Modern video games feature some of the most beautiful, layered soundtracks to ever exist.
As an entertainment medium that thrives and depends on the full immersion of a gamer, it’s no wonder developers invest so deeply in ensuring their titles feature the best soundtracks possible.
Related
10 Classic Retro Games That Still Hold Up Today
Back in my day!
Before games had the capability to feature beautiful, sweeping, orchestral scores from the world’s finest composers, developers had to rely on a more rudimentary music option — the chiptune.
While more basic in design, there’s no denying that the chiptune era of games still managed to feature some of the most iconic and memorable music in video game history.
Let’s take a look at the 10 most legendary chiptune soundtracks that we’re all still getting stuck in our heads to this day.
10 F-Zero
(Un)Mute City
- Released
- August 23, 1991
- Engine
- game engine
- ESRB
- t
There isn’t another chiptune racing game with music as iconic as the original F-Zero on the Super Nintendo.
The theme songs for both Big Blue and Mute City are legendary, and have even been remade and re-released in modern titles such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros.
And while those two tracks boast the most well-remembered music in the title, don’t sleep on some of the others as well. The breakbeat-filled and almost eerie vibe of the Port Town theme is another clear standout.
The F-Zero soundtrack does a brilliant job of matching the speed of the racing in the game with the tempo and urgency of the soundtrack, making its music one for the chiptune record books.
9 Super Mario Bros. 3
Soundtrack Of A Stage Play
- Released
- October 23, 1988
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo R&D4
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- Engine
- Miyamoto’s
- ESRB
- e
- How Long To Beat
- 5 Hours
As the best 2D Super Mario game in existence, Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced a much more varied soundtrack to the franchise in comparison to the previous two titles.
The theme music of the newly introduced overworld in the game will forever be part of the deep subconscious of every Mario gamer on Earth.
The funny irony of this title is how the silent title screen is the polar opposite of the rest of the game’s vibe. Once pressing start, it launches into track after track of some of the most iconic music in chiptune history.
8 Sonic The Hedgehog 2
Music For Runners
- Franchise
- Sonic
- Released
- November 21, 1992
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- ESRB
- E for Everyone
- How Long To Beat
- 3 Hours
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the best-ranked 2D game in the franchise, and its simply awesome chiptune soundtrack factors heavily into this legendary platformer’s beloved status.
This is a game where it’s genuinely challenging to land on just one level’s soundtrack to highlight. So much of the music housed within Sonic 2 is etched into video game legend.
Related
10 Best Sonic Fangames You Need to Try
Sonic’s fan game community is crazy good, so let’s rank some of the best.
Every level is uniquely scored and does a masterful job of setting the mood of each new biome as you come to it.
If I had to pick one single standout, the record-scratching bop that is the Metropolis Zone theme song is tough to top.
7 Castlevania
Vampire Vibes
A franchise that’s been adapted into one of the best video game TV shows in recent memory, the original Castlevania from 1987 is one of gaming’s most important titles to ever exist.
Making up half of the “Metroidvania” moniker for an entire sub-genre of games, few others have ever had this type of influence.
While not typically considered the best overall game in the series (that would belong to Symphony of the Night), the original game does still boast the most iconic music Konami has ever put in a game.
The Stage 1 music, while debatably a little too happy and triumphant sounding, as you’re being charged by the undead, is an absolute banger of a song and stands out as an integral piece of one of the most iconic soundtracks ever.
6 Super Mario World
Mario Goes Global
- Released
- August 23, 1991
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- ESRB
- E For Everyone
- How Long To Beat
- 5 Hours
At the time of its release, Super Mario World was the most expansive game in the series yet. Leaving the Mushroom Kingdom behind, the game followed Mario and Luigi to Dinosaur Land for their next heroic adventure.
This change in geography also lent itself wonderfully to the creation of brand-new music and theme songs throughout the game that meshed beautifully with this new, more exotic setting.
The Ghost House theme is actually scary; the underground and underwater themes fit their locations perfectly, and every new section of the map discovered unlocks more and more wonderful chiptune tracks to jump around to. Dino-mite!
5 Mega Man II
He’s Blue (Da Ba Dee)
Typically ranked as the best game in the Mega Man franchise, it’s no surprise that Mega Man II boasts the most well-remembered chiptune soundtrack of the bunch as well.
The short but sweet Game Start and Stage Clear jingles are iconic enough on their own to warrant Mega Man II a spot on this list. But stopping there sells short so many other stellar, legendary tracks featured throughout the game.
The Flash Man Stage theme is an obvious standout and immediately evokes vibes of the modern classic RPG Undertale, proving its influence and importance in gaming history cannot be undersold.
4 Pokémon Red, Blue, & Green
A Multimedia Juggernaut
- Released
- February 27, 1996
- Engine
- unity
- ESRB
- e
- How Long To Beat
- 27 hours
- GameRankings Rating
- 88%
The original Pokémon titles had been the best-selling in the series for nearly 30 years until they were finally dethroned by Scarlet and Violet recently.
Considering Pokémon’s worldwide phenomenon status during this entire period of time, it’s extremely impressive that the OG games sat at the top of the throne for so long.
Undeniably, the chiptune soundtracks of these first titles shaped the childhoods of millions upon millions of kids around the globe.
Many of these tracks later appeared in the hugely popular anime TV series, in movies, and in countless spin-offs. The soundtrack of Pokémon Red, Blue, and Green really started it all.
This one is surely one of the very best, like no one ever was.
3 The Legend Of Zelda
This Soundtrack (Hy)Rules
- Released
- February 21, 1986
- Engine
- Havok
- ESRB
- E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 8 Hours
The game that launched our beloved Link to stardom, The Legend of Zelda’s chiptune soundtrack still holds up incredibly well to this very day.
With so many musical themes and cues that continue on in the franchise in modern games as well, 1986’s OG title is coming up on 40 years of prolific influence.
Related
The Complete Legend of Zelda Timeline, Explained
To better understand the legendary universe of The Legend of Zelda, it’s crucial to comprehend Hyrulean lore and the famous timeline.
There are undoubtedly other iconic soundtracks in this series that deserve their time to shine as well.
However, so much of this game’s music carries on to future, legendary games in the Zelda lineage that it simply has to be the official representative of Hyrule’s remarkable music.
2 Tetris (1989)
From Russia With Love(ly Music)
- Franchise
- Tetris
- Released
- July 31, 1989
- ESRB
- e
- How Long To Beat
- 3 Hours
Tetris is a video game series with eternal relevance. The 1989 Game Boy version of the Russian smash hit launched the already popular puzzle game into what would eventually turn into the second most popular video game franchise of all time.
With the limited memory of an original Game Boy cartridge, developers were even more limited with the amount of musical content they could squeeze into a game. This worked in Tetris’ favor.
The upbeat, catchy, Russian-influenced song playing in the background of the Game Boy version of Tetris became an absolute earworm and is still hummed by millions of gamers around the globe daily some 36 years later.
1 Super Mario Bros.
The Mozart Of Video Game Music
- Released
- November 17, 1985
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo R&D4
- Engine
- miyamoto
- ESRB
- e
- How Long To Beat
- 2 Hours
Chiptune music aside, the soundtrack of Super Mario Bros. on the NES is the most iconic video game soundtrack of all time, period.
Though not the first title Mario appeared in, Super Mario Bros. was the one that got our beloved plumber into seemingly every living room in the world.
To this day, Super Mario is the #1 best-selling video game franchise in existence, so there’s no other reasonable answer for the most memorable chiptune music. The transition from World 1-1’s upbeat, happy-go-lucky theme to the underground, bass-driven music of World 1-2 will never be surpassed.
This chiptune soundtrack served as the foundation for Mario music for decades to come, and players of all ages can still connect some of their fondest early gaming memories to its prolific tunes.
Next
10 Best Classic Metroidvanias You Need To Play
These are the greatest classic Metroidvanias that helped establish the genre.
