Top Ten Fighting Game Music Themes

It is a terrible name for a title, I know, but I didn't know what else to call it. Whenever you play a fighting game, that is, IF you ever play fighting games, you should know that music usually sets the mood. I mean, let's face it, you want to kick ass while rocking the rock out rockin' rockitude, and that is rockin'! Unfortunately, most people don't like the horribly repetitive techno-esque sounds that fighting games usually have, but love the symphonic renditions of the millionth Final Fantasy theme song remix. If you are one of those that can tolerate listening to the really piss poor sounds that a Neo Geo or CPS2 board can produce, then more power to you, because you are all right in the book of me. If not, then I hope you die a horrible, Kurt Cobain-ish death, you dirty bastard. So to commemorate my love for really bad video game music, I will present you with an NES Horsemen first: DOWNLOADABLE MP3 FILES! I am unsure of the legality of doing such a strange notion, but remember that I am not offering a ROM file or music found on a Compact Disc (tm). I am offering sounds found on video games, so that is neato. HEIL! And guess what? This whole article is IMAGE FREE!!! Woah! I haven't done that in a while!

Number 10: Billy Kane Theme

Download Here - Length: 2:04 / Size: 1.89 MB


From the Fatal Fury series comes Billy Kane's British rock-esque theme song. If you don't know who the hell he is, then you haven't played Fatal Fury at all, you Mortal Kombat poser. Billy Kane is the personal bodyguard of the big evil bad guy of Fatal Fury, Geese Howard. Besides having a really stupid name, Geese is or was the evil crime lord ruler of Southtown, a fictional town in the United States where almost everybody spoke in Japanese, even the most whitest of folk. You have to admire SNK's dedication to the art of ensuring that everybody in the world knows how to speak a language only used by a small country of scattered islands. Billy Kane often fought people with a long staff that could seperate into three pieces interconnected by a chain. It is much like a retarded man's nunchakus, only longer and much cooler. Also, although Billy is British, he speaks fluent Japanese. Duh!

Number 9: New Japan Team (KOF '99)

Download Here - Length: 3:07 / Size: 2.86 MB


The King of Fighters series is a rare and unusual series in the land of video game series, in that it seems it will never die, ever ever ever! Several times in history should have marked the series for death, such as their using the Neo Geo to power the KOF games for the past dozen decades and the fact that the games haven't changed much since 1294. However, the games are still a great 2D romp into unknown territory and fighting bliss, since we don't have to worry about Ryu or Ken being in these games all the time. However, we do have to content with Kyo Kusanagi and Iori Yagami, who are kind of like the Ryu and Ken of these games, only one is a high school student who can burn things, and the other is a goth who can burn things. And we all know my opinion on lame ass goths. Which reminds me, by the time KOF '99 was released, a new character named K' (pronounced kay-dash) entered the fray. He was pretty much just a Kyo clone in that he could burn things and do a lot of similar moves, only he looked like some kind of cyber punk, which translates into goth, which I don't like. What I do like, though, is the pseudo-techno theme music his team has. And for the record, Shingo Yabuki, who is probably the second-coolest fighter ever right next to Dan Hibiki, was in that very same team, so keep that in mind next time your mind needs to fill a blank void.

Number 8: Cammy Theme (Street Fighter Alpha 3)

Download Here - Length: 2:23 / Size: 2.19 MB


I'm more inclined towards Japanese school girls who can kick major ass as my personal preference, but chicks are chicks, as you may know, so of course I'm going to swoon, even if they are horribly fictional. Street Fighter Alpha 3 is a kick ass game not only because Dan Hibiki is in it, but because it had the standard six-button combolishious stardardizated standard down to a science that only Japanese people can figure out. Also, there is a bit of talking in this song, and by that I mean it was probably some computer-generated Microsoft Sam voice thing that made the words come out of the invisible mouth. Capcom had a hell of a time figuring out what to do with Cammy for so long that I believe many of us didn't really care as long as we get to see her tight, pixelated ass. Now that's good pixelation!

Number 7: Final Fight (Level 1)

Download Here - Length: 2:09 / Size: 1.97 MB


I can get away with placing a beat-em-up game on this list since two of the characters from this classic "hey, let us punch generic enemies several dozen times until we get bored" game are in the Street Fighter Alpha series of games. Everytime you listen to this, I want you to kick some barrels and eat some food that was mysteriously under the barrel, fully prepared and on a plate, so you can get big and strong. And, um... I guess that all. Fight the power!

Number 6: Art of Fighting (Vs. Todo)

Download Here - Length: 2:25 / Size: 2.21 MB


Art of Fighting is one of my all-time favorite fighting games, despite the fact the game is horrible and that many dismiss it as a crappy Street Fighter II rip-off, since lead characters Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia were like the dopplegangers of Ryu and Ken. I didn't really care, because this game had cool characters that you can remember, like "Mr. Big" and... Uh... That really fat biker dude who could kill you every single time in the second fight. The game's story has been changed a couple dozen times so that they could cross the characters from this game with the characters from Fatal Fury in one giant excuse to do a versus game before Capcom could monopolize the crossover genre. Originally, Art of Fighting took place in the 1970s, but was changed to the 1990s so that it would be in the same time period as Fatal Fury, but now it seems that years don't matter, since in King of Fighters 2003, nobody has aged at all. Good old storylines! Anyway, here is the theme for the very first fight you encounter in the game, when you face the awesome power of Ryuhaku Todo and his amazing awesomeness! He is almost like the Dan Hibiki of SNK!

Number 5: Sakura Theme (Street Fighter Alpha 3)

Download Here - Length: 2:11 / Size: 2.00 MB


Sakura ranks as one of my top ten favorite fighting game characters, but that is another top ten list for another day, and yes, I always wanted to say something so predictable and boring like that, so bite me. Sakura is pretty much in existance for a couple of reasons, the main one being so she can fill the void of Japanese school girl that was missing from the Capcom roster of characters. I think I mentioned my preference for such chicks, so let us move on. She is pretty much a Ryu clone, but she doesn't suck as much as Ryu. And she kicks high! Take that, X-Box fanboys! Oh, wait, you guys have Capcom Vs. SNK 2 EO and on X-Box Live to boot. Meh...

Number 4: Yuri Theme (KOF '02)

Download Here - Length: 2:26 / Size: 2.23 MB


Yuri Sakazaki was the person you had to save in the original Art of Fighting game. For some odd reason, it only took her one year to go from being defenseless to becoming a compotent Kyokugen-ryuu fighter. Whatever the reason, she is to Ryo Sakazaki as Sakura is to Ryu. She also taunts a lot, almost as much as everybody's favorite Street Fighter himself, Dan Hibiki! This is her Art of Fighting 2 theme music, remixed on the more recent Neo Geo game King of Fighters 2002. She may not have the panty shot photo opportunities that Sakura has, but to compensate, she does wear really tight pants. Wee!

Number 3: Ryu Theme (Street Fighter Alpha 3)

Download Here - Length: 2:20 / Size: 2.13 MB


As much as I despise Ryu, I have to admit his SFA3 music kicks ass, in a video game music techno kind of way. Almost makes you want to turn Japanese and throw Hadoukens with little to no effort. Everybody should know who Ryu is by now, so I'll move right along, since he is a pretty boring person.

Number 2: Dan Theme (Street Fighter Alpha 3)

Download Here - Length: 2:14 / Size: 2.04 MB


"Kore ga Saikyo-ryuu da!" No matter what anybody says, Dan (pronounced "dahn" and not like the English equivalent, you crazy non-Japanese sucker) Hibiki is the greatest fighter ever! Whether it is his amazing Gadouken or his Koryuken, Dan knows how to kick more ass than an ass kicked more times than you can kick in a ass-kicking session! Nobody taunts and shows off better than Dan, and nobody fights as well as he can! So if you need to learn how to attack with a Shinku Gadouken, his explosive Otoko Michi, or his world-famous super taunting Chouhatsu Densetsu, Dan is the man! "Yata ze... Oyajii!!!"

Number 1: Psycho Soldier Theme (Mutliple)

Download KOF '94 Version Here - Length: 2:08 / Size: 1.95 MB
Download KOF '96 Version Here - Length: 2:51 / Size: 2.61 MB
Download KOF '97 Version Here - Length: 2:50 / Size: 2.60 MB
Download KOF '02 Version Here - Length: 2:23 / Size: 2.18 MB


Athena! In the NES world, she was a lame character in an even lamer game. Made by SNK, it bored the masses with the boringnessities. SNK tended to change the character a couple dozen times, and the result is awesome! Enter Psycho Soldier, a fun little arcade game where you control either a teenage school girl or some dude as you guys shoot bad guys with balls of psychic energy. The girl's name? Athena Asamiya, the biggest Japanese pop icon in the world of poor SNK storylines! To celebrate NES Horsemen's amazing return in 2004, the very first time NES Horsemen ever had .mp3s for download, and because Athena is awesome and her theme is so cool that the various mixes are about all equal and I can't make a decision, you now have FOUR versions to download, straight from this site! Wee!

The end!