Best Video Game Music: Songs and More

Even the best video game music is still stereotyped as a bunch of bleeps and bloops; just watch a modern TV show that features at least one scene wherein the characters bash at controllers and are held in thrall by the sounds of Atari’s Pac-Man adaptation for the 2600.

Gamers know better. Though a game can’t prop itself up on its soundtrack alone, a quality soundtrack is typically what imprints a title in the memories of its fans. Long-time gamers in particular enjoy a special relationship with game music in all its forms, especially 8-bit chiptunes.

In celebration of the best video game music throughout the ages, we’ve opted to tip our hats to ten particularly strong pieces. Trust us when we say your ears will thank us later: These ten bits of music – and the associated soundtracks they’re a part of – will no doubt prompt you to load up the relevant games again just to hear the tunes in their native lands.

(Note: Putting together a list of the ten best and most inspirational video game tunes is kind of like choosing the ten human beings most worthy of repopulating planet Earth after an apocalypse. So in the interest of deterring bloodshed, we’ll also grant a free space to Koji Kondo’s classic Super Mario Bros. theme.)

Halo 3 Main Theme (Xbox 360) — Alien war is serious business, and to emphasize that point, we have the beautifully orchestrated intro theme for Halo 3. The Covenant can brave the Spartans’ superhuman fighting skills, but can they stand against hordes of gamers inspired by a chorus of violins? We think not.

Katamari Damacy: Katamari on the Rocks (PlayStation 2) — What can we say except for “Naaaah nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah Katamari Damacyyyyy?” Oh, caught an earworm, have you? We’re not sorry.

Mega Man 2: Dr. Wily Fortress (NES) — The Blue Bomber takes credit for some of the most incredible musical accomplishments performed on game consoles across gaming history, but few will argue that the most iconic tune belongs to Dr. Wily’s first fortress stage in Mega Man 2. Talk about perfect placement: This song is exactly what you need to pump you up for the final ascent to Wily’s living room. Then again, Mega Man titles know how to play with your emotions as the action winds down: Consider the moody background music that follows you as you make your way to the final boss, Sigma, in Mega Man X for the SNES.

Shadow of the Colossus: The Opened Way (PlayStation 2) — Holy heck, is there any game more perfect than Shadow of the Colossus? It plays brilliantly, it still looks beautiful, and the soundtrack is enough to bring a tear to the eye of a statue. The ominous thudding of “The Opened Way” is swordsman Wander’s only companion as he scurries along the backs of giant, solemn godlike beings Colossi that are thousands of times his size, then slays each in turn.

Chrono Cross: Time’s Scar (PlayStation) — Depending on whom you ask, Chrono Cross is the ideal successor to the SNES fantasy role-playing game (RPG) classic, Chrono Trigger, or else it is a royal mess. Both sides can agree on one thing, however: The game’s soundtrack is gorgeous. Its opening piece, “Time’s Scar,” starts off melancholy, but whips into a frenzy of violins about a minute in. It’s heartfelt, and it’s irresistible. We’ll also grant an honorable mention to Chrono Trigger’s ending piece, the piano-rich ”To Faraway Times.” It’s a bittersweet tune that has a certain finality to it–an interesting quality for a game that has a dozen different endings.

Final Fantasy VI: Dark World (SNES) — How do you narrow down Final Fantasy’s legendary soundtrack to just one song that encompasses all of its tunes of heartbreak, love and loss and sweet, sweet victory in the face of crushing defeat? Well, you can throw a dart at a list of songs that are native to each Final Fantasy game. After all, we have the Prelude, the Crystal Song, and the Victory Theme, the last of which lets players know it’s okay to breathe again. But in the interest of sparking angry conversation, we’re going to cite Final Fantasy VI as the showcase for the best Final Fantasy tunes. From there, we’re going to suggest that “Dark World” is the game’s most chilling, emotional song: It’s what bongs in the background shortly after one of the main characters, Celes, wakes up in a post-apocalyptic wasteland that’s been rendered infertile by the whims of a crazy clown-god. After surviving a suicide attempt, Celes begins a potentially fruitless search for survivors. Suffice it to say that it’s definitely not the stuff Sesame Street songs are made of.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night: Dance of Pales/Waltz of Pearls (PlayStation) — Same song, two different translations, beautiful piece of work all around. This is the tune that accompanies the dhampire Alucard as he works his way through the portion of Castlevania that’s branded “Olrox’s Quarters.” Olrox is a free-loading vampire friend of Drac’s, and he can change into a shriveled lizard-man at whim in order to give Alucard a hard time. He’s an ugly jerk, but he has great taste in music.

Portal: Still Alive (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) — Yes, yes, we know. Cake, lies, etc. “Still Alive,” the ending tune for Portal as sung by GlaDOS is overplayed, but that’s because it’s kind of brilliant. It’s catchy, it’s funny, and it sets the stage for Portal 2. Heck, maybe the Internet has already learned its lesson about running a good thing into the ground (that was a joke, ha ha, fat chance).

Secret of Mana: Angel’s Fear (Super Nintendo (SNES)) — Secret of Mana has one of the most succinct introduction sequences of any role-playing game, but it’s also one of the most memorable thanks to the pianos and “chorus” that make up its opening title, “Angel’s Fear.” Coupled with the peaceful opening image of the game’s heroes standing in front of the lush green Mana Tree, it’s an intro you won’t often skip no matter how many times you play the game. If you get far enough into the game, make sure to take a long listen to “Dark Star,” another ambitious (if rather foreboding) tune.

Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask: Song of Healing (Nintendo 64 (N64)) — Everybody is familiar with the main theme from fantasy dungeon crawling classic The Legend of Zelda. You could conceivably approach a stranger on the street, hum the start of the theme, and there’s a 50-50 chance that said stranger will join in. So let’s talk about a deserving Zelda theme that far fewer people recognize: The “Song of Healing” from Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.

The “Song of Healing” is the primary theme for Majora’s Mask, and if you listen to it, you’ll get a good sense of the game’s overall mood. Few people realize it, but Majora’s Mask is a very dark, very melancholy game, much more so than The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The concept for Majora’s Mask centers around restoring hope to a world that’s mere days away from being destroyed, but this time, it’s not as easy as picking up a sword and having a pointed talk with evil villain Ganon. Fixing the land of Termina means healing all the smaller hurts that people are suffering as a result of the doom hanging over them, and that’s what the “Song of Healing” is all about: Link uses it to help characters chase away their demons and, if nothing else, meet the coming of the darkness with their minds at ease. It’s not a happy song by any means, but something about it says, “Hey man, you’re OK.”

Sidenote: This song has gained some notoriety thanks to a video game ghost story featuring a little boy named Ben.

About Nadia Oxford
Nadia is a freelance writer living in Toronto. She played her first game at four, decided games were awesome, and has maintained her position since. She writes for 1UP.com, Slide to Play, GamePro and other publications, and is About.com’s Guide to the Nintendo DS.

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