With the complex medium that video games often are, there are a variety of distinct elements that are in play. One overlooked aspect is the soundtrack and musical score. While technically residing in the background, a game's music can make a big difference. It can help establish, complement, or add to the atmosphere, set a tone, or provide an emotional anchor.
Being mostly independent of the gameplay, there are naturally cases where a soundtrack's quality can vary quite a bit from the game it resides in. A title might shine when it comes to presentation, graphics, or music — but fall flat in terms of mechanics or fun factor. On the flip side, there are plenty of games that may play smoothly and provide loads of fun while having a distinctly bad soundtrack.
Whether it takes the form of 8-bit simplicity or modern-day bombast, there are more than a few examples of otherwise solid games with poor soundtracks.
10 Final Fantasy X-2
JRPGS are often known for their great music, particularly those from role-playing veterans Square Enix. But much like the game itself, this extension of Final Fantasy 10 brings a divisive soundtrack; one which didn't work for many players.
Much of the reason for the more lukewarm tunes can be attributed to regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu being mostly uninvolved this time around. The game's new composers opt for a more upbeat, poppy style — which largely seems more befitting of a Dance Dance Revolution romp rather than the epic, fantastical Final Fantasy. The game certainly has its catchier tracks, but most lack the depth and melody the series is known for.
9 Street Fighter 4
Though the gameplay of this Capcom classic excels in adhering to past entries, the same can't be said for the soundtrack. On this front, the '08 sequel is a far cry in style and quality even compared to Street Fighter 3.
The musical score of this otherwise appealing fighter, composed by Hideyuki Fukasawa, has its moments, to be sure. There are even a handful of interesting pieces, such as the unique, upbeat Theme of E. Honda. By and large, though, most of the tracks do very little to excel. Rather, the music sticks with a tepid mix of standard quasi-rock riffs and minor techno bits that one might expect to hear in a cheesy action B movie.
8 Burnout Paradise
Good music is usually crucial in racers. It can serve to rev up players while adding to the atmosphere and the exhilarating nature of zipping across streets and terrain.
This holds true with Criterion's open-world rendition of the famed Burnout series. Unfortunately, while the quantity of the soundtrack is ample, the quality is sketchy at best. It's largely a hodgepodge of bland, cheesy hard rock songs, with some mostly forgettable techno and repetitive remixes. Beyond this, the rest of the lineup is rounded out with reprisals from past Burnout games, as well as ill-fitting classical melodies.
There are a few standouts like Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" and the classic Faith No More track, "Epic." Overall though, the soundtrack doesn't quite live up to the exhilarating gameplay.
7 Dragon Quest 11: Echoes Of An Elusive Age
For such a rich, expansive RPG, the soundtrack of Dragon Quest 11 tends to fall pretty flat. The MIDI synthesized soundtrack was met with critiques from players for some bizarre instrumentation and a style that clashed with the game's colorful, cartoon visuals and grandiose feel.
Along with a charming 16-bit graphic mode, a full orchestral soundtrack was thankfully added to the Definitive Edition. Though not exactly mind-blowing, most found it a major improvement; and one more befitting of modern DQ's fantastical themes and gameplay.
6 Splatoon 2
One can argue that the basic, frantic tunes that color Nintendo's messy shooter complement its fast, pick-up-and-play nature. It definitely sets the tone of this fast-paced, chaotic romp. When examined in a vacuum though, there isn't much that these shallow, pop-rock tracks have going for them.
They tend to be consistently basic, repetitive, and lacking melody, and the distorted humanoid noises that often chime in just add to their irritating nature. Still, with all the action happening in this fun, frenzied ink shooter, most of these tracks can't be heard all-too-well anyway.
5 Bubble Bobble
Dating all the way back to the Big N's more humble 8-bit days on NES, one shouldn't expect a ton of musical depth. Still, hits like Super Mario Bros. 3, The Legend of Zelda, and even the rocking jams of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NES prove good composers can do much with a little. And while the music of this fun co-op romp is distinct and melodic, its main issue is that it's virtually the only track that plays the whole game.
After hopping and bubble-popping one's way through dozens of stages, this 30-second looped track tends to irritate its listeners. Added to this are some piercingly high-pitched tones — and the fact that studio Taito's basic presentation just makes the tune more prominent.
4 Excitebots: Trick Racing
While this colorful take on Nintendo's Excite series took a back seat to the more popular Excitebike and Excite Truck, it tends to be underappreciated for its thrilling gameplay, unique vehicles, and online functionality.
The same can't really be said for its soundtrack, which usually resorts to bland synthy-pop and what loosely can be described as "techno-rock." Plagued with repetition, shallowness, and a lack of melody, the music sounds akin to an automated computer hastily churning out tracks absent human influence.
3 Sonic R
It may be a far cry from the more modern Sonic racers, but for the standards of the crude, early 3D days of Sega Saturn? This one isn't half bad and still holds a certain nostalgic charm.
The same can not be said for its soundtrack, which strays from the charming synthesized tunes of mainline Sonic games in favor of cheesy vocal tracks. It's quite a bizarre feeling dashing through a slew of fantastical stages to what sounds akin to rejected 90s pop songs.
For the most part, these sappy, lukewarm tracks aren't remotely befitting either a Sonic romp or fast-paced racer.
2 New Super Mario Bros. U
Unlike its 3d brethren, the 2D realm of Super Mario is wrought with tunes that are generally seen as shallow, repetitive, and often irritating. Even most fans of the series will admit this is a significant downgrade from the rich, bombastic orchestras of mainline Mario games of Switch and even Wii.
The simple, overtly whimsical tunes are made all the more annoying with the trademark NSMB "wha-wha's" throughout. Not only this, but many of the tracks are little more than reprisals from previous NSMB games as well as older Mario classics.
There's much to appreciate about this solid platformer, especially when teaming up with a friend or three. The tepid soundtrack, however, is another story.
1 Yoshi's Crafted World
Despite usually being fun to play, there are more than a few 2D platformers from Nintendo and second parties of late which tend to fall flat. Such is the case with this cute and otherwise delightful sidescroller for Switch.
On one level, the game's cheery, minimalistic tracks make sense. They're no-doubt meant to complement the kid-friendly motif of the colorful cardboard cutouts. Regardless, it's tough to overlook just how simple and over-the-top whimsical most of the "songs" are in this game.
There's rarely any rhyme or reason — or melody for that matter. Most tracks sound akin to the cobbled-together result of a few youths playing with recorders and xylophones. The stylized approach can work, but for most fans, it was vastly overdone here.