Well other than the aforementioned DOOM tune and Megalovania, that Super Mario Odyssey theme comes close.

Edit: The Persona 5 one too come to think of it

 

[Chris_Stuckmann]