Songs From ‘Sonic’ And Other Video Games Highlighted The 2020 Olympics Opening Ceremony

During today’s 2020 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony, a lot of recognizable music popped up, including a rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine” performed by John Legend, Keith Urban, and some other singers from around the world. Video game fans were also pleased to hear that orchestral renditions of songs from classic Japanese games soundtracked the parade of countries.

As The Associated Press notes, the medley kicked off with “Roto’s Theme” from the Dragon Quest series. Other franchises that were represented include Sonic The Hedgehog, Final Fantasy, Tales, Monster Hunter, Kingdom Hearts, Chrono Trigger, Ace Combat, Phantasy Star, Gradius, NieR, Saga, Soul Caliber, and eFootball (formerly but more commonly known as Winning Eleven and Pro Evolution Soccer).

Video game fans know that Sonic’s connection to the Olympics runs deep, as he and Nintendo mascot Mario have appeared in a bunch of Olympics video games together over the years. The series started with 2007’s Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games, and the latest installment is 2019’s Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Speaking of Mario, songs from his games were nowhere to be found during the medley, even though the plumber played a major role in Japan’s presentation at the 2016 Olympics Closing Ceremony.

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