There are many excellent games that have equally exciting soundtracks. Unfortunately for players, there are also some terrible games that have excellent soundtracks of their own despite their glaring flaws. Bad gameplay, awkward dialogue, and poor graphics can easily be at odds with a killer soundtrack.
Even though these games might suffer from bad controls, poor writing, and other major elements that detracted players from enjoying them, all of them were praised for their varied, epic soundtracks. From Sonic Heroes delivering excellent themes to Gleaner Heights having decent boss music despite difficult gameplay, these games might not be the most memorable but they delivered with their music.
10 Bravely Default II Had Amazing Boss Themes But Extremely Hard Battle Gameplay
Bravely Default II took place in an entirely new world compared to the previous games in its franchise. However, many players criticized the incredibly difficult gameplay, noting that they spent many hours in-game grinding a lot in order to even be a challenge to regular monsters they encountered.
It also did not help that the speediest characters went first in combat, and this often meant that the monsters went first before the player could. Despite the game being criticized for being too difficult, players and critics praised the amazing boss themes and their variations.
9 Sonic Heroes Suffered From Poor Controls Despite Its Excellent Main Theme And Soundtrack
Sonic Heroes majorly suffered from having poor controls. Many gamers criticized having difficulty moving the camera around during gameplay in order to have a good view of their player characters and surrounding enemies. And the fact that one hit from an enemy would instantly knock out their characters if they had no rings on their person yet in-game was truly frustrating.
However, the soundtrack was extremely intriguing and fit every unique and difficult level that characters battled their way through. Many of the nightlife or electronic-themed stages had associated music to go with it, while the expansive, ocean-like environments had more uplifting tunes.
8 Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes Of Light Had Difficult Gameplay But Amazing Battle Tunes
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes Of Light is considered one of the weaker games in the franchise thanks to its difficult gameplay. However, the music was adored by most players thanks to its variety.
An example of this was the music changing during battles. Whenever the player characters' hit points dropped too low, the music instantly changed to something more dark and foreboding to match the characters' potential doom. If their health went back up to safer levels, however, the music would change back to its normal battle theme.
7 Time Lord Had Difficult Gameplay But Amazing Chiptune Themes
Time Lord was panned for its difficult gameplay since it was timed. The player only had approximately thirty-six minutes and thirty seconds to finish the game, or else they would have to start over. Despite the criticism, however, the game had some amazing chiptune themes for its time.
Many of the boss themes were praised by players and critics for their unique melodies and harmonies. If it was not for the difficult and repetitive gameplay on top of there being only such a short amount of time to finish the whole game in one session, it would be much more engaging and fun.
6 Castlevania 64 Had Poor Controls But Interesting Tunes
Castlevania 64 is often considered one of the worst games in its franchise. This is mainly due to the bad camera and bad controls. Players complained about having difficulty getting a good view of the action and having difficulty controlling how speedy their characters were in-game. Despite these complaints, however, many praised the soundtrack, especially when it came to the fascinating themes including themes for the game's good endings.
The instrumentation ranged from electronic synths to using a harpsichord in some themes. The wide variety of music involved overall saved the game from being considered absolutely horrible.
5 Unlimited Saga Had Overly Complex Gameplay But Good Instrumental Music
Unlimited Saga was heavily panned for its overly elaborate gameplay. The player had to take on the role of seven different protagonists. They also played the game in a nonlinear fashion. This setup resulted in many confusing elements about how the plot came together throughout the entire game.
Despite the too-complex gameplay and story, however, the music was overall praised. The game used streaming audio, which gave opportunities to use real acoustic instruments to supply the tunes instead of synthesizers. The soundtrack also included live recordings of music ensembles for tracks including "Feel Uneasy About The Wonders."
4 Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two Was Near-Impossible To Play Alone But Had Some Nice Tunes
Epic Mickey 2: The Power Of Two was an unsuccessful sequel when compared to the first game in its franchise. It was criticized for not fixing issues that spawned from the first game, including control issues, bad cameras, and a lack of voice acting. However, the soundtrack was praised for its unique tunes, including themes for Dark Beauty Castle, Mean Street, and other Disney locations.
Many players pointed out that if the controls and cameras were at least fixed, if not the voice acting, the game would be much more successful than it was. Despite its criticisms, however, the series later had another sequel in releasing the game Epic Mickey: Power Of Illusion.
3 Batman Forever Had Poor Gameplay But Epic Battle Tunes
Batman Forever was a beat 'em up NES video game based on the movie of the same name. It was panned for sluggish gameplay, bad controls, and equally horrible graphics.
However, the music was generally praised for having some unique themes while in combat against other characters. The opening theme was fairly impressive to its players at the time, and the foreboding tunes surrounding the "Arkham Asylum" track were also praised. However, the music alone could not save this game from being so heavily criticized otherwise.
2 Yoshi's Story Is Unmemorable Except For Its Music
Yoshi's Story was originally released in 1997 for the Nintendo 64, though it was later re-released for the Wii and Wii U in 2007 and 2016 respectively. Unlike other games on this list, this game was criticized for its gameplay being too easy. However, its art and music were praised. The music itself was very interactive depending on what happened in the game.
An example of this is when Yoshi's health got too low since the music would change to having lower tones and a tempo. However, if Yoshi became Super Happy after eating a Heart Fruit in-game, the music would change to a rock version of the current theme being played at the time.
1 Gleaner Heights' Gameplay And Controls Were Difficult But It Had Some Good Boss Themes
Gleaner Heights was considered to be the dark version of Stardew Valley to many players. After the player moved into a new town to begin life as a farmer, they quickly found that the townspeople held many dark secrets. Additionally, there were monsters roaming the woods just outside of town and in the mines, making it difficult to forage for items outside.
Many players criticized the difficult gameplay as well as having issues with trying to uncover the townspeople's secrets since most of the discoveries take place in the late evening. However, there were some fairly notable boss themes featuring saxophones and heavy drumming in the background.
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