Atmospheric, Immersive AND Dynamite Soundtracks.

[Koh]

Or AIDS for short.  Heh.

These are the soundtracks that look beyond trying to get the player to headbang or foot tap, though they get bonus points if they do.  These are the OSTs whose primary focus is to not only set the stage for what's happening around the characters in the game world, but also to invoke all the proper emotions of said scenes onto the player as they play, fully enveloping them into the world.  What examples can you bring to the table?

I'm going to cheat and bring two of the highest tier examples into the fray.

Final Fantasy Tactics (sample)
Needless to say, this game's OST is a masterpiece.  Every single track does their job of fully immersing the player in what's going on, as well as evoking all the proper emotions during their needed times.  If I could wish for anything with this OST, is for some tracks to be used more than the one or two times they're seen throughout the entire game, because they're that good.

Vagrant Story (sample)
By the same composer as Final Fantasy Tactics, the OST here once again does the same perfect job of setting the atmosphere and mood.  My only real complaint here is that there's no music during most of the gameplay, save for boss fights and cutscenes, just like Tomb Raider.  One could argue it makes it more suspenseful this way, but as Final Fantasy Tactics has shown, you can make proper tracks to evoke that feeling if necessary.

[Lemonray]

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[Koh]

I want to mention the 8-bit versions of...

Bram Stoker's Dracula (sample)
This OST gets a lot of shit for doing unusual things with the given 8-bit chips, but I'd say despite maybe expecting a lot out of them, it still manages to capture that weird and unsettling atmosphere of the Dracula universe.  Sure the tunes may not be headbanging tunes like Castlevania, but who needs that when it immerses you into the atmosphere?

[Keychain]

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I don't think I've ever been as immersed into a game because of its music as much as I have with Ace Attorney.

[miyabi95_]

I can remember Spyro the Dragon for the PSX having an interesting OST. Maybe it wasn't immersive but it went really well with the story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvFRWKkl...231DE28F97
Another game was probably Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2. It broke away from the funky rock style used in previous games to a really intensive drum & bass soundtrack. It goes really well with all the fighting and stuff. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R5qam8v...9jG6D1Akbi
Oh, and when I first entered the Dark World in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, the music really made me feel like shit was starting to get real. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BStjuHfP238

[Koh]

Tomb Raider 6: Angel of Darkness (sample)
All the music in this game is great, and it was performed live too! They really set that dark atmosphere this game has over the other TRs.

Dragon Quest Series (sample)
From the very beginning, Dragon Quest's music was all about the atmosphere and emotion. Why did I specifically sample Monsters? The spinoff series is under-appreciated here in the states, despite still being the familiar Dragon Quest territory, with amazing music.

[upmagic]

I would put the Wipeout series up there. Incredible logo work, ship designs, and use of club music to create what feels like a real racing event set in an alternative, cyberpunk future. Wasn't just  modern club hits thrown into a game either. Artist 'Cold Storage', especially, made a unique album of music that managed to sound new, foreign, and -- most of all -- cool. I would put the Wipeout series up there. Incredible logo work, ship designs, and use of club music to create what feels like a real racing event set in an alternative, cyberpunk future. Wasn't just  modern club hits thrown into a game either. Artist 'Cold Storage', especially, made a unique album of music that managed to sound new, foreign, and -- most of all -- cool.

[Lemonray]

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Undoubtedly Skyrim's music is the game's most well done aspect. The soundtrack is wonderful from beginning to end, and they even cheated a little to improve it further by bringing back some of Morrowind's music in the DLC.

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If they can tweak the combat enough for TESVI (assuming they intend to keep going in the "action-rpg" direction...) while producing equally good music we could end up with something truly special.

[Koh]

It's time to mention...

Lunar Silver Star (Sample from the Harmony remake)
Originally started on the Sega CD, this game was remade for many different systems, so there are several versions of the OST present here. Harmony, on the PSP, was the latest, and also sported the highest quality instruments for the OST. Needless to say, this hidden gem is a fantastic RPG that has such a great score, you'll practically be begging for the OST while you're playing it.