100 Most Iconic Video Game Songs (1980-2018)

This is a list of the 100 most iconic video game songs that everyone should know!

Iconic : Widely recognized and acknowledged

Although I tried my hardest to be objective, it will always be the nature of something like this to be biased. I have consulted with other people and pooled thoughts regarding potentially iconic songs I'm unfamiliar with, but it was difficult to fully separate my nostalgia from logic. Nevertheless, enjoy. :)

I've made 2 other iconic video game lists, and I plan on making more! Subscribe to help me out!

Shout out to my friend for being my Nintendo consultant, as well as helping me in constructing the list.

Also, a lot of these clips are from World of Longplays.

Honorable Mentions:
The Dark World - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Simian Segue - Donkey Kong Country (In hindsight, this should probably be on the list)
Corridors of Time - Chrono Trigger (I really wanted to add this)
Pokemon Center - Pokemon Red
The Great Sea - The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
Main Theme - Super Mario Galaxy
Space Junk Galaxy - Super Mario Galaxy
Main Theme - God of War
Main Theme - The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Stickerbrush Symphony - Donkey Kong Country 2
Main Theme - Banjo-Kazooie
Pizza Theme - Spider-Man 2: The Game
Main Theme - Batman: Arkham City
Battle Theme - Final Fantasy
Paris - Sly Cooper 2 (I really wanted to add this but I felt it was too niche)
Clock Town - The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Baby Park - Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
Main Theme - Star Fox
Drake's Theme - Uncharted
Devils Never Cry - Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening (I REALLY wanted to add this one but I knew it was my nostalgia talking)
Metropolis - Ratchet & Clank
Revived Power - Shadow of the Colossus
Studiopolis - Sonic Mania
Dr Wily's Castle - MegaMan II
Ending Theme - Super Mario World
Athletic Theme - Super Mario World
Overworld Theme - Super Mario Land

Subscribe! :) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - It's right there ^^^

[ArchOwl]

note: OP's list is explicitly chronological, this isn't a ranking

00:00 - beginning [Beware of the Forest's Mushrooms - Super Mario RPG]
00:13 - 1. Intro Theme - PAC-MAN (1980)
00:18 - 2. Title Screen - Donkey Kong (1981)
00:29 - 3. Main Theme - Tetris (1984) [fun fact: this melody comes from the Russian folk song "Korobeiniki"]
00:45 - 4. Overworld Theme - Super Mario Bros. (1985)
00:58 - 5. Underworld Theme - Super Mario Bros. (1985)
01:10 - 6. Underwater Theme - Super Mario Bros. (1985)
01:21 - 7. Vampire Killer - Castlevania (1986)
01:33 - 8. Overture - Dragon Warrior / Dragon Quest (1986)
01:50 - 9. Overworld Theme - The Legend of Zelda (1986)
02:03 - 10. Brinstar Theme - Metroid (1986)
02:16 - 11. Moon Theme - DuckTales (1987)
02:36 - 12. Prelude - Final Fantasy (1987)
02:51 - 13. Victory Theme - Final Fantasy (1987)
03:04 - 14. Bloody Tears - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (1987)
03:17 - 15. Title Screen - MegaMan II (1988)
03:29 - 16. Overworld Theme - Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988)
03:43 - 17. Overworld Theme - Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988)
03:55 - 18. Fever - Dr. Mario (1990)
04:09 - 19. Chocobo Theme - Final Fantasy III (1990)
04:22 - 20. Overworld Theme - Super Mario World (1990)
04:37 - 21. Title Screen - MegaMan III (1990)
04:52 - 22. Theme of Love - Final Fantasy IV (1991)
05:09 - 23. Green Hill Zone - Sonic the Hedgehog (1991)
05:28 - 24. Chemical Plant Zone - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992)
05:44 - 25. Guile's Theme - Street Fighter II (1991)
05:59 - 26. Fairy Fountain - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991)
06:16 - 27. Princess Zelda - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991)
06:33 - 28. Mt. Dedede - Kirby's Dreamland (1992)
06:51 - 29. At Doom's Gate - DOOM (1993)
07:02 - 30. *(nuked by copyright)* Techno Syndrome - The Immortals (1994) - Mortal Kombat (1993)
07:26 - 31. Aquatic Ambiance - Donkey Kong Country (1994)
07:38 - 32. Jungle Hijinx - Donkey Kong Country (1994)
07:51 - 33. Terra's Theme - Final Fantasy VI (1994)
08:06 - 34. Human I - Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness (1995)
08:22 - 35. Flower Garden - Yoshi's Island (1995)
08:37 - 36. Athletic Theme - Yoshi's Island (1995)
08:50 - 37. Hell March - Command and Conquer: Red Alert (1996)
09:13 - 38. Opening - Crash Bandicoot (1996)
09:29 - 39. Tristram - Diablo (1996)
09:47 - 40. Gourmet Race - Kirby: Super Star (1996)
10:02 - 41. Rainbow Road - Mario Kart 64 (1996)
10:15 - 42. Title Theme - Pokémon Red/Blue (1996) [fun fact 2: there's also a Pokémon Green in this generation!]
10:28 - 43. Route 1 - Pokémon Red/Blue (1996)
10:38 - 44. Battle Theme - Pokémon Red/Blue (1996)
10:56 - 45. Main Theme / Bob-omb Battlefield - Super Mario 64 (1996)
11:10 - 46. Slider - Super Mario 64 (1996) ~
11:27 - 47. Dire, Dire Docks - Super Mario 64 (1996)
11:39 - 48. Beware of the Forest's Mushrooms - Super Mario RPG (1996)
11:52 - 49. Dracula's Castle - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)
12:08 - 50. Fighting - Final Fantasy VII (1997)
12:22 - 51. One Winged Angel - Final Fantasy VII (1997)
12:36 - 52. Main Theme - Metal Gear Solid (1998)
12:54 - 53. Title Screen - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
13:13 - 54. Lost Woods - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
13:24 - 55. Hyrule Field - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
13:50 - 56. Song of Storms - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
14:06 - 57. Gerudo Valley - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
14:24 - 58. DK Rap - Donkey Kong 64 (1999)
14:38 - 59. Liberi Fatali - Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
15:01 - 60. Character Select - Super Smash Bros. (1999)
15:17 - 61. To Zanarkand - Final Fantasy X (2001)
15:33 - 62. Halo - Halo: Combat Evolved (2001) ~
15:54 - 63. Mansion (High Health) - Luigi's Mansion (2001) [fun fact 3: there are 3 versions of this song, based on luigi's health]
16:15 - 64. Scape Main - Runescape (2001)
16:32 - 65. Escape from the City - Sonic Adventure 2 (2001)
16:51 - 66. Opening Theme - Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)
17:10 - 67. Menu 1 - Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001) ~
17:27 - 68. *(nuked by copyright)* Dearly Beloved - Kingdom Hearts (2002)
17:44 - 69. Menu Theme - Metroid Prime (2002)
18:00 - 70. Delfino Plaza - Super Mario Sunshine (2002)
18:19 - 71. Dragon Roost Island - The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (2003)
18:34 - 72. Theme from San Andreas - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) ~
18:47 - 73. Cave Story - Cave Story (2004) ~
19:03 - 74. Legends of Azeroth - World of Warcraft (2004) ~
19:22 - 75. Title - Animal Crossing (2005)
19:40 - 76. Waluigi Pinball - Mario Kart DS (2005)
19:56 - 77. Bath Time - Nintendogs (2005)
20:11 - 78. Title - Brain Age (2006)
20:27 - 79. Main Theme - Bully (2006)
20:39 - 80. Overworld Theme - New Super Mario Bros. (2006)
20:54 - 81. Title Screen - Wii Sports (2006) ~
21:11 - 82. Still Alive - Portal (2007)
21:31 - 83. Gusty Garden Galaxy - Super Mario Galaxy (2007)
21:49 - 84. Main Theme - Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2007)
22:03 - 85. Main Theme - Team Fortress 2 (2007) [i'd argue "Right Behind You" is more iconic, but whatever]
22:25 - 86. Coconut Mall - Mario Kart Wii (2008)
22:42 - 87. Minecraft - Minecraft (2009)
23:00 - 88. Sweden - Minecraft (2009)
23:15 - 89. Main Menu - Plants vs. Zombies (2009)
23:30 - 90. Firelink Shrine - Dark Souls (2011)
23:51 - 91. Dragonborn - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) ~
24:15 - 92. Day - Terraria (2011)
24:31 - 93. Let's GO - Counter Strike: Global Offensive (2012) ~
24:51 - 94. The Last of Us - The Last of Us (2013) ~
25:13 - 95. Pull up a Chair - Hearthstone (2014) ~
25:28 - 96. Megalovania - Undertale (2015)
25:39 - 97. BFG Division - DOOM (2016)
25:54 - 98. Victory Theme - Overwatch (2016)
26:10 - 99. Jump Up, Super Star! - Super Mario Odyssey (2017)
26:38 - 100. Menu - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)
27:00 - outro [Piranha Plant's Lullaby - Super Mario 64]

1980 - 1989: 17 songs
1990 - 1999: 43 songs (counting the outro, 44)
2000 - 2009: 29 songs
2010 - 2018: 11 songs

this was a really cool list, even if it's a little 90s heavy. a few had incorrect titles (marked with tildes), but most were okay.

[cringe]

12:22 the start of this theme was the biggest "oh shit" moment I have ever had in a video game

[Atty]

2:16 you know a song is truly iconic when you know it perfectly but you have literally never ever heard of the game it was originally featured in

[sauwkact]

*6:35* a cute and innocent game called kirby...
Litterally 10s later, the most violents game ever : DOOM and MORTAL KOMBAT

[freeze]

0:00 intro

0:13 Intro theme - pac man

0:19 title screen - donkey kong

0:30 main theme - Tetris

0:46 overworld theme - Super Mario Bros

0:59 underworld theme - Super Mario Bros

1:11 underwater theme - Super Mario Bros

1:21 vampire killer - Castlevania

1:33 overture - Dragon Warrior / Dragon Quest

1:51 Overworld Theme - The Legend Of Zelda

2:03 Brinstar Theme - Metroid

2:17 Moon Theme - DuckTales

2:37 prelude- Final Fantasy

2:52 victory theme - Final Fantasy

3:04 bloody tears - Castlevania II Simon’s quest

3:17 title screen - mega man 2

3:30 overworld theme - Super Mario Bros 2

3:44 overword theme - Super Mario Bros

3:56 fever - Dr. Mario

4:10 chocobo theme - Final Fantasy III

4:23 overworld theme - Super Mario World

4:38 title screen - Mega Man III

4:53 Theme of Love - Final Fantasy IV

5:10 green hill zone - Sonic the Hedgehog

5:28 Chemical Plant Zone - Sonic The Hedgehog 2

5:45 - Gulle’s Theme - Street Fighter II

6:00 Fairy Fountain - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

6:17 Princess Zelda - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

6:34 - Mt. Dedede - Kirby’s Dreamland

6:52 - at doom’s gate - Doom

7:03 - techno synonyms - the immortals - mortal kombat

7:27 - aquatic amblance - donkey kong country

7:39 - jungle hijinks donkey kong country

7:52 - terra’s theme - final fantasy VI

8:07 - human I - warcraft II: tides of darkness

8:23 - flower garden - yoshi’s island

8:39 - athletic theme - yoshi’s island

8:51 - hell March - command and conquer: red alert

9:15 - main theme - crash bandicoot

9:31 - tristram - diablo

9:48 - gourmet race - Kirby: super star

10:03 - Rainbow road - Mario kart 64

10:16 - title theme - Pokemon red/blue

10:30 - route 1 - Pokemon red/blue

10:57 - main theme/ bomb-omb battlefield - super Mario 64

11:11 - slide theme - super Mario 64

11:28 - dire, dire docks - super mario 64

11:40 - beware of the forest’s mushrooms - super Mario rpg

11:53 - dracula’s castle - castlevania: sympathy of the night

12:09 - fighting - final fantasy VII

12:22 - one winged angel - final fantasy VII

12:37 - Main Theme - Metal Gear Solid

12:56 - Title Screen - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

13:14 - Lost woods - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

13:25 - hyrule field - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

13:51 song of storms - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

14:08 Gerudo Valley - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

14:27 DK rap - Donkey Kong 64

14:49 liberty fatall - final fantasy VIII

15:02 character select - super smash bros

15:20 to zanarkand - Final Fantasy X

15:37 main theme - halo: combat evolved

15:57 main theme - luigi’s mansion

[pablogamerx]

The fact that zelda has 9 songs, 5 from OoT, and 3 honorable mentions

[macdjord]

6:03 - Fairy Fountain Theme just isn't the same without a half-naked great fairy screeching at you.

[Professional_Woomy]

22:05 is the moment I realized, I have done nothing but teleport bread for 3 days

[VoltaNid]

12:55 Hits me hard with nostalgia of playing this game

[hedgydoodles]

The Mario theme is one of those songs you can't not know

[SuperPickle]

6:51 when your nightmare becomes a lucid dream

[coconutcat]

23:16 has to be one of the most nostalgic for me

[Fordcrzymike]

This list just proves how much of a genius Koji Kondo is.

[Helyeah]

real title should be "all nintendo songs and a few others"

[MichealllA]

13:15
You know a song is iconic when you never played the game but can whistle it perfectly.

[doodoo]

6:00 This is a whole new level of nostalgia, something about this song it's just- hard to explain.

[gabrielesallemi]

24:25 Glad there's "Day" iconic and awesome soundtrack

[Fridgeson_]

1:10
Watah in da fire, why
WATAH IN DA FIRE, WHY

[ultimatebro]

Music has always been a huge part of gaming. From 8-bit sounds to full on orchestra. From the Mario theme to the morrowind main theme. Music really adds to the overall experience and makes it more special and magical.

[ObliviousOverlord]

15:58 I love to think that Luigi’s humming to himself so he won’t be scared and the background music is the ghosts playing instruments