One of the best kinds of music to experience in a game is a good victory theme, something that really punctuates your success. These kinds of themes can come both immediately before and immediately after your success.
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In the former case, it gets you really hyped up for one last push toward a win. In the latter case, it’s a relief; congratulations on a job well done. Wherever it plays, these are the themes that let you know you’ve done your job, and done it with aplomb.
We’ve done our best to include samples of these tracks where possible. But seeing as a lot of these are Nintendo, and Nintendo likes to get litigious about their assets, you’ll need to seek those out for yourself.
10 Victory Fanfare
Final Fantasy
Perhaps one of the most well-known victory jingles, not to mention one of the oldest, is the signature victory theme of the Final Fantasy series.
Nearly every game in the series, even the more serious ones, feature an appearance by this song in one form or another. If you don’t hear it after a battle, you’ll definitely hear it elsewhere. For instance, you’ll hear the song after camping in Final Fantasy XV.
Probably the best version of this song was the one that played in Final Fantasy VII, as it was to that point the version with the most backing instruments. Granted, it was all still MIDI at that point, but still.
9 Shine Get!
Super Mario Sunshine
- Released
- August 26, 2002
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- unreal engine 4
- ESRB
- E For Everyone due to Comic Mischief
- How Long To Beat
- 15 Hours
There are about as many different Mario victory themes as there are Mario games. For those of us whose formative years were spent on Super Mario Sunshine on the GameCube, the song that sticks in our minds is the jingle that plays when you get a Shine Sprite.
This festive, island-styled theme is a fun spin on the usual “you got a thing” song you typically hear in 3D platformers.
More than that, though, the immense sense of relief that comes with hearing this song after suffering through some of Sunshine’s more maddening segments cannot be understated.
8 Victory Lies Before You!
Pokemon Black & White
- Released
- March 6, 2011
- ESRB
- e
- How Long To Beat
- 32 Hours
- Metascore
- 87
- How Long To Beat (Completionist Runs)
- 159 Hours
Modern Pokemon games feature dynamic music in their Gym Leader battles. These themes gradually ramp up in excitement before reaching a fever pitch at the Leader’s last Pokemon.
These themes are great, but we have to give it up for the first Pokemon duo to use this trick: Black & White. When you knocked a Gym Leader down to their last Pokemon, a fast-paced, triumphant version of the main Pokemon theme would play.
This theme really put the wind behind your sails and got you ready for a victory. Of course, the other unique song from that game, the low-health theme, takes precedence, which can swiftly sour your victory.
7 Pressing Pursuit ~ Cornered
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
The Ace Attorney series has quite the extensive sound selection, with themes for various situations and emotions in and out of the courtroom. The court themes in particular run the gamut of slow, inquisitive melodies to sudden, shocking revelations.
In the latter case particularly, the most iconic track of the series is the one that plays when you’ve got a perp dead to rights, and there’s nothing they can say to get out of it.
Every game in the series has its own spin on this, but the first game’s Cornered theme remains the most iconic. We even got an awesome techno remix of it for Phoenix’s appearance in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
6 Victory Dance
Kirby’s Dream Land
Platformer
Adventure
Shooter
- Franchise
- Kirby
- Released
- April 27, 1992
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- ESRB
- E
- How Long To Beat
- 2 Hours
Kirby has always been a critter of many talents. He’s a demolitions expert, a weapons specialist, a musician of… questionable quality, and apparently, he’s quite the breakdancer.
As far back as his first appearance in Kirby’s Dream Land, Kirby has celebrated every boss victory by spontaneously duplicating himself and performing an elaborate dance with theme music.
Both the theme and the dance are an absolute requirement of not just all Kirby games, but all Kirby appearances. Even in all the Super Smash Bros. games, a Kirby victory must be accompanied by the song and dance, full stop.
5 Level Clear
Sonic Adventure
- Released
- December 23, 1998
- Engine
- The Hedgehog Engine
- ESRB
- e
- How Long To Beat
- 9 Hours
Sonic the Hedgehog has technically had two enduring victory themes over the years. The first was introduced in the original Genesis game and carried over into Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
The second one, which would become the main one going forward, was introduced in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (& Knuckles). This second theme in particular would experience a major evolution in Sonic Adventure.
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With the Dreamcast’s more advanced hardware, the theme was upgraded with bombastic horns and drums, which would become the enduring standard for the song into the modern day.
4 Victorious Roar
Okami
Okami’s Amaterasu may be the goddess of the sun, but she’s also a powerful wolf with some wild instincts. When she triumphs over a powerful foe, she can’t help but let those instincts loose.
Following her first victory over the Spider-Queen, on Issun’s urging, Ammy lets loose a mighty howl of victory. This is accompanied by a powerful victory theme with a classic Japanese style.
The song on its own isn’t the most remarkable, but when combined with Ammy’s howl and the sight of the shining sun, you can’t help but feel a little of that sunshine in your heart.
3 Battle Win And Result
Splatoon
- Released
- May 29, 2015
- Engine
- LunchPack
- ESRB
- e
- How Long To Beat
- 5 Hours
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Despite being a relatively young franchise, Splatoon has already managed to ingratiate itself within the greater Nintendo stable. A big part of its staying power comes from the series’ consistently excellent soundtrack.
Out of all the quality songs, the one you’ll probably hear the most (or least, depending on your skill level) is the victory theme. Technically, this is two songs: the first plays right after Judd reveals who won, while the second one plays right after.
Semantics aside, that brief moment of uncertainty as Judd and Lil’ Judd calculate the scores make it all the sweeter to hear those cheering Inklings and fresh beats.
2 Boss Defeated
The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess
- Released
- November 19, 2006
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 38 Hours
Interestingly, while the Legend of Zelda series has a lot of recurring leitmotifs like getting an item or finding the Master Sword, it actually mixes up its victory themes fairly often. Just about every game in the series has a unique one.
If we had to pick one, though, the song that best represents the feeling of “you just beat up a giant monster” would be the one that plays in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
This deep, orchestral track is accompanied by a powerful choir, singing the praises of the great hero Link. As an extra bit of style, Link finishes every fight in this game with an awesome sword flourish and sheathe, which matches perfectly with the theme.
1 Tables Turn
The Wonderful 101
- Platform(s)
- Switch , PS4 , PC
- Released
- August 23, 2013
- Engine
- Platinum
- ESRB
- t
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
The Wonderful 101’s “Tables Turn” may seem like a niche inclusion compared to some of these other themes, and to an extent, it is. That said, it’s the kind of song that, once you hear it for the first time, you can never unhear it.
During almost every major boss encounter in the game, the boss themselves has unique battle music. However, after you’ve thoroughly beaten them down and gotten them cornered, Tables Turn will begin to play.
This is the theme that accompanies the Wonderful Ones’ most incredible feats of heroism, and it’s a generally exciting and action-packed tune in general.
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