Few countries have madea bigger contribution to the video game industrythan Japan. The country has given the world some of the biggest and most popular gaming franchises of all time, includingSuper Mario,Pokemon, andFinal Fantasy. With that in mind, it’s little wonder that the country was so keen to celebrate its achievements in the field during the opening ceremony for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
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Considering the country’s former prime minister, Shinzo Abe,dressed up as Super Mario at the closing ceremony in Rio five years ago, few will have been surprised to hear video game music being played throughout the parade at the opening ceremony for the games. There was no Mario this time around, however, with the orchestra instead playingpieces from numerous big JRPG franchises, with one or two surprises thrown in there as well.
19Dragon Quest - Overture (Roto’s Theme)
The Overture first appeared in the originalDragon Questand has appeared in each ofthe series' mainline installmentssince. It was composed by Koichi Sugiyama, the man responsible for many of the most popularDragon Questtracks of all time, and is sometimes refered to as the Dragon Quest March or Erdrick’s Theme in the west.
18Final Fantasy - Victory Fanfare
One of several Nobuo Uematsu tracks to appear at the ceremony, different versions of the victory fanfare have appeared throughout theFinal Fantasyseries. It’s shown up in every mainline title in one form or another, but it’s perhaps the version inFinal Fantasy VIIthat is most recognizable due to the game’s immense popularity with both modern and retro gamers.
17Tales Of Zestiria - Sorey’s Theme (The Shepherd)
Motoi Sakuraba has provided music for a number of big gaming franchises, but is perhaps best known for his work ontheTalesseries. There are a few different versions of Sorey’s Theme, but the organizers opted for the Shepherd version, which many players consider to be one of the better tracks inTales of Zestiria.
16Monster Hunter - Proof Of A Hero
Proof of a Hero has featured as the main theme in severalMonster Huntergames and was most recently used inMonster Hunter: Rise. The track was originally composed by Kouda Masato, but has been tweaked and rearranged numerous times since making its debut in the series' first entry back in 2004.
15Kingdom Hearts - Olympus Coliseum
The Olympus Coliseum seems like a natural choice for an Olympic ceremony song, given that it draws much of its inspiration from Ancient Greece. Yoko Shimomura composed the track for the firstKingdom Heartsgame almost a decade ago, and it,like the coliseum itself, has gone on to feature in numerous otherKingdom Heartstitles.
14Chrono Trigger - Frog’s Theme
When it comes toJRPG soundtracks, they don’t come much better thanChrono Trigger. It’s full of recognizable tracks, but none more so than the excellent Frog’s Theme. Yasunori Mitsuda’s piece was played several times throughout the parade, with slight variations made for each rendition.
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13Ace Combat - First Flight
Though certainly not a bad track, First Flight was a somewhat surprising choice given the dirth of excellent tracks that organizers had to choose from. Keiki Kobayashi composed the piece forAce Combat 5: The Unsung War, which first released in 2004 for the PlayStation.
12Tales Of Graces - Royal Capital (Majestic Grandeur)
Another song from theTalesseries, Royal Capital was also composed by Motoi Sakuraba and was used prominently throughoutTales of Graces. Due to the game being one of the lesser known titles in the franchise, it’s not quite as recognizable as some of the other pieces that were used in the parade, but it is every bit as good as the composer’s other work for the series.
11Monster Hunter - The Wind Of Departure
The Wind of Departure served as the main theme for Monster Hunter 4 on the Nintendo 3DS and was composed by Marika Suzuki. As well as theMonster Hunterseries, Suzuki has composed tracks for several other big Capcom franchises, includingMega Man,Dead RisingandLost Planet.
10Chrono Trigger - Robo’s Theme
Another one from the excellentChrono Triggersoundtrack, the iconic beats ofRobo’s Themeshowed up about half an hour into the parade. Though the great Nobuo Uematsu also served as a composer for the game, Robo’s Theme, like Frog’s Theme before it, is the work of Yasunori Mitsuda. In fact, Mitsuda composed most of the best songs on theChrono Triggersoundtrack, and would later go on to become the series composer for theXenoseries.
