Music is a fundamental part of the game experience. Often the music is barely noticeable; other times it stands out for the wrong reasons. Today I’d like to celebrate some of my favorite music in games, across all consoles. There are so many songs that could be on this list, I am splitting it into two parts. I had two criteria for selecting music for this list: is it a banger (duh) and the nostalgia factor. This list contains the first 5 songs chosen in no particular order. These are just a few great and potentially lesser-known examples in gaming history. Enjoy!
“Bloody Tears”- Castlevania II (NES)
Before Konami destroyed game development for a living, they were responsible for some of the best entries in the NES library.
“Bloody Tears” for Castlevania II-Simon’s Quest was the first significant piece of game music for me. Simon’s Quest had a day/night transition mechanic that was novel for the time. During the day you ventured into cities, interacting with NPC’s for information and items. At night the townsfolk hid, leaving you to deal with the baddies roaming the streets and forests. “Bloody Tears” is a great theme and has even been remade for the recent Netflix Castlevania series.
“Moon Theme”-Ducktales (NES)
A great game in its own right, DuckTales was one of the best platformers not starring Mario or Megaman. Games from Capcom are well known for their in-game music, and one of my favorite tracks is the Moon Theme from DuckTales. As a kid I loved the cartoon. Although their game had little story to speak of, DuckTales delivered on gameplay. To this day DuckTales is one of the few NES games that is still fun to play.
“Ground Base”-U.N. Squadron (SNES)
Capcom is already on this list with a game from the NES-era, and they continued their game and music quality trend onto the SNES. U.N. Squadron was a side-scrolling shooter in the vein of Gradius (among others). Choose your plane and battle through bullet-hell while jamming to one of the best SNES soundtracks ever. Manami Matsumae did such a great job with this game’s soundtrack I had trouble choosing the best track. So I picked two because… retro rebel and all that.
“True”-Silent Hill (Playstation 2)
Silent Hill was an outstanding franchise. Unfortunately, “was” is the keyword. If you listen to our podcast you will know I’m not a fan of actually playing horror games. In fact, Silent Hill 2 was the last horror game I completed, though I still enjoy a good “Let’s Play” of a horror game. There are so many haunting tracks to choose from in the Silent Hill series, the decision to choose one was difficult. “True” from Silent Hill 2 seems to sum up the in-game experience best. The track is upbeat enough you forget you’re in a nightmare, if even for a moment. “True” has a “surreal rock” sound, emanating a foreboding sense of loss and hopelessness. Silent Hill 2 is still recognized as one of the greatest games of all time, the ending still resonates with me to this day.
Field Theme-Crystalis (NES)
Like an earwig, the in-game music should get into your head and disappear into the background without you noticing. You might even find yourself humming along without thinking about it. The “Field Theme” from Crystalis is one such song you hear throughout the game, yet never gets old. “Field Theme” is not tense or stressful. The upbeat tempo of the Crystalis theme provides an excellent backdrop for adventure. Released in 1986, Crystalis is a cult classic among retro gamers and a great addition to the adventure genre.
The nostalgia is strong with this one.
Do you have any suggestions for songs we missed? Was this the first time hearing some of this music? Let us know in the comments!
