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

The sun rises.Kondō Rei

Okami - The Sun Rises

From the action epic Okami, developed by Clover Studio.

This track plays during the final battle of a game richly infused with Japanese mythology and folklore, and it remains a beloved classic even now, roughly ten years after its release.

MegalovaniaToby Fox

100. MEGALOVANIA (UNDERTALE Soundtrack) – Toby Fox

This piece is known as one of the most popular tracks in video game music.

It features a distinctive riff and an unpredictable bassline, earning high praise from many critics.

Composed by Toby Fox in 2008, it became widely known after being used in the game Undertale in September 2015.

It heightens the tension of the battle with Sans and has contributed to the game’s popularity.

It’s widely used on social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok, appearing in various remixes and memes.

Even those who haven’t played the game are sure to feel their hearts race when they hear it.

Those who bear the name even furtherHiramatsu Kenji

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – OST “Those Who Bear the Name (Further)”

Known as a masterpiece of video game music, this track seamlessly fuses hard rock sounds with anime-inspired elements.

Created by Kenji Hiramatsu, it appears on the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Original Soundtrack and enhances the epic battles against unique monsters.

Its two-part structure skillfully heightens both excitement and tension, deepening the game’s worldbuilding.

Its popularity endures, having also been used in the “Super Smash Bros.

Ultimate” fighter reveal trailer.

Highly recommended for those who want to amplify battles against formidable foes in-game or simply enjoy grand, cinematic music.

Septette for the Dead PrincessZUN & Shanghai Arisu Gengakudan

Touhou original track: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil Stage 6 Boss Remilia Theme - Septette for the Dead Princess

This is the track that plays on Stage 6, the final stage on Normal mode, in the shooting game Touhou: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.

It’s a theme inspired by Remilia Scarlet—the final boss and mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, which serves as the setting—and it beautifully fuses elegance with cruelty.

sewerageItou Kenji

[Video Soundtrack] Horrible Shadow [Romancing SaGa]

From Square’s classic series, the debut title Romancing SaGa.

This track plays in dungeons like the Estamir Sewers, and despite its title, it’s so unbelievably cool that it’s been praised online as “the coolest sewer in the world.”

Adventure journeysugiyama kouichi

[DRAGON QUEST III] Adventure Journey (Famicom version)

This is a piece from Dragon Quest III, part of the nationally beloved Dragon Quest RPG series.

Even people who haven’t played the game have likely heard this super-famous track somewhere, and that sense of adventure you feel when the hero first steps out onto the field is indelibly etched in your heart along with this music.

Frog ThemeMitsuda Yasunori

Frog Theme

Among the game music composed by Yasunori Mitsuda, this is a particularly memorable piece.

It features a grand, orchestral style that evokes the atmosphere of a hero’s march.

Included on the soundtrack for Chrono Trigger, released in 1995, it vividly conveys an important character’s inner conflict and resolve.

Blending a melancholic melody with a sense of bravado, the piece portrays the figure of a medieval knight while also emphasizing a tragic past and inner strength.

It’s a track I recommend not only to game fans but also to lovers of classical and film music.