Back in the days of Pong and Space Invaders, game soundtracks weren’t such a big deal. As games evolved, starting as early as the mid-80s with NES titles, the influence of music on games has changed. What started as something to kill silence has become an element of the game’s construction as important as any other. Music and video games are certainly not different mediums separated by concept – they have proven that they indeed support one another.

Think about the list below not only based on nostalgia or full-on musical composition quality, but what effect the music had on the game’s mood and personality. It isn’t merely the Top 9 songs found in games – or else “Still Alive” from Portal would be found. It also isn’t just the Top 9 songs we remember best from when we were itty bitties, but games that really flourished overall thanks to the relevance of music.

Feel free to disagree or voice your opinion on ones we might have left out… (of course there will be some – it’s a Top 9 list, you jerk, not Top 100!)

And no, we’re not including Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero or Rock Band titles due to their supreme obviousness. And definitely no American Idol Karaoke.

Also note that the order of this list isn’t particularly important, as that’s way too hard to do. The titles included are what matters.

9. Jet Grind Radio
One of the most notable games released on the Dreamcast, titled Jet Set Radio everywhere but America, not only introduced us to cel-shading as an animation style for games, but boasted a hella-cool soundtrack that inspired us to tear around Shibuya-cho on crazy rollerblades for hours upon hours. As we commandeered the rudies around town, tagging everything in sight, dodging the Noise Tanks, Poison Jam and Love Shockers, it was pirate radio DJ Professor K providing the tunes that solidified this game as a combination of graphical innovation, awesome fun gameplay and fantastic music.

The diversity of the soundtrack also led to its influence on the title. Jet Grind Radio contained everything from Rob Zombie to Jurassic 5, with loads of original tracks created just for the game by composer Hideki Naganuma, famous for his “J-Pop” fusion of Japanese techno, soul, hip hop and funk. The range of styles were able to play into the mood of every moment, leading to an all-around solid title.

JGR was winner of the E3 2000 Game Critics Award for Best Console Game and the IAA award for Original Music and Sound Design.

8. PaRappa the Rapper
This title has no choice but to be included. The whole game is based around its original music. It was one of the first rhythm video games ever, and was created ahead of its time. It was so cool that an anime series was made out of it, as well as sequels and spinoffs. Even UmJammer Lammy, the original Guitar Hero…

PaRappa is a rapping dog who learns slick rhymes and karate moves under the supervision of Chop Chop Master Onion so he can win the heart of a hottie named Sunny Funny. The game was built around the music, which was all original for the title. Not only that, but it contained 44 original songs – a feat for any video game. The significance of music on this title is obvious. If it’s not, hit yourself with an iron.

If only it came out a few years later, it may have found more commercial success in the craze of music-based gaming we see now.

7. Chrono Trigger
Originally a sound engineer for Squaresoft, Yasunori Mitsuda composed 64 tracks for this classic RPG title from early 1995. Some are wacky, many are weird, and none were reminiscent of what people were used to hearing in video games at the time. Nonetheless, it is a score that has remained a gamer favorite for nearly a decade and a half not just for its musical greatness, but the effect it had on the game.

Many tracks linger in players’ minds for their correlation with a particular moment in the game, from the somber tune “Silent Light” heard at the game over screen to the upbeat “Robo’s Theme.” The score has it all, from dark to bright, intense to calm, and everywhere inbetween. Chrono’s time-traveling journey took his character through many moods, and this soundtrack accurately captured them all. Squaresoft has always focused on music as an important element in their RPGs, and this is a prime example. Don’t mess with fact, son.

6. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
The 13th installment in the Castlevania series, this classic game of Alucard Vs. Dracula, had very highly-praised music. Composed by Michiru Yamane, it took many musical styles and elements into account; such as gothic rock, jazz and metal. Yamane’s goal in composing is to create a particular mood for every area the character explores, which just happens to be the entire point of this list!

There are 34 tunes on this score and each one lends itself to the game. The Wikipedia article on the soundtrack best explains the usage of music in this title to create unique moods for every area:

As an example, The Royal Chapel’s theme, “Requiem for the Gods,” consists of still, ancient vocals, tolling bells, an organ, and a steady, reserved drum beat to maintain a flow. The Underground Cavern’s theme, alternately, employs a deep bass and a contemporary-jazz tone with its piano and distorted drums.

There are different theme songs for the Inverted Castle. Most take on a chaotic or sprawling nature. The dominant melody that plays is “Finale Toccata,” which contains elements of one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most famous organ compositions, “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor”.

And if you didn’t know, Cynthia Harrell, the woman who can be heard singing during the game’s ending credits, is also the woman who sings the Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater theme. It’s a small Konami world, after all.

5. Bioshock
This game is pure art through and through. From the visuals to the story to the music, it is nothing but an abundance of creativity and originality packed into every pixel like Vienna Sausages into one of those tiny cans. Music plays a huge role in this game, and comes in the form of a combination of original score and classic oldies hits.

The orchestral track list consists of twelve songs created for the game, each one usually appearing at a clutch moment in the play. Arriving in a new part of Rapture, fighting a boss, stumbling upon a life-changing discovery; these are the moments reflected by the tunes. They are haunting compositions that start to bring about the character of Bioshock within the first few moments of play.

The entire score is actually downloadable here, in mp3 format. Click to download.

In addition to the originals, there are classic tunes from the 50’s and prior heard throughout the game – ranging from Billie Holiday to Bing Crosby and Django Reinhardt. Bioshock takes place during this time, and fusing the chilling atmosphere, insane characters and gaming style with the aforementioned score and recognizable radio hits creates an absolutely astounding game. Bioshock is one of those games that carries a mood with it – an unavoidable mood that swallows you and makes a lasting impression. The music is a big part of that. My God, I’m all aroused now.

4. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
This soundtrack was pure awesome. Still considered one of the more solid installments in the GTA series, Vice City epitomized what gamers wanted from a free-roaming crime sim in 2002. It had it all – entertainment, vast gameplay, tons to do, and loads of style. Plenty of that style came in the form of the now-famous GTA radio stations heard as you traversed the city with your floral-shirted Ray Liotta friend named Tommy Vercetti.

What makes GTA music cool is the way the stations are set up. They are designed to basically represent the types of stations you’d hear at the particular time. In Vice City’s case, you could flee from the cops rocking out to Judas Priest, or invoke a little irony by putting on Cutting Crew. You just might actually end up dead in their arms tonight…

The soundtrack therefore influenced the mood not only by default, but allowed the gamer to impact the game in their own way by selecting the tracks they liked best for the situation. It’s great stuff, and makes those “Scarface” references all over the place even cooler for cock-a-roaches like you.

3. Super Mario Bros.
Of course this game makes the list, and not just for nostalgia. Sure, it may have some of the most recognizable tunes in gaming history. Sure, it actually is memorable due to nostalgia. But you can’t deny the importance of the music on this game, and on gaming as a whole. It really set the stage early for what video game music could be, and what it could do for a particular title.

The main song is something nearly anyone in the world can recognize, gamer or not. That’s power. And it worked for the players, too. Go underground, the music is darker and more eerie. Come back up a tube into the daylight, and things are a little more cheerful. Enter a castle, and oh boy, here comes some music that will really let you know you’re in a rough part of town. And what’s more satisfying than that level-finishing melody of success? Very little, that’s what. Very little. It doesn’t matter that your princess is in another castle, because you’ve just got through this one and were rewarded for it with audio. Well done.

2. The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Zelda is another series where you could debate that every single installment belongs on the list. That’s probably true, and if this list contained 100 titles, there’d certainly be several Zeldas involved. However, there’s something about The Ocarina of Time that lives on in every gamer’s heart. It was an incredibly massive game, and there’s no doubt the music played a huge role.

All these songs are available for download, too. Go here

The first time you step out onto Hyrule Field, you get a sense of “holy crap, there’s so much to do.” It has this champion music that just dares you to explore. Every town has its own personality and feeling, perfectly illuminated by the music. Kakariko Village is way more sunny than the Gerudo Valley. The Temple of Time has that haunting monk-like chant. It’s all so perfect. Hell, the game is named after a musical instrument, and your character often relies on it as part of the gameplay. How more influential could it be? For real? How much?

Nobody really needs to have The Ocarina of Time’s presence on this list justified to them. If you’ve played it, it’s obvious, and it’s a game that will live on as a totally rad piece of super duper holy awesome forever.

1. Final Fantasy VII
85 tracks make up the original score for this game. 85. Again, that’s 85.

Keeping with the idea of music being highly important in Squaresoft games, Final Fantasy VII is perhaps one of the most perfect displays of that tradition. I mean come on, did you know there are 85 tracks? And nearly every one of them is awesome. This is the pinnacle of music-game coexistence; the quintessential use of music in gaming.

Again, you can download these here.

We all remember how we felt when we first entered Midgar, or Don Corneo’s mansion. We remember the joy of the Gold Saucer, and the sorrow of the desert prison below. The silly sound of Cosmo Canyon and the explosion of the Mako reactor. The death of Aeris, finding Vincent, the first appearance of the Turks, our first trip to ShinRa tower… they’re all represented by a perfect piece of music. Thinking back to this game from 1997, I can clearly play the tune that went along with everything in the game because of how directly related to the story they became. It may very well be the perfect example of how music can influence a game, and how a game can be changed by its music.

Nobuo Uematsu created the soundtrack to focus on realism. He knew exactly what he was doing and exactly what situation the player was in when he developed each song. The soundtrack has been translated several times for different purposes, remixed in future FF titles and Kingdom Hearts, and makes an excellent book of piano sheet music, if I do say so myself.

There is a legacy to be found in the music of Final Fantasy VII. More constructive care went into this score than has gone into hundreds of entire games. I would marry it.

And there you have it. Or so I say… care to comment?

Tags: list, musically impacted games