I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#2

Epic tune from an epic game. I remember flipping to the Dark World for the first time and realizing that this was going to be an amazing experience. My dog sings this song to herself when she’s on her evening patrols.

Track: “Dark World Theme” (YouTube Link)
Game: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES, 1991)
Composer: Koji Kondo

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#15

One of the recurring tropes in the Fire Emblem series is recruitment music that plays whenever a new character joins your team. A lot of the characters are optional teammates, and some that start as enemies have specific recruitment criteria in battle, so getting a powerful new ally is exciting. And this track is HYPE AF. Any song that makes you want to cheer aloud at a turn-based RPG is something special.

Track: “With Us!” (YouTube Link)
Game: Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GCN, 2005)
Composer: Atsushi Yoshida

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#16

This is the oldest song on the whole list, and probably the first piece of video game music with which I ever fell in love. It’s a cliche among kids of my generation that we constantly heard this song in our heads while adventuring in the woods around our neighbourhoods.

Track: “Title Theme” (YouTube Link)
Game: The Legend of Zelda (NES, 1986)
Composer: Koji Kondo

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#33

Like many of the tunes in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, this track shows the power of pure melody. The game had to give players simple little ditties they could play, so it was important that they have short, memorable sequences. This is my favourite of those. It’s got a kind of whimsical tone, and the accordion backing part is another stroke of genius.

Shoutout to Smash Bros. for making great use of this track, too.

Track: “Song of Storms” (YouTube Link)
Game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64, 1998)
Composer: Koji Kondo

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#41

Zelda II is the weird one, especially in hindsight. But at the time, it was simply the next Zelda, and it was good. And hard! But most importantly awesome. Exploring creepy towns and talking to NPCs was fresh and exciting. And you could level up your stats and learn new moves!

My uncle gave me this game for my birthday, and he gave my little sister Adventure Island at the same time. I was able to trade Adventure Island for Mega Man 2, which I later flipped (plus $4) for a copy of Final Fantasy. Those were the days!

This tune has a jangly, dynamic, almost headlong flow to it that makes it perfect for exploring old castles and dungeons and resplendent palaces (they have hanging tapestries!).

Track: “Palace” (YouTube Link)
Game: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES, 1987)
Composer: Akito Nakatsuka

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#43

Several hours while chipping away at Yiazmat pales in comparison to how deeply this tune is burned into my brain. Many brains! This is a bulletproof classic.

Track: “A” (YouTube Link)
Game: Tetris (GB, 1989)
Composers: Hirokazu Tanaka

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#46

Here’s a perfect example of using a limited tool set effectively to accomplish a purpose. This is a really motivating song. It’s a tight enough loop that I think it might get repetitive after too long, which is probably why Doc Louis rides a bike during training (to keep his workouts short and sweet).

Track: “Training Theme” (YouTube Link)
Game: Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (NES, 1987)
Composers: Kenji Yamamoto, Yukio Kaneoka, Akito Nakatsuka

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#49

Both of my parents are professional Dr. Mario players, so I had to hone my skills to earn my supper. Chill is the closest thing we have to a household anthem.

This tune is impressive, especially for an NES puzzle game, because it’s a longer loop than it seems, running through several permutations before returning to the beginning. It’s really important to have good music that’s not too repetitive in a puzzle game—something that’s too interesting to be boring, but not so distractingly interesting that it can’t function as background music.

Track: “Chill” (YouTube Link)
Game: Dr. Mario (NES, 1990)
Composer: Hirokazu Tanaka

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#51

Overworld week continues! Super Mario Bros. 2 gets a lot of flak, but it’s a great game. The playable characters all feel dynamic, the new mechanics are fun and well-integrated, and the music is solid. There should be no question that this game belongs in the main series, regardless of its origins or how it got there.

I have great memories of playing the hell out of this game over at my friend Todd’s house. He was way better at it than I was. We were used to playing the original Super Mario Bros., Wrecking Crew, and Gyromite, so a game as fluid and colourful as this one blew us away. This tune had the same impact on the audio front.

Track: “Overworld Theme” (YouTube Link)
Game: Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES, 1988)
Composer: Koji Kondo

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#52

It’s overworld week! Super Mario World‘s main theme is a solid tune that cycles through a few melodies. It’s dynamic and manages to be memorable without being annoyingly repetitive. The fact that it’s build to incorporate Yoshi’s optional bongo elements on the fly makes it even more impressive.

I sing this song to my dog.

Track: “Overworld Theme” (YouTube Link)
Game: Super Mario World (SNES, 1990)
Composer: Koji Kondo