I don't know why, but for some reason game music is about the only stuff I can listen to these days, aside from Enya and certain soundtracks. In fact, there are three CDs in my car with nothing but game music on them. .
Well, lets get to the point. Game music has had a… rather short history. As far as I know, it was only really introduced in the 80's, and even then only synthesized. The Nintendo and Super Nintendo helped things along, being able to support a lot in the way of music. In fact, several game composers got their start here (Including Nobou Uematsu, composer for the Final Fantasy series), and some amazing melodies shone through the synthesized instruments. But since 1995, music has made major leaps and bounds, and these days most games, especially RPGs, sport full orchestrated musical scores that sometimes even rivals those of movie soundtracks. In fact, sometimes the composers tend to gain a reputation. Besides the previously mentioned Nobou Uematsu, there's also Yasunori Mitsuda, Jeremy Soule, Rob King, and many others. What's cool is there's also a few soundtracks available for some games (Kingdom Hearts, Halo, and many more, though most of them are easier to find on Amazon.com *wink*).
So what's your thoughts on game music? For that matter, is there a specific genre of games that holds your favorite type of music? Perhaps even a favorite melody or composer?
And since I brought up Enya, I wonder if there's anyone that can answer this for me. Is it true Enya did a music album based on the music from Final Fantasy 4? If I recall, I think it was called "Celtic Moon," or something to that effect.
I enjoy game music about as much as you. Aside from a few other genres, it's about all I listen to. My favorite compositions are from the Final Fantasy series. I love the theme song at the beginning and songs like 1,000 No Kotoba and Morning Glow are really inspirational.
I like Xenogear's music scores.here's a list of them.
Awakening
Omen
Steel Giants
Ship of Regret and Sleep
The Blue Traveller
Bonds of Sea and Fire
The Sky, the Clouds, and You
Ancient Dance
Emotions
The Beginning and the End
Fuse
Leftovers from the Dreams of the Strong
Flight
In a Dark Sleep
Lost.. Broken Shards
June Mermaid
Faraway Promise
Shevat.. The Wind is Calling
Small of Two Pieces
Solaris - Eden of Heaven
Gathering Stars in the Night Sky
Tears of the Stars, Hearts of the People
The One Who is Torn Apart
The Treasure That Cannot be Stolen
The Valley Where Wind is Born
My Village is Number One
Singing of the Gentle Wind
Wings
and the link to go listen to them is:
https://xenogears.tautoz.com/music/
I have recently experience something similar and have been listening to a lot more game music lately. Maybe it has something to do with the nostalgia factor. One of my favorite game soundtracks is from Max Payne 3. Though the original main theme from Max Payne always takes me back.