The last few generations have shown us that video game music isn't all just beeps and boops (though chiptunes are still pretty awesome to hear when they're used in modern games—another point I'll make on this page), and some games even feature incredible vocal talent in their soundtracks. Reader discretion advised, the music in the choices below sometimes contains references to adult situations or language.

Like many great games of yesteryear, No More Heroes' soundtrack features one main recurring musical theme that's reiterated and remixed in a dozen different ways to suit the different levels it appears in. Unlike those games, this theme is less a full musical composition and more a small chunk of catchiness that's mixed into each of the level themes as a background beat, and the resulting song is unique enough to be considered a completely different tune altogether. In a quirky tribute to older games, several of the mini-game tunes are also presented in 8-bit chiptune style to match the artistic use of pixels and HUD text that the game throws up on your screen.

In this selection, I've tried to showcase the best of each type of music presented in the game, including my favorite boss theme—Speed Buster. Really though, the whole game is a work of art, not just the music. If you haven't played it, why not?

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle had a less memorable soundtrack than the first game, though it more than makes up for that with the inclusion of some extremely cool vocal pieces, including the first game's main theme all jazzed up with lyrics! Also listed below is a great track called Philistine, which was sung by one of the game's bosses during her assassin ranking battle—the lyrics contain plenty of smug insults aimed at Travis' otaku loner lifestyle. Pretty damn funny for something that's supposed to be performed on the fly in the midst of a fight to the death.

The version here is the one heard in the European and Japanese versions of the game, which has some speaker reverb effects added to the vocals and a spruced up instrumental accompaniment.

This game was a B-grade homage to grindhouse films, and it rocked. The characters were corny stereotypes that fit their respective roles like a glove, the dialogue was both hilarious and cheesy, and the levels were a lot of fun to play. Packed with adult content, more stomach-turning gore than you can shake a barf bag at, and a constant stream of expletives, this game was recently included in the Guinness Book of World Records for containing the most instances of the F-bomb in a video game.

Gleefully, the music lived up to the rest of the game as well, with a jazzy track list of tunes that came with and without lyrics. I've chosen the lyric versions, of course.

The tracks below contain mixed-in quips from the cast of characters and the particularly hilarious narrator, who often stole the show with his alliterative puns and unbridled enthusiasm. Once again, there's some very strong language present in this music—these songs are not for kids! My favorite track in the game, "Torn Out Twisted," was (according to the game, at least) performed by "Casey & the Creepy Feelings." Does that vocalist have a sexy voice or what?

So that's my top 10 list, but the fun certainly doesn't end there. Coming up on the next page I've got some honorable mentions that didn't make it into the list. Listen on!