Tokyo 2020 Olympics Open with Video Game Music Playing During the Event

Yesterday was the opening of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. If you caught the opening ceremony and your ears perked up to the music that played during the the grand event and thought "Waitaminit, I KNOW that song!" No, you weren't going crazy. They really did use orchestral video game music during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and it is every bit as badawesome as it sounds.

To those that aren't super into gaming, it may come as a surprise to know that video game music is freaking huge in Japan. Sure, it has made some greater strides here in the states with more albums on Spotify and the like. But long before streaming music was even a thing, game music was always a big deal in the Land of the Rising sun. In Japan, stores regularly sell video game soundtracks. We aren't that lucky here in America, but I gotta say, the fact that athletes around the world got to take the stage while so many video game bangers were playing? That is unbearably cool! 

So what music was used for those of you that missed it or weren't familiar with all of the tracks? Well, you can view the full list here, but among the tracks used were Roto's Theme (DRAGON QUEST), Frog's Theme (Chrono Trigger), Proof of a Hero (Monster Hunter), Song of the Ancients (Nier), Star Light Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog) and First Flight (Ace Combat).

No, there was no Nintendo music used during the event. Fossil Falls (Super Mario Odyssey) would have been EPIC as would Gusty Garden (Super Mario Galaxy) but Nintendo sucks at sharing their game music with others and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

But what was played? Maaaaaaaaaan, that was LIT!!! There's a lot of tracks I've never heard before or some I haven't heard in so long they may as well be new to me. I've got some new favorite tracks and I'm gonna have to check out music from the Monster Hunter series as well as Tales of Graces. 

I never thought I'd see the day where the Olympics open with music playing from FINAL FANTASY, SaGa, Gradius, Kingdom Hearts, and Soul Caliber, but in 2021, that is exactly what happened and I am SO, totally about it!!!