Starcraft I & II - Terran Theme 1 | Reacting To Video Game Music!

[@Arksimon2k]

Starcraft 1 Terran 1 is so iconic.

[@SirSlush_]

There is not a single bad song in Starcraft 1. The Terran soundtracks in particular are absolutely amazing.

[@slinttu1378]

Glenn Stafford went absolutely wild back in the early Blizzard days, the Warcraft and Starcraft OSTs are so good. And he still works as a composer there..

[@Turai12]

I wouldn't listen to the zerg music outside the game but it's amazing in the game.

[@TheParez]

correction; there is not a single bad song in Starcraft series

[@ShioTV_]

Starcraft is a Real-Time Strategy game made by Blizzard, the same company that makes World of Warcraft(the big game you couldn't quite remember the name of.) The original was released back in 1998, and the second was released in 2010, over a decade after the original. Terrans are one of the three playable races in the game, and they are just humans in space. The other two are the Protoss, which are super advanced aliens, and the Zerg, which are basically hive-mind creatures that swarm planets. These songs are some of the ones that play while in a match as the Terran. It's basically just background music to listen to while micro-managing your base, army, and economy. On a more personal note, the SC1 song in particular is a huge nostalgia hit for me. The group of people that I still game with today basically came together from doing LAN parties in middle school, playing SC1. Those were the days.

[@Razor921]

Also want to add that the reason the Terran theme sounds a bit western is because unlike a lot of other space marines, the Terran marines are basically space cowboys mixed in with some gruff military stereotypes. There's this underlying "wild west frontier" vibe to them, which is why they have that twangy acoustic guitar in their theme.

[@Amberion]

@@Razor921 yeah, and the original videos had a lot of hillbilly stereotypes in them.

[@frangken6609]

As a Korean, I can guarantee that this music will continue to future generations.

[@snaffu1]

Let's keep that torch burning for those ahead of us! 💪

[@ChronosTachyon]

"Looks like you ran over some poor feller's dog, Sarge." "That's a zergling, Lester. Smaller type of Zerg. But they wouldn't be out this far unless... oh shit." (about to die) "I love you, Sarge."

[@Akolit_Val]

@@ChronosTachyon simply the best

[@Videodragon64]

FINE I'll play Starcraft again

[@cparle87]

1:35 Yup. SC1 starts out as basically the old south in space. 4:45 Considering Terran buildings can lift off and fly that makes sense. 8:50 And here starts the headbanging part.

[@Videodragon64]

READY TO ROLL OUT, PROCEEDEN, ORDERS SIR??, NEED A LIGHT?, GO AHEAD TACCOM, and HAILING FREQUENCIES OPEN. some of my favorite TERRAN unit quotes

[@scotty110]

Shields up! Weapons online! Not equiped with shields? Well then buckle up!

[@azuredeath]

Need medical attention? GOLIATH ONLINE

[@MrFreakHeavy]

DELIGHTED TO, SIR!

[@naphackDT]

Goliath online.

[@nocteexmortis979]

Who let the monkeys out?!

[@WallessJ]

Cant wait for my requests of Terran 2 and 3 to be done as well. This soundtrack does not disappoint

[@Commandos12]

terran 3 is my favourite :D

[@NihilistSolitude]

Hell, It's about Time

[@블루스타-k3u]

The wisest race that received the most nerfs but won the most championships in StarCraft history.

[@bunnytails]

I played Starcraft my every waking moment for several years of my life. All in all, I played it on and off for 8 years, from 2000 to 2008. It literally consumed my life. The Terran 1 theme from Starcraft 1 is the song most ingrained into my brain. As another commenter stated, Terran is one of 3 playable races in the series. The other two races (Zerg and Protoss) have a very different sound to their music. It would be fun to hear you listen to them and compare. Perhaps I need to request them, though the Terran music has always been my favorite. You asked if Starcraft is still going. It is. People do still play both 1 and 2, but the competitive scene is a small fraction of what it used to be. The OG Starcraft used to be HUGE in e-sports back in the day, especially in Korea. Korea would televise the big tournaments and the shout casters would go crazy. The top SC players were celebrities over there. Us "foreigners" would download videos (this was before YT and streaming websites) of matches to see the best in the world battle against each other with a bunch of men shouting in Korean. We'd have no idea what they were saying, but the energy was amazing. And yeah, when you are an American playing an American game on an American server you were a "foreigner" when it came to Starcraft. Koreans took Starcraft and made it their identity. They were the best. The kings. You did not want to get into a public 1v1 match against a Korean. They were just too good. And it was really amazing how they took this game and made it into something so huge. I met so many amazing people through that game. I really cherish those memories and miss those days.

[@Torenhire]

Bunnnyyyy I knew you'd be here! Great comment. SCBW days were easily the best of my life. Bunnytails Hwaiting!

[@bunnytails]

@@Torenhire you know I gasped with delight when I saw this was finally happening!!!

[@TarundiMC]

I'd even go as far to say that Starcraft was the original e-sports scene. I can't think of anything that was anywhere close to as big a deal.

[@Torenhire]

@@bunnytails I was gonna DM you on Discord in case you missed it, but you beat me here!

[@Torenhire]

@@TarundiMC for sure, when Starleague started I think you could easily convince anyone that it was the first "modern" esport. I know there was other pc bang tournaments and local stuff. Pretty confident BW was the first to be mainstream televised though!

[@Torenhire]

Starcraft 1 & Brood War (expansion pack for the 1st game) no joke was my entire life for like 1/3rd of my years alive. Waking up at 2am before school to watch Korean TV channels we pirated for the tournaments, I hosted a stream every day on Justintv restreaming them, met a ton of people still currently in esports. I could write a book about it without hesitation. That music fills me with a special kind of nostalgia. For me personally, SC2 never had that soul-attachment, but I don't hate it. I think it was about time for me to move on either way!

[@Goodman_Grey]

The StarCraft 1 Terran Theme may be my most listened to piece of VGM. I played the everloving hell out of StarCraft growing up and this song is a certiifed bop.

[@Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez]

Terran 1, 2 & 3 themes will forever be amazing jewels crafted from genius

[@EternaltheGrey]

Yeah, the Terran side of this game is basically Lasers And Duct Tape- the whole faction is a mix of US Southern aristo politicking plus Spaghetti Westerns. You can imagine this happening somewhere in the Star Wars universe too, it's a very familiar hardscrabble make-it-work kind of vibe.

[@jlowe8059]

Every Terran piece from both games is amazing

[@skelephant]

StarCraft was my childhood! I would go to my neighbor's house where they several computers we could use to play over LAN. Then I played a bunch of StarCraft 2 in college. Great games and great memories!

[@Kasaaz]

I never considered just how wild the combination of instruments they chose is.

[@drandal]

Terran themes from Starcraft 1 are some of the best tracks ever made for a video game. They were composed by Glenn Stafford, Blizzard's in-house composer of many years, who also had a hand in creating music for the Warcraft and Diablo series of games. Terran music from Starcraft 2 is also his handiwork. The whole premise of the Terrans is the "rednecks in space" feeling, hence the Western sounding references.

[@droz74]

"Hell, it's about damn time" Terran is one of the 3 playable races in the game. They're the humans to put it simply. But it's not the average futuristic space age humanity feel that they go for, it's a much more rustic western style. They are very much space cowboys, especially with who you end up playing as for the Terran story. As for the game, Starcraft is one of the pioneering games for the RTS genre. It used to be very popular, but unfortunately the game is not getting consistent updates anymore, as it's all been nearly forgotten by blizzard. It does have a great story and beautiful cinematics. Even without playing the entire game if you look up Starcraft 2's cutscenes (aka the Starcraft 2 movie), you can get a general feel for what's going on. I highly recommend it.

[@Kanabroz]

"SCV to the go, sir." popped in my head as soon as the music started

[@RaceBannon]

It's "good to go"

[@stonehead4775]

You will get amazed on the Starcraft 2 Legacy of the void soundtracks!, they are the newest of that game, and they are sooo epic If you dont wanna see them all, I think the best are: Holding up the sky Golden Armada

[@JH_Phillips]

This was really fun to watch! I grew up with these games and it's so fun to your first impressions!

[@gregbrown8881]

Wow this really takes me back. I always liked how there are parts of these songs that seem a little out of place for the setting, but they totally work for the actual gameplay, and also match the overall personalities of the Terran main characters.

[@PeTTs0n88]

Glenn Stafford did some real good work back then. Him and Frank Klepacki were such a huge part of my childhood in gaming. ^^

[@Beuwen_The_Dragon]

The Terrans of Starcraft are best described as Humans, if you threw Cowboys, Jonny Rebs, the Dukes of Hazard, Texans, Australians, Space marines from aliens, the Colinials from Battlestar Galactica,(and the Galactica herself) and both the Browncoat's Independence & Allaince factions from firefly/Serenity into a blender, and shot that blender out into deep space, and said 'Good luck, don't die!"

[@Maxbeedo2]

My favorite songs in games I've put close to 2000 hrs in. Designed to be looped infinitely since matches could last 5 minutes or over an hour, and they never get old.

[@xblafren]

I've had SC2 set to SC1 music for so long, so hearing the SC2 version of Terran 1 reminded me that it is a definite banger itself.

[@jdspencer60]

I LOVE the terran music from this game. I used to play in the SC2 Beta. I was a terror with my early stealth banshee rush lol

[@Jinballify]

That sick bass fill in SCII Terran I, thats Tony Levin man, all the way through!

[@kienzays6282]

Terran Theme 1 is just Legendary!

[@cybergothika6906]

I'm 40s and I'm a gamer since 88 as far I can remember. In 97 we already had the Nintendo 64 out there but PC and PS1 had CD quality songs in multiple games. Composition for music on the 90s never were a problem to go wild not even on 16 bits, (such as Snes and Genesis). Snes itself has so many insane tunes, we can agree it must have started there. Games like Jurassic Park 2 High Ptera or Chrono Trigger's corridor of time is a fine example. Starcraft won a lot of prizes for the music because of originality.

[@swizzyswayne4270]

Aint nothing like ramsacking a base listening to the Terran theme. Even if youre not playing Terran its just so epic

[@Sercotani]

late but I was so happy you did this, even though it's a small portion of the whole OST, even though it seems like Starcraft isn't all that popular anymore...it was part of my childhood. Feels surreal to see someone dissect the music haha, it's a part of me at this point.

[@nurgleschosen8145]

Whenever i play the wings of liberty campaign (humans) the terran 1 theme from starcraft 2 is always a joy to listen to. Terrans have in, my humble opinion, the best soundtrack

[@H31MU7]

well we ain't gonna let the filthy aliens have the best soundtrack are we

[@nurgleschosen8145]

@@H31MU7 damn straight!

[@great_hedgehog8199]

I certaibly really like the pride, nobility and grief in themes of the Protoss, and weird, scary, borderline incomprehensible soundscape that is the zerg themes, but when it comes to just headbangs, terran obviously wins. Protoss themes are too slow for that, and zerg are too arythmic

[@NeoStarImpact]

Music in both games was fantastic. Starcraft is a real time strategy game. And when that music played in the background it kinda really gets you in the zone with your focus! I still love to hear the music when I program.

[@sergiorodriguez6316]

The best RTS ever made, and how it came to be is just an amazing story, still play it to this days, this game was the reason moder esports came to be, look for slayers-Boxer and T1 from the starleagues era in Korea, Boxer is the grandfather of esports

[@macigimagic]

If i remember correctly Castlevania SotN was 97 too so thats third game you have played from that year. Damn so many great games released 1997.

[@Aluzard]

starcraft 2 theme song for terran is just amazing. I dunno what it is but it just hits!

[@junfaa]

Starcraft was my dad's game that he would let me play from time to time. He would play it constantly for years. He used to turn the music off which is absolutely baffling.

[@bgamer251]

play it full volume. It's on a whole 'nother level, anyway, my brain automatically starts playing "Terran 2" after I finish hearing this.

[@pphan6110]

A bit late to this party but wanted to throw my thoughts into this. I feel like the music is so dynamic to suit the player's thought process while playing. Starcraft is an Real Time Strategy meaning there are many things for the player to consider in short amounts of time. The slower rhythms at the beginning and a break part way through to allow you to focus on base building, resource management, army generation/composition (when considering enemy composition/counters) and map awareness. Then the tracks ramp up to subconsciously keep the mind focused when engaging in battle when it comes to unit micromanaging and "spell"/ability casting.

[@Kawayolnyo]

Ghost is ready, prepared for move out. Target acquired.

[@orciencor6001]

Comparing the twangy aspects of the music to Rimworld isn't really that far off, considering both can have a fairly "space western" type vibe to them in parts. Terran is also a pretty standard replacement for "Earther" in a lot of sci-fi settings, as Terra tends to be another name for Earth. Kinda like Luna is another name for the Moon. (Probably helps with differentiating between Earth the planet, and earth the dirt/ground too.)

[@Tchy]

Terra and Luna are just Earth and Moon in Latin (and some latin derived languages)

[@snaffu1]

"Country? Jazz? Nah, partner, this here's SPACE TWANG!" - my old ladder buddy in ventrilo

[@whuskeywolf0032]

Starcraft and Brood War were literally my childhood with Command and Conquer. There isn't a single bad Terran theme, but I swear SC2 Terran Theme 1 always brings me to tears, physically and mentally with all the memories coming back. Terran theme 1 from Starcraft always puts me in the mood to work or make progress in something, just very motivating.

[@4nthr4x]

Ever since I got my 1st smartphone, about 15 years ago, Terran theme 1 has been my ringtone

[@AStandsForFrench]

Starcraft is such a wild thing because it is an RTS with three perfectly balanced factions. All three have their strengths and weaknesses, and the single-player campaign is incredibly strong for all three paths, you never really know who will live or die, what the power balance in the galaxy will end up as, etc. and even though it's become such a competitive powerhouse in Korea, to the point where people say it's the national sport of the country, even to this day there's still competitiveness between all three factions in the original game. I never really followed Starcraft 2 but that seemed like it was a lot rockier in design, and the story was all over the place too, it got SUPER anime and weird.

[@Kamenari37]

This is a game where you structure a base to build units and overcome the enemy set in a sci-fi space opera-type setting. Levels can last an indefinite amount of time based on the player's skill and playstyle, so the music is tailored with that in mind. You need something that is catchy, interesting, fits the theme of the environment and the characters, and is dynamic enough to flow with the gameplay which sees spurts of high-action battles with lots of units, and lulls as the player builds their army. That very special quality video game music use to have in being catchy and functional to enhance the experience of the game overall. I have the entire Terran suite from SCII saved on my ipod.

[@DarkwillsEnd]

It's interesting that you point out how all over the place the songs are, because in-game, the Terrans (who are a bunch of convicts shot off from Earth to colonize a distant area of space) are defined by how flexible and adaptable they are. Almost every unit they have is versatile and somewhat multipurpose, up to and including having multiple forms.

[@narius_jaden215]

Yeeeeeeees I was waiting for this request of mine in particular xD.

[@ossdemura]

SC1 and 2, in my top RTS games of all time. I played them both for yeeeeeeears. Music, specially Terran is really iconic.

[@christopherstanley9997]

ah my beloved starcraft a great game with a stellar soundtrack

[@alicechan404]

4:16 you can definitely feel the Diablo influence during this section.

[@tavo9716]

"SCV READY!"

[@Malpheron]

Starcraft music was produced by Glenn Stafford, Jason Hayes, and Tracey W. Bush. StarCraft II music was provided by Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, Neal Acree, and Russell Brower.

[@JH_Phillips]

I loved your assessment. It's hard to express how well this music, in it's prog/rock/western style, when playing the actual game where games are prolonged with multiple twists and turns. The Terran race are space marines but you could think of them as space cowboy's in their personality.

[@rahbeat9785]

Soundtrack to both games are proggy masterpieces

[@Rc3651]

StarCraft has great music and will always hold a special place in my heart. The LAN parties, the tournaments, the music, the story, the lore , the art design. It's all amazing. It is hard for me to listen to without thinking about how hard Blizzard fumbled this franchise though. I don't think I'll ever be able to get back into it knowing that they're still in charge, except to maybe play the StarCraft 1 campaigns for nostalgia

[@xtremetitox]

I was waiting for you to start listening Starcraft music. My favorite theme tends to be Terran of SC2 even though I am not a Terran player. My favorite terran theme is the SC2 4th one.

[@ThatFoxGirl]

I think Terran Theme 2 is my personal favorite, but they’re all good

[@vlander1992able]

So think space cowboys, with a slight inspiration from warhammer 40k. The second game took away some of the twang while replacing it with violin that reminds me of firefly, which I feel like might have inspired, idk. I loved the first and it's expansion, 2 was not as good but had some really great new mechanics.

[@Zackarco]

"Can't believe I'm stuck in this chicken s*it suit!" - Terran Marine

[@FullMetalSnorlax]

Outfit, not suit. And its reffing to to the military outfit(division), not his clothes or the marine suit.

[@casualsilver2702]

Hi, first time viewer here so you know why I'm here. Starcraft 1 is one of the most foundational games for real time strategy and the esports scene. In Korea, it became huge and it set the stage for people watching competitive tournaments. But I do have to say that SC1 is quite dated in terms of gameplay and graphics but the recent remaster certainly improved one of those categories. Conversely, Starcraft 2 is less influential but is certainly way more refined and polished. Sadly, Blizzard isn't paying much attention to any other IP besides World of Warcraft nowadays. Now that the history lesson is done, let's talk lore. In Starcraft, the humans are called Terrans and most are descended from criminals, political dissidents, mutants, and cybernetically augmented individuals who were rounded up, put onto 4 colony ships and into cryogenic hibernation, and sent into space. Their navigational computers went haywire, wiped their map data, and sent them in the wrong direction. Reaching a region of space called the Koprulu Sector, the colony ships were in three separate groups and landed on three different planets. These colonies survived, thrived, and became three separate governments known as the Confederacy, the Umojan Protectorate, and the Kel-Morian Combine. The 1st game is set after a war between the Kel-Morians and the Confederacy which the latter had won but is also suffering from internal armed rebellion. As the game's events unfold, the terrans find out that they aren't alone and remember that old saying "War makes strange bedfellows". The terran ost is a strange mix of sci-fi, western, rock, and military music which fits the terrans quite well. The main worlds of the terrans are quite built up and urbanized, but the fringe worlds are littered with settlements, colonies, and colonies right out of a western or Borderlands.

[@banonKING]

Terran theme 2 from the original Starcraft is one of my top musical pieces of all time. And in the sequel, Terran's theme "Heaven's Devils" is pretty damn close. The Terran music reminds me of space truckers, which isn't surprising because most of the humans in the game have a very American southern flair, from cowboys to hicks, because in the lore this part of space is filled with criminals sent to settle deep space. Basically Space Australia. Mixed in there mechas, guns, killing and dying. That's pretty much Starcraft.

[@clericneokun]

The Terran theme is up there with the OG Tristan theme for me. They are simply wonderful pieces of music.

[@geletrode]

starcraft was the biggest esport in the world at one point, its part of blizzard big game list. Starcraft, warcraft and diablo i think of when i think blizzard.

[@arcticridge]

I can hear the SVC mining in the background

[@commander1488]

The "mood swings" probably depends on gameplay... at start music sounds like industrial, as in like building a base... as you engage enemy forces, the music changes

[@Mrinsecure]

Starcraft is a fascinating game, though it's less for the game itself and more for its history. First, the game is long-rumored (but never officially confirmed) to have started life as an adaptation of tabletop war game Warhammer 40,000 (also known as Warhammer 40K or just 40K). However, that never panned out, but it's seen as a plausible explanation for the similarities between the two properties. More interesting than that, however, was Starcraft's role in the e-sports scene. While video game competitions have existed in various forms for decades, Starcraft was one of the first big games to be played competitively, with South Korea in particular being known for loving Starcraft. Both Starcraft and Starcraft II are played at competitive tournaments to this day, with millions of viewers tuning in for matches.

[@MorbidlyHilarious]

Fantastic! I love this franchise!

[@BigFry9591]

Terrans are industrial space cowboys living under totalitarian regimes. They're the human faction of the game (one of 3 factions).

[@siverwrites]

I only played Starcraft 1 a bit. I was more into Warcraft 3 in as much as I was into any RTSs. Not really my genre of choice these days. But the Terran theme from the first game is so cool. It's been a while since I heard it so the reminder was nice. I'm not familiar with the theme from the second game so that was new to me! I think I prefer the first one though, but the second has cool stuff too.

[@finito6818]

Yes finally some Starcraft, Terran them 1 is probably the most popular of the OST. FYI, Blizzard is mostly known for its 3 main titles Warcraft, Starcraft and Diablo which are all PC games mostly. In Starcraft, you are mostly building a base, creating and controlling troops from a top down view to fight against other factions. Terrans is the human race, you can play as 2 other alien races(Protoss and Zerg). Starcraft is probably one of the most well known RTS(real time strategy) game along with Command & Conquer, Age of Empire and Homeworld that you mentionned.

[@WarHatter7242]

And now we all want you to listen to Zerg and Protoss soundtracks too.

[@Fastwinstondoom]

Old Blizzard and Westwood Studios had the best pc game music of the 90's and it's not even close.

[@RickySama240]

Mann Starcraft music really takes me back. This makes me want to play Starcraft 2 again! 😇

[@WikiHL]

It's about to get heavy!

[@RitsuCurisu]

I much appreciate the other songs. I think you will also be surprised by how hard the Zerg soundtrack goes.

[@TheHalogen131]

Terran music in SC 1 can be summarises in "So futuristic, but so retro"

[@pitipuziko3555]

Starcraft? Nice! Starcraft 2 has so many great music pieces,

[@phntmthf5505]

Terran 1 from SC1 always reminds me of the title theme for Babylon 5, while Terran 1 from SC2 always reminds me of Firefly’s title theme

[@ChemFiendtaco]

the cowboy thing is because of mars 🤠

[@DarwinAwardWinner]

As you've probably surmised, "Terran" refers to one of the 3 playable races in the games, specifically humans. The other two are different species of alien. Each faction has their own musical identity, and IIRC the tracks don't have individual titles beyond just "[faction name] [number]".

[@giovanniprovost]

Super hype for this

[@Malacite]

Not enough minerals.

[@Wildkipedia]

Im so used to the Heroes of the Storm version that felt a bit odd listening to the first one lol Love these tracks tho

[@WallessJ]

For reference, Terran is probably what you thought it was. It is the latin equivalent of saying Earthling. Starcraft has three major interstellar civilizations in constant conflict with one another. The Terrans (us humans), the Zerg (biological race otherwise known as The Swarm) and the Protoss ( a highly advanced psychic and telepathic race with a literal religious zelotry against the Zerg).

[@srcocomad]

"supply blocked FUCK" PTSD

[@rahbeat9785]

i wish you've done themes 2+3+ also :)

[@CuLLlaLlBax]

Paradise Killer OST is a must, I'm sure you would dig it. Not a lot of people now of this game, which is a shame

[@Zectorman]

Starcraft 1 had one of the tighest, all kille no filler, OSTs of all time.

[@AbVoxNihil]

You gotta try Red Alert's varied songs, Red Alert 3 has some real bangers in there that come out of nowhere, Trouble in Mykonos, European Intrigue, and the Hell march of course

[@Daren_PNW]

guitarjohnny81 here on YT has my fav cover of this theme. nice one dude!🎸

[@williammcginnis7772]

funny enough the second game, or at least the Wing's of Liberty chapter(which is the Terran one) is themed like a western based on Jim Raynor who you follow from the first game.

[@memesofdestruction5601]

oh wow we get some sc1 and 2? thx jesse looking forward to it edit: after hearing the sc1 ost i think terran theme 3 is superior to the others :P and zerg theme 3 is a total banger

[@ryanc9876]

Man, I never could tell which I liked more between Terran 1 and Terran 3 in StarCraft 1. Terran wasn't even my favorite race, but their themes stuck with me the most. The other two races' themes had some memorable moments within, but they were too quiet overall for my tastes. Still good though. But maybe there's one or two in there that I need to rehear, or maybe the remasters? It's been awhile.

[@vincentivarsson1818]

If you want to listen to the full song then i suggest this one: Starcraft II OST - 3 - Heaven's Devils

[@Dlf212]

Franchises (/IP)'s Blizzard is known for: Warcraft, Diablo, Starcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone.

[@puniopenetrante]

Also known as space country music.