NES Music Top 70 

10:57 PICTIONARY (since nobody else time-stamped it in the comments)

I'm so thrilled that Journey to Silius was so high on the list. The entire soundtrack to that game is incredible. I still can't believe Sunsoft lost the Terminator license for such an awesome game.

This music is inspirational and timeless. What a treasure.

The NES will always be my favorite console of all time!

There is seriously no reason for the pictionary song to be that good.

came here for songs, came back with so much knowledge of games

Everyone's talking about the Pictionary song while I'm amazed how good the Silver Surfer song is

Wow in just sitting here leisurely listening to the tunes and this one bad ass track come on. I would never have thought in a million years. pictionary could be so badass

As a musician, I have never ceased to be amazed at the incredible feats of composition produced by these artists in the 80's and early 90's, especially considering with how limited their production tools were back then compared with what's available to us nowadays. It might just be my nostalgia, but to me 8bit synthesizers still seem to produce more stirring soundtracks than your average orchestral arrangements.

How did Pictionary get such an amazing track??

This was a great list. I'm glad there's so much variety. Most lists like this are filled with the most well-known tracks that everyone's heard a million times before, usually from only a handful of popular games. The NES library has so much more to offer.

OMG shawdow gate just hearing the music gives me chills

I'm just happy the Wily Stage 1 theme made the top 5, favorite level music ever.

Pictionary has no right to have that cool a song.

I had this on the background while I caught up on some projects for classes during spring break, TY for posting :)

I love this so much. Thank you for taking the time to put it all together, this background music made my day fly by!

Thanks for posting this, it's awesome to listen to while doing schoolwork :)

1:04:44 omg ..i still have that Batman game in perfect condition and other games as well but Batman was/is my fav and so is the song .

This was playing in the background. A lot of these I've never heard, but a few transported me straight back to my late 80s childhood.

Great list. I didn't expect to see some of my favorite NES songs on this list, especially the werewolf one. Thank you sir.

Ninja Gaiden 28:45 Blaster Master 53:55 and Silver Surfer 1:02:21 definitely go the hardest. Missing greats: CHEETAHMEN, Kirby's Adventure - Green Fields, Nazo no Murasamejo, FF3 Overworld, FF2 Rebel Army, FF1 Undersea Shrine and Gurgu Volcano (if that rule was broken), and Dynowarz.

Wow, this is an incredible list with some really obscure gems in it! Magic of Scheherazade and Conquest of the Crystal Palace were awesome touches.

this carried me through countless night shifts

Best part at 36:33...Italy 11-England 3, after great saves 😂

great job, man. I used this list to cook and organize the garage. no need to skip any of the tracks.

Not too many know about Journey to Silius Stage 2. One of the greatest tracks ever produced in any genre.

I can relate to your list, there is so many good memories on these games. I'm glad I kept them over the years instead of selling them for the newest thing out like many did. Good job on your compilation.

Oh wow, you acually included Shatterhand. That game is criminally underrated, both the game and music. Also, no NES music list would be complete without some good old Tim Follin tunes.

I'm glad a Rygar tune was in there, that soundtrack was awesome.

Great list! Really enjoyed it.

These are excellent selections and reveal a very comprehensive knowledge of the console's library. Best NES music vid I've encountered.

that Shadowgate music! expresses such a perfect combination of adventure and fear

Shadowgate, the most terrifying and difficult game I ever played as a kid. It had me on the edge of my seat for the entire time, and now that Steam is putting up a remake of it with many new things and great renditions of the old school areas... oh man

Before clicking this I was like "Man, no one played Journey to Silius and missed out on one of the best songs ever." and here you have it as #2. Good job man! I agree!

Really good list, but thanks for that #11 It was one of my all time favs. I've always felt it like sparkling fireworks in my ears.

Shadowgate is often overlooked, and has some great music. Props for giving this text-based adventure its due.

Why is the Pictionary Theme so rocking? Hell yes!

Appreciate all the work that went into making this. It's a nice list! Misses some of my favourites like Kirby and Gauntlet, though :(

You gave me a bit of inspiration today! lol. I've sampled from a few of these!!! Nothing like the old school NES sounds!

This might be the best collection of NES music I've heard on RU-vid. No list is perfect of course since there is no such thing but there is a very thoughtful and varied collection of stuff here. I turn this on listen to it during my work day sometimes. Powers me right through the day, thanks for the hard work that went into this! Great job!

NES Era the best era ever made in the history of gaming . I wish that this era would come back just for one day ...

Its not a good playlist. Its an AWESOME Playlist man !

Magic of Scheherazade! Thank you for including this gem!

OMG THANK YOU! Finally! I found that music I can't forget from childhood! Astyanax, that the game I was looking for so long! Thank you!

I love how the intro to Solstice sets you up for a huge jolt when the arpeggios start flying!

Great compilation! Happy you have SIlver Surfer in the top ten, the music in that game kicks ass (I also think th game is awesome)

Nice one! My ears have really opened up to the magnet man melody lately.

Great choices !. And I really appreciate how you have a lot of unusual (but good !) picks in there.

this reminds me how silly these enemies were..just walking back and forth aimlessly..just being evil.. good times :D

Yeah, good memories indeed. The NES sure has some awesome games and great soundtracks! Hard 2D 8-bit and 16-bit games with good and responsive controls are still nice to play every once in a while.

Thanks for the upload. it was a well spent hour in my life ^^. great choices! :)

Não sei quanto a vocês mas os sound tracks do nes são os melhores dos jogos pra sempre,são espetaculares. Sempre quando escuto eu volto no tempo quando era mais feliz,eu sonho com esse sons nostalgicos,vem uma alegria. Essa era foi muito forte principalmente na trilha sonora.

Yeah, Ninja Gaiden! #43's my jam!! I've seen so many different names for this song though, here its "Master Ninja Theme" but I've also heard "Ryu's Theme", "Ryu's Determination", "Unbreakable Determination", and lastly (and I'm not making this up) "Basilisk Mine Field".

Thanks, man! great selection! I would like to see here robocop 3, alien 3, Jurassic park and battletoads and double dragon

So rad! I listen to this all the time.

Dude, you are the best...thanks for this. Astyanax, faxanadu, magician, maniac mansion!! you sure know your tunes man

Number 43 at 0:28:45 is one of my favorites XD It should be higher on this list and especially higher than the other ninja gaiden songs x) But thats just my opinion. Also, if famicom was in this competition, I'd bet the fire emblem them would be up there pretty high lol

pictionary goes hard

Just gotta say I love this compilation, man. It has gotten me through writing many papers this last year.

Simply great compilation of NES music. I can't point any song that shouldn't be there. Good job Kristian!

its amazing how much good music the nes has when its almost beeps and boops how limited the nes hardware was.

There aren't many things I love more than a good NES tune

Amazing, my childhood memory... Thanks!!!

You called it with Solstice. I could totally hear that being on a Jethro Tull album!!! Love it!

A list of epicNESs! Thanks.

omg so happy to read here I'm not the only one who's insanely rockin' out to the Pictionary tune.

Thanks for the video! It was fun to listen to all this music!

Since no-one else seems to be doing it... Timestamps for mobile users! (Plus the song and game aswell) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 0:00 #70 - Contra Force - U.S.S. Unkmy Battleship (Stage 2) 0:47 #69 - Bucky O'Hare - Red Planet 1:25 #68 - Wurm: Journey to the Center of The Earth - Magma Falls (Act 3) 2:09 #67 - Shadowgate - Entrance To Shadowgate 2:35 #66 - The Magic of Scheherazade - 3000 Years Ago 3:24 #65 - Metal Gear - Red Alert 4:13 #64 - Astyanax - Remlia (Stage 1) 5:28 #63 - Advanced Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes of the Lance - Ending 6:49 #62 - Yo! Noid - Stage 13 & 14 7:22 #61 - Maniac Mansion - The Boys Are Still Back (Dave's Theme) 8:46 #60 - Rygar - Den of Sagila 10:04 #59 - Jackal - Stage 1 Theme 10:58 #58 - Pictionary - Title Theme 12:32 #57 - Werewolf - Werewolf Theme 13:04 #56 - Super C - Perilous Cliffs (Stage 5) 13:39 #55 - Magician - Merl Forest 16:50 #54 - Shatterhand - Final Area 17:52 #53 - The Battle of Olympus - Peloponnesus 18:32 #52 - Skate Or Die 2 - Skate Or Die 20:49 #51 - Nightmare On Elm Street - Third House 22:06 #50 - Faxanadu - Quest 23:17 #49 - Street Fighter 2010 - Horizontal - City Lights 24:13 #48 - Startropics - Dungeons Theme 24:57 #47 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Title - Intro 25:38 #46 - Target Renegade - Parking Garage (Stage 1-1, 1-2 & 1-3) 27:03 #45 - Wizards & Warriors - Wizards & Warriors Intro 27:40 #44 - Conquest of the Crystal Palace - Level 1 Theme 28:45 #43 - Ninja Gaiden - Master Ninja's Theme (Stage Version) 29:32 #42 - Xexyz - Cyborg Rider 30:08 #41 - Shadow of the Ninja - Underground Sewers 31:00 #40 - Gremlins 2 - Gizmo's Office 32:05 #39 - Gunsmoke - Comanche Village 32:40 #38 - Dr. Mario - Fever Theme 33:50 #37 - Double Dragon - City Slum 35:10 #36 - Nintendo World Cup - Vs Match Theme 36:35 #35 - Chip 'n' Dale - Zone J 37:09 #34 - Ninja Gaiden III - Desert 37:44 #33 - Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! - Fight Theme 38:24 #32 - Super Mario Bros 2 - Main Theme 39:09 #31 - Ghosts 'n' Goblins - Graveyard 39:46 #30 - Zelda II - Palace Theme 41:22 #29 - Crystalis - Inner Mountains (Mt. Saber) 42:04 #28 - Double Dragon II - Final Confrontation 43:01 #27 - Mega Man 6 - Tomahawk Man's Stage 44:02 #26 - The Goonies II - The Goonies 'R' Good Enough 44:59 #25 - Kick Master - Bottomless Crevasse (Sector 4) 45:40 #24 - Treasure Master - The Moon - World 2 47:07 #23 - Little Nemo: The Dream Master - Nightmare Land 48:07 #22 - Contra - Jungle - Hangar 49:04 #21 - Snake's Revenge - Searchlights and Sentries 50:02 #20 - Super Mario Bros 3 - Level Theme 2 50:39 #19 - Ninja Gaiden II - Overdrive (Getting Intense 2-2) 51:32 #18 - Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse - Aquarius 52:13 #17 - Final Fantasy - Matoya's Cave 52:48 #16 - Kid Icarus - Angel Land 53:55 #15 - Blaster Master - Area 1 55:10 #14 - Mega Man 3 - Spark Man's Stage 55:51 #13 - Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - Bloody Tears 56:32 #12 - Life Force - Thunderbolt (Stage 5: Temple stage) 57:10 #11 - Solstice - Solstice Title 1:00:07 #10 - Castlevania - Wicked Child 1:01:20 #9 - Mega Man 4 - Dr. Cossack's Fortress II 1:02:21 #8 - Silver Surfer - Level Theme 1 1:03:58 #7 - Metroid - Kraid's Lair 1:04:43 #6 - Batman - Streets of Desolation 1:05:52 #5 - Super Mario Bros - Super Mario Bros 1:07:23 #4 - Mega Man 2 - Fortress Theme I 1:08:40 #3 - Ducktales - The Moon 1:10:08 #2 - Journey to Silius - Stage 2 1:13:39 #1 - The Legend of Zelda - The Legend of Zelda (Title) Holy cheese balls, that took a while. And to anyone who's gonna say "BuT iT sAyS tHoSe In ThE dEsCrIpTiOn So YoU cAn UsE tHoSe!", mobile users make up a hell of alot of RU-vid users and they can't use timestamps that are in the description. Plus, this way, you can quickly access a specific song you want to jump to. :)

Great choice :) I'm probably gonna get myself a NES mobile ringtone as well soon.

Why hasn't anyone ever informed me that Pictionary has probably the best music on the NES? WHY!?!?!?!?

Fantastic List. i'm always listening to it before sleep. I feel like a child again, thanks for the feeling and the great compilation.

#3 Duck Tails moon song was stuck in my head, and I couldn't remember what game it was from until this video. Thanks! #3 Blaster master was good as well. I'd heard that on a Nerd #AVGN vid but didn't know the title as well.

NO BATTLETOADS ????? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?????

Thanks for clarification on that one. I know I messed up on some of the composers, unfortunately. It was sometimes difficult to find a reliable source, and also some mix ups between the actual music composer and the "audio programmer" etc. I hope nobody is holding a grudge...

Thanks for the list; must have been very hard to choose songs and put this together. Would have liked Kirby's Adventure, Snake Rattle n' Roll, Klax, Battletoads, and some others to have made an appearance, but on the other hand this list made me realize how awesome some other tracks are, despite never having noticed them when playing so many years ago.

I've listened to a fuck ton of nes playlists on RU-vid, and I gotta say this is my favorite one by far. Excellent choices!

Only thing I would have added was Gravity Man from Megaman 5.

Thank god Kraid's Lair showed up, I'm a little buzzed right now but I was about to be legitimately angry lol

Thanks bro. There are definitely some awesome tracks I never heard. Thanks for taking the time to make that.

Nice list, thank you.

I loved Maniac Mansion but never cared about the "Dave Theme". Now.. Decades later.. I get goosebumps. The Power of the mighty NES!

9:55 rygar mastery!

SOLID. Sooo many of my favorites on here. We're definitely on the same wavelength, my friend. I normally don't listen to lists of this length. Video came on during a shuffle while doing housework. Glad it did.

Great list man!

Thanks for the compilation! I like how you gave some love to Bucky O'Hare and Shadowgate. But I'm pretty surprised that you didn't include anything from Snake Rattle 'n' Roll or Kirby's Adventure. Those games have some seriously awesome soundtracks, I'd highly recommend them if you haven't heard them already.

Shadowgate! Ah... the nostalgia...

So much awesomeness. Really enjoyed these 75 minutes!

!! You chose my favorite as #1! Absolute best of all time!

Feel tired and pressured growing up.... And unhappy...

nice! imma but this on my i-pod while working out!

I really enjoyed listening to your top. Nice job

This is soo good!! ty ty ty : )

08:45 and 27:40 - And this is why I watch such lists. As an aspiring video game soundtrack composer I like really good obscure tracks.

Nobody: The title screen for NES pictionary: kicking more ass then it needs to Why is this song such a bop!

Thanks for the post, I use these whilst I work so I'm always looking for new ones

Awesome list. Thanks for taking the time to create this for us.

Wolverine deserves a spot on this list somewhere, as does G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor

Great list. Many of my favorites were in it. Rygar, love that shit.

1:10:15 It was actually made as a game based on Terminator. However it took longer to make than they anticipated and by the time they were almost finished their license had experienced. The massive success of terminator 2 meant the license had almost tripled in value by then and they couldn't afford to renew it.

The Wizards and Warriors music is going to be stuck in my head all day. Great video. Obviously a lot if effort has gone into this so cheers!