Top 100 gamemusic of all time

Here is my legacy to gamemusic fans: a compilation of the 100 most beautiful and skillfully executed gamemusics of all time.
Of course it wasn't an easy task. I could easily choose a 100 musics from Yuzo Koshiro only, but I managed to shrink down the list to only the best of the best, ranging from a variety of consoles and years. To do this I had to make certain boundaries:
- Short musics were cut from the list in favor of most elaborate pieces (ok, there's one or two shot ones!).
- Arranged musics not made for game consoles/computer were vetoed too.
- Famous tunes (like Legend of Zelda and Mario's theme) were discarded because its execution were too simplistic for the time being.
CONTENTS
00:00 Space Harrier - Haya Oh
01:20 Black Belt - Boss
02:40 Out Run - Magical sound shower
05:36 Dragon Slayer 4 - Opening Theme
07:00 Double Dragon - City Slum
08:38 Ys - The Syonin
09:21 Yuzo Koshiro - About Dungeon
10:08 R-Type - Scramble Crossroad (6th Stage)
11:03 Double Dragon - Final Boss
12:14 Parodius - Outro (Parodius Ending MSX)
13:10 Gradius II - A Shooting Star
14:02 Truxton - Friend
15:08 Algarna - Mountain of Patron
16:15 Yuzo Koshiro - Algarna
17:36 Fire Shark - Give me your heart (Stage 2)
19:04 Ghouls 'N Ghosts Stage 2
20:11 Revenge of Shinobi - Long Distance
20:51 Revenge of Shinobi - China town
22:20 Final Fight - Subway
23:24 Final Fight (SNES) - Battle Against Sodom
24:51 Strider - Raid!
25:51 Midnight Resistance - Stage 1
27:53 Super Monaco GP - Concentration
29:27 Hellfire - Inside drive
31:24 NAM-1974 - Street Battle (Area 2)
33:00 Castle of Illusion - Clock Tower
34:08 Alex Kidd in Shinobi World - Level 1
35:07 Hunger Made Them Desperate
37:03 Super Mario World - Fortress
39:50 Gradius III - In the Wind
40:45 Gradius III - Fire Scramble
41:38 Yuzo Koshiro - Filmoa
42:41 Yuzo Koshiro - Birth of the people
43:26 Yuzo Koshiro - Offering (Sasagemono)
44:42 Yuzo Koshiro - Space fight
45:49 Street Fighter II - Ryu
46:53 King of Dragons - Hard Long
47:28 Masaki Izutani - Stage 3 (Ninja)
48:37 Masaki Izutani - Stage 8 (Callisto)
49:38 Ghouls & Ghosts - Stage 5 (Arctic Mountains)
51:12 Ghouls & Ghosts - Ending
53:19 UN Squadron - Front line base
54:19 UN Squadron - The Minks
55:27 The Street of Rage
57:02 Yuzo Koshiro - Beatnik on the Ship
58:46 Super Castlevania 4 - Prelude
01:01:13 Super Castlevania 4 - Beginning
01:02:11 Ganbare Goemon - Town of Yamato
01:02:50 Ganbare Goemon - Izumo ~ Dragon Pond
01:03:47 Nobuo Uematsu - Fight 1
01:04:45 Tecmo - Ninja Gaiden Shadow track 3
01:05:49 Chris Hülsbeck - The Great Bath (level 2-3)
01:07:39 Ryo Yonemitsu - Tower of Fate
01:09:03 Top Gear - Las Vegas (Mad Racer)
01:11:43 Truxton - Far Away (PC Engine)
01:12:57 GG Shinobi 2 - Castle 2
01:13:54 Masato Nakamura - Option Screen
01:14:48 Fight for Mankind (unused)
01:16:18 Super Off Road - Set Up
01:17:20 Yuzo Koshiro - The Island of Everlasting Summer
01:19:48 Slow moon
01:21:07 Back to the industry
01:21:59 Mickey Mystical Quest - Dark forest
01:23:07 Mickey Mystical Quest - Snowy valley
01:24:15 Kiki Kaikai - Battle with Black Mantle
01:25:54 Gods - End
01:26:57 Super Aleste - Space Cruiser
01:28:24 Megaman X - Password Screen
01:29:24 Top Gear 2 - Canterbury Plains
01:31:01 Sunset Riders - Introduction
01:31:59 Sunset Riders - Stage 3
01:32:47 Final Fight - Walk In The Park
01:34:49 Sky Sanctuary
01:36:01 Special Stage
01:37:18 Act 2 Boss
01:38:02 Toshihiko Horiyama - Beyond the Colosseum
01:39:33 Samurai Spirits 2 - Shizen no utage Haru (Nakoruru)
01:45:11 Samurai Spirits 2 - Jashin (Rashojin Mizuki)
01:49:25 Chrono Trigger - Wings That Cross Time
01:51:10 Chrono Trigger - To Far Away Times
01:55:29 Samurai Spirits 3 - Kokoro no kagami (Rimururu)
01:59:36 Koji Kondo - Dire, Dire Docks
02:02:39 Salamander 2 - Sensation
02:03:59 Salamander 2 - No future (unused)
02:05:20 Nobuo Uematsu - Still More Fighting
02:07:13 Ys Eternal - The Morning Grow (Plage)
02:09:23 Michiru Yamane - Wood carving partita
02:10:56 Yasunori Mitsuda - Into the Sky
02:13:44 Yasunori Mitsuda - Wings
02:14:57 Yoko Shimomura - Daedal's Organ
02:15:52 Yoko Shimomura - Traverse Town
02:17:07 Yoko Shimomura - Merlin's Magical House
02:18:32 Yuzo Koshiro - Main title
02:19:41 Yuzo Koshiro - Feel The Passion
02:21:58 Michiru Yamane - Garibaldi Cathedral
02:24:41 Kow Otani - The Opened Way (Battle With the Colossus)
02:26:33 Castlevania portrait of Ruin - The gears go awry
02:28:24 Yuzo Koshiro - The Battlefield That Never Sleeps
02:29:51 Yuzo Koshiro - Disturbances - Hoist the Sword and Pride in the Heart
02:32:12 Yuzo Koshiro - Disturbances - Each Justice

[@bobjones27]

I'm most impressed with musicians who created such wonderful music using such limited sound chips from old school platforms like MSX or original Famicom.

[@dimmakchampion3808]

Still the best list of its kind on KZbin. Listened to it probably 20-30 times. Thank you.

[@AcidZero]

Glad to read that :)))

[@Alianger]

It would be better if the recordings didn't have stereo and reverb added

[@tristaverse7094]

Yuzo Koshiro turned around the world of BGM!

[@AcidZero]

YES

[@dogchaser520]

The ActRaiser soundtrack made the game, practically. 41:41

[@BETMARKonTube]

Most of all, I appreciate the details and the info you added to any single song (name of the song, console version, etc.) That's professional and I love this kind of effort.

[@AcidZero]

Thank you for the appreciation :)

[@bastardtubeuser]

haha i really liked the "in my opinion" where insert coin would flash. great list, its unusual to see lists on here where people understand how awesome arcade game music was.

[@bastardtubeuser]

bastardtubeuser seams a lot of people who love game music mostly know SNES and later systems music with a nod to the nes. but thats only a very small idea of what really went on. as the maker of this video knows .

[@AcidZero]

bastardtubeuser Thank you. i'm a videogame music lover, and I tend to like more chiptune-orientated music, and considering that it's not done nowadays, I have to look for the past. PC-88 has a lot of great hidden gems in the music field

[@bastardtubeuser]

Acid Zero i totally got that from the video, its something not everyone will get. the difficulties of even producing this music back then was considerable, unlike on a playstation where you just sample an orchestra. not to take anything away from later game music, but i make a clear line between actual chip music vs samples.

[@Timii240830]

Arhhh .... So true about the arcade music from 80s and 90s love them to bits! I was fortunate to grew up in that era... The golden age of video games ;)

[@Micky999]

The legendary Mega Drive sound chip YM2612

[@dogchaser520]

This reminds me that one of the reasons these games were so engaging is because the music draws you in, and there are so many memorable tunes. Having a limited number of channels to work from (as was the case with the old systems that didn't just play a prerecorded piece) means the focus is often on having a really gripping melody. This limitation can be compared to poetry and lyrics: they tend to be pretty bad if they're not forced to rhyme or use a syllabic pattern. Having some restrictions forces people to innovate inside that system. And we saw some incredible innovations. We could do with more technical limitations to improve the quality of game music in the modern age!

[@AcidZero]

Yeah. I guess that with the advance of technology and less memory limitations the gamemusic just took the lazy route and the creativity dwindled.

[@Nadzinator]

That was awesome. Great playlist.

[@TheOldskool2009]

3 songs in and I can honestly say you my friend have great taste in gaming music 🎵!!!!

[@AcidZero]

[@Ahmbey9090]

i enjoyed every track in this list. 11 years ago video but still on point till now. thanks for making this.

[@leighbyford635]

This has been for me the best list of classic tunes in one place. I know it’s all personal but as far as I am concerned this person has excellent taste! I take my hat off to you sir. Thank you for your efforts :) Good day

[@AcidZero]

Thank you so much :)

[@crvincent3799]

The best compilation of retrogaming ... REALLY!

[@davilima81]

UN Squadron in Gamer Mode 👍

[@evasmith9459]

As soon as I saw Space Harrier as your first choice, I was convinced, this is a great playlist! Definitely one to save

[@Decker742]

Nicely done.The intro was pretty sweet. I really enjoyed listening, it brought back some good memories. You went pretty far back!

[@joseabreu1991]

bro my lover from revenge of shinobi is the most amazing,magical piece of video game music yuzo koshiro has ever made...its pretty deep stuff.

[@GuyRification]

Dat Streets of Rage boat level theme...classic.

[@jaywalk1715]

fuck yea bro classic and the bar level

[@cslworldwide]

Yea, I still play that on my iPhone when I go running at night.

[@jaywalk1715]

Hell yea bro same here

[@macopper4198]

GuyRification love it

[@bermradgaming2992]

Impressive list, impressive editing and wow, that video description! :D

[@Abathor]

I came back to this list from time to time. Still think one of the best lists out there. Very good criteria with very deep songs. The only but, is about picking more than 1 song for same game, as there are thousand great other OSTs which deserve the top 100

[@AcidZero]

Yeah, it's difficult to do a 100 list when there are so many good musics. But at the same time there are games where picking just one music would be a crime, like Chrono Trigger. :)

[@Abathor]

@@AcidZero yeah, haha, that would be another criteria in yours, like picking just one. But list is very good 👌

[@nicholasc1987]

I"m only a few minutes in and wow!! kudos! Great song choices so far.

[@billjerone]

Who up listening to this in 2024? 😎

[@jeffhlewis]

Great list, man! You have good taste. Salamander 2's soundtrack is freaking amazing.

[@viciousvanilla]

Beautiful selection! I love the Chinatown theme from Shinobi and the songs from Streets of Rage. Yuzo Koshiro is the king of 16 bit compositions. :)

[@EpicLegendaryMythicMusic]

Cool list!! I like the editing especially and some of my favourite songs made it to the list as well! (castlevania!!!) GOOD JOB!

[@reALlifeCom-pf4yr]

Hey there,thanks a lot ! Really a nice project !! I liked most of your selections for they were my type.Verily i'm a music fan.Thanks again..

[@pastlink]

I hate that ads seem to creep up on a lot of these older mixes that used not to have them. Having a random ad pop up while I'm trying to enjoy music is so annoying 😢

[@megatechbody3207]

Hitoshi Sakimoto was the best Sega Genesis composer IMO. His Terpsichorean sound driver made ok games sound absolutely brilliant. Midnight Resistance, Crude Buster, Devilish, Verytex, Gauntlet IV, Master of monsters... Games with godlike soundtracks.

[@theoblivion69]

Todas as trilhas sonora de FF7 sao incríveis,tem ate ópera.e o castle of ilusion imortal

[@sean85ster]

Wonderful compilation. Almost every title doesnt feel overplayed nor is bad. Good feel overrall

[@kingbeef5076]

I've loved the China Town theme from Revenge of Shinobi since the first time I ever heard it. In fact that whole game is a musical masterpiece.

[@tabemsins]

+kingbeef 100% agreed

[@TyroneCampos]

wow! thanks for this, man! Because of you i'll make my own top 100!! thanks!!!

[@Potts2700]

Cant include them all. I know you left out Shinobi III and SOTN any track yea yayahalm oahaha savage godlike!!! Great list tho!!! YOu had Space Harrier there First so I was like THIS is Legit!!! =D Watta Way!!! 80's babies Go!!! ye ayaya;D

[@chrism2027]

Wow really a very nice soundtracks here. They remind me of old SNES and Megadrive times more than cool true.

[@MadGear16bit]

Great list. Were you a big import gamer back in the late 80's-90's? It's nice to see the Master System and Mega Drive get some love. I would've included ThunderForce IV, Devil Crash, Elemental Master (yes i was a big Technosoft fan). Also some C64 stuff from Rob Hubbard and Tim Follin etc.

[@AcidZero]

In Brazil there were shops that imported all the games, and then we rented the cartridges. I've played them all. :) I thought about Tim Follin (I love "Sky shark") and Rob Hubbard but at some point I had to dispose his musics to make a top 100. Cheers!

[@maschinenschlosser]

What a collection.. Thanks a lot!!!

[@VampiresCrypt]

2:26:43 I forgot how good the soundtrack in Castlevania Portrait of Ruin still is O:

[@shinzantetsu]

ok wow,you impressed me....you added DEMONS CREST,FUCK YES! so underrated.

[@IA58pucara]

Lots of Yuzo, as it should be

[@arjahelenjohansen5612]

GREAT INTRODUCTION!

[@posivibez2094]

awesome selection!

[@DoralSilverthorn]

Very cool intro and everything. Great video!

[@drewminati]

Yuzo 4 life!!!

[@DoofusLoopus]

A very nice list. Have learnt quite a lot from it! Thanks!

[@infogamainformatica5783]

Great list! So many epic tunes!!

[@archon9000]

Love your retro intro... classic!

[@MasterLinkuei]

Without clichés... The best list ever!!!

[@JNPSachiel]

Good set of music dude! Subscribed.

[@FilmScoreLynx]

Cool list. They sure beefed up the Final Fight "Subway-tune" for the Sega CD version of Final Fight compared to the original. Def. worth checking out: Final Fight CD Metro City Subway theme

[@AcidZero]

Yes, it's on my personal list of best arranged videogame musics ever :)

[@epicrevilo5097]

By any chance do you like yuzo koshiro?

[@AcidZero]

+Epicrevilo well... I never gave it much thought.

[@SaeedAcronia]

If he likes Yuzo Koshiro, he is right to! The guy is the Mozart of Game OST!

[@djdurtyhusky]

yes

[@bethaapple2102]

He is quite good. Maybe he could try as video games composer.

[@themarst]

Back To The industry!!!!!!one of the best!!!

[@skeggjoldgunnr3167]

The music and sound in Strider were the very best even without considering the time and the hardware limitations.

[@themediaphilechannel]

AWESOME LIST!!!!!!!!

[@flow6156]

nice list!

[@JohnHassink]

You know, it'd be easy for me to be lame and go: "What about game [X], [Y] and [Z]?", but the truth is that everyone grew up with different platforms and games. I realize that you put a lot of work in making this video. About 75% of it I already knew, but I discovered quite some exciting new game music thanks to you! This is an awesome video which I'll revisit many times for sure! Thanks a lot for this!

[@AcidZero]

Thank you so much :)

[@DunkelBierGeist]

Epicness level reached.

[@omaewamoushindeiru5072]

Streets of Rage Yuzo Koshiro the best!!!!

[@ARANBANJO75]

tu sei un grande ragazzo.grazie per questo video fantastico.

[@fizzlepop5318]

That Samurai Showdown 3 track is soooo good!

[@fenixrising3745]

Street of rage 2 kick ass 16 bit

[@segalivechannel2991]

Where is Commodore 64 and Commodore Amiga music???

[@BravoSix007]

Very Nice

[@RitchiAfonso]

Top 100 "Oldschool" Gamemusicc of all time shoul be the title

[@kLusterofstarsmusic]

or chiptune

[@andre1onate]

Ricardo Afonso or 8 bit

[@RitchiAfonso]

Samuel Oñate or that ;p

[@kLusterofstarsmusic]

Samuel Oñate nah there was some megadrive tunes on there

[@andre1onate]

kLik kLak tru.. noticed. or, actual synth electronica but... converted to 8 OR 16 bit

[@darkreyule]

Glad to see so many SMS titles, so many classic games and themes overshadowed by the NES.

[@blu3krait]

haya oh is the best music in game industry of all time

[@perfectblue8443]

truly excellent list, very personal, and yet I do identify with a lot of your choices

[@renan.578]

great thanks to post the video

[@jimmybiggs9230]

Sega genesis was beast in the 16-bit battle no dought!!!

[@xenobytek9583]

Nice list! Very good, but missing some Jerper Kid, Matt Furniss, Tommy Talarico, Yamane has great others in Genesis Castlevania Bloodlines, Order of Eclesia and Symphony of the night.

[@leonardoaires9177]

Excelente vídeo!

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

so what has yuzo koshiro even done besides sor?

[@AcidZero]

hahahahahaha

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

great reply

[@DEATHWISH1988REF]

EPIC LIST !!! gradius & top gear FTW nice to see something from Castlevania PoR

[@AlexOjideagu2]

Where's guile's stage?

[@lordtikidecancer]

Gracias por poner los composotores =)

[@Alianger]

R-Type - Scramble Crossroad (6th Stage) - I think I prefer the Mk3 ver. of this one, less harsh sounding. Nice selection!

[@Blitzwing83]

A track or two from Rocket Knight Adventures or Gunstar Heroes would have made this audio perfection :)

[@Realmasterorder]

Great themes of great games of the golden Arcade Era

[@jujukawa8049]

You have a good taste in music

[@AcidZero]

Thank u, Juju :)

[@TheSUPRASURTR]

yuzo=god

[@stefanoclasicretro2105]

muy muy buena lista pero donde esta secret of mana no ponerlo es un sacrilegio men ?

[@SaeedAcronia]

You put YUZO KOSHIRO's masterpieces at the end of the list?!

[@SaeedAcronia]

sorry I was hearing the first 30 minutes.

[@sgtpepper91]

Yes.

[@sudacagamer]

11:03 why that specific version?

[@AcidZero]

Maybe nostalgy. I had this game on SMS, so it grew on me. But I heard the other versions and I really like the PSG sound better.

[@williamfiuza8328]

Nice.

[@roygoodhand1301]

How in the name of diaper rash can you pick two songs from Chrono Trigger, yet neither of them are Corridors of Time?

[@AcidZero]

My bad. I really like that song.

[@ARANBANJO75]

xaind sleena arcade have fantastic soundtrack.one of my best arcade al time

[@thitho104]

1:09:08 There is!

[@Vitaliy_zl]

double dragon so great music

[@george_5677]

That Megaman X Password music is my favorite!!

[@rodrigoandresmunioz]

Captain Tsubasa III (Snes) second game(stage on france with Tom & Napoleon), is a great music track!!!...

[@juanjosesilvacamargo3037]

yes, the Captain Tsubasa 3 Soundtrack is The best.

[@gorillify]

I've never understand peoples love of SMS or Game Gear music. Not to say the composers weren't good, but the sound chip was just painful to listen to. That being said, this was a well rounded list with a lot of games I didn't expect to see on here, which is a good thing. Also, there's totally nothing wrong with doing a top Yuzo Koshiro list

[@rodrigohaym]

Gorilla Games I for one really like the SMS soundtracks. You could argue that the conversions from the Genesis/Mega Drive suffered to various degrees (although sometimes they rock just the same, like in OutRun), but some of the original SMS soundtracks are beyond awesome, the prime example being Phantasy Star 1. In the end is all personal opinion, and although obviously limited, I love the "warmth" of the SMS soundchip. Maybe because it's one of the systems I grew up with.

[@patrickseaver6452]

I expected to see more from Streets of Rage 2 and Keep the Groovin' (Stage 4) from the original Streets of Rage.

[@frankhansen2992]

the music from all the Vipeout games aremost likely of the best ever

[@maxenceberiou1729]

Streets of rage 2 all the way baby

[@darkreyule]

Two words... Haya freaking Oh!

[@Maeshy24]

26:09 ♥♪

[@SnackCannon]

I like your taste... That I do. ♥

[@andrianorodrigues]

Amazing intro text! Do you mind sharing how you made it? Thanks in advance! (cool video ;))

[@Trancelistic]

My child hood

[@p1xMU51c]

Top Gear 2 - Canterbury Plains = easily one of the best! :)

[@venomtang]

Bro amazing list! how did you make that intro? Can i pay u to do one for me?

[@heroteen16]

That Thunder Force 3 Song was poorly emulated. Such a shame.