Despite the anemic abilites of the NES’ audio processor, many of the most memorable and revered video game tunes in history were first rendered on the venerable console’s Ricoh RP2A03 (NTSC models)/RP2A07 (PAL models) CPUs’ on-die APU. Everybody remembers the music from level 1-1 of Super Mario Bros., much like they do the selectable Tetris tunes, The Legend of Zelda‘s overworld theme, Cut Man’s stage theme from Mega Man, or the ominously understated ambiance of Metroid‘s atmospheric aural stylings.
These games’ tunes undoubtedly influenced how high gamers and critics alike set their expectations for quality in video game music synthesis; however, countless titles obscured from public view for a multitude of reasons (including low production runs, poor consumer and/or critical reception, etc) had music that easily stood toe-to-toe with the system’s heaviest hitting titles.
This listing is NintendoComplete‘s effort in rectifying the neglect suffered by those games with notable soundtracks that have languished in the shadows cast by their bigger budget, universally recognized and acclaimed compatriots. Please note that the following list does not showcase any NES game not officially released in the US NTSC territory, and as such contains no selections making use of Japanese-only enhancement chips (the most famous being Konami‘s VRC6, used in the far superior Japanese version of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, Akumajou Densetsu.
Please further note that the following tracks are not individually ordered, but rather arranged in four tiers as demarcated by the video links.
The 40 Best Underrated Music Tracks of the NES #40-31
| Title | Publisher | Theme | Time |
| Thunder & Lightning | Romstar | Main Stage Theme | 0:04-0:59 |
| Rygar | Tecmo | Gran Mountain Theme | 0:59-2:10 |
| Bad Dudes | Data East | Second Stage Theme | 2:10-3:20 |
| T&C Surf Designs: Wood & Water Rage | LJN | Main Stage Theme | 3:20-4:20 |
| Abadox – The Deadly Inner War | Milton Bradley | Stage 5 Theme | 4:20-5:00 |
| Tiny Toon Adventures 2: Trouble in Wackyland | Konami | Hampton’s Train Ride Stage Theme | 5:00-5:57 |
| Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Bandai | Daylight Stage Theme | 5:57-6:45 |
| Shadow of the Ninja | Natsume | Stage 5 Theme | 6:45-7:35 |
| Bomberman II | Hudson | Battle Stage Theme | 7:35-8:39 |
| The Flintstones: The Rescue of Dino & Hoppy | Taito | Stage 1 Theme | 8:39-9:58 |
The 40 Best Underrated Music Tracks of the NES #30-21
| Title | Publisher | Theme | Time |
| Werewolf: The Last Warrior | Data East | Werewolf Theme | 0:04-0:56 |
| Tecmo Cup Soccer Game | Tecmo | Versus Team Seals Theme | 0:56-1:49 |
| Might & Magic: Secret of the Inner Sanctum |
American Sammy | Battle Theme | 1:49-2:49 |
| Adventures in the Magic Kingdom | Capcom | Pirates of the Carribbean | 2:49-3:52 |
| Bo Jackson Baseball | Data East | Title Theme | 3:52-4:38 |
| Kid Icarus | Nintendo | Stage 3 Theme | 4:38-5:33 |
| Kiwi Kraze | Taito | Main Stage Theme | 5:33-6:32 |
| Disney’s Ducktales 2 | Capcom | Niagara Theme | 6:32-7:43 |
| The Immortal | Electronic Arts | Battle Theme | 7:43-8:49 |
| Sesame Street ABC | Hi-Tech Expressions | Win Fanfare | 8:49-9:23 |
The 40 Best Underrated Music Tracks of the NES #20-11
| Title | Publisher | Theme | Time |
| Rambo | Acclaim | Title Theme | 0:04-0:56 |
| American Gladiators | GameTek | Intro & Title Themes | 0:56-2:00 |
| Captain Skyhawk | Milton Bradley | Title Theme | 2:00-2:24 |
| Crash ‘n the Boys Street Challenge |
Technos | Intro & Title Themes | 2:24-3:49 |
| Gun Nac | Nexoft | Intro / Title Theme | 3:49-5:31 |
| The Lone Ranger | Konami | Intro Themes | 5:31-6:51 |
| The Magic of Scheherazade | Culture Brain | Title Theme | 6:51-8:19 |
| Maniac Mansion | Jaleco | Title Theme | 8:19-9:32 |
| Mission: Impossible | Ultra | Title Theme | 9:32-10:16 |
| Wall Street Kid | Sofel | Title Theme | 10:16-11:28 |
The 40 Best Underrated Music Tracks of the NES #10-1
| Title | Publisher | Theme | Time |
| The Adventures of Rad Gravity |
Activision | Main Stage Theme | 0:04-1:21 |
| Heavy Barrel | Data East | Main Stage 2 Theme | 1:21-3:26 |
| Jackie Chan’s Action Kung Fu |
Hudson | Stage 1 Theme | 3:26-4:22 |
| Jurassic Park | Ocean | Stage 1 Theme | 4:22-6:26 |
| Shatterhand | Jaleco | Area E & F Theme | 6:26-8:05 |
| Silver Surfer | Arcadia | Main Stage 2 Theme | 8:05-9:59 |
| Tom & Jerry | Hi-Tech Expressions | Main Stage 2 Theme | 10:43-12:21 |
| Top Gun: The Second Mission | Konami | Mission 2 Theme | 12:21-13:41 |
| Yo! Noid | Capcom | Stage 13 & 14 Theme | 13:41-14:44 |
Leave a comment or drop me a line with your thoughts; I’d love to hear what everyone thinks about the selections on display!