Hell Is That Noise/Video Games: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

You'll forget you're safe behind your screen when you hear [[Hell Is That Noise|these]]...

 

 

* ''[[Sinistar]]''. "''BEWARE, COWARD!''" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvtZ3F1nypg&feature=related Every single sound he makes] is pure [[Nightmare Fuel]].

* The original Atari/C64 ''[[Spelunker]]'' game blasted a stock spooky theme out at the maximum volume whenever a ghost was nearby. Sure it doesn't seem so bad... until you hear the tune when you are about to scroll the screen and one is RIGHT THERE and KILLS YOU while the screen is scrolling to the next area. At that point it goes from annoying to downright panic inducing. The infamous NES version has the theme too, but it sounds a LOT less scary, as it's is mixed in with the incredibly bouncy background music that is completely absent in other versions.

** In the dungeon called the Dollhouse, there is, in the boss room, a doll sitting on a rocking horse, creaking slowly back and forth as you examine [[Room Full of Crazy|this creepy room]]. When you try to leave the room, the rocking stops, but you'll swear you hear that sound for a few seconds afterwards.

** There's also a scene in this game where an old woman tells the party a horror story, with sound effects. At first, the woman is going "Shloop, shloop, screee!" to describe a man who returned from a death by drowning (the shloop being the sound of him dragging his corpse slowly across the pier, the screee being the noise the seagulls made, drawn to the smell of death), but steadily, in the background, you hear the noises in the background of her telling this story, to the point that it becomes very disturbing. (Scariest description of a zombie walk ever.)

** [[Oh Crap|"NUCLEAR LAUNCH DETECTED"]].

** A legitimate [[Oh Crap]] moment in itself, ''worse'' if you're familiar with [[Expanded Universe]] material - yup, that scale usually caps out at 10.

** Also, the Nydus Worms. Not only is their scream freaky by itself, but it heralds the arrival of a potential horde of the Zerg and you have no idea where from.

** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5x1XgjwQ_kA The first floor revisit theme]. The most pants-wetting music in the first game. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5t3P14l3G0&feature=related And the underground].

** In the ''[[Resident Evil 1]]'' remake, you enter the Aqua Ring, silence except for water dripping, then suddenly [[Psycho Strings]] start up and a giant mutant shark (the one that kills you instantly) is after you.

*** [[Older Than They Think|Even if they did crib the music from]] [[Nocturne]].

* In one area of ''[[Neverwinter Nights 2]]: Mask of the Betrayer'', an insane hag is making loud screeching noises and rambling on about killing and eating people. Other players in your party occasionally comment that they would like to either kill the noisemaker or cast Silence on her.

* Everyone who's ever played the old ''[[Super Solvers]]'' games (the original MS-DOS versions, '''not''' the Windows remakes) has a hard time forgetting the absolutely '''freaky''' sound effects when the robots show up to kick your ass.

** Don't forget the sound effect that plays if you run out of time or make a wrong guess. Now '''that''' was scary!

** It is the pitch (A440) to which musicians in most places tune most instruments, pinged out on a tuning fork. {{spoiler|Presumably, this is why Mai Minase is one of the few in-series people who can isolate this in-series [[Brown Note]]; she is a talented violinist.}}

* ''[[Okami]]'', in the Sunken Ship. Baww. Look at the cute dollies. Wait... are they giggling? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q1np17yEUE Oh god make them stop.] (1:30 in is the best quality.)

** Also the music that plays when you enter the spider queen's lair before fighting her. You know shit's about to go down when you hear [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bBUfLeBEmc this.]

* Most of the music in ''[[Albion]]'' is either cheery enough to make your ears bleed, or mildly dark by way of cacophonic. However, the music in the second plotline dungeon does ''something'' that outdoes [[Jaws (film)|almost]] every purely instrumental tune on this page.

** Let's not even get ''started'' on the Splicers' insanely creepy [[Madness Mantra|Madness Mantras]] ....

** "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so..."

** "In the house of upside-down...cellar's top floor...attic's ground..."

** ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cx-QiGElx4#t=0m34s "Big Sister doesn't want you playing with me..."]''

* ''[[Eversion]]'': {{spoiler|[[Sugar Bowl|Ta-naaaa, na-na-na-na]]--'''[[Wham! Episode|DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!]]''' [[Sugar Apocalypse|Ta-na-na-na na-na-na-na...]]}}

** To clarify, you get past obstacles in this game by, essentially, turning the universe inside out. {{spoiler|In level 3, you're walking along, probably in the aforementioned [[Sugar Bowl]], and suddenly you're involuntarily shifted into a darker realm with accompanying music and accompanying [[Advancing Wall of Doom]]. This is even worse in level 7, since the music for the level you're shifted into is a ''very'' [[Dark Reprise]] of the [[Sugar Bowl]] music.}}

** This tropette can go unphased by the above themes, but [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6GrZYE2il0 JENOVA] makes her at very least shiver.

* [[Crisis Core]] has a wonderful roulette-based limit break machine and you'll love hearing ''Modulating Phase'' .. but then you come to [[Bolivian Army Ending|the end]] and it's proof that {{spoiler|Zack is dying and losing his memories}}.

* In ''[[Parasite Eve]]'', the song that plays when the final boss chases you on the ship.

** The "DUN DUN DUN" noise increases in speed to match the weakened Ultimate Being's final, futile attempt to catch up to and kill you. DUN DUN DUN DUN DUNDUNDUNDUN ''DUNDUNDUNDUN''...!

** The ill-fated Atari Jaguar and CD add-on had an equally creepy/anger inducing error message, where [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9VtZVvJHvU the screen would turn red and a jaguar roar sounds] if an error occurred during startup.

* In ''[[Ridge Racer|Rage Racer]]'' the [[Infinity+1 Sword|Infinity Plus One Car]], the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKtZo8sQdtU Assoluto Squaldon], has a high pitched whining engine sound.

* [[Demon's Souls]] has the Tower of Latria, which in turn has Illithids, which carry tiny little bells that will haunt your dreams.

* ''[[Gradius]] Gaiden'''s announcers, on you dying in later stages: "Get outta here, forget about it!" [[Evil Laugh|"HAHAHAHAHA!"]]

** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3tLTaxEON4 Silph Co music] takes the cake for creepy music in this game series. The original version starts out kind of cool, and quickly descends into increasing horror. The version of the songs in the remake is something more akin to riding a merry-go-round through a carnival run by the devil himself as the last houldouts of sanity and virtue in a dying universe fall one by one to the madness of their own minds. Made appropriate when you realize that this company has been under siege for quite some time by a terrorist organization who operates throughout the world in a nearly dominating aspect without any sort of organized opposition.

** Maybe it's just me, but those creepy bells in Mt. Pyre and Shoal Cave sound like something just died...

** The Unknown Dungeon and Cinnabar Mansion themes. [[Nightmare Fuel|Brrrrr.]]

** Several of the battle cries can also fall under this. Honorable mentions goes to [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkRqPg99Zkg&feature=related Musharna], and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0UjPtGv9Y0&feature=related Gochiruzeru].

* The NES adaption of ''Friday the 13th'' plays a rather unnerving [[Scare Chord]] whenever Jason appears, or has killed one of the children. The Commodore 64 version of ''Friday the 13th'' turns this [[Up to Eleven]], delivering a ''[[Nightmare Fuel|blood-curdling scream]]'' whenever Jason shows up, or kills someone. Even worse, the deaths are accompanied with unsettling images, like an axe in someone's head.

* Two things in [[Mitadake High]]. The sound of an axe hitting a door, because it either means that somebody is a bad roleplayer, [[Axe Crazy|or sombody's lost it.]] And [[Nightmare Fuel|Ramiel's Music.]] 'Nuff said.

* ''[[Monster Hunter|Monster Hunter Tri]]'' gives us the ear-splitting scream of Diablos, also in previous games, where it was arguably worse since you couldn't dive to avoid it.

** Also, the roar of [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Deviljho]] that sounds more like a cannon just went off, signifying that [[Oh Crap|you're about]] [[Hopeless Boss Fight|to wish that was the case.]]

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVKa9weI-e4 Cougars]. Just... [[Red Dead Redemption|cougars]].

* The music and moaning heard just before fighting {{spoiler|Necron}} in ''[[Final Fantasy IX]]''. Even creepier in the Black Mages' remixed version.

* In ''[[Splinter Cell]] Conviction'', if you hear the distinctive ping of an active sonar and know it isn't from Sam's goggles, prepare for {{spoiler|enemy Splinter Cells.}} The enemy has LOS on Sam and detected sounds are also harbingers of Bad Stuff.

* ''[[Painkiller]]'' has Daniel's grunt when you get hurt, with the blurred screen only making it worse.

*** Take a turret through an Emancipation Grill sometime. It terrified me the first time I heard it. Very unexpected.

** In ''[[Portal 2]]'', the creaking and groaning of the facility in {{spoiler|Old Aperture.}} It creates an impression that the place could cave in at any time...

*** How about that one Den found in one of the earlier chambers of the game? Get too close to the wall and you begin to hear a man psychotically chanting.

* The sound of a Droideka unfurling in ''Battlefront 2''. ''Click-clik-chunk'' followed shortly by ''deedeedeedee'' followed by death.

** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFVufWdP4YI This particular track] from the ''[[Quake (series)|Quake]]'' soundtrack serves a lot to set in the freaking eldritch mood of the game. Halfway through the BGM you will hear ''something'' that sounds like meat-slurping sounds. All in all, it sounds like a soundtrack for H.P. Lovecraft's stories.

* The [[Avernum]] series' Vahnatai make unearthly, bloodcurdling shrieks as they die.

* For experienced and rookie [[STALKER|stalkers]] alike, that [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x453hzdKmOM distinctive wheezing] coming from nowhere but at the same time closing in on you usually means panic. One night trek through the Zone is all it takes to make you paranoid for life.

* [[Pikmin|The Final Trial]] - [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLN-5AV3WRY\]

* ''[[Last Window]]'': [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcC5ci8Hv5o "Creeping Shadows"], the music for the [[Abandoned Area|4th]] [[Nothing Is Scarier|floor]]. Also played when you're {{spoiler|snooping into Will's and Margaret's rooms}}.

* The sounds of every single non-human opponent in [[Blood|Blood2]]. Especially the attack sounds of the [[Goddamn Bats]], because once you hear them, you know the screen is about to be completely obscured by something really ugly and disgusting. And let's not forget the Cabal Stormtroopers, and the threats they scream on the top of their lungs, or their loud battle-cries, used just before they blow themselves up, or the creepy mash of [[Gratuitous Foreign Language|Latin and Sanskrit]] words uttered by the Cabal's mages... yeah, Blood loves these.

* ''[[Ray Storm]]'''s Stage 6 and 7 boss music, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjHcN7JirWM "Molecular Clock"].

* ''[[Oregon Trail]] 2''. The [[Scare Chord]]. The goddamn scare chord. (For those who hadn't played 2/5: Most negative events come with a ''loud'' "Dun-DUN!")

* Three words: [[Yoshi's Island|Baby Mario crying]]

* From ''[[Xenosaga]]'', we have Albedo's [[Evil Laugh]]. Made even more terrifying as he is laughing while ''decapitating himself'' in front of a little girl.

** Also, if you're in a PVP area, that hideous screeching Ice spells used to make.

** The ambient sounds in the Wilderness are terrifying, ''especially'' with the music turned off.

* In the (defunct) MMO [[Tabula Rasa]], the sound of an incoming Bane dropship, especially the part where it came complete with indecipherable whispering.

* ''Any'' submarine simulation, from the [[Silent Hunter Series]] to DOS-era games, has the "ping!" of an inbound active sonar. Means that they know you're in the area and they're trying to localize you ([[Nightmare Fuel|if they haven't already]]) as you frantically attempt to dive out of depth-charge range. The pings get higher-pitched and louder as your hunter closes in.

** And as if that wasn't bad enough, the robot often comes in too early, so since you're under so much pressure, you ''jump'' too early.

* ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'' has plenty of this in the soundtrack, but it really perfected it with EP7's "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrmr_vHpZI8 ridicule]," which may not even count as music anymore.

** Somehow, the echoing cries during [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f34v5KLTA7g Mental Machine] make the fights against the amorphous Nightmare that much more, well...[[Nightmare Fuel|nightmarish]].

* The sound of a Panzer tank in the ''[[Medal of Honor]]'' games.

*** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=739g4uvgqZY Door of Holy Spirits]

*** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf_Nh1DC0wg The Door to the Abyss]

** Even worse is that if you listen closely and don't fire a shot, you can hear them ''whispering something...''

* The grinding noise heard when running out of HP in ''Yoshi's Story'' -- surprisingly scary for a game aimed at a young audience.

* [[Terraria]] has the noise burrowing enemies make when nearby. Not too bad when it's a giant worm, terrifying if it's the [[Segmented Serpent|Eater]] [[Asteroids Monster|of Worlds]]. The worst part? As they get closer, it gets ''faster''.

* '''[[The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall|VEEEEEEENGEEEEAAAAAAAAANNNNNNCEEEEE!!!]]'''

* [[Ghostbusters the Video Game]] was loaded with these.

** The library, dear lord the library. Especially once you hit the children section. The disembodied sounds of children laughing, playing, crying... pleading. Goodbye!

* ''[[Touhou]]'' is not immune. In the eleventh game, after you've fought your way to the Hell of Blazing Fires, you are greeted by a cute little crow girl, her [[Badass Boast]], and her [[Awesome Music|sweet battle music]]... periodically interrupted by ''freaking air-raid sirens'' whenever she pulls a spellcard. What the hell is that noise? It's the sound of [[I Love Nuclear Power|YOU'RE ABOUT TO GET NUKED]].

* ''[[Cry of Fear]]'' is a game with a great soundtrack, but the track [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8no8kyLDEto Fucked] is one of the more horrifying songs that play. It triggers when the world around Simon swiftly changes to a nightmare, and the song is downright psychotic.

* The alarm in [[DEFCON]] that sounds whenever a nuke is launched.

* The Suicide Bombers from the ''[[Serious Sam]]'' series. The minute you hear one of them screaming, you know [[This Is Gonna Suck]]. Especially if you hear [[It Got Worse|multiple screams at once.]] [[Nintendo Hard|While a million other things are on the screen trying to kill you.]] And then there's the times they spawn from ''behind'', or around corners you can't see past. The minute you hear them coming, you know you have to find and kill them fast, or your health's going to drop like a rock.

** [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY4RDIN8RiA&feature=relmfu "Werewolf"] starts as church bells combined with the sound of wind, and after two minutes it turns into a chaotic mess of static ([[Nightmare Fuel|which sounds a lot like screaming]]) combined with growling sounds.

* Due to the rather simplistic graphics, ''[[Survival Crisis Z]]'' has to scare the player with sounds, and boy does it succeed. There's the the unhinged laughter of the newly infected, the low growls and moans of the rotted ones, the sirens that sound in the night, {{spoiler|the screech of the ghost children...}}