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marurun
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Weird or trippy soundtracks (that are still good)

by marurun Mon Feb 06, 2023 12:19 pm

There's been some discussion of Mother and Earthbound over on the Racket Slack/Discord, and it got me thinking. The Earthbound soundtrack is very distinct, and quite weird and trippy in many places. But it's also a good soundtrack that fits the game very well. What other games have weird and trippy soundtracks that mesh well with the game and are also good soundtracks?

I think Paranoia/Psychosis on the PC Engine/TG-16 has a pretty good trippy and weird soundtrack. The game uses lots of weird imagery and seems like it's probably supposed to be about a mind trip, and the soundtrack supports that very well, being both weird and listenable.

I'll update this post with more as I think of them, but I wanted to get it started so we can discuss as we go.
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Re: Weird or trippy soundtracks (that are still good)

by marurun Mon Feb 06, 2023 12:28 pm

Gotta add in Cho Aniki. All those games have soundtracks that are camp AF. Not all the tracks are good, but enough are, and there are some really strange ones that stand out as also being pretty good.
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Re: Weird or trippy soundtracks (that are still good)

by Limewater Mon Feb 06, 2023 2:26 pm

I wouldn't exactly call it "trippy," but the primarily a cappella sound track for Katamari Damacy is pretty distinctive and silly, and fits the game well.

It's somewhat polarizing, but I think that the soundtrack to Golgo 13:Top Secret Episode is fantastic. The tense sixties/seventies secret agent themes are not very common. Some people find the repeating high pitched tones grating, though.

Day of the Tentacle has a zany, cartoony sound track that fits the game's tone perfectly, and the IMUSE system synchronized the sound track to the setting and what was occurring onscreen. Monkey Island II also has a great soundtrack and takes advantage of iMUSE, but Day of the Tentacle is weirder.

Rez made the soundtrack central to the gameplay.

Also not exactly trippy, but I'd like to point out the boss battle against the Great and Mighty Poo in Conker's Bad Fur day. The boss literally sings during the entire battle and the song progresses as you make progress. The song itself isn't that strange, apart from being about poop, but the experience of playing it sticks with you, like something you might step in that becomes embedded in the tread of your shoe and you can't get it out no matter how hard you pick at it with the pointy end of a stick. Like gum.
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Re: Weird or trippy soundtracks (that are still good)

by opa Tue Feb 07, 2023 7:56 pm

marurun wrote:Gotta add in Cho Aniki. All those games have soundtracks that are camp AF. Not all the tracks are good, but enough are, and there are some really strange ones that stand out as also being pretty good.

Just played Cho Aniki on PCE CD. It's trippy but weird. Should I check out a different version?
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Re: Weird or trippy soundtracks (that are still good)

by PretentiousHipster Tue Feb 07, 2023 9:42 pm

Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars. I mean, it's made by Les Claypool of Primus, so that says enough.
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Re: Weird or trippy soundtracks (that are still good)

by marurun Wed Feb 08, 2023 11:03 am

opa wrote:Just played Cho Aniki on PCE CD. It's trippy but weird. Should I check out a different version?


All of the Cho Aniki games have bonkers soundtracks.

Some of the tracks in Parodius, particularly Oshaberi and Sexy, are completely nuts. Sure, they're adaptations of classic and folk tunes (and sometimes pop tunes), but they've also got crazy instrumentation.
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Re: Weird or trippy soundtracks (that are still good)

by ElkinFencer10 Wed Feb 08, 2023 11:41 am

Buck Bumble is peak weird 90s game OSTs, and I love it.
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Re: Weird or trippy soundtracks (that are still good)

by o.pwuaioc Wed Feb 08, 2023 4:14 pm

Will Discord kill RB's forum? And when did you guys get a Discord? I didn't see an announcement or link.

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Last edited by o.pwuaioc on Wed Feb 08, 2023 8:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Weird or trippy soundtracks (that are still good)

by marurun Wed Feb 08, 2023 5:38 pm

o.pwuaioc wrote:Will Discord kill RB's forum? And when did you guys get a Discord? I didn't see an announcement or link.


This thread is from 2019 and has been pinned in Off Topic for a long time:
viewtopic.php?f=15&t=52711

While I agree with some of your soundtrack sentiments, that wasn't what I was trying to get at in this thread. I mean stuff that's downright strange, goofy, or off-kilter that manages to not suck despite that.
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Re: Weird or trippy soundtracks (that are still good)

by KiddMarine Sun Jul 02, 2023 6:38 am

I think Darius Gaiden definitely fits the bill. Quasi-Operatic ambient breakbeats in a shmup? Why not?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhVdrM5me5k
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