With the main criterion not to mention the same franchise or composer twice, here is the greatest music composed for video games released between 1988 and 2023: some cult classics, some lesser known. A passionate and knowledgeable selection of beautiful and varied themes among thousands of listened game soundtracks! Check each track description for more information.

The 100 Best Video Game Music

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous (Original Soundtrack)

03 - Lords Of Chaos

Abandoned Castle

The Cemetery Hill music was a more slowly evolving track from MediEvil, gradually growing in tension and suspense throughout but remaining as essentially underscore from start to finish.

MediEvil - Cemetery Hill

FREE at http://badass3.ocremix.org

BadAss: Boss Themes: Volume III is the 56th album published by OverClocked ReMix. It features twenty tracks from twenty-three artists, arranging boss themes from twenty-three different games.

It was made by fans, for fans, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any game publisher or developer; all images, characters, and original compositions are copyright their respective owners.

• Games: Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy IV, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Digimon World, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, Breath of Fire II, Pokémon Red Version, Xenogears, Wild Guns, Advance Wars, Shadow of the Colossus, Chrono Trigger, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 5, Super Mario World, Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Donkey Kong 64, Metroid Prime 3, Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2, Vectorman 2, Vectorman

• Characters: Kefka Palazzo, Zeromus, Dark Bowser, Machinedramon, Slash, Deathevan, Rival, Grahf, Big Bertha, Sturm, Colossi, Magus, Albert Wesker, Koopalings, Molgera, Mad Jack, Dark Samus, Orbot Purple, Metalhead, Lavos

• Composers: Nobuo Uematsu, Yoko Shimomura, Koji Yamada, Yuko Ishii, Kozo Nakamura, Tomoya Tomita, Yuichi Sakakura, Yuko Takehara, Junichi Masuda, Yasunori Mitsuda, Haruo Ohashi, Hiroyuki Iwatsuki, Taishi Senda, Yoshito Hirano, Kow Otani, Masafumi Takada, Jun Fukuda, Misao Senbongi, Shusaku Uchiyama, Kota Suzuki, Koji Kondo, Hajime Wakai, Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi, Grant Kirkhope, Kenji Yamamoto, Kouichi Kyuma, Masaru Tajima, Minako Hamano, Jon Holland

Director
• Pieter van Os (pu_freak)

Assistant Director
• Alexandre Mourey (Chernabogue)

Artwork
• Pieter van Os (pu_freak)
• Andrew Albon (Polar Eclipse) - logo

Mastering / Production Feedback Assistant
• Truong-Son Nguyen (timaeus222)

Website
• Machiel van Gennip
• David Lloyd (djpretzel) - edits

Trailer
• Alexandre Mourey (Chernabogue)

Creator
• David L. Puga

Associate Producers
• Joseph Zieja (XPRTNovice)
• Greg Nourse (Gario)

Executive Producers
• David W. Lloyd (djpretzel)
• Larry Oji (Liontamer)

Founded in 1999, OverClocked ReMix is an organization dedicated to the appreciation and promotion of video game music as an art form. Its primary focus is ocremix.org, a website featuring thousands of free fan arrangements, information on game music and composers, resources for aspiring artists, and a thriving community of video game music fans.

Email us at admin@ocremix.org for all contact including:

• Forums & site assistance
• Media inquiries (interviews, articles, conventions); and
• Professional soundtrack development

SUPPORT US!
OverClocked ReMix is a not-for-profit site that provides a ton of free music, which requires a ton of bandwidth and a pretty hefty web server. We need your help to keep the site running!

• Patreon: http://patreon.com/ocremix
• PayPal: http://bit.ly/ocrPayPal
• OCR Shirts & Hoodies: http://ocremix.org/store/
• Amazon aStore: http://ocremix.org/amazon/

JOIN US!
http://ocremix.org/info/Groups

• Community Forums: http://ocremix.org/community/
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/ocremix
• SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/ocremix
• Tumblr: http://ocremix.tumblr.com
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/ocremix
• YouTube: http://youtube.com/ocremix



FREE download

2-10 Seed of Perdition (Lavos - Chrono Trigger) [Lashmush]

Jak 3 OST - Metalhead Attack

Starfox Adventures - Dragon Rock (HD)

Soul Calibur Original Soundtrack - In The Name Of Father (Nightmare Theme)

Haunted Ruins in-game track from MediEvil Resurrection on the PSP. 

Originally written for MediEvil 1 using just a Roland JV1080 and Akai S3200 sampler, this version recorded with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus

MediEvil - Haunted Ruins

50 Ancient Ruins Battle Theme

Composer: Ilan Eshkeri (The Sims 4) / Other composer on the album: Shigeru Umebayashi

This theme can be heard in the menu and at the end of the prologue. Tsushima Island is all that stands between mainland Japan and the massive Mongol invasion fleet led by Khotun Khan. Jin, a traditional samurai, is one of the last members of his clan standing after the first wave of Mongolian attackers. Determined to protect his home and people, Jin must abandon the orthodox ways of the samurai taught to him by his father, and instead utilize other methods of warfare to overcome the Mongols, earning him the moniker "The Ghost".

This is a shortened version (original track length: 2'51).

Ghost of Tsushima OST

Ghost of Tsushima OST - Jin Sakai

Composers: Joris de Man (Killzone series, Horizon series), James Marsden

Sequel to Velocity (2012), this sci-fi shoot 'em-up/platformer is better in every way, including its soundtrack (which was already great).

This is a shortened version (original track length: 4'26).

Velocity 2X OST

Velocity 2X OST - Frontier

Composer: Gerard Marino (GoW series) / Other composers on the album: Mike Reagan, Cris Velasco, Ron Fish

The best track to represent the saga and its music, with its powerful choirs that follow both rhythm and melody, making the orchestrations even more dizzying and fitting in perfectly with the epic fate of Kratos, the Spartan warlord who became a Greek god. The making of music https://youtu.be/wRyVH927yLk

This is a shortened version (original track length: 2'55).

God of War II OST

God of War II OST - Main Titles

Composer: Joe Hisaishi (Tengai Makyō II, NnK II: Revenant Kingdom, and composer of Studio Ghibli’s films) / Performer: Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra

Ni no Kuni was subtitled Dominion of the Dark Djinn on Nintendo DS (2010) then Wrath of the White Witch on PS3 in enhanced version (2011).
The making of music https://youtu.be/_Bcf0X7Vlh4

Ni no Kuni OST

Ni no Kuni OST - World Map

Composer: Nathan McCree (Tomb Raider II and III)

This theme, which uses a four-note motif, can be heard in the main menu and continues to appear through the game and series. In 1996, there was not enough space and budget for live orchestra recording, so the soundtrack was produced using synthesizers. To make the choir sound realistic, McCree inserted recordings of himself breathing at the right points.

This is a shortened version (original track length: 3'16).

Tomb Raider (1996) OST

Tomb Raider (1996) OST - Main Theme

XCOM 2 Tactical Legacy Pack/Chimera Squad: Mission Accomplished (ADVENT Burger Remix)/Club Music

Composer & Orchestrator: Austin Wintory (Horn, Monaco, AC Syndicate, Abzû, Tooth and Tail, The Banner Saga series…) / Performers: Tina Guo (cello), Amy Tatum (flute, bass flute), Charissa Barger (harp), Rodney Wirtz (viola), Noah Gladstone (serpent), FAME'S Macedonian Symphonic Orchestra

This theme accompanies the player's ending journey to the mountain. The composer spent time experimenting and discarding many ideas; this track went through several widely varied attempts. Wintory describes the music as "a big cello concerto where you are the soloist and all the rest of the instruments represent the world around you". The best interview with Wintory https://youtu.be/iUaPHTC2TjI

This is a shortened version (original track length: 7'06).

Journey OST

Journey OST - Apotheosis

Short extracts of S-tier game soundtracks

Journey OST - Apotheosis

Goldielou

Related tracks