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I like it when games use classical music in their soundtracks

Kishi

Kishi

Little Waves
(They/Them)
Staff member
Moderator
Final Fantasy II: An excerpt from the finale of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake as "Temptation of the Princess." I especially like the PS version.

Final Fantasy III: "Fur Elise" by Beethoven and "Der Flohwalzer" (composer unknown) as "Piano Practice 1" and "Piano Practice 2."

Final Fantasy V: "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen as "I'm a Dancer."

FFV's piano-learning side quest also quotes from "Marche Militaire" by Schubert (Piano Lesson 5), "Beautiful Dreamer" by Foster (Piano Lesson 6), Piano Sonata No. 11 by Mozart (Piano Lesson 7), and "Deux Arabesques" by Debussy (Piano Lesson 8).

The entire Parodius series by Konami famously draws its scores from classical sources (according to prolific Konami composer Hidenori Maezawa, this started just because there wasn't time to write an original score for the first game on MSX). I'll just link one of my favorite tracks from Gokujō Parodius, "The Cat Battleship Forever," based on "The Stars and Stripes Forever" by Sousa.



Violentvixen said:
Moonlight Sonata from Earthworm Jim 2 is bizarre and I'm into it:
Click to expand...

I don't suppose it's classical, but a reference in the same game that a lot of people miss is the music in the cattle mutilation stage being "El Choclo," a famous Argentine song written in 1903.

 
Peklo

Peklo

Oh! Create!
(they/them, she/her)
I'll go ahead and complete the pair from Belmont's Revenge, as the accompanying and preceding stage theme for the Bach boss tune listed above is a rendition of Debussy's "Passepied."

Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" turns up memorably in Resident Evil.

Fatal Fury 2's final boss Wolfgang Krauser unforgettably adopts his namesake Mozart's famous rendition of the Dies irae sequence from the Requiem Mass, played by his own personal orchestra for his bouts.

The third movement of Beethoven's Sonata Pathétique forms the basis for "Septette for the Dead Princess" from Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.

The "Clair de lune" movement from Debussy's Suite bergamasque is wonderfully remixed as the ending theme to Eschatos.
 
SpoonyBard

SpoonyBard

Threat Rhyme
(He/Him)
Who could forget in Mega Man Legends where you get to the Main Gate and this Xellos-lookin' robot pops out accompanied by literally just Bach.


At least for his final form he gets a remix of it.


I second the Parodius series. Gokujou Parodius has some of my favorite remixes and it's hard to pick just one, but I gotta go with the last stage theme, which is a remix of Dvorak’s New World Symphony:


Bonus, while not a game, One Piece just straight up used that original song for Luffy's big finisher against Crocodile:


(mind the fansub)

EDIT: Also wow, that Cave Story info is blowing my mind. I had no idea.
 
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P

Poster

Just some poster
The Final Fantasy IV dancing girls use a short excerpt from Khachaturian's Sabre Dance from Gayane.

Breath of Fire IV uses Ravel's Pavane for a Dead Princess as one of its tracks. I vaguely remember it playing when you find Nina's sister a ways into the game.
 
Zef

Zef

Find Your Reason
(He/Him)
Kishi said:
The entire Parodius series by Konami famously draws its scores from classical sources (according to prolific Konami composer Hidenori Maezawa, this started just because there wasn't time to write an original score for the first game on MSX). I'll just link one of my favorite tracks from Gokujō Parodius, "The Cat Battleship Forever," based on "The Stars and Stripes Forever" by Sousa.

Click to expand...

I clicked on this thread specifically for this reference.

SpoonyBard said:
I second the Parodius series. Gokujou Parodius has some of my favorite remixes and it's hard to pick just one, but I gotta go with the last stage theme, which is a remix of Dvorak’s New World Symphony:

Click to expand...

And this one.
 
SpoonyBard

SpoonyBard

Threat Rhyme
(He/Him)
Oh another one, Offenbach's Infernal Gallop from Orpheus in the Underworld, also known as the Can-Can, in Super Mario Land:

 
Peklo

Peklo

Oh! Create!
(they/them, she/her)
The soundtrack to Drag-On Dragoon/Drakengard by Takayuki Aihara and Nobuyoshi Sano is about as (in)famous as the rest of the game, but much more readily appreciated for its execution on its concepts, I think. It's almost entirely composed of sampled, rearranged and remixed and generally warped excerpts of classical music to create a soundscape of total unease and dissonance. The extensive list of quoted composers consists of, at least partly: Dvořák, Bartók, Debussy, Mahler, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Respighi, Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and Holst.

 
Cadenza

Cadenza

Mellotron enthusiast
(She/they)
I'm happy this thread has gotten such a positive response!

Sprite said:
Heavily remixed version of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, one of my favorite pieces.
Click to expand...

This is a lovely rendition.

Violentvixen said:
Moonlight Sonata from Earthworm Jim 2 is bizarre and I'm into it:
Click to expand...

I am... so confused about what's going on here. Is the idea that you're a tapeworm floating through intestines? I do like that this arrangement seems to use the entire first movement instead of just the opening snippet, at least.

Kishi said:
Final Fantasy II: An excerpt from the finale of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake as "Temptation of the Princess." I especially like the PS version.

Final Fantasy III: "Fur Elise" by Beethoven and "Der Flohwalzer" (composer unknown) as "Piano Practice 1" and "Piano Practice 2."

Final Fantasy V: "Habanera" from Bizet's Carmen as "I'm a Dancer."

FFV's piano-learning side quest also quotes from "Marche Militaire" by Schubert (Piano Lesson 5), "Beautiful Dreamer" by Foster (Piano Lesson 6), Piano Sonata No. 11 by Mozart (Piano Lesson 7), and "Deux Arabesques" by Debussy (Piano Lesson 8).

The entire Parodius series by Konami famously draws its scores from classical sources (according to prolific Konami composer Hidenori Maezawa, this started just because there wasn't time to write an original score for the first game on MSX). I'll just link one of my favorite tracks from Gokujō Parodius, "The Cat Battleship Forever," based on "The Stars and Stripes Forever" by Sousa.
Click to expand...

I kinda miss when Final Fantasy games did this, to be honest. And that Sousa arrangement kind of rules actually!

Peklo said:
I'll go ahead and complete the pair from Belmont's Revenge, as the accompanying and preceding stage theme for the Bach boss tune listed above is a rendition of Debussy's "Passepied."
Click to expand...

I was hoping someone would link that!

Peklo said:
The soundtrack to Drag-On Dragoon/Drakengard by Takayuki Aihara and Nobuyoshi Sano is about as (in)famous as the rest of the game, but much more readily appreciated for its execution on its concepts, I think. It's almost entirely composed of sampled, rearranged and remixed and generally warped excerpts of classical music to create a soundscape of total unease and dissonance. The extensive list of quoted composers consists of, at least partly: Dvořák, Bartók, Debussy, Mahler, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Respighi, Wagner, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, and Holst.
Click to expand...

Drakengard is one of my favorite examples of rearranging classical music in games, it's such a cool way to do a soundtrack.

Anyway, I came here to post an assortment of remixes/rearrangements of Chopin's Revolutionary Étude:

-King of Fighters 2003, where it serves as Adelheid Bernstein's theme when you fight him; it starts with the original piece before transitioning into something completely different. It's even performed by his sister Rose in the background of his stage, which is a nice touch. (And a higher-quality arrangement of the same)
-DDR Extreme (and others, I'm sure), here called Kakumei.
-Crash Fever, which also turns into a remix of Chopin's Minute Waltz towards the end of the loop.
-Finally, my personal favorite arrangement appears in Eternal Sonata as Scrap and Build Ourselves; it's about half new material, half very dramatic arrangement of the original piece.

There are more examples out there, these are just my favorites.
 
Violentvixen

Violentvixen

(She/Her)
Albatoss said:
I am... so confused about what's going on here. Is the idea that you're a tapeworm floating through intestines? I do like that this arrangement seems to use the entire first movement instead of just the opening snippet, at least.
Click to expand...

I don't remember there being any kind of explanation. You're just suddenly a salamander for some reason. The games are bonkers.
 
MrBlarney

MrBlarney

(he / him)
The End is Nigh's soundtrack is composed of metal remixes of classical tunes, befitting its post-apocalyptic scenario and tough, precision platform gameplay. The soundtrack takes on a high overall level of quality, but I think my favorite track of the mix is the one that plays during the game's final chapter, ACCEPTANCE. A big part of what makes the song stick out to me is the circumstances of the final chapter over which it plays, which even for a game without that much story, is still a bit spoilery. So I'll just leave my contribution there.
 
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narcodis

narcodis

the titular game boy
(he/him)
I really like Sayonara Wild Hearts entire soundtrack, but their arrangement of Clair de Lune is really nice.

 
Balrog

Balrog

(He/Him)
Mega Man Legends has a pretty baller soundtrack on its own but the classical songs are have some solid arrangements.

The Sulphur Bottom music from Mega Man Legends 2
is Spring by Vivaldi

Kattelox Museum from Mega Man Legends 2
is Air on G String by Bach

Also, I love the Parodius music, it's pretty amazing.
 
P

Poster

Just some poster
The Velvet Room in the Persona 2s uses a few:
Debussy Clair de Lune

Satie Gymnopedie No. 1

Beethoven Pathetique Sonata
 
Ghost from Spelunker

Ghost from Spelunker

BAG
(They/Him)
I guess I will be the one who shares that Rough Ranger is full of classic music, including Bolero, Tocatta and Fugue in D-Minor, (and some Andy Williams song?). Because it's a hack/clone of Rolling Thunder.

 
ozacrot

ozacrot

Jogurt Joestar
(he/him)
Fredric Chopin (Prelude Op. 28, No. 4 in E minor) was adapted for the ending of Fez and inexplicably made both me and my spouse cry


There's also Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1, adapted for expository purposes in Mother 3

 
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