(Topic ID: 157239)

Which pins have the best *original* music?

By goingincirclez

7 years ago


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There are 137 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 3.
#1 7 years ago

Soundtracks are among my favorite aspects of video games... and often the sole reason I remember some games at all. So let's celebrate games with great sound! I'd love to know which ones to look out for that I might pass by otherwise.

So let's pretend a well-stocked pincade is a jukebox: Which game earns your coin if only to hear its original music / soundtrack?

Or put another way: setting aside qualms about themes and gameplay, which pins do you play in spite of their faults, just to hear them? What game drives you past the point of rage, hoping to make an achievement just so you can hear the reward?

Given the thread title, obviously games with licensed music such as ACDC, GNR, MET, LotR, STTNG, etc are excluded because you can hear those themes and songs elsewhere, anytime. I'm more interested in games with *original*, exclusive music. Let's also forgive fidelity issues owing to the tech of the day (mono / lousy speakers / bad compression / etc) too. That is what it was, but can be overcome and enjoyed in spite.

------EDIT to ADD 4/12/2016 6:30 edt:-------

Thought it'd be fun to compile a list of responses to see how clear the favorites are. Any game mentioned once will be listed. If someone went through the trouble to mention it again, that's another "point". Upvotes where one game is mentioned also count as extra points... but where more than one is mentioned, it's not always clear which the upvotes are for, so those don't count. Anyway, this is for fun so I'm not gonna count chads:

~updated 4/14/2016 @ 10:30p

OPENERS (not mostly original, but well executed)
- The Addams Family
- Iron Man
- Lord of the Rings
- Phantom of the Opera
- Star Trek: The Next Generation
- Tommy
- Twilight Zone
- WhoDunnit

HONORABLY MENTIONED (JUST) ONCE:
- Attack From Mars x
- Bad Cats x
- Bad Girls x
- Black Knight x
- Brahm Stoker's Dracula x
- Centaur x
- Champion Pub x
- Congo x
- Corvette x
- Excalibur x
- Genesis x
- Grand Lizard x
- Heavy Metal Meltdown x
- High Speed 2 x
- Indianpolis 500 x
- Medieval Madness x
- Millionaire x
- Mousin Around x
- Pirates of the Carribean x
- Transformers x
- Transporter the Rescue x
- Victory x
- Viper Night Drivin' x
- Whoa Nellie x

PRETTY GOOD JAMS (2-4 votes):
- Banzai Run xxx
- Cirqus Voltaire xxx
- Class of 1812 xxxx
- Elvira & the Party Monsters xx
- E-M dingleberry ragchime xxx
- Fish Tales xxx
- Funhouse xxx
- Hollywood Heat xx
- Judge Dredd xxxx
- Junk Yard xx
- Monte Carlo xxx
- Mystery Castle xx
- Night Moves xxx
- No Good Gofers xx
- Road Kings xx
- Robo War xx
- Rollergames xx
- The Shadow xx
- Taxi xxxx
- Theater of Magic xx
- Torpedo Alley xx
- Time Machine xx

CRANK IT UP (5-7 votes):
- Bride of Pinbot xxxxx
- F-14 xxxxxx
- High Speed xxxxx
- Monster Bash xxxxxx
- Space Station xxxxx
- Swords of Fury xxxxxx
- Tales of the Arabian Nights xxxxxx
- Whirlwind xxxxx
- Whitewater xxxxxx

ARENA MONSTERS (8 or more):
- Pinbot xxxxxxxxx
- TX-Sector xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

MOUNTAIN DWELLERS
- Black Knight 2000 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

#2 7 years ago

Getting the ball rolling here: not to say there's anything wrong with the game otherwise IMO, but I simply love the music in Space Station. It's chill and ambient and the way layers are added in when you dock the balls just adds to it. The amped remix during multiball is tense, the bonus ball theme is likewise, and the award themes (high score especially) are wonderful. It all fits the theme and execution perfectly, but I often think I'd enjoy listening to it outside the game as well.

I also love the high score ditty in Whirlwind... it puts me in a silly happy mood every time, it's such a lighthearted song in the face of the game's foreboding theme.

Pinbot has also stuck with me for many years, but a lot of that might be from the NES version...

#3 7 years ago

For pins not based on a licensed theme, I think Tales of the Arabian Nights has the best music of any pin. The little sitar motif when it's counting up the ring spins is one of the best pin sound effects of all time. I love Champion Pub's use of the "Maple Leaf Rag" and the little stereotypical ethnic riffs when the different boxing matches start. I also love Who Dunnit's use of the "Peter Gunn" theme and other noirish riffs.

#4 7 years ago

The pins David Thiel's did sound design for have incredible original audio. Time Machine, Torpedo Alley, and the upcoming Lexy Lightspeed.

Oh also Fish Tales has amazing music. It's like a hoedown every time you finish a game!

#5 7 years ago

TX-Sector

That might be the best original music ever made, pinball machine or otherwise.

#6 7 years ago

I love whitewater's progression through rafts subtle changes. Also the BK2K theme is pretty rocking.

#7 7 years ago

Bk2k

#8 7 years ago

Whirlwind has always had my favorite pinball music. Black Knight 2000 rocks. The multi-layered tunes of Swords of Fury are dark and chill.

I think I have a bias towards the sound of the System 11 soundboard, since I grew up in the Sega Genesis/SNES era of video gaming, and the Genesis' sound chip is nearly identical to the ones found in System 11 games, I have a fondness towards them that I can appreciate.

#9 7 years ago

+1. Pinbot runs a close second.

#10 7 years ago

F-14, Baby!

#11 7 years ago

Oh, I'll have to acknowledge BK2K... I've yet to see (hear) one in person, but every time I play The Pinball Arcade I pause on that game's menu for a bit.

Fish Tales, arrgh I've not heard enough of it because I suck at it, but I do enjoy what I've managed to hear.

Quoted from mbaumle:

since I grew up in the Sega Genesis/SNES era of video gaming, and the Genesis' sound chip is nearly identical to the ones found in System 11 games, I have a fondness towards them that I can appreciate.

I totally get this, and grew up in the same era myself. Though my related fondness is probably more misplaced toward the earlier SS era and how those correlate to sounds from Atari, Intellivision, & Colecovision. Of course there was no "music" in those games, but it's amazing how much was accomplished with so little.

#12 7 years ago

Bride of Pinbot
Tx-Sector
Banzai Run (multi ball music rocks)

#13 7 years ago

Pinbot hands down. It always amazes me that a human could compose such other-worldly music.

Honorable mentions:
Taxi
SoF

#14 7 years ago

In agreement. My top 5:
Bk2000
Sof
Bop
Time machine
Shadow -- not sure if its original composition or taken from movie though.
Wh20 progression is pretty sweet too - honorable mention

#15 7 years ago

Personally, space station gets my vote. Especially the high score music

#16 7 years ago

I like Phantom of the Opera. Got good original tunes and good bass. All the songs are good I think. Lots of good ones out there, but don't forget Phantom.

#17 7 years ago

Monster bash

#19 7 years ago

Vince Pontarelli is an incredible musician and really flexed his chops on the few pins he did. Monster Bash has an incredible range of styles....another game he did with an incredibly catchy and varied soundtrack is No Good Gofers. It's got kind of a Weird Al style accordion main tune, a Satriani type of guitar metal when you get the Super Jackpot, techno dance music for the Dance Party mode, the chicken dance and others. His games really feel like they're being scored live to your gameplay. He also did Congo, which also has pretty incredible music - all original, too...better than the movie.

#20 7 years ago

Night Moves.

#21 7 years ago

Monte Carlo and pretty much every Premier pin, ever!

#22 7 years ago
Quoted from Rarehero:

Congo, which also has pretty incredible music - all original, too...better than the movie.

That's great to know! I got to play a Congo at Louisville Expo this year and loved the sound profile... but having never seen the movie, I assumed it was inspired / licensed somehow. But yeah, it was great... I was really disappointed when the show was busy and it was too hard to hear over the din and the nearby MET, etc.

#23 7 years ago

Transformers

#24 7 years ago

bk2k is so god awful...I never understood why it's so well loved until I realized everyone on Pinside loves cock rock.

WH20 is really good, as is MB; but TOTAN may be the best. The art & sound package are top teir stuff for sure; has to be a reason it's rated so high.

#25 7 years ago

Viper Night Drivin's main song was composed by Slash and then into a song. I'll sometimes just start a game and let it sit there and play that riff....very catchy.

#26 7 years ago

Chris Granner/end thread

#27 7 years ago
Quoted from TheLaw:

bk2k is so god awful.

Blasphemy sir!! Take it back! Best music ever, it's so 80s cheesy and catchy. Tie for my fav with sof

#28 7 years ago
Quoted from Mbecker:

Blasphemy sir!! Take it back! Best music ever, it's so 80s cheesy and catchy. Tie for my fav with sof

Ha I'm fine with cheese, and 80s cheese, but it's dreadful. I'd rather it be MORE cheesy like Roller Games.

#29 7 years ago

TOTAN is absolutely the best.

I also enjoy the bluesy boogie-woogie in my Junk Yard (surprisingly, Kurt Goebel's only work on pinball machines!).
1980's Gottlieb music (like TX Sector and Victory) have a unique lo-fi digital style that I find charming.

#30 7 years ago
Quoted from TheLaw:

Ha I'm fine with cheese, and 80s cheese, but it's dreadful. I'd rather it be MORE cheesy like Roller Games.

Heavy Metal Meltdown is the king of 80's cheese...

#32 7 years ago

its Tx-Sector! ahhhh it has to be you fools!

#33 7 years ago

Whirlwind

#34 7 years ago

Excalibur has some really kick ass music!

#35 7 years ago

Mystery Castle. Wish I didn't pass on owning one... All I can do is listen now...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1rymo51ekvynkaq/mystery_castle_madness.mp3

#36 7 years ago

Can't forget that High Speed chase music

#37 7 years ago

Pinbot, BOP, and EATPM.

#38 7 years ago
Quoted from Cornelius:

Can't forget that High Speed chase music

Uff I did somehow...yeah that's a classic jam.

#39 7 years ago

Love all the choices here. I want to add:

Iron Man!

Don't know if it's original, but the tunes are pure testosterone. Whiplash's track is my favorite. When you hear it start, along with the animation of him swinging his whips is just badass. Then hearing the WOO-PAH! each time you hit a jackpot makes it even more badass.

Others:
-HS2: Redline Mania, MB and post JP.
-TAF: Everything, it just sounds so happy and mixes well with the humor.
-MM and AFM: Fits the themes so well with medieval horns and 50s scifi.
-JD: Are the tuned licensed? They're all great. Sometimes I just like to listen to the pre-launch guitar riff for a few more seconds.
-FH: Love the main gameplay tune.

Many more

#40 7 years ago

Really enjoying the suggestions and responses... I'm glad some of my faves have been mentioned, but some I never even heard of (let alone heard) will keep me on the lookout!

Just for fun I think I'll count a tally and add to the opening post, to see if a some truly clear runaway favorites emerge....

#41 7 years ago

I thought the following where catchy:
Taxi
Tom
Centaur
Totan
JD

Just songs that never got old....or would get stuck in my head

#42 7 years ago

BK2K and TX-Sector and I've got both Someone please just come and pick up my BK2K already.

#43 7 years ago

The only two i own: BK2k and WH2O!

#44 7 years ago

Nightmoves is awesome, almost makes me wish i didnt sell it

#45 7 years ago

3. High Speed ("First pinball to play a complete song" - IPDB.org)

2. Judge Dredd

1. TX ... TX ... TX-Sector

#46 7 years ago

BK2K and it's not close. Honorable mention goes to Monster Bash.

#47 7 years ago

I always thought Black Knight had a really cool and distinctive sound.

#48 7 years ago

The rapping in Class of 1812 is so incredibly bad, it circles its way back into being good again.

There needs to be a Rez (for those of you who know your obscure Sega shooters) type of game where the music is made on the fly from your activity on the playfield.

#49 7 years ago
Quoted from JoelOmatik:

Iron Man!
Don't know if it's original, but the tunes are pure testosterone. Whiplash's track is my favorite.

The majority of it is the movie's score. Whiplash's tune is David Theil's original music, though.

#50 7 years ago

Indianapolis 500 has fun music.

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