Gaming's greatest music and tunes

Hoppy dance tracks to classical symphonic arrangements. Substack writers and the ABC Game Show's Meena Shamaly share their favourite gaming bangers.

This article is part of a quarterly series I’m launching The Greatest In Gaming, where I poll writers across Substack and the broader community on a unique aspect of gaming that’s special to them. You can find the last piece on gaming’s greatest love stories here.

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While you might not hear video game music on the global charts, it's becoming difficult to deny its popularity outside of games.

Toby Fox’s Undertale is estimated to have sold around 8 million copies. Yet on Spotify, one of its tracks — Megalovania — has been streamed over 193 million times, with a further 183 million views on YouTube. That pales in comparison to some of the world’s most popular tracks, which have billions of streams, but it’s still far, far more than most songs receive.

The ABC’s Meena Shamaly built his career as host of ABC Classic’s Game Show off the back of this trend. It’s a radio program dedicated to showcasing video game music — Australia’s answer to similar shows that have emerged around the world over the past decade.

In addition to impressive streaming numbers, Shamaly points to the rise of video game–inspired orchestral performances as another sign of growing popularity. Indie Symphony, which held its debut concert in Melbourne in 2023, came close to selling out. “It was successful enough for them to do it again,” he says, pointing to increasing frequency of video game related orchestra events.

As with everything in gaming, the music is incredibly diverse; from high-energy dance tracks through to classical arrangements. For instance, Shamaly’s favourite piece is a choral requiem: a funeral composition by Jesper Kyd used as the title theme in Hitman 2 — not something you’d necessarily associate with video games.

“It’s one of the first times in a video game I heard the might of a full symphonic choir,” he says. It was part of the inspiration behind his research into the evolution of video game music, which eventually led him to host Game Show on ABC Classic.

The Substack community was equally diverse with their choices. When asked, here’s what they had to say about their favourite — or most memorable — pieces of music from video games.

Burning Hearts ～炎のANGEL～, Burning Rangers (1998)

By M. Campassi, The Boss Level

Burning Hearts ～炎のANGEL～ is my favorite game theme of all time and I never even finished Burning Rangers. I didn’t grow up with a Saturn, but the moment I heard Takenobu Mitsuyoshi’s powerful vocals and those mid-90s anime-inspired arrangements, I was hooked. It was bold, energetic, and totally unlike anything I expected from a game soundtrack. I already admired Take-san’s work from Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter, but Burning Hearts was on a whole different level. This tune moved me in ways I didn’t expect. It sounded like the opening to an anime you wish existed, inspiring courage, heroism, and emotion. Even today, it gives me chills. It’s one of those rare songs that transcend the game and stand on their own as an anthem. Needless to say, that track made me a fan for life.

Children of the Omnissiah, Warhammer 40K: Mechanicus (2018)

By Ashlander, Ashlander Analysis

There are few musical pieces as perfect as Children of the Omnissiah from Warhammer 40K: Mechanicus. I use the word ‘perfect’ because everything about this track is immaculate: the haunting vocals, the hypnotic melody, even the title, which refers to the game’s protagonists, a pious Tech-Priest expedition exploring the depths of an alien tomb.

What is most iconic about this track is the combination of electronic synth music with choral and organ music, the latter recorded on a real church organ. The combination of human voices and synthetic notes suggests the mingling of flesh and metal: for the cyborg Tech-Priests, this is a sacred and beautiful union, and Children of the Omnissiah conveys that perspective.

Although Mechanicus was by no means the first 40K game to feature beautiful music, it might have been the first to receive mainstream recognition for its originality and artistic qualities. As a long-time fan of 40K, this meant a lot to me, as the setting is so often dismissed as lowbrow and derivative, yet Mechanicus showed otherwise.

Midna's Lament, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006)

By Dragon Writer Luc, The Dragon’s Den and The Dragon’s Hoard

"Midna's Lament" from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is, thematically, one of the best songs for the time in which it’s played. The first half of the game is spent gathering armor for Midna so she can use the full power of her ancestors to face down the usurper, Zant. But when he surprises her at a spirit spring, he shows her that the armor is not enough to win, and deals a nigh deadly blow and seals Link’s power with dark magic. With Midna despairing and on death’s door, we hear this song as Link races to find a cure, or at least a path forward, following Midna’s gasped directions to the princess locked in Hyrule Castle.

The only shame is that the programmers forgot to make the song override the combat theme whenever an enemy targets you. Twilight Princess was my first Zelda game, and my first game with solid storytelling. This theme helped to solidify the game among my favorites.

Herald of Darkness, Alan Wake 2 (2023)

By The Pneumanaut, The Pneumanaut

Show me the Champion of Light! And I’ll show you…. A damn good video game song!

We should have expected Alan Wake II to include something kind of musical extravaganza after the first game’s rollicking, rock-n-roll zombie-shadow-shoot ‘em up showstopper segment. But somehow, none of us were prepared for Old Gods of Asgard (real name: Poets of the Fall) to take things to the next level with their standout in-game performance of this killer track. You play as Alan experiencing a musical rendition of his own life story up to that moment, while huge screens on your own screen play the band playing the song you’re hearing…it’s a serious mindf***. And, in typical Remedy Entertainment fashion, the partition between worlds was blurred in newly strange ways when the Old Gods ‘Rebirth - Greatest Hits’ album actually charted on real-life iTunes for a while! Very meta. Very cool! Can’t wait to see how they top themselves in Alan Wake 3. Maybe we’ll get an actual live performance by the Old Gods…oh wait they did that at the 2024 game awards!

To Far Shores, Tunic (2022)

By Josh Vasquez, Attack. Item. Run.

What starts as a sweeping ballad of piano and electronics, the opening track of Tunic’s soundtrack, “To Far Shores,” quickly takes a hard minor turn, becoming a frantic adventure. High pitched blips ping back and forth like signals from other worlds. We settle back into the piano having been whisked away onto our journey.

The OST comes full circle with the song’s reprise. “From Far Shores” is the stripped down penultimate track in the almost three hour endeavor. Like the soundtrack opener, it evokes a call from far beyond the known. Now we have a better understanding. The shore from which the call came housed the memories and experiences which make up the self. The call is both to and from us, constantly in conversation, leading, following, understanding.

(Editors Note: Josh also recently wrote about how he fell in love with Tunic’s soundtrack, but bounced straight off the game. You can read that piece here.)

Omen, Final Fantasy VI (1994)

By The Videogame Storyteller, The Videogame Storyteller

Final Fantasy VI’s music has the power to take us places whose emotional resonance fails to be captured by something as restrictive as words.

With that said, let me now try to explain to you the feeling I have when listening to Omen —the multi-part pocket symphony from legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu which serves as the hauntingly beautiful opening track for Final Fantasy VI.

Omen is a fable. It is a thunderstorm and flood. It remembers the dying breath of a long-forgotten past and screams the threat of oncoming ruin. Yet it is also regrowth and hope. The faintest whisper of an old power, slowly building strength and marching across the land to restore balance to this world.

Omen is fantasy, but not final. For this transcendent piece of 16-bit music signals the beginning of a new adventure. One that you’re going to have to keep playing to find out what happens next.

The Nightingale, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)

By Katya Ryabova, Playing This Week

"Nice tune,"—muttered Geralt to himself while strolling by a picturesque town square in the capital of Toussaint, Beauclair, in the Blood and Wine DLC. "Nice tune,"—I said to myself while playing The Witcher 3 all these years ago, not yet knowing the impact the game would have and how much my life would intertwine with its soundtrack.

While all of it is spectacular and worth a listen, I can single out two tracks especially. One, The Nightingale, is an upbeat tune with a hint of yearning that I have always associated with hope and the promise of something more. It is a melody of cheer and comfort without stagnation—and my ringtone of choice for five years and counting.

The other, Kaer Morhen, is a melancholy orchestral ballad fit for the titular location in the game. It is a little sad, but mostly just beautiful. It speaks to solitude and peace, calm among the storm, and happiness found when everything else is dark. This is why it was the track I walked down the aisle to, and listening to it now brings me back to the joy and happiness of my wedding day.

Dearly Beloved, Kingdom Hearts (2002)

By Brad Kabosky, Short and Sweet Fiction from B.Y.C. Connections

Yoko Shimomura has something special when a slow piano melody brings nostalgia and emotions from an in-game menu theme. Dearly Beloved and its many variations take you to a feeling of peace and tranquility as you leave the menu screen untouched for hours. It’s one of the first things I remember when firing up Kingdom Hearts as a kid, and I hope for many others as well.

Dearly Beloved has made its way into our lives. We find videos online of people playing the piano in public spaces and at weddings, attracting everyone to the music. Non-gamers would find this song a beautiful melody, while Kingdom Hearts fans are on a sandy beach on Destiny Islands, reminiscing about the days when we first discovered the series.

Sweden, Minecraft (2009)

By Oscar Robinson, Oscar J Substack

C418’s original Minecraft soundtrack is a masterclass in video game music that fits seamlessly into whatever you’re doing (mining or crafting, most likely) without intruding on the moment-to-moment experience.

It somehow manages to do this, however, not by being unremarkable – but by being deeply emotional. Sweden (the song, not the country) is the perfect example of that.

It’s wistful, melancholic, almost mournful – and yet there’s a hint of quiet hope.

It’s a recipe that seems to encapsulate the feelings that Minecraft can give you, if you catch the bug – wanderlust, cautious optimism, and (crucially) nostalgia.

My opinion of this song might be, frankly, wrong. It could simply be a product of remembering the simpler times when building a house with my friends after school was the biggest thing I had to worry about.

But even if this is just the nostalgia talking, Sweden stands out even among its peers.

Not bad for a block game.

The Opened Way, Shadow of The Colossus (2005)

By David Jagneaux, Jagger Byte

Shadow of the Colossus is as simple as it is powerful. There is very little dialogue in the entire adventure and you're left unsure of your place in the world other than knowing you need to slay enormous creatures in an effort to save the life of a young maiden. What unfolds is heartbreaking and beautiful, just like the incredible score that backs it all.

What makes this particular song special is the way it's used in the game. Many games of this type might deploy a boss theme during big fights, but since the entire game is just a series of boss fights, that would get repetitive. Instead, thSee more

Shadow of the Colossus' soundtrack is incredible on its own, and this track in particular really stands out, but it needs to be experienced to truly be loved so I sincerely implore you to try out the PS4 remake version of the game if you haven't already. It's a masterpiece.

Body In Motion, WipEout® 2097 (1996)

By Pixel Fix, Pixel Fix

In ’96, futuristic racer Wipeout 2097 burst onto the PS1 scene blowing our minds with a degree of immersion previously unknown. It wasn’t exceptional for its slick 3D graphics or sharp controls, but for the synergy of its elements. Wipeout 2097 wasn’t played, it was experienced and the soundtrack was its beating heart.

In-house game composer Tim Wright a.k.a Cold Storage bravely put his own electronic tracks alongside licensed music from EDM superstars The Prodigy, Leftfield and Underworld, and they stood tall. My favourite was synth anthem Body in Motion, which builds in intensity alongside the on-screen racing and provides a dark backdrop for menacing sound and voice effects.

I, and those who filled the sofa beside me, loved Wipeout 2097 because it was ours, our songs, our wins and eliminations and for one rapid moment, our lives synchronised with its thumping beats.

Dune 2000 Soundtrack, Dune 2000 (1998)

By Dune Navigator Martin, Dune Navigator

I still get goosebumps thinking about Frank Klepacki's masterpiece of industrial-tinged desert warfare music. Those grinding mechanical beats pushed through my sound card created something truly magical - and just as the game itself, it was new and innovative.

The way "Attack on Arrakis" kicks in during gameplay? Pure adrenaline. And don't even get me started on "The Fremen" with those haunting desert melodies that somehow make you feel both powerful and doomed while commanding your forces across the sands of Arrakis.

What I love most is how the music actually enhances the gameplay. The relentless percussion in "Fight for Power" mirrors the rhythm of the RTS while those ominous synth lines in "Land of Sand" remind you of the 1984 Lynch adaptation. Sure, the game had its flaws (hello pathfinding issues), but the soundtrack? Absolutely flawless.

All The Earth, Everybody Has Gone To Rapture (2015)

By Laura Bibby, Baby Gamer

I loved the score long before I ever played the game it was written for. Jessica Curry’s lush, choral music found its way into my writing playlist alongside other video game music thanks to an algorithm that was finally on my side. But it wasn’t until one of her songs completely influenced a scene in the story I was writing that I realised the impact "Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture" was having on me. When I finally played the game and heard the music in the context it was written for, I was completely beguiled. These otherworldly, melancholy songs gave the gentle pastoral setting of the game a completely different magnitude. The lyrics to "All The Earth" dripped with biblical references as tears dripped down my face while the sun set on a town eerily empty of its inhabitants.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥
𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘖 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥?
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳
𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘮𝘦?

The Best Is Yet To Come, Metal Gear Solid (1998)

By Scanlines, Scanlines’ Journal

Metal Gear Solid 1 isn't my favourite game in the series; the best certainly was yet to come, with Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater being my favourite video game of all time but I do think the original game has the most hard-hitting message. MGS1 covers many themes: nuclear disarmament, the (at the time) coming new millennium, it engages my Russian Studies background with its insight into the former-USSR in the 1990's but the fundamental message of the game to me is that you can be more than the sum of your parts and that even a monster like Solid Snake doesn't have a predetermined fate.

The lyrics of The Best Is Yet To Come are all about traumatic memories but also of remembering simpler times and the promise that letting go of pain can bring a better future. To me the song is a reminder in dark times that the future isn't written.

Opening - Bombing Mission, Final Fantasy VII (1997)

By The Video Game Library, The Video Game Library

Nobuo Uematsu’s “Opening - Bombing Mission” track was my introduction.

A 45-second pan through the stars, backed by ambient swells. Aerith’s face. The fate of the cosmos is intrinsically connected to the game’s characters. Soft synths. Bells. A sense of something ancient and powerful. Punctuating drums. The pulse of industry. As the camera pulls back through the mako to reveal Midgar, the music crescendos into a triumphant orchestral fanfare, perfectly timed with the game’s iconic logo. Chills. The city glows. Then, flashes of a train roaring to its station. The brakes screech…metal on metal. The rhythm kicks into overdrive, adrenaline building. A heart-pounding tempo re-sets the stage, propelling the first mission relentlessly. Persisting through the battles. Through the dialogue. Through the cutscenes.

It’s more than background music—it’s storytelling. It carries you from awe to urgency. It oozes mystery, momentum and meaning. And it was in these first cinematic moments, Final Fantasy VII had solidified itself in my eyes as the greatest game of all time.

Live Will Change, Persona 5 (2016)

By Cat, Cat’s Controller Corner

Persona 5, a game about fighting against the establishment. All of the music in the game builds on that, but none as much as Life Will Change. It's a song designed to pump you up while you finish a Palace to change the target's heart and it does that job perfectly.

The game helped me get through a really tough period in my life. I was in recovery at home from an MS related Hospital visit and playing Persona 5 gave me an escape, a safe space. Every time the song played it made me want to...well...change my life. To fight to be a better person. Video Game music isn't about filling an audio space, it's about making you feel emotions. Life Will Change does that and then every time you hear it you get taken back to those emotions, that desire to fight, even years later.

Terra’s Theme, Final Fantasy VI (1994)

By InGameScientist, Just One More Turn

The first minute of this orchestral version of is the very definition of epic game music. The slow build of the entire orchestra ends with a bit of a question, as the familiar rhythm of walking Magitek armor begins. It's the opening theme from Final Fantasy VI, the one heard while three hulking armors are trudging through the snow.

This one is particularly special as a demonstration of how 16-bit audio can be reimagined to be played by an orchestra. I spent countless hours writing my own sheet music for the main theme, long before the era of the internet. And as I listen to it now, it still gives me goosebumps as I imagine it filling the spaces of a grand concert hall.

Lucky Orb, Cytus II (2018)

By Kayla Medica, Mehdeeka

I'm not musically gifted, so getting into rhythm games was a real challenge for me. Cytus and Cytus II sucked me right in though. I was playing Cytus II as it was being released, with new characters, tracks, and storylines and the expansive worldbuilding was an incredible experience to be swept up in. My favourite tracks came from the characters Neko and Robo Head, however if I had to pick one song it's Lucky Orb by Hatsune Miku - that's right, there was an in-game vocaloid tie-in! I still regularly listen to the soundtrack whenever I need to get hyped up.

Each of the characters have very different music styles, from rock to EDM to vocaloid, so I'd recommend giving it a go to see who you mesh with.

Main Theme, Mass Effect (2007)

By Sam Shedden, Melbourne Snap

There is an abundance of phenomenal gaming soundtracks out there. The scores of great games capture you and pull you into their fictional world. Nothing does that better than the main intro theme from Mass Effect 1.

From the very first notes, I’m transported back to the opening scene of the 2007 sci-fi RPG. The player character, Commander Shepard, stares out the window at a blue marble Earth below. “Well, what about Shepard?” is overheard, the player’s chosen backstory is concisely explained and the music builds to a dramatic jingoistic crescendo.

It’s one of the most evocative intros in gaming. It’s also brilliantly succinct storytelling. In just over two minutes you find out who the hero is, tour your ship, see your crew mates and get an awesome demonstration of the game’s titanic Mass Effect Relays in action (basically giant hyperspace canons).

The synth-heavy intro, steadily building, sets the stage for something vast, mysterious, and full of consequence. Even now, decades since I first played it, the score pumps me up. It’s not just background music, it’s the powerful trigger for the escapism I sought from gaming back then.

Ronfaure, Final Fantasy XI (2002)

By Paul Shkreli, Boss Fights

Music and memory are intimately related, with scores of studies measuring the impact music has on memory (and vice versa). Music can transport us through time, it can help us increase our memory, and even has the power to heal. One particularly fond musical memory I have in gaming is courtesy of Final Fantasy XI, the long-running MMO.

Months after its launch in the states, I was stuck at home in the summer with my mom who was managing the family restaurant. I would lumber into the diner in the afternoons to spend time with her, bringing in my PS2 (modem and all) into the back office at the restaurant. There, I would hog the second phone line, being interrupted every once in a while so a credit card order could go through. Lost in the immersive world of Vanadiel was always easy, levelling up my Red Mage and finally clutching a sub-job or chocobo.

What I remember the most about those weeks, though, are the tunes. I will always have such fond memories of some of the zones right outside the starter towns - Gustaberg and Ronfaure in particular. I must've spent dozens of hours in that summer holed up in the craggy wastes of Gustaberg or the lush forests. Slaying untold worms and rabbits might not have been that exciting, but the flutes of Ronfaure are permanently downloaded to my brain. Hearing the song on my playlist - either the original or the gorgeous Distant Worlds version - always brings me comfort. I can remember the sounds and smells of playing the game in the back office 20 years ago. Even just for a moment, I'm also able to remember just who I was back then, too.

Stickerbush Symphony, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest

By Harrison Polites, Infinite Lives

There’s so many incredible tunes in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest, many of which I happily listen to on repeat as I work.

But, David Wise’s Stickerbush Symphony is a standout for me. There’s something almost melancholic about it for me. Hopeful, but sad. It reminds me of a simpler time where my greatest frustration in life was avoiding the brambles in the tricky levels that accompanied this tune.

While the original suites the game to a tee, these days, I’m a little more partial to remixes or orchestral arrangements of the tune — which I’ve included above. While the old version is still a classic, the a remaster with a full band feels like the full realisation of track.

If you are after an original that has aged well, give Forest Interlude a listen.

What’s your favourite video game tune? Did one of the writers here pick it? Or was it missed? Also, what topic should I cover next? Let me know in the comments.