Last week, The Recording Academy, who is in charge of putting on the GRAMMYs, the annual awards show celebrating excellence in music, announced several new categories for the 2023 show. The most notable addition (at least, for those reading this website), is the Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games, which brings long overdue notoriety to video games as well as lending some much needed legitimacy to the pastime we all love and enjoy. Though the same rules apply to this award as to all of the other GRAMMY categories–the music has to be released during the previous year–this got me thinking: what video game soundtrack from the past deserves a GRAMMY win?
One of my favorite things to do when I am working is listen to instrumental music. More specifically, scores from movies, TV shows and video games. Video games feature some of the best music I’ve ever heard, and they are honestly long overdue for recognition by their peers and I am excited that The Recording Academy is finally giving them a spotlight. However, I can’t just pick one video game soundtrack that deserves a GRAMMY, so here are a few that immediately stand out:
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword – The Zelda series has long been known for sweeping arrangements and tying key moments to songs, but the less popular entry for the Nintendo Wii has to feature some of the best music in the entire series. The score is so good, the game was released with an orchestral CD celebrating the beloved music from the series, including the Ballad of the Goddess, one of the greatest pieces ever written.
- Speaking of Nintendo franchises, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Mario’s explosion onto the fully-orchestrated soundtrack with Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Updating key iconic pieces of music into fully realized tracks and introducing some fun new ones, the score for both of those games features some of the greatest video game music ever written.
- Music from the Halo series – especially the hauntingly beautiful theme that has gained popularity on TikTok recently. There are a lot of reasons why Halo has endured for so many years and hardware generations, but one of the key reasons is the beautiful, energetic, and thrilling score for each and every entry in the series.
Those are just a few key examples. What video game score do you think deserves to win a GRAMMY for Best Soundtrack for Video Games? Let us know in the comments below or join the conversation on Boss Rush Network’s Discord and Facebook.
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