Noice thread. Very noice.
Well, first and foremost RPG music will always be my number one. Namely, Nobuo Uematsu of course, the man is a genius and has indirectly gotten me through a lot of troubled, stressful times with this serene, beautiful music, to say the very least. My favorite score out of all the Final Fantasy games has to be VIII. Blue Fields, Lunatic Pandora, Balamb Garden, among others are my favorites. Blue Fields will put me to sleep like a baby, it's so calming and will no doubt calm me down from anything. Runner ups are VI, VII, and X. Other than the FF series, I really love the Chrono series music. A few others series favorites are Legend of Legia, Legend of Dragoon, Baten Kaitos, Golden Sun, Breath of Fire, and Xeno-series. I'm sure there's others I'm forgetting, but those stick out the most.
Now there is one series that gets it's own category, just because it's that amazing. The Legend of Zelda of course! Koji Kondo captivates with the mythical music of this series in ways that are only rivaled by Uematsu's work. From the Hyrulean triumph to the serene sounds of Lake Hylia, all tracks are no doubt classics. I truly cannot remember hearing a Zelda game that didn't completely blow me away with its score. The one game that stands out for me, however, is The Wind Waker. It's so upbeat and wild yet has those mystical and passive tracks as well, it's the perfect blend for any fantasy fan.
Next up is Metal Gear. While the score isn't as captivating to listen to as Final Fantasy or The Legend of Zelda, it has its own special....something that adds to it. Which is why I love it so much, I can't put my finger on what makes it so special, but every time I hear the Metal Gear Solid 3 theme, or the espionage wonders of the Tanker in Metal Gear Solid 2, it brings back some great memories and keeps me on the edge of my seat as I play. It's also nice to listen to as background music. The slow and jazz-like tones play it nicely if one decicdes to kick back to the OST. Other tunes are clearly more jazz oriented than others, but they all still have a general tone which makes listening to the OST an experience, it helps to keep it consistent.
Well, that's about it. I have other favorites but I'm a bit tired right now. So I'll save it for another post another day.