Good morning everyone, and welcome to another edition of “Games with Coffee.” Grab your favourite mug and a pair of headphones, because I’m going to talk to you about a subject that’s dear to my heart: Video Game Music!

Video game music (which I’ll abbreviate to VGM) has evolved far beyond its origins back in the 70’s and 80’s, when gaming was extremely niche. What started with electronically synthesized sounds, bleeps, bloops, trills and clicks eventually gave way to epic, cinematic orchestrations, groovy EDM tracks, soft, emotive pieces and god and beast-slaying rock and heavy metal. These are but a few of the sprawling musical genres used in VGM.

I can’t remember when exactly I got into game music… I suspect it was from a very young age because I can remember back to my days in elementary school when I’d be humming tunes from games like Mega Man X, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Star Fox, Dragon Quest, Zelda II, Crash Bandicoot, Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasy VII, among others. My music options improved when I gained four things at the start of high school: A Sony Discman, a refurbished PC with a CD-R burner installed, the Internet and file sharing programs like Napster, KaZaa and LimeWire.

Truer words were never spoken (Image by Ponyhead)

So the cycle went like this: People would rip audio directly from the game itself (a difficult, but doable task in those times) and upload it. I, along with millions of other closet VGM lovers, would download those songs, burn them to a CD and sit back and enjoy the tunes (In my case, I listened while studying since I was in high school at that time.). Over time, CD’s gave way to MP3 players, like the iPod, and to places like Youtube, Spotify and Internet Radio, where an enormous archive of video game music can be found at your fingertips for your listening pleasure.

Some articles and blogs have speculated that listening to video game music is a great aid to help concentrate and be productive. I tend to agree; I credit game music a lot for helping me focus on my studies. I wasn’t exactly a model A+ student, but with the music just being in the background, I found that doing school work (or any kind of work nowadays) was almost like playing a game. I’d go around solving math and physics equations or writing essays in the same way I would’ve fought bosses in Final Fantasy or solved complicated puzzles in Legend of Zelda. (Pro tip: If you’re looking for a GREAT online VGM playlist to listen to while you’re working, click here.)

Something else to consider: game music and exercise are a match made in heaven. Whether it’s battle or boss fight music from games like Final Fantasy or Legend of Zelda, or tunes from great action, adventure or fighting games, like God of War, Metroid, Mega Man and Tekken, I find that they give me the extra push I need to lift more weights, do more reps or hold that pose longer. Game music is also perfect if you’re into kickboxing, karate or any other form of martial arts that require training. Some examples of training music I like to listen to include this, this, oh and this too. And whether you’re on a treadmill or outdoors, NOTHING beats running to the music from Sonic the Hedgehog.

Just… try not to run like this. You will be made fun of. I speak from experience. (Image from Smashpedia)

Like to get around by car, bike, train or on foot and need some travelling music? Once again, VGM to the rescue! I personally like to listen to the World Map/Overworld music from Final Fantasy or one of the many versions of the Hyrule Field theme from Legend of Zelda, although, the choice is yours if you care to look. Sometimes, if I’m in a rush to get somewhere or I’m just feeling the need for speed, I fall back to a reliable game music staple: Sonic the Hedgehog.

Now, let’s say you’re working on a major project for work or school and you need something to psyche yourself up because that deadline’s coming up and you haven’t even started yet, may I present Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C, Exhibit D and Exhibit E. Trust me, these’ll get you pumped!

And finally, some examples of music to chill to: Hi-Tone Fandango and Mr. Frustration Man from Grim Fandango, Sea Breeze from Metal Gear Solid 3, Galdin Quay from Final Fantasy XV and Lazy Afternoons (Twilight Town) from Kingdom Hearts II are among some of my favourites.

So, that’s today’s post. Do you listen to video game music? Don’t be embarrassed; share your thoughts below on the comments! And stay tuned for the next edition, where I discuss an interesting topic: how to live with a non-gamer. This’ll be a good post, so look out for it!

This has been Ryan from “Games with Coffee,” telling you to keep gaming and keep brewing. Enjoy your Sunday!