Awesome Music / Visual Novels

Examples of Awesome Music in Visual Novels.

There is some debate as to whether Visual Novels are actually 'video games' or not. Nevertheless, Visual Novels do tend to have some great music which is sad since many people tend to overlook visual novels for other media.

(Note: If you come across any examples that belong to suspended/terminated YouTube channels, please remove them and if possible replace them.)

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Series with their own pages:

• Ace Attorney
• Blooming Panic
• CLANNAD
• Danganronpa
• Demonbane
• The Devil on G-String
• Doki Doki Blue Skies
• Dies Irae
• DRAMAtical Murder
• Eiyuu Senki: The World Conquest
• Fate/stay night
• Katawa Shoujo
• Lamento - beyond the void
• Mr. Love: Queen's Choice
• Muv-Luv
• Princess Evangile
• Princess Waltz
• Slow Damage
• Tokimeki Memorial
• When They Cry
• Your Turn to Die
• Yumina the Ethereal
• Zero Escape

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Unsorted examples:

• To The West from a very unknown VN Aka is very soothing and beautiful.
• Ever17's Opening Song sets the dark and mysterious mood of the VN while still being pretty catchy.
  • Psycho mix of the OP.
  • Karma is quite popular among the fanbase for being an emotional piano piece that definitely plays at the right parts of the VN.
  • The Xbox 360 Version of Ever 17 has its own redone version of Karma.
  • There is also an uplifiting remix of Karma.
  • Among the tracks of Remember11 there are "Paranoia" and "All or None" (which is comparable in tone and occasion to "Karma").
    • The opening, Little Prophet.
  • Also comparable to "Karma": "Once More", from Never7.
• Sin from Saya no Uta is hauntingly beautiful.
  • Song of Saya I and II are pretty cool as well.
  • Silent Sorrow is absolutely heartbreaking.
  • The ending, Shoes of Glass.
• Noisy Sweet Home from Deardrops is the perfectly energetic way to end the main route.
• Sharin no Kuni has Reason to be I, which is very inspirational.
  • Reason to be I Piano, a song about living and moving forward.
  • Reason to be II is almost as inspirational.
  • Youkai plays at all the saddest points.
  • Youkai no Senritsu, used in the fandisc at the sad moments too, especially at the end of Houzuki's chapter.
• Gentle Jena, the title screen from the very short VN Planetarian. Planetarian was made by KEY, most notable for making Air, Kanon, and Clannad so listening to this (peaceful) song can help you guess what kind of plot stuff will happen since it IS a KEY work.
  • The extended version is even more beautiful.
• Speaking of KEY and Air: Summer Lights.
  • The game opening, Tori no Uta.
• From Little Busters!, Approaching Light which is Mio Nishizono's theme.
  • And for your convenience a remix of said song.
  • The insert song Faraway perfectly suits the scene it's played in.
  • The theme song of Little Busters Ex version.
  • Even though it's not in the music gallery of the game, the song that plays when you decide to "Play with Masato" is incredibly fun and catchy, even you can't resist the Muscle Sensation!
  • Let's Return for moments when you can look forward to a brighter day.
  • On the flip side A world where nothing happened, you hear this music playing and the static in the song starts to set in, and you know that mysterious, creepy, and possibly disturbing things await you.
  • Little Melody, a feeling of a small but meaningful triumph.
  • There is a feeling of subtle magic and wondrous feelings in Just One Magic World.
  • The Ending Themes need recognition.
    • You know that there are fun and exciting things awaiting you with Alicemagic.
    • Song for Friends is a bit sad but you feel you know that there is a ray of hope shining in front of you. Until you read the Tear Jerker lyrics: "Even if you are there, or even if you're not, I'll call out to you." and "Even if you are there, or even if everyone has left, I'll sing". This is the song to say goodbye to our friends who have moved on.
    • You found a closed world where only Regret and depression await you, sorry.
    • Final Ending is Little Busters!~Little Jumper ver.~, almost the same song as the opening, but with a change in lyrics and some musical instruments that make it feel nostalgic, hopeful, and there is a brand new exiting world out there for you to jump into.
• From Kanon there's Remnants of a Dream.
  • Also When I Waited for the Wind.
  • Mai's Theme Girl's Prison, is strong, mysterious, and elegant, and perfect for Mai. Then there's the arrangement from the anime, Shoujo no ran.
    • And then there's this piano arrangement from the album Re-Feel, which managed to make her theme even more elegant, bittersweet and mysterious than before.
  • Opening Theme Last Regrets, makes you feel like you've lost something and you're trying to find it. Perfect for a game where that is the main theme.
• From Rewrite, the second opening Rewrite, completely animated by White Fox studio.
  • The first opening, Philosophyz, is not bad either. The music box version, Philosophy of Yours, is also a pretty nice piece.
  • Carnation, Shizuru's theme, is an extremely relaxing piece of music. The vocal version Love Letter also acts as a heartwarming way to finish her route.
  • YO-SHI-NO is one of the most hilarious songs ever. There's really no other way to describe it.
• By brand Liarsoft, and the artist Rita:
  • Shikkoku no Sharnoth's Opening Song: DORCHADAS is a pretty catchy song with nice vocals and accordion action.
  • Rosa Morada which is Shiei no Sona-Nyl's Opening Song.
  • Hikari no Valcia's opening Tistrya, a Japanese song with Arabian feel into it.
  • Masked Sanghai's opening Netsujou, starting with awesome guitar intro.
• Always from Sekien no Inganock.
  • Right Hand From Behind should also not be forgotten. being a badass battle theme. Nor should Detective, Hopelessness, Amnesia... okay, the whole soundtrack probably counts.
• Love Song of a Certain Dragon from Dra+Koi.
• Fay from Symphonic Rain, one of the happiest songs in the novel and basically the finale song.
  • Secret is a great melancholic song and the lyrics become an absolute tearjerker after Torta's route.
  • I'm Always Close To You is another tearjerker song. In fact, most songs are either heartwarming or tearjerking in some fashion.
• From a real unknown AMERICAN one: Digital: A Love Story, composer 4mat composed the AWESOME rockin' chiptune Paper Dolls that has about 20-30 seconds of nice buildup before literally rocking out.
• Steam City Under the Grayish Sky from Souten no Celenaria.
• Utawarerumono's music for the last level, The End of Legends perfectly portrays how tragic the final boss is.
• world eyes from Nekonade Distortion is a very nice piano piece.
• Global Network from Hello, World.
• Secret Game -Killer Queen- has Calling, The Dead' Blessing and Tears. That last song does exactly what it says.
• Togainu no Chi soundtrack is epic.
• Several eroge songs sung by Marica:
  • Yume Miru Kusuri's Sekai ni Sayounara.
  • Pieta Shiawase no Aoi Tori's Koufuku no Genri.
  • Kurai Mirai 4's Keep out.
  • CROSS†CHANNEL's ending.
• Autumn Leaf Orchestra are known for visual novel theme songs. Here is their official site, and here is their Youtube account.
• Most of Tsukihime's soundtrack is rather understated, due to it being a doujin work. But there is one crowning piece of music in its soundtrack, the melancholy Homesickness.
• Melty Blood opening, Tribreath, MintJam's version is an awesome rock song, even if you never play the game.
• Da Capo's Small Cherry Promised Bell is used at the tension points to great effect.
• Tenshi no Tamago's opening Lilith, which sung by Rita, complete with Design Student's Orgasm.
• Seven Bridge's opening is an awesome guitar track.
• Soul Link's opening Not Accepted sets the tone for the novel well.
• Baldr Force's opening Face of Fact which is sung by KOTOKO.
• From Demonbane, Those who Will Challenge the Divine Will make you feel urge to punching Cthulhu out. Even better with the vocal version.
  • Metatron's theme The Convictor, truly befitting of an angel of justice.
  • Deus Machina! Demonbane! is incredibly fitting for an OP theme, raising the question of why the anime adaption switched it.
  • And on the villains' side, we have Master Therion's theme, I Am Laughing At the Beasts, and Anticross's "evil stuff is happening" theme, Seven Points on Ten.
  • Final Movement of the Space Rhapsody and The Last Song of the World, the themes for the final battle which decides the fate of the universe. It's very appropriate considering the sheer, absolute power both sides are wielding by that point.
• Eternal Feather, the opening from ef sets the scene well.
• Only for you by Kahiena and barbarian on the groove is a good song even for dark-themed eroge, Manzoku Injou.
• Yoru no Himawari from Subarashiki Hibi.
• Skyclad Observer from Steins;Gate. They even used it as the ending theme for the penultimate episode of the anime adaptation and as background music to one of the most awesome scenes in the true end of the visual novel. Playing on the game's retro-futurist themes, the music incorporates loud mechanical keyboard clacks to the opening parts.
  • There's also the main theme of the novel Gate of Steiner which manages to convey both a sinister conspiracy like tone and a sense of hope.
  • The song that only plays in the True Ending, Operation Skuld. Continuing the retro-futurist tone, the song ties its beat drop to a dial-tone.
• I Hope So, the opening theme from December When There Is No Angel sung by Ikeda Haruna.
• Soul Requiem, from Lux Pain. It plays at the end of day twenty.
• First Day, from High School Story, by Shigihara. It plays every time you level up, and it makes it feel even more satisfying.
• Fairly obscure Kemo-homo VN Morenatsu has this gem.
• While Hoshizora No Memoria has many, one that might come to mind for those that have played it would be the arranged version of the opening, "Eternal Recurrence". It is played in the most emotional scenes in the games, typically near the end of the various routes, be they heartwarming or tearjerking.
• Masaaki Endoh did some music for Dengeki Stryker. The opening Burst Dream is a pretty good rock song, but insert song BREAKING! (a collaboration with Ai Ri) is incredibly catchy. He did it again in the Updated Re-release OP and of course it's awesome too.
• The Silver Case: "Kouichi" is just an epic track for the game.
• To celebrate the finished translation of Majikoi! Love Me Seriously!, here's the most awesome of the character Leitmotifs, Sword Dance.
• Omerta: Chinmoku No Okite:
  • King Cesar's Theme sounds like waltzy ballroom music.
  • The love scene music is absolutely beautiful, romantic, and hypnotizing. The game has I Love You And I Hated You, and On a Stormy Night.
• From the free VN Juniper's Knot, the track Bleeding plays in Act 2 when the Fiend reveals what happened to her friend/lover and is a hauntingly beautiful piece that truly sells the sorrow and pain in her heart. It is considered the VN's most iconic track.
• Doki Doki Literature Club!:
  • Despite being the kind of music you'd expect from a visual novel of this nature (or at least the kind of visual novel it's presenting itself as), some tracks like the main theme, the poetry composition theme, and a couple of other ones are pretty well composed and even surprisingly catchy.
  • The two unique tracks from Act 3, when Monika deletes all the other characters which fit the respective eeriness and tragedy of their accompanying scenes perfectly.

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