Music to my Ears (Castle Levels!)

Inspired by Persona 5 and its soundtrack making me say "oh, that's the best shop theme I've ever heard" or "that's the best final boss music I've ever heard!"

The idea of this thread is sharing what you think the "best X theme" is in video games. I've got a few categories in mind for several editions of this and I'll cycle them up every week or so, but eventually I will throw it to the floor for category suggestions. I'm expecting to hear the obvious picks, but I'm hoping for a few niche choices to add to my VGM playlist on YouTube! The game itself could be absolute gash, but we're focusing on the tunes here.

For the sake of the thread potentially taking forever to load, please don't embed the video straight from YouTube - link to them! I'll edit any posts that don't do that, just so you're aware!

But without any further ado, GNamer...

What's the best ice or winter theme in a video game?

I'm going to kick us off with an obvious pick in Phendrana Drifts from Metroid Prime. The plinky piano perfectly presents the icy nature of the level, but the track doesn't lose the sci-fi Metroid stylings either. I don't know what it is with piano and winter areas because off the top of my head, I am Setsuna and Undertale both combine piano and snowy areas. Odd.

Over to you!

List of themes to date:

Best Ice/Winter Themes
Best Final Area Themes
Best Lava Themes
Best Shop Themes
Best Boss Themes
Best Desert Themes
Best Title/Main Themes
Best Vocal Themes
Best First Level/Area Themes
Best Invincibility/Ultimate Power-Up Themes
Best Water Levels Themes
Best Castle Level Themes

Best ice themes?

You're intruding on my shtick, and you're asking me for best ice themes?

DEEP BREATH...:

Grand thread idea by the way.

I know y'all ain't fans of the bleepy-bloops, but Iceman's theme from the original Megaman sticks in my head. I know it's only about 4 seconds long mind.

I've been meaning to do this exact thread for ages . . . looking forward to final boss week!

I'll have a little think and come back with some ice levels in a minute.

Don't worry Jimbobby I'm with ye on the bleepy-bloops & I'm picking the stranded ship stage from Shovel Knight.

Picture of the stage for those who haven't played it.:

It was snowing up here yesterday. SHITE.

Freezeezy Peak and Click Clock Wood from Banjo-Kazooie immediately spring to mind. Great tunes, brilliant ice levels, it's still a classic game.





Yooka-Laylee's ice world soundtrack is a worthwhile follow-up to those as well.



I can't remember if it's from an ice level or just a snow level, but bollocks to it, I've always really liked Alpina Blue from Yoshi's Story too.

Jimbob wrote:

I know y'all ain't fans of the bleepy-bloops, but Iceman's theme from the original Megaman sticks in my head. I know it's only about 4 seconds long mind.

Eh, I can tolerate the bloops so long as they're good bloops.  Those are decent bloops.

The_Jaster wrote:

Don't worry Jimbobby I'm with ye on the bleepy-bloops & I'm picking the stranded ship stage from Shovel Knight.

Of course you are Jas. SK's soundtrack is very hit and miss for me, and I'm afraid that's a miss.  Come 'first levels' week, mind...

The Cappuccino Kid wrote:

...

Freezeezy Peak is an utter classic, and I predict that every B-K level tune will get a deserving place in its own week.  Glitterglaze is much the same, but more subtle: no bad thing.  (Check out the Kartos tune from that world too.)  And more Yoshi's Story is never a bad thing.

Balla wrote:

Of course you are Jas. SK's soundtrack is very hit and miss for me, and I'm afraid that's a miss. Come 'first levels' week, mind...

Hey! I know what I love & I'm going to champion it all damn day plus while there's others I could pick as well that is the first one that came to my mind. As for SK's soundtrack as a whole there's not one song on it that I don't like.

RIGHT.

Obvious it may be, but it would be a travesty not to include this all-time classic from Super Mario 64.

I expect, much like Banjo Kazooie, the 3D Mario games will be  putting in regular appearances.

At a very different end of the spectrum, Snowpeak Ruins from Twilight Princess just feels . . . cold. There's an element of spooky haunted house music here, but it gives me the chills in the best way and makes me long for that special soup.


And to join in with the more plinky plonky numbers, let's have some Snowpoint City from Pokémon Diamond/ Pearl.

My typical Kojima post

I nearly posted that one myself, but I associate it more with the events of MGS than the place. It doesn't sound especially snowy or icey, though it does sound like a cold wind.

Drunkalilly wrote:

Obvious it may be, but it would be a travesty not to include this all-time classic from Super Mario 64.

YASSSSSSSSS

Drunkalilly wrote:

At a very different end of the spectrum, Snowpeak Ruins from Twilight Princess just feels . . . cold. There's an element of spooky haunted house music here, but it gives me the chills in the best way and makes me long for that special soup.

Nah, you're dead on, this feels... not snowy, but genuinely icy.  Like a haunted house that's frozen over.  (Which incidentally would be the worst 2D Mario level ever.)

Drunkalilly wrote:

And to join in with the more plinky plonky numbers, let's have some Snowpoint City from Pokémon Diamond/ Pearl.

I have to say, I'm not a fan of any of the DPPt snowy pieces.  This is probably the least bad, but Route 216 and Mt. Coronet both start well and then balls it up.  This just sounds somewhat atonal and jarring.

Want a great Pokésnowsong?  Get yer ears around Snowbelle City.


Mas' Nontendo thing is pretty good too I suppose.

Someone forgot Twin Snakes

Some great shouts in this thread and I concur with Metroid Prime, Super Mario 64 and Twilight Princess but thought I'd mention some favourites that are a bit more left-field:

There's a very cold, very Russian feel to the snow-based Severnaya levels in Goldeneye 007:

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

A massively underrated soundtrack is the Tony Hawks-esque modern punk from 1080 Avalanche:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljiwp1ucjlQ

But for me, and I know I bang on about it a lot, the best winter game (and given it has a perfect soundtrack too) is Shenmue and there a lot of great pieces that match the cold concrete-heavy, melancholic vibes of a December in Japan:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xq-q30Y-IE

gjones wrote:

There's a very cold, very Russian feel to the snow-based Severnaya levels in Goldeneye 007

Opened that and immediately pissed myself at James' stretched face. I won't unsee that as long as I live.

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But for me, and I know I bang on about it a lot, the best winter game (and given it has a perfect soundtrack too) is Shenmue and there a lot of great pieces that match the cold concrete-heavy, melancholic vibes of a December in Japan

Weeabo that I am, I've still never played a Shenmue but everything I see or hear or read makes me wish I had. Nobody tell Mas that . . .

Right.  RIGHT.  This was my thread, damn it, Jay.  My thread.  Or it should be anyway.  I'm going to show you what ice music really means.  See, ice music in videogames, proper ice music, is so grand it can't possibly be covered in single posts.  Not with some spoiler-tag jiggery pokery.  And I'm talking one spoiler tag per franchise, you understand.  Per franchise.

Let's get started.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

And now for something completely different...:

Spoiler:

Phew!

Oh shit oh shit - as I listened through all of those - certainly for the games I've played - the ice music reminded me of why that particular game was the best game ever.

Balladeer wrote:

Freezeflame is the 'stuck in the Antarctic' kind of music, the kind that has polar explorers bricking themselves.  Frosty Flake, meanwhile, is a romp in your childhood garden, chucking snowballs about.  Both are great in different ways.

I actually went and looked up Freezeflame Galaxy when I was doing my list as I remember the level being very cool. The music is just utterly forgettable, I'm afraid. I listened to it in writing this reply and I've already forgotten it. Freezy Flake is pretty nice though.

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And if you say Ice Mario isn't a guilty pleasure of yours, you're lying.

Nothing guilty about it. TUNE!

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From Frappe Snowland on, Mario Kart has had the jolliest happiest snow pieces.  In fact, some of them don't sound much like snow music at all.  DK's Snowboard Cross doesn't raise thoughts of an alpine holiday to me.  And what's an ape doing with not one, but two, great snow pieces anyway?

They're nice enough, but I generally don't like snow and ice tracks in Mario Kart. Snowboard Cross was alright, but only because it was essentially a skiing version of the mighty DK Mountain.

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The snowboarding minigame music doesn't sound particularly snowy, but who cares?

It's the premise of the thread, mate. The rules are there to facilitate the fun.

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 Or for a more icy piece of music, how about fighting a massive possessed lump of ice, complete with dramatic organ?

That's a bit better.

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Kirby's another one with the good snowy musics.

Now we're talking!

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Mt. Slide

Tune.

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Snowy Fields.

 
Track.

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Frosty Wheel

Bit Pikmin this one, I like it.

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Cozy Cabin

Banger.

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The best Kirby ice music, though, is from a comparatively bad game: Air Ride's Frozen Hillside.  Fortunately it made it into Smash Bros., so we can enjoy it without suffering Kirbs' greatest misstep since.

I've actually heard mixed things, so I want to play Air Ride before I pass judgement. I'm sure it's a 10/10 really. That music is absolutlely cash, though.

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Snowman.
SNOWMAN.
SNOWMAAAAAAAAAAAAAN
Snowman.

Nice enough? I guess I need the context of actually getting around to playing the Mother games.

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The fantastic Xenoblade Chronicles gave us a double helping of great, with Valak Mountain day and night versions.

Yes! Now we're talking. Big fan of XC's music, though not too fussed either way by XCX.
Top of the pops!

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If you're not familiar with BitF, spend an afternoon perusing the archives.  A Nintendo fan won't regret it.

I was never that into it. I mean, it's alright, but . . .
Those tunes were well sung but the lyrics weren't especially funny and I can't really rate the musical worthof Christmas Carols

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And finally, what I'd say is the snow theme to end them all: the Snowmads' Theme.  The most epic piece of music ever dedicated to a tribe of penguins, walruses, and owls ever put into the air.  David Wise you bloody genius.

Can't add much to that. Tropical Freeze's soundtrack was definitely a highlight of the Wii U.

Gents: cheers to you both for listening to all/almost all of the pieces I posted.  I thought I might have brought the thread crashing to a halt with the sheer amount of #content I posted, so I'm glad I haven't.  I just really like games music!

I think the thread description's intentionally a little bit ambiguous, so you/one can post ice-level music even if it isn't immediately wintery-sounding.  At least, I hope that's the case... otherwise, what defines what sounds lava-ish?  My view is, if there's snow/lava in the background, it's fair game.


Regarding GJones' picks, the GoldenEye baseline brings back memories of being crap at GoldenEye, and I'm none too into punk... but that Shenmooee track is legitimately beautiful.  Good stuff.

Quick reminder: never take anything I say seriously

Fuck me, I didn't expect this to take off as much as it had. Cracking stuff lads. I've had a listen to a lot of the tracks I've recognised in the thread and a few I haven't... some thoughts!

The_Jaster wrote:

Don't worry Jimbobby I'm with ye on the bleepy-bloops & I'm picking the stranded ship stage from Shovel Knight.

I don't know if it's because it sounds a wee bit similar to the Spectre Knight level theme, but this comes across more spooky than anything else to me!

Drunkalilly wrote:

RIGHT.

At a very different end of the spectrum, Snowpeak Ruins from Twilight Princess just feels . . . cold. There's an element of spooky haunted house music here, but it gives me the chills in the best way and makes me long for that special soup.

Top choice. Easily one of the best dungeons in Twilight Princess and seconding the fact that it sounds like a cold track.

Prefacing this bit by bit breakdown by saying JESUS BALLA... top work.

Balladeer wrote:

And if you say Ice Mario isn't a guilty pleasure of yours, you're lying.

Ice Mario sounds too much like a gameshow jingle for me take it seriously.

Balladeer wrote:

Ah well, never mind.  Here's the DD!! equivalent to polish off.

I chuffing hate that course, but it's got some fine wintry music.

Balladeer wrote:

The Ice Ruins music from ALBW is a mighty fine remix of the dungeon theme too.

That's another one that just feels cold.

Balladeer wrote:

Snowman.
SNOWMAN.
SNOWMAAAAAAAAAAAAAN


Snowman.

Now we're talking!

Here's an absolutely gorgeous cover.

Balladeer wrote:

The fantastic Xenoblade Chronicles gave us a double helping of great, with Valak Mountain day and night versions.  Like few other pieces in this list, these conjure up the feeling of being very alone on a cold mountainside, where a stray breath from an unwary god could kill you in an instant.

Valak Mountain was one, or two I suppose, that I hoped to see in this thread. Great picks.

Balladeer wrote:

 At least, I hope that's the case... otherwise, what defines what sounds lava-ish?  My view is, if there's snow/lava in the background, it's fair game.

Oh, I've got a lava track to get the ball rolling for that week's edition that just sounds like you're in a volcano.

I think there's still life in this theme yet, so now that the snowball has well and truly picked up steam, here's some less obvious picks from me.

People of the Far North is the theme that plays on Mount Gagazet in Final Fantasy X. I've chosen the HD Remaster version as I reckon it's a better track all round. Those strings are cracking considering it's the home of a warrior tribe too. Great stuff.

Staying with JRPGs, I've got to go for one from I Am Setsuna. I've went for what I think is the overworld theme. It's still crazy to think the whole soundtrack is done with the piano.

Fuck it, let's stay with RPGs. The music from the Ice Palace in Paper Mario again is another track that makes you shiver.

And lastly... not an RPG! It's Snowy Mountain from Jak and Daxter. I'm fairly certain WWE pinched bits of this for Erick Rowan's solo theme. It's still a cracking ice theme even if I can now no longer disassociate it with a hulking ginger-bearded giant.

The Main One wrote:

I'm fairly certain WWE pinched bits of this for Erick Rowan's solo theme. It's still a cracking ice theme even if I can now no longer disassociate it with a hulking ginger-bearded giant.

Yeah, that's uncanny (although Rowan's version has been put through a creepy country banjo filter).

Jay wrote:

I don't know if it's because it sounds a wee bit similar to the Spectre Knight level theme, but this comes across more spooky than anything else to me!

Yeah, I can see that as the stage is called stranded ship after all so there is going to be a spooky element to it but it still fits the backdrop of the stage in my book.

That's some absolutely top piano in that Setsuna theme Jayseph! While I'm afraid the Paper Mario ice theme is to me as Freezeflame is to Drunka. The FFX track ain't bad either. Good stuff.

FFX was Uematsu's last mainline Final Fantasy game, so it still carries his brilliance with it. On I am Setsuna, I'd definitely recommend checking it when you get a chance Balla, purely for its soundtrack. You'd love most of it, I'd bet.

Right, I think it'll be time for a new round tomorrow... I've got some ideas.