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.

▼ And the original for anyone unfamiliar.

▼ There was also “MAIN THEME” from Final Fantasy, which fits perfectly with the ceremony.

▼ An orchestral version of the original song.

▼ Here’s “Erdrick’s Theme” from Dragon Quest,
which feels like a national anthem in itself.

▼ 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!

▼ Check out the original here.

▼ But what made our jaw drop the most was
hearing Chrono Trigger music! Here’s “Frog’s Theme.”

▼ We still can’t help but suck in our manly tears every time we hear it.

▼ Then suddenly “Robo’s Theme” from Chrono Trigger too!

▼ When you’re a robot created in a post-apocalyptic world,
your theme has to have a little pep to it.

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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