Make your top 10 stg music (individual tracks only please)

[PowerofElsydeon]

It s no secret that arcade style games tend to have great music
Music is aestetic music tends to seduce you
(How many of you M.U.S.H.A haters at least considered buying the cartbridge just for the music?Lets face it you guys are jealous)
(M.U.S.H.A. is a bit like Justin Bieber )
Music is art used to express and/or share emotions
(Parodius makes me feel silly and playfull;Soldier Blade gives me adrenaline;Twinbee and Fantasy Zone... awaken my feminine side )


Making a great arcade means you must seduce gamers to sacrifice money
Arcade Games are very artsy because they re oposed to crappy Gran Turismos and shitty FMV pseudo-games
And just the fact that energetic and adrenaline based games tend to get along with Rock or Nigth Club Music
Shooters are the most pure incarnation of the term Arcade style
No wonder Stg s and their relatives (Panzer Dragoon;Contra;Tempest 2000) are arguably the best games musicwise

My favourite amongst them is the Gradius music (Especialy Burning Heat) because it s Soft Rocking nature match my personality so perfectly
Im a very Tender and Shy guy but im also Determined Adventurous and Vengefull
I confess Im turned off by games that have multiple music genres and instrumentations since it means inconsistent art
Sadly Gradius Gaiden is one of those Games

Im not familiar with bullet hell games so dont be an ass if your favourite cave music is absent but here is my non ordered top 10 individual stg music themes

Burning Heat (Gradius II)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLc1msji0_w

Gift of the Wind (Dettana Twinbee)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1V-bjJpbLE

Aleste (Aleste 2)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-skeggPhAM

Steel Empire Intro Theme(Steel Empire)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po9GdUT ... Wo9gzTEAMk

Fake(Darius Gaiden)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xva-RIDs-do

Figthing Back(Thunder Force IV)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJE-iAE1Mt8

Open your Eyes (Zero Wing)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoLWOwMBLjc

Opa Opa(Fantasy Zone)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vW3x0zGo7Y

Return(Radiant Silvergun)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCp8qw2ztJQ

Operation 1(Soldier Blade)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOtFb3sXkTs

Title Screen(Silver Surfer)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQlLl2j5THQ

Overture Sexy Parodius(Truxton)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIPNxZzTacU

I know I overdid it but... it s hard to choose just 10
I ve also wanted to mention Panzer Dragoon, Star Fox ,Rez ,Space Harrier but they are not shooters for me

[Durandal]

Raiden V - Crystal of Abyss
G-Darius - Kimera II
Ketsuipachi Arrange - Interception
BioMetal (SFC) - Bio Metal Theme
Soukyugurentai - Above Ota City
Eschatos - Silver Lining
Battle Garegga - Marginal Consciousness
Ginga Force - Bust a Move!
Ketsui - Judgement Day
Darius Gaiden - VISIONNERZ

I wouldn't be able to rank them no matter how hard you ask

[ProjectAKo]

1. P-47 aces B-SHIP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6FWkHgxHjw
2. P-47 aces B-SHIP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6FWkHgxHjw
3. P-47 aces B-SHIP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6FWkHgxHjw
4. P-47 aces B-SHIP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6FWkHgxHjw
5. P-47 aces B-SHIP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6FWkHgxHjw
6. P-47 aces B-SHIP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6FWkHgxHjw
7. P-47 aces B-SHIP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6FWkHgxHjw
8. P-47 aces B-SHIP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6FWkHgxHjw
9. P-47 aces B-SHIP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6FWkHgxHjw
10. P-47 aces B-SHIP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6FWkHgxHjw

[Furry Fox Jet Pilot]

1. Raiden DX- Gallantry
2. Raiden III- Dawn of Sorrow
3. Raiden V- Crystal of Abyss
4. Raiden V- Fortress of Philosophy
5. Raiden II- Repeated Tragedy
6. Raiden II- Burnt Field
7. Raiden II- Depression
8. Raiden II- Decisive Battle
9. Ashura Blaster- Stage 1
10. Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu- Who Decided on a Peaceful Death?

I had to cut out so many good tracks from games such as Alltynex Second, Reflex, Kamui, Samidare, and the list goes on and on

[Magma Dragoon]

Ai Cho Aniki - Aniki Strike Malignant Festival
Battle Garegga - Subversive Awareness
Darius Gaiden - Fake
Gradius V - Impreganble Fortress
Nanostray - Mitsurin Jungle
Raiden II - Flap Toward the Hope
Salamander - Planet Ratis
Thunder Force V - Cyber Cave
Tyrian - Savara, the Return
Zed Blade - Universe Blue

[OmegaFlareX]

Limiting myself to what I have in my library, in no particular order:

Fortress - Gradius 2 FC
High Speed Queen - Dogyuun
Hishou ~Flight~ (Special) - Slap Fight MD
Far Away - Tatsujin PCE
Red Mountain - Coryoon
Degeneracy - Battle Garegga
Sorcer Striker - Mahou Daisakusen
The Direction to the Heart of the Forest - Mushihimesama
Space Battle Ship 130 33KI - Radiant Silvergun
Still Love You - Tatsujin Oh

Man that's hard whittling down just 10.

[kid aphex]

NO RANK

Ikaruga - Ideal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAn6XxsDDTI
Gradius V - Poison of Snake/ Teto Ran https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVhRD--xyeY
Gradius III - Cosmo Plant https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUvWSi0SXfc
Gradius III - Into the Wind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZirGXaNzYU0
Revolter - Guitar BU.RI.BA.RI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om_g40EGIzM
R-Type Final - Bydo Is ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpzb6t0p81Q
Darius Gaiden - Visionnerz https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkosGBfzVig
Dai Ou Jou - Colorful Rainbow https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=798wg4Y6_AA
Ketsui - Suburb https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QlGYGO27xg
Eschatos - Silver Lining https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCewj5nsSSU
Strania - Stage 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKJ8DndzoFU

[Mero]

Took a stab at this. I don't know/can't remember any of the names.

Verytex - stage 1
Donpachi - Boss
Dragon Saber - stage 1
Mamoru kun - Southern Temple
Curse - stage 3
Darius II - stage 2
Espgaluda II - boss
Super Fantasy Zone - Fresh Melon
R Type II - stage 3
Raiden DX (PS) - final results screen (New Release)

I don't know if that's my all-time top 10 but those are 10 good tunes.

[Perikles]

10 tracks are not nearly enough, but here's my precipitous list. I restricted myself to one track per game, it contains plenty Gradius as it is:

BioMetal (SFC!) - Staff Roll
BlaZeon - Alpha
Choujikuu Yousai Macross: Scrambled Valkyrie - Unknown Song 2
Gradius III - In the Wind
Gradius III (SFC) - Uncharted Territory
Gradius Gaiden - Boss Rush 2
R-Type Delta - Stage 7
Salamander (MSX) - Departure Again
Salamander 2 - Sensation
Thunder Force IV - Metal Squad

[PowerofElsydeon]

By the way Im surprised Im the only one who admires Silver Surfer so far
I mean are there any games with better dance music than this poor 8 bit hidden gem?

When s Darius 30th anniversarie?
Is there gonna be an official celebration or something?
Im asking because it would be awesome to get zuntata s music on vinyl or something

[OmegaFlareX]

By the way Im surprised Im the only one who admires Silver Surfer so far
I mean are there any games with better dance music than this poor 8 bit hidden gem?

Oddly enough, the same artist (Tim Follin) did the re-done music for NES Sky Shark. There's no stage 5 original sadly, but it's not terrible.

[Squire Grooktook]

Ketsui - Interception
Ketsui - Judgement Day
Ketsui - No Remorse
DOJ - Toa
Blast Wind - Stage 1 (conflicting reports on if it's named "Blast Wind" or "Ultimate Destroyer")
G-Darius - Kimera 2
G-Darius - Adam
Darius Burst Chronicle Saviours - Cantabolism
eXceed 2nd Vampire Rex - Shock!!
Metal Black - Born To Be Free


Subject to change

[pegboy]

This is an almost impossible task, so I will just randomly list off some stuff that comes to mind.

Speed - Gradius Gaiden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6wZld4JHa4
Inside Mission - Gradius Gaiden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZAYPPIgsQw
Impregnable Fortress Part 2 - Gradius V: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b6239T2cfs
Final Brutal Weapon - DoDonPachi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZyi_VcEJxI
Planet Ratis - Salamander 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TrJOsiA0b8
Space Cruiser - Super Aleste: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgRpU70fX2A
Danger - Axelay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRNcpQLP_Ng
Be Menaced by Orn - Thunder Force AC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kax4XdgosvM
Hunger Made Them Desperate - Thunder Force AC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8U8pzAf6GI
Project 4 Fortress - UN Squadron (SNES) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wvHrnwCAwE


Most of these are final stage OST, why does the last stage always have the best music?

[Vludi]

This is an almost impossible task, so I will just randomly list off some stuff that comes to mind.

This.

Battle Garegga - Stab and Stomp
Dangun Feveron - Soul Supermarket
Mahou Daisakusen - Sorcer Striker
Darius Gaiden - Self
Darius II - Jamming
Gun Frontier - Maspy
Rayforce - G
X-Multiply - Illegal Illusion
Batsugun - Geo Frontier
Cho Ren Sha 68k Pleasure Trip

[Van_Artic]

took me at least 12 hours to make this post just to realize half of them is CAVE stuff

Under Defeat - Toward a mistake
Battle Garegga - Degeneracy
Dodonpachi Saidaioujou - Ai
Espgaluda II - Galuda ~ 完全なるモノへ
Recca - DEEPSPACE
G-Stream G2020/Deltazeal - stage 2&6
Deathsmiles - Ice Palace
Mushihimesama - To Shinju forest
ring^-27 -Stage 6 (do doujin games count?)
Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu BL - Vertigo

if i were to put more there would definetly be akai katana's stage 4, daifukkatsu stage 5, and some karous tunes

[Squire Grooktook]

^^^Was feircely debating whether I'd put Vertigo and Degeneracy on my list. Might swap something out for them still.

Loving that Ring^-27 track.

[PowerofElsydeon]

Damnd you why cant we discuss stg music and submit our top 10 at the same time?
I see the apeal of CAVE music but I d rather pick KONAMI as the number 1 in VGM
I ve already talked about how much I love Gradius and Twinbee music
Outside of the realm shump realm Contra Hard Corps; Castlevania III Dracula Curse;Rocket Knight Adventures and Turtles in Time are equaly amasing
Like each one excels on their own vibe

Im also surprised no one mentioned Bari Arm (Android Assault) yet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDNhZgHs4bw

[Vludi]

Another top 10, more console oriented this time.

Elemental Master - Blood Stained Lake
Gley Lancer - Asteroids
Soldier Blade - Operation 4
Chelnov - Keep Running
Dangerous Seed - Ending theme
Slap Fight MD - Flight
Thunder Force II - Ray of Hope
Sol Deace - Stage 2
Super Fantasy Zone - Ya-Da-Ne
GG Aleste II - Bionic City

No shmup bonus because i love Masaya:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0QSOCt_LzY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goO_q7Vi37M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_Di3RNvKUo

[Squire Grooktook]

Damnd you why cant we discuss stg music and submit our top 10 at the same time?

A lot of us simply cannot rank the songs. They all have a different and vital emotions and are all equally valuable. At least to me. Just picking 10 was hard enough.

[Ebbo]

Super Star Soldier - Into The Super Battle
RefleX - Crazy Goddess Virgo (Type Human)
Flame Zapper Kotsujin - Ray Future
Ginga Force - Dragon's Prophecy
Otomedius X Excellent - Stop and Go!
Hellsinker - Shrine of Farewell
Ikaruga - The Stone-Like
Radiant Silvergun - There Is Life Everywhere
Gradius - Historic Soldier
Cho Ren Sha 68k - We Love the E.A.R.T.H

[Van_Artic]

I see the apeal of CAVE music but I d rather pick KONAMI as the number 1 in VGM

zuntata

[qmish]

01. Dariusburst CS - Mortification of Flesh aka Trials and Tribulations
02. DoDonPachi DaiOuJou - Stage 2
03. Change Air Blade - F⁄A-6Ω "Omega Arrow" Theme
04. Chaos Field - Human's Figure -phase 3-
05. Metal Black - Dual Moon
06. Dogyuun - Stage 1
07. CrossFire EX - Boss Theme (3:04 - 5:08)
08. G-Darius - H.G. Virus
09. Psyvariar 2 - Stage 1
10. Magical Chase - Termination

Some honorable mentions (i could name much much more, though, so i limited their number to five):

Spoiler

Gleylancer - Stage 1
Alzadick - Score Attack
Alltynex 2nd - Encounter
Armed Police Batrider - Chop U
Andro Dunos - Stage 6 (1:07 - 2:23)

[CStarFlare]

Tatsujin (PCE) Far Away
Mushihimesama Like the Night of Falling Stars
Eschatos Silver Lining
Dariusburst Hello 31337
Darius Gaiden Fake
Pink Sweets Funzioni con esso!
Flame Zapper Kotsujin Into the Last Battle
Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu Black Label Floatage
Battle Garegga Stab and Stomp
Mushihimesama Futari The Verge of Madness

[Zaarock]

Senko no Ronde - Assemble
Metal Black - Dual Moon
Soukyugurentai - Descent Into the Clouds
G-Darius - Kimera II
Ginga Force - Gallant Gunshot
Ikaruga - Faith
Senko no Ronde DUO - Tactical Field
Einhander - Conflict
Mushihimesama Futari - On the Verge of Madness
Ibara - Rose of Zeal

Spoiler

Flame Zapper Kotsujin - E.N.K.A.
Rayforce - Penetration
Battle Garegga - Stab and Stomp!
R-Type Delta - Life
Ginga Force - Dubious Dealer
Strania - Stage 4

[Super Laydock]

I have trouble counting to ten today (KORSAKOV was me in another life is suppose), but I'll add this to this topic.
-Giga wing (Come on stuff)
-All of MSX Nemesis 2 soundtrack
-Salamander - Power of Anger
-Zanac - opening tune (main theme I guess)
-Border Down - first level opening.

that's where memory stops today.

cheers!

[TransatlanticFoe]

In no order...

Mahou Daisakusen - Sorcer Striker - not usually a fan of Raizing's soundtracks but this one hits it out of the park
Truxton II - Live in Future - you need a track this good to keep you awake through this rather plodding stage 1!
Power Strike/Aleste - The Solitude - I think this fits nicely with the atmosphere of the stage
Thunder Force IV - Metal Squad - 'nuff said really
Thunder Force V - Steel of Destiny - yeah okay it's basically the same as having Metal Squad in twice but whatever. It's awesome
Kyukyoku Tiger II - Stage 5 - easily the best thing about this game
Flying Shark - Asia - edges out stage 5, which does have an awesome bit that synchronises with a balls-to-the-wall segment where you face two battleships and wave upon wave of fighters. But stage 1 has a special spot for me... not least because I was so bad as a kid that I never heard anything else
Kyukyoku Tiger - Break a Leg - another cracking Toaplan opener, FM Towns version because it's a bit cooler
Darius II - Say PaPa - SMS version here, because someone did an incredible job translating the soundtrack to the SMS!
Triggerheart Exelica - Stage 1 - really gets the pulse beating this one

Stage 1 features a lot... I suppose you need something that fires you up for a run but also keeps you entertained through the stage you'll master first. Metal Squad was a given but I could easily have filled the other spots with Toaplan, consistently excellent. Apart from Twin Hawk, which is just odd. And I still couldn't find room for Gallantry, WTF.

[microfolk]

....should I really be the first one to talk about Touhou here. I feel a little uncomfortable. I'll try to put only one track from each game\series, otherwise it would only be Touhou, Hellsinker and Darius.

Touhou 12 - Interdimensional Voyage of a Ghostly Passenger Ship (UFO has probably the most consistent OST of the series and I love ZUN's work on percussions here)
Hellsinker - Shrine of Farewell (I wanted to put here Last Boss + TLB theme but I refrained to listen to it before fighting the boss myself and I was blown away by how good it was, musical spoilers are silly but I think in this case it really payed off for me)
∀kashicverse - 咒薨爻華 Jukou-Kouka (fun fact I really hate the kick drum here but still this track works so well in the context of the game so I learned how to don't let the shitty kick sound bother me too much)
G-Darius - Kimera II (everybody loves Kimera II! G-Darius OST is absolutely top notch all around though, you can't really go wrong with any of its tracks)
Dodonpachi Dai-Ou-Jou - East Asia (I don't really understand people saying the arranged soundtrack is better when the original has such a strong and peculiar atmosphere, let alone the subtle glitches which should really be used more in this genre's soundtracks)
Ketsui - Suburb (Armored Green) (I'm d'n'b trash)
Battle Garegga - Subversive Awareness (Battle Garegga OST is amazing and this was a really hard choice but every time I reach stage 5 I feel so pumped I start to tap my feet in rhythm with the kick drum)
Eschatos - Stellar Light (one of the most impressing stages in every STG ever? I think so)
Karous - 1000 Clouds (Daisuke Nagata and Ko Hayashi are incredibly talented composers, I don't know what they are doing now but I hope they'll continue making music for STGs)
Mecha Ritz - True Last Boss (I can't be assed to look up the track's title, but Mecha Ritz has an incredible sound design all around, the sound effects too are so pleasant and distinctive)

[TomuS]

Acrobat Mission - Mission 4
Batsugun - King Bird
Flame Zapper Kotsujin - Into The Last Battle
Flame Zapper Kotsujin - Silent Colony
Hellfire - Ready To Go ~ Captain Lancer
Image Fight - Loose, Loose, Loose
R-Type II - Water Splash
Super Star Shooter - Dark Blue
Tatsujin - Brave Man ~ Far Away
X-Multiply - Twilight Sight

Alphabetical order.
Nice to see Keep Running from Chelnov mentioned. I almost included the arcade version in my list, wonderful theme either way.

[AxelMill]

This took me way longer than I thought.
No particular order, 'cause that would be insane to do, but I did limit myself to one theme per game to not have a Darius-exclusive list.

Raiden V - Unknown Pollution (Stage 1).
DariusBurst - World of Spirit (Zone H/I)***. Of course I had to include this.
DoDonPachi Saidaioujou - Hibi (Stage 4).
Resogun - Decima (Stage 3).
G-Darius - Adam (Zone Mu/Nu/Xi/Omicron boss).
Border Down - Girl of Power (Stage 2).
Einhänder - Thermosphere (Stage 6 boss, Schwartzgeist). It was a very close call between this and Earthlight.
Touhou 11: Subterranean Animism - The Dark Blowhole (Stage 1).
Battle Garegga - Valley (Stage 1).
R-Type Final - Summer Twilight (Stage F-B).

The best music of all time, though, is clearly the Balloon Bomber theme.

***This link allows you to download it, but I am not condoning piracy.

[HardcoreOtaku]

1 . Winds/Lords of Thunder - Final Boss Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yvn-vK2LFkc&index=17

2. Winds/Lords of Thunder - Intro 1 Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGe3gP9VY9A

3. Winds/Lords of Thunder - Dezant Stage Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu_pNnEymLY

4. Winds/Lords of Thunder - Auzal Stage Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyvdraPERr8

5. Winds/Lords of Thunder - Llamarada Stage Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76zevuMEbkg

6. Winds/Lords of Thunder - Bosque Stage Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubBdRb1f5A8

7. Winds/Lords of Thunder - Helado Stage Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78anoPGi4Hk

8. Winds/Lords of Thunder - Cielom Stage Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sya6mhmygyM

9. Winds/Lords of Thunder - Dark Tower Stage Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOoOa8gomf4

10. Winds/Lords of Thunder - Shop Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4bMUdFjPZk

Honorable mentions

Winds/Lords of Thunder - Boss Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzC4C4knNrU

Winds/Lords of Thunder - Intro 2 Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3pQhu-7C5c

Winds/Lords of Thunder - Interlude Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iDj8eWksU4

Winds/Lords of Thunder - Stage Select Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVF_GqroV_c