History Main / RecurringRiff

* ''VideoGame/StarFox'' has at least three recurring riffs: the select screen and Stage Clear themes, the planet themes, and the Sector X, Asteroid Field, and Space Armada themes.

* Negative example: One of the criticisms for the ''VideoGame/Halo3'' soundtrack was the repetition of the piano theme from the debut trailer.
** AKA "Finish the Fight".
** Especially during the Covenant mission.
** There's also "Truth's theme", "Farthest Outpost", and a few shorter themes.

* ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2'' had a six-note recurring riff throughout the game, most notable in the campaign but occasionally heard in multiplayer matches.

** [[CanadaEh Bear Hugger]] has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J3O5xI2mVI fast paced banjo and harmonica music.]]

** Octarians (or, at least, their military band Turquoise October) has a 5-note jingle called "Onward!" that shows up in quite a few tracks related to them. It appears in several of the tunes heard in the first two game's main single-player campaigns, even serving as the level clear fanfare and as part of DJ Octavio's boss theme.

** The UsefulNotes/PCEngine CD version of ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon II'', while otherwise regarded as the best version of the game, ironically lacks the classic theme tune.

* Several of the riffs from the ''[[VideoGame/MontyMole Monty on the Run]]'' theme song are reused in ''Impossamole''. In turn, the Bermuda Triangle and Ice Land themes in the UsefulNotes/TurboGrafx16 version use riffs from the title theme.

* In the UsefulNotes/PCEngine CD remake of ''VideoGame/{{Valis}}: The Fantasm Soldier'', the new arrangement of the title theme incorporates the main riff of "Sacred Sacrifice", the ''Valis II'' theme.

* The UsefulNotes/PlayStation port of ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' has a recurring riff based on the [[https://youtu.be/atdyHvLhJXo intro theme]].

* ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestITheSarienEncounter'''s intro theme returns for most of the sequels in some form, though ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIIThePiratesOfPestulon'' only uses the first two bars before switching to its new theme, and ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIVRogerWilcoAndTheTimeRippers'' relegates it to DiegeticSoundtrackUsage and the closing credits, also featuring a new albeit similar opening theme.

* ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest'''s title theme. A somewhat altered version was used in ''SQ IV'' and up.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series, Brinstar's theme is in common use, Samus' theme has been in nearly every game since ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'', all the various Brinstar themes were in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' as multiplayer songs, and finally, Crateria's theme was used in [[spoiler:The Pirate Homeworld]] in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3''.

* Villains [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuQxBRosj20 Black Shadow]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHhubDo31Uw Blood Falcon]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtADB76KAz4 Deathborn]] in ''VideoGame/FZero GX'' are all affiliated with each other, and their {{Leitmotif}}s all share the same sinister, half-whispering, half-growling lyrics.

* Villains [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuQxBRosj20 Black Shadow]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHhubDo31Uw Blood Falcon]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtADB76KAz4 Deathborn]] in ''VideoGame/FZero GX'' are all affiliated with each other, and their {{Leitmotif}}s all share the same sinister, half-whispering, half-GutturalGrowler lyrics.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

** The original ''VideoGame/{{Sonic Rush|Series}}'' took this to extremes; there's only ten-odd songs, one for each stage and a few for the boss fights, but the majority of the rest of the game's soundtrack is just rearrangements of those tunes. So, you'll be hearing "What U Need" a lot earlier than the level it's featured in, as it's also the Main Menu music.

* One of the elevator muzak songs from ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest: Open Season'' was reused in ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry6ShapeUpOrSlipOut'', in the hotel lobby.

* As mentioned below, Music/{{Yes}} reused the main riff from "Close to the Edge" (off the album of the same name) in the solo for "Ritual" (off ''Tales from Topographic Oceans''), and they also transposed the opening riff for "Siberian Khatru" (also off ''Close to the Edge'') to a major key to close off "Awaken" (off ''Going for the One''). Additionally, in the '70s they massively expanded their song "Yours Is No Disgrace" when performing it live, almost doubling it in length in some versions (originally from ''The Yes Album''; performances of the extended version can be heard on ''Yessongs'' and ''Progeny''). Elements from the expanded version (specifically, a guitar riff and a bass riff) appeared in "Mind Drive" (from ''Keys to Ascension 2'') twenty-five years later.

** The airship tune from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' is so common, that when later Mario games bring back airships, they remix this theme. There are two aversions: ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'', where the Sunken Ghost Ship plays the ghost-house theme, and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'', which uses the airship theme from the ''Super Mario Bros.'' style in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'' instead.

* ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'' has a downright creepy sequence of notes that plays in various locations and battles.

*** Even the Tazmily theme is a remix of the Hotel music from ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', although it'll take you a while to notice it.

** In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', "Devil Trigger" is not just Nero's {{Leitmotif}} that plays in segments where he's involved, it can also be heard in the background while you're viewing the Gallery unlockables or files. Likewise, "Silver Bullet" is essentially a remix of "Devil Trigger".