Music: Top 10 Video Game Songs That Get You Pumped Up

Video game music has always done a great job at conveying a certain mood.  Some songs invoke sadness or regret, with slow, flowing rhythms and peaceful instruments.  Others convey a feeling of wonder and joy, with fast-paced notes and an almost cartoon-like vibe.

...And then there are those few songs that just plain get you excited.  No matter when you hear them, you feel like you're ready to accomplish something great.  Something epic.

Something like this.

These are the songs you hear when you charge head-on into a horde of zombies with nothing but a machete and a baseball bat with a nail sticking out.  They play as you commence in a one-on-one duel with Death itself on a dragon flying over an exploding volcano.  Simply put, these are the songs that just fire you up, in any situation.


#10: Main Theme (Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance)

This song has it all.  Powerful explosions of orchestrated goodness set the tone for an epic conquest of destiny.  It's the first thing you hear when you start up the game, and it gives you one heck of a first impression.

Best Time to Play It:  While jumping off of a mountain onto the back of an enraged chimera.


#9: Cornered (Phoenix Wright)

Simple-sounding as it may be, this song can be positively energizing.  The quick sharp notes convey a sense of fast-paced action and adrenaline.  If you hear something like this, you know something exciting is happening.

Best Time to Play It:  When chasing down a murderer while riding a motorcycle in the direction of oncoming traffic on a highway.


#8: The One Star (The World Ends with You)

Intense guitar riffs, fast-paced drum sections, and an enthusiastic vocalist.  This song simply oozes the term "action."  Be prepared to fight whenever you hear it.

Best Time to Play It:  When engaged in hand-to-hand combat with your nemesis on a helicopter that's spiraling out of control.

#7: Champion Battle (Pokemon Red/Blue)

Kids across the world will agree that the battle with Gary at the end of Pokemon Red and Blue was one of the most intense things that they'd ever experienced in their few years of gaming.  Sure, it wasn't all that different from the rest of the battles in the game...but the music, man!  Listen to the music!  Hearing a tune like this let the player know that the stakes were high, and it pretty much just said, "This is it.  This is the end.  Make it count!"

Best Time to Play It:  When escaping from enemy headquarters after you just planted a time bomb near their main core.

#6: Forbidden Land Eureka (Final Fantasy III)

 

The powerful orchestrated feel of this song can be invigorating.  It connotes a sense of long overdue closure, as if an epic quest is finally going to come to an end.  However, it also lets you know that things are going to end with a "bang!"

Best Time to Play It:  While leading your troops on the march towards the enemy fortress that rests on the peak of a volcano.

#5: A Fleeting Dream (Final Fantasy X)

This song may seem slow and sincere, but when you hear it, a fire builds up deep within your heart.  It prepares you for a battle that's to come.  Its empty sounding instruments create a tension that could snap at any moment.  And when that happens, you'll be ready.

Best Time to Play It:  When preparing to deliver the final blow to your evil brother via a sword to the chest (in slow motion).

#4: The Opened Way (Shadow of the Colossus)

There's that powerful sounding orchestra again.  I find it positively relieving that a song this epic was put in an equally epic game.  It makes you feel as though you're fighting against all odds in order to achieve your goals.  Funny, because that's exactly what you're doing in this game when this music starts to play. 

Best Time to Play It:  While riding a bear and fending off a pack of wolves with your sword as you try to traverse up a mountain.

#3: Masked Dedede (Kirby Super Star Ultra)

This zany little cartoon theme can be incredibly misleading.  It bounces of the walls with ecstatic enthusiasm, grabbing your attention in an instant.  The excitement that this song portrays can be contagious, and your heart will involuntarily start pumping faster once the music starts to play.

Best Time to Play It:  When escaping from a gang of henchmen while riding a jet-ski on a stretch of water that's littered with mines.

#2: Final Boss Phase 2 (Sonic Colors)

I'll admit it.  I totally geeked out when this started playing during the final boss of this game.  Sure, phase 1 sounded epic and ominous, but when phase 2 kicked in (seamlessly, I might add.  I didn't even notice when it happened), things started to feel overwhelmingly inspiring.  This song represents an explosion of motivation that spawned from overcoming challenging hardships.  When you hear this, you know that the end is coming, and you worked your butt off to get there.

Best Time to Play It:  While outrunning a supernova and pursuing your arch rival through space on a jetpack.

#1: Suicide Mission (Mass Effect 2)

You are against all odds.  The one advantage you have gives you a slim chance for victory, and that's all you're riding on.  Take desperation, couple it with driving motivation, add a little bit of madness, and you get this song.  Intense, epic, and powerful.  Play this while you're driving your car, or walking your dog, or reaching for a carton of milk.  Whatever you do, this song will make it seem ten times more exciting and important.

Best Time to Play It:  After jumping out of an exploding airplane and getting locked in close combat with an enemy in free-fall as chunks flaming debris fly past you and ashes illuminate the sky with crackling sparks of fury. 

...Or maybe when you're just brushing your teeth.  Equally awesome.