It's hard to think that there was once a time when music in gaming was seen as peripheral, as songs can provoke a wide range of emotions. When developers mixed them with the interactive nature of gaming, the artistic possibilities of this medium crescendoed.

Video game music has come a long way from the simple bleeps and bloops of the 70's and 80's. Even when real instruments were unfeasible, composers such as Koji Kondo brought the world amazing soundtracks to "Super Mario Bros" and "The Legend of Zelda" for the 8-bit NES. With the advent of CDs in the 90's, the use of vocals and real instruments finally became a possibility and soon enough, games of all shapes and sizes used that extra space to experiment with music.

To be on this list of gaming musical numbers, the song has to be both catchy and interactive.

5) A Pirate I was Meant to be

In "Curse of Monkey Island," wannabe pirate Guybrush Threepwood must sail to Blood Island to lift a curse on his fiance who's been turned to solid gold. Unfortunately for him, the only crew he could scrounge up is a trio of singing barbers with a lousy work ethic. In this unforgettable number, Guybrush is tasked with convincing the crew to stop their singing and get back to work.

However, for every dialogue choice the player makes, the crew responds with lyrics that rhyme with the command they've been given. For example: "Less singing more sailing" is met with "When we defeat our wicked foe, his ship he will be bailing." The thieving balladeers are unable to continue the tune once players choose the lyric, "We'll surely avoid scurvy if we all eat an orange."

4) Chop Chop Master Onion

"PaRappa the Rapper" is one of the very first mainstream music-based rhythm games.

For such a landmark game, there had to be a memorable soundtrack to accompany it. "Chop Chop Master Onion" is a great introduction to the humor and charm of the "PaRappa" series. In it, the song's namesake, a Karate instructor onion, teaches the young pup how to kick and punch to become a hero and win the affections of his crush Sunny Funny.

Players are tasked with pressing the buttons on the screen to the rhythm of the stage's rap. This song assigns the commands "kick" and "punch" to the triangle and circle buttons respectively. When players hear the words "kick punch," they press those buttons to the time of the lyrics. The rap starts out simply, but becomes more complex as new commands and buttons are added.

It succeeds at both teaching the premise of the game and providing players with a fun tune.

3) The Great Mighty Poo

The N64 title "Conker's Bad Fur Day" pushed the envelope when it came to raunchy humor and sly satire. After a night of drinking and partying, Conker the squirrel wakes up in a strange world with a nasty hangover. One of the foes that Conker must defeat in his journey back to his bed is a literal singing pile of excrement. "The Great Mighty Poo" is exactly what it says on the tin, as players are forced to defeat this dropping's dulcet tones by throwing conveniently placed rolls of toilet paper in his mouth between verses.

It's tasteless, it's juvenile, and it's completely side-splitting.

It's one of the funniest moments in gaming and the third best musical number in gaming history.

2) Jump Up, Superstar

In "Super Mario Odyssey," one of the oldest and forgotten characters in the franchise makes her return. When Mario makes his way to New Donk City on his quest to rescue Peach, he is reunited with Pauline- mayor of the aforementioned city. Reminiscing about old times has to wait, however, as Bowser's machines show up to spread chaos throughout the city.

Once Mario thwarts the mechanical menace and solves the city's power problems, Pauline invites him to take part in their traditional festival. It's here that players take part in one of a notable highlight of the game: a retro throwback platforming sequence accompanied by an original song called "Jump Up, Superstar." It works as both a celebration of the history of the "Mario" franchise and an enjoyable little diddy (pun intended) on its own.

This song was so popular, that in the months leading up to "Odyssey's" release, it made iTunes top 40 charts in the US; a rarity for a video game song.

1) Maria & Draco

In what many consider to be the best game in the franchise, "Final Fantasy VI," Locke convinces Celes to pose as a famous actress to lure a gambling lothario named Seltzer and recruit him in their fight against the empire. Players then take part in an opera called "Maria & Draco." In it, two lovers are separated by a raging war between the East and the West. A soldier named Draco and his love Maria express their sorrow and wonder if they'll ever see each other again.

Celes is tasked with memorizing the script and choosing the correct lyric in the song.

If she picks the right words in a list of potential lyrics, the song continues. If not, then the performance is ruined and the player is given two more attempts before game over. Even though the game was originally released on a platform that was not advanced enough for a real orchestra or vocals, Square pulled out all the stops on the Super Nintendo sound and graphics to deliver a truly operatic experience.

It's a phenomenal scene that pushed the limits of hardware at the time and took full advantage of the medium's interactive nature.
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