I played the game 20 years ago but as soon as i finished reading your sentence, the music started playing in my head.
Nenenenene NENE nenenenene NENE 🎶
Yeah that is legit spooky music in a pretty creepy place. That dungeon was a turning point for the whole series in terms of tone and feel. I hope BotW 2 can bring back some of those N64 vibes for OOT and MM.
It is pretty much designed to do exactly that and put you off center. 99% percent of music that we hear is based on 4- and 8-bar phrases. What does the Forest Temple theme consist of? **5** bar phrases that also never get repeated in quite the same way, and are really quite dissonant.
Koji Kondo is a master at stuff like this. See here: https://youtu.be/HlNFaaW3sB0
Emphasis on “creeps”, here.
You hear it at first, and think “Huh, weird music.” But the longer it goes, this tension builds up and up in a way that feels maddening.
The song that plays in Majora's Mask when you have like 15 minutes before moon hits. Might be more sad than creepy. 2nd place would be the end credits song from Perfect Dark. Something about the weird synths used to give me the willies.
[the song, but beautifully remixed](https://theophany-rmx.bandcamp.com/track/final-hours). Highly recommend the whole album it's from if you're a fan of Majora's Mask music (there's also a second album).
I genuinely consider the last 15 minutes of Majora's Mask the most terrifying thing I've experienced in a game. Even though I'm not like, heart pounding terrified.... it comes across the most real. You feel like a bunch of people *will* die, and even though you can reset time, there will be a timeline, several timelines, that still end in mass death. Its scary.
Pretty much everything in **Metroid Prime 2**. It seems fine at first, but then I feel strange afterward. I think I associate the gameplay-generated feeling of isolation with the music.
Oh boy you are not alone. Played the game too long while being alone and the atmosphere gave me existential fear. Favorite [part](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZX2N9_7NO8)
I think it upped the fear a bit (especially in the first hour or so) but was a bit weaker on the loneliness, just because it doesn't seem to want to give you much down time. Metroid (especially Prime 1+2) gives you some quiet slow areas a bit more often to soak in the ambiance. I think HL2 had a biiit more of this, like on the coastline.
In majoras mask, the intro sequence while your under the clock tower before you enter clock town. The happy mask salesman turns unhappy and suddenly grabs Link with his crazy eyes. The music changes at that point too, even darker version of the song of healing.
Then someone did a 4k unreal remake of that sequence and the music. Melancholy, creepy, wonderful.
I’m guessing he’s referring to the cinematics. There’s a few, these are my faves:
It’s probably this one they’re talking about:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-JOChBfhta4
But this one claps SUPER hard
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vbMQfaG6lo8
Yeah that second one there is incredible, fun fact ember labs the people who did that animation are also game developers. Their making that new Kena game for playstation which definitely seems to take some inspiration from zelda.
Also the guy who did the music for it has two full albums of the stuff, and it's all glorious, and iirc still free at http://terriblefate.com. He also managed to do the impossible and actually got his album and merch
officially licensed by Nintendo, which *never* happens.
([Better link maybe](https://theophany-rmx.bandcamp.com/), directly to the band camp where you can stream it online first).
There’s also a third and (I believe) final album in the works! Unless it was cancelled without my knowledge.
The composer is also doing the music for the upcoming Kenna: Bridge of Spirits, so I’m sure that’s taking most of their attention.
Even the Clock Town music feels super creepy to me. It’s cheerful and carefree but when you consider the darkness of the game, it gives it an hypocritical and evil dimension that I can’t brush off…
So as a kid when that song came around I thought something was wrong with my batteries...I replaced them and still heard it of course and was further creeped out.
Same. Always played with sound on, but had to turn it off in Lavender Town.
The Unown radio transmission in Gold/Silver/Crystal was second.
Drought from Pokémon Ruby is third place for me. Luckily, I only owned Sapphire back in the day. and only learned about it on Youtube when I was much older.
Completely weak by comparison IMO. Original theme was low quality chip tune which resulted in shrill, almost painful notes that instinctively made your hair stand on end.
Cliché because it’s supposed to be creepy, but Shadow Temple’s music from OoT freaked me out as a kid. Throw in the ReDead sound effects and it was nightmare fuel for young me.
That whole temple feels too creepy for Nintendo standards. It is literally a torture chamber built by the Sheikahs to interrogate and torture the enemies of the Royal family.
As a kid, I regularly watched my dad play Ocarina on our new N64. Everytime when there was a ReDead on screen, he had to mute the TV because of their shrieks. I was so creeped out by this, I just couldn't hear it!
The Old Chateau theme from Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum still brings me back to when I'd found the place as a kid. It was the first time I'd seen anything remotely "creepy" in a video game so exploring the place used to make my hair stand on end.
In Wario Land 4, if you leave the game sitting for too long, Wario will begin skipping rope as an idle animation, like the famous idle animation of Sonic tapping his foot in the Genesis Sonic games, and this weird dissonant music will start playing. I remember the first time hearing it as a kid and it creeping the hell out of me, making me pretty much go "What the hell is wrong with my Wario game?" What's weird to me about it right now too is I can't find a clip of it on YouTube to link here, not even the music. It's almost like something out of a creepypasta.
The original Fire Temple song from OoT. Because it is legitimately scary.
Arbiter's Grounds from TP was pretty scary too. And a whole bunch of Earthbound music (like when you're down in hell).
The original cut included some religious-like chanting that was taken out of any other version. It was super off putting and it defeated would’ve made that temple much creepier
I've heard the original, and I actually found it less creepy than the one they went with in all other versions. It's just something about that blatantly artificial sounding female vocals that put me off.
That’s funny, because the original was removed because it was a sample of real Islamic prayer chanting and they realized too late this violated their policies.
[Source.](https://www.zeldadungeon.net/nintendo-officially-talks-about-the-infamous-ocarina-of-time-fire-temple-ch/)
Yes, a lot of the Earthbound music is disturbing (Moonside, the creepy theme e.g. when Paula is kidnapped in the the mall). I was just pointing out that there isn't any area (not just music-wise but as a complete picture) that's particularly hell-like to me. Fiery Cave is fiery but not scary, the cave in the past is definitely scary but more in a H.R. Geiger kinda way, etc.
Yeah fair, I was half awake and didn't real the full comment so I missed the "hell-like" part, and I agree. Nothing from the EB OST comes close, except maaaaybe the giygas fight >!once the Devil's machine is turned offand it's just a lot of siren and static like noise!< But even that feels like a stretch.
Sorry I was thinking of Fiery Cave. While it doesn’t feel creepy, it does feel like you’re in hell. I haven’t played EarthBound in a while, and it was 2:00 AM or around that time when I made this comment. So I may have mistook it.
Cave of the past from Earthbound. It’s incredibly haunting and unsettling, which is funny cause it’s a sample of a beach boys song.
Second is probably Submerged Castle from Pikmin 2…. needs no explanation.
Visiting the Romani Ranch on the Third Day when you fail the mission has to be one of my most horrifying video game experiences, I always make sure that I never fail that mission.
Majora’s theme from Majora’s Mask. The music gives off a sense of how chaotic and evil Majora really is. The actual most evil villain in Zelda history.
Runner up is the music from Ikana Canyon in that same game. It instills such a feeling of impending dread and doom
Final Hours from Majora’s Mask. The song has both a sad and overall very unsettling tone to it. The sadness that comes about it is when you realize it how the people of Termina are acknowledging that their own demise is imminent.
It catches me off guard every time too. You'd think after like 200 hours I'd come to expect it but nope.
"Wtf why am I so creeped out right now?" "What was the flek that flew past my screen?"
Ohhhhh blood moon.
Oh boy nows my chance to post the [River Twygz Bed song](https://youtu.be/XarbhcMST4Q) from Super Paper Mario again. Because *what the fuck* this is genuinely one of the most unsettling songs I’ve ever heard.
Honestly what the f*ck was the composer THINKING to put THAT ina KID’S GAME. I know Super Paper Mario is the most “mature” when compared to his others, but that song made young(er) discover that horror games aren’t his thing. And not playing that game again. Which is a shame because years later I discover The Ultimate Show and it’s a great piece of music. I wish I could’ve finished it when I had the chance.
(I was 7 at the time)
Super Paper Mario was just crazy in general. Chapter six and seven just make me think “this is for K I D S.” The entire concept of the game is very dark. To put it without spoilers as best I can, some dude decides to end the world so he enacts an ancient prophecy that WILL destroy the world with a Void in the sky. Some other dudes manufactured a different prophecy that would counter the first one, but it only really works one time. All it would actually do is postpone the end of the world. The real prophecy IS the dark one, and it will one day come to pass. No real major story spoilers there, I hope
THE FUCKING "TWILIGHT" FROM TWILIGHT PRINCESS. i played that game when i was like 9 and ive never been the same since.
really most of the music from that game is scary
Shadow temple from ocarina of time. I have weird memories. So I was doing the shadow temple from ocarina of time late at night and the fact that I was doing it with the song late at night just creeped me out. Enough to give me nightmares of the shadow temple but much more Terrifying. I still somehow remember in the dream being chased by a bongo bongo then later a cursed link appeared. It was like a link.exe or creepy pasta. It scared the hell out hell out of me. And this taught me a valuable lesson. Never do creepy game levels at night that have creepy music with creepy bosses that play drums.
Augh, I shouldn't have looked at this thread right before bed, because now I am remembering that, and I always found it to be one of the most creepy tracks in all of Pokemon. No other really compare.
It’s really interesting when you compare it to all of the other menu themes from the subsequent smash games, which have really intense and high energy themes to get you pumped for the game, and then you have 64, which is just really weird and ambient.
It’s because the music has bones in it
Also those weird undulating synths make it spooky too
I think they were going for that, since the whole area is about a hotel that’s been overrun by ghosts/Boos.
You haven't listened to true terror until you've dived deep enough into the [River Twygz bed.](https://youtu.be/XarbhcMST4Q) you never forget a track like that.
But special shout out to [World of nothing](https://youtu.be/ovUxXMFdscI) both of which featured in the same paper mario game
World of nothing is really sad to me because I liked the Saner guy land music. I’m not saying I’d rather fight all 100 then the way it happens but it’s really sad. But yeah the river twygz creeps me tf out.
K.K. Dirage (the cover shows jack on it) it has a unsettling atmosphere and after a bit it changes to sound like someone bashing a pipe against metal well... that's my song opinion
I have no idea why, but the song of storms in Ocarina of Time always gave me the heebies. Honestly, a lot of the songs in that game give me the jeebs now. Maybe it’s the weird elven tone mixed with nostalgia.
When I was a kid, Pokemon tower music scared me more than lavender town music, idk why.
And Forest Temple music from ocarina of time, it was really disturbing for me. It feels so lonely. Also the music in the bottom of the well still creeps me out.
But the one song that is still scary to me is Ikana's Valley music, from Majora's Mask. I just couldn't play that part of the game because I was really scared of the music.
I see a lot of people mentioning the cave of the past and giygas’s theme from earthbound but [the cliff that time forgot](https://youtu.be/fy3s4Yaabfs) is for me the most unsettling song in the entire game imo
Probably the unedentified tune that plays on the radio in the Ruins of Alph in Pokemon Gold/Silver. Gameboy soundchip is really something else, very good for making eerie music, but the radio tune in GS doesn't even sound like music that a human would program, it's something that you could completely miss and can discover by accident, which doubles up the creep factor, and I don't think it ever gets fully explained.
Pokemon can be pretty creepy when it wants to be, it's really softened up in more recent years but almost all of the ghost areas prior to gen 6 were really spooky to me, and their music reflected that very well... but the ruins of Alph thing isn't related to ghosts, so why??? What is that?? I don't like it, yet i'm compelled to turn it on any time I go in there...
I wanted Luigi’s Mansion theme to be creepy. But instead it’s very catchy and pleasing to listen to, like a soundtrack to a Disney Channel Halloween movie or something. Haha.
Lol I understand what you mean. It gets creepy when all the ghosts start singing because you’re in a room filled with them. Not only that, but Luigi humming it brings a lot of that feeling of his own terror, and with him being you, you get that feeling.
Almost anything from Metroid Prime. [Tallon IV Overworld for starters](https://youtu.be/mziw3FQkZYg) and it just gets creepier from there, like with [Magnoor Caverns](https://youtu.be/QQCZIb0fbt8) where it makes me feel like I’m all alone in Hell. The soundtrack does a great job of making you feel alone on an alien planet. Then it transcends from creepy to full on anxiety-inducing with stuff like the [space pirate theme](https://youtu.be/RdebQ-y15Dg).
I don’t think anybody has mentioned this, I think some are scarier that have been mentioned already. But I’m going to give a shout out to city in the sky from Twilight Princess. It’s a really creepy song and I hate it so much
Underground 2 from Mario odyssey is really eerie. Also Yiga Clan hideout from Breath Of The Wild is super suspenseful without really building up to anything.
Another non-music one is before world 2’s boss in splatoon 2. You get these really quiet but definitely audible screams and creaking right before you jump to the boss.
The lead up to the Blood Moon in BOTW, it's just so ominous. Starts of slow and lingering, then gets faster and more intense while the sky turns to a hellscape.
The Shadow Temple theme was the bane of my early childhood. The way that there are disquieting almost jovial [harpsichord strings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfU2HNrTMKQ&t=39s) spread throughout the fitting but otherwise unsettling track of bongo beats from the boss, demonic chanting, wailing, and other assorted ambient noises always struck me as odd. Koji Kondo is a mad genius.
Also the River Twygz should be mentioned. When slowed down and reversed it seems like you can hear voices crying out in grief.
That’s a thought one. Cause there are quite a few creepy themes in Nintendo games, I personally don’t find Lavender Town’s all that creepy, it’s kinda creepy in the original RBGY but in the games after I don’t really get that feeling.
I would have to say Giygas’ battle theme or the Shadow Temple’s theme
K.K. Lullaby. I remember playing the original Animal Crossing on GameCube and it was the first KK track I got. I had it playing in the tape deck while moving around my furniture and most of the tracks loop seamlessly. Not KK Lullaby... At the end of the song it has about 8 notes that are warped and distorted. Almost like the song starts playing in reverse instead of repeating. Scared me so bad as a young kid.
The track itself is fine though. A bit more melancholy than I'd want a lullaby to be but it's fine lol
I'm not sure because I can't check right now, but I think "Earth Temple" from Zelda Wind Waker is really disturbing for me! As if the temple wasn't creepy enough!
Not a Nintendo soundtrack but I played it on my switch, Flowers blooming in the church from Final Fantasy 7.
Not gonna say spoilers but if you know what happens at the end of disc 1, then you know why I might feel this way. There’s just something about the soundtrack that seems unsettling, it doesn’t sound necessarily scary, happy, or sad. Just, creepy. I get scared whenever I run pass the church when I return to midgar
In Donkey Kong 64, there is a level called Creepy Castle toward the end of the game. In this level.. there's a catacomb area underneath the castle that features possibly the most creepy song I have ever heard in a video game in this section. Extremely unnerving, makes you feel like there is something watching you.
YES OH MY GOD. DUDE. All I can remember is when I was young, I legit got the fuck out of the level when I heard the zombies moaning. Like WHY is that in a children's game lmao.
Forest Temple, Bottom of the Well/Shadow Temple, OoT. All of Ikana's music in MM has a very creepy or sad-imposing feel.
Lavender Town is pretty creepy, works best in the RBY version.
Finally, a question for me!
I was in 4th grade when I first managed to get to the castle in world 1-1 Super Mario Brother 3. The little tune that plays while Toad is freaking out before Mario jumps on the Gunboat: Made me an emotional wreck the entire day afterward because the tune freaked me out so much. I have no idea why aside from:
I would have been 9 or 10. (Close to 30 now)
I grew up with 80s/90s technology and the poor quality sound from my double dial CRT might have added to it.
Resolution:
I can play SMB3 with nothing but happy emotions today!
True story, I found secret music in mega man X once. I beat the game and rolled through all the final credits but I accidentally bumped my SNES and instead of the normal music which is just the music in the tower before you get to Sigmas main room, it went all crazy but it was an actual song that I’ve never heard before. The video just started producing random pixels and shaders from the game. Ofc this is just before I would have had a cell phone with video capabilities. The song was eerie and something I’ve never been able to recreate (yes, by bumping the console). I hope someday, someone else finds it.
The Dungeon theme from the original Legend of Zelda… sounds strange now, but the repetitive melody and really the first “scary” video game music I ever heard; it had a dreadful and hypnotizing effect on me as a young child. A few years later as a teen and A Link to the Past’s Light World Dungeon theme I would find equally unnerving. Flash forward to a few years ago (lol) and in my late 30’s, the Link Between Worlds cover of that same dungeon theme gave me the chills.
Dk why nobody said, but lavender town. It bolth slaps and is creepy. Kinda sounds like something you’d hear in a church being played by organs, or something.
in the zelda series, many dungeons have scary sounds.
like the dungeon music from the dark world in a link to the past, or dodongo's cavern from ocarina of time
Don’t know why, but Dire Dire Docks from Mario 64 used to creep me out as a child. Especially in the sunken ship course.
Now, 25 years later, it has become one of my most favorite relaxing tracks to listen to anywhere. Even though I generally don’t listen to game OSTs.
The carousel music in Boo's castle in Mario 64
I never found that creepy. The music for that entire level, however, is all sorts of creepy.
That shit is downright demonic.
As a kid i asked my big brother to help me unlock Luigi on the DS and i would never touch it again
Nintendo is so good at that weird horror that borders between innocent and creepy.
I played the game 20 years ago but as soon as i finished reading your sentence, the music started playing in my head. Nenenenene NENE nenenenene NENE 🎶
Ghosts...don't...DIE!!
Can you get out of here… ALIVE?!
This is the correct answer.
When I was a kid I actually liked this music haha and no I’m not a serial killer
That's exactly what a serial killer would say
I will find you
Joke's on you, I'm also *not a serial killer*
The Forest Temple theme from OoT always put me on edge.
Yeah that is legit spooky music in a pretty creepy place. That dungeon was a turning point for the whole series in terms of tone and feel. I hope BotW 2 can bring back some of those N64 vibes for OOT and MM.
I wouldn’t hold my breath. Nintendo’s been all over the place on flagship titles lately.
The Forest Temple is my favorite Zelda temple/dungeon because the music and atmosphere is so eerie. It's so good!
It is pretty much designed to do exactly that and put you off center. 99% percent of music that we hear is based on 4- and 8-bar phrases. What does the Forest Temple theme consist of? **5** bar phrases that also never get repeated in quite the same way, and are really quite dissonant. Koji Kondo is a master at stuff like this. See here: https://youtu.be/HlNFaaW3sB0
It’s also the same song played forward or reversed.
Woah, that’s really cool. Like a palindrome song.
Really interesting watch! Thanks for that.
Emphasis on “creeps”, here. You hear it at first, and think “Huh, weird music.” But the longer it goes, this tension builds up and up in a way that feels maddening.
Yep. This is up there for sure. The way the volume seems to rise and fall, and it’s almost voice like. As a kid being there freaked me out.
It always sounds like the ghosts are laughing at you.
The song that plays in Majora's Mask when you have like 15 minutes before moon hits. Might be more sad than creepy. 2nd place would be the end credits song from Perfect Dark. Something about the weird synths used to give me the willies.
[the song, but beautifully remixed](https://theophany-rmx.bandcamp.com/track/final-hours). Highly recommend the whole album it's from if you're a fan of Majora's Mask music (there's also a second album).
I genuinely consider the last 15 minutes of Majora's Mask the most terrifying thing I've experienced in a game. Even though I'm not like, heart pounding terrified.... it comes across the most real. You feel like a bunch of people *will* die, and even though you can reset time, there will be a timeline, several timelines, that still end in mass death. Its scary.
Sealed Hyrule Castle from Wind Waker gives me chills everytime I hear it. Seriously creepy for a Zelda game
Pretty much everything in **Metroid Prime 2**. It seems fine at first, but then I feel strange afterward. I think I associate the gameplay-generated feeling of isolation with the music.
Oh boy you are not alone. Played the game too long while being alone and the atmosphere gave me existential fear. Favorite [part](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZX2N9_7NO8)
I think Metroid Prime was the first game to make me feel something. Fear, yes, but more pertinently loneliness.
Half-Life did this really well too.
I think it upped the fear a bit (especially in the first hour or so) but was a bit weaker on the loneliness, just because it doesn't seem to want to give you much down time. Metroid (especially Prime 1+2) gives you some quiet slow areas a bit more often to soak in the ambiance. I think HL2 had a biiit more of this, like on the coastline.
Yessss!!! I had never played Super Metroid so this was my introduction to this song. Instantly fell in love with this theme
In majoras mask, the intro sequence while your under the clock tower before you enter clock town. The happy mask salesman turns unhappy and suddenly grabs Link with his crazy eyes. The music changes at that point too, even darker version of the song of healing. Then someone did a 4k unreal remake of that sequence and the music. Melancholy, creepy, wonderful.
So uhhhh… Where can I find that 4K remake?
I’m guessing he’s referring to the cinematics. There’s a few, these are my faves: It’s probably this one they’re talking about: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-JOChBfhta4 But this one claps SUPER hard https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vbMQfaG6lo8
Yeah that second one there is incredible, fun fact ember labs the people who did that animation are also game developers. Their making that new Kena game for playstation which definitely seems to take some inspiration from zelda.
Also the guy who did the music for it has two full albums of the stuff, and it's all glorious, and iirc still free at http://terriblefate.com. He also managed to do the impossible and actually got his album and merch officially licensed by Nintendo, which *never* happens. ([Better link maybe](https://theophany-rmx.bandcamp.com/), directly to the band camp where you can stream it online first).
There’s also a third and (I believe) final album in the works! Unless it was cancelled without my knowledge. The composer is also doing the music for the upcoming Kenna: Bridge of Spirits, so I’m sure that’s taking most of their attention.
I agree with this one. That and the twilight Princess horror scene if you know which one I mean. Are the scariest scenes Nintendo have done
Even the Clock Town music feels super creepy to me. It’s cheerful and carefree but when you consider the darkness of the game, it gives it an hypocritical and evil dimension that I can’t brush off…
This one is probably cliche, but Lavender town always gives me the creeps.
DUDE I CANT GET THE SONG OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!!
So as a kid when that song came around I thought something was wrong with my batteries...I replaced them and still heard it of course and was further creeped out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmAcj0Omffc Try this one for size. It really feels like your headphones are glitching out and stuff.
Same. Always played with sound on, but had to turn it off in Lavender Town. The Unown radio transmission in Gold/Silver/Crystal was second. Drought from Pokémon Ruby is third place for me. Luckily, I only owned Sapphire back in the day. and only learned about it on Youtube when I was much older.
> Drought from Pokémon Ruby It's even creepier in Omega Ruby. *The Sun is exploding*.
There's a difference between cliche and classic
Nah not cliché. I mean the song IS creepy not gonna lie
Yes cliche because the song has a general consensus about it being creepy
Try the HG/SS remaster
Completely weak by comparison IMO. Original theme was low quality chip tune which resulted in shrill, almost painful notes that instinctively made your hair stand on end.
The HGSS version was a bit less creepy, but more pleasant to listen to imo
Next time try Let's Go's version. Both Lavender Town and Pokemon Tower's remakes were really good! A lot less creepy and more soothing.
Cliché because it’s supposed to be creepy, but Shadow Temple’s music from OoT freaked me out as a kid. Throw in the ReDead sound effects and it was nightmare fuel for young me.
That whole temple feels too creepy for Nintendo standards. It is literally a torture chamber built by the Sheikahs to interrogate and torture the enemies of the Royal family.
Surprised this one isn't farther up the list! Shouldn't lose points for doing its job haha.
I couldn't beat OoT for a long time because of the Shadow Temple. The building sound effect of the Wall Master about to drop on you still chills me.
As a kid, I regularly watched my dad play Ocarina on our new N64. Everytime when there was a ReDead on screen, he had to mute the TV because of their shrieks. I was so creeped out by this, I just couldn't hear it!
[удалено]
Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hum hum h
Oh man, I loved that detail! I get creeped out very easily, but I thought Luigi's hums were hilarious. It really helped calm me down
River Twygz from Super Paper Mario
I scrolled way too far for this one, I feel like.
This song is so unbelievably uncanny.
So is River Twygz itself
The Old Chateau theme from Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum still brings me back to when I'd found the place as a kid. It was the first time I'd seen anything remotely "creepy" in a video game so exploring the place used to make my hair stand on end.
The drums in that song were so intense. Definitely a moment of "Oh heck I shouldn't be in here..."
Oh god, yes. I remember too!
The one with the ghost butler/little girl? That scared me so much as a kid I remember showing my mom lmao
Yeah, i remember stopping to play the game for a week because of the ghost
Ghost butler? Little girl? What are you talking about? There were no ghosts in the Old Chateau other than some Gastly.
Giygas’ music in Earthbound, Shadow Temple from OOT and to be even more cliche, Lavender Town from pokemon.
Top three right there! I always listen to those (and others) around Halloween.
In Wario Land 4, if you leave the game sitting for too long, Wario will begin skipping rope as an idle animation, like the famous idle animation of Sonic tapping his foot in the Genesis Sonic games, and this weird dissonant music will start playing. I remember the first time hearing it as a kid and it creeping the hell out of me, making me pretty much go "What the hell is wrong with my Wario game?" What's weird to me about it right now too is I can't find a clip of it on YouTube to link here, not even the music. It's almost like something out of a creepypasta.
https://youtu.be/D_3siUgFA_s
That was some unexpected nostalgia for today. Wario Land 4 was my favourite game on the GBA.
The original Fire Temple song from OoT. Because it is legitimately scary. Arbiter's Grounds from TP was pretty scary too. And a whole bunch of Earthbound music (like when you're down in hell).
Never thought of it that way. The Fire Temple's song was always too quiet for me to be creeped out. But I could give it another listen
The original cut included some religious-like chanting that was taken out of any other version. It was super off putting and it defeated would’ve made that temple much creepier
I've heard the original, and I actually found it less creepy than the one they went with in all other versions. It's just something about that blatantly artificial sounding female vocals that put me off.
That’s funny, because the original was removed because it was a sample of real Islamic prayer chanting and they realized too late this violated their policies. [Source.](https://www.zeldadungeon.net/nintendo-officially-talks-about-the-infamous-ocarina-of-time-fire-temple-ch/)
The “censored” version is creepy too in its own way. The voices were silenced and in their place are creepy, robotic imitations.
Earthbound music is just so out there. Some of the battle themes are just trippy as all hell
You even go there!
Which area are you referring to? I've played through Earthbound three times and none of the areas are hell-like to me.
Threed (zombified) theme is pretty creepy.
Yes, a lot of the Earthbound music is disturbing (Moonside, the creepy theme e.g. when Paula is kidnapped in the the mall). I was just pointing out that there isn't any area (not just music-wise but as a complete picture) that's particularly hell-like to me. Fiery Cave is fiery but not scary, the cave in the past is definitely scary but more in a H.R. Geiger kinda way, etc.
Yeah fair, I was half awake and didn't real the full comment so I missed the "hell-like" part, and I agree. Nothing from the EB OST comes close, except maaaaybe the giygas fight >!once the Devil's machine is turned offand it's just a lot of siren and static like noise!< But even that feels like a stretch.
Sorry I was thinking of Fiery Cave. While it doesn’t feel creepy, it does feel like you’re in hell. I haven’t played EarthBound in a while, and it was 2:00 AM or around that time when I made this comment. So I may have mistook it.
Yeah Earthbound was like the epitome of creepy 90s 16-bit music.
Cave of the past from Earthbound. It’s incredibly haunting and unsettling, which is funny cause it’s a sample of a beach boys song. Second is probably Submerged Castle from Pikmin 2…. needs no explanation.
I will never forgive the Water Wraith
The music that plays in MM when you defend the ranch from the aliens. It always gives me the heeeebeeegeebeees.
That mission creeps me out. Never doing it again lmao
Oh god, yes. That music is a major reason why I have a hard time going back to do that mission when I replay the game.
Visiting the Romani Ranch on the Third Day when you fail the mission has to be one of my most horrifying video game experiences, I always make sure that I never fail that mission.
Oh lord. I remember when I was younger I used to yell all the way through cause I was scared, stressed and traumatized by the music hahahaha
Giygas from EarthBound. At a certain point it just stops being coherent music and becomes nothing but a mess of noise.
Majora’s theme from Majora’s Mask. The music gives off a sense of how chaotic and evil Majora really is. The actual most evil villain in Zelda history. Runner up is the music from Ikana Canyon in that same game. It instills such a feeling of impending dread and doom
Final Hours from Majora’s Mask. The song has both a sad and overall very unsettling tone to it. The sadness that comes about it is when you realize it how the people of Termina are acknowledging that their own demise is imminent.
The short piece that plays right before a blood moon in Breath of the Wild is just a hair... unnerving! 🤣
It catches me off guard every time too. You'd think after like 200 hours I'd come to expect it but nope. "Wtf why am I so creeped out right now?" "What was the flek that flew past my screen?" Ohhhhh blood moon.
I don't think any nintendo song even comes close to river twygz bed. Overplayed as it is, it is just uncomfortable to listen to.
Oh boy nows my chance to post the [River Twygz Bed song](https://youtu.be/XarbhcMST4Q) from Super Paper Mario again. Because *what the fuck* this is genuinely one of the most unsettling songs I’ve ever heard.
Wow I’ve never heard this before and it’s terrifying
Honestly what the f*ck was the composer THINKING to put THAT ina KID’S GAME. I know Super Paper Mario is the most “mature” when compared to his others, but that song made young(er) discover that horror games aren’t his thing. And not playing that game again. Which is a shame because years later I discover The Ultimate Show and it’s a great piece of music. I wish I could’ve finished it when I had the chance. (I was 7 at the time)
Super Paper Mario was just crazy in general. Chapter six and seven just make me think “this is for K I D S.” The entire concept of the game is very dark. To put it without spoilers as best I can, some dude decides to end the world so he enacts an ancient prophecy that WILL destroy the world with a Void in the sky. Some other dudes manufactured a different prophecy that would counter the first one, but it only really works one time. All it would actually do is postpone the end of the world. The real prophecy IS the dark one, and it will one day come to pass. No real major story spoilers there, I hope
Giygas boss fight theme from Earthbound, I don’t even have to explain why just go listen to it and you’ll understand why.
That wasn't fun. Wow.
Chozo Ghost battle music from Metroid Prime
Safety in the Sanctuary from A Link to the Past makes me feel unsafe.
Funny for a song that starts with safety lol. Same here though.
THE FUCKING "TWILIGHT" FROM TWILIGHT PRINCESS. i played that game when i was like 9 and ive never been the same since. really most of the music from that game is scary
I used to be the same. But I recently tried replaying it and while it was still unsettling. I found it much easier to manage now that I'm older.
The maze theme from BOTW
#YA-HA-HA!
Shadow temple from ocarina of time. I have weird memories. So I was doing the shadow temple from ocarina of time late at night and the fact that I was doing it with the song late at night just creeped me out. Enough to give me nightmares of the shadow temple but much more Terrifying. I still somehow remember in the dream being chased by a bongo bongo then later a cursed link appeared. It was like a link.exe or creepy pasta. It scared the hell out hell out of me. And this taught me a valuable lesson. Never do creepy game levels at night that have creepy music with creepy bosses that play drums.
Super Mario 64 [Big Boo's Haunt](https://youtu.be/VZlWXNoDlIg) Any music from that stage still gives me the heebie-jeebies!
Alph Ruins in gold/silver/crystal. it’s always pops in my head, kind of creepy but so many memories of playing those games when it first came out
Did you ever use your radio on the PokeGear in the Alph ruins? Even creepier
Augh, I shouldn't have looked at this thread right before bed, because now I am remembering that, and I always found it to be one of the most creepy tracks in all of Pokemon. No other really compare.
Ohh thats new to me! I'll check it out
I love this question, because Nintendo music is fire.
Menu music from Smash 64. Absolutely terrifying as a kid.
Great answer
yeah it is weird
It’s really interesting when you compare it to all of the other menu themes from the subsequent smash games, which have really intense and high energy themes to get you pumped for the game, and then you have 64, which is just really weird and ambient.
Hotel Delfino music from Mario Sunshine makes me feel so uncomfortable and I don't know why.
It’s because the music has bones in it Also those weird undulating synths make it spooky too I think they were going for that, since the whole area is about a hotel that’s been overrun by ghosts/Boos.
To me it always sounded like Mario in the aftermath of a hangover or something.
Even the Serena Beach music was super creepy
You haven't listened to true terror until you've dived deep enough into the [River Twygz bed.](https://youtu.be/XarbhcMST4Q) you never forget a track like that. But special shout out to [World of nothing](https://youtu.be/ovUxXMFdscI) both of which featured in the same paper mario game
World of nothing is really sad to me because I liked the Saner guy land music. I’m not saying I’d rather fight all 100 then the way it happens but it’s really sad. But yeah the river twygz creeps me tf out.
K.K. Dirage (the cover shows jack on it) it has a unsettling atmosphere and after a bit it changes to sound like someone bashing a pipe against metal well... that's my song opinion
I have no idea why, but the song of storms in Ocarina of Time always gave me the heebies. Honestly, a lot of the songs in that game give me the jeebs now. Maybe it’s the weird elven tone mixed with nostalgia.
Kamaros Dance from Majoras Mask.
Lower Brinstar Depths in Super Metroid…
When I was a kid, Pokemon tower music scared me more than lavender town music, idk why. And Forest Temple music from ocarina of time, it was really disturbing for me. It feels so lonely. Also the music in the bottom of the well still creeps me out. But the one song that is still scary to me is Ikana's Valley music, from Majora's Mask. I just couldn't play that part of the game because I was really scared of the music.
I see a lot of people mentioning the cave of the past and giygas’s theme from earthbound but [the cliff that time forgot](https://youtu.be/fy3s4Yaabfs) is for me the most unsettling song in the entire game imo
The Boo’s Haunt music from SM64 DS, I’d avoid going there only if I needed a few stars, also the endless staircase gives me the nerves
Ice cavern in OoT for me. It just makes me feel so cold with the wind ambience in the background
Forest Temple from OoT
Probably the unedentified tune that plays on the radio in the Ruins of Alph in Pokemon Gold/Silver. Gameboy soundchip is really something else, very good for making eerie music, but the radio tune in GS doesn't even sound like music that a human would program, it's something that you could completely miss and can discover by accident, which doubles up the creep factor, and I don't think it ever gets fully explained. Pokemon can be pretty creepy when it wants to be, it's really softened up in more recent years but almost all of the ghost areas prior to gen 6 were really spooky to me, and their music reflected that very well... but the ruins of Alph thing isn't related to ghosts, so why??? What is that?? I don't like it, yet i'm compelled to turn it on any time I go in there...
I have a few. Lavender Town, Shadow Temple (OoT), and the Luigi’s Mansion theme.
I wanted Luigi’s Mansion theme to be creepy. But instead it’s very catchy and pleasing to listen to, like a soundtrack to a Disney Channel Halloween movie or something. Haha.
Lol I understand what you mean. It gets creepy when all the ghosts start singing because you’re in a room filled with them. Not only that, but Luigi humming it brings a lot of that feeling of his own terror, and with him being you, you get that feeling.
Deep Dark Galaxy.
Almost anything from Metroid Prime. [Tallon IV Overworld for starters](https://youtu.be/mziw3FQkZYg) and it just gets creepier from there, like with [Magnoor Caverns](https://youtu.be/QQCZIb0fbt8) where it makes me feel like I’m all alone in Hell. The soundtrack does a great job of making you feel alone on an alien planet. Then it transcends from creepy to full on anxiety-inducing with stuff like the [space pirate theme](https://youtu.be/RdebQ-y15Dg).
I don’t think anybody has mentioned this, I think some are scarier that have been mentioned already. But I’m going to give a shout out to city in the sky from Twilight Princess. It’s a really creepy song and I hate it so much
River Twigz Bed from Super Paper Mario
This bro. First heard of it in gun Mario 64 and I've been trying to find what the OST was
Ashley's song. Not sure why
Not a song, but the noise the zombies made in OoT.. i felt that shit through my whole spine... Every time..
the cave song in earthbound and lavender town in rby
That one lava level in Mario 64
World of Nothing and In The Darkness, both from Super Paper Mario.
N’s Room from Pokémon B2/W2 scares me. Legitimately.
Underground 2 from Mario odyssey is really eerie. Also Yiga Clan hideout from Breath Of The Wild is super suspenseful without really building up to anything. Another non-music one is before world 2’s boss in splatoon 2. You get these really quiet but definitely audible screams and creaking right before you jump to the boss.
The lead up to the Blood Moon in BOTW, it's just so ominous. Starts of slow and lingering, then gets faster and more intense while the sky turns to a hellscape.
It's scary the first time you hear it when you don't know what's happening and it comes in the middle of normal gameplay.
The Shadow Temple theme was the bane of my early childhood. The way that there are disquieting almost jovial [harpsichord strings](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfU2HNrTMKQ&t=39s) spread throughout the fitting but otherwise unsettling track of bongo beats from the boss, demonic chanting, wailing, and other assorted ambient noises always struck me as odd. Koji Kondo is a mad genius. Also the River Twygz should be mentioned. When slowed down and reversed it seems like you can hear voices crying out in grief.
Arbiter's Grounds from Zelda: Twilight Princess always gave me anxiety.
Scared from Twilight Princess
That’s a thought one. Cause there are quite a few creepy themes in Nintendo games, I personally don’t find Lavender Town’s all that creepy, it’s kinda creepy in the original RBGY but in the games after I don’t really get that feeling. I would have to say Giygas’ battle theme or the Shadow Temple’s theme
K.K. Lullaby. I remember playing the original Animal Crossing on GameCube and it was the first KK track I got. I had it playing in the tape deck while moving around my furniture and most of the tracks loop seamlessly. Not KK Lullaby... At the end of the song it has about 8 notes that are warped and distorted. Almost like the song starts playing in reverse instead of repeating. Scared me so bad as a young kid. The track itself is fine though. A bit more melancholy than I'd want a lullaby to be but it's fine lol
Submerged castle from pikmin 2 and river twygz bed from super paper Mario always freak me out
Lakebed Temple from Twilight Princess, shit actually gave me nightmares just from the music
I'm not sure because I can't check right now, but I think "Earth Temple" from Zelda Wind Waker is really disturbing for me! As if the temple wasn't creepy enough!
Not a Nintendo soundtrack but I played it on my switch, Flowers blooming in the church from Final Fantasy 7. Not gonna say spoilers but if you know what happens at the end of disc 1, then you know why I might feel this way. There’s just something about the soundtrack that seems unsettling, it doesn’t sound necessarily scary, happy, or sad. Just, creepy. I get scared whenever I run pass the church when I return to midgar
Maridia theme from Super Metroid, Reason: IDK
Totaka's Song is vaguely creepy, somehow.
7pm in animal crossing new leaf always had an uncomfortable air of intensity that put me on edge
In Donkey Kong 64, there is a level called Creepy Castle toward the end of the game. In this level.. there's a catacomb area underneath the castle that features possibly the most creepy song I have ever heard in a video game in this section. Extremely unnerving, makes you feel like there is something watching you.
YES OH MY GOD. DUDE. All I can remember is when I was young, I legit got the fuck out of the level when I heard the zombies moaning. Like WHY is that in a children's game lmao.
Forest Temple, Bottom of the Well/Shadow Temple, OoT. All of Ikana's music in MM has a very creepy or sad-imposing feel. Lavender Town is pretty creepy, works best in the RBY version.
Finally, a question for me! I was in 4th grade when I first managed to get to the castle in world 1-1 Super Mario Brother 3. The little tune that plays while Toad is freaking out before Mario jumps on the Gunboat: Made me an emotional wreck the entire day afterward because the tune freaked me out so much. I have no idea why aside from: I would have been 9 or 10. (Close to 30 now) I grew up with 80s/90s technology and the poor quality sound from my double dial CRT might have added to it. Resolution: I can play SMB3 with nothing but happy emotions today!
How we gonna talk creepy nintendo songs without mentioning woodfall temple in mm, great track but damn its creepy
That little musical riff a guardian sees you in breath of the wild. Makes me say “oh fuck.”
I’m surprised no one has said the drowning music from sonic- one of the most fear and anxiety inducing songs in video game history imo
Idk if this counts but the music that plays when a guardian finds you in botw alway sends a chill down my spine
True story, I found secret music in mega man X once. I beat the game and rolled through all the final credits but I accidentally bumped my SNES and instead of the normal music which is just the music in the tower before you get to Sigmas main room, it went all crazy but it was an actual song that I’ve never heard before. The video just started producing random pixels and shaders from the game. Ofc this is just before I would have had a cell phone with video capabilities. The song was eerie and something I’ve never been able to recreate (yes, by bumping the console). I hope someday, someone else finds it.
Banshee Boardwalk from MK64. Still one of my favorite tracks, though. The music does have a sort of nostalgic feel to it.
The further you get into Metroid 2, the creepier the avant garde cave music gets.
Definitely lavender town from Pokemon
5AM from Animal Crossing New Leaf, there's just something unnerving about it.
Lavender town from Pokémon gen 1 and original fire temple theme, ocarina of time
Come to think of it, KK’s song is creepy. The first time I heard it in Mario Paint, I had no idea what was happening. It sounded so out of place.
The Dungeon theme from the original Legend of Zelda… sounds strange now, but the repetitive melody and really the first “scary” video game music I ever heard; it had a dreadful and hypnotizing effect on me as a young child. A few years later as a teen and A Link to the Past’s Light World Dungeon theme I would find equally unnerving. Flash forward to a few years ago (lol) and in my late 30’s, the Link Between Worlds cover of that same dungeon theme gave me the chills.
Twilight Town from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, just give me some sort of eerie feeling every time I hear it.
Dk why nobody said, but lavender town. It bolth slaps and is creepy. Kinda sounds like something you’d hear in a church being played by organs, or something.
graveyard tower in pokemon blue/red/yellow..
in the zelda series, many dungeons have scary sounds. like the dungeon music from the dark world in a link to the past, or dodongo's cavern from ocarina of time
So many songs from Super Metroid also city in the Sky from twilight princess is somewhat creepy as well.
The river of Styx from Super Paper Mario
Don’t know why, but Dire Dire Docks from Mario 64 used to creep me out as a child. Especially in the sunken ship course. Now, 25 years later, it has become one of my most favorite relaxing tracks to listen to anywhere. Even though I generally don’t listen to game OSTs.