Cruising over a rainbow road through the galaxy with some funky beats or blasting through the streets with aggressive techno? We collected five more of the best soundtracks in racing games in our part two.
Photo credit: Gran Turismo / Polyphony Digital
Music brings everything to life and fuels your emotions even further when speeding down a challenging circuit full throttle. Racing games feature all kinds of different music genres in their soundtracks. From a soft piano interlude over to rock ‘n’ roll and straight towards a funky synthesizer tune!
Here are five of the best soundtracks to enjoy in racing games. If one of your favorite tracks is missing, check out our first part of this series where you can find more amazing songs or post your personal favorite in the comment section!
Gran Turismo: Moon Over the Castle
Moon Over the Castle is the main theme of the Gran Turismo series. While it starts as a calm piano piece, it unfolds into a fast rock-sound pumped with adrenaline. Many refer to Moon Over The Castle as “the PlayStation 2 anthem”. The original theme from the first game got revisioned and remixed for its succeeding games. The track was written by the Japanese band T-Square who also produced the theme song for Fuji Television’s Formula One coverage.
Mario Kart: Rainbow Road
Mario Kart‘s Rainbow Road comes in many shapes and editions, but one thing remains: it is one of the most iconic circuits that was ever created. Naturally, the music you hear while slowly descending into insanity after falling into the abyss every few seconds is just as iconic. The franchise created several Rainbow Road soundtracks over the years. It is always a jolly melody that veils the bottomless horror that is waiting for the player.
Daytona USA: Let’s Go Away
“Daytona! Let’s go away!” Once you’ve played the 1993 arcade game Daytona USA, this melody will be stuck in your head forever. The singing in this track is especially iconic not only for being a catchy tune, but also due to its production. Composer Takenobu Mitsuyoshi wanted vocals in the song to create a different sound entertainment. Therefore he simply recorded his own voice since it was the fastest approach. Mitsuyoshi chose the lyrics “Let’s Go Away” as they came naturally to him with the melody. It reflects the image of a goal you’re dashing towards.
Colin McRae Rally 2.0: Intro Music
While rock music definitely pumps you up and makes you drive as fast and adventurous as possible, techno certainly has the same effect. The intro of Colin McRae Rally 2.0 immediately makes you feel like a super talented racer who has to overtake every single competitor in his badass vehicle. The house track was composed by Jonathan Colling whose track history only lists creations for the Colin McRae franchise.
Team Sonic Racer: Maximum Overdrive – Green Light Ride
If we include Mario on this list, we also need to think about his blue friend Sonic. The Sega mascot got his own racing game in 2019. While the title itself received mixed reviews, the music was highly praised by many. All 130 soundtracks are collected on the album Maximum Overdrive and the theme song is called Green Light Ride. Japanese-American band Crush 40 by composer Jun Senoue performed the piece. Game producer Takashi Iizuka stated they needed “cool” music to “influence the player’s excitement” – which it definitely did!
What is your favorite racing game soundtrack? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!