History Leitmotif / VideoGames

** SNK has done this as well. Geese Howard's theme names always involve something "for Geese", but all of them are rearrangements of his theme from the original ''FatalFury'', which was titled "A Kiss for Geese". Afterwards came "Soy Sauce for Geese" (''Fatal Fury Special''), "A Kiss for Geese - Cyber Dub Edit" (''[[VideoGame/ArtOfFighting Art of Fighting 2]]''), "One More Kiss for Geese" (''Real Bout Fatal Fury''), "A Stiff Neck for Geese" (''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters King of Fighters '96]]''), "Soy Sauce for Geese -End of The First Nightmare-" (''Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition''), and finally concluding with...[[PlayedForLaughs "Mustard for Geese"]] (''King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match''). The only exception to the name rule thus far is "Kiss Geese Once More", from ''King of Fighters: Maximum Impact''. Most games after '96 in which Geese is present have used remixes of "Soy Sauce For Geese", the most recognizable thanks to its flute.

** By far the most famous examples are the original character themes from ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', with Ryu's, Guile's, Ken's, and Akuma's themes quite possibly being the most awesome and prolific music of all. When ''FinalFight'' characters showed up in ''Street Fighter Alpha'', they got remixed versions of stage music from the original ''FinalFight'' as theme tunes.

** SNK has done this as well. Geese Howard's theme names always involve something "for Geese", but all of them are rearrangements of his theme from the original ''FatalFury'', which was titled "A Kiss for Geese". Afterwards came "Soy Sauce for Geese" (''Fatal Fury Special''), "A Kiss for Geese - Cyber Dub Edit" (''[[ArtOfFighting Art of Fighting 2]]''), "One More Kiss for Geese" (''Real Bout Fatal Fury''), "A Stiff Neck for Geese" (''[[TheKingOfFighters King of Fighters '96]]''), "Soy Sauce for Geese -End of The First Nightmare-" (''Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition''), and finally concluding with...[[PlayedForLaughs "Mustard for Geese"]] (''King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match''). The only exception to the name rule thus far is "Kiss Geese Once More", from ''King of Fighters: Maximum Impact''. Most games after '96 in which Geese is present have used remixes of "Soy Sauce For Geese", the most recognizable thanks to its flute.

** MeltyBlood has used the same character themes since its debut. The most prolific ones are "The End of 1000 Years", used for Red Arcueid, and "For Crimson Air", used for Wallachia.
** GuiltyGear easily trumps everything else though. Some characters have had the same theme, only differently arranged, from the first game, and every character has had the same theme since 'X', and every [[UpdatedRerelease]] of 'XX' uses the rearrangements from the original 'XX'.
*** Characters with special relationships often get VS. theme music, as mentioned previously. ''GuiltyGear XX Accent Core'' even gave new VS. music to Order Sol and Ky, "Keep The Flag Flying". ''TheKingOfFighters '98'' gave two different VS. themes to the same fight: "Cool Jam" plays if the player character is Kyo Kusanagi vs. Iori Yagami, and "Esaka Forever" plays if it's Iori vs. Kyo.
*** The above two traditions continue in the SpiritualSuccessor to GuiltyGear, BlazBlue: each character has their own unique theme, in addition to "relationship" themes, such as "Under Heaven Destruction" for Ragna vs. Jin and "Imperial Code" for Noel vs. Jin(which doubles as the theme of the organization they both work for). Should come as no surprise: Daisuke Ishiwatari is responsible for the music in both GuiltyGear and BlazBlue.
** ''BloodyRoar'' and ''Bloody Roar 2'' for the [=PS1=]. You could choose whether the games played stage-specific songs from the arcade versions, or new character themes created for the console ports.

* ''FalloutNewVegas'' lacks a defining lemotif track, but actually has 2 different entire soundtracks depending on your karma. If you do evil stuff, you get a dark brooding soundtrack, if you do good actions, you get an upbeat heroic sounding soundtrack.

* Every character in ''PuyoPuyo Fever's'' 15th Anniversary gets some sort of Leitmotif. In Fever 1 and 2, a special song plays during the cutscene before facing the final boss; [[http://youtu.be/PdaBbIByvTQ Phony Demon King]] for Popoi in ''Fever'' and [[http://youtu.be/3ZnsF5eZIb0 Resurrection of the Ancient Spirit]] for Strange Klug in ''Fever 2''. In the Normal Course of ''Fever 2'', you hear [[http://youtu.be/40O66cO1_3Y this]] before facing the boss, Lemres.

* All of the characters in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' have at least one, with the exception of Pyro (who will presumably get one when s/he gets his/her "Meet The" short). They are as follows:

* In TheElderScrollsVSkyrim, the main character is a Dragonborn, and his leitmotif is suitably named [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsnRQJxanVM Dragonborn]]. It plays as part of the main menu screen and, for added awesomeness, it often plays when a dragon attacks the player providing a nice musical backdrop for an epic dragon fight.

** In WarioWare you've got [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_MTDXaEI7E Ashley's theme]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rNxXeSV12M Mike's Theme]] both of which ended up in Brawl. Possibly Mona Pizza also counts as one of these for Mona.

* ''[[TheLegendOfZelda The Legend of Zelda]]'' series has leitmotifs for most major characters, most notably ''Zelda's Theme'' (a.k.a. ''Zelda's Lullaby'') and ''Ganon's Theme'' (which Ganondorf himself plays on an OminousPipeOrgan in ''OcarinaOfTime''). In ''Twilight Princess'', Zelda's and Ganondorf's themes are ''combined'' when [[spoiler: Ganondorf possesses Zelda for a boss battle.]]
** The Main Theme of the series (which appeared in the first Zelda) [[BootstrappedTheme eventually became]] Link's theme too. Remixed versions of it play when the Links of ''Wind Waker'' and ''Twilight Princess'' awaken to their destinies as heroes.

** And [[MajorasMask Majora's theme]], variations of which are used in each of the four provinces of Termina. And remixes of it are used for each of Majora's boss forms.

** Linebeck of ''Phantom Hourglass'' has his own [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcBp_s9kDos&feature=related rather awesome]] theme, as do [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnRmYVyPfTI Oshus]] and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNo1QvrhGvU Bellum]].
** In ''SkywardSword'', ''Zelda's Theme'' is not initially present, but Zelda has a new leitmotif that subtly evokes it. Ghirahim also has an ominous yet whimsical theme that mixes in a pipe organ. Fi also has a beatiful one... that many people consider to be [[TheScrappy the only good thing about the character]].

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7bE3hUwylQ "Vigil"]] from ''[[MassEffect1 Mass Effect]]''. In the first game it plays during the startup menu and [[spoiler:when Vigil himself appears to tell you the fate of the Protheans, Sovereign's plan, and how Shepard can stop the Reapers from returning.]] In ''MassEffect2'' it plays when Shepard briefly reunites with members of his squad from the first ''Normandy'': a reminder of the sense of wonder the first game held, in direct contrast to the second game's much darker feel.

** SNK has done this as well. Geese Howard's theme names always involve something "for Geese", but all of them are rearrangements of his FatalFury 1 theme, which was titled "A Kiss for Geese". Afterwards came "A Kiss For Geese -Cyber Dub Edit-" (ArtOfFighting 2), "Soy Sauce for Geese" (FatalFury Special), "One More Kiss for Geese" (Real Bout FatalFury), "A Stiff Neck for Geese" (TheKingOfFighters '96), "Soy Sauce for Geese -End of The First Nightmare-" (FatalFury Wild Ambition), and finally concluding with...[[PlayedForLaughs "Mustard for Geese"]] (TheKingOfFighters 2002 Unlimited Match). The only exception to the name rule thus far is "Kiss Geese Once More", from ''TheKingOfFighters Maximum Impact''. Most games after '96 in which Geese is present have used remixes of "Soy Sauce For Geese", the most recognizable thanks to its flute.
*** Subverted with Iori Yagami, who had a new theme every game up 'till TheKingOfFighters 2000, but they all had a kickass saxophone solo.

** ''BloodyRoar 1'' and ''2'' on PlayStation. You could choose whether the games played stage-specific songs from the arcade versions, or new character themes created for the console ports.

* Whenever Proto Man showed up in the ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' games, his appearance was accompanied by a mysterious whistle. In ''5'' his doppelganger Dark Man has a off-key version of the whistle, an early hint that he isn't who he says he is.
** Bass's battle theme in ''7'', ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'' and maybe ''Mega Man & Bass''.
** The ''MegaManBattleNetwork'' spin-offs often play a version of each game's theme song whenever a dramatic speech is being made by the main character. Many people were quite disappointed when the theme music changed in the fourth game because it wasn't nearly as suited to those scenes.

*** Also, the Wily Castle motif in ''10'', which has three variations.

** Likewise Yasunori Mitsuda, composer for some of Square's other games, including ''VideoGame/Xenogears''. In a great case of combining forces, Mitsuda and Uematsu co-composed ''ChronoTrigger'', which has some of the most memorable {{Leitmotif}}s.
*** In said game, "[[http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=v1YKC8cNXR8 Lucca's Theme]]" probably got played the most, as it starts up whenever anything science/awesome/awesome science-related happens. In fact, the track name is simply "Fanfare", and is adapted, in two separate versions, as the victory theme in the sequel, ''ChronoCross''. This doesn't mean it ''isn't'' Lucca's theme, though - it plays when you talk to her in the End of Time, the same way everyone else's theme does.

* ''ChronoTrigger'' has a few of these, namely Frog's Theme, Magus's Theme, and Robo's Theme, which sounds strangely similar to [[MemeticMutation a certain song by Rick Astley]].

* ''[[TheLegendOfZelda The Legend of Zelda]]'' series has leitmotifs for most major characters, most notably ''Zelda's Theme'' (a.k.a. ''Zelda's Lullaby'') and ''Ganon's Theme'' (which Ganondorf himself plays on an OminousPipeOrgan in ''OcarinaOfTime''). In ''Twilight Princess'', Zelda's and Ganondorf's themes are ''combined'' when [[spoiler: Ganondorf possesses [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBugPsBGTdE Zelda]] for a boss battle.]]

* ''AsurasWrath'' has several characters with one. [[TheRival Yasha]] however, stands out [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dead9SkT_xg here]].

* In perhaps one of the first video game leitmotifs, Baron Von Blubba in ''BubbleBobble'' is always accompanied by a short, ominous riff whenever he appears on screen.

* ''[[AssassinsCreed2 Assassin's Creed II]]'' has Ezio's Family. First played over the opening credits, remixed several times as "Earth" which [[spoiler: plays when Ezio recovers his father's Assassin robes]] and then as "Venice Rooftops", which plays during chases, races and courier missions (occasionally). Played in all it's [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome glory]] over the credits of both II and [[AssassinsCreedBrotherhood Brotherhood]]. And don't lie. There were [[ManlyTears manly tears]].

** Comes in spades in ''[[AssassinsCreedBrotherhood Brotherhood]]'', and in contrast to the previous game's somewhat sentimental mood brought upon the soundtrack, gives you a more BadAss flavor to them. To name a few:

* In MarvelVsCapcom3, every playable character has his/her own theme song.
** Many of the Marvel themes are [[BootstrappedTheme Bootstrapped Themes]], with Spider-Man, Hulk, DoctorDoom, Shuma-Gorath, IronMan[[hottip:* : Iron Man is a weird case. It was first used as stage theme, then as a straight letimotif for War Machine, ''then'' the latter was made Iron Man's letimotif in ''[=MvC3=]''.]] and CaptainAmerica having their themes first used in ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroes'' as stage themes (Sentinel's theme was also used for his ''VideoGame/XMenChildrenOfTheAtom'' stage). Played straight with {{Magneto}}, {{Storm}} and {{Wolverine}} who use their character themes from ''VideoGame/{{X-Men Vs Street Fighter}}'' and ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomClashOfTheSuperheroes''.
** Wolverine is an interesting example of this, as up until MarvelVsCapcom3, he had ''five'' different themes; a new one for each game he appeared in between ''[=MSH=]'', ''[=X-Men: CotA=]'', ''[=XvSF=]'', ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroesVsStreetFighter'' and ''[=MvC1=]''. ''3'' was the first game to actually remix a theme of his. Some of the other X-men characters got different themes for each game they appeared in, as well.

** Another prime example specifically from ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''/''Yellow'' is the [[rival's (Blue's) encounter theme]], which plays whenever he comes on-screen and talks, usually challenging you to a match.

** In addition to the rivals, many other characters get reoccurring themes, such as some of the professors, and important [=NPCs=] like [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Eusine]] and [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Look]][[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite er]].
* ''[[TheLegendOfZelda The Legend of Zelda]]'' series has leitmotifs for most major characters, most notably ''Zelda's Theme'' (a.k.a. ''Zelda's Lullaby'') and ''Ganon's Theme'' (which Ganondorf himself plays on an OminousPipeOrgan in Ocarina of Time). In ''Twilight Princess'', Zelda's and Ganondorf's themes are ''combined'' when [[spoiler: Ganondorf possesses [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBugPsBGTdE Zelda]] for a boss battle.]]

* In the video game Def Jam: Icon one of your character's weapons is the power to change the soundtrack to his own theme music which alters the world around you.

** Super Paper Mario also features a remix of pretty much every song in it. Most notably, the music for the fight against the BigBad is remixed [[spoiler:during the fight against the TRUE final boss]]. Bonus points also go to [[spoiler:Count Bleck's]] leitmotif for being a MusicalSpoiler: It is a remix of the "Memory" theme.

** It should be noted that ''every'' boss in the entire VideoGame/PaperMario series has their own theme.

*** One example in particular "Congratulations everyone" Pops up in two consecutive games for one character in particular. (she's the only character to have the same theme introduce her) Who is that character? Lotta Hart.

* RPG ''Baten Kaitos'' features Leitmotifs for many characters. The CosmicHorror Malpercio has the impressive Ruler Of The Nine Skies. Recurring boss Giacomo uses the very catchy theme Chaotic Dance, which has electric and acoustic versions. In the prequel, a young Giacomo has the remixed Chaotic Dance 2.
** Spiriters (or maybe it is the Guardian Spirit itself?) also get their own theme, as implied by Baten Kaitos Origins: The True Mirror, aka the fancy battle theme music from Baten Kaitos.

** Time Crisis 3 has a different theme tune than the other games, but it still uses elements from the original theme, ala TheJimmyHartVersion.

** While ''{{X-Wing}}'' was not the first to use true Leitmotifs in a space simulator (with ''VideoGame/WingCommander'' probably taking that honor), the iMuse system enabled using the various portions of the already huge Star Wars trilogy soundtrack and fitting them almost seamlessly into one another. For that reason, virtually any event that could occur during a mission had its own Leitmotif - to the point where it is possible to figure out roughly how a mission played out just by listening to a recording of its soundtrack.

* If a piece of music in DotHack has to do with the Phases, whether in the original or GU games, it will feature at least a few measures of a distinct and slightly creepy melody of bells at some point. You can hear it quite clearly about ten seconds into Gorre's original theme: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ANN4HGAMtI here.]] The eighth Phase, Corbenik, has his own [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCacMBIS2zI piano melody]] across the games, and snippets of Cubia's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyzlcb47dfY final music]] from the first games can be heard in his [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRNpSEz0k-g battle themes]] from GU.

*** And let's not forget {{Mother}}'s Eight Melodies.

* In perhaps one of the first video game leitmotifs, Baron Von Blubba in BubbleBobble is always accompanied by a short, ominous riff whenever he appears on screen.

* ''Videogame/{{Okami}}'' has most major characters with one. Most notably, Rao has quite the, erm, suggestive theme.

* Approach a trainer (or have them see you) in the ''Pokémon'' games and their Leitmotif will play, indicating what kind of trainer they are. In normal gameplay, they only go on for a couple of seconds, but if you pause the dialog to listen to the music you'll be surprised how long they go on for (and how they're arguably better composed than the {{BGM}}).
** Another prime example specifically from ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''/''Yellow'' is the rival's theme, which plays whenever he comes on-screen and talks, usually challenging you to a match.

** "A Little Friendship" is Ivan's theme. [[spoiler: It's also used for cutscenes focusing on Hama, which foreshadows the reveal that she's his sister.]]
** Isaac, Felix, and Jenna all eventually have their own battle themes. Isaac's is used in the first game, and if he's active in the first four after the parties join up. Felix's is used for a large portion of the second game, and if he's active in the first four after the parties join up. Jenna's is used in the prologue of ''The Lost Age'' when she's the only player character, and once the parties join up, [[GuideDangIt if she's in the first four and niether Isaac nor Felix are]].
** Saturos & Menardi share their theme (simply named for them), along with a BossRemix. Saturos, being Saturos, also has his own boss theme when encountered alone, and it's hands-down one of the fandom's favorite pieces-- it even came back as BonusBoss battle music in ''Dark Dawn''!
*** Agatio & Karst also share a theme (simply named for them) and a rocking BossRemix.
** "There Goes Briggs!" inexplicably only plays in one of Briggs's cutscenes in ''The Lost Age'', and is otherwise a wasted song.

** Too be fair, Modern Warfare 2 also had multiple striking Leitmotifs, such as the Opening Titles, Contingency (TF141's theme), Extraction Point (Ranger theme), and the distinctive climax heard during Guerilla Tactics (Militia theme). Safeguard is also used for two notable chase sequences, the Snowmobile escape and the Jeep escape.

* In the SoulSeries, Maxi's theme appears to be [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQt1N6UpNdA Sail Over the Storm]]. It's used in both the first and third games, and the first 10 or so seconds appear again in the fifth game.

**** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6GK8HhjQQE Firelink Shrine]].

* ''WildARMs'' games naturally jump on the bandwagon. There's the series main theme, ''Into the Wilderness'', which plays once or twice at key moments in each game, usually the ending or introduction. In ''WildARMs1'', Boomerang has his own theme, which is slowed down for a "funeral dirge" late in the game. In ''WildARMs3'', Virginia has "Ready! Lady Gunner!" while the Schroedingers have "There's Only One Family Named Schrodinger". There are special boss themes for Janus and the Prophets.
** This is brought to a head for the remake of ''WildArms1'', where each major antagonist has their own theme, and they're all ''[[CrowningMusicOfAwesome awesome]]''. (Though Zed's new theme is a bit less awesome then his old one)

* Whenever Proto Man showed up in the ''Game/MegaMan'' games, his appearance was accompanied by a mysterious whistle. In ''5'' his doppelganger Dark Man has a off-key version of the whistle, an early hint that he isn't who he says he is.
** Bass's battle theme in ''7'', ''8'' and maybe ''Mega Man & Bass''.

** The Wily Tower motif in ''3''.

* ''{{Okami}}'' has most major characters with one. Most notably, Rao has quite the, erm, suggestive theme.