Smooth 2000's VGM

Anything from run & guns to modern RPGs, what else do you play?
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XoPachi
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Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by XoPachi »

Not sure if I sound like a broken record about this sort of thing. Figured I'd make a thread here specifically since you folks are really good at pinpointing this sort of stuff.
Huge list, but it's just to be thorough. I don't need you to comb every link.

GameCube Demo Disc Volume 11 Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSlyX297LoM
GameCube Demo Disc March 2002 Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TrO1QNHC7I
MMX Command Mission Lagrano Ruins https://youtu.be/qilFm8Bgu6E
Coded Arms - Hack Complete https://youtu.be/mLWxeBv0OJ0
Sonic Gems Collection - Menu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQP5_TqK63k
P. N. 03 - Sixth mission https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0TkGmVOJCo
Carnage Heart Portable - Practice Battle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=133THrg33Vw
Carnage Heart Portable - Jupiter II https://youtu.be/xN_lAMInWvM
Energy Airforce Aim Strike - Gallery https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1afxF44LtI
Magnetica - 003 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THWkSWqg7og
Ridge Racer V - Euphoria https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-kVnY8Hj9Y
Auto Modellista - Course Select https://youtu.be/n-Ue7l4Xxuo
La Raza Solitaria En El Mar - EverBlue 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVFc29e6B0E

(cheating with this one but it fits in my mind) Ken Ishii - Awakening https://youtu.be/jY0LDHgbh3o

I just really like this vibe and feel like I've heard more in my life. Obviously, I've got more than this. I've definitely searched most of the channels that posted my examples. I just know there's more I haven't heard. I don't particularly care if it's actually from a game or not as long as it's
the same sound/mood.

EDIT: Not sure why I didn't just do this at first, but I added the titles so you don't have to go through everything before posting suggestions.
Last edited by XoPachi on Wed Aug 31, 2022 11:23 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Air Master Burst
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by Air Master Burst »

Forza 3's menu music comes to mind. Also pretty much any classic game collection has a song like this for the wrapper menu.

I too like this vibe and can't wait to learn the cute internet name for it.

ETA: can't believe I forgot about P.N.03 in the 3D action thread! That and GunValkyrie desperately need modern ports.
King's Field IV is the best Souls game.
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BulletMagnet
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by BulletMagnet »

Air Master Burst wrote:I too like this vibe and can't wait to learn the cute internet name for it.
...now I'm gonna spend way too much time trying to come up with a term.

I didn't click every link in the OP, but was the original Ape Escape for PS1 in there anywhere? Doesn't quite make it to the 2000's, but after listening to a few of the samples posted it's the first thing I thought of.
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Air Master Burst
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by Air Master Burst »

BulletMagnet wrote:
Air Master Burst wrote:I too like this vibe and can't wait to learn the cute internet name for it.
...now I'm gonna spend way too much time trying to come up with a term.
I'm thinking it would be something like Sharewarewave, but shorter and actually clever.

ETA: actually now I fully expect some hardcore electronica nerd to come in and haughtily tell us this is already an overly specific subgenre with a goofy name.
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XoPachi
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by XoPachi »

BulletMagnet wrote:I didn't click every link in the OP, but was the original Ape Escape for PS1 in there anywhere? Doesn't quite make it to the 2000's, but after listening to a few of the samples posted it's the first thing I thought of.
Soichi Terada is great. I was considering posting Jake's Challenge as it fits the vibe.
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

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Air Master Burst wrote:ETA: actually now I fully expect some hardcore electronica nerd to come in and haughtily tell us this is already an overly specific subgenre with a goofy name.
After inevitably devoting too much thought to this I'm going to attempt to coin the term "Chipmood" - to my not-terribly-discerning ear the primary "vibe" of the tunes posted here is a core of distinctively energetic, percussion-driven electronic "video-gamey" sounds with a soothing layer of New Age-y "zone out" ambience to take the edge off. Please proceed to tear all of the aforementioned apart in an orderly fashion. :P

As for other actual tracks, again, I might have just skipped over one you included, but I'm sure at least a handful of tunes from the Katamari games would fit; this one came most immediately to mind, though it's admittedly not a perfect fit.
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XoPachi
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by XoPachi »

BulletMagnet wrote: After inevitably devoting too much thought to this I'm going to attempt to coin the term "Chipmood" - to my not-terribly-discerning ear the primary "vibe" of the tunes posted here is a core of distinctively energetic, percussion-driven electronic "video-gamey" sounds with a soothing layer of New Age-y "zone out" ambience to take the edge off. Please proceed to tear all of the aforementioned apart in an orderly fashion. :P

As for other actual tracks, again, I might have just skipped over one you included, but I'm sure at least a handful of tunes from the Katamari games would fit; this one came most immediately to mind, though it's admittedly not a perfect fit.
Adjusted the OP so you don't have to click everything. Should have done that from the beginning. That Katamari song is really nice.
I'm almost certain I've especially heard a lot of what I'm looking on the PSP.

I remember this as a kid and just thought it was so cool. I watched it all the time in Gradius Collection and converted the video to MP3 just to have this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VALbuxa4nbQ
I know this was for PS2, but I saw it on PSP first.
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

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Air Master Burst wrote: I too like this vibe and can't wait to learn the cute internet name for it.
A friend of mine was literally just talking to me about this sound the other day and called the genre "Y2K". Not sure if he made it up, but he managed to make it sound like it was a whole thing. So if it isn't, let's make it.
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XoPachi
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by XoPachi »

Sumez wrote: A friend of mine was literally just talking to me about this sound the other day and called the genre "Y2K". Not sure if he made it up, but he managed to make it sound like it was a whole thing. So if it isn't, let's make it.
That's usually what I've heard it described as and what I generally like to call it. But a lot of people also get mad at the use of it because of an assumption that the people who use the moniker intend to strip mine the era for a marketable "aesthetic". So I refrain from using it today.
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by Air Master Burst »

I guess we could just call it Ridge Racer Music since most of Namco Sound Team's stuff sounds like this. See also Ace Combat, Time Crisis, and Tekken.
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by BulletMagnet »

XoPachi wrote:That Katamari song is really nice.
I'll need to have a listen to the soundtracks again to recall which other songs might be worth sending your way; for starters this track might fit the bill.

Of course, every such recommendation will lend weight to AMB's "a boatload of Namco games seem to have this stuff" summarization.
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XoPachi
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by XoPachi »

All of Carnage Heart Exa's OST takes me back really

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DRD6YWatcs
https://youtu.be/6DTzh1r76nc
https://youtu.be/hclVLGizjFI

(This game looks HARD.)
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by m.sniffles.esq »

ctrl+f Don't Give Up not found????
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XoPachi
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

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https://youtu.be/9IiNSGGzDA4

Played this game all the time in middle school. Balance was horrid and it didnt play very well but it was my introduction to movement based shooting. Man did it have style though.
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XoPachi
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by kid aphex »

Chaos Field - 25mg
https://youtu.be/PWV9fFFGCzU

Sin and Punishment - Heroine A
https://youtu.be/E7-AHj8vooE

R-type Final - Museum
https://youtu.be/-ZBkfcAor1Y

R-Type Final - Twisted Ecology Underwater
https://youtu.be/x4vg9IFCCHc

F-zero gx - Feather
https://youtu.be/XX6p93LTL3k

Tekken 4 - Touch and Go (airport stage)
https://youtu.be/9m8t6SO07f8

Tobal 2 - Grope After the Truth
https://youtu.be/XoeXfvdWkwU

Tobal 2 - A Miracle’s Coming
https://youtu.be/Ym5wiFbOZi0



Hopefully these fit the criteria
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XoPachi
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by XoPachi »

I have a question.
How can we describe these songs generally? Like what sorts of genre inspirations, techniques, and tools go into these songs?
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by Air Master Burst »

XoPachi wrote:I have a question.
How can we describe these songs generally? Like what sorts of genre inspirations, techniques, and tools go into these songs?
Cheery synth without even the faintest hint of a real instrument?

Frequent enthusiastic samples of high-energy non-native english speakers saying/singing goofy shit?

Randomly smashing together two words that are tangentially related to the subject matter and each other as a naming convention?

I've still just been calling it Namco music. Maybe Namcore?
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XoPachi
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Re: Smooth 2000's VGM

Post by XoPachi »

F-Zero AX has some songs that aren't present in the home counterpart fitting of this thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72CFjBW7UEE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaJQu__i2qw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUbL-1T4TM4

There's also a nice arrange of Feather.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2K1Ygw7Ums
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