Whether you like it or not, the vast majority of the world is made up of people who play video games in one way or another. Yet bafflingly, they’re still seen as a lesser cousin to the pop culture’s big three of music, movies and TV.

This surely has to stop?

Anyway, with a lovely orchestral score of the Zelda theme doing the rounds at the moment, we thought we’d have a look at the best music that has featured on video games. There’s a dazzling amount to choose from… so which have we gone for? Over the jump to listen and disagree.

Thanks to the small matter of the fact that there are around 230gazillion games in existence, we couldn’t even get close to remembering all of our favourite themes and pieces of incidental music.

And so, here’s a snapshot of what we can recall, the things suggested to us on twitter and blah blah.

We’ve tried to avoid games that had soundtracks licensed from proper bands, such as the FIFA franchise and the Grand Theft Auto games… but some may have sneaked in, but we’ll explain why later.

And so, here’s our list of the greatest pieces of music committed to video games. Feel free to submit your own in the comments or, if you prefer, throw all your ire at us because we didn’t include your favourite piece of music from Fantasy World Dizzy or Pitfighter.

>insert coin<

ZELDA

Zelda’s theme(s) are insanely iconic for gamers out there and here’s a rather lovely orchestrated version of it to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the game. If you prefer the original, then click here.

TOEJAM & EARL

While Toejam & Earl may be one of the oddest games to hit paydirt, it certainly had one of the funkiest soundtracks EVER. There was something of George Clinton about the skittery swing-funk that soundtracked the game. Here’s just one of many ace pieces of music you’d find.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

We’ve included the irritatingly catch Spring Yard Zone from the first Sonic game here, but to be honest, we could’ve included more than a dozen pieces of music from the franchise. Instead of doing that, we’ll direct you to the fine notion that Michael Jackson wrote the music for Sonic 3. More on that here.

OUT RUN

Surely everyone on Earth loves the arcade music from Out Run?

RED DEAD REDEMPTION

Despite being one of the most overrated games in history, there’s no denying that the moment you make it to Mexico, and Jose Gonzalez’s ‘So Far Away’ hits you, it’s a rather special moment in the annals of gaming. Yep, it’s a proper artist licensed to a game, but we just couldn’t avoid including it.

MONKEY ISLAND

There is ALWAYS time for a little cod-reggae in video games. ALWAYS.

STREETS OF RAGE 2

Excellent synth rave accompanied one of the best beat ‘em ups ever programmed. We liked being Eddie ‘Skate’ Hunter best. Yuzo Koshiro programmed the music to this, and we ought to thank him by beating up punks with yellow jackets on by lobbing barrels at their heads.

PORTAL

Jonathan Coulton’s ‘Still Alive’ is one of the finest, oddest pieces of video game music ever, largely because it is performed by the malicious A.I. which messses with your head throughout the playing of Portal. After escaping from the labs, an ASCII-based credits screen runs as the computer croons the lyrics at you. Unsettling, catchier than mumps and downright hilarious.

FINAL FANTASY

You can’t really have a gaming soundtrack without including Final Fantasy legend Nobutsuo Uematsu. Here’s a tear jerker for you.

SUPER MARIO

C’mon. This was always going to make an appearance.

TETRIS

Is Tetris (theme A) the catchiest piece of gaming music ever?

ROAD RASH

Road Rash had insanely irritating music if you got to the latter stages of the game, just by virtue of the fact that the tracks were so fiendishly long. However, before they grated your ears off, they were really brilliant. Abrasive shitkicking 8bit rock never sounded so fine.

BLOOD MONEY

A new one on hecklerspray and offered by Mark Webster, unbelievably, this piece of music is from 1989. Just imagine jaws hitting the floor as that rolled out back then.

KATAMARI DAMACY

Katamari Damacy is one of the strangest games to ever see release. Remember it? It’s that one where you roll a sticky ball around various 3D environments, collecting everything it rolls over, increasing in size as it does. The soundtrack was pretty great too, with J Pop, samba and… well… this absolute corker.

WIZBALL

Wizball almost has a prog quality to it… you can almost imagine a thunderous rock track following it.

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Hell hath no fury like a Zelda fan scorn for Nintendo! When it was announced that the next instalment of the Legend of Zelda series for the Nintendo Gamecube would buckle the visual style of the previous two instalments on the N64 in favour of a cartoon cell-shading effect the fan reaction wasn’t great.

Wind Walker proved to be an enjoyable game, though, but was more child friendly in tone and in the visuals; when it came to the new Zelda entry for the Wii it returned back to its darker roots. It’s now with the DS’s first Zelda entry on the handheld console, The Phantom Hourglass, that we return to the style of Wind Walker and is also a direct sequel to the game, taking place just moments after the events at the end of that story.

With the DS, Nintendo have made this latest Zelda game as easygoing as the visual style suggests. The stylus guides Link around in this adventure which works effortlessly, the story is very linear, more so than previous Zelda games. This works perfectly for what Nintendo is trying to do at the moment, to market the DS as a family console so that everyone will enjoy playing the games, whatever your age.  

The control system reinforces the pick up and play, friendliness that the DS is suited to, by having the stylus being made to be as useful as possible. Implementing it into various puzzles in the game, and also the nifty inclusion of being able to draw on your map to help you remember where to go, and to write down important information, is not just helpful but good fun – see if you can resist writing obscenities on it.

As you travel through the game you meet some interesting characters that will help you along on your quest to save the Princess. Zelda games have always had a good supporting cast and its no different here, especially entertaining are your fairy Ceira and Captain Linebeck who banter and share some of the game's funnier moments. They follow you throughout the game and prove to be deep and interesting inclusions into the Zelda franchise.  

The game follows the standard Zelda formula; you enter a new area, suss out the locals and then enter the nearby temple, wherein you will inherit a new weapon. The weapons as you’d expect all use the stylus and its good fun to draw where you want your boomerang to end up or guide your grappling hook. The boss’ you encounter as well are good fun and brilliantly designed with each one creating a different experience, but aren’t too challenging so that anyone from you little 10 year old cousin to your middle-aged Dad can’t work it out.

The major flaw in the game is that it can be at times too repetitive; having to revisit a certain temple over and over again, becomes more laborious as the game continues. This is a minor complaint, though, as the game is so full of fun ideas and depth that it’s easy to get lost in it for hours.  

The added feature of multiplayer including an online battle mode helps improve the games longevity, but this option isn’t particularly deep or entertaining enough to keep coming back to.  

Overall this game is a great addition to anybody’s DS collection and we would strongly recommend it as a fan of the Zelda series and as a newcomer to the adventures of Link. There’s fun to be had by all here and if you don’t already have a copy then what’s stopping you? Hop in the boat, grab an oar and join our Green hat-wearing friend across the seas on what is another fantastic game by Nintendo.

[story by David A. Scarborough]