The 20 best video game soundtracks for background music at work

I am an old.

As an old, I remember a time when video game soundtracks (try as they might) consisted of what you can now easily create on an iPhone. Have you ever held a Game Boy? Those things weren’t really made to blast out high-definition sound.

But even on the earliest systems, music and games were always linked.

I can’t picture Link walking across Hyrule Field without hearing the faux strings play the Legend of Zelda theme. The Secret of Mana soundtrack still relaxes me. I read Dracula the other day and I found myself humming the classical/techno/metal orchestrations from Castlevania.

As a freelance writer, I spend a lot of nights working after my kids go to sleep and it’s good to have some ambient music playing in the background — no vocals, just instrumentation. And I’ve kept a running list of my favorite soundtracks to meet a deadline I should have never set for myself in the first place.

So, without further ado, here are my personal favorites to have playing while I’m doing some after-hours side work.

1. Chrono Cross

The holy grail of video game soundtracks, in my opinion. Some may say Chrono Trigger’s is better (and it’s very good!) but I think that’s because they’re remembering how much they like the game and those feelings bleed over into the soundtrack. Chrono Trigger is indeed the better game, but Chrono Cross has the better musical composition.

2. Katamari Damacy

Full disclosure — never played this game. But I saw it on a ton of best soundtrack lists so I had to check it out and… wow. Just, wow. It’s not just good video game music. It’s good music period. Very catchy pop that stands on its own among even non-video game albums.

3. Chrono Trigger

You knew we’d get here eventually. As much as I stan the likes of Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy… I cannot deny the goodness that is the soundtracks in the Chrono series. It’s got a Secret of Mana vibe that I love but it stands apart. If you have Chrono Cross and Chrono Trigger flipped on this list, you won’t hear any arguments from me.

4. Final Fantasy VI

The debate for which game is best in the Final Fantasy series will go on for years. The debate for best soundtrack? Not so much. Don’t believe me? Remember the opera scene? Enough said.

5. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

This was the most anticipated video game of my entire lifetime. I pre-ordered just to get that coveted gold cartridge. And it did not disappoint. The first Zelda game in 3D was as seamless as it was true to the spirit of the games that came before it… and that includes the soundtrack. While I think (in a vacuum) that Breath of the Wild has the better composition, this is the game that all the others spring forth.

6. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

See above. If you think Breath of the Wild is better than Ocarina of Time, I won’t argue.

7. Red Dead Redemption

Unlike any other game on this list, the soundtrack to Red Dead Redemption begs you to just sit still and watch everything that’s going on. I have never found so much joy in brushing my horse. The details and the natural ambiance of the game make it a work of art, something I couldn’t call many other video games without fear of being called a nerd and asked to leave.

8. Kentucky Route Zero

It rules. It just completely rules. That’s all I have to say.

9. Mega Man 2

Call it nostalgia or me being a simpleton, I don’t care. It’s a very straightforward, driving soundtrack that keeps me going when all I want to do is go to bed.

10. Secret of Mana

Hiroki Kikuta just came out of the bullpen swinging on this one, folks. It’s his first video game soundtrack and it is a banger. He went on to compose music for Shining Hearts, Soul Caliber V, Demons’ Score, and others… but none quite as good as Secret of Mana.

11. Silent Hill

Aside from being a beautifully composed soundtrack, the music drives Silent Hill as if it were its own character. Bonus points for the sound effects team being so immersive and integrating so well into the game play… I still can’t hear radio static without thinking a deformed child is coming to kill me.

12. Journey

The first time I played this game, I didn’t quite know how to describe it. It’s rich, beautiful, and versatile. You get quite a few genres throughout Journey, but it all blends together so well you forget that you were just listening to an orchestral composition and that electronica is now blasting through your headphones.

13. Half-Life 2

I poured too many hours in my college dorm room into Half-Life 2, but it reminds me of a simpler time in my life — when I was at a crossroads between independent and on my own for the first time in my life and still leaned on my family to get me through it. Maybe the emotions it evokes makes me think it’s better than it is, but it’s still a very solid, pulsating soundtrack that can drive you through a late-night deadline.

14. Final Fantasy VII

I played around with other RPGs and Final Fantasy games on the SNES, but I’ve never immersed myself into a game like I did Final Fantasy VII. It was my on ramp to going back to the classics and throwing 40-50 hours each into any of those. The song “Flowers Blooming in the Church” is one of the best in video game history. Aerith lives.

15. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Michiru Yamane blends metal, techno, and classical elements without missing a beat. The score is incredible. Castlevania routinely has some of the best soundtracks and I think Symphony of the Night edges out the rest, but they’re all very good.

16. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Not too loud, this Elder Scrolls soundtrack is a great pad of white noise if you’re looking for something that won’t distract you.

17. Ducktales

I unironically love this soundtrack. I don’t care that it’s 8-bit bleeps and bloops, it rules and it’s beautiful. Go argue with someone else.

18. Mass Effect 2

The Mass Effect 2 soundtrack is all over the place, but that’s fitting with a game that is thematically pretty chaotic. The Suicide Mission at the end can seem a bit cheesy upon reflection now, but at the time it was pretty rad, not gonna lie.

19. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest

No, I am not trolling! Diddy Kong’s Quest is a really fun soundtrack that perfectly balances the joy and terror that was the game.

20. Super Mario Odyssey

Wait… Mario songs with words? Oh, the horror! Not really. The melodies are catchy and the feel of Super Mario Odyssey (in both gameplay and soundtrack) are still the same as they were nearly 40 years ago when this character debuted on the original NES.