Board 8 > What's the most iconic "not important" piece of video game music?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Which is to say, not a regular theme (ie main theme, battle theme, boss theme etc.) or a major character or story theme?

This topic brought to you by Gusty Garden Galaxy, which might also be the correct answer. Stickerbush Symphony is another one that comes to mind.

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Pokemon centre theme.

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The correct answer is 1-1 from Mario 1 and it's not even close unless you're saying it doesn't count because it became a theme for the series afterward.

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I will 100% say that, and even in that game I believe it plays in every overworld level. Its basically the main theme of the game.

I had overworld themes in my list of examples but I deleted it because I thought it was too general. But yes, stuff like 1-1 doesnt count.

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Then it's Green Hill Zone

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I think we need to exclude jingles from this also, otherwise the answer would be one of any number of 'item get' or 'game over' themes

Also, I will submit Gerudo Valley for consideration

Bob-Omb Battlefield

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1-1 is right imo but if we're excluding that, Green Hill Zone is a good call. Also Gusty Garden became incorporated into Galaxy 2's main theme and is now the general Galaxy motif whenever they're calling back to the series.

Some ideas:
Bob-omb Battlefield
Fairy Fountain
Dr Wily Stage 1
Guile's Theme
Bloody Tears
Rainbow Road maybe?
Escape from the City

A lot of 'first level' themes seem to become the most iconic.

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Ducktales The Moon

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Guile's Theme is a good answer because it became a meme for a while.

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final fantasy victory fanfare

JackMan posted...

Pokemon centre theme.

I think this nails it.

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Leonhart4 posted...

Guile's Theme is a good answer because it goes with everything.

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Asking what is most iconic isn't going to get you a very wide set of answers. Nothing from the last (nearly-)thirty years is going to be regarded as iconic -- or, at least, most iconic -- when gamers on the whole played very different things once they had more choices than just NES or Genesis.

Now, which is the most renowned among VGM lovers is a completely different question, but if you want to include all of gaming, then you're going to get SMB1 and Pac-Man as the leading contenders. I'm going to posit the answer to this question is Music A from Tetris, but I'm assuming that gets DQ'ed as a main theme (or because it's a Russian folk song.)

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Leonhart4 posted...

The correct answer is 1-1 from Mario 1 and it's not even close unless you're saying it doesn't count because it became a theme for the series afterward.

Came to say this. Basically so iconic it went from not important to a theme.
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This criteria fits basically more than half of all the iconic video game music I can think of.

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Pallet Town might be up there but it misses a lot of modern day gamers I think

andylt posted...

Dr Wily Stage 1

This

I consider first stages themes to be "important"

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B.T. Dutch

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JackMan posted...

Pokemon centre theme.

nailed it
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Music A from Tetris is a great answer

I don't even know what the Pokemon center theme is

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bicycle theme

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yeah i dont agree with level 1-1 or green hill type answers because i consider first levels "important", they're what sets the tone of the whole thing and first thing people hear of the gameplay, first thing people think of in so many cases when they think of the game

Pokemon Center Theme is a good example though
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Tetris A Music is an already-existing song from before video games were invented

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WazzupGenius00 posted...

Tetris A Music is an already-existing song from before video games were invented

azuarc posted...

but I'm assuming that gets DQ'ed as a main theme (or because it's a Russian folk song.)

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Doo doo doo doot. doot. doo doo dooooooooo

well if we're throwing out all first levels I'll submit Chemical Plant Zone for consideration

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Boy I should have defined this one better. Yeah I wouldn't really consider opening levels either, and Tetris is right out.

azuarc posted...

Asking what is most iconic isn't going to get you a very wide set of answers. Nothing from the last (nearly-)thirty years is going to be regarded as iconic -- or, at least, most iconic -- when gamers on the whole played very different things once they had more choices than just NES or Genesis.

I do disagree with this. Megalovania is iconic. Both Portal themes are iconic. The Skyrim theme is iconic. There is plenty of iconic music still, just not as much. Even One Winged Angel fits that time frame!

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Hence why I added a modifier of most iconic, since that's what you were asking for.

If we wanted a list of songs we considered iconic, our list would be all over the place as people argued what is or is not iconic, but it would be a very long list and would absolutely include songs from the last twenty years.

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Pokemon Center Theme is a very good answer.

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I don't know, I feel like the Pokmon Center Theme might be the only Pokmon theme apart from the main theme that shows up in every game in the main series, which could cause it to occupy a middle ground between "important" and "not important"

I think I'll throw Dire Dire Docks in there. It's definitely the most popular track from one of the most acclaimed games ever.

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Yeah I would discount Pokemon Center the same way I went back on the Final Fantasy fanfare, the music being so frequent/regular defeats the point of the question I think. Also is it really that iconic? I never thought of it in that way.
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Leonhart4 posted...

well if we're throwing out all first levels I'll submit Chemical Plant Zone for consideration

now THAT is actually one of the best answers so far
DoctorJimmy133 posted...

I think I'll throw Dire Dire Docks in there. It's definitely the most popular track from one of the most acclaimed games ever.

now THAT is actually one of the best answers so far also
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Idk but I'll just throw out that this topic is making me fully hate the word "iconic"

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JackMan posted...

Pokemon centre theme.

Also the Chocobo theme.

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XIII_rocks posted...

Idk but I'll just throw out that this topic is making me fully hate the word "iconic"

https://gfycat.com/likelythisallensbigearedbat

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XIII_rocks posted...

Idk but I'll just throw out that this topic is making me fully hate the word "iconic"

Iconic post. Iconic. ;p

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some minecraft song

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I've been trying to think of an RPG song that fits the bill here but most of them get ruled out by qualifiers. The chocobo theme is a good answer though.

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JackMan posted...

Pokemon centre theme.

wouldn't have thought about it before but totally fits unless disqualified by the regular theme rule. otherwise i'm not sure anything can fit due to how it's in all the games.

The Moon was mentioned earlier, that's a good one for a classic.

a more modern one that cheats a little:
Song of the Ancients (Nier)

remixed multiple times in the first game and became an iconic battle theme in its own right in the sequel as well as in FFXIV's crossover.

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Invincibility Star theme

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Leonhart4 posted...

I've been trying to think of an RPG song that fits the bill here but most of them get ruled out by qualifiers. The chocobo theme is a good answer though.

some overworld themes (e.g., Chrono Cross - Another World) or sad songs (e.g., Chrono Trigger - At The Bottom of the Night) come to mind but it's pretty limiting. really it depends how major character or story theme is defined. does the opera scene in FF6 count as major? how about Luna's boat song from Lunar?

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Leonhart4 posted...

I've been trying to think of an RPG song that fits the bill here but most of them get ruled out by qualifiers. The chocobo theme is a good answer though.

Secret of the Forest - Chrono Trigger maybe

or The Forest Maze in Mario RPG

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Wanglicious posted...

some overworld themes (e.g., Chrono Cross - Another World) or sad songs (e.g., Chrono Trigger - At The Bottom of the Night) come to mind but it's pretty limiting. really it depends how major character or story theme is defined. does the opera scene in FF6 count as major? how about Luna's boat song from Lunar?

The opera song is pretty good, although it's a leitmotif of Celes's theme.

Forest Maze is a pretty solid answer, too.

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You guys are naming stuff that's way too old / niche. Something like Super Mario RPG has largely been forgotten by gamers who aren't of the GameFAQs type.

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Eh, I'm thinking of stuff that gets remixed a lot on YouTube and Forest Maze is one of those songs.

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Dont underestimate new gamers exposure to old gamers memery

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Not sure why everybody is sleeping on this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OUP_Z3iZPs

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