Tony hawks pro skater series and gta vice city mostly

Tony Hawks proskater.

Do the Guitar Hero games count? Because those

lol… genuinely, DOOM. I grew up with just the radio and a mom who made weird and arbitrary rules about music so my music exposure was terrible. I found a journal from when I was ten talking about how excited I was to listen to the “top ten soft rock hits” of the week with Delilah. Hearing DOOM and going omfg this ROCKS!! made me realize there was other music out there, big music, epic sounds, distortion, heavvvvvy sounds I love it all, I’m also a bass head as it turns out. DOOM opened the door and I’ve spent my adult life exploring all the different kinds of music I never got exposed to as a kid.

Chrono Trigger.

If you put the install disk for Warcraft 2 in a cd player, you had a kick ass orchestral soundtrack.

Fallout Soundtrack is the only reason I know who the ink spots are.

Both let me appreciate styles I had never given a chance.

I honestly think FF7 made get into classical music and contemporary composers.

SuperTux

Pick any game in the Final Fantasy series. For me it was the overworld in FF6 and the battle songs from VII and VIII. I Also really vibed with the Uncharted games, which used an orchestra of interesting folk instruments to create a really cool musical soundscape for adventure.

Megaman 2 aka Rockman 2, baby! So good.

Skate and Destroy, Tony Hawks Pro Skater, GTA 3/Vice City/SA.

Also numerous PSX games are the reason I still listen to that old school drum & bass.

Later, Guitar Hero games.

Need for Speed Underground 2!! All songs were awesome, my favorites were the Riders on the Storm with Snoop and Nobody by Skindred

Myst and Riven. Became homework music for a long time

FF9, Vamo' alla Flamenco taught me I really like spanish guitar.

Damn, I can't believe Halo CE hasn't been mentioned yet. That game was a musical awakening for the entire industry.

StarCraft’s iconic Terran soundtrack is the earliest game where the music really got me hooked into that 80’s synth rock/metal. Of course there’s also Mick Gordon’s Doom soundtracks, but that came in later and I was already listening to metal by that time.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Kingdom Hearts II, and GTA San Andreas all come to mind. Also a more recently Lethal League and Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

Dave Mirra's Freestyle BMX

Everything from Supergiant is fantastic, worth a listen even if you don't play the games. Also, Burnout Revenge had such a good soundtrack. Completely shaped my preference for music in highschool.

Red Alert 2. I did not know what metal was up to then.

Valkyrie Profile and Golden Sun were my introduction to prod-rock (thanks to Motoi Sakuraba).

The 3D zelda games.

That was the point where I prefered soundtracks over singing. I still have the Twilight Princess trailer mp3 I cut almost 20 years ago on my running playlist.

That and the score for Battle for Wesnoth. Classic freeware, peak 2006.

Mass Effect 1's credit outro song led to a rabbit hole of me getting into electronic music over the next six months. It's not even super dancey but it was enough lol

Hotline Miami.

Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask were pretty foundational for me. I think the fact that playing an instrument was a central game mechanic was a big part of that.

Others that come to mind would be gens 1-3 of Pokémon. Pretty much every track in all of these games are iconic.

Diablo/Diablo 2

Though this tune isn't quite part of their soundtrack (that I know of), it highly resembles their style on this otherwise hidden track...

Dawn Of Tears - Blood On Verona (Hidden track timestamp 11:43)...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63WxrVmquJw&t=703s

Not an awakening per se but Splinter Cell Chaos Theory introduced me to Amon Tobin and the world of weird, experimental electronic music.

ducktales, maniac mansion, and shadowgate on the nes

oh and secret of mana (but especially secret of mana ~ banished)

The Sims building music: A great example of music improving the experience without getting in the way but still making a big impact on all players. It opened the door for more instrumental music like Windham Hill records and similar.

Symphony of the night of course, bust before that also games like streets of rage (1,2) and thunder force 4.

I was in a hospital for a few days when I was 8-year-old. I was not allowed to leave my bed. But they had a kind of a moveable shelf with a TV and NES on it.

And therefore, to this day, I've got the Bubble Bobble music as an earworm. A kind of an awakening, right? 🙃

Guitar hero literally got me into real guitar so probably that one

Portal 2. Absolute banger of a soundtrack that I have listened to over and over, and I absolutely loved Exile Vilify by The National, which frustratingly is not on Spotify.

I always liked electronic music but Machinarium made me consciously realize how much I liked ambient music and how much could be done with it.

One Winged Angel, Sephiroth's theme from Final Fantasy 7 blew my mind! I did a report on it in high school I loved it so much!

Ocarina of Time Need for Speed

hey. you asked.

Mick Gordon's music in Wolfenstien and Doom. In particular, his version of the Partisan, Blazco Kill the Nazis, and of course, The Only Thing They Fear is You. That was what allowed me to get into metal.

Adding a few more to my list.

Spyro (PS1) - Stewart Copeland's genius cannot he understated, and subsuqently got me into his original band The Police (I'm seennddinngg out an S O S)

Final Fantasy VII and IX both sound tracks I go back to frequently

Kingdom Hearts definitely started my love for JPop

Lots of songs from Tony Hawk (the PS1 era)

need for speed underground for obvious reasons

Stubbs the zombie got me into indie rock

Morrowind for sure.

Test Drive 5 and Hades. Two musical awakenings about 25 years apart.

Both have fantastic sound tracks, but also wildly different.

Jet Set Radio (+Future) soundtrack goes hard. Most of the tracks are still on my favorites playlists

Beat Saber custom charts were how I discovered Vylet Pony, who was my favorite artist throughout my teen years.

The Chris Huelsbeck soundtracks on the C64. Turricane, Giana Sisters, etc. They were a real game changer in a dimension you kids can't even imagine.

I don't know if it was necessarily an awakening, but I've had the music from Super Mario Brothers in my head for 40 years. It's so damn catchy.

Underrated game: A Hat in Time.

Super Mario Bros 3.

That airship theme.

Journey Escape one of the og music in a video game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_Escape

Journey Escape for the Atari 2600 plays "Don't Stop Believin'" on the title screen and during the ending sequence when you successfully complete the game. I was 4.... lol.

Chrono Cross!

Wondering if Project Mirai DX would also count....

Morrowind & Skyrim. Nothing really comes close to Jeremy Soule's music.

I still listen to the Riven soundtrack, 29 years later. It's so rich and atmospheric, and composed and performed by one of the game's co-designers Robyn Miller.

Everything about that game was beautiful. Still holds up today.

Homestuck is more webcomic than videogame, but it did its best to blur the line. It introduced me to the genre of chip music. I got pretty involved in that and even made a few tracks that were released on netlabels (and lots more that weren't).

For a proper video game, Doom 2016. The genre is called "argent metal" by enthusiasts.

There are actually many but this is the first one that came to my mind:

SUTEKI DA NE (Final Fantasy X)

Edit for additions:

• On the Beach of Dreams - Another World (Chrono Cross)
• Tsuisou no Despair (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Hou)

I think it was one of the Sim City games... I'm not sure if Sim City 2000 or Sim City DS which really woke me up to certain music genres.

Anyway, yeah, The World Ends With You was truly something with its soundtrack. Was such a cool surprise when I first played it on the NDS.

Undertale and Celeste for me for sure

So many

Half life.

Thief 1/2

Wing Commander 3

I may have a sweet spot for industrial music.

Although I still have Journey To Silius's OST burned into my head, there have been plenty of very influential games, in no particular order -

Super Mario RPG

Chrono Trigger

FFVII

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

Jet Set Radio (and Future)

Grand Theft Auto (Vice City and San Andreas, I only listened to talk radio in 3)

Stepmania

These days, I feel a little calcified but it's always nice when I turn on a game and see artists I know.

Quite a few for me:

• OneShot: The melancholic music blends with the atmosphere of the game and its really good.
• OxenFree: On its own, it's good. But when playing the game, it really helps sell the ambience. Also, first soundtrack I've ever listened to that had encoded messages in it.
• Celeste: Really helps represent Madeline's emotions and mental state.
• A Hat in Time: Some of the orchestras in the soundtrack are really good, almost rivaling Nintendo. Some of them are a vibe too.

Both the OST and gameplay Jetset Radio Future blew me away as a kid.

Cyberpunk Bomb Rush and it's OST was great experience recently too.

Xenoblade 2, Silent Hill 2

As a kid I would play this asia grinder MMO flyff. Not a good game, but the OST is great, especially the music that would play during login.

Kid me would hear this a lot because I kept forgetting my password...

https://youtu.be/5hkvYlVAwjk

Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.

Might be cheating cause music was one of the core features. I do remember downloading the tracks for each flute melody to use as ringtones.

Also, Byrne's battle theme and the final boss theme go so fucking hard.

Three, very early on in my life:

1. Deus Ex (2000). Synthy classical/techno blend that’s hard to beat thanks largely to Alexander Brandon.

2. Road Rash 95. Loaded with grunge hits from Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Nirvana and more. The bassy chip racing tracks were also awesome.

3. Monsters, Inc.: Scream Team. This one might be slightly cheating since I also watched the movie on loop but jazz/ska is just too damn fun to ignore.

Kingdom Hearts for sure. Has inspired my love of pop and j-pop to a large degree.

Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX, which led me to Pennywise, Dropkick Murphys, and Social Distortion.

Burnout Revenge!

I don't know if it shaped anything but definitely inspired increased listening. Tropico, any version. Those games always have excellent playlists. The music is so good, I could be board with the game and still play because the music drags you in.

Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue! and Final Fantasy VII.

Then later on you obviously have all of the Guitar Heros and Rock Bands (I'm so excited for Stage Tour)

To go a bit newer, I really enjoyed both Death Stranding soundtracks, especially 2. I went on a few months journey of listening to more theatrical/movie OSTs while gaming.

Donkey Kong FFVI (or IV if you're Japanese)

Re/Volt & electronic music

Need for Speed 2.

I think Shogun 2 Total War was an absolute vibe going into traditional Japanese style music. It's same guy that wrote the music for Medieval 2 and made thematic bangers.

My music awakening probably was Midnight Club 2 3 Dub Edition where the music was just a great collection. I used to play Ante Up by M.O.P. a lot, Nine inch nails hand that feeds and general exposure to a lot of good songs.

Star Control 2

Some of the Kirby games? I love Dusk Dunes from Epic Yarn.

Strangely, despite playing many games over the years, and enjoying tons of soundtracks and themes, I don't think any of them awakened any interest that weren't already there. Owing, I suppose, to a pretty diverse exposure in my youth which led to a lot of seeking new genres.

With perhaps this exception:

Civ 4's Warlords Expansion pack.

Al Nadda

The theme is a classic Lebanese folk song called 'Al Nadda', popularized by famed singer and actress Sabah.

It's a catchy little tune that sticks in your head. You can find many variations, including the original (roughly 1963ish), as well as instrumental versions, online. Sometimes it is reimagined in a modern style like this one:

Modern 'Al Nadda'

SSX tricky for the PS2

I've always been into video game music, but as far as awakenings go I would say Lunar Silver Star Story on PS1 because it was the first time I heard original video game music with lyrics. Before that, it was all chiptunes and instrumental stuff, at least that I had seen. That was good. I did play King's Quest 5 long before and it technically also has an original song with lyrics... But it's not something I'd listen to outside of the game.

Paradise Killer: https://kaizengameworks.bandcamp.com/album/paradise-killer-original-soundtrack

Pretty much anything that took full advantage of the SID.

I don't think I ever had a game introduced me to a genre. They e only reinforced what I already loved. Capcom had the Techno, House, and a lot of other electronic music in their fighting games. GTA always had popular music from every genre, but Vice City asserted my love for New Wave. Mir y games eventually went all DnB, so more electronic. Megaman X2 had a soundtrack that's basically Metal with the feel of Jazz and Funk. Those bass lines and drums were stupid incredible.

The only genre that I can think of that I heard first with video games would be Classical/orchestral music. Zelda was the main culprit, but even Star Fox had that drumline feel with a commanding execution of its trumpets. Those horns give me chills to this day.

I still listen to a lot of tracks I have only ever heard on the Burnout Paradise soundtrack.

For me, it was a combination in middle school: replaying Sonic 2 on the Genesis, Extreme-G on N64, and re-affirmed with XGRA on Xbox.

All of the OST from The Last Guardian, espeically the ending of the game.

Omg, i have never cried so hard for a game until i went to the ending, that was an emotional roller coster for me.

The world ends with you is up there. I just started replaying it and the music is top fucking notch!

Space Harrier, arcade

720, arcade

Sega Arcade Soundtrack - After Burner 2 OST Track 06 - City 202 DSP Enhanced

Wipeout 2097(XL in the US) - PSX

So, about Cyberfunk Bombrush...and Jet Set...

Thank you Naganuma-San et al

Rolando, which was a little platformer on the early iphone. Music by Mr. Scruff.

I don't know about an awakening, but Wuthering Waves has some really really good music. Not sure if it's the emotional aspect of the story that makes the impact of the song greater, but I've never found myself downloading game music before like I do now.

They seem to put a lot of effort into music. I'm not about to argue that this is the greatest song ever, but they made this for a freaking side quest that's off the beaten path and you're never directed towards it, no one tells you to go do this so it's something many many people just don't even experience and yet they made this:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xsUKWv1KFWs

Better song, one of my favorites:

https://youtu.be/iLiXuLD2IVA

This one had people crying, but I think it's a case of just needing to know the story for it to mean anything:

https://youtu.be/p4tTkC9uRvU

I never would have listened to this kind of music even 2 years ago lol

I maintain that Pokemon XD has the most underrated soundtrack of all time.