The VG Resource

Classical music has been a staple on old videogames. The reason behind it is that they were easily recognizable, and free to use. Thanks to it, many young people, me included, got to know about famous composers through humble chiptune renditions of their pieces.

I want to create a list of all classic music in old games for reference/research purposes. Also maybe you'll be able to find nice tunes and learn about composers.

I'll be supplying this thread with updates, as I find more classical music in games. If you find any, post them here! The requisites are:

1-It needs to be from old game consoles. By old, I mean 'anything that is N64 or earlier'. The more 'chiptune-y', the better: it's interesting to see how game composers covered 'real' music with simple sound hardware. (this is why GBA is included: it's a chiptune-based console).
2-Add info regarding the source music and the original composer.
3-The music needs to be a rendition of the classical music. It can be arranged or mixed with other music, but the game soundtrack needs to have an excerpt of it.
4-NO PARODIUS. Parodius music is already well-documented here.
5-Keep the videos inside spoiler tags. This is to optimize page loading time.
6-If you suspect that a soundtrack is classical music, but you are not sure about it, you may post here so others can help you guess.

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[spoiler=Commodore 64]
[spoiler=Trolls and Tribulations (Creative Software, 1984)]
Trolltog by Edvard Grieg

[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]


[spoiler=NES]
[spoiler=Mario Bros. (Nintendo, 1986)]
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart


Note: sample at 0:13.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Devil World (Nintendo, 1984)]
The Nutcracker Suite (Marche), by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Tetris (Nintendo, 1989)]
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies by Pyotr Illitch Tchaikovsky

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=City Connection (Jaleco, 1988)]
Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky


Note: intro is an excerpt of 'Johnny B. Goode' by Chuck Berry.

Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Yoshi's Cookie (Nintendo, 1992, 1993)]
Csikós Post by Hermann Necke

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Gyruss (Konami, 1988)]
Toccata and Fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Downtown Nekketsu Koushinkyoku (Technos Corp, 1990)]
Csikós Post by Hermann Necke

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Antarctic Adventure (Konami, 1985)]
Skaters Waltz by Émile Waldteufel

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Circus Charlie (Konami, 1986)]
American Patrol by Frank White Meacham


Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss II

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Punch Out!! (Nintendo, 1987)]
La Marseillaise, French National Anthem by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle


Prelude to Carmen by Georges Bizet


Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner


The Song of the Volga Boatmen, Russian traditional folksong

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Onyanko Town (Micronics, 1985)]
Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks by Modest Mussorgsky

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Nazo no Murasamejo (Nintendo, 1986)]
Ode to Joy by Ludwig van Beethoven

[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]


[spoiler=SNES]
[spoiler=Beethoven's 2nd (RSP/Hi-Tech Expressions, 1993)]
5th Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Super Bonk (Hudson Soft, 1994)]
The Sabre Dance by Aram Kachaturian

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Earthworm Jim (Shiny Interactive, 1994)]
The Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky


Note: becomes a "Muzak" brand elevator music at 0:28.
[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Earthworm Jim 2 (Shiny Interactive, 1995)]
Funiculi, Funicula by Giuseppe Turco


Note: intro is an arrange of 'Tarantella Napoletana'.

Moonlight Sonata (3rd Movement Presto Agitato) by Ludwig van Beethoven


Moonlight Sonata (1st Movement) by Ludvig van Beethoven

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Starfox (Nintendo, 1993)]
Voices of the Spring Waltz by Johann Strauss II

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Home Alone (Imagineering Inc, 1991)]
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=King Arthur's World (Argonaut Software, 1993)]
Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner


Canon by Pachelbel

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose (Konami, 1993)]
The Poet and the Peasant, by Franz von Suppé

[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]


[spoiler=SEGA Genesis/Mega Drive]
[spoiler=Dynamite Headdy (Treasure, 1994)]
The Nutcracker Suite (Marche) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]


[spoiler=Game Boy]
[spoiler=Super Mario Land (Nintendo, 1989]
Infernal Galop "Can-Can" by Offenbach

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Tetris (Nintendo, 1989)]
Korobeiniki, Russian folk song


French Suite No. 3 in B Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Castlevania Adventure II (Konami, 1991)]
Passepied by Claude Debussy


Chromatische Phantasie by Johann Sebastian Bach

[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]


[spoiler=Game Boy Advance]
[spoiler=Mother 3 (2006)]
Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6 by Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 40 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart


Note: 0:07 contains a sample of the game's original track 'Etude for Ghosts'.

Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven, Tocatta and Fugue by Johann Sebastian Bach, Hallelujah by Georg Friedrich Händel, Four Seasons - Spring by Vivaldi


Gymnopédie No. 1 by Erik Satie

[/spoiler]
[/spoiler]

FDS

Famicom Fairytales: Yuyuki 1989 © Nintendo

[spoiler]

[/spoiler]

Published by: Nippon Columbia
Composed by: Soyo Oka
Arranged by: Ikuro Fujiwara
Performed by: Mario Freaks Orchestra
Keyboards: Ikuro Fujiwara
Electric Guitar: Teiji Mihata
Synthersizer Programming: Jun Araki
Synthesizer Operator: Naoki Suzuki

Could you fetch the original in-game version of the track, along with the info of the source music?

FDS

Famicom Fairytales: Yuyuki 1989 © Nintendo

(I can't find the music separate i can only find all the music together)

[spoiler][/spoiler]

Composed by: Soyo Oka

really hard to find any info on it too.

by source music I meant the classical music the soundtrack was based upon.

I would love to put Catherine's renditions of classical songs here, but oh well.

I have some I know

[spoiler= Tetris] Korobeiniki, Russian Folk Song


French Suite No. 3 In B Minor, BWV 814, IV. Menuett – Trio by Johann Sebastian Bach

[/spoiler]

[spoiler= Punch-Out]
Most of Punch-Out's intro are classical songs

Sakura Sakura, Japanese folk song


The Song of the Volga Boatmen, Russian Folk Song

[/spoiler]

That's all I remember for now

@ Gors i think i found a little where Yūyūki music is inspired from a novel called Journey to the West, of which the music is inspired from that's all i could find out about it.

here's a wiki about the novel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West

Senjen, you don't seem to understand the purpose of this thread. This thread is supposed to be a list of games that have classical music in their soundtrack.

Post the track with the classical music from a game, and then tell who is the original composer of the classical music. Follow the examples that are in the original post.

Here's a little something from a very obscure NES game.

[spoiler='Onyanko Town (Micronics, 1985)']
'Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks' by Modest Mussorgsky

[/spoiler]

The song used while invincible in Super Mario Land:

http://youtu.be/gaixEixOCW0

Is actually part of Offenbach's "Infernal Galop" (at about 1:50):

http://youtu.be/okQRnHvw3is

Edit: E-Man, thank you for introducing me to Onyanko Town

...Man, I always called that "Can-Can Music", even though I should know better. That's pretty good!

I'd like to take note that it might help with the research collection if the rules are loosened up a bit.
There's some more common pieces of classical music that are used enough that its easily possible that someone recognizes a tune as classical music, but doesn't have classical music knowledge to identify the name, let alone the composer.

For example, there's a few tracks in King Arthur's World I suspect are classical music (Namely all the Real World levels)
[spoiler]
(and I know the boss music is
Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner


(had to look that up since I don't know composers by heart, partially proving my point)
[/spoiler]
but I merely recognize them from elsewhere and would need someone with more musical knowledge to tell me what they were IF they are as I suspect.

Ah yes, that would be good too. It's fine to post songs that you suspect it is classic, so other people can guess them. Good suggestion!

In that case, I've always thought I've heard this music somewhere, or at least, a variation of it, like in a commercial or something, but I can't place a name.

Half Minute Hero (AKA Yuusha 30) ~ Multiplayer Theme
[spoiler]

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Devil World (Nintendo, 1984)]
The Nutcracker Suite (Marche), by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

[/spoiler]

[spoiler=Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster Busts Loose (Konami, 1993)]
The Poet and the Peasant, by Franz von Suppé
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fviwm57w8a8
[/spoiler]