Despite the fact that the shadow of COVID looms large over the entirety of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which took place in 2021), the opening ceremony was jam packed with absolutely banging orchestrations of video game music from franchises such as Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Kingdom Hearts, Sonic the Hedgehog, Monster Hunter, and even SaGa. The most bizarre aspect is that the list of franchises that are represented is actually quite a bit greater than that. In addition to the complete list of video game music that was played at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony, Nikkan Sports also includes a list of video game music that has been translated into English by Twitter user Audrey.
List of video games used at the
opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics 2020
- Dragon Quest – “Erdrick’s Theme”
- Final Fantasy – “Victory Fanfare”
- Tales of – “Sorey’s Theme – The Shepherd”
- Monster Hunter – “Proof of a Hero”
- Kingdom Hearts – “Olympus Coliseum”
- Chrono Trigger – “Frog’s Theme”
- Ace Combat – “First Flight”
- Tales of – “Royal Capital Majestic Grandeur”
- Monster Hunter – “Setting Off Breeze”
- Chrono Trigger – “Robo’s Theme”
- Sonic the Hedgehog – “Star Light Zone”
- Winning Eleven – 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 – “Saga Series Medley 2016”
- Soulcaliber – “The Brave New Stage of History”
While we will almost certainly soon be able to hear and watch all of this in high definition online, in the meanwhile, you may listen to some of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony video game music in the movies below. While Mario is not featured in this musical medley, bear in mind that the previous Olympics concluded with a gigantic Mario reenactment, which was also rather amazing.
