A bunch of the folks in CoG’s digital office listen to video game music in our free time. For some of us, it’s the only type of music we listen to. You might call us a little biased, and you’d be absolutely correct! We wouldn’t be working here if we didn’t love video games, and some of the most memorable parts of a game can often be found in its soundtrack. As such, we wanted to compile a list that represents our collective favorite pieces of video game music!

A brief clarification: we aren’t musicians (most of us, anyway), so this list isn’t based on any sort of professional music experience, and we didn’t factor in cultural significance either. Rather, we’re judging these songs solely on merit. So, no, the Super Mario Bros. “Overworld Theme” is not on this list – that’s because we don’t find it all that enjoyable, as recognizable as it may be. This is purely a conglomeration of our own personal tastes and opinions.

With all that said, we hope that you find some new favorite songs in our humble list! For your convenience, we made a handy-dandy playlist to shuffle through all these songs, which you can find right here or at the end of the list. Be sure to give them all a listen and enjoy!

50. “One Winged Angel” (Final Fantasy VII) 49. “Champion’s Theme” (Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver) 48. “Hollow Bastion” (Kingdom Hearts) 47. “Lost Woods” (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) 46. “Princess Zelda” (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) 45. “Open Your Heart” (Sonic Adventure) 44. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Theme 43. “Jump Up, Super Star!” (Super Mario Odyssey) 42. Stage 1 Theme (Contra) 41. “Dire, Dire Docks” (Super Mario 64) 40. “The Prelude” (Final Fantasy IV) 39. “Big Blue” (F-Zero) 38. “American Venom” (Red Dead Redemption 2) ﻿ ﻿ 37. “The Front Hall” (Resident Evil 2) 36. “City of Tears” (Hollow Knight) 35. “Starship Mario 3” (Super Mario Galaxy 2) 34. “May I? Stand Unshaken” (Red Dead Redemption 2) 33. “Bob-omb Battlefield” (Super Mario 64) 32. “Mute City” (F-Zero) 31. “Deja Vu (Vampire Killer)” (Castlevania 3) 30. “Dearly Beloved” (Kingdom Hearts) 29. “LA Danse Macabre” (Shovel Knight) 28. “The Prelude” (Final Fantasy VI) 27. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild Main Theme 26. Halo 2 Main Theme 25. “Comet Observatory 3” (Super Mario Galaxy) 24. “Simple and Clean” (Kingdom Hearts) 23. “Guile’s Theme” (Street Fighter 2) 22. “Want You Gone” (Portal 2) 21. “Still More Fighting” (Final Fantasy VII) 20. “Ryu’s Theme” (Street Fighter 2) 19. “Ukulele de Chocobo” (Final Fantasy IX) 18. “Forest Funk” (Super Meat Boy) 17. “Another Medium” (Undertale) 16. “Still Alive” (Portal) 15. “Reach for the Summit” (Celeste) 14. “Let The Battles Begin!” (Final Fantasy VII) 13. “Battle Against a True Hero” (Undertale) 12. “Aria di Mezzo Carattere” (Final Fantasy VI) 11. “Decisive Battle with Magus” (Chrono Trigger) 10. Stage 1 Theme (Mega Man X) 9. “Megalovania” (Undertale) 8. “Aquatic Ambiance” (Donkey Kong Country) 7. “Corneria” (Star Fox) 6. “Hopes and Dreams” (Undertale) 5. “Last Surprise” (Persona 5) 4. “Stickerbush Symphony” (Donkey Kong Country) 3. Chrono Trigger Battle Theme

2. “Gerudo Valley” (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time) 1. “At Doom’s Gate” (DOOM)

And that’s the list! Here’s a YouTube mix containing every song (in order, of course), for your listening pleasure.

We had to leave a bunch of songs on the cutting floor when picking our favorites. Were there any glaring omissions that we should have included? Please let us know!

As always, for more on everything video game-related, stay tuned to Culture of Gaming!