Summary

• Jazz has had a long history in video game soundtracks, with iconic games like Super Mario Odyssey embracing the genre fully.
• Street Fighter 3: Third Strike and Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 also incorporate jazz, adding depth and character to their music.
• Games like Fallout 3, Mario Kart 8, Cuphead, Skullgirls, L.A. Noire, and Grand Theft Auto 4 also showcase jazz music in unique ways.

Believe it or not, jazz has been a big part of video games for a while, especially games that come from Japan. Though the influence is subtle at times, many iconic video game OSTs and melodies have adopted the principles and the tone of jazz to create songs that are unforgettable. Whether it's through rich piano chords or the unmistakable timbre of a trumpet, jazz and games have a tight history.

To really get into the spirit of jazz, here are nine game soundtracks that don't just feature a few jazzy tunes here and there, but have a huge focus on the genre. Jazz is as diverse as video games themselves, so each entry reflects a different face of the tradition.

9 ꦏSuper Mario Odyssey

The Mario franchise has had jazz running through its veins since the 1980s, but it wasn't until 2017 when the series started to really acknowledge that explicitly. Super Mario Odyssey not only has several tunes that ooze the atmosphere of orchestral big band, but also features many shots of jazz musicians performing in the game, like New Donk City's mayor who sings when she's off duty.

The most popular song from the game is, of course, "Jump Up, Super Star!", but the game is loaded front to back with multiple tunes that provide that unique jazzy flair that Mario is known for embracing. This is yet another reason to consider it 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:one of the best Mario games.

8 🅷 Stree🌠t Fighter 3: Third Strike

Though it had a bit of a rough start, Street Fighter 3 has managed to become one of the most beloved fighting games of its time. With the Third Strike release, many people even consider it the best Street Fighter ever made, and a lot of that has to do with the game's unique aesthetic.

While Street Fighter 6 mirrors some of the same visuals and music, it was Street Fighter 3 that pivoted to a major focus on African American culture, including jazz. The song "Jazzy NYC '99", the official theme for the characters Alex and Ken, is by far the game's most popular track and is one of the franchise's catchiest themes by far.

7 ꦿ ꦍ Marvel Vs. Capcom 2

Clearly, something was going on between jazz and early 2000's fighting games, because Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 ran home with the idea. Nearly every song in the game combines a jazz rhythm section with, for the time, futuristic electronic sounds but, understandably, many people have their issues with how this soundtrack was managed.

As fun as many of these melodies are, many of them are too relaxing or groovy to match the high-octane energy of, say, Iron Man fighting Jill Valentine. It's good music, but not necessarily good fighting game music; regardless, songs like the Clock Tower stage, the River stage, the Swamp stage, and the Carnival stage are guaranteed to take you for a ride.

6 Fallout 3

Many of us still remember seeing the Fallout 3 trailer for the first time; somehow, the marriage of post-apocalyptic action with the music of the 1930s worked even better than chocolate and peanut butter. Fallout's ability to combine immersive wasteland exploration with real-life jazz tunes is still one of the greatest sources of atmosphere gaming has ever known.

While these songs won't be as hot or exciting as what's to be found in a Mario or fighting game, they still represent one of the best eras of jazz music. Setting your Pip-Boy to a classic radio station and letting the voices of Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald take you to another world will never get old, especially when fighting off 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:mirelurks and radscorpions at the same time.

5 ෴ Mario Kart 8

Though it's technically a different series, one can't help but put Mario on the same list twice, especially when the music is just this darn good. Mario Kart 8 is not only arguably the best Mario Kart game ever made with many of the series' 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:best vehicles, but also arguably has the bestꦜ soundtrack of any Mario Kart game or even just any Mario gamܫe period.

Part of what makes this soundtrack so special is how dynamic it is, and the music reacts and responds to the condition of the stage and which lap you're on, which taps into the spontaneous and improvisational nature of jazz. Plus, the end credits theme is a spectacular big band groove that might very well be the best song in the game!

4 Cuphead

Cuphead is not just a game that has a lot of jazz, but is technically a game that is about jazz too, or at least about the so-called Jazz Age of music, animation, and media that dominated American culture a century ago. Though Cuphead is probably best known for its dedication to authentic retro animations, it's just as dedicated to recreating an authentic soundtrack of 1920's jazz music.

You can confidently pick any random song from this OST and be met with a song that is as bombastic as it is charming. Trombones, tenor saxophones, trumpets, and many iconic members of brass instrumentation are all over the place, giving Cuphead a feel that's totally unique to the world of gaming.

3 🤪 Skullgirls ♋

The third and final fighting game on our list continues a well-established tradition of combining saxophone solos with superheroes and mutants beating the life out of each other. Li🅘ke other titles already looked at, Skullgirls is best known for its visual style, but it also has a great jazz soundtrack filled with bebop and noir.

Fans of Castlevania will be happy to know that legendary composer Michiru Yamane is responsible for most of the game's songs (she has been a member of her very own jazz group), all of which burst to life with wonderful piano licks and solos. Songs like "Royal Canopy Waltz" and "Unfinished Business" perfectly capture the art-deco aesthetic that the game goes for.

2 🥂 L.A. N💝oire

Speaking of noir, there's only one game that truly captures the essence of real-life noir detectives, and that's L.A. Noire. Arguably the best detective game ever made, it plunges players into a grimy crime underworld while also exposing players to some of the greatest jazz music ever put in video games.

If Cuphead focused on 1920's jazz, L.A. Noire focused on the more modern sound of the 1940's. The main theme of the game is a classic with its beautiful mesh of piano, tenor sax, and soprano sax, but the game has a diverse implementation of jazz instruments that can be found on great tracks like "J.J." and "Noire Clarinet".

1 Grand Theft 🃏Auto 4

It might seem like an odd choice, but Grand Theft Auto 4 is perhaps the 💖best game ever made to get a good dose of jazz music. Why? The radio, of course! Though the game has 23 radio stations, JNR, or Jazz Nation Radio 108.5, is perhaps where jazz shines brightest in video game history.

Rockstar clearly has some serious taste including giants such as John Coltrane and Art Blakey. Plus, the radio station host is voiced by legendary jazz drummer Roy Haynes. Now that's dedication!