Blog To Win's Top 10 Winter themes

I don't know about you, but I love the holidays!

I love giving gifts to my friends and family, helping people in need, and drinking hot chocolate which I'm way too old for.

To celebrate my love of winter, and to get back into the holiday spirit, I composed a top ten list of what I believe are the best Winter gaming themes.

Now what makes a "Winter gaming theme?"  Easy. As long as a level has snow or ice in it, it's a winter gaming theme. Some of these are happy and cheery like the holidays, but others are depressing and minor...

...like... the holidays...

Wow, you know what, Winter music fits everything.

But without further ado, let's get started!

10. Jingle Town

Snowboard Kids 2: 1999

Almost every song in this game sounds the exact same. Heavy (cheesy) snyth with a strong back beat. Snowboard Kids 2 has a lot of energy, and this song reflects that.

Anyone else hate the lift at end of a stage because it only allowed for one person to go up at a time therefore if some asshole cut you off…

(SMACK)

...onto the next one.

8. Glacial Colosseum
Soulcalibur IV: 2008

 

The only good part of Soulcalibur IV

Okay maybe besides Santa Cervantes. NEXT

8. Snow Mountain
Virtua Fighter 5: 2006

I don’t know if it’s just me, but somehow, this song sounds really melancholy. Virtua Fighter is the last series to feel like that, actually it’s probably the purest fighting game on the market, but somehow it feels kinda drifty and wandery. Actually, it sounds more like the game over songs from AM2 classics like WHITE SUMMER and Last Wave.

I don’t know why I like it so much, maybe my best punching people experience is when I was punching them in the snow. Maybe it’s because I love WHITE SUMMER and Last Wave. Or maybe it’s because…

 
...nope, it’s because I like punching people in the snow.

7. Paradice ~ Deep Mountain
Perfect Cherry Blossom: 2003

Easily my favorite Touhou level theme, it works perfectly with the start of the game, and it picks up just when the game starts getting real. It also has a noticeable lack of snyth trumpets, giving it an edge over the usual Touhou sound.  The addition of trumpets do this to a Touhou song.

6. In a Snow Bound Land

Donkey Kong Country 2 : 1995

As popular as it is to say it, Donkey Kong Country 2 is  Dave Wise’s finest work. He has a really nice dark touch with his music, but somehow he manages to keep the games feeling wonderous. I don’t know how he managed to make the music work so well to two monkeys jumping around, but I also don’t Vocaloid can sound good.

I’ll chalk it up to the magic of composition.

5. Winter Theme

Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town: 2003

Out of any song on the list, this one is the most generic, but that doesn’t dissuade how  it’s beautiful it is. This was a hard pick from all the HM games, because nearly every game has an outstanding Winter theme, but out of all of them, I had to go for Friends of Minteral Town’s version.

I think I played what Harvest Moon games I’ve played just to hear Winter music. That sounds like something I’d do.

4. Phendrana Drifts
Metroid Prime: 2002

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaamn. My jaw dropped when I first heard this. It has the honor of being  one of two Metroid songs to do this. This is the perfect song for not a winter level, but a Metroid-winter level.

You know all those things people love about Metroid, (besides sequence breaking)  the feeling of loneliness, the exploration of a beautifully rendered world, sequence breaking? That’s here, in music form, which is amazing for a song, but what makes it better is how listenable it is outside of game. Basically, it’s the best kind of game music.

3. Sasha’s theme
Advance Wars: Dual Strike: 2005

Out of all the themes here, this one is easily the most Christmas-like. Sure it doesn’t fit the idea of soldiers going to war , like  at all, but it sounds like legitimate Christmas music.

Actually, I’m surprised how cheery it is. Advance Wars (Days of Ruin aside) has never been dark and depressing, but this almost sounds like the kind of song you’d hear in Soviet Russia Blue Moon during the holidays.

Also, this might be the only song on the list that makes me smile any time I hear it. I literally play this song when I go Christmas shopping, as sad as that sounds, it gets me in the giving mood.

2. Northwall
Actraiser: 1991

 Northwall was the first song that actually made me sit back, stop playing, and listen to the song.

It made me realize how much I loved the minor key and because of that  my taste in game music has stayed that way since. I didn’t realize it at first, but after playing game after game, it was the one that coined one of my laws of gaming.

“Law #19: Snow level music is always the best song.”

There are plenty of exceptions, but 90% of the time, I see it as true.

1. Snowman

Mother: 1989

For once, a Mother post without spoilers: 

The Mother Trilogy contains two of the greatest soundtracks of all time. It’s probably no surprise that I put it’s Winter theme as the  number 1 spot. Out of any of the versions however, the Mother 3+ version is the definitive version. So much so that they used it in Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

Out of any of the songs here, it has the most amount of imagery to it. The starting build up of the cold winter winds with the faint trace of the melody is beautifully done, and when it just gets to the point where the song dies off and then flashes with warmpth as the song becomes joyous and soulful…

…is one of the best things I’ve ever heard.

I always imagine Lucas and Boney (maybe Claus too) walking through a blizzard, scarves on their neck, heads down, slowly trying to get back to their house. And as soon as the song dies down, we see Lucas open the door,only   to find his house lit up with holiday cheer, the smell of hot cocca is in the air, a fire is burning, and his mom and dad smile as the song builds up into a grand…

…yeah, I don’t know how to write about music, but the point still stands, I like it.

Thanks for reading everyone, and as anywhere else will tell you, Happy Holidays!