Top Ten Top Ten Video Game Soundtracks

Hey y'all.  So it's about time I did another top ten top ten, right?  Well, actually, it's about time I updated this thing regularly, but y'know, one thing at a time.  And for right now, that one thing is this top ten top ten.

Man, I really enjoy doing these lists.

In any case, this time it's a TTTT for video game soundtracks, as in the set of songs in a video game that is the best.  I have my own opinions in that area, but given that I haven't played as many games as other people have, it's probably not enough content for an entire blog.  I really only have three soundtracks in mind to consider for such a list.  Let's see if they appear.

As usual, my own votes do not count.  I'll be going on youtube and counting the votes done by people there.  Any soundtrack mentioned on their list, regardless if ranked higher or lower, is given one point each.  If anyone has a list greater than ten, only their top ten counts.  In the case of a tie, I'll rank the ties as the same place.  Normally I like to have some sort of objective means of why I list one over another in the case of a tie, but music is pretty subjective, so there's nothing really I can do about that.  Get ready for some really weird numbering.

Yeesh.  This was the single hardest list I've ever had to do.  There were so many people who defined "soundtrack" either too narrowly or too broadly.  That is, they seemed not to understand that there's a difference between "track" and "soundtrack" -- come on, there's a clear difference between one song and a collection of songs.  To make it worse, some people even said the entire franchise, like all the Mega Man games or all the Sonic games.  No.  Just no.  Not only do most franchise soundtracks go up and down in quality over time, but the longer-running franchises have transitioned from the MIDI bleeps and bloops of the past to modern orchestral stuff.  You can't compare those.  I had to throw out a lot of potential votes.

Seriously, it was hard to get votes this time.  Much harder than any list I've had to do before. Not to mention that Youtube is about as helpful as dirt in trying to search for things.  This isn't the greatest top ten top ten I've ever done, but it is what it is, and if you're entertained, well, that's what counts. 

Okay, so for right now, let's start with the hairly barelies, that is, those that almost, but not quite, got a spot on the top ten soundtracks. Note that all of these have equal votes.

Almost Made Its:
The Legend of Zelda: Windwaker
Final Fantasy VI
Metal Gear Solid 4
Metroid Prime
Castlevania Symphony of the Night
Okami
Mass Effect
Battlefield 3
Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
Kingdom Hearts

And now to the top ten.

Top Ten Top Ten Favorite Video Game Characters

Hey y'all.  Well, it's been long enough, but I've finally got the top ten top ten favorite video game characters.  I didn't think it would be as hard as it was, but holy crap, I saw more top ten videos than I did for all of my other top ten top tens.  Woo, this was something.  Well, in any case, I bring you the results today!  How did your favorite do?

Okay, so the rules again.  Each entry in a top ten list counts as one vote, no matter how high or low that character is on the list.  If a video lists more than top ten, anything above ten is ignored.  Shorter lists are acceptable.  It doesn't matter if two favorites are from the same series as far as my list goes.  If two characters are tied, the one that comes from the better game series will occupy the higher rank.

Like my least favorite character list, I'll go first with some of those that didn't make the top ten.  First of all, a big round of applause for our runner ups!

How to Judge a Game

Hey y'all.  So I was thinking, and I decided that if I had to vote for the greatest game of all time, it would be Donkey Kong Country 2.  This game has awesome gameplay, graphics, and music.  The controls are simple and the experience is fun.  It's a game anybody of any age can really enjoy.

But then it occurred to me that this may not be an objective opinion.  After all, I haven't played all the games in existence.  So how do you judge a video game and whether it is good or bad?  Well, the most objective way possible is to go through all the characteristics of a game and judge it by each of them.  Let's start with...

1. Graphics

Top Ten Top Tens: Video Game Music

Hey y'all.  I had a lot of fun trying to figure out the top ten creepiest characters in people's opinions.  So, I'd like to try it again, but this time with video game music!  I love VGM, especially back in the old days when they didn't put rock music in, but had MIDI sounding bleeps and bloops.  My favorite genre of VGM is Mega Man, as you may have already guessed, and I'll probably do a Mega Man Top Ten in the future.

Now, a few ground rules.  Note that my source for this list is Youtube, and every song that gets a mention in a top ten video gets one point.  It doesn't matter how high or low that song is on the list.  If someone's song list is more than ten videos, then only the top ten will count in my survey.  I'm not going to videos that refer to a specific game; no "top ten Mega Man" or "top ten DBZ" for me.  Also, there's no "top ten creepiest" or "top ten most sad".  I will only be counting, "my top ten favorite", "top ten best", "top ten most epic" or similar titles with open reach and the potential to count all types of songs and games.  While I may do the "top ten best soundtracks" later, that's too big for the scope of this list.

So let's get to it!  How does one define best?  Is it the song that takes the most effort?  The one that entertains the most, or is the most iconic?  How about the one that gets stuck in your head the most?  The ones you'll want to listen to when you're not playing a game?  It's really hard to tell.  But, whatever your definition of best, this is what ranks on youtube.

Let's start this up.  For a while I was worried, because people were just mentioning various games, and I was having a heck of a time just getting two votes for the same song.  However, over time patterns began to form, and finally I have a top ten.