Most Important VGM?

What do you feel are the most important soundtracks in video game history? I know for sure that there are countless, but what are a few that come to mind right away?

Two very important soundtracks in my opinion are Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 6.

I say Chrono Trigger because it contains an epic soundscape that pushed genre boundaries. The tracks seamlessly switch between classical music (Yearnings of the Wind), celtic (Guardia’s Millennial Fair), march music (Frog’s Theme), elevator music (Robo Gang Johnny), worldbeat (Corridor of Time), and much more. There still is a recurring theme throughout, but each track almost stands on its own. The genius of Yasunori Mitsuda, with help from Nobuo Uematsu, is evident as he composed throughout, showing the potential that RPG music always had.

I also say Final Fantasy for two reasons: the opera and Dancing Mad. Props to Nobuo Uematsu for putting a full opera on a Super Nintendo soundtrack. Even though the vocals are alittle strange, the opera pieces are very well composed. Dancing Mad is at the apex of Final Fantasy final boss music, followed closely by One-Winged Angel from FF7. The unique layout for the actual battle is mirrored in the prog rock/classical setup of Dancing Mad, a trend that started in earlier Final Fantasies (e.g. Battle with Gilgamesh from FF5), but perfected in FF6. These gave a good template for other games to follow.

I could list many more soundtracks and why they’re important, but I want to hear your thoughts. Give your picks and your reasons.

Anything by Zelda. It’s just become so popular among video game fans it’s impoSsible to ignore.

I agree. Koji Kondo in general has contributed a lot to VGM.