10 of the Best - Original Game Music

I have had the pleasure over my 20+ years of gaming to have heard some very memorable video game music. In this blog I have pieced together 10 of my favourite video game tracks of all time.

Nier - Song of the Ancients (Devola)
Nier was overlooked by most and derided by some for its bland graphics and repetitive nature. I stumbled upon the music purely by chance one day and was so enchanted that I resolved to play the game. It took me a while to hunt it down, but I'm glad I managed to find a copy. As well as having an excellent soundtrack, the story is also one of the most unique of recent times.


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Psyvariar 2 - Weakboson/Gorgecity
This Dreamcast bullet hell shooter boasted some clever game mechanics and some of the most intense bullet patterns I've ever witnessed. You�ll be restarting each level a hundred times over till you master it, but with classic tunes such as this pumping away in the background you almost won�t mind!


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Ikaruga - Ideal
Another Dreamcast title with an amazing soundtrack. Treasure�s bullet absorption shooter is a classic for its incredible gameplay as well as its quality musical offerings.


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ESWAT - Boss Theme 1
Remember the first time you took down a helicopter with a handgun? I do. Mostly thanks to this tune. Infectious.


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Axelay - Stage 2
This track supplements one of my all-time favourite video game stages. Battle your way through an O'Neill cylinder and observe the destruction that has befallen the residents as you inch your way to the final showdown with an ED209�look-a-like boss.


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Final Fantasy - JENOVA and Blinded by Light
It was hard to choose my favourites from a franchise that is so well known for having consistently impressive background music. Jenova wins its place for having the hair on the back of neck stand up the first time I heard it (there is a cracking remix by Rameses B available on Youtube) and the orchestral FFXIII battle theme, despite coming from a title that thoroughly disappointed me, made me hunt down a copy of the game�s OST just so I could play the track on loop continuously. Special mention to the Jecht battle theme from FFX and One Winged Angel.




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Castlevania - Bloody Tears and Revenge
Like Final Fantasy, Castlevania has a strong history of memorable soundtracks. Again it was hard to choose from the many great tunes on offer but I plumped for the Castlevania IV version of Bloody Tears � which, like the Axelay choice in this list, supplements one of my all-time favourite stages, the Clock Tower � which I'm sure everyone will recognise and Revenge from Castlevania: The Adventure on Game Boy. I remember the stage this music is associated with less than fondly as the difficulty was brutal (I was about 7 at the time and I shed a few tears of frustration thanks to those damned precision jumps!), but the track that plays with it lives long in the memory for other reasons.




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F-Zero - Big Blue
A day at the beach in your futuristic motor vehicle, soaking up the sun and flashing a wink at the near naked honeys as you blast past them at 1,000 miles per hour on your way to an F-Zero championship trophy. How could things get any better? By having this song playing as you do so. An absolute corker of a tune. I chose the SNES version as my favourite.



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Obviously video game music is subjective and people will have wildly varying opinions on the offerings I have laid forth in this blog. Do you agree with my choices or not? Do you hate any of the songs on this list and if so, why?


Now is your chance � what are your favourite original video game musical tracks? I'm very excited to read and hear other people�s choices!

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