Running, Gunning, and Music?

I’m sure most of you can recognize your favorite game’s music the moment you hear it. Have you ever thought if that game would be the same without the music?  Would we be able to play a game and enjoy it to the fullest if it had no music what so ever?

My opinion is no.

Music sets the mood for each area or level. Even the Pokemon’s up-beat battle music  gets us pumped up for random battles.

Let’s look at another example, Halo.

You’re about to face off with two Hunters in Legendary mode with only an assault rifle. You sit there thinking what should I do? How should I go about taking this Hunters down without getting blasted or pummeled? Out of nowhere music starts playing in the background. All your planning is instantly lost in the adrenaline rush! You have a ‘WoW’ moment and shout “LEROOOOOOY JEEEEENKIIIINS!” You may get your face knocked in a few times by the Hunters but you’re pumped up for another go at it, because the music drives you on. If you had died after putting 2-3 minutes worth of strategy into it, you would have been disheartened and possibly walk away for a few hours.

Now for those RPG players who aren’t the biggest fans of shooters, I have an example for you; Final Fantasy IX, at the end of disk 3. After a secret about Zidane is revealed, he goes through a change.

[SPOILER ALERT] In the story he decides to abandon his friends and settle things on his own. However his friends decide not to let him do this.

Would this sequence have had the same effect if You Are Not Alone hadn’t been playing throughout the scene? I think it would have just felt cheesy and lame. So next time you’re playing a game you really enjoy, take a second to listen to the music and see how it effects the scene.