Music To My Ears posts chronicle a sampling the great music of a particular series, franchise, etc. Posts tend to be skewed towards videogames, but can cover anything with a great soundtrack behind it (TV shows, anime, movies, etc.). If you have a music track from any indie game that you like, comment and it may be added to either this post or a future Indie Smorgasbord!

BIT.TRIP VOID – Ego

BIT.TRIP VOID is the third game in the BIT.TRIP series of games, and my personal favorite because of both the gameplay and the music (but unfortunately like other early BIT.TRIP games, it suffers in the gameplay length department. WiiWare may actually be to blame here). This plays in the second level of the game. I like the slightly minimalistic semi-8-bit tune.

Analogue: A Hate Story – Hyun-ae (Innocence)

Analogue is basically a visual novel… mostly without visuals. As an explorer in the distant future, you search an abandoned ship’s computer, guided by two AI units, to find out what happened to the people on board – who all died. I can’t get enough of this track – it’s great background for delving through pieces of the past, with a nice Asian flair to it. I’ve been known to listen to this one over and over 😛

To The Moon – Having Lived

Friends indirectly pointed me in the direction of this adventure game, and now I hate them all. Whenever I think of the music, I think of the game itself. While nice, it’s kinda depressing for me, even though it’s punctured by great storytelling and comedy. You essentially try to fulfill a man’s dying wish by delving into his memories and finding out why his wish is what it is – to go to the moon. The track shared here is an excellent example of the soundtrack. Just wish it didn’t have so many bittersweet memories attached to it 😛

VVVVVV – Passion For Exploring

VVVVVV is a puzzle platformer. You can flip gravity to solve puzzles. There’s some devious platforming here – expect to die hundreds of times on your first playthough. This song plays in the main hub for the player character and is a nice, upbeat 8-bit tune.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai – Years

Oh, hey, Higurashi. The spiritual prequel to Umineko (covered in the last three Music To My Ears entries) contains some great music itself, but the first half of Higurashi mainly used public domain songs. By the second half, it had gained enough popularity for actual musicians, and they don’t disappoint. Take Years, an example of fantastic piano that dots both Higurashi and Umineko. Years plays in the final episode, Episode 8.

(Higurashi runner up: You -destructive-

You -destructive- is an action-y version of one of the standout tracks of Higurashi, and I believe it starts playing in EP 5}

Drunken Robot Pornography – Drunken Robot Pornography

AAAAH IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK, IT”S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! Dejobaan Games has one of the most offbeat senses of humor around, and I really like them for that… most of the time. The game itself is much less extreme than its name would have you believe, and is basically a shooter – you’re trying to take down robots and steal their drinks. Not sure how pornography factors into the game, and I’m quite content never knowing that.
This song is the theme song to the game. It includes a fun little slideshow in the current build of the game (fact: the game’s not actually finished yet – it’s in alpha, which I’ve played). The song itself is a rap, which Dejobaan is not new to for opening their games. It’s not objectionable, otherwise I wouldn’t have posted it here.

I’m just kinda worried about what will happen when the game is finished and windows pop up on every one of my friend’s computers saying ‘brianbcdefg123 is playing Drunken Robot Pornography’ on Steam every time I try to play the game. I forsee some interesting chat conversations ahead.

Starwish – Neferiti

This game is a rarity for Flash games: a cross between a shooter and a RPG with a playtime around five hours. And I liked it enough to play it all the way through, which I’ve never really done with any free indie online game before. This song is a bit somber, and is the theme of Neferiti. Nice piano.

Tower of Heaven – Stairway to Revelation

Tower of Heaven is a platformer where the player ascends a tower with a growing set of rules he must follow. The game is short, but sweet, and the soundtrack even sweeter (if you really like it, you can buy it from iTunes). This song plays during the first few levels.

Revive – Obtrusion

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/523629

(Note: Songs on Newgrounds can be freely downloaded)

This game is very recent. The game is one of those puzzle-platformers-with-a-dude-in-a-test-chamber-guided-by-an-omniscient-voice games that are all the rage these days on Newgrounds. Yet, this one actually has good music. This plays during the latter half of the game and has a fantastic dark undertone to it that I don’t believe I’ve ever really heard before in a piece that’s mainly 8-bit.

First Fantasy – Battle Theme II

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/317003

Oh… uh… how’d that one get in there? *runs*

(Newgrounds runner-up: Wizard In The Rain

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/348286

Although I like this music very much, it’s not used in any notable games. I thought I could have used it eventually for When The Crickets Cry, though.)

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