List of video game soundtracks considered the best

Last updated

This is a list of video game soundtracks that multiple publications, such as video game journalism and music journalism publications, have considered to be among the best of all time. The game soundtracks listed here are included on at least three separate "best/greatest of all time" lists from different publications (inclusive of all time periods and platforms). Achievements, such as certifications or Grammy nominations, are separately noted.

Contents

List

Publications

The reference numbers in the notes section show which of the 21 selected publications list the game.

See also

Notes

The reference numbers show which publications include the game's soundtrack.

  1. ↑ Super Mario Bros. : [2] [3] [4] [5]
  2. ↑ Mega Man 2 : [3] [6] [4] [7] [8] [9]
  3. ↑ Tetris : [2] [10] [3] [11]
  4. ↑ Street Fighter II : [10] [3] [8] [9]
  5. ↑ Streets of Rage 2 : [12] [10] [3] [7] [9]
  6. ↑ Doom (1993): [3] [8] [13]
  7. ↑ EarthBound : [3] [4] [7]
  8. ↑ Final Fantasy VI : [3] [14] [7]
  9. ↑ Sonic the Hedgehog 3 : [3] [15] [7]
  10. ↑ Super Metroid : [3] [9] [16]
  11. ↑ Chrono Trigger : [3] [4] [14] [15] [17] [7] [9] [11]
  12. ↑ Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest : [3] [4] [14] [15] [7] [9] [16] [18]
  13. ↑ PaRappa the Rapper : [12] [10] [3]
  14. ↑ Super Mario 64 : [3] [8] [16]
  15. ↑ Castlevania: Symphony of the Night : [2] [3] [9]
  16. ↑ Final Fantasy VII : [12] [2] [10] [3] [19] [8] [9] [20] [5]
  17. ↑ Grim Fandango : [3] [14] [15] [7]
  18. ↑ The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time : [3] [10] [15] [4] [8] [21] [20] [16] [5]
  19. ↑ Jet Set Radio : [3] [6] [16]
  20. ↑ Halo: Combat Evolved : [2] [3] [11] [20] [5]
  21. ↑ Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney : [3] [21] [18]
  22. ↑ Silent Hill 2 : [3] [17] [22] [8] [13]
  23. ↑ Grand Theft Auto: Vice City : [10] [13] [16]
  24. ↑ Katamari Damacy : [3] [14] [7] [8] [16]
  25. ↑ Shadow of the Colossus : [12] [3] [15] [17] [22] [7] [21]
  26. ↑ Portal : [2] [3] [10]
  27. ↑ Red Dead Redemption : [2] [3] [10]
  28. ↑ Bastion : [3] [23] [4] [14] [7]
  29. ↑ The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim : [2] [10] [17] [22] [7] [11] [20] [13] [16] [5]
  30. ↑ Minecraft : [10] [4] [8] [16]
  31. ↑ Hotline Miami : [23] [14] [7] [16]
  32. ↑ Journey : [12] [3] [19] [4] [14] [15] [17] [7] [8] [9] [11] [16] [5]
  33. ↑ BioShock Infinite : [3] [4] [8]
  34. ↑ Transistor : [4] [22] [8]
  35. ↑ Crypt of the NecroDancer : [14] [7] [8]
  36. ↑ Everybody's Gone to the Rapture : [14] [9] [11] [16]
  37. ↑ Undertale : [23] [4] [14] [15] [7] [8] [16] [18]
  38. ↑ The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt : [19] [17] [7] [20]
  39. ↑ Doom (2016): [6] [14] [17] [8] [16]
  40. ↑ Persona 5 : [23] [4] [17] [7] [8] [22] [21] [18]
  41. ↑ Cuphead : [23] [14] [15] [17] [7] [16]
  42. ↑ Hollow Knight : [17] [9] [16]
  43. ↑ Nier: Automata : [23] [4] [14] [17] [8] [16] [18]
  44. ↑ Celeste : [4] [14] [15] [21] [16] [18]
  45. ↑ God of War : [4] [14] [11]
  46. ↑ Red Dead Redemption 2 : [14] [20] [13]
  47. ↑ Sayonara Wild Hearts : [23] [14] [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo</span> Japanese video game company

Nintendo Co., Ltd. is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes and releases both video games and video game consoles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario</span> Video game character

Mario is a character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the main character of the Mario franchise, a recurring character in the Donkey Kong franchise, and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario is an Italian plumber who lives in the Mushroom Kingdom with his younger twin brother, Luigi. Their adventures generally involve rescuing Princess Peach from the villain Bowser while using power-ups that give them different abilities. Mario's distinctive characteristics include his large nose and mustache, overalls, red cap, and high-pitched, exaggerated Italian accent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Peach</span> Video game character

Princess Peach is a character in Nintendo's Mario franchise. She was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original Super Mario Bros. game as Princess Toadstool. She is the princess regnant and head of state of the Mushroom Kingdom, where she resides in her castle along with Toads. Since her debut, she has appeared in the majority of Mario video games as the main female character and the romantic interest of Mario. She has been voiced by Samantha Kelly since 2007.

<i>Super Mario RPG</i> 1996 video game

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is a 1996 role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was the final Mario game for the SNES. The game was directed by Chihiro Fujioka and Yoshihiko Maekawa, produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, and scored by Yoko Shimomura.

<i>Donkey Kong Country</i> 1994 video game

Donkey Kong Country is a 1994 platform game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is a reboot of Nintendo's Donkey Kong franchise and follows the gorilla Donkey Kong and his nephew Diddy Kong as they set out to recover their stolen banana hoard from the crocodile King K. Rool and his army, the Kremlings. The player traverses 40 side-scrolling levels as they jump between platforms and avoid obstacles. They collect items, ride minecarts and animals, defeat enemies and bosses, and find secret bonus stages. In multiplayer modes, two players work cooperatively or race.

<i>The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time</i> 1998 video game

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is a 1998 action-adventure game by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in November 1998 and in PAL regions the following month. The game is the first in the Legend of Zelda series with 3D graphics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoko Shimomura</span> Japanese composer and pianist (born 1967)

Yoko Shimomura is a Japanese composer and pianist primarily known for her work in video games such as the Kingdom Hearts series. She graduated from the Osaka College of Music in 1988 and began working in the video game industry by joining Capcom the same year. She wrote music for several games there, including Final Fight, Street Fighter II, and The King of Dragons.

<i>Mega Man 2</i> 1988 video game

Mega Man 2 is a 1988 action-platform game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan in 1988 and in North America and PAL regions the following years. Mega Man 2 continues Mega Man's battle against the evil Dr. Wily and his rogue robots. It introduced graphical and gameplay changes, many of which became series staples.

Marvel Games is the licensing and publishing brand for video games based on Marvel properties, and is also the video game division of Disney Interactive. Before the incorporation of Marvel Games, video games based on Marvel properties released between 1982 and 1985 were handled by Marvel Comics Group, with Marvel video games from 1986 to 1998 being handled by Marvel Entertainment Group, while video games based on Marvel properties prior to the incorporation of Marvel Games were handled directly by Marvel Enterprises.

<i>Super Smash Bros. Melee</i> 2001 video game

Super Smash Bros. Melee is a 2001 crossover fighting video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the second installment in the Super Smash Bros. series. It features characters from Nintendo video game franchises such as Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Star Fox, Pokémon, and Donkey Kong among others. The stages and gameplay modes reference or take designs from these franchises as well.

<i>Batman: The Video Game</i> 1989 video game

Batman: The Video Game is a video game developed by Sunsoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System featuring the DC Comics character Batman, loosely based on the 1989 film of the same name. The game is a platformer featuring five levels.

<i>Super Mario Galaxy 2</i> 2010 video game

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a 2010 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was first announced at E3 2009 and is the sequel to 2007's Super Mario Galaxy. Much like the first game, the story follows Mario as he pursues the Koopa King, Bowser, into outer space, where he has imprisoned Princess Peach and taken control of the universe using Power Stars and Grand Stars. Mario must travel across various galaxies to recover the Power Stars in order to travel to the center of the universe and rescue Princess Peach.

<i>Hotline Miami</i> 2012 video game

Hotline Miami is a top-down shooter video game developed by Dennaton Games and published by Devolver Digital. It was released in October 2012 for Windows, followed by versions for OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita in 2013, then a PlayStation 4 port in 2014. Hotline Miami is one of the most influential and successful independently developed games and considered both one of the best video games ever made and to have one of the best video game soundtracks. It inspired other developers during the 2010s and contributed to the success of its publisher. By May 2015, it had sold 1.5 million copies.

<i>Super Mario Bros.</i> 1985 video game

Super Mario Bros. is a 1985 platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It is the successor to the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros. and the first game in the Super Mario series. It was originally released in September 1985 in Japan for the Family Computer; following a US test market release for the NES, it was converted to international arcades on the Nintendo VS. System in early 1986. The NES version received a wide release in North America that year and in PAL regions in 1987.

<i>Stardew Valley</i> 2016 video game

Stardew Valley is a 2016 farm life simulation role-playing video game developed by Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. Players take the role of a character who inherits their deceased grandfather's dilapidated farm in a place known as "Stardew Valley". The game was originally released for Windows in February 2016 before being ported to other platforms. Stardew Valley is an open-ended game, allowing players to grow crops, raise livestock, fish, cook, mine, forage, and socialize with the townspeople, including the ability to marry and have children. It allows up to eight players to play online together.

<i>Splatoon</i> Video game series

Splatoon is a third-person shooter video game franchise created by Hisashi Nogami and Shintaro Sato, and developed and owned by Nintendo. Set in the far future on a post-apocalyptic Earth inhabited by anthropomorphic marine animals, the series centers around terrestrial cephalopods known as Inklings and Octolings — based on squids and octopuses respectively — which can transform between humanoid and cephalopod forms at will. They frequently engage in turf war battles with each other and use a variety of weapons that produce and shoot colored ink while in humanoid form, or swim through and hide in solid surfaces covered in their own colored ink while in their cephalopodic forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lena Raine</span> American composer and producer (born 1984)

Lena Raine, also known as Lena Chappelle or Kuraine, is an American and Canadian composer, producer, and video game developer. Raine is best known for her work on the soundtracks of Minecraft, Celeste, and Guild Wars 2. She has composed music for various other video games, including Deltarune and Chicory: A Colorful Tale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polymega</span> Home video game console

Polymega is a home video game console developed by American company Playmaji, Inc. It is a retro gaming console offering backwards compatibility with several CD-based and cartridge-based platforms: PlayStation, TurboGrafx-CD, Neo Geo CD, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Sega Genesis, Sega 32X, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), and Nintendo 64. It includes a built-in CD drive, while separate add-ons known as Element Modules provide support for cartridge-based games.

References

  1. ↑ Shearon, Andrea (April 12, 2023). "The Super Mario Bros. Theme Is the First Video Game Music Enshrined in the National Recording Registry". IGN . Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Deane, Donald (October 4, 2013). "Nine Legitimately Awesome Video Game Soundtracks". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Stabler, Brad; Twells, John; Bowe, Miles; Wilson, Scott; Lea, Tom (April 28, 2015). "The 100 best video game soundtracks of all time". Fact . Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Gurwin, Gabe; Hicks, Michael (October 24, 2021). "The best video game soundtracks of all time". Digital Trends . Archived from the original on August 25, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "The Best Video Game Soundtracks of All Time". Spin . April 11, 2024. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Carnevale, Robert (August 30, 2018). "The 16 Best Video Game Soundtracks". Tom's Guide . Future plc. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Jensen, K. Thor (August 25, 2022). "The 25 Best Video Game Soundtracks Ever". PCMag . Archived from the original on March 2, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Bentley, James; West, Josh (June 25, 2022). "The 25 best video game soundtracks of all time". GamesRadar+ . Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Colliver, Jacob (March 1, 2023). "The 20 Greatest Video Game Soundtracks of All Time". Mixdown. Archived from the original on March 1, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Barker, Emily (July 20, 2015). "23 Of The Coolest Ever Video Game Soundtracks". NME . Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The 20 best video game soundtracks of all time". Classic FM. March 20, 2023. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Diver, Mike (September 16, 2013). "7 Of The Best: Video Game Soundtracks". Clash . Archived from the original on September 24, 2013. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Alderslade, Merlin (August 7, 2023). "The 10 greatest video game soundtracks ever". Metal Hammer . Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Petite, Steven (January 22, 2021). "Best Video Game Soundtracks: Where To Stream Them". GameSpot . Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "As 10 melhores trilhas sonoras de games de todos os tempos; veja vídeo" [The 10 best game soundtracks of all time; see video]. Universo Online (in Portuguese). Grupo Folha. July 2, 2021. Archived from the original on May 18, 2024. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Raynor, Kelsey (September 1, 2023). "The best video game soundtracks to revisit in 2023". VG247 . Archived from the original on September 3, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Arraz, Lucas (March 26, 2022). "As 20 melhores trilhas sonoras originais dos games" [The 20 best original game soundtracks]. Canaltech (in Portuguese). Magazine Luiza. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brandt, Oliver (August 10, 2024). "Video game music: the best soundtracks in gaming history". Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on August 10, 2024. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  19. 1 2 3 4 King, Candice (July 18, 2018). "Our Favourite Soundtracks in Video Games". Red Bull . Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Cunningham, John (July 16, 2023). "6 Best Video Game Soundtracks". Game Rant . Archived from the original on July 16, 2023. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Woodrow, Ryan (July 15, 2023). "The 10 best video game soundtracks of all time". USA Today . Archived from the original on July 22, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Carpou, Madeline (November 28, 2022). "The Best Video Game Soundtracks of All Time, Ranked". The Mary Sue . Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Martin, Garrett (May 5, 2020). "The Best videogame Soundtracks of All Time". Paste . Archived from the original on May 9, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  24. ↑ "American certifications – C418". Recording Industry Association of America . Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  25. ↑ Atkinson, Katie (May 15, 2022). "Here Are the 2022 Billboard Music Awards Winners: Full List". Billboard . Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  26. ↑ Conditt, Jessica (February 11, 2013). "Journey soundtrack loses Grammy to Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". Engadget . Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  27. ↑ Thomson, Cody Nery (March 31, 2023). "Titan Ice Does Science: Most Influential Gaming Soundtracks". NAG. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.