Recommended video game music: compelling masterpieces and popular tracks you’ll want to listen to.

20:00Todaka Ikusei

I had the theme song from Animal Crossing: New Horizons performed.

This is the field BGM that plays in the village for only one hour from 8:00 PM in the Nintendo DS game Animal Crossing: Wild World.

The music changes every hour, so many people probably turned on the game just to listen to it.

It’s a track that evokes the feeling of night beginning to fall.

Happy KitchenTsutsumi Kyohei

02 Menu Screen - Happy Kitchen

This is a piece used in Itadaki Street 2: The Neon Sign Is Rose-Colored from the Itadaki Street series, which has a solid presence in the board game genre.

In addition to its pop and gentle melody, it’s noteworthy that the sound was produced by Kyōhei Tsutsumi, a heavyweight in the Japanese music industry.

Prince Mash Battle!Sekigawa Yoshito, Komai Kazuki, Isobe Fumihiro

[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Remake] Prince Mush Battle [BGM/Gameplay Video]

A dynamic and dramatic track starring electric guitar and drums.

Created by Yoshito Sekigawa, Kazuki Komai, and Fumihiro Isobe, it was produced as background music for an additional secret boss battle in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on Nintendo Switch.

Its progressive metal-style, fiery performance brilliantly sets the stage for an epic showdown.

A must-listen for gamers seeking a heated battle.

Battle: VS Roadblazernaruke michiko

[Battle BGM] Battle - VS Roadblazer (Wild Arms 2)

Among the RPGs that represent the PlayStation, Wild Arms 2—often praised as the best in the series—still commands strong support from fans largely because of this piece of music.

From the breathtaking final scene, the director’s decision to bring in this track and the composer’s talent in meeting that vision are nothing short of genius.

Dragon — MizuchiŌshima Hiroyuki

Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin OST – Ryū — Mizuchi — (Profane Deity) – Extended

An awe-inspiring final battle theme woven from the resonance of taiko drums and a driving, high-speed rhythm.

It’s the climactic track from the 2020 Japan-inspired action RPG “Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin,” composed by Hiroyuki Oshima.

Powerful performances on traditional Japanese instruments intertwine with modern arrangements to conjure a mythic world.

The tense, dramatic sound that underscores the game’s peak moments makes it perfect for boosting your motivation.

Beast Ganon BattleKataoka Mao

Beast Ganon Battle

This is a piece woven from grand piano and rugged strings.

Composed by Nintendo’s Mao Katoaka, it’s the track that colored the final boss battle in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and is included on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Original Soundtrack.

With its dynamic development, the piece is highly effective at stoking the player’s fighting spirit.

It fully conveys, through music, the climactic showdown fought on horseback.

Perfect for when you want to fire yourself up!

At the summit of this worldKanasaki Takeshi

Fire Emblem: Three Houses — At the Peak of This World: Empire Final Boss BGM

This is a grand battle BGM whose overwhelming orchestral presence stirs the heart.

Composed by Takeshi Kanazaki, it vividly colored the final battle of Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

With the weighty resonance of strings and the powerful sonority of brass, it conveys the protagonist’s resolve as they face a fateful duel with an old friend.

It’s a track that will resonate when you want to awaken the fighting spirit within, or when you’re confronting a major obstacle in life.