Top 10 Vocal Tracks in the Metal Gear Series (#10-6)

Earlier this year, I wrote up two top five lists for songs from the Metal Gear series. One was focused on orchestrated tracks, while the other was focused on the series’ vocal tracks. While I still feel the selections I chose for both of those lists are deserving of the rankings that I assigned them, there are other Metal Gear theme songs that I feel deserve mentions. As such, I have crafted a follow-up to the vocal track list – a ‘part two’, if you will. If you missed the original list featuring the top five vocal tracks, you can check it out here.

#10 – The Stains of Time (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance): Though Metal Gear Rising boasted a loud and bombastic soundtrack during its early hours, The Stains of Time is reflective of the way in which the narrative begins to ramp up, and the themes at play head into darker territory. Monsoon is certainly one of the more freakish boss characters Raiden squares off against, having his entire body segemented into small pieces, allowing him to split apart and reform as he makes quick strikes with his octagon sais. The music and battle only become more intense, as Monsoon hurls military vehicles at Raiden, while the cyborg ninja protagonist ultimately embraces his inner demons, letting Jack the Ripper run free in order to inflict greater damage on Monsoon chop him up into even smaller pieces from which he cannot reassemble.

#9 – Rules of Nature (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance): While perhaps not officially the main theme of Metal Gear Rising, Rules of Nature is certainly one of the most popular tracks to come from the game. Rules of Nature accompanies one of Raiden’s first boss battles, against a towering Metal Gear Ray. During the first stage of this fight, Raiden slashes the Metal Gear’s armor off, and uses his cyborg enhancements to hurl it through the air. Later on, the Metal Gear takes a second attempt at besting Raiden, only for the cyborg ninja to jump across the barrage of missiles it fires his way, sprint straight down the side of a crumbling clock tower, and finish the mechanized foe off for good. Rules of Nature is an unapologetic, fast-paced adrenaline rush that perfectly encapsulates this battle, and the overall vibe of Metal Gear Rising.

#8 – Heavens Divide (Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker): Heavens Divide begins softly, not unlike Portable Ops’ main theme of Calling to the Night. But it gradually picks up pace and volume, delivering a message about Snake taking responsibility for his past and present, and his forging his own path toward the future. While Snake Eater was the major turning point whereby Naked Snake lost faith in his home country and government, Peace Walker focuses on Snake’s taking the title of Big Boss to heart, training an organized military and setting forth on a path to finally lay to rest his internal struggles with The Boss’ actions from ten years prior. Heavens Divide weaves a tale of loss and sorrow, resulting in the eventual solidification of Big Boss’ ideals and determination to create a military without a nation.

#7 – A Phantom Pain (Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain): A Phantom Pain’s dark atmosphere and synth sounds are a wonderful mash-up for a few reasons. First and foremost, the lyrics are reflect loss, lingering pain, and the self-destructive nature of revenge, themes which affect all of The Phantom Pain’s major players, in some form or another. Secondly, its choice of instrumentation, with heavy emphasis on keyboard and electric guitar, are perfect matches for the game’s 1980s setting, as is one so-close-to-being-cheesy-that-it’s-great saxophone solo. A Phantom Pain deals with the search for oneself after the jarring losses of battle – whether physical or psychological – have been stacked, and the impact that has on someone and their peers.

# 6 – Sins of the Father (Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain): The most thematically appropriate vocal track in the series since Snake Eater’s self-titled theme song, Sins of the Father is a powerful, commanding tune. Its lyrics paint the dark path Punished ‘Venom’ Snake will embark upon, while haunting wails beautifully match the tumultuous backdrops of the Afghanistan desert and the African jungle. Listening to the lyrics after following The Phantom Pain’s story to its conclusion further reveals just how specific to the game’s events Sins of the Father truly is.

Top 5 Instrumental Tracks in the Metal Gear Series

The Metal Gear franchise has long stood among the greatest of video games, due in no small part to its deep and involved narrative that carries on in increasingly complex ways from one entry to the next. With each new game comes an equally impressive soundtrack, which fittingly also tend to rank among the best this entertainment medium has to offer. Below are my personal picks for the five best instrumental tracks in the entire Metal Gear franchise, following up on my previous list of the series' five best vocal tracks.

#5 – Yell Dead Cell (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty): While perhaps simpler in its arrangement as a tense techno action tune, Yell Dead Cell does well in helping to establish the atmosphere of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty early on. While The Sons of Liberty may be the sequel’s stand-ins for Foxhound, they operate on very different ideals and significantly more advanced tech. There may be fewer representatives in Dead Cell, yet each feels threatening due to the strikingly different skill sets and arsenals they possess. Yell Dead Cell is a classic, catchy tune, and given the in-game scenarios it is attributed to, a great way to help set the stage for the MGS sequel.

#4 – Eva’s Reminiscence (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater): A slow burn to a sultry, soft jazz number, Eva’s Reminiscence is a perfect match to the character is represents. The song may rely on a much longer buildup than other Metal Gear tunes before its 1960s spy movie soundtrack style is revealed, but Eva’s story progression is delivered in a very similar fashion. She is a mysterious ally to Snake during his mission to take down Colonel Volgin’s Shagohod, but always seems to be withholding information from him, teasing Snake during each of their encounters. As the game enters its epilogue sequences, Eva’s true nature is revealed, leaving a bittersweet impact on both Snake and the player.

#3 – Zero Allies! (Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker): Utilizing a sampling of the classic MGS2 theme scored by Harry Gregson-Williams, Zero Allies! is more than a mere throwback to the games that preceded it. It is an encapsulation of the Peace Walker story – the theme of Naked Snake transitioning into Big Boss and wrestling with his complicated history with The Boss, as well as the sense of desperation and intense tactical espionage as the private army of Militaires Sans Frontieres builds itself up in the face of an ever-delicate balance of global politics. It also opens with some of the some echoes reminiscent of a couple of other Peace Walker tunes, namely Clients and Mother Base, and to that end plays into the stealthy construction of Mother Base and the mysterious nature of a steady recruitment of soldiers to Big Boss’ cause.

#2 – On The Ground – Battle in the Jungle (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater): A successor to the stealth and detection themes of the two previous Metal Gear Solid titles, Snake Eater takes its soundtrack to a whole new level with a tune that can be as frequently-changing as the situations Naked Snake finds himself in. Keeping a low profile in Metal Gear Solid 3 is a much more complex and involved ordeal than in the games that came before it, as Snake must rely on camouflage patterns as he traverses harsh jungle terrain – both enemy soldiers and wildlife posing a threat to him. Snake’s need to nourish his body and patch himself up on the go similarly leads to MGS3’s more involved gameplay, and juggling these multiple facets leads to a more complex yet more so rewarding gaming experience than many other entries in the series. This tune is more than an accompaniment to the moments when GRU soldiers spot Snake crawling through some tall grass – it’s an audible representation of the situation at hand, the general atmosphere surrounding Snake.

#1 – Debriefing (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater): The last leg of the Metal Gear Solid 3 epilogue offers a full and striking reveal of The Boss’ role in the larger picture. It is lead into by the information that Eva leaves Snake before she hits the road, and she details how The Boss let her in on certain details during the time they spent together in Groznyj Grad. Snake’s history with The Boss is described as being intimate and complicated, as they spent years of their lives together training on the battlefield, which is why Snake was so frustrated and confused by her apparent defection to Volgin’s political uprising. Debriefing is the song that plays over the final page of the Snake Eater story, the last hurrah before The Boss’ legacy can be paid tribute to, then laid to rest. It is largely responsible to those final moments of the game being so emotionally charged, and is part of – what I consider to be – one of the greatest cinematic moments in video game history.

Top 10 Vocal Tracks in the Metal Gear Series (#5-1)

The Metal Gear franchise has long stood among the greatest of video games, due in no small part to its deep and involved narrative that carries on in increasingly complex ways from one entry to the next. With each new game comes an equally impressive soundtrack, which fittingly also tend to rank among the best this entertainment medium has to offer. Below are my personal picks for the five best vocal tracks in the entire Metal Gear franchise. With the release of The Phantom Pain, I have also created a follow-up to this list, detailing the vocal tracks I feel are deserving of spots numbers six through ten, which you can read here.

#5 – A Stranger I Remain (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance): One of the few Revengeance tracks to steer clear of screamo lyrics and thrash riffs, A Stranger I Remain is not only a solid metal track with a beautiful blend of haunting vocals and a heavy, fast-paced guitar part, it’s also a song very befitting the character it represents. Mistral’s theme provides a great accompaniment to someone as imperfect as Raiden. It’s rather curious that MGR gets so much right in their presentation of the Mistral boss fight, as it is so early in the game – much in the way of the gameplay, visuals, and music that make up the later boss encounters fail to reach the fantastic culmination witnessed in the Mistral encounter.

#4 – Calling to the Night (Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops): One of the few Metal Gear Solid titles I have not played, this tune seems to have transcended its platform to become recognized as one of the more memorable tunes in the series. Of the two major MGS releases on the PSP, Portable Ops was largely overshadowed by Peace Walker, yet this tune continues to appear on fan compilations of favorite tracklistings from the franchise. And rightfully so – it’s a melancholy tune that is very fitting for Naked Snake post-Snake Eater. He has to effectively rediscover who he is and make a name for himself, so that by the time that the events of Peace Walker roll around, he and his private army are fully prepared for the greater challenges that lie ahead.

#3 – Red Sun (Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance): Sundowner ended up being one of my least favorite characters in Metal Gear Rising, both with regards to his hillbilly personality and a boss fight that felt significantly less inspired than the company of Monsoon, Mistral, and Blade Wolf. However, his theme song utilized deep vocals and a slightly grungier rock sound, all while maintaining the hardcore metal appeal of Revengeance’s soundtrack. Red Sun’s lyrics offer metaphors that are perhaps a bit more thinly veiled than the game’s other vocal tracks, but it’s certainly a catchy number, one that I have found myself listening to many times since completing Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

#2 – The Best is Yet to Come (Metal Gear Solid): I often favor many of the softer, slower vocal tracks from the Metal Gear series because they tend to convey the emotional burdens carried by Solid Snake and Naked Snake better than the fast-paced and loud tracks. Those are great for stealth and action sequences, sure, but at the end of the day, when it’s time to gaze back upon everything Snake has accomplished, every hurdle he’s had to overcome, every friend and foe that has fallen along the way, there’s really no other track that better embodies the gravity of all that than The Best is Yet to Come. It's a reminder of the trial he has surpassed, and those that lie still lie ahead.

#1 – Snake Eater (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater): Snake Eater is one of those tracks that is equal parts silly and epic. It’s a deliberate throwback to James Bond theme songs (some of which boast more cheesy lyrics than others), as can only work in a Cold War setting featuring a one-man army. Snake Eater has long been my favorite entry in the Metal Gear franchise, as its perfect combination of stealth and action elements, deeply human story, and unique sense of style result in a product that transcends what most video games, films, and novels can deliver. There’s really no other medium in which Snake Eater would work to such an effective degree, and there’s no other song that could make the introduction so memorable. Snake Eater presently stands as one of my all-time favorite video game theme songs, and I have no doubt it will continue to do so for many years to come.

2014 Video Game Soundtrack Sampler

As we near the end of 2014 and my subsequent ‘best games of the year’ list, I thought I would do something a little bit different than in years past. Below is a collection of tunes from many (though not all) of the games that I played this year. I tried my best to select a variety of musical stylings, as well as some of the tunes that stood out to me as being especially catchy, memorable, or simply well-orchestrated. With some games, this was a real challenge to narrow the field down to just one selection, as the full soundtracks for many of these titles are superb. If you find you really enjoy some of these tunes, consider purchasing the official soundtracks through Amazon, iTunes, Bandcamp, or one of the many other digital music distributors on the web and supporting the hard work of the talented composers and musicians behind each.

Grand Theft Auto V – ‘Welcome to Los Santos’



Super Mario 3D World – ‘Hisstocrat’



DmC: Devil May Cry – ‘Lilith’s Club’



Killer7 – ‘Sweet Blue Flag’



Kirby: Triple Deluxe – ‘Moonstruck Blossom’



Mario Kart 8 – ‘Title Theme’



Shovel Knight – ‘An Underlying Problem (The Lost City)’



The Wolf Among Us – ‘Main Theme’



Skullgirls – ‘Pick of the Litter’



Sin and Punishment: Star Successor – ‘Setouchi (Stage 2)’



Kid Icarus: Uprising – ‘Pandora’s Labyrinth of Deceit’



Persona 4 – ‘Pursuing My True Self’



Bayonetta 2 – ‘Let’s Dance, Boys! (Tomorrow is Mine Remix)’



Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U – ‘Master Core’



Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire – ‘Zinnia Battle Theme’

Halo 4 soundtrack sampler

343 Industries has released a sampler of the Halo 4 original soundtrack. Composer Neil Davidge explained in a behind-the-scenes look at the recording process that his goal with the soundtrack was to create a sound that paid homage to the original trilogy while also breaking into new territory and defining this Reclaimer Trilogy as having a distinctly different atmosphere. Though this sampler only provides us with a taste of the full experience, I think it does well to accomplish what Davidge wants of it. I can only hope that the coming months see more information regarding Halo 4, as it is about the prime time for 343 Industries to start building up the anticipation for the game's Holiday 2012 release.

Top 5 Final Fantasy Battle Themes

For this month's top five list, I decided to focus on the Final Fantasy series and the accompanying soundtracks that are so widely respected. While everyone has their own favorite tracks from each game, one of the defining constants through all the years has been the battle theme. Each game is host to a distinctly different spin on the battle theme, generally as a reflection of the story and setting of that numbered entry into the series. The following is a list of my five favorite battle themes from the core Final Fantasy games. Spinoffs such as Crystal Chronicles and sequels like XIII-2 and FFIV: The After Years will not be considered for this list, nor will boss battle themes or variants of the primary battle theme. Each of these entries is limited to the main battle theme from the respective games.

#5 - Final Fantasy IX: With a classic nineties vibe to it, Final Fantasy IX's battle theme certainly stands out from the rest of the pack. It's something of a nontraditional approach to the battle theme, using heavily synthesized sounds to give it an electronic style. But it's certainly an interesting listen.



#4 - Final Fantasy VI: The battle theme from Final Fantasy VI has a darker tone to it, as if the battle at hand is of a most dire consequence. I really enjoy the way that this tune is coupled with the steampunk-esque world of FFVI, and think it is a strong reminder of the darker territory the series began to explore in FFVI and the games that followed.



#3 - Final Fantasy II: Taking a wildly different approach than that of its predecessor, the battle theme in Final Fantasy II is fast-paced, loud, and reflective of the medieval fantasy roots of the long-running JRPG. It screams action with every note, and despite it being so radically different than the rest, I quite like it.



#2 - Final Fantasy XIII: This song played time and time again during my play through Final Fantasy XIII, and I looked forward to it every time. Final Fantasy XIII's soundtrack is among my favorite video game soundtracks of all time, and while the battle theme does not rank as high for me personally as the likes of "Fighting Fate" or "Born Anew", it's still and awesome track. It's a great fit for the futuristic sci-fi/fantasy hybrid realm that Lightning and friends spend their time exploring.



#1 - Final Fantasy: Above all the rest, the original Final Fantasy battle theme is easily my favorite. Its approach is more simplistic than the rest, but for an NES tune, it's pretty intense. It really captures the atmosphere of the battle, and is an instant classic for me. Plus, it is the formula that practically every other Final Fantasy battle theme followed. It's an oldie-but-a-goodie, for sure.

Top 5 Legend of Zelda Soundtracks

Since I'm still on something of a Legend of Zelda high right now, I figured 'why not go ahead and post a top five list'? Below is a listing of my five favorite Legend of Zelda soundtracks, in order. Their placements on this list are determined primarily by the way the soundtrack influenced the game as a whole, and which soundtracks rank higher or lower on this list do not necessarily reflect the order I rank the games themselves.

#5 - A Link to the Past: It might not have the impressive sound quality of the more recent titles, but A Link to the Past boasts what is easily the most impressive soundtrack of the four old-school Zelda games. With tunes like the Dark World theme and the Hyrule Castle theme, it's easy to find yourself immersed in this classic medieval-themed world. The sense of adventure is heightened and the battles seem all the more impressive. A Link to the Past is also host to one of the earliest 'quirky' tunes in the series - as a sort of precursor to the Song of Storms in Ocarina of Time or Kamaro's Dance in Majora's Mask, the Fortune Teller's theme is oddly catchy. The dungeon themes are a little more simplistic and show less variation than in later games, but they certainly carry an eerie, intimidating feel.

#4 - Ocarina of Time: While Ocarina of Time is certainly my favorite Zelda game, the soundtrack isn't at the top of the list, though it is still host to a number of great tunes. Though many of the tracks in Ocarina of Time are incredibly catchy, they aren't as complex as the tunes found in many of the other games. Still, there's no denying how atmospheric each of the temple themes are. Hyrule Field and Gerudo Valley's themes get me pumped for exploration and adventure every time I hear them, while the Song of Time's echoing chants serve as strong reminders of the mystical nature of this definitive title. The themes for the final boss fights against Ganondorf and Ganon serve as fitting conclusions to all the action, while the melodies that accompany the end credits provide a bittersweet finale.

#3 - The Wind Waker: The first time I heard the prologue music to Wind Waker, I fell in love with it. It was a great way to tie in the past Zelda games with this bold new take on the series. But everything that followed steered away from the familiar, and I found the majority of the soundtrack a perfect marriage to both the art style and the open expanses of the Great Sea. Sure, Dragon Roost Island has a catchy theme. But my personal favorites come from the dungeons and boss fights. On the temple side of things, the Wind Temple and Earth Temple have tracks that utilize instruments unique to the temples' motifs, while blending these with environmental sounds to further engage you in the dungeon-crawling experience. The mini-boss theme is pretty darn cool - almost as cool as the themes for Molgera and Phantom Ganon. Topping it off with the track that plays during Link's final showdown with Ganondorf while the seas crashing in around them is just plain brilliant.

#2 - Skyward Sword: This game's opening reminded me of both Wind Waker and A Link to the Past with the way it approached the origins of Skyloft. Where it stood out, though, was the epic nature of the introductory theme. It acted as both a throwback to the familiar and a fresh take on the Zelda formula (story and gameplay mechanics aside). The overworld themes take a somewhat minimalist approach. In Faron Woods, things sound quite upbeat, but they aren't overbearing. In the Lanayru Desert, the songs are comprised largely of rhythmic ambience that is in keeping with the technological motif of the region. Inside the dungeons, songs display themselves more prominently, providing the Earth Temple, Pirate Ship, and Lanayru Mining Facility with their own distinct and individual identities. The song that plays when Link travels through the Gate of Time to reunite with Zelda fuels the emotional drive of the narrative, while Groose's theme and Tubert's theme are perfect examples of the game's more light-hearted moments. The one thing I was not expecting during my playthrough of Skyward Sword was just how grandiose both Ghirahim and Demise's final boss themes would be - spine-tingling in the best way possible.

#1 - Majora's Mask: As I've mentioned before, I find Majora's Mask to be a very strange, very disturbing video game. A lot of this due to the direction the story takes, but the art style and soundtrack also play an important role in this. As the days pass, the song that plays in clock town becomes increasingly desperate and ominous, ending with an ethereal tune that embodies failure and the inevitable destruction of Termina . Each of the temples utilizes a dark theme of some sort - in the Great Bay Temple it's the industrial cling-clang, while the Stone Tower Temple combines tribal beats with more refined flute sounds. Ikana Valley bellows out noises that are downright freaky scary. The multiple themes associated with Majora convey a strange balance of evil and chaos, while the fanfare of the Deku Palace maintains somewhat closer ties to the traditional Zelda. Few video games manage to remain so artistically-driven, while at the same time maintaining such a strong narrative. And let's be honest; without the soundtrack, Majora's Mask wouldn't have such a distinct identity.