Now that I have booked my place onto Symphonic Fantasies and I am getting ready to see Nobuo Uematsu and others for a second time, I wanted to discuss 10 times that music from video game trailers and soundtracks really blew me away.
10 Prince Of Persia TGS ’08 Trailer
I have to kick this list off with one of the biggest artists currently around at the moment: Sia.
Let me take you back to a simpler time, Ubisoft had not ruined Prince of Persia yet, we were all gearing up for a really exciting TGS 2008 featuring some absolute last generation action classics including Resident Evil 5, Bayonetta and the huge action packed trailers for Street Fighter 4 and Tekken 6.
It was in the midst of all of this that we were hit with the fantastic atmospheric trailer for the Prince Of Persia reboot featuring an equally great track from the then fairly unknown Sia.
9 Gwent Theme – The Witcher 3
Right, The Witcher 3 is a fantastic roleplaying experience full of hours & hours of atmosphere setting music that really gets in you in the mood and immerses you in the game. However, for me, only one song could make it into this list; the theme to Gwent.
There is a very good (and very petty) reason behind this, I sunk a hell of a lot of time into Gwent and every single time my partner heard the opening notes to that song she would let out a very dissatisfied groan. This is why this song in the game quickly became my favourite.
8 All Final Fantasy Victory Themes
Because…. Obviously…
7 Persona 5 Gameplay Trailer
Okay, I know this game isn’t even out yet but it is perhaps my most anticipated title of all time and when this trailer dropped in 2015 I was instantly hyped before the music even began. When that tune first starts to kick in though, this well and truly showed the power of music in a video game trailer. I still don’t know who performed this song but it well and truly sets the tone for what is going to be an incredible game (please don’t delay it any more).
6 Bioshock – Beyond The Sea Trailer
We were torn with this one, so I had to hold an internal poll to decide what we should put as number 6 on this list and it was between this and ”I don’t want to set the world on fire” in the trailer for Fallout 3 but ultimately we were persuaded to go with Bobby Darin’s ”Beyond the Sea” featured in the trailer for the original Bioshock.
This song introduced a young generation to an almost forgotten collection of classics so we would be remiss to not mention it on this list, so have a watch of this trailer… would you kindly?
5 Dishonored – Dunwall City Trials – Dan Bull
This trailer is to thank for my current ongoing obsession with Dan Bull, never before and not since have a heard a song that was written for and fully encapsulated the theme and tones to a trailer.
The lyrics to this track by Dan Bull were written specifically around the previous trailers for Dishonored and just as Dan Bull started to gain worldwide recognition for his parody raps, Bethesda made the fantastic decision to include this on the Dunwall Trials trailer.
4 Kingdom Hearts 2 – Opening Theme
I will forever hold a special place in my heart for the first Kingdom Hearts game, A younger me had passed it off as a ”cash in piece of trash” and refused to play it, however my best friend mentioned it to me more than a few times so I eventually gave it a go and didn’t leave the house for 5 days.
This song is not from that game however, this song is from the sequel. I had very recently bought Kingdom Hearts 2 and could not wait to play it, so I left my house that morning for school with the game in hand. I then proceeded to wait just in view of my front door as I waited for my mum to leave the house for work which is when I snuck back into the house and plugged the PS2 into the big tv and was treated to the opening cinematic to Kingdom Hearts 2. The music accompanying this introduction still fills me with memories of a simpler time right up to this day.
The cheesy backwards lyrics, the lovely little guitar riff; it all screams home and comfort to me. It helps me get to ”My Sanctuary”
3 Xenoblade Chronicles – One who gets in our way.
There’s something about the theme that simply fills you with courage; finally getting the odds in your favour against the almighty Mechonis bosses just feels rewarding, going in for the final slash with the powerful crescendo of pure epicness behind your back is something that can’t be detailed.
2 Assassin’s Creed Revelations – E3 Trailer
I won’t lie, we had a bit of an argument on Respawning about whether the current number one or this incredible tune by the amazingly talented Woodkid should be our number 1. An argument that spanned far longer than we would care to admit, however I threw a hissy fit and got my way, but not before admitting this one should 100% be a very close second and is responsible for an obession with Woodkid I had throughout University.
1 Final Fantasy X History Trailer – Otherworld by The Black Mages
When I initially came up with the idea for this list, this exact trailer was the one I thought of first. For years, I had been delighted by Final Fantasy games on the PS1, but it wasn’t until I heard the opening notes of the Nobuo Uematsu led metal band ”The Black Mages” that I really felt Final Fantasy had entered the modern age.
It was really, REALLY hard to not fill this entire list with music from Final Fantasy (Or even just Final Fantasy X) as all the music from this particular series of games will forever hold a special, comforting place in my heart.
What an apt way to end this list. Come at me Symphonic Fantasies, I am ready to be wow’d all over again.
So what music resonated with you over the years? Let us know in the comments below.
Thanks IGN and YouTube. for some of the videos included on this list.