20 Best Nintendo DS Soundtracks

Takami Asano of the Japanese rock band Godiego wrote most of the music for Devil Survivor. A rock musician scoring a game about demons makes sense once you hear it, because the tracks have real bite.

Reviewers found the background music extremely good and a fine fit for the dark story, and one called every piece top-notch except the exploration music, which is of course the one you hear most. That is a funny complaint to make about a soundtrack, because it means everything else lands. The only album of it on record is a remix album, so the best way to hear the original music is in the game or in the video above. It is a good pick if you like your game music with an edge, and the tracks work just as well on their own as they do in a battle.

Phantom Hourglass follows The Wind Waker, and its soundtrack borrows quite liberally from it, from the bombastic sailing music to quirky woodwind pieces for poking around tiny islands. If you loved the sea music of that earlier game, this is a warm welcome back.

One review said the soundtrack leaves an even better impression than the graphics. Readers of one poll of DS soundtracks put it ninth. It has no album of its own on record, so it lives in the game, and it is a pleasure to sail with the sound turned up. The tunes are cheerful and adventurous, and they carry the same warm spirit that made the sea voyages of the console game so memorable.

Toru Minegishi wrote the overworld music for Spirit Tracks and shared the field and character themes with Manaka Tominaga, while Koji Kondo contributed the ending theme. The score trades the series' synth orchestras for softer acoustic guitars and lots of flutes, probably because Link can play one in the game.

The same reader poll put it second, behind only Rhythm Heaven, and reviews call the music some of the best in the series. It is a gentler, homelier sound than the big adventure scores, and it suits a game built around riding a train. Like Phantom Hourglass, it never got an album of its own. Put it on when you want something calm and charming, with melodies you can hum along to after a single listen.

Elite Beat Agents follows Ouendan, a Japanese DS game whose import was full of Japanese pop songs Western players didn't know. The agents dance to a playlist that runs from Queen and David Bowie to Ashlee Simpson and Avril Lavigne, and one reviewer admitted the songs would never make it onto their iPod but go perfectly with the game.

Every track also fits the game's theme well enough that turning the volume down never crossed one reviewer's mind. This is the odd one on the list, because none of the music was written for the game, but that is the point: tapping along to a song you already know is the whole joy. Licensed songs never got an album, though. Even if you skip the genre, it is hard not to grin when a big chorus kicks in and the whole screen starts moving with it.

Yoko Shimomura, who also scored Superstar Saga, composed Partners in Time. The background music is memorable from the Peach's Castle theme to the spacey Star Shrine music. Her name turns up all over this list, and she knows how to give a Mario game a tune that sticks.

Fans call it one of the best sets of music in the Mario series, and underrated in the music department. If the series only lives in your head as bouncy platformer tunes, this is a richer side of it. The score never got an album of its own, so fans alone carry it here. It is a score that rewards a second listen, with small touches in the arrangements that are easy to miss while you are busy fighting.

Wild World's main theme is catchy and hard to get out of your head, and you can create your own music in the game. Its score makes for excellent background music rather than grabbing your attention.

That is exactly the job of an Animal Crossing soundtrack, since you spend hours wandering your village with it playing quietly behind you. Readers of one DS soundtrack poll put it third, which surprised even the person writing it up. Only promo and unofficial pressings of the music are on record, so the game itself is the place to hear it. It never shouts, and that is why you can leave it on all afternoon and still be happy to hear the main theme come around again.

Masakazu Sugimori composed the whole soundtrack of the 2001 Game Boy Advance original, which stayed in Japan. The 2005 DS version was the first release in North America and Europe, and it enhanced most of the music with an extra audio track. Objection! 2001 is the objection theme from that first version.

One fan reckons even people who hate the game will praise its soundtrack. Courtroom drama needs music that can panic and triumph on cue, and these themes do both. The Japanese album it shares with the sequel is rated by just one collector. Play the video above and you will hear why the music is half the reason those cross-examinations feel so tense and so much fun.

Yuzo Koshiro gave Etrian Odyssey FM-like music, and there is a certain charm to that FM synth style that suits the retro feel of the game. Koshiro made his name on the sound chips of older machines, so this is a composer going home.

The dungeon music is surprisingly relaxing, but a battle throws you into some of the most well-composed and chaotic tracks in RPG history. One review called it a fantastic soundtrack, and one fan site calls the music beyond incredible. Only seven collectors own the album, which keeps it at 13. The chiptune sound is a lovely contrast with the hard, old-school dungeon crawling, and it makes mapping the next floor feel like an adventure.

Yoko Shimomura scored Bowser's Inside Story, with Koji Kondo helping on the remixes of old Mario themes, and one review called her work exemplary and at times magical. Hearing old Mario melodies rebuilt by their original composer is a treat for anyone who grew up with the series.

Shimomura keeps the humour in the music as well as the script, and the result is bouncy and a little silly in the best way. Players named it more often than any game outside the top three. The score has no album of its own, which is all that keeps it this low. It is easy to forget how much of the charm in these games comes from the music, and this one reminds you in every scene.

Masakazu Sugimori lists jazz and fusion as inspirations for the soundtrack, and he wrote the title theme after seeing concept art of the Zone D Waste Center. The same composer scored Phoenix Wright earlier in this list, so the knack for drama is no accident.

The game was praised for its music along with its characters, and one review counted the soundtrack among the first things that hit players. Jazz is an unusual fit for a ghost mystery, and it gives the game a cool, slightly mischievous mood. The only official album on record is the 2023 soundtrack, and just 12 collectors own it. It is the hidden pick of the list, and anyone who likes smooth, clever music should give it a go.

The music of Rhythm Heaven is mostly by the Japanese singer Tsunku and Nintendo composer Masami Yone. One review called it extremely catchy, and another wished Nintendo would sell the soundtrack so it could be heard outside the game.

Every stage is a different little song, and you play it by keeping time, so the music is the game. Readers of one DS soundtrack poll voted it first. Collectors have barely noticed the vocal album, which 3 of them own, so for now the best place to hear it is the cartridge. The songs are short, strange and impossible to forget, and they sound as silly and joyful as the game plays.

Michiru Yamane scored Order of Ecclesia with a little help from Yasuhiro Ichihashi, and she brought back the electronic-orchestral style of Lament of Innocence. IGN made it the best original score on the DS in 2008.

Reviewers call it an exceptional, rocking soundtrack, the kind that makes monster hunting feel like a concert. Anyone who likes their game music loud and gothic should start here. Collectors rate the album 4.71 out of 5 across seven ratings. The guitars and strings blend into something that feels bigger than a handheld should be able to produce.

Yoko Shimomura composed Radiant Historia, and because the game had no older series behind it, she found the score far easier to write than most of her projects. She added pipe organ for fans of her earlier music, and Where the Wind and Feathers Return is one of its most memorable pieces.

One reviewer called the soundtrack the best feature of the game, and another kept listening to it outside the game. That is high praise for a time travel story full of good ideas, and it shows how much the music carries it. Only one collector has rated the album, with full marks. The pipe organ adds a grand, old-fashioned touch, and it makes a good first stop for anyone who loves classic RPG music.

The Famicom original was not released outside Japan until 2021, so the 2006 DS remake was the first time English players heard Nobuo Uematsu's score. It was in this game that Uematsu made the Prelude and the Main Theme recurring staples of the series.

One review said Uematsu really got the revamped theme music right, and a fan site called it possibly one of the best soundtracks on the DS. If you only know the series from later games, hearing where those staples began is a small piece of history. The DS soundtrack album has 84 owners. The remake treats the old tunes with respect, and the result sounds full and fresh without losing what made the originals special.

Tomohito Nishiura composed the music, as he did for the first two games, and his strings and accordions fit the streets of London. Readers of one poll picked The Unwound Future to stand for the whole series, maybe because of the cheesy soprano saxophone in its ending theme.

One music review called it the strongest of the three Layton soundtracks. It is cosy, curious puzzle-solving music that makes any problem feel solvable. Only 10 collectors own the album, but 69 want it. The accordion and saxophone give it a flavour you will not find in many other game scores, and that makes it easy to recognise.

Yoko Shimomura's score for 358/2 Days was praised as outstanding, and one music reviewer called Musique pour la tristesse de Xion one of her greatest character themes. It is a quiet, aching piece that lets a sad story breathe.

Vector to the Heavens plays during Xion's final battle, one of the most poignant moments in the game. The album it shares with Birth by Sleep has 89 owners and 114 more who want it, and collectors are partly buying a PSP game. If you know the series from the main games, this is a strong reminder of how well Shimomura writes sad, tender music.

Fans single out Route 209, slower and triumphant-sounding, with a lot of changing harmony. Route themes are the heart of any Pokémon soundtrack, because you hear them for hours between towns, and this one sounds like a walk in the country with something big about to happen.

We counted Platinum with Diamond and Pearl, and readers of one DS soundtrack poll put Platinum fifth, praising its welcome lack of trumpets. That is a fair joke, because the music across these games is warm and gentle rather than loud. The Super Music Collection album has 55 collectors who want it. Put the video above on and you will hear how much feeling the series could pack into a few simple notes.

Takeharu Ishimoto brought together a bunch of artists for an eclectic soundtrack that is quite different from a typical RPG, with hip-hop and punk beats that reflect its trendy Shibuya setting.

Critics praised the soundtrack in their reviews, and one called it one of the best soundtracks they had ever heard. Players name it with real devotion, and 155 collectors own the album, more than any other on this list. It has vocals, attitude and a sound all its own, and it is the one to play for anybody who thinks game music means orchestras. Few DS games sound as confident, and the music is a big part of why people still talk about the game years later.

Junichi Masuda directed Black and White and was responsible for its music. One ranking of every Pokémon soundtrack put it first, saying it succeeds on every front, and a review said it is in the sound department that the game truly shines.

Players named it more often than any game but Sonic Rush, and they praise it in strong terms. The battle music in the video above shows how far the series' sound had grown by this point. Collectors want the album too: 169 of them have it on their wantlist. It is a bright, confident score that treats the series as a grand adventure, and it deserves every bit of that reputation.

Hideki Naganuma composed most of Sonic Rush, and critics heard his Jet Set Radio work in it, calling the music bright and buoyant. He had to squeeze that sound through the limits of the Nintendo DS sound chip, and it still comes out fast, loud and very much its own thing.

One reviewer said the result sounds nothing like Sonic, and meant it as the highest praise. One fan review calls the final boss theme, Wrapped in Black, amazing. Players named it twice as often as Black and White, and with feeling. Collectors want it more than anything else here: 318 of them have the album on their wantlist, though only 27 own it, and it is rated 4.78 out of 5. If you only listen to one track from the list, make it this one, and turn it up as far as your headphones allow.