TOP 10 VIDEO GAME THEMES AND SOUNDTRACK SCORES

When they arrived in the 1970s, video games were a completely new form of entertainment. They dazzled with cutting-edge graphics and memorable theme songs, sound effects and scores. At first, people fed quarters into machines at arcades, playing Pong and Pac-Man, each game’s music providing an uptempo accompaniment as players traversed level after exciting level. Then came the advent of home consoles, which brought games into living rooms and dens everywhere.

Video games have given us many memorable characters and songs — think Mario and Luigi, with their indelible opening refrain and accompanying sewer music. One composer, Yasunori Mitsuda, worked so hard on the intricate theme for the famed 1995 title Chrono Trigger that he had to be hospitalized with stomach ulcers!

Like many of us, I’ve spent lots of happy hours with a controller in my hands trying to up my scores and achieve gaming victory. Here are my personal top 10 favorite video game themes and soundtrack scores.