Down, Back, Shuffle: 17 Video Game Themes To Dance To

Complex Says: Epic boss battles in the Final Fantasy series are always accompanied by the most memorable themes. The tenth rendition of the series offered us another catchy boss battle tune. The first fight with creepy spell caster Seymour had us choosing between fire and ice magic while tapping our feet at the same time. What if someone added a little more bass and crowd stock sounds to the mix? THIS happens.

Complex Says: OUR HOMEBOY PARAPPA! We gotta believe, right? We believe in this song the most. We can already envision him in front of a crowd of teddy bears, chickens, moose’s and living flowers while spitting his happy-go lucky lyrics. SAY OH YEAH!

Complex Says: It just sounds so…tranquil. We wanna sprout our wings and fly through the air with a sea of Flicky’s. Man, talk about dream street music. Sonic and Tails can ride even higher to this retooled version of their Sky Chase stage theme.

Complex Says: We were saddened to see our girl Elena get excluded from the roster of characters in Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition. She could break-dance with the best of ‘em and kick the shit out of anyone and anything. We love her theme in Street Fighter 3: Third Strike for all of 60 seconds until the chick yelling “Beats” annoys us to no end. We prefer this “What if?” rendition much more.

Complex Says: Old man Lau from the Virtua Fighter series was not to be messed with. Our Wolf got choke slammed, our Akira got pushed off the stage and our Sarah caught a few sift kicks to her baby feeders in every round. Lau’s daughter, Pai, had his ass-kicking genes, too. So imagine our discomfort when we had to take her on. This song does the both of them justice.

Complex Says: Sonic R had some pretty weird songs playing to accompany you while you attempted to run on foot with Sonic and his furry friends. We just had a hard time not falling off the side of the track, honestly. When the female vocals hit for this one, our thoughts went from “Huh?” to “This ain’t half bad.” Pretty lame game with some decent tunes, we say. “Can You Feel the Sunshine” just got a lot brighter with this remix.

Complex Says: Love Yoshi? Took countless lives with the green menace in Super Smash Bros. Brawl? Then you should be used to hearing this song at the victory screen. A lil’ hip mixed with some hop made sweet love to this theme and reproduced this. Somebody cop our man Yoshi a fitted cap and a mushroom chain. That crowd is hyped, son!

Complex Says: Are we the only fans of the eclectic mix of characters in Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha? There was the skeletal superhero Skullomania, the sewer dweller Doctrine Dark and the spiked out Garuda. Our favorite fighter though? Fine ass Pullum Purna with the tambourine victory jig. Slow her tune down a tad and you get this relaxed flow.

Complex Says: Time to sink into chill mode on this one. Lady Lightning is a world-beater that wowed us when the first official Final Fantasy XIII trailer hit the net. That tune that’s playing while she’s murdering a bunch of tech goons on a moving train is pretty sweet. Listen as it gets even sweeter.

Complex Says: Mario Kart was a staple of every child’s 90’s gaming regimen if you had a ton of friends and a Super Nintendo. The stage finale with the bright color overload known as Rainbow Road separated the plumbers from the koopas. Now this theme just got livelier and way more colorful. Raise your blue shells in the sky and bounce, y’all!

Complex Says: Dan don’t get no respect. Dude rocks a pink gi with pride and (tries) to whup ass with his incomparable Saikyo fighting style. We’d gladly chill in the background with this jawn blasting from our boombox while Dan gets revenge for his Pops. Oh snap, he’s about to unleash that super taunt!

Complex Says: If you’ve ever gotten the chance to wipe the floor with tons of Shinra Soldiers and countless other creatures in Final Fantasy VII, then this tune should be instantly familiar. Check for the song switch-up in the middle. The horns of victory make us level up every time.

Complex Says: The music in Killer Instict was bawse enough already! All it needed was a knocking beat and the background announcer we all love to make this one even more of a hit. FIGHT HARD!

Complex Says: This remix screams “evil personified.” It fits Dr. Doom like a glove, and we’re proud to have the man back up our three man squad in Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Make sure you don’t stop applauding after this joint is over though. Don’t wanna risk the threat of execution now, do you?

Complex Says: Ah, the good ol’ days of Sega and Sonic. Your old school gamer card is automatically taken if you can’t recognize this tune. Green Hill sounds like an awesome spot to get “inspired,” if you catch our drift (or contact high).

Complex Says: Lawd bless them thighs! Chun-Li’s recognizable theme from Street Fighter gets a tune up with Ridge Racer in tow. Bash that kick button all day and jam out to this instrumental.

Complex Says: All the props in the world to this DJ for making Navi tolerable for once. Okay, we’ll listen just this one time. Why? The Legend of Zelda lost woods theme mixed with dubstep sounds incredible.