10 Unforgettable Video Game Soundtracks

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An exciting selection celebrating unforgettable video game soundtracks, exploring remarkable compositions, curiosities about their creators, and the lasting impact these songs had on the experience of passionate players.

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Soundtracks have always been part of the identity of video games, but some of them managed to go beyond that and became recognizable even to people who never played their respective titles. Whether because of their striking melody, the moment they play, or simply because they accompanied millions of players for decades, these songs helped define entire franchises and became true symbols of gamer culture.

From 8-bit consoles to modern games, many of them continue to be reused, remixed, and performed in shows around the world. In this list, we gathered some of the most iconic soundtracks in video game history and the stories behind each of them and, if you have any questions, just leave a comment.

Tetris Theme

Imagine creating a game by yourself, with computers less advanced and technological than your Nintendo, during your free time at work and, against all odds, it becoming a worldwide success that even overcame political barriers and, even so, for years, you didn't make any money from itlink outside website.

That was the situation of Alexey Pajitnov, in the former Soviet Union, when he created Tetris in 1984.

The creator of Tetrislink outside website saw his game being copied from floppy disk to floppy disk, distributed among everyone in the company, released for different console systems, becoming one of the main reasons for popularizing the Game Boy around the world, and even so, only making anything from his game after 10 years.

Besides the world-famous game, the Tetris soundtrack is also world-famous, but not the original one. In the video above, you hear the original song, called "Korobeiniki," which can be translated to something like "The Peddlers." The song is a Russian folk theme adapted into the Game Boy's chiptune by Hirokazu Tanaka, which became the version we all know. It is very unlikely to find someone who has never played or seen Tetris in their life, and even more unlikely that they have never heard its music, so it takes the number one spot on the list.

Green Hill Zone Theme

This is another one that many people know just from hearing the first chords. The theme of the Green Hill Zone stage, the first stage of the 1991 game Sonic The Hedgehog, became a trademark of the franchise, along with the tropical island stage where the fastest hedgehog in the world first ran through.

To this day, in practically every Soniclink outside website game, the first stage is a Green Hill-like level, with trees, green grass, and blue sky, and Green Hill itself, along with its theme, is present in some form in practically every game. Whether as a reworked version or a faithful copy of the original stage to capture the attention of nostalgic fans.

The iconic theme of the Green Hill Zone stage from the first Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) was composed by Japanese musician Masato Nakamura, from the band Dreams Come True, whose work remains part of the game's compositions to this day. Masato also composed the Emerald Hill theme from Sonic 2, and finally added lyrics to the song to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the release of the first game, called "Up to Green Hill," which you hear above.

World 1-1 Theme

As iconic as the previous theme, rivaling it in popularity and worldwide fame, the theme of the World 1-1 stage from Super Mario Bros. is one of those songs we recognize from the first notes and that is also present at the beginning of practically every game in the franchise. Whether because of its level of recognition and popularity or to attract nostalgic fans, this song is strongly linked to the identity of Super Mariolink outside website in an indelible way.

The iconic World 1-1 theme from 1985's Super Mario Bros., officially known as "Ground Theme" (which makes sense, since in the next stage, Mario starts on the "ground," with this music playing and, when he goes underground, the music changes), was composed by the legendary Japanese musician Koji Kondo. Kondo had to compose using the 8-bit console's sound chip, which had only three audio channels for musical notes and one noise channel for percussion.

The music, influenced by Caribbean rhythms, conveyed the feeling of the game, following the player's movements. In 2023, "Ground Theme" became the first video game music in history to be preserved in the prestigious National Recording Registry of the United States Library of Congress, alongside classics of world music.

Guile's Theme

We spent years listening to the music of Street Fighter IIlink outside website in arcades and on consoles while playing our matches in Capcom's fighting game and, to be fair, many of the songs there are underrated.

For example, Ryu's theme, which got a beautiful flute version in the web series Street Fighter Assassin's Fistlink outside website. However, the one that became famous on the internet was the theme of the American fighter Guile. The fighter's theme in Street Fighter II was composed by Japanese musician Yoko Shimomura.

She is widely considered one of the most important and influential women in the history of the video game industry and also worked on the themes of other fighters, such as Ken and Chun-Li. With her erudite and classical background, Yoko didn't think her music was good enough for fighting games, but Capcom loved it and still uses her themes in the franchise's games to this day.

Guile's theme became popular on the internet after the "Guile's Theme goes with everything" memes, which played the music over all kinds of videos, showing that, indeed, the theme goes with practically everything, from a kid fighting with the trash can at home to the final battle against the dictator M. Bison.

One-Winged Angel

Another game theme that is famous among gamers and probably beyond the bubble of Japanese RPG players. “One-Winged Angel” is the theme of the villain Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VIIlink outside website and gave rise to the idea that “when the music is in Latin, it means the villain is very powerful and things are about to get serious in the fight.” And that is really true. The music truly lives up to the scale of the battle we face when confronting ShinRa’s most powerful soldier, who killed our great friend Aerith and is sending a meteor our way.

The song, with lyrics in Latin, has passages inspired by medieval poems and the chorus “Estuans interius, ira vehementi / SEPHIROTH!” which could be translated as “Burning inwardly, with violent wrath / SEPHIROTH!” For years, the song was reused in all of Sephiroth’s appearances in other media, such as the film “Final Fantasy VII Advent Children” or in his appearance in Kingdom Hearts.

“One-Winged Angel” was composed by Japanese musician Nobuo Uematsu. Often called “the John Williams of video games,” his impact on orchestral game music is recognized by everyone. Besides Sephiroth’s theme, Nobuo also composed other songs for the FF franchise such as “To Zanarkand” (FFX), “Aerith’s Theme” (FFVII), and the franchise’s iconic victory fanfare, which also deserves a place on this list of themes recognized by everyone.

Sons of Skyrim

The iconic “Hu hu ha… Hu hu ha…” that sets the epic, Viking tone of the Dragonborn theme in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has become a signature of the franchise. Although “Sons of Skyrim,” composed by American musician Jeremy Soule, is the most popular theme in the franchise, the themes from the third and fourth games, “Reign of the Septims” and “Nerevar Rising,” also by Jeremy Soule, are still considered better by many musicians and experts when it comes to music.

Even so, Skyrimlink outside website gave TES music a completely new tone with its choir of strong male voices sung in the language created for dragons, especially for the game. To create the feeling that an entire army of Nordic barbarians was singing, Soule recorded a professional choir of 30 male singers. He then layered the same recording three times in the studio, creating the massive acoustic effect of a 90-voice choir.

The lyrics written in the dragon language went untranslated for years after the game’s 2011 release, until fans began to piece together clues in the game and learn the language created by Bethesda. Today we can translate the barbaric chant sung by the musicians and properly honor the Dragonborn. “Sons of Skyrim” may not be the best song musically speaking, but it is certainly as popular as the arrow to the knee.

Lavender Town

In the first generation of Pokémon, the Lavender Town theme is one of the best known. The truth is that the first generation defined the franchise with its iconic music, such as the title theme, “Pokémon Main Theme,” and the battle music, “Battle! (Wild Pokémon),” but the music of Lavender Town is iconic not only for its recognizable tone, but also because of several curious stories surrounding it.

The song was composed by Junichi Masuda and has several distinctive traits, such as the piercing, dissonant notes that make up the track. Using the Game Boy’s chiptune, he created a shrill sound that gives the player a very uncomfortable feeling while navigating the cemetery. In addition, urban legends about the song spread across the internet.

The legends say that the music was actually chants from Shinto and Buddhist religions used in spirit exorcisms, and that children who heard it got headaches because the spirits were angered by the music. Other stories said the music had binaural tones that only children could hear, and that this caused headaches. Neither story was confirmed, of course.

Dr. Wily Stage 1

Among all the songs from the 8-bit era, few manage to deliver as much adrenaline as the theme of the first stage of Dr. Wily’s fortress in Mega Man 2. After defeating all the Robot Masters and finally reaching the villain’s hideout, it does not matter how many times you play: just hearing the first few seconds is enough to know that it is time for the final challenge.

Released in 1988 for the 8-bit Nintendo, Mega Man 2 is considered by many fans to be the best game in the entire franchise.

It improved practically everything from the first title, bringing more creative stages, tougher bosses, and a soundtrack that helped turn the series into one of the biggest references in action games from the 8-bit era. The theme became one of the franchise’s most famous songs and has been reused, remixed, and reinterpreted countless times over the years.

The composition is by Takashi Tateishi, known by the nickname Ogeretsu Kun, who worked at Capcom during the game’s development. Even with the limited audio channels of the NES, he managed to create an extremely memorable song, considered by many to be one of the best compositions in video game history.

Techno Syndrome

Although it never appeared in any of the games in the Mortal Kombatlink outside website franchise, the song “Techno Syndrome,” by the Belgian group The Immortals, is strongly associated with the franchise and was one of the most played themes in the 1990s.

The opening with a heavy, breathless gasp, like a fighter about to enter the ring, the game announcer’s voice saying “Test your Might,” and the shout “Mortal Kombat” became an anthem for anyone who went to arcades looking for a fighting game full of blood and violence.

The theme was commissioned by Midway Games for a commercial for the game, and the musicians used the voice of narrator Kyle Wyatt, who shouted "Mortal Kombat," and the digitized voice of Ed Boon, one of the game's creators, for the rest of the lines, such as the characters' names that are 'sung' during the song.

Despite the song's success, Techno Syndrome went unnoticed for years until the trailer for Mortal Kombat 11link outside website brought it back to mind. It is the kind of song that never played in any of the games, but everyone knows how to sing along or, at least, shout "Mortal Kombat" to its rhythm.

Streets of Rage Theme

Few Beat 'em up soundtracks manage to be as recognizable as the intro to Streets of Rage. The first few seconds of the electronic beat are enough to remember Axel and Blaze walking through the city streets, throwing punches, kicks, and flying attacks against criminal gangs. It is one of those songs that completely defines a game's identity and is still remembered more than thirty years after its release.

Released in 1991 for the Mega Drive, Streets of Rage puts three former police officers against the criminal organization led by Mr. X, walking the streets and beating up everyone amid enemies and bosses. The soundtrack played a fundamental role in creating the game's urban atmosphere, mixing house, techno, hip hop, and electronic music at a time when few games explored these musical styles.

The song was composed by Yuzo Koshiro, one of the most respected composers in the video game industry. Inspired by Japanese nightclubs and the electronic scene of the late 1980s, he created a soundtrack that became as iconic as the game itself. In addition to composing for games, Yuzo is a DJ and includes in his music sets the themes he composed for the game at the clubs where he performs.

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