I already made a list of my Top 25 favorite video game soundtracks of all time, but it was a pretty cramped list and I've played way more games since, so I thought I'd update it and increase the size to 50. I also wanted to explain my choices this time, so here's my Top 50 favorite video game soundtracks:
50. Einhander
Composer: Kenichiro Fukui
Highlights: Shudder, Thermosphere, Badlands, Bloody Battle, Conflict, Afterimage, Warning
One of the coolest soundtracks ever made, pure cyberpunk bliss. Einhander's score flows from haunting ambient pieces to the biggest boss theme bangers you'll ever hear, and it does so much to give the game its own unique vibe and atmosphere. One can even argue that it's because of all that build-up that the more energetic themes hit so hard, and they really hit hard.
49. F-Zero X
Composers: Taro Bando, Hajime Wakai, Yumiko Kameya, Naoto Ishida
Highlights: Dream Chaser, Devil's Call in Your Heart, Decide In The Eyes, Crazy Call At Cry, Endless Challenge, Drivin Through On Max
In a rare change in tone for Nintendo, F-Zero X is just straight-up a death metal album, and it absolutely shreds. From spine-inducing riffs, to headbang-inducing thrash, to some truly godlike remixes, F-Zero X is everything I love about rock condensed into less than an hour.
48. Gurumin
Composers: Wataru Ishibashi, Hayato Sonoda, Takahide Murayama
Highlights: Soaring Through Azure Sadness, Rocky Nebula, Bomber Girl, Dance In The Forest, Guruguru Majin De Pon, Tomorrow We'll All Be Friends, Back The Way You Came, Sight Of Silence
This is easily Falcom's weirdest and most eclectic soundtrack, spanning a wide range of genres from funk to folk to glitchcore to DnB to orchestral to eurobeat to literal animal noises. It's a blast to listen to, and once you start trekking the dungeons, the music kicks into high gear and does not stop, culminating in one of the greatest final boss themes ever made.
47. Sonic Unleashed
Composers: Tomoya Ohtani, Kenichi Tokoi, Fumie Kumatani, Hideaki Kobayashi, Takahito Eguchi
Highlights: Rooftop Run - Day, Jungle Joyride - Night, Dragon Road - Day, Vs Egg Dragoon, Endless Possibility, Shamar - Day, Cool Edge - Day
Sonic Unleashed boast an absolutely stellar blend of fast-paced energetic culture-themed techno for the day stages, and chill low-key jazz for the night stages, and they're equally fantastic in their own ways. Add in a stellar main theme, some hype boss tunes, and some calming hub themes, and you get what is pretty much the definitive Modern Sonic soundtrack in my eyes.
46. Mario Party 3
Composer: Ichiro Shimakura
Highlights: Nice And Easy, Chilly Waters, Let's Get A Move On, Stardust Battle, Woody Woods, Item Mini-Game, Staff Credits
Shimakura didn't need to go this hard for a Mario Party soundtrack, but I'm so glad he did because Mario Party 3's music is transcendent. Some of the most wistful, joyous, and dreamy pieces of video game music out there, with incredibly crisp and clean synths that still sound great to this day.
45. Shantae And The Pirate's Curse
Composer: Jake Kaufman
Highlights: Arctic Justice, Back To The Roots, The Nightmare Woods, A Troublesome Trek, Boss Battle, We Love Burning Town, Scorching Dunes, Rottytops, Streamworks
I go back and forth on whether I like Half-Genie Hero's or Pirate's Curse's soundtracks better, but I think Pirate's Curse's music just hits harder. Shantae's blend of EDM and middle eastern music always slapped, but the usage of FM synth in Pirate's Curse's soundtrack really elevates it above the others. There's a ton of truly stellar original tracks, but the addition of some phenomenal remixes of GBC Shantae's best tracks is just icing on the cake.
44. Kirby's Return To Dream Land Deluxe
Composers: Hirokazu Ando, Jun Ishikawa, Yuki Shimooka, Kiyoshi Hazemoto
Highlights: CROWNED, Distant Shining Yellow Star, Sky Tower, Techno Factory, Freezing Temple, Red Sands Remix, Otherworldly Warrior, Sky Waltz, Welcome Your New Overlord
Kirby's Return To Dream Land already had one of my favorite soundtracks in the series for its poppy arcadey sound and phenomenal final stretch, but Deluxe makes it even better by adding in the equally stellar Magolor Epilogue soundtrack, some great remixes of minigame themes from Kirby's past, and a bunch of tracks from the games in between the original and its remake for good measure. Probably the definitive Kirby soundtrack, it has a little something for everyone.
43. Panel De Pon
Composer: Masaya Kuzume
Highlights: Blaze Stage, Sea Stage, Water Stage, Lip's Theme, Flower Stage, Lunar Stage, Breeze Stage, Puzzle Ending
Panel De Pon has a pretty laid-back soundtrack befitting its colorful fairy setting, but it also happens to have some of the sickest, grooviest basslines I've heard in a video game soundtrack. Every single character theme is a massive bop, it's probably the best puzzle game soundtrack I've ever heard.
42. Katamari Damacy
Composers: Yuu Miyake and many others
Highlights: Lonely Rolling Star, Katamari Mambo, Roll Me In, Que Sera Sera, Katamari On The Rocks, The Moon And The Prince, Gin & Tonic & Red Red Roses
Katamari Damacy's soundtrack is literally just a j-pop album, but it's an incredibly good and eclectic one. Katamari's music spans a wide array of genres and styles all while remaining consistently uplifting, which contrasts nicely against the chaotic and brutal gameplay. It stands so well on its own too, like it's so easy to listen to outside of the context of the game.
41. Panzer Dragoon Orta
Composers: Saori Kobayashi, Yutaka Minobe
Highlights: The Fallen Ground, Anu Orta Veniya, Ancient Weapon 1, Eternal Glacies, Altered Genos, Gigantic Fleet, Imperial City
I always loved how unique Panzer Dragoon music sounded, it's so mystical and foreign-feeling. Orta's score feels like the ultimate Panzer Dragoon soundtrack in that aspect, every track is stunningly ethereal and hauntingly alien. Hell, there's even vocals in an entirely fictional language. It's one of those soundtracks that captures the game's atmosphere and story so perfectly.
40. Touhou 10: Mountain Of Faith
Composer: ZUN
Highlights: Fall Of Fall - Autumnal Waterfall, The Japanese Wilderness The Girl Watched, The Gensokyo The Gods Loved, Faith Is For The Transient People, Youkai Mountain - Mysterious Mountain, Native Faith, The Venerable Ancient Battlefield - Suwa Foughten Field
Mountain Of Faith easily is the most nostalgic Touhou soundtrack for me, just the coziest autumn vibes. ZUN's most iconic instruments like the ZUNpets and piano are on full display, and the sheer consistency of the tracks on offer is miraculous. There isn't a single bad apple in the bunch.
39. Umihara Kawase (Shun)
Composers: Pas De Chat, Atsuhiro Motoyama, Shinji Tachikawa
Highlights: Beach, Kawanabe, Tama River, Hatbox, Awakening Heartbeat, Taki, Shore
Atsuhiro Motoyama makes some of the happiest music out there, but the Umihara Kawase games are on an entirely different plane in terms of joyousness. Perfectly fitting the game itself, Umihara Kawase's tracks have a whimsical childlike innocence that balances sounding nostalgic, cheery, and a tad melancholic.
38. Nights Into Dreams
Composers: Tomoko Sasaki, Naofumi Hataya, Fumie Kumatani
Highlights: The Amazing Water, Nights And Reala, The Dragon Gave A Loud Scream, Suburban Museum, Paternal Horn, Dream Dreams - In Silent Memory, Message From Nightopia
Nights Into Dreams has probably the most Sega soundtrack ever created, just pure distilled happiness in every single track. From the magical and dreamlike stage themes to the chill menu themes to the banging boss themes, Nights's score is blue skies gaming at its finest (except for maybe Daytona but that has like four songs).
37. Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Composers: ACE+, Yasunori Mitsuda, Kenji Hiramatsu, Manami Kiyota
Highlights:
Kingdom Of Uraya, Counterattack, Roaming The Wastes, Gormott, Elysium
In The Blue Sky, You Will Recall Our Names, Torna Battle, Leftheran
Archipelago
The
Xenoblade series is synonymous with top-notch music, but XC2's
soundtrack is my personal favorite for getting pretty much everything
right. The overworld themes are gorgeous and sweeping, the battle themes
are banging rock tunes, and with the legend Yasunori Mitsuda at the
helm, even the cutscene and event music is stellar.
36. Mega Man ZX/Advent
Composers: Ippo Yamada, Masaki Suzuki, Ryo Kawakami, Luna Umegaki, Hayamo Koji, Akari Kaida
Highlights: Green Grass Gradation, Gauntlet, Snake Eyes, Doomsday Device, Mountain Rider, Bullet Drive, Trap Phantasm, Whisper Of Relics, Oriental Sentinels, Destiny, Through The Lightning/Be One
As far as hard-hitting techno goes, it's hard to get much better than the Mega Man ZX games. It's one of those soundtracks where you just know you're in for something special the moment you hear the first level theme, both ZX and ZX Advent have a ton of super dancable music. And that's not even getting into the somehow even better remastered Tunes versions, particularly in Advent's case.
35. Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Composers: Koji Kondo, Toru Minegishi
Highlights:
Final Hours, Astral Observatory, Stone Tower Temple, Majora's
Incarnate/Wrath, Clock Town, Guru Guru's Song, Zora Hall, Deku Palace,
Termina Field
Majora's Mask is perfect for the game it's based on. It's equal parts whimsical, melancholic, haunting, unnerving, and compelling. It required Koji Kondo to go in a different direction than he usually does, he had to focus more on creating a mood than creating a memorable melody, and I think he knocked it out of the park, making for both one of the best Zelda soundtracks and Kondo's own magnum opus. Everything around Clock Town is pretty much perfect music-wise, but there's also the energetic and tense boss themes, downcast overworld themes, and a lineup of Ocarina pieces that surpasses even Ocarina Of Time. The icing on the cake is that haunting Skull Kid theme that gets repurposed into easily the best final boss theme in Zelda period.
34. Castlevania: Rondo Of Blood
Composers: Akira Souji, Keizo Nakamura, Tomoko Sano, Mikio Saito
Highlights: Cross A Fear, Slash, Divine Bloodlines, Bloody Tears, Opus 13, Vampire Killer, Den
Rondo Of Blood was from that era where it felt like video game composers were so happy to finally have CD audio, and goddamnit, they were going to show it. Rondo's soundtrack is Castlevania funk at its absolute peak, with the sparkliest of synths, groovy basslines, and a balance of top-tier remixes and some of the best original tracks in the franchise. Shamelessly 90s in all the best ways.
33. Touhou 5: Mystic Square
Composer: ZUN
Highlights: Legendary Illusion - Infinite Being, Maple Wise, Alice In Wonderland, Dimension Of Reverie, The Grimoire Of Alice, Romantic Children, The Last Judgement, Dream Express
Mystic Square was the last soundtrack ZUN would make for the PC-98 and it really shows. It has such a strong sense of finality and melancholy to it, every track is tense and frantic, and the whole score just sounds so grand and epic. Even the half a dozen ending themes rank up with some of the best in the franchise, ZUN went off so hard here.
32. Sonic CD (JP)
Composers: Naofumi Hataya, Masafumi Ogata
Highlights: Quartz Quadrant, Stardust Speedway, Metal Sonic, Special Stage, Metallic Madness - Bad Future, Final Fever, Collision Chaos - Good Future, Palmtree Panic
Screw the US soundtrack, Sonic CD's Japanese soundtrack is one of the most soulful video game scores out there. The blend of new jack swing and house fits Sonic, particularly Classic Sonic, damn near perfectly. The samples are immaculate, the melodies are super catchy, and the synths are sparkly. Like with Rondo Of Blood, it's a very lovably 90s soundtrack, and it pretty much established the sound Sonic as a whole would become known for throughout the Y2K era of the series.
31. Ape Escape
Composer: Soichi Terada
Highlights: Cryptic Relics, Crumbling Castle, Specter's Castle, Sushi Temple, Dark Ruins, Coral Cave, Snowy Mammoth, Stadium Attack, Wabi Sabi Wall, Specter's Factory - Outside
The Ape Escape series has carved out a musical identity for itself with energetic and upbeat electronic music, but it's the first game's jungle-heavy soundtrack that stands up as easily my favorite of the bunch. It shows that Japan Studio got an actual house artist in Soichi Terada because Ape Escape very much sounds like a DnB album, and Terada's distinct style shines through every track.
30. Zwei!!: The Arges Adventure
Composers: Wataru Ishibashi, Hayato Sonoda, Maiko Hattori, Atsushi Shirakawa
Highlights: Demon Lord Vesper, Pavel Gardens, Mythical Land Serpentina, Aplieste Temple, Road To Where The Dragon Sleeps, Caiaphas Woods, Dark Temple Of Espina, Zwei! A Great Adventure
Zwei may not be a super popular Falcom game, but its soundtrack deserves far more respect. Its grounded, folksy, and atmospheric vibe courtesy of Ishibashi and Hattori makes for an incredibly magical score with comfy village themes, jaw-droppingly beautiful stage themes, and a truly godly final boss theme. The main leitmotif is particularly special, it just screams adventure.
29. Super Paper Mario
Composers: Naoko Mitome, Chika Sekigawa, Yasuhisa Baba
Highlights:
Sammer's Kingdom, Castle Bleck, The Ultimate Show, Brobot Battle,
Flipside, Lineland Road, Gloam Valley, King Croacus IV, Fracktail
Super Paper Mario, a game that with such heavy digital computer theming, a game where the world is falling apart at the seams thanks to an ever expanding black hole, having a soundtrack almost entirely composed of what can only be called glitch techno just feels pretty much perfect. This is a soundtrack that perfectly toes the line between having wall-to-wall banger tracks both for the overworld and boss themes, while also managing to convey a ton of emotional heft especially in the end game. It's all fun and games until you get hit by a track like World Of Nothing or Bounding Through Time.
28. Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion
Composers: Ryo Nagamatsu, Toru Minegishi
Splatbands: Dedf1sh, Off The Hook
Highlights: #8 regret, #14 crush, #11 above, Fly Octo Fly, Into The Light, Shark Bytes, Splattack! - Octo, Nasty Majesty
27. Touhou 10.5: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody/12.3: Hisoutensoku
Composers: U2 Akiyama, ZUN
Highlights: Broken Moon, Flowering Night, Bhava-Agra As Seen Through A Child's Mind, Catastrophe In Bhava-Agra, Flawless Clothing Of The Celestials, The Eternal Steam Engine, Did You See That Shadow?, The Grimoire Of Alice, Beloved Tomboyish Girl
U2 Akiyama, primary composer of Touhou's fighting game spinoffs, often goes overlooked compared to ZUN because... I mean, come on, it's ZUN. Either way, it's a real shame because with SWR and Soku, he made a score that stands up alongside some of ZUN's best and captures pretty much everything I love about the Touhou series. The magical and nostalgic menu and pre-battle themes echo the sheer beauty of Gensokyo, the fast-paced and energetic battle themes are serious bangers that capture the fun of danmaku fights, and the fantastic remixes shed new light on all the characters. And of course, not to be outdone, ZUN also contributes a few tracks that at times rank up with some of the best he's ever done.
26. Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage
Composers: Stewart Copeland
Highlights: Summer Forest/Autumn Plains, Hurricos, Clash With Crush, Idol Springs, Gulp's Overlook, Sunny Beach, Icy Speedway, Scorch
Picking a favorite Spyro soundtrack is a pretty tough call since they all do something uniquely great, but while I like Copeland's ode to prog rock that is the soundtrack to Spyro 1, I have to say that his ethereal score for Ripto's Rage stands out as my personal favorite. This is a soundtrack made almost entirely with the profilic Distorted Reality 2 sample pack that many other soundtracks of the time employed, but I'll always associate it with Ripto's Rage. Its variety of electronic drums and drones are used masterfully to heighten the sense of atmosphere in pretty much every track, with the absolute peak being those haunting hub themes, lacking in melody but impossible to forget.
25. Bomberman Hero
Composers: Jun Chikuma
Highlights: Redial, Zip, Milky, Mimesis, Cell, Fatidic, Dessert, Supplement
Bomberman Hero is one of the most influential video game soundtracks in my childhood, it's the soundtrack that introduced me to Drum N Bass. I came into Bomberman Hero expecting your usual peppy techno only to get a full-on acid jungle album, and it rocks. There isn't too much I can really say other than, this is still some amazing drum and bass that holds up incredibly well, really pushes the N64's sound capabilities, and lacks a single weak track.
24. Ys Origin
Composers: Hayato Sonoda, Yukihiro Jindo, Takahiro Unisuga, Ryo Takeshita
Highlights: Water Prison, (Genesis) Beyond The Beginning, Silent Desert, Termination, Scars Of The Divine Wing, Scarlet Tempest, Tower Of The Shadow Of Death, Over Drive
Speaking of lacking a single weak track, while Ys Origin may not have the same cohesiveness of some of the other Falcom OSTs on this list, it more than makes up for that by just being nonstop, relentlessly good, wall-to-wall bangers from start to finish. Right from that absolutely godly opening theme all the way to one of the most transcendant final boss themes I've ever heard, Ys Origin's score is a full-on rock opera that never lets up. Being a prequel, this score does contain a lot of remixes of iconic tracks from the first and second Ys games, but they're almost universally my favorite iterations of those themes, and the original tracks we did get stand up right alongside with them. Really just some of Falcom's best composers working at their absolute peak.
23. Metroid Prime
Composer: Kenji Yamamoto
Highlights: Phendrana Drifts, Sunken Space Pirate Frigate Orpheon, Planet Tallon IV, Meta Ridley, Deep Lake Area, Chozo Ruins, Main Theme, Magmoor Caverns
Kenji Yamamoto is the master of making video game soundtracks that are equal parts atmospheric and groovy, and Metroid Prime is easily his magnum opus. This is an incredibly immersive soundtrack to an incredibly immersive game, to the point that both times Retro Studios ported the game, they refused to make any edits to the music. Yamamoto's score just feels like a fully engrained part of Tallon IV, Metroid Prime would feel incomplete without it. But it's also not just ambience, many tracks also have a subtle groove to them that don't ruin the immersion but still makes for music that is enjoyable and relaxing to listen to both inside and outside of the game.
22. Undertale
Composer: Toby Fox
Highlights: Battle Against A True Hero, Another Medium, Undertale, NGAHHH/Spear Of Justice, Hopes And Dreams, Ruins, Spider Dance, Death By Glamour, Heartache, CORE, Mad Mew Mew, Finale
What can I really say about Undertale's music that hasn't already been said? The overworld themes are beautiful, the boss themes are bangers, the usage of leitmotifs are masterful, and the final stretch of songs ends the OST on a high note no matter which ending you pick. Though while the battle themes tend to deservedly get the bulk of the praise, I think my favorite aspect of Undertale is actually how melancholic and mysterious it can feel at times. There's a sense of wonder, nostalgic, earnestness and slight eerieness to Undertale's soundtrack that really helps it stand out from most of Toby Fox's other soundtracks.
21. Celeste
Composer: Lena Raine + several guest remixers
Highlights: Reach For The Summit, Resurrections, Beyond The Heart, Confronting Myself, Mirror Magic, Scattered And Lost, First Steps, Farewell, Exhale
This is another soundtrack where I'm not sure what I could add to the conversation. Celeste's soundtrack feels personal, you can tell Lena Raine put her heart and soul into every track (before doing it again with the Farewell update). Similarly to Undertale, the usage of leitmotifs for both Madeline and her counterpart is masterfully done and culminates in one of the best final stage themes in all of gaming. It's also worth noting just how dynamic the score is, with many stages boasting one lengthy track where each phase cleanly leads into the next.
20. A Hat In Time
Composers: Pascal Micheal Stiefel, Grant Kirkhope + several guest remixers
Highlights: Your Contract Has Expired, Trainwreck Of Electro Swing, The Windmill Peak, Train Rush, Dead Bird Studio, Alpine Skyline, You Are All Bad Guys, Clocktowers Beneath The Sea, Rush Hour, Her Spaceship
As far as platformer soundtracks go, A Hat In Time is the complete package. It's got a strong variety of overworld themes that perfectly capture their respective areas, from the goofy but welcoming Mafia Town themes, to the tense techno of Dead Bird Studio's stealth stages, to the eerie ambiance of Subcon Forest, to the downright ethereal folk tracks for Alpine Skyline. It's got a stellar lineup of boss fight bangers that bring each phase of the game to a satisfying close. And on top of all that, there's a fantastic Grant Kirkhope hub theme, a bunch of great remixes you can unlock, and a bunch of DLC campaigns with even more great themes. As I said, the complete package.
19. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles
Composers: Kumi Tanioka, Hidenori Iwasaki
Highlights: Departure, Sleeping Treasure In The Sand, Magi Is Everything, Sound Of The Wind, When The Northern Sky Was Clear, Twilight In Dreamland, Endless Sky/Thoroughly Blue, Leaving The Body Freely
Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is the most atmospheric game in the franchise for me, and a massive part of that is Kumi Tanioka's seminal score for it. Even with all the amazing mainline Final Fantasy soundtracks, this one's my favorite. Tanioka went for a more folsky medieval vibe here, using a ton of Renaissance instruments like the crumhorn and lute, and it just works so well for this game. It perfectly captures Crystal Chronicles's rustic fantasy setting, and the instruments in question sound so tangible, like you could hear the lute's individual plucks and the breaths taken with each woodwind. The melodies are catchy enough to be memorable but also have a real melancholic tinge to them, fitting a torn world shrouded by a poisonous miasma stream while still urging the player to explore.
18. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Composers: David Wise, Kenji Yamamoto
Highlights: Seashore War, Forest Folly, Scorch And Torch, Irate Eight, Frozen Frenzy, Aquaduct Assault, Big Top Bop, Snowmad's Theme, Stickerbush Symphony
Donkey Kong Country 2's soundtrack may be iconic and groundbreaking for the hardware, but Tropical Freeze let David Wise go all out with a massive 60-track behemoth of a score and crisp CD-quality instruments, and he freaking killed it. His atmospheric style is at its best here, perfectly capturing the environments of each level and aiding with the game's already top-notch visual storytelling. Like with Crystal Chronicles, the usage of more grounded acoustic instruments like bongos and guitars sounds so good and fits Donkey Kong as a series perfectly, and the final stretch on DK Island is just back-to-back masterpieces. Though I also have to give credit to Yamamoto because his aforementioned groovy but atmospheric style can definitely be felt here, and it meshes with David Wise's style perfectly.
17. Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Composers: Hajime Wakai, Shiho Fuji, Mahito Yokota, Takeshia Hama
Highlights: Lanayru Sand Sea, Fi's Farewell, Molderach/Koloktos, The Sky, Ballad Of The Goddess, Final Ghirahim, Skyloft
The Super Mario Galaxy of Zelda soundtracks, Skyward Sword's soaring, grandiose orchestral style makes for one of the most flat-out beautiful and emotional video game soundtracks I've ever heard. It's heartwarming, heartwrenching, adventurous, melancholic, just an absolute emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. The closest a Zelda soundtrack has ever gotten to sounding like a movie score. It also happens to have one of the few pieces of video game music to make me cry.
16. Paper Mario: The Origami King
Composers: Yoshito Sekigawa, Hiroki Morishita, Shoh Murakami, Yoshiaki Kimura, Hiroki Morishita, Fumihiro Isobe
Highlights: Origami Castle, Disco Devil, Event Battle, The Dual-Bladed Duelist, Autumn Mountain, Snif City, Boss Fight, Pool Party
I don't think any other soundtrack has such a successful quality-to-quantity ratio. Origami King's soundtrack is genuinely massive, capping out at around eight hours and over 200 tracks, and they're somehow all really good. Origami King's score dives into a ton of different genres and pulls them all off with aplomb, every single location has its own unique musical style without losing that quirky Paper Mario identity, and the composers go the extra mile in so many ways between the several incredibly good pieces of music relegated solely to gags and the nearly dozen standard battle themes for each area. They didn't need to go this hard, but I'm glad they did, and it still pains me that this score didn't even get nominated for the Game Awards.
15. Va-11 Hall-A
Composers: Michael Kelly (Garoad)
Highlights: Every Day Is Night, You've Got Me, Safe Haven, Everything Will Be Okay, Digital Drive, Your Love Is A Drug, Welcome To Va-11 Hall-A
Va-11 Hall-A's soundtrack is one of the more unique ones on this list for being nearly entirely diegetic, with a lot of music being songs that exist within the VN's cyberpunk world that you can choose to play on your radio. What makes it work is that Garoad made a soundtrack that truly sounds like it's from a dystopian cyberpunk future, with glittery synths and groovy beats. It almost sounds like a soundtrack on the Saturn or Playstation, both nostalgic and futuristic at the same time. It's just such a vibe, and it's one of my go-to study soundtracks for how chill it is.
14. Mega Man X4-X6
Composers: Toshihiko Horiyama, Naoto Tanaka, Naoya Kamisaka, Takuya Miyawaki
Highlights: Makenai Ai Ga Kitto Aru, Web Spider, Jet Stingray, Split Mushroom, Cyber Peacock, Iris, X Vs Zero, Zero Stage 1/2, X5 Opening/Ending, Mattrex, Commander Yammark, Infinity Mijinion, X6 Opening Stage, Blaze Heatnix
Okay, this one's cheating a bit but I really can't decide between which of the PS1 Mega Man X games I like more. I always thought that Mega Man music is at its best when it toes the line between synth and rock, and these three soundtracks nail that balance. X4 is probably the best overall package for its distinct synth lead and cohesively melancholic feel, X5 is easily the most downright epic with a great sense of finality befitting what was intended to be the last Mega Man X game, and X6 is just nonstop bangers. It's just a stellar musical streak for a series with already great music.
13. Castlevania: Order Of Ecclesia
Composers: Michiru Yamane, Yasuhiro Ichihashi
Highlights: An Empty Tome, Sorrow's Distortion, Lament To The Master, Unholy Vespers, A Clashing Of Waves, The Tower Of Dolls, Emerald Mist, Rhapsody Of The Forsaken, A Prologue
Order Of Ecclesia's soundtrack may not be as "fun" as some of the other Castlevania scores, it's much more intense and melancholic than usual, but it's easily the best in my opinion. The stage themes are varied and balance between being sorrowful and atmospheric, and propulsive and slick. The boss themes are flat-out epic especially in the middle of the game. And the main theme An Empty Tome is easily my favorite "entering Dracula's Castle" track in the series. The coolest part is that this soundtrack is pretty lacking in remixes, which means that its original tracks have the room to shine without a Bloody Tears or Divine Bloodlines (both great tracks by the way) hogging all the spotlight.
12. Mamorukun Curse
Composers: Yousuke Yasui
Highlights: Karakuri Spirits, Yo-Kai Disco, Superhero, The Curse (Again), Will Force, Tropical Pirates, Blossom Shower, Great Tribulation
Yousuke Yasui is one of my favorite composers of all time, an absolute FM synth god who goes way too hard than he has any right to. And as a result, this pretty obscure bullet hell that no one really knows about somehow managed to have one of the best soundtracks of its era, with a ton of banging stage and boss themes. But what puts Mamorukun Curse above the already fantastic Eschatos and Natsuki Chronicles is that it's also uncharacteristically happy? Yousuke Yasui's tracks are usually super intense and serious, but Mamorukun Curse is composed of a ton of light-hearted and fun themes that still manage to be super fast-paced and energetic.
11. One Step From Eden
Composers: STEEL_PLUS
Highlights: Neverending Song, Fairfrozen, Battle Of Ice I, Triggered, White Knight, The Forest, Unbreakable, Battle Of Fire II
One Step From Eden's soundtrack is like Va-11 Hall-A's soundtrack but on crack. It uses a very similar futuristic techno style, but instead of chill laid-back bar music, it's fast-paced and aggressive action music. With hard-hitting stage music, vibey map music, and a phenomenal lineup of boss tracks that perfectly capture their respective characters, One Step From Eden has a soundtrack that never lets up for even a second. It's like the battle theme from Mega Man Battle Network 1, but expanded into a whole score.
10. Trails In The Sky Trilogy
Composers: Wataru Ishibashi, Hayato Sonoda, Takehide Murayama, Yukihiro Jindo, Maiko Hattori, Takahiro Unisuga, Ryo Takeshita
Highlights: Silver Will, Hoshi No Arika, Sophisticated Fight, Hollow Light Of The Sealed Land, Factory City Of Zeiss, Tetracyclic Tower, Looking Up At The Sky, Fateful Confrontation, The Fate Of The Fairies, Dreamy And Boisterous Holy Land, Determination Of Fight, Overdosing Heavenly Bliss, Beard The Lion In His Den
There have been a lot of Falcom soundtracks on this list, but none of them have left quite as big of an impact on me as that initial Trails trilogy. Hell, listening to Sophisticated Fight in a YouTube video was how I discovered Falcom to begin with. Even though I never grew up with this series, there's something so nostalgic about these three soundtracks to me. I love the laid-back folksy vibe of FC's score, the intense grandiosity of SC's music, and the ethereal techno of 3rd's soundtrack, and they all come together to form this impressively cohesive whole that makes the events of the games perfectly. And even after listening to more of Falcom's works, I've gained an even stronger appreciation for these three games for pretty much having all my favorite Falcom composers working at top form. Zwei's music may be more atmospheric, Gurumin's music may be more of a bop, Ys Origin's music may be more epic, but the Trails In The Sky trilogy is just the complete package.
9. Freedom Planet 1/2
Composers: Woofle, Sabrina DiDuro, Falk Au Yeong, Claire Ellis
Highlights: Final Dreadnought 1-4, Fortune Night 1/2, Battle Glacier 1/2, Relic Maze 1/2, Jade Cree 1, Aquatic Boss Battle, Dragon Valley 1/2, Aqua Tunnel 1/2, Dragon Valley - FP2, Magma Starscape, Globe Opera 2B, Shade Armory, Vs Corazon, Vs Merga, Vs Askal, Tidal Gate, Clockwork Arboretum, Lightning Tower
Freedom Planet was one of the most pleasantly surprising video game scores I've listened to. I remember getting Freedom Planet on a whim for the first time, getting to Relic Maze, and realizing... "Wait, this slaps!". As the game itself is a bombastic love letter to Sonic, Treasure, and Genesis action platformers, Freedom Planet's soundtrack is an intense, propulsive, and exhilarating rollercoaster with consistently phenomenal level themes. It also manages to capture that same blend of adrenaline pumping action and melancholic vibes that the Mega Man X4 soundtrack did, while taking it even further with its larger quantity of tracks. While not as aggressively hard-hitting, Freedom Planet 2's more mature and elegant soundtrack is equally fantastic in its own ways, with more genre variety, a stronger focus on emotional gut punches, and an ethereal atmosphere that rivals the likes of games like Klonoa and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon. Speaking of which...
8. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers Of Sky
Composers: Hideki Sakamoto, Yoshihiro Maeda, Arata Iiyoshi
Highlights: Dialga's Fight To The Finish, Temporal Tower, Don't Ever Forget, Through The Sea Of Time, Time Gear, Treasure Town, Drenched Bluff, Dark Wasteland, Craggy Coast, Wigglytuff's Guild
Like with Super Paper Mario and Undertale, this is a very emotionally driven soundtrack choice for me. Explorers Of Sky may not be wall-to-wall bangers like some of the others on this list, but it knows how to perfectly capture the mood of every scene and absolutely nails its emotional punches. The final stretch alone boasts one of the best streaks of video game music in a single soundtrack, but even the more lighthearted earlier themes and melancholic special chapter themes do a perfect job of immersing you into PMD's world. The addition of some folk inspiration only sweetens the deal.
7. Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Composers: Yoko Shimomura
Highlights: Adventure's End, Sacred Somnom Woods, Never Let Up, Dozing Sands Secret, The Final Antasma Battle, Victory In The Dream World, Try Try Again, Size Up Your Enemy
Yoko Shimomura is my favorite composer, period. I love her musical style, a vast majority of her soundtracks are stellar, she never misses, but I think Dream Team is her best soundtrack. Befitting the dreamy setting, a lot of the music in Dream Team is super ethereal and wistful, with echoey pianos, soft flutes, and at times, haunting choirs. I also have to give props to those dream world remixes that shift towards these unconventional synth tones that make the tracks sound, well, dreamy. It's all just such a magical soundtrack, sometimes it's hard to even believe this is the soundtrack to a Mario game because by the second half, Shimomura starts composing like she's writing music for the most epic RPG ever made.
6. Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series
Composers (oh boy...): Eriko Imura, Kohta Takahashi, Junko Ozawa, Testukazu Nakanishi, Kanako Kakino, Takaki Horigome, Hiromi Shibano, Hiroshi Okubo, Tomoko Tatsuta, Katsuro Tajima, Asuka Sakai, Go Shiina
Highlights: Baladium's Drive, Sad Forest Drum, Resurrection, Untamed Heart, Cursed Pamela, The Ring, Red Heat Coronia, The Closing Encounter, Cursed Leorina, The Ark (Revisited), Mirage, Polonte, Moonlight Museum, Going To Lunatea, Jungle Cruise, Cave Of Glimmer Moss
In hindsight, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the Klonoa soundtracks are some of my favorites because they truly have everything I want in a video game soundtrack. Medieval-sounding folk music? Yep. Shifts to techno and DnB? Yep. Catchy and complex overworld themes? Yep. Banging boss tunes? Yep. A whole lot of emotional gut punching? Abso-freaking-lutely. Both Klonoa soundtracks are fantastic and, just like the games, I really can't decide which one I like better. I love the first game's more mystical, folksy, and emotion-driven score, but the second game's masterful usage of leitmotifs and greater variety hold up incredibly well too. They're both the Namco Sound Team at their musical peak.
5. Touhou 11: Subterranean Animism
Composers: ZUN
Highlights: Solar Sect Of Mystic Wisdom, Last Remote, Hartmann's Youkai Girl, Heartfelt Fancy, Lullaby Of Demonic Hell, The Bridge People No Longer Cross, Satori Maiden, The Dark Blowhole
Touhou has a ton of phenomenal soundtracks, but I've never really been in doubt that Subterranean Animism had my favorite of the bunch. It's just that good. Befitting the underground setting, TH11's score is more moody, dark, gothic, and atmospheric than usual, but there's still a ton of really memorable tunes from the intriguing stage themes to the head-banging boss themes. The melodies are more complex than ever before, with tons of counter melodies and instruments crammed into a single track, and the music just keeps better as the game goes on, culminating in the absolute triple-whammy that is Utsuho's theme, the extra stage theme, and Koishi's theme. Those three songs alone makes this the best Touhou soundtrack, the rest is just icing on the cake
4. Sonic 06
Composers: Tomoya Ohtani, Mariko Nanba, Hideaki Kobayashi, tai-hey
Highlights: End Of The World, Kingdom Valley, His World, Solaris Phase 2, Vs Character, Crisis City, Aquatic Base - Level 1, Dusty Desert - Quickstand, White Acropolis - Snowy Peak, Egg-Cerberus & Egg-Genesis
Sonic 06 may not be a very good game and it may have one of the more pared-down composer lineups of the 3D Sonic games, but man, if it doesn't get pretty much everything right musically. Sonic 06's music is just... big. The stage themes are grandiose and cinematic, the boss themes are wild and intense, and the main theme His World is basically the posterchild for epic pieces of video game music. Nanba embues so much emotion and gravitas into her tracks, Ohtani adds in just enough DnB influence to keep that fun Sonic vibe intact, and Kobayashi's boss themes go insanely hard. It's the type of soundtrack that just hits you like a truck with how good it is.
3. Kirby Triple Deluxe
Composers: Hirokazu Ando, Jun Ishikawa
Highlights: Dedede's Royal Payback, Beautiful Prison, Moonstruck Blossom, Moonlight Capital, Sullied Grace, Soul Of Sectonia, Revenge Of The Enemy, Cold Odyssey, Reflected Laughter, Mysterious Trap
Kirby Triple Deluxe is a beautiful game. That's the point, it's about the beauty of nature, which plays both into Sectonia as a villain and the game's parallels with Planet Robobot. So it only makes sense that its soundtrack is one of the most beautiful video game scores out there. With a heavy emphasis on orchestral instruments and adventurous-sounding melodies, Triple Deluxe's music is just so fun and pretty-sounding. But then there's the final stretch, the entire final world and boss, which contains the single best streak of music in any video game. It should not come as much of a surprise that a vast majority of those final tracks are in my highlights, they are just that good.
2. Chrono Cross
Composers: Yasunori Mitsuda
Highlights: Time's Scar, Shore Of Dreams Another World, Dreams Of The Ages, Dragon God, Dragoons, Fossil Valley, Arni - Home World, Marbule, The Girl Who Stole The Stars
Chrono Cross's soundtrack isn't just the best RPG soundtrack of all time, it's straight-up transcendant. It fits into that niche of dreamy folksy adventurous-sounding music that many of my favorite soundtracks fall into, but what can I say? Yasunori Mitsuda just does it the best. The ethereal overworld themes, the intense battle themes, that opening track, Chrono Cross's music just feels so soulful and haunting. It's hard to even tell that most of these tracks sound synthesized because the instruments just sound so crisp. It's a perfect collection of music even outside the context of being a video game soundtrack, and I'd probably even call it the best video game score of all time. It's just not my favorite...
1. Super Mario Galaxy 1/2
Composers: Mahito Yokota, Koji Kondo, Ryo Nagamatsu
Highlights: Gusty Garden Galaxy, Buoy Base Galaxy, Rosalina In The Observatory, Hell Prominence, Super Mario Galaxy, Final Battle With Bowser, Luma, Family, The Galaxy Reactor, To The Gateway, Space Junk Galaxy, Purple Comet, Egg Planet, Fated Battle, Cloudy Court Galaxy, Fleet Glide Galaxy, Bowser's Galaxy Generator, The Starship Sails, Starship Mario, Melty Monster Galaxy, Time Attack... need I say more?
Super Mario Galaxy has a perfect soundtrack, and its sequel isn't too shabby either. For a game about soaring through the stars and exploring the cosmos, a sweeping orchestral score with hints of spacey synths is simply a perfect fit, and when you add in the Mario series' penchant for catchy melodies, you got an all-timer on your hands. Every time you use a launch star, and one of the level themes bursts into a heightened dramatic chorus, it just hits so hard. And while I love and have a lot of respect for Chrono Cross's music, I lived with the Mario Galaxy games. These soundtracks are a part of my childhood, and they're probably the reason I think so highly of video game music to begin with.
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