History Main / UncommonTime

** And then there's "Morning Bell", which seems to be two bars of 3/4 followed by one of 4/4. (It could also be counted as simply being in 5/4).
*** Personally I'd count it as 2+3+3+2/8, or alternating bars of 5/8 consisting of 2+3/8 and 3+2/8. All of this is somewhat subjective after a point though.

* Early Music/{{Genesis}} has "Firth of Fifth," which goes all over the place. It starts in 2/4, then every couple of measures or so switches between that, 16/16, 13/16, and 15/16. When the lyrics start it goes into the standard 4/4 time. Then there's a flute solo that briefly slides into 5/4. Then another instrumental switching between the original 4 time signatures again before settling back on 4/4. The song then ends on a 13/16 piano solo into the fade-out.

* The first ending theme of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' ("Wind" by Akeboshi) is in 3+2/4.

* Music/MikeOldfield's "Music/TubularBells" in ''Film/TheExorcist''. The opening riff switches between 7/8 and 8/8.

Still confused? Let's relate it to UsefulNotes/PoetryForms. Poetry typically has "meter," described as the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in the verse's "feet" -- for instance, the "iambic" in GratuitousIambicPentameter is a "foot" of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllables: "I '''want''' to '''be''' the '''one''' who '''licks''' those '''frogs'''. I've '''learned''' I '''hate''' the '''taste''' of '''cats''' and '''dogs'''." Uncommon Meter is when ''the patterns aren't the same across the whole line'': "'''Will''' you '''be''' my '''run'''ning mate? '''It''' would '''help''' me '''con'''centrate." In poetic terms, this would be two trochees followed by a dactyl. In musical terms, this would be 7/4 or 7/8, depending on how precisely the composer decided to engrave the work. (This is why 9/8 only sometimes counts: it can be three dactyls ("'''I''' do not '''un'''derstand '''mu'''sic stuff") or three trochees and a dactyl ("'''It''' is '''going''' to '''drive''' me '''up''' the wall, '''then''' I'll '''lose''' my '''ba'''lance and then '''fall'''").)

Still confused? Let's relate it to UsefulNotes/PoetryForms. Poetry typically has "meter," described as the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables -- for instance, the "iambic" in GratuitousIambicPentameter is patterns of unstressed-stressed syllables: "I '''want''' to '''be''' the '''one''' who '''licks''' those '''frogs'''." (It's "pentameter" because there's ''five'' -- penta -- repetitions of the pattern.) Uncommon Meter is when ''the patterns aren't the same across the whole line'': "'''Will''' you '''be''' my '''run'''ning mate? '''It''' would '''help''' me '''con'''centrate." In poetic terms, this would be two trochees followed by a dactyl. In musical terms, this would be 7/4 or 7/8, depending on how precisely the composer decided to engrave the work. (This is why 9/8 only sometimes counts: it can be three dactyls ("'''I''' do not '''un'''derstand '''mu'''sic stuff") or three trochees and a dactyl ("'''It''' is '''going''' to '''drive''' me '''up''' the wall, '''then''' I'll '''lose''' my '''ba'''lance and I'll '''fall'''").)

* "The Twelve Days of Christmas" jumps back and forth between 4/4 and 3/4 as it progresses through the gifts. Specifically, each gift entry except for the partridge, turtledoves, and golden rings gets a 3/4 measure, with everything else in 4/4.

* A common verse pattern in country music: Two 4/4 bars, a 2/4 bar and another 4/4 bar (or 2/2 and 1/2, respectively, for a 7/2). Examples include "Skip a Rope" by Henson Cargill, "Small Town Saturday Night" by Hal Ketchum, and "Just Might Have Her Radio On" by Trent Tomlinson. Music/RandyTravis' "If I Didn't Have You" and "A Different World" by Bucky Covington use the 2/2-2/2-1/2-2/2 variant.

* Greek folk dance style ''Tzakonikos'' employs 5/4 key.

** And her fifth and (as of this writing) most recent album opens with the appropriately-named "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4n_8R5lKnw Level Up]]", which ratchets the time signature to 7/4.

** 3/4 and 4/4 are primarily used for songs (as opposed to dance music), but also show up in instrumentals.

** "[[https://youtu.be/rstwF4rHIz4 Static’s Waltz]]" starts in 4/4 and switches to 3/4 midway through.

* Music/Blink182's song "6/8" is in, well... ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. (This isn't particularly uncommon, though it's unusual for PunkRock.)

* "Kiss from a Rose" by {{Music/Seal}} is an example of a song that does not qualify for this trope. While its verses divide into unconventional 5-measure phrases, the measures themselves are in 3/4.

* The refrain riff to "This Christmas" (originally by Music/DonnyHathaway and later covered by artists such as Music/CeeLoGreen, Music/MaryJBlige and the aforementioned Seal) is in 7/4.

* The central motif of ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'''s main theme alternates between 6/4 and 5/4, with the percussionless middle section in 4/4.

** ''Music/JesusChristSuperstar'' has "Everything's Alright" in 5/4, and parts of "The Temple" in 7/4.
*** The part of the song "Heaven on their Minds" that goes ''Nazareth, your famous son, should have been a great unknown... / Table, chair and oaken chest ...'' and the instrumental repetition a few seconds later is in 7/8 time.

** "America" is entirely in 6/8, but it uses a musical technique called "hemiola" that alters the emphasis of the measure, making it sound like it's switching into 3/4 and back out again.

** Music/LindseySterling and Music/ThePianoGuys recorded a version of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p0BqUcQ7i0&ab_channel=ThePianoGuys the Mission Impossible theme]], which also incorporated Mozart's Piano Sonata in C, rearranged in a 5/4 time.

** Creator/LindseySterling and Creator/ThePianoGuys recorded a version of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p0BqUcQ7i0&ab_channel=ThePianoGuys the Mission Impossible theme]], which also incorporated Mozart's Piano Sonata in C, rearranged in a 5/4 time.

* Sungazer's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFOttUKWT50 Threshold]] is just as much music as it is an experiment in musical psychology. It goes at 33 BPM, which is the lower [[TitleDrop threshold]] of what humans can percieve as a rhythm, with a 19/16 time that comes out to almost 10 notes per second, the ''higher'' rhythmic threshold that humans can keep up with. This results in a strange medium where the song almost sounds like it's in 3/4 at 99 BPM, but with the third beat in the bar being slightly longer since 19 can't be divided evenly into 3. One of the creators of the song explains how it all works [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRLTjESyuQk here]].

** "Nice to Know You" features one bar or 6/4 followed by two bars of 4/4, for a total of 14/4.

* The unplayable[[note]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCgT94A7WgI Hear, hear.]] Needs more [[EverythingIsBetterWithPenguins penguins]], though. [[/note]] joke piece [[https://web.archive.org/web/20160912231642/http://classicalconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/150301671_ca7d422981_o.gif "Fairie's Aire and Death Waltz"]] has some ridiculous time signatures, including 3/6 and 66/66.

** Actually, Irish music just has several "sub-genres", which are basically divided by time signature:
*** If it's in cut time (2/2), it's a reel or a hornpipe, depending on how heavily the first beat of the bar is emphasized (lightly emphasized, it's a reel, heavily, it's a hornpipe.).
*** If it's in 6/8, it's a jig. There are also slip jigs, in 9/8 (including "Rocky Road To Dublin"), and a few double jigs in 12/8.
*** 3/4 and 4/4 are primarily used for songs (as opposed to dance music), but also show up in instrumentals.

** The second half of ''Music/{{Oxygene}} Part 5'' has a 5/8 meter(or perhaps a polyrhythm of 5/8 against 2/4).

* Music/TheGratefulDead's "Uncle John's Band" contains a riff in 7/4 (including the passage that closes off the song), and also frequently skips a beat during the verses, inserting a measure of 3/4 into passages that are otherwise in CommonTime.

* Music/SteelyDan's [[Music/{{Aja}} "Aja"]]. Website/ThatOtherWiki sums up the shenanigans in the song's instrumental break:

See also Wiki/{{Wikipedia}}'s [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musical_works_in_unusual_time_signatures list of musical works in unusual time signatures.]]

This trope is ''heavily'' associated with the MathRock, ProgressiveRock, ProgressiveMetal, and TechnicalDeathMetal genres, to the point where there are only a handful of prominent acts in any of these genres who have never used it. It is also incredibly common in modern ClassicalMusic, which is often credited as being due to the influence of Music/IgorStravinsky, particularly in ''Theatre/TheRiteOfSpring''. (Stravinsky was a rather large influence on many of these prog groups as well). By virtue of being strongly influenced by both progressive rock and classical music, it's also noticeably common in video game soundtracks.

* Used extensively by two different drummers in progressive rock: Neil Peart of Music/{{Rush}} and Music/BillBruford of Music/{{Yes}} and Music/KingCrimson.

* Music/{{Rush}} makes use of several unusual time signatures. ''Music/MovingPictures'' alone has examples of 7/4, 5/4, and 3/4 time.

* "Cause Disarray" from ''Anime/Mnemosyne'' has a section in 5/4.

** “[[https://youtu.be/Q7_jbluF0qo 3030]]” by Deltron 3030 has a chorus that is in 5 bars of 6/4, with the final 6th bar in 7/4.
** “[[https://youtu.be/rstwF4rHIz4 Static’s Waltz]] starts in 4/4 and switches to 3/4 midway through.

* [[Music/OCRemix Mazedude's]] [[http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01491/ "Microscopism"]] is in an incredibly bizarre 7½/8 (15/16) time signature.
** Only if you believe in reducing fractions, which - to the consternation of mathematicians everywhere - ain't the right thing for a musician to do. 7.5/8 looks impossible (and is), but 15/16 is just 5/4 with triplets ('''1'''&a '''2'''&a '''3'''&a '''4'''&a '''5'''&a).
** Just to clarify: the song is ''not'' in triple meter. Having said that, it's also not in a single coherent time signature: it's a repeating pattern of 4/4 and 2+2+3/8.

* Irregular time signatures are those that are not evenly divided, and as such fall within the purview of this trope. For example, 5/8 can be divided into 2 + 3 or 3 + 2. As a rule, any time signature where the top number is not a multiple of 2 or 3 will be irregular[[labelnote:*]]with the sole exception of 9/8, which could be either[[/labelnote]]. There are, however, a number of regular-looking time signatures that are often irregularly divided: 8/8, for example, is commonly divided in folk music into 3 + 2 + 3 or 3 + 3 + 2. Sometimes these will be notated in the score, e.g. as 3+3+2/8, to avoid confusion.
* There are irrational time signatures. These are time signatures in which the beat is a tuplet -- i.e. an equal subdivision of the semibreve that is ''not'' divisible by two. For example, a piece may call for 4/5 -- four quintuplet crotchets (where five quintuplets equal four regular crotchets) per bar. Since this in practice means simply a brief increase in tempo by 120%, irrational time signatures are only useful as occasional, brief [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_modulation "metric modulations"]] and rarely show up outside the most esoteric works of experimental music. There would be no point to writing a whole song in 4/5; you could as easily notate it in 4/4 at a hundred and twenty percent of the speed and without giving musicians huge headaches.

It should be pointed out that this trope only documents measures with unusual time signatures. It does not cover ''phrases'' -- IE, groups of measures -- that follow unusual patterns. A perfect example of this is Music/OutKast's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWgvGjAhvIw Hey Ya]]": while it does have an unconventional 6-bar phrase in its chorus, and while those bars involve 3 bars of 4/4 (({{beat}}) "My baby don't / mess around, because she / loves me so, this I--"), a bar of 2/4 ("--know for--") and two more bars of 4/4 ("--[[IncrediblyLongNote suuuuuuure]]..."), none of the bars ''themselves'' are in Uncommon Time, thus failing to qualify for this trope. And while a 6-bar phrase is less conventional than a 4-bar phrase, that would fall under a different trope (or be [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs too meaningless to trope]]). Also, while you could try to Administrivia/SquarePegRoundTrope the song into this trope by ''claiming'' it's secretly in 22/4, any experienced musician can tell you how unwise that would be. When reading sheet music, musicians rely on bar lines as a visual navigation aid. The phrase ''can'' be expressed as one long measure, just like you ''can'' write things as a WallOfText with NoPunctuationPeriod, but that doesn't mean you ''should''.

* "Negative" by Mansun is in 6/8.

* The third movement of Paul Hindemith's ''Sonata for Solo Viola OP. 25/1'' has a metronome marking of "600-640"[[note]]This is faster than humans can reasonably be expected to play, and was put there by Hindemith to indicate to the player to play as fast as they possibly could[[/note]], and the metre changes, on average, ''every 1.5 bars'', with the top digit of the time signature being written in above each bar, so as to avoid cluttering up the sheet music.

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''Super C'' (the NES version of ''[[VideoGame/{{Contra}} Super Contra]]''): The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZLRGWoIULY theme played in stages 4 and 7]] is in primarily 7/8. It then changes to 6/8, then 4/4, and then finally one bar of 6/4.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'', Part of "Hartmann's Youkai Girl" is in 7/8. The rest is in CommonTime.
** Similarly, the intro of "U.N. Owen Was Her?" is in 5/4, with the rest of the song played in common time.
** "Rural Makai City Esoterica" is in 11/4, constantly switching between (5+6)/4 and (6+5)/4.
** The iconic theme of Touhou itself, "Theme of Eastern Story", is in 11/4- three bars of 3/4 and a bar of 2/4.
*** "Theme of Eastern Story" has been used at least once in every Touhou game, with varying time signatures!
** In Touhou 11, "Hellfire Mantle" alternates between 10/4 and 3/4. ZUN seems to be a fan of oddball time signatures.
** Like "Makai City", [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBeftXHkrAI the ending theme]] to ''Imperishable Night'' is in 17/8, switching between signatures of 9 and 8.
** "The Kappa Way as Said ~ One Way Accelerator," the fanmade theme for fanmade character Mitori (though it's written to sound like a ZUN song), is all over the place: 5/8, 6/8, and 3/4, including 5/8 and 7/8 polyrhythms.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDkqyvgpGmw enemy encounter theme]] from the "Gunboat Graveyard" level of ''VideoGame/SlyCooperAndTheThieviusRaccoonus'' is in 9/4.
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGYIGhv_wYA&list=PLiOOL913700cVlwhYFeJA0wqnti-2era1&index=21 Vox Nerduli]]" from ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsHitAndRun'' is in 7/8.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEhSloWwaV0 boss theme "B"]] from ''VideoGame/StarFox64'' is in 5/4.
** As is part of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgvYX9DhjRk asteroid belt/Venom orbit theme]] from the original ''VideoGame/StarFox1''.
%% ** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enY647byRzg asteroid belt theme]] from ''VideoGame/StarFoxZero'' is mostly in 6/4 -- and therefore doesn't count for this trope, because that's not an uncommon time signature.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2jdMqH9j0M Nippius level]] of ''VideoGame/JazzJackrabbit'' has several shifting time signatures in it.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRHyH824KIM beach theme]] from ''VideoGame/{{Plok}}'', showing Tim Follin's {{progressive rock}} influences, starts out in 7/8, shifts to 4/4--with rhythmic ambiguity and one bar in 17/16--and then back to 7/8. Since the sound tracker for the [=SNES=] can't do time signature changes mid track, the song ends up with a time signature of 4.5/4. Also, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJhIkBmmfII Akrillic]]" is mostly in 3/4, but has two bars in 13/8.
* ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' has a few songs with uncommon time signatures:
** "[[https://youtu.be/Wimuro3J-FQ Don't Slip]]", one of the multiplayer music tracks, is in 7/8, briefly switching to 4/4 during the chorus.
** None of the music of [[MultiMookMelee Salmon]] [[TimedMission Run]], both in this game and [[VideoGame/Splatoon3 the next]], is in common time, to add to the chaotic and disorienting feel of the mode:
*** "[[https://youtu.be/5xqLQMYoDUI Deluge Dirge]]", the main theme, is entirely in 7/8 time.
*** "[[https://youtu.be/6WOZsv6v1Q0 Fishing Frenzy]]" is in ''31/16'' time.
* A common occurrence in the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series:
** The boss battle theme from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' has a lot of segments using patterns of seven measures, though it has some with simple patterns of 4/4. When the Black Mages adapted it, it ended up using 14/4 (6+3+5/4) instead.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iriyIrK9e14 "The Red Wings"]], part of which is in 7/4.
*** The music that plays as [[spoiler:Cecil becomes a Paladin]] on Mt. Ordeals is in 5/4.
*** Special mention to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkx3KcO7TCs "Golbez, Clad in Dark"]], which is not in 13/4 and doesn't qualify for this trope, but ''does'' have an irregular phrasing of 3/4, 3/4, 4/4 and 3/4.
** Creator/NobuoUematsu used several unconventional rhythms in ''Final Fantasy VI'''s music:
*** The standard boss theme "[[https://youtu.be/iXOzwiJZjGg The Decisive Battle]]" employs a great deal of the 3+3+2 "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tresillo_(rhythm) tresillo]]" rhythm, as does the major battle theme "[[https://youtu.be/SmwSfUqnDvA Battle to the Death]]". Both are great tension-building rhythms, and make for good listening even when you hear the things many times and often for multiple iterations in a single fight.
*** The Esper theme, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVFq1mjcdP0 Esper World]]", is 7/8.
*** The fourth (and final) movement of the final boss theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czi-JVLoKZI "Dancing Mad"]], is a remix of [[BigBad Kefka's]] {{Leitmotif}} that uses 4/4, 3/4, 4/8, 3/8, and 7/8 time. The chaotic feeling it creates fits Kefka very well.
** While most of [[https://youtu.be/A4UDSVTNL3M "One-Winged Angel"]] from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' is in 4/4, the transition between the intro and the main body of the song has a few measures in 7/8. It's especially notable in the ''Advent Children'' version because the time signature shift is punctuated by the sudden entry of electric guitars and percussion, making the section the musical equivalent of a [[DynamicEntry boot to the head.]]
*** Additionally, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk8_nQ2kcrY "Cinco de Chocobo"]] is in 5/4, swung.
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IP3BzOKEnA "Who Am I"]] consists of three measures of 6/8 followed by one measure of 5/8. This is part of what contributes to the unsettling nature of the piece.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' used 5/4 time for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btHMMDz27hw "Don't Be Afraid"]], its normal combat music. The boss music [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54r8t_5ayto "Force Your Way"]], by contrast, is mostly in 4/4 but has a bar in 5/4 and one in 6/4.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H36cPPMCU58 "Run!"]] which plays whenever the party must escape a place within a time limit. It has three bars of 5/4 + two of 6/8 for the main melody, and uses 4/4 + 7/8 in the mid parts. The frequency of the time changes combined with the overall speed of the song is positively frantic - the player knows he's got to get out ''now''.
*** "Ambush Attack" is mostly in 9/4, though it has a section in 4/4. This section ends with a measure in 2/4 just to make sure you're paying attention.
*** The final battle theme is mostly in 4/4, but there are some extra beats thrown in here and there, so there are some measures in metre signatures like 5/4.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' had its share as well. For instance, in the tune [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQrtj3gCBnQ "Decisive Battle"]], the time signature shifts around like crazy. There are long sections in common time signatures like 3/4 and 4/4, but when they start changing every couple bars and throwing in 2/4 and 6/4, things get a little complicated. One section even has (4+4+6+4+4+6+4)/4!
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJW1ImM_2mg "A Contest of Aeons"]] is in 5/4. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWE0nlhpdq8 "Seymour Battle"]] uses a few bars of 7/4, though it’s mostly in 4/4.
** While most of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'''s boss theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weewaTuUheQ Saber's Edge]], is 3/4, there are also sections in 5/4.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C47W-WEHK2Q Chaos]], the first boss of ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'' is in 11/8 time normally, but then when the boss is staggered the song shifts to 12/8 time signature.
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVrQv36YFgg Trisection]] starts in 12/8, moves to 5/8, alternates between 7/8 and 5/8 a couple of times, goes back to 12/8 for a bar of percussion only, returns to 5/8, does another bar of 12/8 percussion, then loops.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASfgP5zYfpU Airship theme]] from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' is in 10/8.
** The Lynari Desert stage from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles'' plays in 7/8, then 9/8, then 7/8, then 11/7 and even 14/8.
* While most of the ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'' final boss song is in 4/4, it has some portions in 7/8.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kizqDRhOUsk one boss theme]] in 5/4 and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJxUyHkJ3W8 another]] in 7/4.
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** The Factory theme in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' has a time signature of 13/8.
** The theme from Bowser's Castle in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'' is in 7/8 time, except for the intro.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVdxrERxQo8 race results theme]] in ''VideoGame/MarioKart64'' is in 11/8, or (2/4 + 3/8 + 2/4).
** ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'''s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf1kIIcPid8 Wild Woods]] is 10/8 (3+3+2+2).
** In the first ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' game, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbJvVozeSvs&index=7&list=PL6akIKaXBeU2NJTvflQzj3aF01YcbFw40 the music that plays over the board results screen]] is in 7/4 (divided 4+3).
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9hxJwInyck World 8 music]] from ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' is mostly in 10/4, and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bQsx4gPw8Q World 3 overworld music]] is in 8/4 (divided as 3+3+2 or 3+2+3).
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6NgA48KWc0 Lethal Lava Land music]] in ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' doesn't come close to fitting a single coherent time signature, though at times it follows 4/4 or 5/4 for a bit.
** From ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'', the Lost Kingdom music, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEazXwU1hz4 Forgotten Isle 2]], is in 11/16 (4+3+2+2).
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciDs2gIC1og boss theme]] from ''[[VideoGame/YoshisIslandDS Yoshi's Island DS]]'' is in 6/4.
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ7DedZjb3s Castle Bleck]]" from ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' cycles through no less than '''five''' different time signatures[[note]]As [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBhneCxnIKk this]] video displays, it starts in 3/4, two bars of 4/4, two bars of ''13/8'', one bar of 6/8, two more 4/4 bars, ''one'' bar of 5/4, two ''more'' 13/8 bars for the reprise of the game's main theme, then another 6/8 followed by two bars of 4/4. It stays at that time signature for eight bars, then suddenly going to ''15/8'' for two bars before finally going back to 4/4 for the rest of the song[[/note]]. Approriate, considering [[EldritchLocation the nature of the castle.]]
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W2S2ncJLb4 Attack of a Flash]]" from ''Grandia 3'' is mostly in 4/4 with frequent bars of 7/8.
* The first level theme from the 1989 Namco {{shmup}} ''Burning Force'' alternates between 7/8 and 4/4 time, much like the above-mentioned beach theme from ''Plok''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGeLgx2bock Take a listen.]]
* A couple of examples from ''VideoGame/KnightsInTheNightmare''-- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aZXBNeFTAY "Clash with the Dark King Zolgonark"]] is written in 5/4, while [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j13rckXDFh4 "Clash with the Fallen Angel Melissa"]] is written in half 7/8 and half 4/4.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', you can rack up damage combos by tapping the attack button in time with the battle music's rhythm after your attack lands. While the majority of the battle tracks are in the standard 4/4 and 3/4 times and are simple enough to follow, this grows difficult later in the game, especially in tracks mostly reserved for bosses. For instance, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjRCgPFS2Jw "Strong One"]] is in 15/8 time (tapped out something like '1-2-3, 1-2, 1, 2, 3'), while the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdEF9FlXNno Masked Man]] variation skips a fraction of a beat and becomes ''29/16'' time. The songs "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27JZ3pmLZkQ Fate]]" and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSuHUlmWuuo "Serious"]] are considered ''the'' hardest to combo to (even more so than "Strong One" due to it's American Sports cheer beat of "1, 2, 1-2-3, 1-2-3-4, 1, 2" which require precise hits to combo with.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Iji}}'''s soundtrack, "Tor" uses 7/4 and 5/4 time, while "Seven Four" is named after its 7/4 time signature.
* VideoGame/ChronoTrigger: The "Sealed Door" (the music that plays when you use a MacGuffin on certain areas) starts in 5/4 time before going to 6/8. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this was one of the songs in the game written by Creator/NobuoUematsu (see the Franchise/FinalFantasy section above for more examples), who ''really'' likes this trope.
** "Battle with Magus", written by Creator/YasunoriMitsuda, has a segment which alternates between bars of 5/8 and 7/8.
* The ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'' soundtrack frequently experiments in polyrhythm and unusual meter - "Snakebone Manor" is in 5/8 and 7/8 time, for instance. The most cited example is the game's love-it-or-hate-it main battle theme, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRkqWdE_Nd0 "Hurricane"]] - a polyrhythm of 9/8, 3/4, 4/4, and 5/4 times.
* The alert theme from ''VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake'' is in 7/8.
* The CutSong [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqMKO70J9Qk "Life"]] from ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'' is also 7/8.
* VideoGame/{{BEMANI}}:
** "Holic" from ''VideoGame/{{Beatmania}} IIDX'' is in 7/8 time, and later changes to 7/4 and then 4/4.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1joKw32ahG4 100% minimoo-G]] is even worse. Songs in ''IIDX'' usually have the proper markings for measures, even if they're in a non-4/4 time signature or change signature at some point. ''If'' the song has a time signature, it's so alien that the song has ''no measure markings at all''.
** The primary part of "mind the gap" is in 14/16 (7+7).
** [[Music/MasafumiTakada "PentaCube Gt."]] is in 5/4, as its title suggests. As is "penta-mode" from VideoGame/PopNMusic.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb3ogP4gKTE "Burning Heat!"]] is mostly in 12/8 time, with the occasional single measure of 18/8.
** Several boss songs from ''[=GuitarFreaks=]'' and ''drummania'' have unusual time signatures to bump up their difficulty on Drums. For example, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCryGZAwwFY "DAY DREAM"]] is mostly in 17/16.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tj08F94Y64 Vanessa]] from IIDX 14 GOLD, mostly unusual in that the note chart is timed to 1/3 note beats on a 4/4 scale, instead of the more common 1/4 note beats.
** "Izanami no nageki" from IIDX 24 SINOBUZ is in 7/4.
** "EVANESCENT" from IIDX 26 Rootage has part of its intro in 7/8, and a pair of measures in 3+4/4 followed by a measure in 5/4.
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z80Hfjlk6yM Battle Theme #2]]" from ''MS Saga'' is mostly in 5/4 with some 4/4.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8NMlZSgWEw "Leonidas"]] from ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'' goes 2*(6/4 + 5/4) + 4/4 + 13/8 + 6/4 . The main theme of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HAzqdqPxtQ "Earth City]] is in 13/8, although the rest of the song is in a more conventional 6/8.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8ZIrM4TzrI Zeldrin Starport]] in VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal switches between 11/8 and Common Time along with some of David Bergeaud's other tracks in the game such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1y61o9xa1s Planet Aridia]].
* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'':
** The [[https://youtu.be/hbHrdNI7yiY Ridley battle theme]] is in 5/8, with short sections in 4/8 and 3/8.
** And the Mother Brain theme in ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' is in 7/8.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GLZtzclcnw Dreatnaut's]] theme from VideoGame/{{Runescape}} is 5/8. However, that theme is very disorienting so it's easy to lose beat.
* Most of the music in ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal: Black'' uses uncommon or mixed time signatures. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWHmDEDcQeM Prison Passage]] uses 7/8, 5/8, and even 17/16 and 19/16. "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tWZzAUg_2k Darkness Prevails]]"(the Freeway battle theme) is 5/4. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_c6InKre-k Minion's theme]] rotatez between 7/4, 4/4, 7/8+5/8, and 3/4.
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2z28mutY1E Suicide Mission]]," one of the crown jewels of the ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' soundtrack, combines ethereal synths, OrchestralBombing and [[OminousLatinChanting Ominous Choral Chanting]] in a heavy, deliberate 7/4.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JUlNMAklhs Night of Fate]]." Takes the cake by seeming to be in a duple meter (10/4), but actually being in compound: "'''1'''&a '''2'''&a '''3'''& '''4'''&." This is also a good example of why numerically large timesigs are hard to read and understand; this song would be easier to play if it was rendered as two measures, one of 6/8 and one of 4/8.
** This isn't that unusual, complex, onalr massive a distribution of beats. A lot of songs notated as 5/4 are really in this, like the ''Mission Impossible'' theme. For instance...
*** The Force in You (Riku's boss theme) from ''Chain of Memories''.
*** "Hollow Bastion" from the first game.
*** "Extreme Encounters" from ''Birth by Sleep''.
* All three versions of the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctYQ08gxkqA intro music]] are in 7/8. [[MickeyMousing The animation is also timed to the beat.]] Each corner formed = 1 beat, and the logo is completed on the 7th.
* The ''VideoGame/MetalSlug'' series seems to have made this into a composer in-joke. Most installments include a version of the song Steel Beast. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku1hkgh6b88 No]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLEdRSYQ5XM two]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6ZJSj0yREE versions]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP9b5mJCPJY share a]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efD-0ARSqgw time signature.]] (Except 2 and 3)
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxizUSV1EM8 "Chomber"]] from ''VideoGame/{{Marathon}}'' is in 7/4 time, has a [[ArcNumber seven-letter]] title, and plays on the [[ArcNumber seventh level]] of the game.
** "Leela" could be counted as slow 10/4 or as five faster bars of 6/8.
** From the first release of the third-party mod ''Excalibur: Morgana's Revenge'', "Future 108" is in 10/4 and "Morgana's Militia" is in 5/4.
* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' composer Jun Ishikawa is fond of this.
** ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'' has several examples:
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJfeYHbneZw Meta Knight's battle theme]] is in 5/4, very similar to Ridley's theme from ''Super Metroid''.
*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93y80BKdiqU Milky Way Wishes world map theme]] is primarily in 7/8 with some 8/8 (4/4) to complete melodies, while the final part is in 7/4.
*** The music for the final boss, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icv3vnvxZ0A Marx]]... oh, boy. The main song comes in at one measure of 13/8 (7 + 6), then one measure of 9/8 (7 + 2), then one measure of 6/8, then two measures of 5/8, then two measures of 6/8. It hardly sticks in one time signature for long.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuj1bQrBy74 Ruins theme]] from ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards'' is in 9/4.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s04XY18KVvU "Checkerboard Chase"]], also from ''Kirby 64'', is in 5/8 (with a brief measure of 6/8 at the end of the loop).
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOxs6Yo1YqU Sphere Doomer battle theme]] from ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand'' is in 5/4.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vdBwSv-xyA "Beautiful Prison"]] from ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe'' alternates between 5/4 and 6/4, with brief measures of 3/4 to round it out.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ARRbmTQZWY "Access Ark"]] from ''VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot'' is in 9/8.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHmw6A8H01s "Echo's Edge"]] from ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'' is in 5/4.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3SutNJPfQM boss theme]] from ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter2'' has an 11/16 meter. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZArhqJQiLBM French terrorists' theme]] in ''The Omega Strain'' is a 3*5/4 against 12/8 march.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzNJibw5Z5w final boss theme]] from ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}'' jumps gleefully from 11/8 to 5/8 to 6/8 to 4/4 to 7/8 and back to 11/8. It's like ''Dream Theater'' had a pop at videogame music.
* The ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' composers like this trope to an extent that arguably rivals Uematsu's.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver''
*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vcnKxFaRGk Unown radio broadcast]] consists of a quiet and regular hum with sporadic and abstract sound effects over it. Depending on your interpretation, either it's in 1/4 or it doesn't have a time signature at all.
*** The first four bars of ''Gold and Silver's'' version of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbRe5a7Uz4I Kanto Gym Leader theme]] are in 7/8; then it switches to Common.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVKWTHso8-s Underwater theme]] of ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' is mostly in 4/4 but also includes periodic bars of 7/8 and 9/8.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb55XVP3LHw Eterna Forest theme]] of ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' starts off with a piano intro in 11/8 before switching to 4/4.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tHcDpWbkGA Wonder Bridge theme]] of ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' jumps between time signatures, like 4/8, 7/8, and various permutations of 3/4.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY''
*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYSbR3a4Wyw Lumiose City theme]] is all over the place: 4/4, 3/3, 7/4, and 7/8 are discernible at various points.
*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVFd_m7EYng Victory Road theme]] is in 7/4.
*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MF6xPh87Fg Sycamore's Lab music]] is in 5/4.
*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v98VKII7ibw Tower of Mastery music]] is part 5/4 and part 6/4.
*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP7r1avZKq8 Pokémon League music]] is no nicer: it's partially in 5/4 and Arceus knows what else.
*** It's only the intro that's in a weird time signature, the rest is in 4/4.
*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyjI2pccyYw Psychic Trainer encounter theme]] is in 10/4.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonXD''
*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYH3DTI4L_M Phenac City theme]] has a few bars of 5/4 in the non-percussive sections.
*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1o5fVCD3X0 Relic Forest theme]] is in part 7/4 and part 6/4.
*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kYeLhzWfNM main theme]] of ''XD'' opens with a couple measures of 9/4.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon''
*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxf-fx4nGeQ boss theme]] in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonRescueTeam Rescue Team]]'' is mostly in 6/4 but also includes 7/4.
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpRonML3WaU Hidden Land]] from ''[[VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers Explorers]]'' is primarily in 6/4, with a bar of 5/4 followed by a bar of 7/4 followed by 6/4 again.
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVfhRQf18MA Craggy Coast]] from ''Explorers'' is partially in 5/4 and partially in 12/8.
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kE05kbyro3w Event Theme 3]]" of ''VideoGame/PokemonConquest'' is in 7/8.
* The theme to the first stage from ''[[VideoGame/{{Klonoa}} Klonoa: Door to Phantomile]]'', "The Windmill Song", mostly alternates between 6/8 and 5/8, but has in the intro section (which is mostly in 6/8) one bar of 3/8 followed by three bars of '''9/16''' before switching back to 6/8.
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de1PpZs12ds Chaos 6 Battle]]" from ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' is part 7/8 and part 4/4.
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WaLw12XZcY Fanfare for Dr. Eggman]]", which sounds more like a ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' battle theme than [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog Sonic]] music, is in 7/4.
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um2xhmuMBWg 34°N, 12°E]]," the theme of Mad Space, one of Rouge's levels in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', is in 7/8.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Srx-lWpwcec intro]] switches between time signatures as different characters are introduced: 12/4 for Sonic and Shadow, 11/4 for Tails and Eggman, and 10/4 for Knuckles and Rouge. The rest is in common.
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyCTG52odVo Mr. Unsmiley]]," the theme of Sky Rail, one of Shadow's levels, is mostly in 4/4, but one section goes 9/4 + 10/4 + 9/4 + 14/4.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF99oeiaznk Mushroom Hill Zone (Act 1) theme]] in ''VideoGame/SonicAndKnuckles'' starts with 7/8 + 5/8 + 7/8 + 9/8 + 7/8 + 9/8 before switching to CommonTime. This is kept in the Act 1 remix for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS version of ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' (though not the Act 2 remix).
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1TdE5O3oGw Evil Ending]] from ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'' jumps between time signatures a lot.
* Each level in ''VideoGame/{{Thumper}}'' uses a different time signature, and some of them get a bit out there, like 7/8 and 9/8.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kRTT7KcUjE Final Dreadnought 2 boss theme]] from ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' is in 5/4.
* Crystal Snail's theme from ''VideoGame/MegaManX2'' switches between 13/8 and 6/8 time.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOe3baIm3Ys Bubble Crab's stage]] from the same game is mostly 4/4, but begins with three bars of 6/4 time followed by one of 7/4.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUkGjrz5Tvo The Kombinat stage]] in ''VideoGame/MegaManX7'' has music in 5/4.
* The boss theme from ''VideoGame/MegaManZero3'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6RBED-BSIw Scrapped Beat]], is partly in 7/8 time.
* The middle eight in the Gran Turismo 5 version of "Moon Over the Castle" is in (3+4+3+4.5)/4
* The ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' raid Trial of the Crusader was often criticized for its unoriginality, but one of the main musical themes for it had an original time signature of 11/4.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktKe4iG6okA Cross Examination]] theme from ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney: Justice for All'' is written in alternating measures of 7/8 and 13/16, and then 13/16 and 12/16 (3/4).
** Meanwhile, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nPfjHuKtw8 Telling the Truth 2001]] from the first game is a steady 5/4.
** The cross-examination themes for ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'', both the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB61BpPqi8E Moderato]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAZAV2tmeS8 Allegro]] variants, are in 7/4.
** Some of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfVgHEEjyp0&t=0s&index=16&list=PL6akIKaXBeU2RcQD7r88EPwcRPRplDwF7 Joint Reasoning]] music from ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney: Adventures'' is in 7/8.
* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' series:
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPudxb0S1iI Blockade]], from the identically-named fourth mission in [[VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies Ace Combat 04]], is in the same 7/8 time and tempo all the way through, but switches from pulse-pounding subdivisions to sustained, two-measure-long notes halfway through, symbolizing the turning tides as the [[TheFederation Independent States Allied Force]], led by AcePilot Mobius 1, consolidate their position and, for the first time in the war, begin to strike back.
** From the same game: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4h_herdkh58 Tango Line]], in (5+6)/8 with single bars of 4/4 between sections.
** ''VideoGame/AceCombat7SkiesUnknown'' features [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg5guTIUhZM Archange]], played during the second of three RecurringBoss fights. The boss's RecurringRiff is played against a driving 7/8 background, scaffolded by OminousLatinChanting.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITCriXMUKWw Sagat's theme]] from ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' is in...11/4? There's no real way to break it down otherwise; the melody, the bass line, and the fill all have different sub-phrase patterns.
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E_Q7Mimf7A Space Walk]]", the second stage theme from ''[[VideoGame/ThunderForce Thunder Force IV]]'', is all over the place. Three measures of 7/8 followed by one measure of 6/8... and then a bridge in 4/4.
** Perhaps not surprisingly, quite a few commenters on Website/YouTube videos of "Space Walk" have said it reminded them of Sagat's theme...
* The main theme of ''VideoGame/MeatBoy'' and ''Super Meat Boy'' is in 7/4 time, as is the world-select version in Super Meat Boy.
* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** From the original ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI'', the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-DAsdX82O0 final dungeon]] music could be considered to be made up of patterns of seven bars, or could be counted as 14/4 or something like that depending on how the rhythms are divided. The unusual rhythm (it feels like part of the piece is missing) further contributes to the unsettling nature of the music.
** From ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'', Ganon's battle theme starts off in 2/4 for two bars, before switching to 14/16. In [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds the sequel]], the track reappears with a 4/4 intro before launching into the 2/4 and 14/16 melody.
** From ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', we have [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKjEwQeGAEU Ganondorf's battle music]]. It starts out in 4/4, but only stays that way for four bars before switching to a complex pulse of 23/16 (13+10/16).
*** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhkHht6jM48 Fairy Flying]]", Navi's theme, has three sections: two in 13/8 and one in 5/8.
** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj-VpdAuJGw boss theme]] from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' has several different time signatures. It starts with two bars in 5/4, then proceeds to a section in 7/4, two bars in 6/4, a section in 4/4, three bars in 11/8, one bar in 7/8, and then back to the 7/4 whereafter it repeats.
*** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t8ek43vrW4 Great Bay Temple]]" has a polymetric version of this trope: The percussion plays in a steady 4/4 pulse, while two simultaneous organ vamps fade in and out. One vamp is in 3/16, the other is in 5/16.
** From ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'', [[https://youtu.be/M6rmY9XtvA8?t=1m21s the music]] that plays during the scene in which Linder reports that Makar fell into the Forbidden Woods alternates between 7/8 and 5/8. The game's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o78T9-I4OGA title theme]] is entirely in 9/8.
*** There's a section of Ganondorf's battle theme where the time signature is 7/4 for a few bars before switching back to 4/4.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWayZatk1hI Stagnox's Theme]] from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' changes time signatures A LOT. It usually remains in 7/8, but switches to 3/4 and a few other time signatures as well.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6o2igO8zZQQ "Talo's Rescue"]] is in 7/4 but with one bar of 3/4 before the song repeats.
** [[https://youtu.be/MgK_OfW7nl4 Both versions of]] [[https://youtu.be/pZaqDYrvoMA the Hyrule Castle music]] from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'' start out in 5/4, have a section that keeps switching between 5/4 and 6/4 and also have a section entirely in 6/4.
*** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_veOLEx7oJc Lost Woods]] music is nearly arhythmic, with a time signature that changes unpredictably by the measure. It never lets the listener get comfortable with it, making it fit the misty and mazelike Lost Woods wonderfully.
* "Subterranean Hell" from ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaDawnOfSorrow'' starts out in 7/4 and then alternates between 6/4 and 5/4.
* "Final Toccata" (the baroque-tacular semi-theme-music for the inverted castle, and one of the first appearances of what would become Dracula's signature chord progression) from ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight'' is in 5/4 time as well.
* In ''AtelierTotori'', the battle theme [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHqKz-Y6VnQ ''Yellow Zone'']] starts off in 7/4, then one section at 6/4, then it goes into (4+3+3+2)/4 for a bit. The rest of the song is 4/4.
** The battle theme of ''VideoGame/AtelierShallieAlchemistsOfTheDuskSea'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSJKVfDNYIY Stella Part 2]], starts off at (4+5+4+3)/4 twice before going into common time.
** ''[[VideoGame/ManaKhemiaAlchemistsOfAlRevis Mana Khemia]]'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMeMf2h_O-Q Hallucinate Bell]], which is in 5/4 (and a bit of 15/8).
* The theme for the Labyrinth in ''[[VideoGame/SummonNight Summon Night: Swordcraft Story]]'' is in 9/8, and the tournament theme both drops a beat in an early measure and has a later section in approximately 6/4.
* In Creator/HirokiKikuta's soundtrack to ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'', the main boss battle theme, "Danger", bounces all over the place, while the game's third flight theme, "Premonition", is mostly in 5/4.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmbHFF3iFgs "Prophecy"]], from the same game. The time signature on this is really hard to figure out. It is 5/4 in the first part and 6/4 in the second part, but the drum and the strings are played in such way to throw you off really easily
* [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=0-TWdyCJ-Bg "Haggstrom"]] from ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' is played in 7/4.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Vanquish}}'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb-H4qIJ9ro "Freight Train Battle 1"]] is in 7/4. The intro of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfVDfWEaPv0 "Crystal Viper Battle 1"]] is in 5/8.
* ''VideoGame/{{Transistor}}'' has multiple songs with odd time signatures, including [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7on5q5Dcl8 "Gateless"]] (5/4) and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGMWL8cOeAU "In Circles"]] (5/4 and 6/4).
* ''VideoGame/RhythmHeaven'' usually deals with common time (4/4 and on occasion 3/4), but there are a few exceptions. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXDc8ueLoJg Remix 3]] in the DS installment is in 12/8 time, for example.
* The songs of ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'' are all in 4/4, with [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers one exception:]] "Monster", the last chart of [[BigBoosHaunt Week 2]]. Featuring a constantly shifting tempo, its time signature goes from 4/4, to 7/4, back to 4/4, then to 7/8, 5/8, back to 7/8, 5/4, and then ''finally'' settling once again in 4/4. It fits the [[VileVillainSaccharineShow ghoulish nature]] of the Lemon Monster very well.
** ''VideoGame/TheTrickyMod'' continues the trend with [[spoiler: the appropriately maddening third song, "Hellclown". Nearly four minutes long, this brutal piece shifts between 5/4, 7/4, 4/4, 7/4, 9/4, 5/4, and 7/4, perfect for an [[OneWingedAngel improbable]] battle against an absolutely ''[[UnstoppableRage furious]]'' Tricky.]]
* The first ''VideoGame/DisneysMagicalQuest'' game has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE05xsDAbL0 the theme for Stage 4, Pete's Peak]], which is mostly in 6/4 (and fairly syncopated 6/4 at that), with the intro in 3/4 and the final section in 4/4.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFfRWwdZ71w&index=16&list=PL36203A595A035B7E The first final boss theme of the second game]] is partly in 7/4.
* In keeping with ''VideoGame/{{Gunpoint}}'''s FilmNoir influences, the OST is mostly jazz. In particular, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgJM-5FE6kA Cold Halls and Footfalls]] is in 7/8 throughout while its cover [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNjnfMhRHEk Stealth Crawls and Dance Halls]] switches up the time signature quite a bit.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8G56l9eFw8 The theme from the Tetracyclic Towers]] (and a few cutscenes) in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky'' is in 6/4, divided more or less as 4 and 2.
** Part of [[spoiler: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1GhOzlGXQk the final battle theme]], "The Merciless Savior",]] is in 5/4.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH8f3uJ3OnM&index=19&list=PLzFTGYa_evXijfBRSwfg4GI4jxwSL2p5K The theme for the Chapter 3 dungeon]] in ''Trails in the Sky the 3rd'' is also in 5/4 (mostly).
* The final battle theme of ''VideoGame/RadiantHistoria'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sCm__GcOPk An Earnest Desire of Grey]].
* The standard boss theme of ''VideoGame/ChoRenSha68K'', "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MilAk6OD43M Chips!!]]", is mostly in 5/8 with an occasional measure of 7/8, then briefly becomes basic 4/4 before looping.
* ''Uncanny X-Men'' on the NES has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPf4uyEVBLU one song]] that is simply all over the place (just try to keep up with the bass line in the beginning!)
* The music from level 19 of ''VideoGame/CrashBandicootTheWrathOfCortex'', Coral Canyon, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=055EaT8NhWw is in 5/4]].
* The song for the second stage of the "Pirates" minigame in ''[[VideoGame/WarioWare Game & Wario]]'' is in 5/4. The final stage's track is mostly 4/4, but briefly switches to 5/4 near the end.
* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX85QCR6dxQ "Finding Sein"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBUoNZ6sLkk "Dash Through Their Home" (06:44)]] in 5/4, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA6c9SG4VyI "The Crumbling Path"]] in 5/8.
* In ''[[VideoGame/{{Ys}} Ys I & II]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFxE6abiIj4 "Tower of the Shadow of Death"]] has a 17/16 section.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GvxtgdoCZ0 Place of Reticent Lava (Segram)]], from ''[[VideoGame/YsSeven Ys 7]]'', is partly in 7/8.
* Norrin Radd's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIczuKWY8vQ "Battaglia Dietro la Cascata A"]], featured ''VideoGame/RetroCityRampage'', has a 11/8:6/4 polyrhythm. Better yet, his ''Anomaly'' album, a few of whose songs were also in ''RCR'', is comprised entirely of pieces with irregular time signatures, polyrhythms, or both.
* The ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' series is rife with pieces that have uncommon time, but the most notable ones are the final boss pieces: [[https://youtu.be/cGMpUremQ-w Fusion Dragon]] and [[https://youtu.be/KMk2F27HOJs Doom Dragon]]. Fusion Dragon starts off with two measures of 4/4 before going into four measures of 7/8, followed by two measures of 9/8, and then one measure of [[http://www.ninsheetmusic.org/download/pdf/2198 23/16]]. It settles into 4/4 for a little while before jumping into 7/16 until the repeat. Doom Dragon starts out with four measures of 5/8, one of 3/4, one of 7/8, four of 5/8, one of 6/8, one of 8/8, one of 3/4, then one of 7/8, four of 5/8, one of 6/8, two of 8/8, three of 5/4, five of 6/4, four of 5/8, one of 9/4, then ten of 5/4 before it repeats the whole thing again
* Creator/MotoiSakuraba likes this a lot, which isn’t surprising given his roots in a ProgressiveRock band. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X6Tk8-HRRk Fly Away in the Violet Sky]] is very conspicuously in 5/4, even to a non-musician, and good luck keeping track of all the time signature changes in the over ten-minute loop time of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mdbAMetNIU Highbrow]]. Unsurprisingly, Sakuraba also worked on ''Golden Sun'', mentioned just above. He has also worked on ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile'', ''VideoGame/StarOcean'', ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'', and quite a number of others.
* The ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX4sPSXm3R0 Scintillus Academy]]'' theme of ''[[VideoGame/UltimaUnderworld Ultima Underworld II]]'' alternates between 5/4 and a chorus in 7/4.
* In the first ''[[VideoGame/TheAmazonTrail Amazon Trail]]'', the theme that plays when you're going down the river is in 5/4 time.
* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' does this with a few songs:
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y49b8aiQVBg "Here We Are"]] is 5/4.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG2AtyD3elY "Alphys"]] has parts in both 3/4 and 5/4.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDxysTnyMio "She's Playing Piano"]] is 5/4 as well.
** [[spoiler:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUcThHVbrXY "Your Best Nightmare"]]]] has an intro in 6/4, then reverts to standard 4/4 time once the drums kick in.
* A few examples from ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey''; these UncommonTime tracks usually indicate that you're in deeeeeep trouble.:
** Their mainstay BonusBoss theme, Scatter About, mixes 5/4 and 6/8.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VVgSL4XAi0 Library of Puppets]] from the 4th game uses 7/8 signature time.
** The battle theme of the bonus dungeon in the 5th game uses 5/4.
* ''VideoGame/GrooveCoaster'':
** COSIO's "Got" series of boss tracks, which can basically be summed up as "common time signatures and consistant meter are ''boring'', I do what I want!" Fortunately, some blog posts explain these tracks' renegade rhythms:
*** [[http://vgm-in-irregular-time-of-the-day.tumblr.com/post/161520841287/day-700-groove-coaster-got-a-pain-cover "Got a pain cover?"]]
*** [[http://vgm-in-irregular-time-of-the-day.tumblr.com/post/165352455681/day-800-groove-coaster-2-got-noir-forever "Got noir forever."]]
*** [[http://vgm-in-irregular-time-of-the-day.tumblr.com/post/157752855741/day-600-groove-coaster-3-got-hive-of-ra "Got hive of Ra"]]
** "Marry me, Nightmare" [[http://vgm-in-irregular-time-of-the-day.tumblr.com/post/149429678914/day-414-groove-coaster-2-marry-me-nightmare also necessitates thorough analysis]] to figure out what time signature it even is at any given point, though it does manage to remain at 4/4 until the end beginning about halfway through the track.
* ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark1992'''s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iww5eN-c-Xw main theme]] is in 10/8 for its first half, but switches to common time afterwards.
* The home menu theme for ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Acf-qdKLlc "Gear Up For..."]], is in 7/4.
* The famous "Moon" theme from ''VideoGame/DuckTales'' starts off in 15/16 until the main song gets going, at which point it gains one more sixteenth note beat and turns into straight 4/4.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr-SWzqNpM0&t=3m12s Golden Ridge]] theme from ''VideoGame/{{Celeste}}'' has a polyrhythm consisting of a 20/16 synthesizer ostinato and a 12/8 piano arpeggio over 4/4 percussion until the last third, where the synth switches to 24/16 and the piano to common time.
* Creator/BlizzardEntertainment's MascotFighter {{MOBA}}, ''VideoGame/HeroesOfTheStorm'', has a number of songs in 5/4 meter, typically those played while the teams draft: [[https://youtu.be/mxE1txwb250 Cursed Hollow]], [[https://youtu.be/J0szlJ6y7vk Dragon Shire]], [[https://youtu.be/tgFBD-Pg4eQ Towers of Doom]]. Additionally, when one team claims the eponymous Curse on Cursed Hollow, the music changes to [[https://youtu.be/LnwZYva-Awg another 5/4 track]].
* In the SNES version of ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}} III'', the final stage theme, "[[https://youtu.be/TrJarj-QfJQ Uncharted Territory]]", has its intro in 25/16 (or 5/4 divided into quintuplets), and main melody in 20/16.
* ''VideoGame/StarCraftIILegacyOfTheVoid'' gets in on the action:
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf0rRViyyx0 Valor My Shield]]" has frantic A sections in 7/8 combined with B sections stately 4/4.
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOQ61wuiM_c Blades of Justice]]" shifts into 7/8 towards the end.
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhoE9RbGU0w The Golden Armada]]" has A sections in a heavy 5/4 and Bs in 4/4.
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMo1t9E8K7k Holding Up The Sky]]" starts out in an angry 7/8 and stays there.
* In SNK's ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'', the beginning of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fMhNdVwMCI Earthquake's theme]] is in 15/8.
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAwVTXrPDW0 Ready to Shave]]" from ''VideoGame/HypnospaceOutlaw'' is an AffectionateParody of prog rock by [[Music/HotDad the Chowder Man]]. As to be expected from prog, it has an [[https://vgm-in-irregular-time-of-the-day.tumblr.com/post/183861174443/day-1363-hypnospace-outlaw-ready-to-shave unusual and constantly-switching time signature]]. Most of the song alternates between 5/4 and 4/4, with brief segments in 7/4 and 3/4.
* ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' inevitably borrows many of the above music examples, with some twists for engine limitations and simplicity. Specifically, it can't handle anything other than ''x''/4; anything that needs to be charted at /8 (or such) or with a non-integral upper has its BPM adjusted accordingly.
** So Tool's "Schism", with sections allegedly in 6.5/8, is charted at alternating 5/4 and 7/4 at 215(ish) BPM before dropping to 107 BPM for the 5/4 and 4/4 bridge sections... with momentary 3/4 measures at 208 BPM that should really be 6/8. (It's supposed to be around the 105 BPM mark all the way through. The reason the bridge feels so much slower in game than the rest of the song is because it ''is''.)
** Metallica's "Master Of Puppets" is typically 210 BPM 4/4, with the "mystery bar" charted as 5/4 with a leap to 380 BPM to approximate the 21/32 it works out at. (Actual 5/8 would be charted there as 420 BPM.)
** This also explains oddities like the infamous sequence in Music/JimiHendrix's "Purple Haze (Live)", which has been happily pootling along at 120 BPM 4/4 until the second solo - where there's a measure of 2/4 followed by an absurd ''512'' BPM measure of 7/4, suggesting they should really be combined into something like 15/16.
** The long notes under [[Music/IronMaiden Bruce Dickinson]]'s scream in "Number Of The Beast" see some really weird stuff. The intro is alternating 4/4 and 6/4 at about 198 BPM, but suddenly there's 397 BPM 3/4 followed by 214 BPM 11/4.
** Fall Of Troy's "F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X.", described above as alternating 6/4 and 9/8 in the bridge, is instead rounded out to solid 3/4, with three measures at 170 BPM followed by one at 347 BPM. The 6/4 therefore becomes 3+3/4, and the 9/8 is split into a 3/4 followed by a 3/8. Makes the end of the bridge feel more frantic, if nothing else.
** Soundgarden's "Spoonman" is a mess, with sections that are supposed to be 7/4 charted as double BPM 4+4+4+2/4. (The ''VideoGame/RockBand'' version makes it normal speed 4+3/4.)
** This all results in some weird side effects, most notably for Star Power. Star Power usage isn't based on time, but the number of measures - a full bar will last eight measures, regardless of how long those measures are (or are supposed to be). It may feel like it runs out faster than you'd think it should if they've used BPM doubling.
* ''[[VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts]]'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS8iO3xPGPA the music for stage 5, the ice forest]], which is in 5/4.
* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnguaxxXUbc Wasp battle theme]] from ''VideoGame/BugFables'' constantly alternates between 11/16 (4+4+3) and 3/4, safe the section near the end switching to 4/4.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnCEMAnkXrw "Beyond the Galaxy"]] from ''VideoGame/GalaxyForce II'' is partially in 7/8.
* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' features Ekko's character theme, which shifts between 6/4 and 5/4 at uncommon times, giving the impression of melodies suddenly skipping a beat before instantly restarting. Appropriate, considering he's [[TimeMaster "The Boy Who Shattered Time"]] who has [[ResetButton this exact superpower]] in his arsenal.
* ''VideoGame/{{ULTRAKILL}}'' feature several themes that have unusual time signatures.
** Fight against the Ferryman's time signature is 7/4 during the first phase.
** ''Dancer in Darkness'': The middle section is in 5/4 but the beginning section and the final area theme alternates between 10/4 and 5/4.
** ''Death Odyssey'' switches to 5/4 midway through the song.
** Both ''Requiem'' and ''Panic Betrayer'' switch between multiple time signatures. Aside from 3/4 and 4/4, it also has 5/4 and 7/4.
** ''Chaos'' has 5/4 and 7/4 sections with occasional half-beat thrown in.
* ''Off the Rails'' in ''VideoGame/FashionPoliceSquad'' is in 10/4.
* ''VideoGame/FactoryTown'''s main theme is in 7/8.
[[/folder]]

** "[[https://youtu.be/5xqLQMYoDUI Deluge Dirge]]", the main theme of the Salmon Run mode, is entirely in 7/8 time.
** "[[https://youtu.be/6WOZsv6v1Q0 Fishing Frenzy]]", also from the Salmon Run mode, is in ''31/16'' time.