Jazz in video games

by FunkDruid

Now just like most people, I’ve been playing video games for a long time. Like… a LONG time. I’ve got a Triforce (Legend of Zelda) tattoo for crying out loud. That being said, looking back on all the games I’ve played in my life I’m finding more and more examples of jazz music that I never noticed before. Here’s just a short list of all the sweet sweet jazz tracks from my gaming past:

1. Katamari Damacy – Katamari on the rocks

Katamari Damacy cannot be explained by any normal person. Its a Japanese game in which you are the prince of the cosmos and you need to take a Katamari, a sticky ball, and roll up things on earth so that your dad, the king of the cosmos can crush it and turn it into a star. But here’s the catch: its super crazy and Japanese, therefore absolutely in-explainable unless you see it firsthand. The music on the other hand is a combo of old school big papa Japanese jazz and j-pop. You win some, you lose some.

2. Grim Fandango – The whole damn soundtrack

This game… I don’t really remember this game very well because I was super young when my dad played it, but I do remember how I learned the places and people by the music and that’s what stuck with me. I really should go back to this game, because from what I remember, it was quite the funny game about a skeleton detective. The art style of this game melds with the music quite well, but that is one of the biggest criticisms on this game.

3. Phoenix Wright meets Jazz Soul – The fragrance of dark coffee

The Phoenix Wright games are all just so good, I cant help but post this redo. This song is a theme of some character done by a jazz soul combo. Fun stuff if you ask me. When grouped with Rainymood.com, this track turns into one of those introspective days in. A good listen any day of the week.

4. Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Throwback Galaxy

Come on, who doesn’t like Mario? That’s right, nobody. And if there really is someone out there that doesn’t like the plummer, then they can safely assume that they’re an enemy of mine. This track/level is a jazz redo of one of the levels in Super Mario 64 and its pure 100% uncut Colombian awesome. If you’ve even seen someone play SM64, then you should get a kick out of this level.

Well, these are some good listens. So go listen to these good tracks and just remember… these are from video games.