Does Halo have the most iconic OSTs/music/themes?

I think so. The Halo OSTs are cinematic in quality. Like something that Hans Zimmer would make for a critically acclaimed blockbuster film. I honestly don't know of many other gaming series/franchises that have such an iconic sound. One that's as theatrical.

Naw. I still know more Mario games in my head than I do Halo. I only know Halo's opening theme, which I admit, is quite iconic.

I think Mario, Zelda, and Halo have to be top 10 if not top 5 at least.

what? Cmon.... Mortal Kombat :D

Halo music is no way in heaven iconic.

Nintendo games have the most iconic music ever e.g. Pokemon, Zelda, Mario

Never played it. But it is definitely iconic and played on numerous Youtube videos... my first memory would be from youtuber Smosh.

Seems Reddit agrees with me.

Halo got the most upvotes in this thread. 7.1k upvotes.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/g1utzo/what_is_the_best_video_game_soundtrack/?sort=top

Also got the top upvotes in this other thread.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ai8e3w/what_video_game_has_the_best_soundtrack/

Close 2nd to Chrono Trigger in this one.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/2ofptj/best_video_game_music/?sort=top

Nintendo and Sony anime/weeb game OSTs are more of an insular, inside-community thing. Like Furries.

The Halo OSTs are more mainstream and well-known.

Bungie made Halos? Yes, i'd say that they're unbeatable. 343i ones?🙄😊😂🤣The best they can do is rehash old Halo songs because they're not talented enough to create something worthwhile on their own.

Another very iconic song is from Killer Instict.

Nope.

For some people, yes!

Indeed it's mainstream and well-known, but not iconic in my books.

The only Halo song I Iike is sung by Beyoncé.

Beyoncé - Halo > Halo OST

@omegamaster: For you

It's up there for sure

Appreciate the comment.

Nah

Fun Fact:

Halo: Combat Evolved's OST is the highest selling video game soundtrack of all time.

Other than the song 117, along with like 2 or 3 other songs introduced in Halo 4, I agree with you.

Also, there were some good songs Tom Salta introduced in other games/media.

I have no clue why they don't just hire Marty O'Donnell back. The guy clearly still wants to be involved with Halo. 343 apes his sound at every turn. They straight up just use halo 1-3, ODST and Reach music in lore videos they post now. Like the same 6 songs in every video.

And Halo Infinite's entire OST sounds so much like a Marty O'Donnell youtube cover band, it puzzles me why they didn't just get the real thing.

Same thing with Michael Salvatori. Also they should have gotten Marcus Lehto (the creator of MC)to be the art director again. The guy clearly still views Halo as his magnum opus, and like Marty, its all he talks about on twitter. Hes been doing Warthog and Mjolnir fan-renders in UE4 for the past year lol. How in the absolute phook did Microsoft let him get picked up by EA to run goddamned Battlefield? dafuq?

I wouldn’t say it’s the most iconic but it’s definitely very high on the list.

In agreement dude.

Nope.

It's top 10, maybe top 5.

Probably Metal Geat Solid series for me.

Say Mario or Sonic. These have tunes casual or non gamers will recognize. Wouldn't apply this to most games.

Probably Street Fighter as well. Every single track in SFII is a banger, lit perfect.

Halo fans convincing themselves that the series has an iconic soundtrack. This is hilarious. Next they'll try telling us how iconic the art direction is. 🤣

Never have I ever had a moment where I dropped the controller and listened in awe at the soundtrack of Halo. If you think it's top tier then you've probably never spent any time in Super Smash Bros Ultimate's song list.

Ditto!

People really draw obsession with "tHiS iS tHe BeSt EvAr?? bEtTaR tHaN tEh ReSt???1"

I mean, if it helps you sleep at night; if that's what it takes to get you to feel good for liking something.

But still, Mario is more iconic.

Ugh, that would be Sonic actually.

Top 5? most definitely not, top 20? yeah, why not?

Can't argue with that one. ;)

That reminds me, looking forward to Gamespot front-page mikage.

Assuming it hasn't started already.

@fpsgod: OSTs not really, but when it comes to main theme no doubt a very strong contender for top spot.

It's kinda sad to see nobody mentioning Halo as I googled with "the most iconic video game music" or "the best video game music."

I understand that Halo fans want to praise the OSTs of their favorite franchise. But to me they sound like they were randomly taken from some Sci-Fi TV shows or movies.

I've looked at some articles and videos ranking video game music/composers and most agree with the video below.

There are only three video game songs that will never leave my head.

Super Mario Bros. underground theme (nes)

Legend of Zelda overworld theme (nes)

Dragon Warrior level up theme (nes)

Strangely enough, the only song I like from Halo: Infinite is "Foundations" which has such a calm tone to it. This game really needs a level select cause I ain't gonna replay the whole damn thing again anytime soon.

No, not even close. Not when you have iconic soundtracks for classics like Mario, Zelda, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Street Fighter, Sonic, Streets of Rage, Mortal Kombat, Chrono Trigger, Tomb Raider, Kingdom Hearts, Civilization, etc.

A good chunk of those probably don't get normies to hum the tune to you, the way Halo probably could.

Is it number 1, hell nah. Is it absolutely behind all those games you name dropped ? **** no. I love metal Gear, but I know, I will I can play the Halo theme in front of someone and they will know its halo, I'll need an actual gaming nerd to know how the metal gear theme starts.

The theme n the monks are definitely iconic at this point.

The only people who recognize the Halo theme are people who've actually played the games. Otherwise, the theme isn't recognized outside of the Halo player base. As a non-fan who did at least play some Halo back in the days, I barely even remember the Halo theme myself, so I certainly wouldn't expect the average normie to be able to hum along to it.

In contrast, some of the other soundtracks have received recognition and/or accolades from non-gamers. Most people who've never played Mario could recognize the theme tune. Same could be said for the Zelda and Sonic main themes to a certain extent. Final Fantasy music has appeared on the Japanese charts, at the international Olympics, and the UK's Classic FM Hall of Fame, played to millions of non-gamers, and Classic FM even thanked Final Fantasy for introducing millions of millennials to classical music. Dragon Quest isn't known outside of Japan, but its music is widely recognizable within that country. Street Fighter, Streets of Rage and Mortal Kombat are iconic in the hip hop and electronic dance music communities. And Civilization won a Grammy Award.

I'll give you Metal Gear though. The theme song was well-known to the average PlayStation gamer back in the PS1 and PS2 eras, but it stopped being used ever since the controversy surrounding a similar Russian classical theme. And nowadays, the Metal Gear franchise is nowhere near as popular as it used to be.

dont sleep on Sea of Thieves now

Halo is far too self indulgent. The main theme is good but the rest is fairly cheesy (just listen for any guitar riff).

If we're talking ambient soundtracks that fit their games almost perfectly, I'd say the Half-Life and Homeworld series are steps above Halo. If we're talking orchestral scores the Souls series is objectively better in everyway.

As someone who never played the Halo games, I do not know what their soundtrack is like. The things I find in real life associated with Halo are tie-in products which often show Master Chief's image.

Super Mario and Final Fantasy sountracks are more iconic and familiar with non-gamers than Halo's.

Troll post detected.

They're pretty recognizable, but I don't think they're very good.

@onesiphorus: 'As someone who never played the Halo games, I do not know what their soundtrack is like. '

How can you start your post with this and then end it with this?

'Super Mario and Final Fantasy sountracks are more iconic and familiar with non-gamers than Halo's."

He's right though. Millions of people who've never played Mario or Final Fantasy can still recognize music from those games. The Mario theme is the most recognizable piece of video game music. And Final Fantasy is a big name in the classical music community, entering the Classic FM Hall of Fame multiple times. The only people who recognize the Halo theme are people who've actually played it.

Sonycel/Nintendocel detected. Stop watching hentai.

@fpsgod: Horny Xboxcel detected.

@hardwenzen: I do like the Killer Instinct music.