History ThemeMusicPowerUp / VideoGames

** With the ''Adventure'' series giving each playable character theme song, said theme tunes were often used as leitmotifs, which ended up having this effect at times. Take, for example, ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. Dr Eggman's Egg Golem. In the Dark Story, Eggman moves to strike Sonic, to his own theme music. Then Sonic's theme tune suddenly takes over. Sonic dodges the attack, jumps on the Golem's head, and--with a TERIAAAAA!--delivers a single flying kick to the mind-control device on the Golem's back, which destroys it and sends it attacking Eggman instead.

*** The final boss battle is accompanied by a remix of ''Burn My Dread'', the game's theme tune. It's appropriate for this trope because [[spoiler:as the battle progresses, the Main Character [[CombinedEnergyAttack powers up his final ability]]]].

*** The boss battle against TheDragon, and true ([[ScriptedBattle non-scripted]]) [[spoiler:FinalBattle]], is fought to the sound of "Battle Hymn of the Soul" --a glorious power-rock remix of the LeitMotif for the ''entire'' ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series, "Aria of the Soul".
** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' has music for the FinalBoss that [[VariableMix starts out slow and ominous, then gradually picks up as you wear down the boss]]. The last stage of the music is an instrumental arrangement of the main battle theme, ''Reach Out to the Truth''.
** In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', "Life Will Change", the theme song of the [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Phantom Thieves of Hearts]], can be heard in the last section of Palace gameplay before you steal said Palace's treasure. There's also "Awakening", which kicks in any time a character awakens to their FightingSpirit and destroys a bunch of {{Mook}}s
*** The third semester Palace in Royal has "I Believe", which is lyrically a sequel to "Life Will Change" and represents the Phantom Thieves going from vigilantes seeking revenge against society to champions of humanity who will confront anyone who would steal the world's future.
** ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'': An instrumental version of "You Are Stronger", the game's opening theme, plays as the Thieves [[spoiler: destroy the Demiurge, the final boss, with an All-Out-Attack performed by every member except Futaba]].

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

** ''VideoGame/WildArms2'' also has [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Nightblaze/Knight Blazer]], the protagonist's SuperMode. When triggered, it overrides the current music with an ass-kicking beat, no matter how dramatic a boss you're supposed to be fighting. The exception is the final boss which, as mentioned above, has its own SuperMode with its own music.

*** Both Ridley and Dark Samus have Evil Theme Music Power Ups in ''Metroid Prime 3: Corruption''. In the case of Dark Samus, it's a [[BigDamnHeroes Big Damn Villain]] moment too.
* The UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 / UsefulNotes/PlayStation ''[[Film/MissionImpossible1996 Mission: Impossible]]'' LicensedGame powers up the MI theme during the Embassy Escape, Tunnel, and Gunboat levels.

* ''Videogame/VampireSurvivors'' has an amusingly bizarre example with Sammy the Caterpillar/Birthday Cake (based on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_the_Caterpillar another caterpillar birthday cake]]), a character that can only gain decent Experience from coins and has ''massive'' MagikarpPower, only reachable through a Gold Rush. As such, when you trigger one and inevitably gain dozens of levels in a matter of moments, the game plays a ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}''-fied version of the Happy Birthday song to mark your triumphant passage from "sucky" to "destroyer of worlds (and [[InterfaceScrew framerates]])".

*** In [[spoiler:Magolor Soul's]] ''Deluxe'''s True Arena, "C-R-O-W-N-E-D" is replaced by [[spoiler:"Supreme Ruler's Coronation - OVERLORD" from ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies''. In the second phase, this not only gets an added chorus, but also Magolor, ''crying for help'' from within all the chaos.]]

*** In the main story, the second-to-last boss, [[spoiler:a possessed Dedede]], starts off with the BossRush theme despite it being [[spoiler:Masked Dedede]] you're fighting. However, when the boss is seemingly defeated, [[spoiler:he grabs a giant axe from a coat of arms, starts swinging and destroying pillars, and the REAL Masked Dedede remix starts to play.]] The same happens in [[spoiler:Dededetour]] when fighting [[spoiler:Shadow Dedede]].

*** The boss of Rhythm Route is a clone of Dedede. [[spoiler:After beating its split form, the clones jump into a cannon and gain yet another remix of Dedede's theme]].

*** The final use of Robobot Armor in a regular level is soundtracked by a BGMOverride c/o the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' version of Green Greens.

*** The final part of the final boss theme is a remix of the Invincible Candy theme, with snippets of the game's main theme thrown in, going as hard as [[spoiler: the truck Kirby is using to ram the boss with]], proving that you can power-up a power-up that already makes you invincible.

* One of the best things about ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' is that music is only played in certain situations, the rest of the game is devoid of BGM. This usually translates into intense battles cranking things up to 11 by adding music. The mad dash through the canals in the Water Hazard chapter or the showdown with the strider in Episode 1 comes to mind.
** You can gauge whether or not it's safe to let your guard down by whether or not the music's still playing.
** Episode 2, when every alarm goes off in the underground.
** In the more traditional sense of this trope, the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UthQ2gR1bU4 Valve]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRyAuSE949w theme]] itself plays when you finally regain the HEV suit in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''.

** The ''most'' glorious example in the series, though, goes undisputably to ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus,'' in which the postgame story final boss [[spoiler: [[EvilAllAlong Volo]] loses in a [[NoHolesBarredBeatdown 6-on-6 battle]] to you, sics [[SatanicArchetype Giratina]] on you, which you also defeat. But then...RedEyesTakeWarning and some '''''AWESOME''''' [[AutobotsRockOut electic guitar kicks in]] as it unleashes its Origin Form; its true, awful power.]]

** The most glorious example in the series goes undisputably to ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus,'' in which the postgame story final boss [[spoiler: [[EvilAllAlong Volo]] loses in a [[NoHolesBarredBeatdown 6-on-6 battle]] to you, sics [[SatanicArchetype Giratina]] on you, which you also defeat. But then...RedEyesTakeWarning and some '''''AWESOME''''' [[AutobotsRockOut electic guitar kicks in]] as it unleashes its Origin Form; its true, awful power.]]

* ''VideoGame/Haven2020'' plays an extended version of its title theme starting when Yu and Kay launch the fully repaired Nest and head off towards TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, and continuing though the sequence of severing the Flow Bridge and escaping the volcano.

** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'': In the first stage, the main Zelda theme starts playing after Link awakens to the Triforce of Courage (and, in doing so, No Sells a One-Hit KO done by Volga).

* In the ''VideoGame/NintendoWars''' ''Advance Wars 2/DS/Days of Ruin'', when a CO Power is used, the normal CO theme will be replaced by a heavy metal tune depending on the CO's faction. Also happens when Will/Ed appears in the middle of Hope Rising to save everyone from [[spoiler:Greyfield/Sigismundo]]. Before he arrives, you have no CO, so you have the frantic, desperate no CO music; once he shows up, his rocking theme takes over, and you know it's time to kick some ass.