Music for the Summer Games opening ceremonies comes from video games

The Tokyo Olympics reminded the world that some of history’s most iconic, important video games hail from the nation, as several memorable orchestrated themes serenaded athletes and onlookers at Friday’s opening ceremonies.

The song list included several memorable themes that mainstream audiences may know, like the main theme of the Final Fantasy series and a popular track from the original “Sonic the Hedgehog.”

For gamers, this pairing of the Olympic Games and video games makes perfect sense. Video game music isn’t anything like pop music, rather it’s mostly made to heighten the audience’s experience. Video game music tends to produce the most persistent earworms, partially because these melodies are tied to an experiential activity that requires participation. The right song can heighten a player’s actions or investment in a story.

When those first notes of “Born Anew” by Masashi Hamauzu busted open the Olympics ceremonies, I busted out laughing. I couldn’t even tell you who the final enemy of “Final Fantasy XIII” was, and at this point, I’m going to associate the song more strongly with the 2021 Olympics then I would the game for which this song was made.

Music in gaming is written to motivate players all the while not distracting them from the tasks at hand. It’s why Popular Science wrote in 2018, “You should be listening to video game soundtracks at work.” As the article states, there’s little research on the effects of video game music while working, but it checks a lot of boxes when it comes to low roars of noise boosting productivity, including having no lyrics and maintaining a steady rhythm. If video games really are esports, the medium’s music has provided our brains with workout playlists for years.

But the actual opening ceremony showed how deep the Olympics organizers were willing to go to showcase the breadth of games and experiences Japan has created in the last four decades. Many of these choices are quite obscure.

Case in point: The very first musical notes of the 2021 Olympics are from “Born Anew,” the first movement of the final fight in “Final Fantasy XIII.”