Top Ten Video Game Theme Songs

After a long hiatus between my first and my second entries, I'm making the third right after the second. I have to give credit to my brother, who gave me the idea for this one. This time I'm listing the top ten video game theme songs. Ground rules for this one are one per franchise and it has to be a theme from an actual game, not music from a music-based game. (IE, Rock Band, Guitar Hero, etc)

#10---Kirby's Dreamland--Level 1

I remember this tune even though I haven't played this game in over a decade. One of the first games I had on the Game Boy and it was very addicting. The first level tune was so catchy I hated passing it half the time. Sadly the rest of the game was fairly forgettable as far as the soundtrack went.

#9---Battletoads--Main Title Theme

I loved the title theme to Battletoads. Even though I'm not really a surfer, this theme made me imagine riding the waves on some sunny beach. I only wish the feeling you got after listening to the title theme for a few minutes wasn't crushed 15 minutes later trying to pass the hover craft part of Level 3!!!

#8---Contra--Energy Zone

This is about where the "one per franchise" rule started becoming VERY hard. Contra is a very fond memory from my childhood. I remember playing this game over and over with my brothers and enjoying all the aspects. The music, the game play, the stealing lives from each other... (It got to the point where we had to lay out a rule you could only steal so many lives) Only my brothers would get it if I said, "me first me first". After much deliberation I decided to go with the Energy Zone level. This one is just so "energetic" (couldn't think of any other word, sorry if it seems redundant.) It also sounds very frantic, if you allow yourself to be controlled by the tempo of the music it can lead to premature and unnecessary deaths!

#7---Donkey Kong Country--Jungle Japes

Another classic game from my childhood. Only bummer that we had to endure was that for some reason our second SNES controller wouldn't operate on this and a couple other games. That meant that we couldn't play as a team, which would have made this game funner. But the soundtrack is still awesome, it was hard to choose a favorite but I have to choose the original jungle tune. I love the beats of the drum and the soft flutes that accompany them. There's also an inside joke if I were to mention also in the running from this game was the theme, "The Burger King Kid's Club, just for kids!" I'm sure everyone aside from my brothers are scratching their heads on that one! ;)

#6---Double Dragon--Mission 1

This one was a toughie as well. I love most of the music from this game, from the title screen all the way to the caves in Mission 3. But I have to choose the Mission 1 music. This is where your journey to rescue your kidnapped girlfriend begins and the music sets the tone perfectly. Heck, this song is so perfect, they re-use it at the end of Mission 3. This is one of those songs that I feel if I ever got up the motivation to learn the guitar, I'd learn how to play this song on it.

#5---Goldeneye--Dam

Yet again, SO hard to decide on just a single theme. I have nearly the complete soundtrack and I had to review it all over again just to single it down to one. The one I think I wanted to put on this list actually came from the multi-player mode, but I wanted to choose a level theme and I chose the dam level. I love the percussion/drum part of it that runs in the background of the level. It's kind of interesting that if you're walking the percussion kind of keeps beat with your walking. When Activision re-made this for the Wii, I was half hoping they'd input the old soundtrack on top of it, but sadly no.

#4---Ducktales--The Moon

It's safe to say that the top 5 became the toughest as far as the "one per franchise" rule mattered. Ducktales was an amazingly awesome game for one based off of a cartoon. I also remember that I beat this game the very first time I played it. But now I try to play it and I need cheats to beat it!!! Nearly every level on this game are soundtrack gold. I have this soundtrack as well. But I have to follow almost everybody else's selection from this game and go with the Moon level. 

#3---Super Mario Bros--Overworld Theme (Multiple games)

Mario games have always had awesome music in my opinion, even oddball games like Mario 2 had memorable music.....choosing just one from the whole series would really be a tough task. But you just can't choose anything other than the original theme song that has become completely hand-in-hand with Mario. You can't really mention Mario to me without this theme song popping into my head, even if you aren't mentioning Nintendo's Mario!

#2---Legend of Zelda--Overworld Theme (Multiple Games)

Like Mario, the Zelda series has been prime with awesome, unforgettable music. From the very first one all the way through the series it hasn't disappointed. Ocarina of Time had a very memorable soundtrack to go with an awesome game. But you have to give the ultimate nod to the tune that started the whole series off. As soon as you turn the game on, it starts playing while telling you the story. (If you give it enough time before hitting start) If I had to choose a VERSION of this song, I'd have to say the Link to the Past version. I think the SNES really brought out a great version of this theme song. The percussion they added in gives it a little bit more "umph".

#1---Mega Man 2--Dr Wily Castle Levels 1 and 2

It was EXTREMELY hard actually putting this at number 1, because I often feel Mario or Zelda deserve the top spot, but this is a song I can just NEVER forget or get out of my head. Mega Man 2 is full of very awesome and moving music. (Except for perhaps Heat Man, that was a pretty blah song.) Bubble Man, Air Man, Flash Man.....this game was just the epitome of cool for me on the NES. But the first two levels of Wily's castle just has a very awesome theme song. So awesome Brentalfloss even created lyrics for it that pretty much sums up what you're up to:

Gotta run gotta run now, gotta run now, run slyly

Gonna get you, Dr Wily

Gotta climb gotta climb now, gotta climb up highly,

I am Mega Man, here's my mega plan: YOU DIE! (Copyright Brentalfloss)

And there are my top ten video game theme songs!!! I may take a bit of a breather now before my next entry. I've just had a bit of time on my hands lately to do these last two.

Top Ten Toughest Games I've Played

After a bit of time I decided to write another entry. This top ten is based off the top ten toughest games I've played. Ground rules I set for myself were one per franchise and the game has to be linear/have a story, so no sports (Madden) or fighting games (Mortal Kombat). I'm sure the first few entries will be a bit of a laugher for some of you, but try arguing at least the top two ones with me if you dare! :P

#10---Super Mario Bros.

Like I said before, I'm sure some people will laugh at this entry, but to this day this remains the hardest Mario game I've ever played. I have been able to beat every other Mario game I've played thoroughly without too many problems. (Still have not yet played Sunshine) This one gets hard for me once I get to level 8. I managed to get to the castle very few times and just could not survive through Bowser's last castle. I did eventually beat it, but it was the Deluxe version on the Game Boy Color. Now that I have the new All-Stars version on the Wii, I'm going to sit down and try it in more detail once again.

#9---The Legend of Zelda:Ocarina of Time

Ok, I absolutely love this game to death and I'm sure more people are laughing that I put this on the list. My brother gets through this game so easily I swear he can beat it with his eyes closed. However, I've yet to beat it. I made it to the Water Temple on the 64 before I left for my LDS mission and never touched the copy after I got home. I'm now playing it again on the Anniversary Edition I picked up at a Game Crazy some years ago and I'm still in a stupor remembering everything I need to do. This may not be "hard", more or less sometimes tedious with plenty to do!!!

#8---Adventures in the Magic Kingdom

I remember playing this game on the original NES. I've grown to be such a Disney nut I turned it on my emulator and tried it again. The funnest part of the whole game is the easiest key to get, chasing Pluto around and answering Disney trivia. The other keys, however, are difficult and tedious to get. In pirates you have to rescue the kidnapped damsels while also setting a signal fire. Doesn't help you don't have any way of fighting back against the pirates. The Haunted Mansion allows you a way of fighting back against the ghosts, but it's still hard and the main ghost comes through the mansion at random and it's an instant kill. Space Mountain requires you to have a hairline response system, turning within a few seconds and also shooting meteors. I only managed to beat the game by using cheats that gave me infinite lives and unlimited energy.......

#7---Metroid

Ok, have another laugh. One of the reasons this isn't higher on the list is that I did manage to beat this game on the original NES without the assistance of any cheats. But re-visiting the game all these years later really points out how tough of a game it is. This game is so expansive. The toughness doesn't keep it from being a fun and addictive game. I still enjoy playing this game even today.

#6---Mega Man 4

Ok, with the "one per franchise" rule, it came down to choosing between Mega Man 3 and Mega Man 4. Both were merciless because they had extra levels that make the game longer and harder than they probably could have been. Those Doc Robot levels in 3 are an extra challenge and still give me fits. But I give 4 the nod because not only do you have to go through a castle and "defeat" Dr. Cossack, but then you have to go through Dr. Wily's castle and beat him. The kicker for 4 is that they messed up the Rush Jet. In 3 when it's introduced you can jump on him and control him to get a good shot in. When they re-did it for 4 they made it so Rush started going in a straight line once you jumped on and you couldn't stop him. That made fighting Wily so much more frustrating for me, having the original Rush Jet would have been way easier.

#5---Monster Party
This one brings back memories from my childhood. We had this game and my brothers and I would constantly play it and watch each other as we tried to beat it. Like Metroid, we did manage to beat this game without any cheats at one point. This also has to be on the "weirdest game plots ever created list" (Maybe I'll do that one later) You're a kid coming home from a baseball practice when a monster comes and says your bat is the key to defeating "evil" monsters that have taken over his planet. He says that you and him have the ability to fuse each other. This makes the game easier, as he can fly and shoot a laser shot. This is way better than when you play as the kid, who only as a bat that has a very short attack span. The game makes the monster's claim become a reality as the final boss cannot be hurt by the monster's attacks, you can only hurt him by hitting his nose with your bat or by batting his eyeball shots back at his nose..... Go figure....

#4---Final Fight

I didn't really play this one in it's heyday in the arcades and on the SNES very much. But when it came out on the Virtual Console I thought it would be worth a download to play a good "beat em up" game. But now I'm stuck. I'm at the end of the second level where you fight some crazed, samurai-WWE wrestler guy. He has two katana swords which do massive damage. You can hit him to knock them out of his hands, but as soon as you hit them away, he'll shoulder charge you which also takes a lot of life out of you. Losing to him sends you back to the beginning of the level so you get to start the whole thing again.....sigh........

#3---Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Yet another one that I look back and wonder how my brothers and I made it so far without cheats when we were younger. Anyone who's played the game probably is cringing by looking at this picture. The second level sends you into a dam to defuse 8 bombs. They only give you 2 minutes and the whole dam is rigged with electric seaweed, instant death plants, rotating discs and electricity. (How does that work under water?) Not to mention Leonardo and Donatello are your MVP's cause their weapons have a long reach. If (and most likely when) you lose those two it's almost worth just resetting the game cause Raphael and Michaelangelo just don't have the reach for attacking, they more often than not get hit when they're trying to attack. I played this one with an invincibility cheat recently and couldn't get past level 3. Yet my brothers and I made it to the Technodrome once, that amazes me now.

#2---Battletoads
I have a love-hate relationship with this game...... On one hand it's a lot of fun to play. Beating up baddies and finishing them off with over-the-top moves like creating a big hand or big foot. But then there's the level of difficulty. This screenshot should create memories of those who have played this game. I think I've managed to beat this level ONCE and also managed to catch the warp in this level once. I turned on some cheats on my emulator and was invincible on the final level, STILL can't beat it!

This leads us to.......

#1---Ghosts N' Goblins

Oh my, where to start with this one? I can't even cheat properly on this one cause there's not really an invincible code out there. But essentially, take a hit, your armor is knocked off and you're running around in your underwear. Next hit, you're a pile of bones! Next, some enemies, like the zombies, respawn infinitely so you're never getting away from them. Plus the enemies like to dogpile their attacks, so while you're fending off/avoiding one enemy, another is coming from your backside so you'll take a hit nearly every minute or so. I think I've only been able to make it past the first level once. I think this one gets the top spot because I've seen footage of the later levels and THEN the knowledge that you get through the whole game, beat the demon and get the message that it was all "an illusion created by Satan" and you have to go through the WHOLE GAME OVER AGAIN! If I had worked hard to get to that point and got that message I may have done something that I up to this point have not done.....throw the controller at the screen!

Well, that's it for the top ten toughest games I've played! Thanks for checking it out!