What are the games/pieces that made you really pay attention to video game music the first time? My chronological list would go (I'll mention five):
1. Street Fighter 2
This game was so huge for a good while. These two brothers I was friends with had a SNES, and lots of time was spent in great company playing the hell out of SF2 for SNES. I sucked but lamely claimed after losing that I had the most fun. The music obviously rocks, and I remember we listened to the sound test quite a bit, which I think made me pay specific attention to the music.
2. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
The first JRPG I saw (I think? This or Phantasy Star 3.) and I was really into it. The music for Bone Dungeon and especially the Winry Cave/Ice Pyramid sounded pretty mysterious to me, which for some reason was the atmosphere that impressed me the most. The Doom Castle & final boss music were quite cool too.
3. Final Fantasy IV
FFIV was of course quite a step in complexity from FFMQ, even though it was the initial "FF2" US SNES release. I still remember digging the music with mysterious feeling the most, the music on the Moon really enhanced the feel of the final stages of the game. The SNES of those two friends certainly was a big influence for me as far as VGM goes.
4. Star Control 2
We had a PC without a sound card at home, and it was a huge surprise to hear the MOD music play through just the speaker. You were so used to hearing just the rather abrasive monophonic beeping from it.. impressive programming! The music was quite impressive in itself as well, from the powerful ominous intro, to the ambient washes of solar system exploration, the energetic hyperspace music, and of course the tunes for the alien encounters which contributed hugely to their character.
5. Pinball Fantasies
This one (originally an Amiga title) also played MOD music right through the PC speaker. The boombastic intro tune made a huge impression and I was mighty pleased to have another game playing great music without a sound card. Digital Illusions came from the demoscene which shows in the excellent soundtrack.
There was some good stuff that in retrospect I enjoyed & which added immensely to my enjoyment of the games themselves, but I wasn't very conscious about it at the time. I'd mention Castle of Illusion and Wonder Boy III: Dragon's Trap for Sega Master System, Mega Man games for NES, and also Grand Prix Circuit for PC - great melodies/riffs even on the speaker of the 286 that my dad brought from work to home for summer. But the above stuff really made me go "hey, the music's really good" and listen to it specifically.
Discuss!
--Eino