Lo-fi remixes of video game music is my new favorite genre

• March 5, 2021

I don’t usually work with any music — it often distracts me — but recently, when I’ve needed a little music on in the background, I’ve become obsessed with lo-fi remixes of video game music on YouTube.

I’ve already gone on record that I sometimes listen to video game music while working because a) I’m a huge nerd, and b) a lot of video game music is already designed to be pleasant background noise that can loop endlessly without becoming annoying. It wouldn’t be all that much fun spending hours upon hours in the worlds of Pokémon if the music was always in-your-face and distracting, after all. (I will give Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire’s hilariously prominent horns a pass here.)

It makes sense, then, that the infinitely listenable quality of video game music, much of which has become seared to my brain after days spent in virtual worlds, combines really well with the soft electronic sounds of lo-fi chillhop beats, which I can also listen to for hours on end. Now, I’m hooked.

Here are a few remixes I recommend.

If you’re a fan of Final Fantasy VII’s amazing soundtrack, I think you’ll dig this set of remixes from Rifti Beats. I think I go back to this video more than any other. (And there’s a part two!)

“Zelda & Chill 2” from GameChops puts a fantastic spin on some classic Zelda tunes. (The “Midna’s Lament” remix is so, so good.) If you like what you hear, you might want to listen to the original “Zelda & Chill.”

I recently beat Nier: Automata, and I couldn’t get the game’s incredible music out of my head. I’ve recently turned to this remix of two of the game’s best songs — the city ruins theme and the amusement park theme — from Alex Moukala (a name you might recognize as the originator of the funky remixes of the Wii’s Mii Channel).

If you’re familiar with the Persona series’s very good music, you might want to give this set of remixes from Courtar a listen.

And if you don’t want to sort through the many mixes available on YouTube, just turn on GameChops’ Video Game Study Lounge live stream. (In a spooky coincidence, I opened it to grab the link, and it was playing that “Midna’s Lament” remix I mentioned earlier. The song is just that good!)

Happy listening. And tweet at me with any recommendations you have!

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I don’t usually work with any music — it often distracts me — but recently, when I’ve needed a little music on in the background, I’ve become obsessed with lo-fi remixes of video game music on YouTube. I’ve already gone on record that I sometimes listen to video game music…