Best Video Game Song Tournament, 01-04: Top 128 (Part 1 of 4)

With the first round of playoffs in the books, we move on to the top 128! Hey, remember when people called this generation the “128 bit era” for a hot second? It wouldn’t have made any sense, but I’m kinda sad we don’t live in a world where some marketer’s trying to convince us the PS5 is 1,024 bit. Anyway.

Since it’s the playoffs, groups will be active until 9:00AM Pacific the day after they post1, or for roughly 24 hours. You can listen to a playlist of today’s songs (in matchup order) here.

Or you can work ahead!

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Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Or listen to every song here.

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PLEASE LISTEN TO BOTH SONGS IN A MATCH BEFORE VOTING

Voting will be live until Monday, October 12th at 9:00AM Pacific

Previous Round Results:

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year DoorX-Naut Fortress1011Guilty Gear XXHoly Orders (Be Just or Be Dead)
Trails in the Sky FCTrails in the Skies116Super Smash Bros. MeleeBattlefield
Mario & Luigi: Superstar SagaPreparing for Travel99Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year DoorRogueport
Cave StoryJenka 2312Zone of the Enders: The Second RunnerBeyond the Bounds
Katamari DamacyKatamaritaino (Roll Me In)134Guilty Gear XXGrace
Puyo Pop FeverTaisen 4 (Final Boss Theme)125Halo 2Halo Theme Mjolnir Mix
Super Smash Bros. MeleeBrinstar Depths99Iridion IICold Play
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake EaterMain Theme113Castlevania: Circle of the MoonAwake
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year DoorMain Theme163Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake EaterSalty Catfish (Special Codec Tune)
Ollie KingBoarder 70 [Somethin’ Jazzy for Your Mind Mix]611Pokemon Ruby/SapphireSlateport City
Unlimited SaGaBattle Theme EX114Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith LordsTrayus Crescent
Super Monkey Ball 2Monkey Shot ~ Expert Stage107Silent Hill 3Walk On Vanity Ruins
Final Fantasy XPrelude107Mega Man Battle Network 2Official Center
Unlimited SaGaBattle Theme I104Trails in the Sky FCSilver Will
Kirby: Nighmare in DreamlandNightmare Wizard811Mega Man Battle Network 3Boss Battle! (Boss Theme)
Katamari DamacyGin & Tonic & Red Red Roses148Super Smash Bros. MeleeFire Emblem

Two ties!
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga – Preparing for Travel wins over Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door – Rougeport
Super Smash Bros. Melee – Brinstar Depths wins over Iridion II – Cold Play

In non-tie news, we have a second runoff song advancing, as Holy Orders (Be Just or Be Dead) narrowly defeats X-Naut Fortress.

Fun Stats:

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Game Breakdown:

8 Songs:

  • Final Fantasy X (-3)
  • Katamari Damacy

7 Songs:

  • Super Smash Bros. Melee (-6)

6 Songs:

  • The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (-1)

5 Songs:

  • Iridion II (-3)

4 Songs:

  • Trails in the Sky FC (-6)
  • Kingdom Hearts (-5)
  • Cave Story (-3)
  • Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim (-1)

3 Songs:

  • Tales of Symphonia (-5)
  • Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (-3)
  • Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean (-2)
  • Technictix (-2)
  • Unlimited SaGa (-1)
  • Gitaroo Man
  • Ico

2 Songs:

  • Mario Kart: Double Dash (-4)
  • Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (-4)
  • Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (-3)
  • Mega Man Battle Network 3 (-3)
  • Parappa The Rapper 2 (-3)
  • Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (-1)
  • Mega Man Battle Network (-1)
  • Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (-1)
  • Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire (-1)
  • Jet Set Radio Future
  • Super Mario Sunshine
  • Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner

1 Song:

  • Final Fantasy X-2 (-4)
  • Guilty Gear XX (-3)
  • Silent Hill 3 (-3)
  • Mega Man Battle Network 2 (-2)
  • Wario Ware, In: Mega Microgame$! (-2)
  • Zone of the Enders (-2)
  • Final Fantasy XI (-1)
  • Fire Emblem (-1)
  • Halo: Combat Evolved (-1)
  • Luigi’s Mansion (-1)
  • Metroid Prime (-1)
  • Remember 11: The Age of Infinity (-1)
  • Shadow Hearts (-1)
  • Sonic Heroes (-1)
  • Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (-1)
  • Wild Arms Alter Code: F (-1)
  • Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse (-1)
  • Baby Felix Halloween
  • Beats of Rage
  • Dynasty Warriors 4
  • Legaia 2: Duel Saga
  • Macross 7 -Shake the Heart of the Galaxy-
  • Mario Power Tennis
  • Puyo Pop Fever
  • Shin Megami Tensei Digital Devil Saga 1
  • Silent Hill 2
  • Silent Hill 4
  • Soul Calibur II
  • Suikoden III
  • Super Monkey Ball 2
  • The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
  • Wild Arms 3
  • Zone of the Enders: The First of Mars

Remember The Fallen:

  • Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (-2)
  • Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (-2)
  • Halo 2 (-2)
  • Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland (-2)
  • Mario Kart: Super Circuit (-2)
  • Mega Man Battle Network 5 (-2)
  • Advance Wars
  • Asphalt: Urban GT
  • Baldr Force EXE
  • Beyond Good & Evil
  • Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django
  • Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
  • Dynasty Warriors 3
  • EVE Online
  • Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
  • Freedom Force
  • Golden Sun
  • Iridion 3D
  • Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
  • Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour
  • Mega Man Zero 2
  • Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
  • Ollie King
  • Quantum Redshift
  • Rez
  • Samurai Warriors
  • Shadow Hearts Covenant
  • Sonic Advance 2
  • Sonic Adventure 2
  • Technibeat
  • The Incredible Machine – Even More Contraptions
  • The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring
  • World of Warcraft

We’ve got a pretty big shakeup up top, as Katamari Damacy has a perfect round, catapulting it from T-5th to T-1st. It shares that spot with Final Fantasy X, which edges out rival Super Smash Bros. Melee by just one song, sending the latter to 3rd.

It was a rough first round for underdog contender Trails in the Sky FC, as it loses 6 of its 10, dropping out of the top 5. It was also a bad round for Consolidated Mega Men, losing 9 songs across 5 games, and falling to just 5 songs left over 3.

Platform Breakdown:

  • PS2: 56 (27 games)
  • GameCube: 31 (12 games)
  • Game Boy Advance: 19 (10 games)
  • PC: 13 (4 games)
  • Game Boy Color: 3 (3 games)
  • Xbox: 3 (2 games)
  • Multiplatform: 2 (2 games)
  • Arcade: 1 (1 game)

The PS2 continues to do very well. The GameCube continues to be buoyed by a few heavy-hitters (fitting), while the GBA’s charmed run through qualifying hits a bit of a snag, taking heavy losses here. We also must bid adieu to the Dreamcast and N-Gage.

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