Music in games just hasn’t been the same since the 16-bit era, with the best of the best coming on the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System.

Everyone’s list is going to be a completely different thing considering different people played different games and for most, nostalgia plays a big role in deciding your favorite tunes. I’m throwing nostalgia aside and including some songs from games I never played as an eight-year-old eagerly awaiting the day I could grow a full beard.

I’ll try and keep myself calm through the process of writing about my top ten favorite NES tracks of all time. With the near-complete decline of modern music coming full circle, chiptunes take up more than a few gigs of my music collection, and may just be my most listened to genre, so I consider myself something of an afficionado when it comes to game soundtracks. Prepare, for you are about to witness greatness at it’s greatest.

10. Jackal – Stage 3: Now this is one I heard as a boy. I thought, “What in the hell is this? It’s currently changing my life right here and now.” And it did.

9. Shadow of the Ninja – Level 1: I had a really hard time deciding between this and the intro theme. Ultimately, though, you heard more of level one’s track, and for that, it gets the nod. Natsume games and soundtracks are often the most underrated, and this track is a perfect example of why.

8. Metroid – Kraid: Desolate, solitary, frightening and enigmatic. This aided Metroid in evoking these kinds of emotions and thoughts in its players. It’s an incredibly rich and original soundtrack. This is one of three soundtracks that I feel represented their game completely; the other two being the first and second Castlevania soundtracks.

7. Journey To Silius – Stage 1: Originally slated to be a game based on the first Terminator film, Sunsoft’s license was stripped shortly before the release of this game. I’m glad they continued with the project, because this game was amazing (if not frustratingly hard at points) and the soundtrack was it’s equal. More rock oriented than classical, the melodies were catchy and the perfect complement to shooting the shit out of robots.

6. Shatterhand – Level 1: Here’s something that didn’t caress my ears with epic madness until quite recently. The intro music prepared you for what was to come and then it hits like a fat chick in a morph ball rolling down the steepest mountain. It’s like the music of Mega Man had relations with the music of Batman and denied all allegations just before the public realized that Mega Man had some fun with a cigar in the Batmobile’s tailpipe. Yeah, it’s that awesome.

5. Batman – Streets of Desolation: Holy crap. It starts with the driving bass, then comes the infectious lead. Then it gets classical on your ass and the only thing you are capable of in that moment is proclaiming how much this track is better than your mother.

4. Castlevania III – Beginning: This is probably one of the more obvious choices on here, but there’s a reason it’s been stuck in the collective heads of millions of gamers for the past twenty years – it’s epic as hell. Compared to the first two outings on the NES, this soundtrack was a bit of a let-down in the end, but it started with one of Castlevania’s best tracks.

3. Casltevania II – Dwelling of Doom (Mansion music): Yes. I remember that you could pause the game and the music still played. I would press start in a mansion, turn the TV up to 11 and enjoy this for hours and hours. This soundtrack really felt vampyric and had more arpeggios than Yngwie Malmsteen on crack. Right up my alley.

2. Final Fantasy – Chaos Temple: Nobuo Uematsu is actually my favorite composer of ALL TIME. That’s right, all time. I think he’s better than Mussorgsky, Paganini and the rest. He takes influence from the best of baroque, the best of metal. This track is really emotional and completely added to the adventure and immersion of the game. I was in love with this song as a kid, if only we knew Uematsu was just getting started.

1. Mega Man II – The Whole Damn Thing: That’s right, the whole damn soundtrack. I scratched my head over and over trying to pick a clear cut top track from this soundtrack, so I decided to award it’s entirety with the impressive honor of being my top NES soundtrack. It’s all so damn good, from the exciting intro track that starts slow and builds to a Maiden-esque gallop, Metal Man’s intense groove and leads, Wily’s amazing and pulsating metal theme. I listen to this more than anything on the planet. Before my band plays a show, I listen to this soundtrack to get pumped; it’s become a tradition. I’m going to raise my children on this soundtrack and it’s become something of a Litmus Test for me.

With all of us gamers growing into reputable, functioning members of society, where do we go to find new music? To the past of course! There are plenty of video game cover bands out there to help you relive your favorite tracks from back in the day. Even Nobuo Uematsu has his own progressive metal band that reimagines and arranges tracks from his storied Final Fantasy soundtracks – The Black Mages. You have the incredible Metroid Metal, temp sound solutions, Year 200X. Plenty to keep all of us old men and women happy.

There it is, my top ten NES tracks. If you disagree, I implore you to reconsider your position as you are most certainly wrong. Any way you slice it, these are essential and often overlooked classics and you should go listen to them immediately upon reading.

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