History Main / MusicalGameplay

* UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade game ''Chime'' is a similar deal to ''Lumines'', with sounds tying in to the music as you place blocks and make quads.

* The ''VideoGame/BitTrip'' series for UsefulNotes/WiiWare. ''BIT.TRIP BEAT'' and ''BIT.TRIP FLUX'' are "rhythm VideoGame/{{Pong}}" games, ''BIT.TRIP CORE'' is "rhythm VideoGame/MissileCommand", ''BIT.TRIP VOID'' is a "rhythm BulletHell", ''BIT.TRIP RUNNER'' is a "rhythm platformer" and ''BIT.TRIP FATE'' is a "rhythm shmup". Oh, and each game is about [[NintendoHard 1000 times faster and harder]] than you're thinking. And it's {{Retraux}}.

*** This is used again in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy 2'' but with shaker and tambourine percussion instead of bongos. This is furthered when Yoshi eats a dash pepper, causing the tempo of the Mario World Athetlic Theme remix to increase and a violin run to be added to the music.
*** VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker's Super Mario World theme adds the Yoshi bongos to the BackgroundMusic where they were missing in the orginal game.

*** There's also a galaxy in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' that has platforms that alternate existing and not existing to the beat of the music. Levels like this are also in ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand''.

*** When fighting [[TennisBoss King Kaliente]], if you hit a coconut, the music changes so a note is played whenever you or the boss hits it. The notes rise in pitch until either you miss it or get hit (which returns the music to normal), or he gets hit (which results in a flourish that starts the music over). This happens whenever you fight him, including [[spoiler:in the second game]].
*** The Sling Stars that rocket Mario between different parts of a level play a harp trill in tempo and harmony with the music track, even if the stage music has been replaced with a power-up track. The larger stars have longer trills.
** The Music Note Blocks in ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros2'' will play a jingle when Mario leaps off of it. This jingle is an arpeggiated chord that matches the key of the BackgroundMusic, and whose first note is the same as the main melody of the BackgroundMusic. Also, when you run through a gold ring or are Gold Fire Flower Mario, there is a constant tinkling and chiming in the background matching the BackgroundMusic.

* In ''VideoGame/Payday2'', the music changes depending on how badly the cops want you dead. It starts off slow and quiet during the stealth phase, then picks up when the cops spot you, and gradually rises in pitch to indicate the incoming police assault.

* In the ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' series, the timer for each microgame is synced up to the BPM of that game's BackgroundMusic, or the BackgroundMusicOverride, in the case of Ashley in ''Touched'' and Jimmy in ''DIY''. Also, a short loop plays between microgames during gameplay, which reflects whether or not you cleared the last microgame or if the speed is about to increase.

** In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'', this can be invoked by the player when placing objects into the level editor. Each object will have its name called out, and the pitch will match the music of the theme/game pairing currently in use, such as ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros'' Ground or ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' Ghost House. Tapping objects in to the time of the music will create the full piece.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' accents Link's sword-strikes with musical notes in time to the score, so that a fierce battle can actually generate its own melody. Same goes for ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword''.

* The Famicom Disk System game ''Otocky'' has the main character shooting out notes which make sound, depending on the direction they were fired at and the current instrument the player has.

In games with a VariableMix, the background music subtly alters in response to certain events. This can perhaps be considered the ultimate conclusion of that philosophy--every event, from hitting an enemy to taking damage, produces not [[ArcadeSounds a sharp bleep or a hiss of static]], but a clear musical note, chord or flourish. As the game is played, a rich tapestry of music is created, unique to this particular game session.

Compare MickeyMousing, which is a similar idea applied to non-interactive media. See also VariableMix, in which the sound effects are normal but the background music smoothly changes with the action.

* ''VideoGame/CryptOfTheNecroDancer'' and ''VideoGame/CadenceOfHyrule'' take it a step further with the main gameplay gimmick by making the movement of every character on-screen match the tempo of the background music, forcing the player to do the same, though in the later game, this only applies when enemies are on-screen.

* In the ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' series, the timer for each microgame is synced up to the BPM of that game's background music, or the BackgroundMusicOverride, in the case of Ashley in ''Touched'' and Jimmy in ''DIY''. Also, a short loop plays between microgames during gameplay, which reflects whether or not you cleared the last microgame or if the speed is about to increase.

* The pinball machine ''Radical!'' has a simple bass riff and a bit of percussion as its background music. Instead, shooting anything on the playfield, including ramps, will provide instrumentation specific to that object (with a different sound for ramps depending on if the ball makes it all the way or not). As ''Radical!'' was made in 1990, this makes it one of the earliest examples of this trope.

* In ''VideoGame/DeBlob'', when you paint the scenery, an instrument in the background music gets a brief solo. The instrument depends on what colour you are. For example, paint a building green, and you get a flourish on the piano, but red will bring out the saxophone. In addition, many actions, such as liberation Graydians, produce special voices that match up with the background music.

** In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', hopping on Yoshi will add a bongo track to the background music. This is especially notable in the Underground Theme.

*** VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker's Super Mario World theme adds the Yoshi bongos to the background music where they were missing in the orginal game.

*** There are platforms in both games that toggle between blue and yellow as Mario steps on them. The sound they make is set to match whatever chord the background music is playing at that moment.

** The Music Note Blocks in ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros2'' will play a jingle when Mario leaps off of it. This jingle is an arpeggiated chord that matches the key of the background music, and whose first note is the same as the main melody of the background music. Also, when you run through a gold ring or are Gold Fire Flower Mario, there is a constant tinkling and chiming in the background matching the background music.

* ''[[{{Videogame/Portal2}} Portal 2]]'' does this with the Thermal Discouragement Beams. Each time you align a beam with its receptacle, the receptacle emits a continuous musical pattern that syncs up with the background music. If there is more than one such beam in a test chamber, they will all play different patterns that mesh together.

** ''VideoGame/MarioKart7'' adds drums to the background music when you are in the lead. And one of its stages, Music Park / Melody Motorway, has jumping musical notes for obstacles, that jump in time to the background music. They even speed up their jumping to match the sped-up music in the last lap.

* ''VideoGame/SpaceInvaders Extreme'', notably in the DS version. Firing and destroying enemies triggers musical sound effects a la ''Rez'' and ''Lumines''. Collecting powerups, going into a Round, activating Fever mode, or going into a boss battle will more dramatically alter the background music. In some stages, destroying the boss will bring the music from a frantic state to a more relaxed mood.

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* ''VideoGame/{{Killer Instinct}}'' 2013 when an Ultra Combo is performed: a variant of the executing character's theme song plays little by little as it lands every different hit possible until the last hit of the Ultra climaxes the end of the song.

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* A ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' add-on called "[[http://www.curse.com/addons/wow/hear-kitty Hear Kitty]]" can turn many players' experience into this.

[[folder: Party Games]]
* In the ''VideoGame/WarioWare'' series, the timer for each microgame is synced up to the BPM of that game's background music, or the BackgroundMusicOverride, in the case of Ashley in ''Touched'' and Jimmy in ''DIY''. Also, a short loop plays between microgames during gameplay, which reflects whether or not you cleared the last microgame or if the speed is about to increase.

[[folder: Pinball ]]

* The pinball machine ''Radical!'' has a simple bass riff and a bit of percussion as its background music. Instead, shooting anything on the playfield, including ramps, will provide instrumentation specific to that object (with a different sound for ramps depending on if the ball makes it all the way or not). As ''Radical!'' was made in 1990, this makes it one of the earliest examples of this trope.

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* The point of ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'''s "Sound Battle" system. Hitting an enemy (or an enemy hitting you) causes small melodies to be spliced into the backing music, and timing your hits right allows you to deal powerful combos. Also, all these melodies speed up or slow down to match the beat of the battle music. This system also [[InterfaceSpoiler often serves to provide hints regarding the true identities of some of the characters you meet.]], such as [[spoiler:Fassad being the Locria, the seventh Magypsy; given away by the distorted version of the [[{{Sexophone}} Magypsies' theme]] he plays through his musical horns when he returns as New Fassad]], and, for those who are really paying attention, [[spoiler:the Masked Man being Claus; in the single battle from the start of the game that you control Claus for, the electric guitar strums that play as he attacks are the same as the Masked Man's]].

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** On ''SSX 3'', all the music happens to be on a "Radio BIG" throughout the game. This can lead to wondering of "how did they predict all this big air or dramatic cave fly-bys in their songs? And how did they time it so it'd end when I got to the end of the level?"

* Any game where you are "making" the music (''VideoGame/GuitarHero'', ''VideoGame/RockBand'', etc) will mute out the music if you stop playing and\or make off-key sounds if you hit the wrong input. ''VideoGame/{{Beatmania}}'' goes the extra mile by actually playing the sounds exactly when the button is pressed, so each sound will actually be early or late to the song in line with the player's timing. This feature is usually a given in most VideoGame/{{BEMANI}} games, and the fanbase colloquially refers to it as "keysounds" or "keysounding".

** ''VideoGame/CryptOfTheNecroDancer'' and ''VideoGame/CadenceOfHyrule'' take it a step further with the main gameplay gimmick by making the movement of every character on-screen match the tempo of the background music, forcing the player to do the same, though in the later game, this only applies when enemies are on-screen.