Music has always been a crucial portion of any video game. Without traveling music, a long trek through a dungeon or a forest becomes tedious. Without boss music, the battle itself is far less intense and impactful. Music is instrumental in both the gameplay and story of any game, but that doesn't mean it's always positive.
In the video game world, certain songs live in infamy. Not because they're bad, but because they evoke powerful emotions. Their melodies get under your skin and promote feelings of hopelessness and dread. They bring up memories of pain and frustration. They brand themselves in the dark corners of your mind and plague your dreams. Out of the numerous themes created, here are several that dig a little deeper under the skin.
8 Lament - Siren: Blood Curse
Lament is rather deceptive when it starts slow and almost melodic and almost soothing. The calm and serene tones entrance the listener as male vocals intercede throughout. It's a somber melody, but not without a certain level of beauty. However, this serenity comes to an end as the tone slowly twists itself into something more sinister.
The once soothing vocals begin to crack as if the vocalist's voice is getting tired. As the song progresses, these vocals become haunting cries and screams that break the calm atmosphere the theme initially created. By the time it ends, players of Siren: Blood Curse are immediately on edge and fearful of what could come next - a feeling that resurfaces whenever this tune is heard.
7 Final Hours - The Legend Of Zelda: Majora's Mask
As a game that centers around an apocalyptic Groundhog Day-like scenario, the theme surrounding Majora's Mask needed to represent this. Like most games in the Legend of Zelda series, much of the ambiance is bright and whimsical. It's almost always bright and inspiring, urging players to go out and go on an adventure. Final Hours is the opposite of this.
As the moon draws closer, and the current timeline comes to an end, the music perfectly reflects this. The chipper and lively tune of Clock Town becomes somber and dull, almost like a funeral march. This haunting melody perpetuates the feeling of helplessness that you experience as everything you struggled to accomplish is reset.
6 Witch - Left 4 Dead
There are few undead in the Left 4 Dead series that strike as much fear in players as a witch. Even groups fully decked out in gear pause at even the slightest inkling that a witch might be nearby. They are incredibly durable and deal out a startling amount of damage. To make things worse, it alerts other zombies to your location. Of every iteration of this series, the witch is one of the scariest enemies you can encounter, and its theme reflects that.
When this haunting melody starts up out of the blue, everything stops. The hastened tempo and indecipherable vocals speak of impending danger that Left 4 Dead veterans know all too well. When this melody plays, the seriousness of the gritty survival game doubles down as one misstep could spell the end for both you and your companions.
5 Drowning - Sonic The Hedgehog
There are many ways to die in a Sonic game, but the most traumatic end for the blue blur comes from drowning. While it's horrifying to watch the titular character frantically clutch at their throat or futilely reach for the surface, it's the theme that plays in the background that makes this end more traumatic.
More of a jingle than an actual song, the drowning theme never fails to invoke stress wherever it is heard. Not only does it represent the impending demise of a beloved character, but hearing this ominous and quickening track creates a sense of urgency. A sense of urgency that, outside the game, cannot be quelled. If anxiety were to have a sound, it would be this theme on a never-ending loop.
4 Giygas - Earthbound
More of a series of sounds and tones than an actual song, Giygas' theme is as unusual as it is haunting. Listeners are buffeted by sounds of wind blowing, ethereal whispers, bursts of white noise, and other odd sounds as their screen is filled with the constantly shifting expression of Giygas' tortured form.
Like the boss its plays for, this song gets under your skin. All of these sounds meshed together create an uncomfortable feeling that reflects the combination of spite and hatred that makes up Giygas. All things considered, this amalgamation of tones and sounds is the perfect representation of an enemy made up of anger, fear, and hatred. This theme won't be forgotten anytime soon.
3 Megalovania - Undertale
The infamous Sans boss fight is one of the most difficult battles in RPG history. The rapid tempo of his theme reflects Sans' relentless determination as he assaults you with a barrage of attacks, but it's more than just difficult. This fight is so much more intense than any other battle in the game, it catches you off guard. Before you fully recover, you've already died, and thus the cycle begins.
As you die over and over again, your frustration builds to the point where just walking down that hall is painful. Even after the battle is done, and relief floods through you, you're left with scars. Just hearing the first four notes of the battle's theme is enough to send you back into that fight. The hours spent constantly dying to resurface after just a few seconds of this song, reopening wounds that were believed to have long since healed.
2 One-Winged Angel - Final Fantasy 7
There is no song in the Final Fantasy series more iconic than One-Winged Angel. After all, it's the song that represents the game's most iconic villain - Sephiroth. This track isn't creepy or unsettling in any way. In actuality, it's a pretty intense and heart-pumping theme, but it inspires fear nonetheless.
The slow yet intense build-up from the orchestra into heavy metal reflects the coming storm that is Sephiroth. It is a heart-pumping ballad to the intense boss fight that will soon ensue. Even after the battle is complete, just hearing the first few notes of this song sends players spiraling back into their harrowing battle against Sephiroth, recalling everything he has done to them and their favorite characters.
1 Lavender Town (Pokemon Red And Blue)
When people think of Pokemon games' soundtracks, they think of bright cheery tunes that reflect the peaceful atmosphere of the town you're in. Music that inspires adventure with its upbeat tempo and promotes casual gameplay with its easygoing melody. This type of music practically defines the Pokemon series, which is why Lavender Town's creepy theme stands out.
Entering Lavender Town, the upbeat music vanishes, replaced by sharp that punctuate the eerie melody that begins to play. Players expecting a fun-filled adventure filled with colorful creatures and themes of companionship were blindsided by this chilling tune. If that weren't enough, a creepypasta surrounding this song cropped up not long after, ensuring this melody remained the backdrop of every gamer's nightmares in the '90s.