I feel that the SNES was the last major console that had a sound of its own. That’s not to say that later consoles don’t have great music. It’s just that the limitations of the 8 and 16-bit eras gave their platforms a unique voice. After the shift to CD, that was lost.
The Nintendo S-SMP, created by Ken Kutaragi, was one of the most sophisticated console sound hardware at the time. But while that didn’t necessarily give it an advantage over the PC-Engine/Turbografx or Sega Genesis/Megadrive, it did give it a unique sound among its competitors. This led to more fantastic soundtracks than I can name.
Really, while I picked ten SNES soundtracks for this best-of list, there are many more that I considered. Games like Demon’s Crest, Addams Family Values, Final Fantasy VI, Yoshi’s Island, Jurassic Park, Chrono Trigger, Super Adventure Island, Super Metroid, Kirby’s Super Star, Actraiser, Super Mario Kart — and those are just the games I can list off the top of my head.
But before hitting the list, let me state the limitations I’m imposing on myself. First, a composer can only be mentioned once, making it so Koji Kondo doesn’t just dominate the whole thing. I’m also restricting this to games released in North America. Lastly, my choices favor games with soundtracks that are varied, consistent, and don’t lean heavily on pre-existing songs from other platforms such as arcade or even movies. It’s not enough to have one great song,
Last year, I covered the 10 Best NES Soundtracks, so if you haven’t already and don’t think I’m completely off my rocker, you can check it out here.
10. Plok (1993, Music By: Geoff Follin, Tim Follin)
Tim and Geoff Follin are responsible for some of the best soundtracks on bad games. Mostly. They did the tracks for Silver Surfer, Solstice, and Pictionary on NES, and strangely enough, the soundtracks to each are incredible. Yes, even Pictionary.
Similarly, Plok is just as incredible. While the game itself is, eh, not really top shelf, the Follin brothers just went to town on the soundtrack. It’s varied, unconventional, and high-quality from opening to credits. Even the sound sampling for the instrumentation is mind-blowing.
9. Shadowrun (1993, Music by: Marshall Parker)
The SNES version of Shadowrun was a bit of a strange game. Based on the tabletop RPG of the same name, it was part adventure game and part action RPG. What makes it weird is that both the adventuring and the combat were done via mouse interface on a console, and it didn’t choose to use the SNES mouse controller. It’s still a pretty great, if often overlooked, title I have a lot of affection for.
A good portion of that affection, however, comes from its extremely atmospheric soundtrack. Shadowrun’s environments were drenched in darkness, taking place during a seemingly endless night, and Marshall Parker was able to capture that completely. It draws you into the shadows and makes you feel like you’ve missed the last train home and are left to walk the empty streets. In other tracks, it underlines the mystery and gives you the sense of a greater conspiracy.
I love the Shadowrun soundtrack so much, that at this point, it’s the music I associate with the other games based on the TTRPG. The series has always had great composers working on it, but Marshall Parker’s interpretation is the only one that feels right to me.
8. F-Zero (1990, Music by: Yumiko Kanki, Naoto Ishida)
I love the buzzy sound of early SNES soundtracks. Pilotwings and SimCity both were great demonstrations of this weirdly unique sound of fuzzy percussion and trumpet-like melodies. F-Zero, however, outbuzzed them all.
It’s difficult to imagine an F-Zero game without the themes of Mute City of Big Blue, but the original’s OST went far beyond that with atmospheric, slow melodies played over hyperactive drumrolls. It simultaneously sounds like the anthem to a sports highlight show while still underlining the edge-of-control danger that defines the series.
7. Axelay (1992, Music By: Tarō Kudō)
Axelay is a solid shoot-’em-up, but it’s not the most memorable. The soundtrack, on the other hand, is absolutely incredible. Tarō Kudō is perhaps better known for his design work at Love-de-Lic and Vanpool, but while at Konami, he helped out with the sound design on Super Castlevania IV and composing for Axelay.
Axelay’s soundtrack is excellent all around, being atmospheric between flights and exciting when the lasers start flying. I feel this is best demonstrated by the Stage 3 track, Mother. It kicks off with a brassy fanfare before starting into one of the most dynamic percussive backings I’ve heard on the console.
But perhaps most importantly for a video game, it works really well with everything that’s happening on screen, whether or not you’re supposed to be marveling at the scenery or picking out your armaments.
6. Star Fox (1993, Music by: Hajime Hirasawa)
As a game, the SNES Star Fox feels a bit hamstrung by the system’s limitations, even if it is one of the console’s more capable polygonal 3D games. Newcomers to the series would likely be put off by the general clunkiness of it. But if there’s one thing that hasn’t aged, it’s the soundtrack.
Star Fox 64 is often considered the seminal title in the franchise, and much of the series’ later games base their aesthetic on it. That’s a shame because its musical compositions are more similar to the sweeping space opera themes of something like Star Trek. The original Star Fox is something far dancier. It’s much more pop. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still a touch of space opera pomp mixed in there, but songs like Fortuna and Meteor are just wildly enigmatic with unusual beats and playful basslines.
Yet, whatever direction the varied but cohesive soundtrack takes, it’s always top-notch and fits whatever it’s layered over perfectly.
5. Legend of the Mystical Ninja (1991, Music by: Kazuhiko Uehara, Harumi Ueko)
Once one of Konami’s tentpole franchises, the Ganbare Goemon series got weirder and weirder over a decade before ceasing to exist entirely during the ‘00s. We didn’t get many of the titles in North America, but one that we were fortunate to receive was 1991’s Legend of the Mystical Ninja.
What I respect most about the music in Legend of the Mystical Ninja is that it knows when to be wacky, when to be exciting, and when to be relaxing. With its unique sampling, it evokes a picturesque Edo-era Japan while still providing an effective backing for the action. It’s a rather well-packed and well-rounded soundtrack that never loses steam.
Having only been released in Japan, the Super Famicom sequels to Legend of the Mystical Ninja weren’t eligible. Even if they were, the music in those games leaned more cartoony, and I felt they lost the sense of admiration for their home country.
4. Donkey Kong Country 2 (1995, Music By: David Wise)
It’s impressive that the soundtrack to Donkey Kong Country could be improved upon, but it happened. With an injection of pirate motif underneath the startlingly atmospheric guitar(ish) squeals, David Wise absolutely blew away the sounds of the previous game.
It’s hard to describe the overarching success of Donkey Kong Country 2’s soundtrack, aside from just calling it startling. The title theme slaps you across the ears right from the start, and it’s less than a minute long. Then, throughout the course of the game, it hits you with high-intensity action tracks and uncomfortable calming atmospheric tunes. A level’s theme will not prepare your ears for what they’re about to hear, yet somehow, it all fits.
3. Super Mario RPG (1996, Music by: Yoko Shimomura)
It seems to have been an unwritten rule that SNES JRPGs were required to have some great music. Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger were contenders for this list, but I don’t think they have the same consistency or unconventional quality as the soundtrack for Super Mario RPG.
It must have been pretty tempting to lean back on the work of Super Mario’s usual composer Kōji Kondō, who had already defined what a Mario game should sound like. And while there are definitely shades of that here, Yoko Shimomura went her own way and created something unique. Not only that, it goes beyond just good battle music and provides something to fit each of the game’s emotional beats. There are a lot of themes here for minor places and minor characters. Sometimes, the theme track that goes along with the character is part of what defines them and makes them stand out, such as the case of Booster.
Whatever was happening on screen, the soundtrack just fit. And yet still, it’s great to listen to, even outside the context of the gameplay. Many of the tracks carry more emotional weight than you’d expect from the license, and more of them have an upbeat bounciness. It just has so much to offer, which puts it above other JRPGs and Mario games.
2. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991, Music by: Kōji Kondō)
The soundtrack for The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past comes out swinging with one of the most memorable introductory fanfares on the console, followed by a song that is way too good for an expositional prologue. It then continues to surprise at every turn.
One would expect Link to the Past would lean heavily on the already established OST to the original 1986 title, but there weren’t very many tracks to begin with. It really only reuses the main theme and menu music, which are greatly overshadowed by everything else in the soundtrack. A good track will often hit you where you don’t expect it like the inconspicuous Sanctuary music or the powerful Dark World theme.
It’s a powerful soundtrack that underlines a powerful game. Some of the tracks still give me goosebumps, even after I’ve heard them a kajillion times.
1. Mega Man X (1993, Music By: Setsuo Yamamoto, Makoto Tomozawa, Yuki Iwai, Yūko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama)
At this point, the Mega Man X soundtrack is just the music that constantly plays on the Juke Box in my head. On many mornings, I wake up with the Highway theme from Mega Man X. Randomly, throughout the day, I’ll wonder what tune keeps repeating in my brain and realize it’s the hook from Boomer Kuwanger’s stage or Spark Mandrill. It’s wild how much stock my brain puts on this game’s tunes.
The Mega Man series has always been serious about its soundtrack, and they went big with the inaugural game of its new SNES sub-series. It’s a long string of absolutely top-shelf tracks with memorable melodies and a high level of consistency. But more importantly, it highlighted the fast pace and more intense action that the X subseries had over its predecessor. It’s just plain legendary.
