Sounds in Games

[Moonface]

Last night I started another playthrough of Breath of the Wild because I got a copy of it cheap for Switch, and hearing the little jingle that plays when you pick up an item and get the description box for it made me feel really happy. So that got me thinking about other sounds in games, which I think is often overlooked in favour of game soundtracks instead.

So what sounds have you loved hearing in a game, found memorable, or perhaps found to actually be really bad?

[ShiraNoMai]

Breath of the Wild has some great sound design, aside from the actual sounds themselves. If the Switch supported surround sound, it'd be such a treat trying to sneak on a campsite or such.

I've grown attached to the unique little quirks and effects made in Animal Crossing. These are very much games that rely on sound cues to imply emotions across languages and I find it very clever.

There's also sounds I found to be bad but they're intentionally bad, such as the low HP sound in Pokemon games (which, over time, they've made a change to not make it repetitive), or baby Mario's cry in Yoshi's Island: all sounds intended to make the player want to halt the action, as a form of negative reinforcement.

[Moonface]

The worst negative health/status sound I've heard in a game goes to Luigi's Mansion 3. Having low health in that game is the most punishing and obnoxious sound I've ever heard.