Video game music is among the best out there. While RPGs and other story-heavy games tend to have some of the most beautiful tracks to match the emotional beats of the stories they tell, platformer games also have incredible and often underrated music.

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Awesome platformer soundtracks are even more impressive because the games often use repetitive music throughout a single level without coming across as overly annoying. You enjoy the experience of playing through the level with the same song over and over again. Platformers’ music can also motivate you to persevere through a difficult section. And sometimes, they can even strike the same emotional chords you might find in an RPG soundtrack.

10 Sonic The Hedgehog

Sonic the Hedgehog Windy Hill Zone

Sonic The Hedgehog’s original trilogy amped up the platforming game, adding an element of speed to the gameplay. Sonic’s title songs for his 3D games are iconic jams that give the hedgehog an edginess that suits him, but the original games’ soundtracks are also perfectly suited for Sonic.

Each of the different tracks for Sonic’s levels has an energetic rhythm and tempo, similar to the blue blur’s own rapid pace. The track’s peppy sound and beat also match Sonic’s upbeat, carefree personality.

9 Drawn To Life

Drawn To Life Two Realms Platforming Gameplay

Drawn To Life had one of the most creative concepts for a game: drawing your own playable hero and various weapons, vehicles, and items to use along your quest. The series combined that model with platforming levels and interesting stories. Drawn To Life also has incredible music.

The games have a distinct musical sound to them, capturing the whimsy of imagination that Drawn To Life emphasizes. The games’ music also managed to capture the emotional moments through song very well, too, with a few tracks that tug on your heartstrings, especially in the game’s sequel, The Next Chapter. It’s a hidden gem of platformer soundtracks.

8 Mega Man

Quick Man's Stage from Mega Man 2

Mega Man puts a futuristic spin on the platforming genre, starring a robot protagonist taking on an evil scientist. As one of the most iconic platformers, it’s no surprise that its soundtracks across the series are among the best.

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Mega Man’s music has a futuristic flavor to it, with a robotic beat that adds to the game’s aesthetic. The tracks also have a quick beat to them, adding to the rising tension of each level as Mega Man fights his way through to the boss at the end.

7 Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight Gameplay

Hollow Knight is one of the hardest platforming challenges out there. The game’s intriguing story and beautiful art aesthetic are matched by a soundtrack that is among the best of modern games.

The Hollow Knight soundtrack is varied, containing faster-paced, intense tracks for bigger, tense battles, as well as slower, quieter songs that emphasize the game’s mystery. There’s also a few surprisingly moving tracks that capture heightened emotion on par with the saddest scenes in gaming. Overall, the Hollow Knight music has an epic tone to it.

6 Ori

Exploring the dark yet colorful forest in Ori and the Blind Forest

Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps are both beautiful, artistic games. This applies not only to the stories they tell and the art style, but also the music itself. Like Hollow Knight, the games’ soundtracks give them an epic feel to it. The music in Ori differs by emphasizing the adventure and magic of the world.

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The soundtracks also have quite the range to them. The gentler music adds to a sense of wonder, while more intense tracks add to the emotion of the moment. They are a stunning pair of gaming soundtracks.

5 Celeste

Steam Deck platformers Celeste spikes

One of the best indie platformers out there, Celeste’s plot follows a young woman attempting to tackle her mental health challenges, personified with the game’s demon antagonist, while climbing a mountain. It is a moving storyline, accompanied by an incredible soundtrack.

With the game’s spiritual elements and the appearance of ghosts, the soundtrack as a whole has a distinct haunted sound to it. Many of the faster songs add a sense of urgency to the levels you play through. Calmer songs break up the quicker beats and add to the game’s emotional core.

4 Geometry Dash

Geometry Dash - The Main Character Uses A Spaceship To Navigate Around Obstacles

Geometry Dash is notoriously difficult, perhaps the hardest platformer ever made. Its soundtrack also contains some of the fastest songs of any gaming soundtrack. While some might find the speed distracting, the music’s rhythms try to help you match the quick timing the game’s levels require.

As a whole, Geometry Dash’s soundtrack sounds like a collection of songs you might hear at a club or party. The dubstep-like music sets it apart as unique and adds to the energy of the game’s bright colors.

3 FEZ

Fez character standing in doorway with platforms below

A neat mix of 2D and 3D platforming, FEZ offers you a unique gameplay challenge as you work through the two environments. Its blend of platformer and puzzle game gives it a naturally slower pace compared to other platformers, a change of tempo that’s reflected in the game’s great music.

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FEZ has a whimsical sense of adventure, which is reflected in its musical tone, too. Its tone is modern techno, bringing in unique sounds that work to calm rather than motivate you to push through the level.

2 Castlevania

castlevania symphony of the night screenshot

As a series revolving around defeating Dracula and other spooky monsters set in a castle, you’d expect Castlevania to have a haunting, medieval vibe in its music, an expectation that is absolutely met. The earliest NES games’ tinny beats resemble the harpsichord instrument, which works well with the games’ style and plot.

As the series progresses onto consoles with a wider musical range, Castlevania manages to keep the same haunting sounds while elevating its music to a more epic scope and feel through adding more instruments.

1 Super Mario Bros.

Mario jumping near a Question Mark Block and Goomba in the original Super Mario Bros.

Without question, the Mario series has the most iconic video game music of all time. From the original tunes of the first 2D Super Mario Bros. game to the 3D platformers of more recent years, the series hasn’t lost its touch in putting out excellent melodies.

The 2D Mario platformers tend to have tracks with simple, memorable beats that help you stay focused through each level, and it’s these tunes that most probably think of with the Mario games’ music. However, Mario’s 3D platformers, such as Super Mario Galaxy, have elegant arrangements that elevate his adventure.

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