All the video game music from the Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony

I’m a fan of the opening ceremony of the Olympics. I love the sight of it, with all the singing and dancing and relating to historical things. Even so, whenever athletes march, I usually turn the TV on a bit. It’s nice to see them happy and waving, but usually one long.

But not this year! Since this Olympics is taking place in Tokyo, Japan decided to spice up the atmosphere with an atmosphere that game lovers will appreciate. That’s right, athletes from each country are entering the stadium to listen to ensembles of music from classic Japanese video games.

The concert section features music from Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Sonic the Hedgehog. I mean, I’m actually watching it right now and yes, it’s weird to see a country emerge with “Victory Fanfare” from Final Fantasy, but it’s also quite relevant. These are all catchy, iconic tunes, and they’re totally worthy of unleashing these sporting giants.

As I write this, Tunisia is just rocking and I can’t figure out what the music is, and it’s killing me. God, it’s so upbeat and engaging, it’s almost like I’m drifting along the coast in a Mario Kart game. And I suppose that’s why they chose these tracks. They’re a celebration of Japanese video game excellence, of course, but they’re also just about fun. And isn’t that the focus of sport? Sure it’s a lot of fun, but we throw the ball and swim fast and jump over the hurdles at lightning speed because they’re fun.

Here’s the full list of songs if you want to see what kind of absolute blindness the Tokyo Olympics athletes are causing (thanks, Nikkan Sports):

• Dragon Quest – “Intro: Lotto Theme”
• Final Fantasy – “Victory Fanfare”
• Tales of Series – “Sley’s Theme-Guru-“
• Monster Hunter – “Hero Proof”
• Kingdom Hearts – “Olympus Arena”
• Chrono Trigger – “Frog Theme”
• Ace Combat – “First Flight”
• Tales of – “Royal Capital-Dignified”
• Monster Hunter – “The Wind Departs”
• Chrono Trigger – “Robo Theme”
• Sonic the Hedgehog – “Star Light Zone”
• Inazuma Eleven – (Pro Evolution Soccer) “eFootball walking theme”
• Final Fantasy – “Main Theme”
• Phantasy Star Universe – “Guardian”
• Kingdom Hearts – “Hero’s Showdown”
• Gradius (Nemesis) – “01 ACTION 1-1”
• NieR – “The Initiator”
• Saga Series – “Makai Ginyu Poetry-Saga Series Medley 2016”
• SoulCaliber – “Brave New History”

It’s a pity they didn’t introduce the menu theme from Yakuza 0, but there’s always a next one, whenever possible. Probably when I was 80 years old and lived in a sunburnt wasteland with my pet rock.

If you want to watch the ceremony, you can watch it live or update BBC iPlayer.