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

To the ends of the wildernessnaruke michiko

[Game Music] Wild Arms ♪ To the Ends of the Wasteland

Wild Arms, famed as an RPG set in the wilderness, features this as the opening theme of its landmark first installment.

Built around guitar and whistle, it truly evokes the image of the open wilds.

It portrays a man and a woman among three protagonists who, guided by fate, meet and uncover the truth of their world.

Go away.Suzuki Keiichi, Tanaka Hirokazu

MOTHER 2 - Please Disappear [Audio]

The MOTHER series is famous for having its scenarios written by Shigesato Itoi.

Among them, MOTHER 2 features a particularly standout track whose dramatic shift in the latter half—unimaginable from its Famicom-style intro—helps make the atmosphere of the final boss battle even more intense.

Clan of Heaven and EarthShozhi Ro, Nakamura Kozo, Saito Mikio, Sano Tomoko

A track from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, released on the PC Engine.

Symbolizing Richter Belmont, the strongest man of the Belmont clan, this classic—later arranged in subsequent series entries and even pachislot—continues to captivate countless fans to this day.

Doodle NotebookZUNTATA

Doodle Notebook

Rakugaki Kingdom, which featured illustrations created by Studio Ghibli, became a hot topic.

Its innovative system—where characters you draw step out of the picture and fight—drew a lot of attention.

You can draw each part separately, like the head, torso, and tail, which really sparks your creative drive.

Dreams and hopeToby Fox

Dreams and hope

This is battle music that draws you in with powerful arrangement and dramatic development.

It’s a track from the American indie game UNDERTALE, released in September 2015.

In the game, it’s used during the climactic scene of the “True Pacifist Route,” in the final boss battle.

Its appeal lies in a bold sound that fuses various genres such as chiptune, orchestral, and techno.

It was also included as downloadable content for the action game Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun! on Nintendo Switch, and is loved by a wide range of game fans.

It’s a recommended song for when you want to fire yourself up or need the courage to face a challenge.

Heavenly Prayersugiyama kouichi

Heavenly Prayer: Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest IX

A sacred piece from Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, released in July 2009, that’s sure to move any fan.

Composed as the BGM for the Celestrians’ realm where players spend much of the early story, it unfolds from a harp prelude into a majestic yet somehow poignant melody.

It seems to carry the tenderness and sorrow of the angels watching over the world, and every listen tightens my chest.

The piece was later used at key moments in Dragon Quest X as well, moving many fans all over again.

Fire Emblem Themetsujiyoko yuka

Fire Emblem Theme

It’s a piece of music used in the openings of most games in Nintendo’s Fire Emblem series, and it’s also well known for the fact that a version with Japanese lyrics was played in the commercial for the first title, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.