Relax Video Game Music – Relaxing Playlist
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Throughout Nintendo Life VGM Fest, our season of features focused on music, interviews and other audio snippets, we will introduce you to some of the Nintendo Life team’s personal playlists with the best music from all video games. Our collective gaming experience spans many decades of incredible audio, from the nostalgic ‘blips’ and ‘beeps’ of the arcade era (for some of us, at least) to the sheer orchestral majesty of today’s triple-A’s. and all the glorious variations in between.
Here are some of our best game songs to chill out at the end (or at the beginning or in the middle) of the day. The only self-imposed rule we had when selecting these tracks for our relaxing VGM playlist was that they must have appeared in a game on a Nintendo platform. Simple!
Is this a comprehensive list of all the great relaxing video game tracks on Nintendo consoles? Of course, no; how can it be!? This is just a small sample of some of our favorites, but feel free to nominate your own personal picks in the comments and share the love – we’re completely open to expanding the list over time.
In the meantime, grab some headphones, sit back and enjoy …
Key Personnel: Gavin Lane (GL), Thomas Whitehead (TW), Kate Gray, (KG)
Jolly Roger Bay / Dire, Dire Docks (Super Mario 64, 1996)
Composer (s): Koji Kondo
One of the most relaxing tracks in Super Mario 64, this reassuring number by Koji Kondo lulls you to sleep with a false sense of security and makes the appearance of Unagi the Eel even more haunting as you casually enjoy the waters of Jolly Roger Bay. GL
Listen to it at: Super Mario 64, Super Mario 64 DS, Super Mario 3D All-Stars
Rito Village (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, 2017)
Composer (s): Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata, Hajime Wakai
I have no idea if this is my favorite BOTW song, or even my favorite Zelda song, to chill out. But that’s the thing, they are all so good. Rito Village is a towering track full of birds packed with Spanish guitar and sleepy woodwinds; the “Night” version it’s even more languid, and it sounds exactly like moonlight on a lazy river. KG
Listen to it at: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Aurora Theme (Child of Light, 2014)
Composer (s): Béatrice Martin (Pirate Heart)
When I first played Child of Light, I was blown away by its surprisingly dark but hopeful tone, told through a misty, dreamlike watercolor. Its soundtrack fits perfectly with the tragic fairy tale theme with its slow and painful strings; you can almost follow the whole story just in this song. KG
Listen to it at: Child of light
Title theme (Animal Crossing: Wild World, 2005)
Composer (s): Kazumi Totaka / Asuka Ohta
I could have chosen any number of tracks from this series (2 a. M. is always nice in any of the games, and Kate picked another one next one too), but this entry was my first Animal Crossing and this tune all make me nostalgic for a time when I visited my town Dbly every day for a period of 18 months. All. Unique. Day.
Good times. GL
Listen to it at: Animal Crossing: Wild World
Japan / Hōjō Tokimune Theme (Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, 2016))
Composer (s): Organized by Geoff Knorr / Phill Boucher
Civilization VI is a relaxing game for me, one where I sit comfortably and let the hours slip away, often in the Switch’s handheld mode. Every civilization has great music, but the arrangements when playing like Japan / Hōjō Tokimune are particularly calming and relaxing. Beautiful and sometimes inspiring. TW
Listen to it at: Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
Yarn Yoshi takes shape (Yoshi’s Woolly World, 2015)
Composer (s): Tomoya Tomita / Misaki Asada / Kazumi Totaka
Another choice I could have gone to with a dozen other examples from the Yoshi series or Good-Feel’s amazing Kirby’s Epic Yarn, I love the instrumentation on this particular track – the perfect introduction to one of the most enjoyable games and relaxing Wii U. GL
Listen to it on: Yoshi’s Woolly World
Sanctuary in Los Claros (Ori and the Will of the Wisps, 2020)
Composer: Gareth coker
It is a delight and a wonder that this game is on Switch, not only because it is a wonderful adventure / platform game, but because of the sheer soul Has. The soundtrack is a big part of that, and during my playback I’d actually drift to the Glades area for no other reason than to sit back and listen to this track for a few minutes. TW
Listen to it at: Ori and the will of the Wisps
To celebrate and say goodbye (OPUS: Rocket of Whispers, 2017)
Composer (s): Triodust (Huang, Zhen-Yang)
Full disclosure, I once worked on the Switch eShop release post for this game, this is how I found it and its soundtrack. However, for a smaller download experience, the OPUS: Rocket of Whisper soundtrack really touched me; it’s pretty minimalist in parts with a piano focus, and I think several of its tracks are particularly beautiful to listen to both in-game and when chilling. TW
Listen to it at: OPUS: Whispering Rocket
7 pm (Animal Crossing: New Horizons)
Composer: Kazumi totaka
Oooof. This funky, snoozy little jazz number sounds like it should have lyrics, and should be played in a smoky basement bar during the overnight hours. Thank goodness, one of the best tracks on ACNH is at 7:00 p.m. M., The prime time to catch errors, and is not lost in the 2 a.m. block. M. A 7 a. M., When absolutely no one should play Animal Crossing. Go to bed! KG
Listen to it at: Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Yellow Giant (Doshin the Giant, 1999)
Composer (s): Tatsuhiko Asano / Yasuyuki Suzuki
In honor of our senior video producer Alex, we’ve decided to add this otherworldly little piece of guitar from one of his favorite games (well, he certainly likes the titular giant a lot). Certainly a quiet melody. GL (for AO)
Listen to it at: Doshin the Giant
Those are just a few of our personal favorites, but what about yours? Let us know your favorite video game tracks to chill out in the comments below, And if your choices relate to us, you may see them migrate north from the comments at some point.
Be sure to check out the other Nintendo Life VGM Fest articles in our season of interviews and music-centric features.
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