The Music of Video Games [242] Star Control II

[meatabuse]

Behold, the greatest game soundtrack ever. Of all time :)

[spark20]

Straight out Detroit Techno style! 1:35

[justinh125]

I played this game back when it first came out on 3.5" disks (you kids probably don't even know what that is.) Trust me, this game was waaayyy ahead of its time in every category!!! And what others have said about the plot is 100% true. If you haven't played this game, PLAY IT, but DO NOT spoil yourselves...learn the plot as it unfolds like I did, and it will blow you away!

[fumanchu168]

this is the shit man, why can't they make classic like this now :(

[kaithekender]

I never played thi as far as i remember, but at 6:38? This just became the best space adventure PC game I've ever seen.

[1nfinitezer0]

holy spathi, the music from this is amazing! electro, synth pop industrial, so good!

[HaystackCaldoon]

4:12 = <3

best tune in the whole thing

out of a soundtrack that's already Kosmic

[AndrosynthNuclear]

4:12 is where the magic starts, never ceases to make sweet, nostalgic love to my ears!

[JesseJames9955]

What's the name of the song that starts somewhere in 1:35 ?

[AndrosynthNuclear]

@JesseJames9955 That would be the outfit starship music

[HardWarUK]

Knew this was a threatening game because of this music!!! As soon as I heard I said to my Sister "I am going to die a lot in this game I think" And that was just based on the intro music!

[nicegirl333]

the music in the 3do version is a million times better imo

[unity100]

@nicegirl333 you mean the SAME music in 3d0 version ? in any case, pc version is considered the apex.

[AndrosynthNuclear]

@nicegirl333 Back in 1992, hearing MOD file music was amazing to hear on a game that shipped on 3.5 Inch floppies. On a 3DO, music like that was pretty much a dime-a-dozen, considering the storage space of the CD. Don't get me wrong, the 3DO remixes are really good, they just weren't the technological achievements the MOD files were.

[MediaFilter]

@AndrosynthNuclear Couldn't agree more.

[Slurreydude]

this is one of the few games never to leave my computer, and the music has something to do with it

[Taraborn]

!!!? -- WHAT THE HELL KIND OF SHIP IS THAT!?

[HaystackCaldoon]

I used to just sit in Hyperspace just to enjoy the music... never mind the passage of time, this tune is just too sweet!

[Templari0n]

Hyperspace theme music has played in my mind over a decade and I still love it! I played the game Ur-Quan Masters a few years ago and I have to admit it is a great remake of this legendary original version. Only downside was that the hyperspace theme is different there.

[lordaltros]

the music for the 3do was by far better.

if you want to see for yourself, go to google and type in star control 2 music. click on the first link and go to the links on that site. go to the ur-quan masters link and on that site you can download the game with the 3do music.

awesome game with awesome music :D

great vid :D

[unity100]

LONG LIVE SENTIENT MILIEU !!!

[simianraticus]

4:12 song is unbelievable

[GarudohRedux]

I feel that the Mass Effect games have kind of carried the torch for this series, but man, I would love to see a new Star Control game.

I don't often pine for returns like that, but so many things about this game specifically were just downright awesome. I wonder who even owns the rights these days.

[fadookie]

@GarudohRedux I'm fairly certain that the original developers own the rights. They are still developing games under the name "Toys For Bob", a subsidiary of Activision, and I believe have even proposed to their parent company to make a Star Control 4. As far as we know this proposal has been put on the back burner indefinitely. However the game engine itself is now open-source as part of the Ur-Quan Masters port project, and the game content is now under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.

[unity100]

@GarudohRedux toys for bob. toysforbob com company of the original 2 creators of star control 2

[jmatsuro]

IMO the 3DO version was made better especially on the lander it had a much bigger lander window and the music especially the hyperspace music was better, does the music sound that choppy normally? but i hated the 3DO for its "hard drive" limitaions on save game space, and did the pc version have voice overs like the 3DO?

[drunkensailor112]

pc had no voice overs. the 3do version was alot better imo

[InnocentGuillotine]

The PC didn't have the ear-gougingly awful voiceovers. I personally like the PC version better, but it's a person to person thing.

Except for you crazy people who LIKE the voices. O_O; That's just not sane.

[Wampaa]

There is a petition to get a new star control game made by the original guys. Head over to the ur-quan masters web page and sign it. You can also download star control 2 for free with the game designers full blessing as they have released the game to the public.

[mangeese]

This track is not from this game

[PraetorianZA]

They are, the video and audio don't correspond but all the music you hear is from the different parts of the game.

[unity100]

@mangeese its the intro, boy.

[RobotMasterSplash]

Best game ever.

[papalolita]

Those were the days when technology and graphics were not really great, but games were made with heart and soul.

[spiritsA]

And without pay, or so i heard ;b

[ancalites]

I think games had to be much better back then precisely because the graphics were so limited.

[Reminiscable]

@papalolita Amen. Hail retro. I use the retail Star Control box cover as my forum avatar on OnRPG.

[discoder]

I love that opening theme.

[BLARGHALT]

When I beat this game, I felt like I just finished a really good book.

[Melleina]

@BLARGHALT agreed, the ending was brilliant...and talana...nom nom nom

[SirSabin]

@BLARGHALT Agreed. I did not play Star Control II until just a few years ago, and then it was "The Ur-Quan Masters" (the updated version), but few games, new or old, have captured and held my attention the way this one did. Like you, while playing this game I felt more like I was reading an awesome book than "just playing a game."

[unity100]

@SirSabin get and play the original pc version in 4 diskettes.

[Bobban]

kraftwerk+depeche mode=Star Control II

[Bobban]

dont know why but i think about depeche mode when i hear the music that starts at 1:36

[Slurreydude]

I love this game and i never get tired of it... been playing it since its release... and the yehat music still gets me teary eyed

[exedeus]

This game brings me some serious nostalgia.. This was what i considered EPIC gaming. Well played. I miss these days.

[Alexyvil]

You did a great choice of adding the Yehat music theme~! This was indeed the golden age of gaming~ Epic!

[Alexyvil]

Since nowdays it's rare seeing good music as this.

[Wampaa]

My favorite song from this game has always been the planet orbit theme which starts at 2:52. So completely delightful and cosmic.

[2xpto]

One of the greatest games ever. gotta love the sfx and music!

[user8881]

One of the best games of all time, period.

[Taraborn]

yep, this game's a masterpiece

[icylace]

I played this game when I was in high sschool on my old 486 and I was blown away when I heard actual MUSIC coming from my internal PC speaker. Definitely one of the best soundtracks and games ever!

[FinalGamerJames]

I love the theme at 8:00, the theme of the Yehat, it's so damn awesome.

[TheExciteMike]

One of the best PC soundtracks EVER! Even more amazing considering the songs are fan-made. They should let fans make more soundtracks these days :)

[uraniumdeath]

PC companies can afford to spend huge money nowadays...

Star Control was not about money...it was about telling a story...the greatest PC story I've ever experienced. Accolade wanted to spend as little as possible. Look at the result? Best music I've ever heard in a game.

Accolade fucked Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III over big time (why don't you think they refused to help with SC3?) with their deadlines and 6 months unpaid work.

Death to Accolade. Greedy shits.

[Taraborn]

The songs aren't fan-made in Star Control 2...

[mtldemon6]

Paul started a music contest in which participants would submit music to be used in the game. Most of the music in the game comes from that contest (fun fact: most of the tunes that ended up in the game were declared tied for 2nd place, lol)

[Asterra2]

Even less-known fact: A certain tune won along with the rest, and was intended to be used during combat (perhaps during the final series of battles), but ended up not being used at all, even though the composer's name is in the credits with the rest. Perhaps someday I will arrange a what-if video featuring the music in hypothetical context.

[SZalewski]

The little tune at the very end sounds like "Mongoloid" by Devo.

[uraniumdeath]

THat's the Androsynth victory ditty...

[1stb1]

i think that bisqwat guy's speed run was 35 minutes, sounds almost impossible :O

[AirForce1GoBooooooom]

Compared to the 3DO version, the music in this one is rather minimalist. I mean the music in both games is esentially the same, 3DO just did it better.

[Herbarius]

I don't agree. The PC music may be more "minimalist", but that's exactly the way it fits the game and its style. The 3DO remixes fell "washed out" to me. They may be "better" from a technical point of view, but at the expense of losing character. Somehow "out of place". Maybe because the 3DO version was oviously quite rushed (although it's been released 2 YEARS after the original!), some text has been thrown out, the voice acting was poor (not all, but most of it), and so on...

[horsecowgirl]

Omg! THIS IS THE BEST SCI-FI GAME!!! And gotta love the music also!

[Drag0nSpawnX]

Just mentioning, this game was actually also for the 3DO, a dead system

[garudoh]

True, but the music in the video is from the PC version. I'm not sure how different the music is from the 3DO version, but for multi-platform games, I usually just list one in the vids. I might change that as I move along though.

[MegaVideoGameMusic]

@garudoh i like the original music (some of the songs more) but the new version music has some great new songs

[ClankytheGorn]

@garudoh some of the music is from the 3do version. you have the ur quan masters remake which has pc songs/3do songs

[ironsabbath72]

how do you know exactly where to dispatch your ship to collect supplies?

[garudoh]

I'm not playing, it's a speed run from a web site. Dude probably played the hell out of this game. Personally, most of my time was spent in the battle mini-game (as kingxob mentioned), which was pure awesomeness back then.

[AndrosynthNuclear]

@ironsabbath72 Lol, what kind of question is that? You scan the planet for mineral spots and then you send down the lander, read the Manuel next time you buy a game...

[HectorsLegion]

@AndrosynthNuclear Calm down - he's referring to the fact that the user *doesn't* scan at all before he lands. Again, as garudoh points out, because speed runners play so much they know exactly where everything else is.

[AndrosynthNuclear]

@HectorsLegion First of all, I am calm and I was calm when I posted that. Second, It doesn't take mr. I'mma pro speed runner to land on a planet without scanning it first.

[kingxob]

Nice ending to the vid too.

[kingxob]

This game rocked just for the battle mini game. By far the best in the series. Music had a great spacey techno vibe that just worked so well. Kick ass PC classics, keep em coming.

[toKs1c]

Great music, love ya garudoh