Video games

The best video game soundtracks: Secrets to audio excellence

The best video game soundtracks are epic tunes that blend dramatic sound effects with iconic music to inspire and mesmerize international audiences. The best video game soundtracks of all time also win each year at the Video Game Awards thanks to their innovative sound design and composition.

At Voice123 – where you’ll find the best video game voice actors – we understand the power of music and voice overs in gaming. So here, we’ll unpack the best video game soundtracks of all time to inspire your next video game project.

Dive into thrilling soundscapes with the best video game soundtracks of all time!

What are video game soundtracks?

Video game soundtracks are audio tracks that blend acoustic elements like ambient sound effects and character voices with musical scores to create the proper music effects, atmosphere, and background audio for a video game. The best video game soundtracks help set the game’s mood by conveying emotions like fear, excitement, or sadness. This lets players fully immerse themselves in the game’s world and story. Common types of video game soundtracks are orchestral scores, chiptunes, ambient soundscapes, licensed music, adaptive/music dynamic systems, and vocal tracks.

Here are the best video game soundtracks of all time.

The best video game soundtracks of all time

1. Final Fantasy VII

Nobuo Uematsu created the legendary score for Final Fantasy VII. From the eerie Aerith’s Theme to the pulse-pounding One-Winged Angel, these soundtracks are much darker than the game’s usual style, but they perfectly reflect the new fantasy universe.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Koji Kondo, Nintendo’s gaming music composer, created the soundtrack for Ocarina. The score includes the mysterious sounds of Song of Storms and Zelda’s Lullaby to evoke an aura of haunting mystique.

3. Chrono Trigger’s best video game soundtracks

Yasunori Mitsuda was the primary creator, with contributions from Nobuo Uematsu. Frog’s Theme and Robo’s Theme convey the game’s time-travel narrative through rich, layered compositions that enchant global fans.

4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Jeremy Soule composed The Elder Scrolls pulse-pounding sounds that suit the game’s fantasy atmosphere. For Dragonborn, Soule recorded and layered a 30-person choir singing in the game’s Draconic language to create a 90-person chorus effect.

5. Halo Series

Martin O’Donnell and Michael Salvatori composed Halo’s somber yet adrenaline-fueled music. Halo Theme Mjolnir Mix from Halo 2 is one of the game’s most memorable pieces, with Gregorian chants that evoke the series’ sci-fi grandiosity.

6. Super Mario Bros.

Koji Kondo also composed the Mario video game soundtracks. His themes are upbeat, catchy, and globally synonymous with Super Mario Bros. He composed the game’s score using a small piano, creating lively tunes that matched the game’s environments.

7. Red Dead Redemption

Bill Elm and Woody Jackson composed the game’s 200 tracks in 15 months. They used period instruments to evoke a sense of open-world desolation and beauty. Far Away, sung by José González, won the award for Best Song in a Game.

8. Mass Effect Series

Jack Wall composed one of the series’ best video game soundtracks – Suicide Mission tune from Mass Effect 2. Suicide Mission combines orchestral and electronic sounds to create a vivid sense of the futuristic and alien settings in the game.

9. Journey’s best video game soundtracks

Austin Wintory is the soundtrack composer who created emotionally gripping tunes for Journey. Lisbeth Scott’s ethereal I Was Born for This ebbs and flows parallel to the player’s experiences. It reflects the solitude and magnificence the game inspires in players.

10. Persona 5

Shoji Meguro composed a stylish mashup of acid jazz, rock, and electronica to match the game’s theme of rebellion. Lyn Inaizumi performed seven of the game’s tracks in English. She also performed Rivers In the Desert, creating a cinematic ambiance for the game.

How to combine soundtracks with voice overs

Before mixing the soundtrack, ensure you have the right equipment, like quality headphones, and editing software, like Audacity or Adobe Audition.
Align the voice over track with the soundtrack; play them simultaneously to ensure synchronization.
Balance each track’s sound levels; the voice over should sound clear over the music, so you might need to reduce/enhance the volume.
Use an equalizer to reduce frequencies that may clash with the voice over’s vocal range, preventing overpowering music.
Apply light audio compression to the voice so the volume stays consistent over the fluctuating levels of the soundtrack.

Final thoughts on the best video game soundtracks

From soaring melodies to thumping bass lines, soundtracks are the pulse of video games. They define moments that stick with audiences long after the ‘game over’ screen credits. So, we hope these best video game soundtracks of all time have inspired you to harness acoustic excellence when you make your next video game.

Now, if you want to create gaming soundtracks with voice over effects, look no further than the professional voice artists on Voice123. You’ll find all the skills you need for your next gaming project, from voice actors to audio editors. Or you can hire our professional Managed Services to produce and deliver your entire project.

It’s time to create gaming magic with the best video game soundtracks of all time.