Best Video Game Music of All Time - 2011


by Kurt Kalata, 10/25/11


Chrono Cross - Intro


Mega Man 2 - Dr. Wily's Fortress


Castlevania II - Daylight

Final Fantasy V - Gilgamesh

Sometime in 2010, Japanese board 2ch got together and voted on their favorite video game music tracks of all time. Culminating in a list of 700 pieces of music, there's a lot of interesting stuff, yet some of it seemed rather suspect. A decent, albeit random piece of Okami music as the favorite track of all time? That's weird. There's also a whole lot about it that is plain unrelateable - easily half of the stuff on the list consists of tracks no one outside the country has ever heard of, and there were only roughly half a dozen tracks from non-Japanese games.

So, I decided to hold a poll for Western gamers, to determine approximately the same thing.

Anyone amongst various forums were asked to pick up to 100 of their favorite video game tracks. They could also elect a "Top 5" of these 100. Every standard vote would get one point, every Top 5 vote would get three.

There were a few caveats. First off, most licensed music was not allowed. This was to avoid the smart asses that would pick licensed tracks and avoid the face-palming type of things you'd see when, say, a Guitar Hero game would win a Best Soundtrack of the Year awards. We were flexible on this rule, though - Jet Set Radio and Rez uses a lot of licensed music, but for the most part, very little of it is known outside the game. There are a few J-pop anime intros we allowed, and other scattered bits that we let slip through.

Umineko no Naku Koro Ni

The other major rule is that, for games with several entries, all votes for an individual song would be counted together. For example, there are easily twenty versions of the song Bloody Tears throughout the Castlevania series, but they would all be counted together, regardless of whether the vote was specifically for the original Castlevania II version, or the Dracula X version, or the Judgment version. They also had to appear in the games themselves - no arranged versions that only appeared on soundtrack albums.

Over one hundred people voted over the course of a month across a handful of forums, including here, NeoGAF and Soundtrack Central. There were over 11,000 points total amongst thousands of songs. We picked the top 1000 (plus a few extra) based on the scores and compiled them below.

We had two goals: the obvious one was to get an idea of which tracks were the most popular, but the more important one is just to create a huge list of music and hopefully expose more tracks to more people. Few people known of video game music outside of the type of games they typically play - an RPG player may know little of SNK music, or vice versa - so by taking votes we could a greater consensus of what were widely believed to be the "better" tracks for suggested listening. Of course, after a certain point, the number of points ceases to have much meaning for ranking purposes. Everything from 676 downwards is tied with the same number of points. We easily could've cut it off at 100 or 200 songs, but that would've defeated the goal to expose more unknown tracks.

Monty on the Run - In Game

There's some interesting observations about this list, of course. Several Chrono Cross songs placing high should be no surprise - even most of those that hate the game itself profess to loving the soundtrack. Chrono Trigger had the most single songs nominated. As expected, there's a lot of Final Fantasy music, though curiously not much love for XII at all. There's a whole lot of affection for Nier, too, which is much more recent than either of those. It is odd to see so many songs for the visual novel Umineko no Naku Koro Ni, but the music is legitimately excellent, so it's easy to see why it got so many votes. As for the biggest surprise, it's sort of amazing that a song from Barkley: Shut Up and Jam Gaiden was able to place rank. They weren't troll votes either - it's a great tune!

There are a lot of niches represented - Square, Nintendo and Mega Man music obviously dominate it, but there are numerous tracks from Castlevania, Sonic the Hedgehog, Shin Megami Tensei, Silent Hill, Falcom, visual novels and dating sims, Touhou and other doujin stuff, Guilty Gear/Blazblue, SNK, Gust, Cave and other shooters, and even some MMOs. Most of the best SMS, NES, SNES and Genesis tracks are represented, though there is a curious lack of Shinobi, based on how much respect those songs got back in the day.

The only thing I'm a bit disappointed on is the dearth of Western music. It's often stereotyped as being nothing more than wannebe Hollywood soundtracks, and there's quite a bit of truth to that, but that also doesn't mean there isn't a lot of outstanding music, especially from the European computers of the 80s. It's much more varied than the Japanese list - about 10% compared to 1% or so - but there's still a lot of stuff missing. The highest ranking song is Stuckerbrush Symphony from Donkey Kong Country 2, followed by Baba Yetu from Civilization IV, Tristram Village from Diablo and Still Alive from Portal. Most of the rest of the list consists of relatively modern small scale or indie titles, like Scott Pilgrim, VVVVVV and Super Meat Boy. The only Commodore 64 song to place highly was Monty on the Run. There are barely any Amiga tunes. A few Turrican songs made the list, but not many. A great number of 90s era PC and Sega CD games were totally glossed over, with only a few scattered tracks from Starcraft and Command and Conquer. I think most VGM fans are much more familiar with Japanese music in general - there's a whole subculture of collecting music CDs, and it's much more effectively promoted than Western games ever were. But I've been thinking of the next poll focusing solely on Western games, to give some space to the underappreciated songs that deserve way more respect.

Without further ado, here is the list in its entirety. Comments for selected tracks from the community coming soon. Thanks to anyone who's uploaded music to Youtube to allow easy access to these tunes!

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Rank Game Track Name Points
1 Chrono Cross Time's Scar 56
2 Mega Man 2 Dr. Wily Stage 1 56
3 Castlevania II: Simon's Quest Bloody Tears 44
  Dracula II: Noroi no Fuuin (FDS) Bloody Tears
  Akumajou Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (PCE) Bloody Tears
  Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles Bloody Tears
  Castlevania Judgment Bloody Tears
4 Final Fantasy VI Terra's Theme 43
5 Chrono Trigger Corridors of Time 41
6 Chrono Cross Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World 39
7 Final Fantasy V Clash on the Big Bridge 31
  Final Fantasy XII Clash on the Big Bridge
8 Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Snake Eater 31
9 Super Castlevania IV Theme of Simon 30
Castlevania Bloodlines Theme of Simon
10 Wild Arms Into the Wilderness 30
11 Metal Gear Solid Metal Gear Solid Main Theme 29
  Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Metal Gear Solid Main Theme
12 Umineko no Naku Koro ni dreamenddischarger 28
13 Final Fantasy VI Dancing Mad 27
14 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Investigation ~ Cornered 27
15 Super Mario 64 Dire Dire Docks 27
16 Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time Gerudo Valley 26
17 Castlevania Vampire Killer 25
  Akumajou Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (PCE) Vampire Killer
  Castlevania Judgment Vampire Killer
18 Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest Stickerbrush Symphony 25
19 Mega Man 3 Title Screen 25
20 Final Fantasy VIII The Man with the Machine Gun 24
21 Silent Hill 2 Theme of Laura 24
22 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Chemical Plant Zone 24
23 Killer7 Rave On 23
24 Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 The Battle for Everyone's Souls 23
25 Akumajou Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (PCE) Divine Bloodlines 22
  Castlevania Dracula X (SNES) Divine Bloodlines
  Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles (PSP) Blood Relations of Heaven and Earth
26 Ducktales The Moon 22
27 Final Fantasy IV Battle 2 ~ Boss Battle Theme 22
28 Chrono Trigger Chrono Trigger 21
29 Civilization IV Baba Yetu 21
30 Diablo Tristram 21
31 Grandia Theme of Grandia 21
32 Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards Gourmet Race 21
  Super Smash Bros Melee Fountain of Dreams
33 F-Zero Big Blue 20
  F-Zero X Decide in the Eyes (Big Blue)
34 Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 Reach Out to the Truth 20
35 Mega Man X Opening Stage (Central Highway) 19
  Mega Man X: Maverick Hunter (PSP) Opening Stage X (Central Highway)
36 Portal Still Alive 19
37 Street Fighter II Guile Stage 19
  Super Street Fighter II Guile Stage
38 Chrono Cross Dreamwatch of Time 18
39 Donkey Kong Country Aquatic Ambiance 18
40 Final Fantasy X To Zanarkand 18
41 Katamari Damacy Lonely Rolling Star 18
42 Scott Pilgrim vs the World Another Winter 18
43 Final Fantasy VII J-E-N-O-V-A 17
44 Halo Halo Theme 17
  Halo 2 Main Theme Mjolnir Mix
45 Mega Man X Storm Eagle 17
  Mega Man X: Maverick Hunter (PSP) Storm Eagle
46 Secret of Mana Angels Fear 17
47 Batman (NES) Stage 1 16
48 Castlevania Wicked Child 16
  Castlevania Chronicles (X68000) Wicked Child
  Castlevania Chronicles (PSOne) Wicked Child
49 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Dracula's Castle 16
50 Chrono Trigger Battle with Magus 16
51 Gitaroo Man The Legendary Theme 16
52 Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Dark World 16
53 Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Tal Tal Heights 16
54 Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time Windmill Hut 16
55 Mother Pollyanna 16
  Earthbound Home Sweet Home
  Mother 3 Pollyanna
56 OutRun Magical Sound Shower 16
  OutRun 2 Magical Sound Shower
57 Chrono Trigger World Revolution 15
58 Final Fantasy IX You're Not Alone! 15
59 Katamari Damacy Katamari on the Rocks ~ Main Theme 15
60 Nier Hills of the Radiant Winds 15
61 Super Mario Galaxy Gusty Garden Galaxy 15
62 Super Metroid Brinstar: Plant Overgrowth Area 15
63 Castlevania: Bloodlines The Sinking Old Sanctuary 14
  Castlevania: Circle of the Moon The Sinking Old Sanctuary
64 F-Zero Mute City 14
  F-Zero X Mute City
65 Guilty Gear Holy Orders (Be Just or Be Dead) 14
  Guilty Gear X Holy Orders (Be Just or Be Dead)
  Guilty Gear X2 Holy Orders (Be Just or Be Dead)
  Guilty Gear 2 Overture Holy Orders (Be Just or Be Dead)
66 Mega Man 3 Snake Man 14
67 Monty on the Run Theme 14
68 Okami The Sun Rises 14
69 Silent Hill Silent Hill 14
70 Silent Hill 3 You're Not Here 14
71 Umineko no Naku Koro ni worldenddominator 14
72 World Ends With You Calling 14
73 Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner Beyond the Bounds 14
74 Chrono Trigger To Far Away Times 13
75 Devil's Crush Main Table Theme 13
Dragon's Fury Main Table Theme
76 Donkey Kong Country DK Island Swing ~ Jungle Theme 13
77 Duke Nukem 3D Main Theme (Grabbag) 13
78 Final Fantasy VIII The Extreme 13
79 Legend of Zelda Overworld 13
  Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past Overworld
80 Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals Battle #3: Battle Against Sinistrals 13
81 Mega Man X Armored Armadillo 13
Maverick Hunter X (PSP) Armored Armadillo
82 Mega Man X Spark Mandrill 13
Maverick Hunter X (PSP) Spark Mandrill
83 Metroid Prime Phendrana Drifts 13
84 Sonic the Hedgehog Star Light Zone 13
85 Space Harrier Main Theme 13
86 Star Fox Corneria 13
87 Streets of Rage II Go Straight 13
88 Super Mario Bros. Super Mario Bros Theme 13
89 Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars Beware the Forest's Mushrooms 13
90 Ys III (TG16) Valestein Castle 13
Ys Oath in Felghana Valestein Castle
91 Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse Beginning 12
Akumajou Densetsu Beginning 12
Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles (PSP) Dreams of Triumph 12
92 Deus Ex Title Theme 12
Deus Ex (PS2) Title Theme
93 Final Fantasy VII One-Winged Angel 12
94 Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals Battle #2 12
95 Ninja Gaiden (NES) Ryu's Determination (Act 4-2) 12
96 Okami Reset ~Thank You Version~ 12
97 Snatcher One Night in Neo Kobe City 12
98 We Love Katamari Everlasting Love 12
99 Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra Godsibb 12
100 Ys III The Boy Who Had Wings 12
  Ys: Oath in Felghana The Boy Who Had Wings
101 Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse Aquarius 11
101 Akumajou Densetsu Aquarius 11
  Castlevania Adventure Rebirth Aquarius
102 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Lost Painting 11
103 Castlevania: Symphony of the Night The Tragic Prince 11
104 Chrono Cross Radical Dreamers ~The Unstolen Jewel~ 11
105 Chrono Trigger Frog's Theme 11
106 Command and Conquer: Red Alert Hell March 11
  Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 Hell March 2
  Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 Hell March 3
107 Contra Jungle 11
108 Final Fantasy VI Decisive Battle 11
109 Final Fantasy VI Searching for Friends 11
110 Final Fantasy VII Aerith's Theme 11
111 Grandia II FIGHT!! Ver. 1 11
112 Kirby's Dream Land Green Greens 11
113 Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC Silver Will, Golden Wings 11
114 Mega Man X5 X vs Zero 11
115 Metal Gear Solid The Best Is Yet To Come 11
116 Monkey Island (Adlib) Monkey Island Theme 11
Monkey Island (Gameblaster) Monkey Island Theme
Monkey Island (CD) Monkey Island Theme
Monkey Island 2 Monkey Island Theme
Curse of Monkey Island Monkey Island Theme
117 Ninja Warriors Daddy Mulk 11
118 No More Heroes We Are Finally Cowboys 11
No More Heroes 2 We Are Finally Cowboys - Golden Brown Mix
119 Parasite Eve Primal Eyes 11
120 Pokemon Blue/Red Gym Leader Battle 11
121 Shadow of the Colossus Revived Power ~Battle with the Colossus~ 11
122 Sonic Adventure 2 City Escape 11
123 Sonic CD (US) Sonic Boom 11
124 Street Fighter II Ken Stage 11
  Super Street Fighter II Ken Stage
  Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Ken Stage
125 Suikoden III Exceeding Love 11
126 Ys II (PC88) To Make the End of Battle 11
  Ys II (TG16 CD) To Make the End of Battle
  Ys II Chronicles To Make the End of Battle
127 Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia EXEC_CHRONICLE_KEY/ 10
128 Blue Dragon Eternity 10
129 Deadly Premonition Life is Beautiful 10
130 Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King Heavenly Flight 10
131 Earthbound Pokey Means Business 10
132 Gods Eater Burst An Approaching Nightmare (Disc 1 Version) 10
133 Guilty Gear X Blue Water Blue Sky 10
  Guilty Gear XX Blue Water Blue Sky
134 Journey to Silus Title Theme 10
135 Legend of Mana Song of Mana ~ Ending Theme 10
136 Lords of Thunder (Sega CD) Bosque 10
  Lords of Thunder (TG16 CD) Dark Tower
137 Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis Nefertiti 10
138 Mass Effect 2 Suicide Mission 10
139 Mega Man 2 Air Man 10
140 OutRun Splash Wave 10
  OutRun 2 Splash Wave
141 Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations Godot ~The Fragrence of Dark Coffee~ 10
142 Skies of Arcadia Kingdom of Ixa'taka 10
143 Sonic Adventure 2 Live and Learn 10
144 Ys III Ilbern Ruins 10
  Ys: The Oath in Felghana Ilbern Ruins
145 Bionic Commando Area 1 9
  Bionic Commando Rearmed Main Theme
146 Castlevania: Bloodlines Reincarnated Soul 9
  Castlevania Adventure Rebirth Reincarnated Soul
147 Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Successor of Fate 9
148 Clannad Nagisa ~ Farewell at the Foot of a Hill 9
149 Donkey Kong Country Gang-Plank Galleon 9
150 Final Fantasy IV Battle with the Four Fiends 9
151 Final Fantasy X Seymour Battle 9
152 G-Darius Kimera II 9
153 Kirby's Dream Land Battle with King Dedede 9
  Kirby's Dream Land 3 Battle with King Dedede
  Kirby's Super Star Battle with King Dedede
154 Mario Kart 64 Rainbow Road 9
155 Mega Man 2 Metal Man 9
156 Mega Man Zero 2 Departure 9
157 Metroid Kraid's Lair 9
158 Nier Shadowlord 9
159 Nier Song of the Ancients / Devola ver. 9
160 Nier Song of the Ancients / Fate 9
161 NiGHTS into Dreams... Paternal Horn 9
162 No More Heroes Pleather for Breakfast 9
163 Panzer Dragoon Flight 9
164 Silver Surfer Level 1 9
165 Street Fighter Alpha 2 Sakura Stage 9
166 Street Fighter II Ryu Stage 9
  Super Street Fighter II Ryu Stage
  Street Fighter Alpha 2 Ryu Stage
167 Suikoden II Reminiscence (Opening Staff Roll BGM) 9
168 Super Mario Bros. 2 Overworld Theme 9
169 Super Street Fighter II Cammy Stage 9
170 Tales of the Abyss Meaning of Birth 9
171 Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru discolor 9
172 World Ends With You Three Minutes Clapping 9
173 Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim Mighty Obstacle 9
174 Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia An Empty Tome 8
  Castlevania Judgment An Empty Tome
  Castlevania Harmony of Despair An Empty Tome
175 Chrono Trigger Schala's Theme 8
176 Chrono Trigger Wind Scene 8
177 Cladun: This is an RPG Slicing the Wind 8
178 Darius Gaiden Visionnerz 8
179 Deadly Premonition The Woods and the Goddess 8
180 Doom At Doom's Gate (E1M1) 8
181 Dragon Quest Overture 8
Dragon Quest VI Overture
Dragon Quest VII Overture
  Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King Overture
182 Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City Battlefield - The First Campaign 8
183 Final Fantasy Prelude 8
Final Fantasy IV Prelude
  Final Fantasy VI Prelude
  Final Fantasy VII Prelude
  Final Fantasy IX Prelude
  Final Fantasy X Prelude
  Final Fantasy XII Prelude
184 Final Fantasy VI Aria de Mezzo Carattere 8
185 Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core The Price of Freedom 8
186 Final Fantasy X-2 Eternity-Memories of Light and Waves 8
187 Final Fantasy XIII Blinded by Light 8
188 Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest Battle 2 8
189 F-Zero X Dream Chaser 8
190 Higurashi no Naku Koro ni You ~Destructive~ 8
191 Jet Set Radio Future The Concept of Love 8
192 Kingdom Hearts Hikari Kingdom Orchestra 8
193 Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Ballad of the Wind Fish 8
194 Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Dragon Roost Island 8
195 Midnight Resistance Flood of Power 8
196 Nier Emile / Karma 8
197 Odin Sphere Theme 8
198 OutRun Passing Breeze 8
  OutRun 2 Passing Breeze
199 Planescape: Torment Deionarra's Theme 8
200 Shining Force II Warriors of the Reviving Light (Main Theme) 8
201 Sonic and Knuckles Lava Reef Zone Act 1 8
202 Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) Solaris Phase 2 8
203 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Ice Cap Zone Act 1 8
204 Streets of Rage II Dreamer 8
205 Super Mario Galaxy Good Egg Galaxy 8
206 Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins Star Maze 8
207 Super Metroid Theme of Super Metroid 8
208 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (SNES) Sewer Surfin' 8
  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time (SNES) Sewer Surfin'
  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist Sewer Surfin'
209 Terranigma A Place to Return To (Crysta) 8
210 Terranigma Underworld / Setting Off On a Journey 8
211 VVVVVV Potential for Anything 8
212 VVVVVV Pushing Onwards 8
213 We Love Katamari Disco Prince 8
214 World Ends With You Deja Vu 8
215 Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht Battle Theme 8
216 Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Bose Communication Breakdown 8
217 Ys (PC88) First Step Towards War 8
  Ys (TG16) First Step Towards War
  Ys (PSP) First Step Towards War
218 Actraiser Fillmore 7
219 Beyond Good & Evil Home Sweet Home 7
220 Disgaea: Hour of Darkness Lord Laharl's Hymn 7
221 Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest Mining Melancholy 7
222 Double Dragon (Arcade) Title Theme 7
  Double Dragon (NES) Title Theme
223 Akumajou Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (PCE) Cross a Fear 7
  Dracula X Chronicles (PSP) Cross a Fear
224 Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King Strange World ~ Marching through the Fields 7
225 Eternal Sonata Leap the Precipice 7
226 Final Fantasy Prologue 7
227 Final Fantasy Tactics Trisection 7
228 Final Fantasy VII Fighting 7
229 Final Fantasy VII Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII 7
230 Final Fantasy VIII Liberi Fatali 7
231 God Hand Gene's Rock-a-Bye 7
232 Golden Axe II Battle of Ravaged Village 7
233 Guilty Gear Isuka Riches In Me 7
234 Guilty Gear  Suck a Sage 7
  Guilty Gear X2 Suck a Sage
235 Ikaruga Chapter 1: Ideal 7
236 Jet Set Radio Sneakman 7
237 Journey to Silus Stage 1 7
238 King of Fighters '96 Arashi no Saxophone 2 7
239 King of Fighters '99 Tears 7
240 Kingdom Hearts Dearly Beloved 7
241 Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards Zero-Two 7
242 Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Sword Search 7
243 Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals Battle #1 7
244 Mega Man 3 Ending 7
245 Mega Man 9 Concrete Jungle (Concrete Man) 7
246 Mega Man 9 Thunder Tornado (Tornado Man Stage) 7
247 MUSHA Fullmetal Fighter 7
248 Neotokyo Tin Soldiers 7
249 Shenmue Shenmue ~Sedge Tree~ / Original Version 7
250 Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga Muladhara 7

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