Why ‘DuckTales’ Moon Theme Is The Greatest Video Game Tune Of All Time

There’s a lot of famous theme tunes from video games throughout the years. We can all hum the theme of Super Mario Brothers, Sonic the Hedgehog, or Legend of Zelda on cue. But there’s one above most others that has transcended its origins to become more than just great “video game” music.

Last week, a new cover of DuckTales’ famous Moon Theme in Ska style went mildly viral. On top of that, the extremely popular 8-bit game was recently released in a new collection- The Disney Afternoon Collection– out now on all major consoles, and that sent us into a rabbit hole. That rabbit hole made us realize that the Moon Theme might be the greatest video game theme song of all time.

Why?

Well, it starts with the piece being simply a catchy tune. It’s easy to hum or whistle, and is interesting enough to not overstay its welcome in your head. As the background of a level, it’s exciting and drives the story forward. It’s also long enough to not become repetitive and prompt you to turn it down or mute the sound.

Beyond that though, it translates easily into multiple styles despite (or perhaps thanks to) its complicated 15/8 time signature, with different instruments (or vocal styles) adding to the quality of the music. It can be played as upbeat and exciting action music. It can be given a swing rhythm to dance to just a little. It can be slowed down into a thoughtful perception of the universe.

And, in one particular example, it can make you cry.

To see exactly what we mean, you can look at a few examples of the tune, both from the original game and fan-made remixes and arrangements.

And if you scroll through to the end, we included the version that made us sob, as lyrics are added and sung by Della Duck (Paget Brewster) in the character’s first ever appearance in any Disney media.

If you’re a long time DuckTales fan like me, you know exactly what I mean.

And as promised, Paget Brewster as Della Duck…