Before the days of Spotify, game developers and publishers sought to get some merchandise pushed out to capitalize on the success and popularity of a franchise, and this often included CDs and albums made up of tracks by a whole mix of bands that listeners could probably imagine themselves jamming along to while playing a popular game.
While it’s not exactly easy to track down such compilation albums, there are plenty out there that are most certainly worth giving a listen, be they dance-filled tracks that sound like a perfect listen for a speedy blue hedgehog, or head-banging tunes befitting for a bubblegum-chewing king.
1 Sonic Dance Power
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Exclusive to the Netherlands were some official Sonic The Hedgehog dance party albums, and there were some catchy dance and rave tracks from the nineties that wound up on these. Tunes from The Prodigy, Scooter, Coolio, and Scatman John were some of the artists who appeared on these releases. The tunes were partially mixed for a smoother, seamless play from start to finish.
There were quite a handful of entries in this series of albums, and even if some might consider them a cash-grab on SEGA’s part, they’re an interesting musical snapshot from the decade that fit Sonic’s cocky, rebellious attitude perfectly.
2 Wing Commander: Prophecy (Original Soundtrack)
Wing Commander: Prophecy
- Released
- October 11, 1997
- Platform(s)
- PC, Nintendo Game Boy Advance
- Developer
- Origin Systems, Raylight Studios
- Genre(s)
- Flight Simulator
The title for this release features some interesting word choices. It’s not the original soundtrack from Wing Commander: Prophecy itself, but an original soundtrack inspired by it. The actual soundtrack featured orchestral songs, but what was released on this CD will still please avid listeners, whether fans of the series or not.
It features European artists like Rammstein, Junkie XL, and KMFDM, along with Industrial Metal titans Fear Factory. Two high-tempo Industrial-EDM songs by Cobalt 60 appear here as well, and they supposedly do feature in the game in a remixed, instrumental form. Nonetheless, there are enough tracks on here to make any Metal-head or rave-enthusiast happy when exploring the deepest reaches of space.
3 Mortal Kombat: More Kombat
Mortal Kombat II
- Released
- November, 1993
- Developer(s)
- Midway Games
- Platform(s)
- Arcade, Sega Game Gear, Sega Genesis, SNES, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Saturn, PS1
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
After the success of the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie, and its respective Industrial Metal/Dance soundtrack reaching platinum in the charts, TVT Records pushed out a follow-up album called Mortal Kombat: More Kombat. This wasn’t tied into any specific release but was more like a mixtape of fight songs inspired by the film and the games.
Techno tracks like ‘It Has Begun’ by Psykosonik and ‘Fatality’ and Loaded feature samples from the film in the former, and soundbytes of Scorpion and Shao Kahn from the games in the latter. Alongside these were tunes by Juno Reactor, Sepultura, Killing Joke, God Lives Underwater, and others. Plenty of infectious tunes can be found here, which makes for excellent fight music.
4 Duke Nukem: Music to Score By
Duke Nukem 3D
Duke Nukem may as well have been a bit of a video game celebrity in the nineties, especially after the smash-hit success of Duke Nukem 3D. The publishing company, GT Interactive, was keen on getting more and more merchandise pushed out to the masses, and this included a Duke-themed album.
Duke Nukem: Music to Score By contained the famous Megadeth cover of the game’s main theme, ‘Grabbag’, along with rare remixes, B-sides, and “other cool tracks” (as the advertisement put it) by Type O Negative, Wu-Tang Clan, Zebrahead, Corrosion of Conformity, and many others. A perfect listen for anyone who wants to feel as badass as the man himself.
5 Music To Go POSTAL By
Postal 4
- Released
- April 20, 2022
- Developer(s)
- Running with Scissors
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, FPS, Shooter, Adventure, Fighting
Running With Scissors has been, well, running for well over 25 years now. In 2006, they teamed up with a group of indie artists to contribute to a POSTAL-themed album, while a follow-up was released to coincide with POSTAL 4.
The indie developers released the albums online for free in 2020 and 2022, respectively. Sludgy riffs from Jesus Loves Junkies’ ‘Escape From Paradise’ mix well with the frantic breakbeat ‘Run With This‘ by Crazy. Meanwhile, A Fall To Break delivers meaty riffs and vocals in ‘Pick Up The Pieces’, while ‘NO USE’ by RΛRE contains infectious beats to chill to while causing havoc in-game.
6 Command & Conquer: Alarmstufe Rot
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
- Released
- November 22, 1996
- Platform(s)
- Microsoft Windows, PlayStation (Original)
- Developer
- westwood studios
- Genre(s)
- Real-Time Strategy
The German release of the Command & Conquer: Red Alert soundtrack received an extra treat for fans of the iconic real-time strategy game: an additional CD with a variety of tracks by numerous artists, mostly European. Again, it’s likely they were compiled together with commanding troops and destroying enemy armies in mind.
Cobalt 60 offers an EDM remix of ‘Crush’ (a track from the game’s soundtrack) with their own lyrics, while Industrial Metal tracks by Laibach and Project Pitchfork sit side-by-side with Electronica tunes from the likes of The Prodigy and Violent Vision. Plenty of deep cuts are available in this release.
7 Wipeout: The Music
Wipeout
The soundtrack for the futuristic racing game Wipeout was a bit of a last-minute inclusion. The British rave scene was proving increasingly popular, so an EDM-centric soundtrack was composed, along with a few tracks by big-name artists like The Chemical Brothers and Orbital. This proved to be exceptionally popular, so Sony went one step further with an official tie-in album.
Along with a few songs featured on the game, Wipeout - The Music contained bass-filled beats and remixes that didn’t, but served as a befitting companion piece. Tracks by Leftfield and Age of Love made the cut. A follow-up album contained some tunes from Wipeout 2097, alongside new tracks and alternate mixes by Daft Punk and Fluke.
8 Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired By The Warriors
Mortal Kombat
- Released
- April 19, 2011
- Developer(s)
- NetherRealm Studios
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
To coincide with the release of the 2011 reboot of Mortal Kombat, a compilation album was released that same year. Taking inspiration from a similar concept by The Immortals with their 1994 album Mortal Kombat: The Album, the album Mortal Kombat: Songs Inspired By The Warriors contained even heavier and modern Electronica tracks.
Artists like Tokimonsta and JFK of MSTRKRFT all contributed a selection of original songs that served as official themes to many of the game’s fighters, with ‘Reptile’s Theme’ by Skrillex used in adverts for the game. It’s safe to say it was a highly influential album, with DJs creating similar-sounding tunes for future entries, and a Mortal Kombat-themed dance group busting moves to such songs.