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20 great, NecroDancer tested, beat-heavy, rhythm-solid songs from video games that are a blast to play in custom music games!

20 Groovin’ Game Soundtracks for Crypt of the NecroDancer and Custom Music Games

20 great, NecroDancer tested, beat-heavy, rhythm-solid songs from video games that are a blast to play in custom music games!
This article is over 9 years old and may contain outdated information

(Credits to kidneydone3 for the sweet NecroSans font!)

Custom music to a music/rhythm game is like homemade whipped cream on a cup of rich, dark hot chocolate. There is nothing sweeter than grooving it out to the beat of your favorite tunes.

If you're boogieing with the NecroDancer, it turns out he's not the most fluent in every song. The beat detection software can be a bit wonky, particularly songs that don't have an incredibly clear beat — who would have guessed.

If you have a solid sense of inner rhythm, you can always plug the beats in manually. That's not easy to do though, which is why we've compiled a list of beat-heavy songs for you, and it won't make the game absolutely ludicrous to play.

In Crypt of the NecroDancer, there are two major aspects of each song that affect the overall gameplay:

  1. Tempo — or Beats Per Minute (BPM) — is used to determine how frequently you are allowed to take action.
  2. Total Song Length dictates how long you're allowed to stay on each level before dropping you to the next floor.

Each song on this list has been tested and proven to jam well with Crypt of the NecroDancer. If a song jiggles well with the NecroDancer, you can be sure it'll jiggle nicely with other custom music games!

Be sure to check them out with Beat Hazard, Audiosurf, the FtP MMO osu!, or any other custom music game you can think of!

Recommended Videos

M.O.O.N. - 'Hydrogen' [Hotline Miami Soundtrack]

BPM: 125

Custom Music Length: 4:50

Recommended Zone: 1-2, 2-1, 4-1, Deep Blues

Hydrogen is one of Hotline Miami's better songs, featuring an unmistakable beat and a great mix you can really bob your head to.


Pokemon X/Y & SSB. for Wii U - Team Flare Battle Music [Mashup] (HQ)

BPM: 170

Custom Music Length: 2:59

Recommended Zone: 4-3, Death Metal

Good Pokémon battle themes usually end up with some insane tempos with 200+ BPM — that's more than 3 beats per second! Luckily the Team Flare theme is catchy and not too quick for your fingers (or feet).


The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Mt. Tamaranch (Tal Tal Heights)

BPM: 150

Custom Music Length: 7:00

Recommended Zone: 2-3, 3-2, 3-3, 4-2

Not only is Tal Tal Heights a fantastic classic Zelda song, but it's solid beat makes it great for any game that heavily relies on rhythm.


Half life 2 Episode 2 Soundtrack: Vortal Combat

BPM: 125

Custom Music Length: 3:14

Recommended Zone: 1-2, 2-1, 4-1, Deep Blues

Vortal Combat is a sweet beat from Half Life 2: Episode 2 that plays as if it deserves a spot on the NecroDancer floor.


Animal Crossing: Population Growing - Opening Theme

BPM: 120

Custom Music Length: 7:00

Recommended Zone: 1-1

Animal Crossing's original main theme has a great beat pattern that works well for a nice, calming feel. A great pick if you get overwhelmed easily.


Poké Mart - Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Music Extended

BPM: 160

Custom Music Length: 15:29

Recommended Zones: 3-3, 4-3

Don't laugh, the PokéMart theme in Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire is really great with a rock-solid tempo! Just make sure the titles of your files don't have funky characters like 'é' in them.


Super Mario World Medley - Super Smash Bros. Wii U

BPM: 140

Custom Music Length: 4:06

Recommended Zone: 1-3, 2-2, 3-2, 4-2, Coral Riff

Super Mario World was full of upbeat melodies, and this great Super Smash Bros. Medley throws it all into a song with a consistent beat — fantastic!


Luigi's Mansion Series Medley - Super Smash Bros. Wii U

BPM: 155

Custom Music Length: 3:48

Recommended Zone: 2-3, 3-3, 4-3

The Luigi's Mansion Medley in Super Smash Bros. 4 has a great feeling to the music and is extremely fitting for crypt crawling.


Sword & Sworcery's Soundtrack - Lone Star by Jim Guthrie

BPM: 145

Custom Music Length: 2:35

Recommended Zone: 1-3, 2-2, 2-3, 3-2, 4-2, Coral Riff

Sword & Sworcery's indestructible soundtrack can find its use in games that are all about music and rhythm. I found Lone Star to be particularly nice and beat heavy.


Transistor Original Soundtrack - Impossible

BPM: 170

Custom Music Length: 5:09

Recommended Zone: 4-3, Death Metal

For Transistor being a game about a "mute" singer, it sure knows how to pump out the beats! Be sure to tick on 2x beats if you're playing Crypt of the NecroDancer.


Soaring the Skies - Day (Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire OST)

BPM: 150

Custom Music Length: 2:39

Recommended Zone: 2-3, 3-2, 3-3, 4-2

This is a great new song unique to Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. Soaring through the Skies of Hoenn was fun with it, now waltzing with the NecroDancer can be too!


The Impossible Game OST | Heaven 

BPM: 150

Custom Music Length: 3:15

Recommended Zone: 2-3, 3-2, 3-3, 4-2

This beat-heavy track from The Impossible Game is another wonderful piece to groove to with the skeletons.


Xenoblade Chronicles Music - You Will Know Our Names

BPM: 180

Custom Music Length: 4:21

Recommended Zone: Death Metal

This quick-paced battle music from Xenoblade Chronicles is not for the faint of heart — you'll be hopping around at 3 beats per second! This one deserves to be at 2x speed in the NecroDancer's Crypt.


Half Life 2 Apprehension and Evasion Extension

BPM: 140

Custom Music Length: 7:11

Recommended Zone: 1-3, 2-2, 3-2, 4-2, Coral Riff

Half Life 2 strikes again with another rhythm-heavy beat worthy of grooving down the dance floor.


Banjo-Kazooie - Freezeezy Peak Complete [HD]

BPM: 145

Custom Music Length: 8:17

Recommended Zone: 1-3, 2-2, 2-3, 3-2, 4-2, Coral Riff

Banjo-Kazooie has some incredible music, and we're all very excited to hear what will come of the music in Yooka-Laylee. Until then, we will boogie with the greats that we've got!


Portal 2 Soundtrack - Reconstructing Science

BPM: 135

Custom Music Length: 3:24

Recommended Zone: 1-2, 1-3, 2-1, 2-2, 3-1, 4-1, Coral Riff

Portal 2's original trailer song has some solid electro-tones and is an obvious choice for a shimmy with the NecroDancer.


FTL Advanced Edition Soundtrack: Lost Ship (Battle)

BPM: 120

Custom Music Length: 4:07

Recommended Zone: 1-1, Conga King, Deep Blues

A nice beat with an exotic feel.


Valkyria Chronicles - Desperate Fight

BPM: 150

Custom Music Length: 3:31

Recommended Zone: 2-3, 3-2, 3-3, 4-2

Valkyria Chronicles' lovely Desperate Flight is paired with a subtle but surprisingly effective beat that really knows itself.


DJ Sona’s Ultimate Skin Music - Kinetic (The Crystal Method x Dada Dada Life)

BPM: 130

Custom Music Length: 4:03

Recommended Zone: 1-2, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1

League of Legends, the internet's favorite MOBA sensation. The effort they put into their characters means DJ Sona has some epic jams to pull from, and Kinetic has a really sick beat.


The Opened Way (extended) - Shadow of the Colossus OST

BPM: 130

Custom Music Length: 3:38

Recommended Zone: 1-2, 2-1, 3-1, 4-1

Last but definitely not least, Shadow of the Colossus has a brilliant soundtrack and sounds like it fits right into the Crypt of the NecroDancer's atmosphere.


(Fanart by 45me on Twitter!)

So that's that, our top 20 video game tracks to groove to on Crypt of the NecroDancer! Of course, the original NecroDancer soundtrack is classic and can never be replaced, but sometimes we just need to kick it with our own tunes.

What are your favorite songs to use in custom music games?

Let us know what songs you love using in Crypt of the NecroDancer, osu!, and other custom music games! We may use your suggestions in another custom music list.

Join the discussion in the comments below!


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Author
Image of Autumn Fish
Autumn Fish
Autumn is a freelance writer that grew up on GameFAQs walkthroughs trying to suss out how to get through her favorite PC and Nintendo games. These days she's a capable game pioneer, mapping out guides and tips so players of all skill levels can join in on the fun.