The soundtrack of the Tokyo Olympics is 16-bit.
Despite support for the Tokyo Olympics being at an all time low, even resulting in Sailor Moon getting dog-piled by fans for tweeting her support, the event is still happening with no sign of stopping. All we can really do at this point is hope that everything turns out okay.
As part of the Olympics opening ceremony, which may have been undergoing changes up to the very last minute, many viewers were pleasantly surprised by the choice of music.
While it was expected to have some sort of traditional Japanese music played during the Parade of Nations, pretty much no one was expecting traditional Japanese video game music to be played!
▼ Here’s “Victory Fanfare” from the Final Fantasy series,
instantly recognizable to anyone who’s played one of the games.
Final Fantasy Music at the Olympics haha pic.twitter.com/8MHwS49Rfv
— Sam (@SamMaverickMac) July 23, 2021
▼ And the original for anyone unfamiliar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEmbOL3AAEs
▼ There was also “MAIN THEME” from Final Fantasy, which fits perfectly with the ceremony.
The flag bearer athletes of Kazakhstan honestly looked like majestic Final Fantasy characters when they came on stage with the FF Main Theme playing 🥺 #Olympics https://t.co/KLaWKwNpw5
— ☆オードリーAudrey☆ (@aitaikimochi) July 23, 2021
▼ An orchestral version of the original song.
▼ Here’s “Erdrick’s Theme” from Dragon Quest,
which feels like a national anthem in itself.
Of course Japan would start the Olympics parade of nations with the theme to Dragon Quest pic.twitter.com/gjdbwMENfw
— Stephen Stapczynski (@SStapczynski) July 23, 2021
▼ The original for reference.
▼ We’re not quite sure who chose the “Star Light Zone” theme
from Sonic the Hedgehog, but we’re definitely not complaining!
Tokyo Olympics now genuinely rocking the Sonic Star Light Zone theme 🔥 pic.twitter.com/BAxs0b8eDE
— Andy Robinson (@Andy_VGC) July 23, 2021
▼ Check out the original here.
▼ But what made our jaw drop the most was
hearing Chrono Trigger music! Here’s “Frog’s Theme.”
Turned on the opening ceremony of the #Olympics and I swear when India is introduced, the accompanying music is Frog’s theme from Chrono Trigger pic.twitter.com/mEs9ldVAVC
— Mike Sullivan (@Mike5ullivan) July 23, 2021
▼ We still can’t help but suck in our manly tears every time we hear it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpiAEOB0dhs
▼ Then suddenly “Robo’s Theme” from Chrono Trigger too!
Wake up, open a livestream of the Olympics Ceremony and suddenly Robo's Theme from Chrono Trigger starts playing 😆 pic.twitter.com/lHGPrplG44
— Kiraxio@22春(甲甲甲/甲甲)📛 (@Draxira) July 23, 2021
▼ When you’re a robot created in a post-apocalyptic world,
your theme has to have a little pep to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmY2wf7T428
According to the Japanese news site Nikkan Sports News, this is the full list of video game sons played during the opening ceremony:
- Dragon Quest: “Erdrick’s Theme”
- Final Fantasy: “Victory Fanfare”
- Tales of Zestria: “Sorey’s Theme”
- Monster Hunter: “Proof of a Hero”
- Kingdom Hearts: “Olympus Coliseum”
- Chrono Trigger: “Frog’s Theme”
- Ace Combat: “First Flight”
- Tales Series: “Royal Capital — Pomp and Circumstance”
- Monster Hunter: “Wind of Departure “
- Chrono Trigger: “Robo’s Theme”
- Sonic the Hedgehog: “Star Light Zone”
- Winning Eleven (Pro Evolution Soccer): “eFootball walk-on theme”
- Final Fantasy: “MAIN THEME”
- Phantasy Star Universe: “Guardians”
- Kingdom Hearts: “Hero’s Fanfare”
- Gradius (Nemesis): “01 ACT 1-1”
- NieR: “Song of the Ancients”
- SaGa Series: “Makai Ginyu Poetry — SaGa Series Medley 2016”
- Soulcalibur: “The Brave New Stage of History”
We have to say that those are all excellent choices for making the athletes look like marching heroes. As much as we would’ve personally loved to have seen some songs from the Pokémon series, Mario series, or even the EarthBound series, it probably would not have had quite the majestic effect they were going for.
And while we wish that the Olympics weren’t happening under such unfortunate circumstances, let’s hope that it all ends up as safely as possible.
Also, if you’re a fan of mixing the Olympics with video games, and you haven’t yet checked out Google’s celebration of the Tokyo Olympics with its free-to-play ninja-cat RPG, then definitely give it a try!
Source: Nikkan Sports News
Top image: Pakutaso
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