I'm no musician, but I know that I immensely enjoy the work of the composers that create tunes for video games. It is a shame that the musicians of the video game world never seem to get the respect of their counterparts on Broadway or the music charts. I actually respect them more, especially those who have been around for a while. A musician from the early days of gaming had to have a lot of talent to create a memorable tune with such limited resources. We all love chip-tune music, but we never think about how difficult it is to create great compositions with just, shall I say, "four beeps and a boop." Of course, that is the sound of the NES's sound processor, with which great composers like Koji Kondo created some of the most memorable and enduring tunes of all time. Of course, in these days of fully orchestrated background music it is very easy to forget what the pioneers did with just five channels of MIDI quality sound. The Super Mario Bros. theme is still one of the most well-known and popular tunes of all time. Why do you think it is on so many cell phones?

Of course, not every tune can be as good as Super Mario Bros. or Mega Man II, but I find that whenever I play a classic game I can remember the music vividly. As a gamer, I am drawn to that type of sound, even when the composition is just mediocre. Why is it that gamers seem to be the only people who really appreciate all kinds of video game music? I'd say it's because video games are our hobby, and the music helps to remind us of all the good times we've had with it. Even the lousy music might remind us of a game we really enjoyed playing, and it is that association that endears it to us. It strikes a chord within us when we hear it, much like the songs that we hear that remind us of major life events. I don't know about you, but finally beating a really hard boss that I've been struggling with ranks right up there on my list of life achievements, and the soundtrack will always help me relive those moments.



Some of my favorite video game tunes span all eras and all genres. While many games do have forgettable music, some have really stuck with me. Mega Man II is often held as the pinnacle of 8-bit music design, and it quite well deserves the accolades. The music of that game helped energize my game play, and I just knew I could excel at even the most difficult tasks when rocking to Crash Man's music. Another great musical love of mine is from Mystical Ninja 64, a game who's quirky Japanese sound and J-Pop music videos helped to set it apart from the plethora of #-D platformers making the rounds at the time. When I think about it like this, it's so hard to name them all! Super Castlevania IV, Sonic CD and Sonic Adventure 2, the original Starfox, and the Zelda series all rank high on my list. The fully orchestrated music in Super Mario Galaxy shows just how truly talented Koji Kondo is; and of course there's the stirring theme to Final Fantasy by Nobuo Uematsu, perhaps one of the greatest themes of all time! I'll always enjoy these great musical compositions and I think the talented people who bring them to all the games we love to play.