Particularly in the 80's and 90's, some video game theme songs would sometimes have extended and vocal theme songs that could only be heard outside of the game, like on OSTs or in OVAs or things like that. Some of the best ones:
Zillion was based on an Anime, and thus the theme song to the game is based on the first opening. While the in-game theme song obviously lacks vocals, the anime opening has them. On one of the OSTs for the Anime, there is a full version of the song with a second verse, linked above.
The arcade version of Psycho Soldier had a cassette tape that would play during the game that contained a vocal version of the Athena theme song. When you bought the game in Japan for the Famicom, they included a cassette that had a full version of the in-game theme that was different from the Arcade version that is awesome.
Much of the US OST for Sonic CD is truncated in-game. They actually released a rare CD containing full versions of all the songs in the game that can't be heard anywhere else. Many of them are really cool, like Stardust Speedway Zone Present has an additional intro, or the two future versions of Quartz Quadrant are actually part of a single full song. The best example, however, is the game's theme song, Sonic Boom, which includes an additional bridge and refrain.
The Sega CD version of Lunar: The Silver Star has a different theme song from the Saturn/PSX versions of the game, but the version that plays in the game is shorter. Included with the Japanese collector's edition of Silver Star Story Complete is an OST that features the full version of the Japanese mix of the song, which is probably my favorite Lunar song ever.
Surely more of these kinds of tracks exist, so please post more.
Zillion was based on an Anime, and thus the theme song to the game is based on the first opening. While the in-game theme song obviously lacks vocals, the anime opening has them. On one of the OSTs for the Anime, there is a full version of the song with a second verse, linked above.
The arcade version of Psycho Soldier had a cassette tape that would play during the game that contained a vocal version of the Athena theme song. When you bought the game in Japan for the Famicom, they included a cassette that had a full version of the in-game theme that was different from the Arcade version that is awesome.
Much of the US OST for Sonic CD is truncated in-game. They actually released a rare CD containing full versions of all the songs in the game that can't be heard anywhere else. Many of them are really cool, like Stardust Speedway Zone Present has an additional intro, or the two future versions of Quartz Quadrant are actually part of a single full song. The best example, however, is the game's theme song, Sonic Boom, which includes an additional bridge and refrain.
The Sega CD version of Lunar: The Silver Star has a different theme song from the Saturn/PSX versions of the game, but the version that plays in the game is shorter. Included with the Japanese collector's edition of Silver Star Story Complete is an OST that features the full version of the Japanese mix of the song, which is probably my favorite Lunar song ever.
Surely more of these kinds of tracks exist, so please post more.
