Best game soundtracks by year

Fun chat let’s do it

I don’t pretend to have heard half as much as I would need to to make a serious list. This is just rolling off a really quick skim through my collection.

Yes I included 8 out of 9 FF soundtracks. Not even bias, I just kept listing other stuff and going "Ok FF was at as good as this."

1983
Ultima III: Exodus (Apple II)

1984
best I could come up with was Ballblazer (Atari 8 bit) but there’s probably something better.

1985
Super Mario Bros (NES)
Monty on the Run (C64)
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (Apple II)

1986
Darius (Arcade)
Metroid (NES)
The Legend of Zelda (NES)

1987
Ys I (PC88)
The Last Ninja (C64)
Shinra Bansho (PC88)
—————-
honorable mention:
The Ninja Warriors (Arcade)
Final Fantasy (NES)
Wizards & Warriors (NES)

1988
Mega Man 2 (NES)
Snatcher (MSX)
—————-
honorable mention:
Altered Beast (SMD)

1989
Ghouls ‘n Ghosts (C64)
Xak: The Art of Visual Stage (MSX)
Shadow of the Beast (Amiga)

1990
Final Fantasy III (NES)
ActRaiser (SNES)
F-Zero (SNES)
Battle Bull (GB)
Pictionary (NES)
Silver Surfer (NES)
Solstice (NES)

1991
Final Fantasy IV (SNES)
Final Fantasy Legend III (GB)
Illusion City (MSX)
Treasure Master (NES)
A Link to the Past (SNES)
SimCity (SNES)

1992
Soul Blader (SNES)
Streets of Rage 2 (SMD)
Final Fantasy V (SNES)
Agony (Amiga)
Ecco the Dolphin (SMD)

1993
Secret of Mana (SNES)
Myst (Macintosh)
Plok (SNES)
Star Fox (SNES)
Gunstar Heroes (SMD)

1994
Final Fantasy VI (SNES)
EarthBound (SNES)
Super Metroid (SNES)
Donkey Kong Country (SNES)

1995
Chrono Trigger (SNES)
Suikoden (PSX)
Alien Soldier (SMD)
Secret of Evermore (SNES)
Tetris Attack (SNES)

1996
Diablo (Windows)
Sonic 3D Blast (SMD)
Highly Responsive to Prayers (PC98)
Super Mario RPG (SNES)

1997
Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX)
Final Fantasy VII (PSX)
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PSX)
Einh�nder (PSX)
Breath of Fire III (PSX)

1998
Xenogears (PSX)
Suikoden II (PSX)
The Ocarina of Time (N64)
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil (N64)

1999
Chrono Cross (PSX)
Final Fantasy VIII (PSX)
Legend of Mana (PSX)
Silent Hill (PSX)

2000
Final Fantasy IX (PSX)
Vagrant Story (PSX)

Carefully considering my selections would take days. So here’s a first thought best thought list, one soundtrack per year, starting with 2001.

2001
Shenmue II

2002
Shantae

2003
Silent Hill 3

2004
Katamari Damacy

2005
Shadow of the Colossus

2006
Okami

2007
Super Mario Galaxy

2008
Sonic Unleashed

2009
Tower of Heaven

2010
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game

2011
Minecraft

2012
Fez

2013
Fire Emblem: Awakening

2014
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

2015
Undertale

2016
The Last Guardian

2017
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

2018 – Celeste (https://radicaldreamland.bandcamp.com/album/celeste-original-soundtrack)