Top 7- Musical moments in gaming

The final of my music moment Top 7 trilogy. I'm going for a Toy Story 3 instead of Godfather 3 with this one because gaming is one medium where music is both important and awesome to listen to. As I shall show with the following 7 tracks.

7. SSX Tricky- It's tricky

Starting off with a song that is pretty great in it's own right, this was the theme tune to one of the best sports games I've ever played. It perfectly suits the game with it's cheesy, yet effortlessly stylish elements that mean you can be playing anything while listening to this and still feel like a badass. It just so happens that this song is best listened to while shredding down a slope on a snowboard looking at the ridiculous get up your character was wearing. It's a song that's pretty ridiculous for a ridiculous game that go together ridiculously well.

6. Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure- Samba Carnival

Two of my favourite things are rhythm games and the Professor Layton series of games. This combines the two into a beautiful and criminally under appreciated game that had many a brilliant moment, from the heartwarming to the funny. But my favourite song from the game would have to be this Samba de Amigo homage. It was a strange mission that didn't really fit in with the whole game but it was still enjoyable and has a song that I'll constantly be nodding my head to. The only shame about it was how few people actually played the game. But if you ever get a chance, you must play this game.

5. Saints Row the Third- Power/ Penthouse takeover

Saints Row the third was one of (if not the most) ridiculous games to have ever been birthed by the gaming industry. This mission was pretty tame compared to the rest of the game but it just made you feel like a badass. It starts with your (inevitably ridiculous) character jumping from a helicopter into a party penthouse. You arrive, punching party goers in the balls and looking for the people you came here for. After this, you call up your crew, ready for one final shootout against the gang. The whole thing has an amplified weird factor with this song from Yeezus, God of music himself, Kanye blaring the whole time. It was a moment that occurred in the first two hours of my lengthy play through but one that still stays with me, even after all the ridiculous events, scripted and unscripted, that came later.

4. Bastion- End credits

Bastion was one of the most original and charming little indie games I had ever played when I played it. It had beautiful graphics, thought provoking story and, most of all, it had a killer soundtrack. I could have chosen any number of moments here. Hell, I could have filled a list with moments from this game but in the end it could only be this one. You finish the game and you get this song with little extracts from almost every song in the whole game and some singing from the narrator as well. It ties the whole emotional core of the game together and has not yet failed to give me goosebumps when I listen to it. Truly, a beautiful moment for a game that is beyond beautiful.

3. Hotline Miami- Horse Steppin

Another stellar indie game that continues to blow people away with it's style, soundtrack and pixelated form of ultra-violence. It had a beautiful kind of chaos in it's 80s style and it could also be pretty disturbing. But this one track summed it all up. Listening to it kind of brings you into this weird synth trance that you can't escape from. It's beautiful and you don't want to leave yet there is a sinister undertone. This is here because while the song may be weird, it sums up the game perfectly. I just hope the soundtrack for the second one will be just as good.

2. Sonic the Hedgehog- Green Hill zone

Now ain't this one just the classic. Sure, it's not the most classic of video game songs (that'll be coming up any minute now) but it's stellar even over 20 years later. It's the type of song that is instantly recognizable and instantly classic without even needing some elaborate orchestral score from a big shot composer. It works because it's simple. Admittedly, it's not really simple by design, it's simple because cartridges weren't famous for their storage space. The plus side is that now, it's timeless. It has become something most soundtracks can only dream of becoming: part of history. Speaking of history...

1. Super Mario Bros- Stage 1-1

No one could argue that this isn't one of the greatest songs in all of gaming. It's so iconic that even people who have never played this know the tune. I know it off by heart. Sad? Yes. Worth it? Oh God yes. In almost all of the new Mario bros games, you will find a level where some variation of this song is played, updated and jazzed up each time. But it always has the core, awesome elements. Like I said with the Sonic theme, the restrictions of the cartridge have benefitted it due to the now totally timeless nature of it. I bet you could play anyone this theme and they would at least be able to say Mario or Nintendo, if not the precise game or level (like I can). It's a song that transcends video games, a song that is so perfect, so classic that it is a part of history and, without a doubt, one of the greatest songs in all of Video games. And I have little doubt that it will live on much longer than it already has, to a degree that no one could expect. Or at least, I'd like to think so.