Top 10 RPG Main Theme Songs

Nothing leaves a first impression like an epic theme song to get the blood pumping. After all, nothing makes saving the world more satisfying than the perfect soundtrack. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the Top 10 RPG Theme Songs.

For this list, we’re looking at main themes used in RPGs that capture the essence of the game: they sound epic, they match the game’s setting, and they might bring a tear to your eye when you hear them again, full of memories of your adventure. We’re only looking at Main Themes here, so One Winged Angel for FF7 is unfortunately not eligible.

When Bioware offered us the chance to explore the galaxy in search of the Star Forge, Jeremy Soule rose to the occasion to give us this out-of-this-world piece of theme music. This orchestral theme that you start to hear as soon as you load up the game totally feels like it could have come straight from the movies. It’s the perfect theme to prepare you for what is arugalby the best Star Wars games ever, and an unforgettable trek into space.

Yeah, you totally just got goosebumps. This list would be nothing without some of Nobuo Uematsu’s magic, and Liberi Fatali is one of the most magical opening themes the series has had – and they’ve had a lot of epic openings. You’ve got haunting Latin choirs and frantic strings, set against a whirlwind of beautifully rendered scenes, priming the player for the best love story ever told in a Final Fantasy. Um, sort of. At least it’s better than Twilight.

While you could argue that this is just the “town” theme and not the main theme of the game, this is the track everyone thinks of when they think of the first Diablo. A good piece of music will tell a story, and Tristram does just that – unfortunately, it’s not the happiest one. It’s the story of a bleak little village that has seen its fair share of hardships: people disappearing, creepy cathedrals filled with nightmarish creatures, and… oh, just the Lord of Terror Diablo hanging out deep underground in the pits of hell. It’s amazing how perfectly the music captures the mood – even if that mood is one of utter despair.

When Kingdom Hearts came onto the scene in 2002, dazzling everyone with its novel idea to combine the best of Western animation and Japanese gaming, it only made sense to bring over one of Japan’s most famous bilingual musical artists: Utada Hikaru. But even if you’re focusing on just the orchestral version, Simple and Clean captures the grandeur and adventure of the Disney Universe perfectly, with just a little bit of that JRPG goodness thrown in for good measure.

It’s not even out yet in North America just yet, but we’re already salivating over every bit of Xenoblade Chronicles X we get – including the absolutely stunning theme song composed by Hiroyuki Sawano of Attack on Titan fame. Starting off slow and mysterious and slowly ramping up the emotional intensity, we don’t even need to play the game to know that we’re in for a hell of a ride. As a spiritual successor to the Wii’s grandest RPG experience, hopes are high for Chronicles X, and who can blame us? The music alone promises an unforgettable adventure.

One of the most epic sequences in RPG history totally deserves an equally epic theme. It’s the final showdown with the Collectors, and every decision you’ve made throughout the game has lead up to this moment – it’s a literal moment of life or death. The track is ambient and dark, perfectly matching the heaviness of the mission. What more can you expect from a game that asks you not to just save the world, but the entire galaxy?

Wild Arms is a gem of an RPG found on the Playstation, loved for its wild west-inspired setting. Its main theme totally embodies that motif, and wouldn’t sound out of place in an old western film. The game has a ton of catchy tunes, like any classic RPG, but the opening theme really captures the soul of this fantasy/cowboy hybrid. It starts out lonely and a little melancholic before picking up the pace and promising an adventure for the ages.

It’s not all swords and sorcery on the RPG front: Deus Ex is here to remind us that cyberpunk has its place too, and it sends this message loud and clear with its thrilling main theme. It perfectly fits the gritty, dystopian world of Deus Ex – a world full of secret societies, nano-viruses, and cyborgs. This track synthesizes everything cool about Deus Ex, crafting a sense of intrigue as you plunge into the deep, branching world of JC Denton.

The anticipated sequel to Chrono Trigger might not have lived up to the originals high standards, but the music is a different story. The game’s opening - besides showing off some of the flashiest graphics on the Playstation - has one of the most breath-taking themes, with a diverse range of instruments, an emotional melody, and a sweeping execution that leaves you with chills. Between this and the main theme to Chrono Trigger, the Chrono series is 2 for 2 when it comes to epic openers.

Before we reveal our top pick, here are some honorable mentions:

Pokémon Theme, “Pokémon (Series)”

New Theme, “Bravely Default”

Melodies of Life, “Final Fantasy IX”

Menu Theme, “World of Warcraft”

That ominous chanting, that other-worldly language, that slow crescendo… Let’s not beat around the bush: Skyrim is one of the most epic RPGs ever made. It’s no simple task capturing the spirit of an Elder Scrolls game: the vast world, the thrilling battles, the endless potential for adventure – but Jeremy Soule’s done it time and time again, from Nerevar Rising to the Reign of the Septims to Dragonborn. We can’t think of a better theme to be playing while saving Skyrim from massive, fire-breathing lizards, and we can’t think of a better track to crown as number one.

Do you agree with our list? Did we leave out a track that really gets your blood pumping? Did you get tired of the word ‘epic’ by the end of this video? For more brilliant Top 10s posted daily, subscribe to WatchMojo.com.