Top Ten Video Game Soundtracks

One of my favorite movies of all time, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, still impacts our culture today. From its state-of-the-art production, to its deep characters, this is a film that dares to stand the test of time. There's one thing that we take away from this trilogy though, and it's the first element that hits us with full force: it's music. Yes, music can make or break any film, and the score by John Williams is a masterpiece that is planted so firmly into our squishy and excitable brains. Such masterpieces can also be found in our favorite video games. Here's a list of my top ten Video game soundtracks.


10. Final Fantasy VII [Composed by Nobuo Uematsu]

No gamer who likes JRPGs could elude listening to anything Nobuo Uematsu has created. If you weren't groaning when you'd hear a sudden crash as your TV screen swirled into battle mode, then you were probably cheering as the brass trumpets of Victory Fanfare would play at the end of a long and arduous battle. Go no further than to thank Uematsu for this. 

Although in Japan, he was locally renown for his work dating back to the first Final Fantasy, it was when Final Fantasy VII hit the West when we got to know Uematsu for all his sonic glory. Being that FFVII had a Cyberpunk setting, the composer took his love for metal and classical music, and made sure that every time you stepped into battle with an ungodly mech monster, it would be met with the sound of chugging guitars, drum fills, and piercing keys.

9. Luigi's Mansion [Composed by Kazumi Totaka, Shinobu Tanaka]

When Smorge (Small Jorge) woke up on Christmas morning to a Gamecube sitting on his desk, he had no idea what memories he'd be making with this wonderful and underestimated console. What accompanied this console was launch title, Luigi's Mansion. Luigi's Mansion to this day is one of my favorite games of all time, and for Luigi lovers out there, it was unprecedented in it's witty puzzle play revolving around capturing Boos of all shapes and sizes. 

Totaka and Tanaka did something really special with this game. It's Title Theme of Gorillaz-esque beats with low synths and quirky beeps was impressive. When you'd try to catch a ghost, Drum-and-Bass hilarity would ensue as you'd frantically suck a ghost into your vacuum cleaner. So what made this special? It was the times in between action, where Luigi nervously hums the main theme song of the game, as he would call out for his damsel of a brother. Maaaarioooo!

8. The Last of Us [Composed by Gustavo Santaolalla]

I will only say that if you haven't played this masterpiece, you are not just missing out on a game, but a craft the likes of classic paintings and films you'd find at a museum. Gustavo Santaolalla has been playing music since he was a child. The Argentinian native's work is known in Hollywood, championing two Oscars for Best Original Score in Brokeback Mountain and Babel.

Santaolalla was approached by the game's Creative Director Neil Druckmann, and to match the Last of Us's broken, yet eerily beautiful America, the composer produced sounds of similar effect. He methodically untuned guitars (primarily a ronroco) and plucked at the strings to create a sorrowful melody that is evident with the despair that protagonists Ellie and Joel face throughout the story. At points where Joel and Ellie had to resort to desperate measures to survive desperate survivors and infected alike, the bombarding of drums would beat your heart faster than the clicker trying to rip your face open.

7. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind [Composed by Jeremy Soule]

With the worldwide success of Bethesda Game Studios's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Jeremy Soule's work is easily chanted by proud gamers everywhere. You couldn't partake in websites like Reddit without seeing an arrow-to-the-knee joke there or a dragon shout here. Jokes aside, it's safe to say that an Elder Scrolls game wasn't such without Soule's score.

The first Elder Scrolls game I ever played was Morrowind. At a time where graphics weren't the greatest on consoles, Xbox launched with this title and blew all of us away, not only by it's visuals and deep gameplay mechanics, but by the atmosphere Soule created the moment the disk was loaded into the tray. I never beat the story of Morrowind, hell, I never got close. It didn't matter because the music spoke volumes for my mind, for what I couldn't experience through my eyes.

6. Halo [Composed by Martin O'Donnell]

Ah, yes. Love it or hate it, there are some near-death or teenage angst situations that I have been in my life; they didn't nearly pump as much adrenaline in me as a match on Lockout in Halo 2's multiplayer. I was bought into the series as a child when I got a chance to play Halo at my appropriately-aged uncle's house.  Halo is probably responsible for a good chunk of my adolescent memories, but I also lay part of the responsibility on Marty's righteous, blood-boiling music.

Before social media and broadband, a visually-striking Title-Screen accompanied with a catchy song was how a gamer was introduced to a game. O'Donnell contributed to Halo's very cryptic Title-Song with a simple gregorian chant. During a time when classical orchestration was only found in RPG's, it gave thematic meaning to a type of game that has been cast as a visual microwave for children's minds. Oh, and when it came time to running over grunts with Warthogs and sticking elites with plasma grenades, you know that it couldn't sound sweeter without Truth and Reconciliation playing in the background. Hoorah. 

5. Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse [Composed by Hidenori Maezawa, Jun Funahashi, Yukie Morimoto]

The first Castlevania I ever played was Castlevania 64. You may also understand it was the last one I played for over fifteen years. I got my hands on Castlevania III when I bought my Nintendo 3DS, and since then I've been groaning my way past unforgiving level after level, so why do I keep playing it? Not only have the developers create detailed backdrops and beautiful sprites that could be considered "next-gen" for the 8-bit era, but they also made the coolest music I've ever heard for its time. 

Now there is some stipulation in terms of whether the Japanese Famicom had a fuller sound than it's two-sound-chips short Western brother, NES. The moment you step into that first level (which you will die many times) is when that purist nonsense fades away. I'm just going to link the whole original soundtrack. If synthesizers and MIDI is your thing, any song here is a winner. Note: this is the NES soundtrack.

4. Mega Man 2 [Composed by Takashi Tateishi, Manami Matsumae]

I got onto the NES train really late into my life. As you've read with Castlevania III, my appreciation for the 8-bit genre didn't come to be until I could buy those games at five dollars a pop through my 3DS. Being that there is a wide selection of 8-bit Mega Mans out there, settling with Mega Man 2 on the recommendation of my friend was probably the most well spent game I've ever bought. 

It was widely acclaimed when it was released, and almost twenty years later it hasn't aged one pixel. The moment you play any of Mega Man 2's levels, the minute and a half song that plays just screams, "shoot! Shoot! Shoot!" Matching the series run-and-gun style, Tateishi and Matsumae made sure the music played hard and fast. Every level sounds like it belongs in a 90's rave made just for game sprites. If that doesn't scream awesome for you, let me prove it with this tasty lick.

3. Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP [Composed by Jim Guthrie]

When making music for a game, a sense of atmosphere is one of the most important parts. What's a film without a soundtrack that doesn't encompass it's theme? The mobile game industry was hungry for this, and Sword & Sworcery was the title to end the famine. Capybara Games released the touch-based adventurer initially on IOS devices March 2011, and one of the first things that the games charming, pixelated animator tells you is to put on a good pair of headphones. How right he was.

In order to understand the music, you'd have to explain the game a bit. The protagonist known as The Scythian interacts with her woodsy environment by solving puzzles based on sound patterns. Touch a tree in one environment, and it may chime like a bell; each tree with it's own note. Victory when combating foes is achieved through timing, with the music changing tempo and octave as the battle progresses.  Jim Guthrie composed something so unique within the generally unfavored, mobile gaming stratosphere, by giving more depth to an experience you could seldom find even on consoles.

2. Hotline Miami [Arranged by Jonatan Soderstrom]

My heart beats faster just thinking about the insanity that ensues in this game. The title screen greets you with glaring neon words and pink palm trees. Then, you hit the start button, and you're teleported into a dark room, with dimly lit fluorescent lights, buzzing flies, met with strangers wearing animal masks. Jonatan "Cactus" Soderstrom isn't responsible for the creation of the soundtrack, but he is responsible for how the music portrays the anti-hero, Jacket. 

Cactus meticulously acquired these songs by asking several musicians for the rights through websites like Myspace or Soundcloud, and the precision is shown by understanding the Jacket's bloodlust through digesting the music that plays in different scenes. I felt a sickness whenever the dizzying Deep Cover would play in the killer's bedroom, like having a hangover after a long night. You would smile when throbbing bass and up-tempo dance beats sounded while you bash a mobsters head in. At the end of the level, the soft synths of Miami would play as those points would rack up to my final score. Endorphins are released, peace is found, and you repeat the process all over again. Note: all artists credited can be found here.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time [Composed by Koji Kondo]

Before we talk about the game, let's talk a little bit about Koji Kondo. The musician is responsible for a majority of this booming industry's greatest songs. An arcade gamer and musician, Koji has been with Nintendo since 1984, and when he applied for Nintendo, he did so without being requested demo tapes. How much of an influence did he have on our childhood? From classics like Super Mario Bros and the first Legend of Zelda, to as recent as Wii U's Super Mario 3D World. This gentleman has owned your eardrums as long as you have been playing video games.

This holds true especially for me. I was six years old when this game came out. The Nintendo 64 was my first console given to me by my parents, and solidified my everlasting love for this medium. To this day, I still remember holding my gold cartridge, blowing the dust from underneath, and playing this game that I couldn't begin to breakdown in terms of story structure due to my puny, developing brain. From the Title Theme, Kokiri Forest, Lon Lon Ranch, Zora's Domain, Zelda's Lullaby; each song methodically represented it's own theme within the environment it pertains to, and that was enough for six-year-old me to understand everything I needed to know in order to navigate the world. 

The game taught you how to create a basic tune, demonstrated through Link's time-bending ocarina. This feature is extremely integrated into the core gameplay experience, that it embodies the soul of the franchise even long after it's release. Travel Hyrule and listen to the composition because the 32 Mbit cartridge itself is a world of it's own, and each piece of music identifies a culture within the game. 

Dis soundz gud

Music in a game definitely shapes how we admire our overall experience, but what does it do for you? Is music in games as important to you as the gameplay, design, or story? Let us know in the comments below, as well as some of your favorite songs or soundtracks.