Notorious BGM – The Best Game Music of March 2016

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Games The Walking Dead
Games The Walking Dead

Welcome to Fandom’s totally subjective list of the best video game music of the month! Let’s face it, there are a lot of games out there with great soundtracks that slip through the cracks. That’s still gonna happen, but we’re here to make sure it happens a little less!

While March may not have been on too many people’s list for huge releases, Tom Clancy’s The Division has been a smash hit, and critical reception for the latest Hitman has also been good. It’s a pretty wide array of tunes this month, so dig in and enjoy!

Tom Clancy’s The Division

“Precinct Siege”
Ola Strandh

Hearing a super synth heavy track and seeing the words “Precinct Siege” makes it hard not to think of a certain John Carpenter song, but this track certainly stands on its own.

Hitman (2016)

“SANGUINE Bar theme”
Niels Bye Nielsen

The first episode of the latest Hitman game is off to a strong start by most accounts; it captures the open-ended gameplay of the series’ strongest entries and its absurdist sense of humor as well. The first ep features Agent 47 in a swanky euro bar, which explains the oontz oontz on display here.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

“Forest Temple”
Toru Minegishi and Asuka Ohta

Whether or not you’re a big fan of remasters/HD remixes is secondary when it comes to classic tunes like those from the Zelda series. This eerie theme knocks it out of the park.

Hyrule Warriors Legends

“Molgera: Wind Waker”
Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi, Koji Kondo, Masato Koike, Yuki Matsumura

While we’re on the topic of Legend of Zelda music, enjoy one of the many crunchy guitar remixes from Tecmo Koei’s Warriors-influenced take on the Zelda universe.

Day of the Tentacle Remastered

“Visited by the IRS”
Peter McConnell

Another remaster, but a good one to be sure. Day of the Tentacle is one of LucasArts’ better adventure games, no small accolade given their overall quality. This track plays when Dr. Fred is beset by the most ruthless of bureaucrats, the IRS.

Killer Instinct: Season 3

“Rash’s Theme”
Atlus Plug & Celldweller

Fighting games have become a bit of a dumping ground for the very specific “characters gamers remember fondly but who fall just short of getting a new game” category. Rash from Battletoads is one of them, but his ridiculous metal dubstep hybrid theme is a great fit for an over-the-top bro’d-out frogman.

The Walking Dead: Michonne – Episode 1 ‘In Too Deep’

“Gun in my Hand”
Dorthy

On a less aggressively metal note, this track from the new Michonne-focused Walking Dead game is a bluesy country-rock stomper that still manages to capture the hard-bitten, but regretful tone of the game’s world.

Far Cry Primal

“Save the Wenja”
Jason Graves

Far Cry Primal’s prehistoric universe is a unique setting for an FPS, and the booming drums and non-standard instrumentation in this track make for something that sounds like the Pangea Philharmonic. Very original and definitely worth a listen. Check out more on how Jason created the soundtrack for Far Cry Primal here.

Nights of Azure

“Goliath Z”
Hayato Asano, Kazuki Yanagawa, Daisuke Achiwa, Toshiharu Yamanishi

The latest game from Japanese studio Gust features some real shredding, guitar-heavy tracks you could easily assume were from Guilty Gear/BlazBlu. There’s apparently no shortage of Joe Satriani-level session guitarists in Japan.

Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness

“Main Battle theme”
Motoi Sakuraba

In the same vein as the last entry, we’ve got battle music from the latest Star Ocean. The heavy organ works as the backbone of the track, but the violin fills in for the guitar, giving it a very unique sound. Also, that bass. *kisses fingertips*

Did we miss any of your favorites from this month’s releases? Let us know @getfandom on Twitter by using #NotoriousBGM!

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