Video game SoundFonts: N64, SNES and more
A video game SoundFont is an SF2 file of the instruments a game used for its music. Load one in a SoundFont player and you can play a SNES string section or an N64 flute from your own keyboard. How close it gets to the game depends on the console: some made their music from samples, which convert well, and some from synth chips, which don't. Here's where these SoundFonts come from, how to make one, how to play it in any DAW, and how to get each console's sound back.
By Aiden Shihadeh, developer of simpleSF2 and simpleSPU · Published 21 October 2026
Quick answer
| What it is | An .sf2 of instrument samples taken from a game's sound bank |
|---|---|
| Closest to the game | SNES, N64, PS1, Game Boy Advance and DS, because their music was played from samples |
| Only an approximation | Sega Genesis and NES, whose music came from FM or simple waveform chips |
| Make your own | The free tool VGMTrans turns SNES, PS1, GBA, DS and other game music into MIDI plus SF2 |
| What plays it | Any SoundFont player, such as the free simpleSF2, in any DAW |
| Can I release music with it? | Usually not. Ripped samples belong to the game's publisher. |
simpleSF2 plays SF2 and SFZ files in any DAW on Windows, macOS and Linux. Download free
Download started. Unlock multiple libraries, 16-channel multitimbral mode, and reverb and chorus for £9.99. One-time purchase.
Unlock — £9.99Why some consoles make better SoundFonts
From the SNES onwards, most consoles stored their music as note data plus a bank of short instrument samples, and played the notes live. That's almost exactly what a SoundFont is: samples, mapped to keys, with loops and envelopes. So a SNES or N64 bank converts to SF2 with little lost.
Earlier and FM-based consoles worked differently. The NES generated simple waveforms, and the Sega Genesis built its sounds with a Yamaha FM synthesis chip. There are no samples to take out, so a "Genesis SoundFont" is a set of recordings of the chip playing notes. It can sound right on a single note, but it won't react to velocity, pitch or note length the way the chip did.
| Console | How it made music | How well it converts |
|---|---|---|
| SNES | 8 sample voices from 64 KB of sound memory, played at 32 kHz with an echo effect | Very well. Many games' banks can be made into SF2 with VGMTrans. |
| Nintendo 64 | No separate sound chip: samples mixed in software, with each game's own reverb | Well. Banks are ripped with community tools; fan SoundFonts are common. |
| PlayStation | 24 sample voices from 512 KB, with one hardware reverb | Very well. See the PS1 SoundFonts guide. |
| Game Boy Advance and DS | Samples mixed in software, often at low rates | Well. VGMTrans reads the music formats most games used. |
| Sega Genesis / Mega Drive | Six-channel FM synth chip plus a simple tone chip | Only as recordings. An FM synth plugin gets closer. |
| NES | Two pulse waves, a triangle, noise and a basic sample channel | Only as recordings. Chiptune SoundFonts cover the basic waves. |
90s PC games are a special case. Many sent General MIDI to a sound card or a Roland module, so a good General MIDI SoundFont plays their MIDI files much as they were heard. The best free SoundFonts covers the General MIDI banks that suit them.
Where to find video game SoundFonts
- SoundFont archives. Musical Artifacts and Polyphone's SoundFont library both host fan-made game SoundFonts. Search for the console or the game's name.
- Game music communities. Forums, Discord servers and Reddit threads for remixers and modders share rips of specific games. Quality varies: some are carefully tuned, others are raw dumps with odd preset numbers.
- Make one yourself. It takes a few minutes for SNES, PS1, GBA and DS games, and you get the original arrangement as a MIDI file too. See below.
A SoundFont is an .sf2 or .sf3 file, sometimes in a zip. If a
download asks you to run an .exe to get one, don't.
Make your own with VGMTrans
VGMTrans is a free, open-source program for Windows, macOS and Linux that reads the music formats of many consoles and converts them to MIDI and SF2. It supports more than a dozen SNES music engines, including Nintendo's own and Square's, plus PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Saturn and some arcade boards.
- Download VGMTrans from its GitHub releases page. The project warns that other sites using its name aren't official.
- Get the game's music file. SNES music is usually archived as
.spcfiles, PS1 music as.psfor.minipsf. - Drag the file into VGMTrans. It lists what it found, and groups the music, instruments and samples into a collection.
- Play the collection to check it, then right-click it and convert it to MIDI and SF2.
For N64 games, VGMTrans doesn't help yet. Community tools such as SubDrag's N64 Sound Tool extract sound banks from many games instead, which is how most N64 SoundFonts you'll find were made.
How to play a game SoundFont in your DAW
- Install a SoundFont player. simpleSF2 is free, with AU and VST3 on Mac, VST3 on Windows and a Linux installer.
- Add it to an instrument track and click Import SF2/SFZ to load the file.
- Browse the presets. Game banks don't follow General MIDI, so preset 1 is rarely a piano, and names are often just numbers. Play through them to find the strings, leads and drums.
- Play the original arrangement. If you made the SoundFont with VGMTrans, drag its MIDI file into your DAW and point the tracks at simpleSF2. With the £9.99 unlock, its 16-channel mode plays a whole multi-channel MIDI file from one instance.
DAW-specific steps: FL Studio, Ableton Live, Logic Pro, GarageBand, REAPER, Cubase, Studio One and LMMS.
Getting each console's sound back
A SoundFont has the samples but not the hardware that played them, so it usually sounds drier and brighter than you remember. A few changes on the track or a bus help:
- SNES. The console output at 32 kHz and smoothed every note with Gaussian interpolation, so nothing much reached above 15 kHz. Put a low-pass around 12 to 15 kHz on the bus. Most soundtracks also used the chip's echo: a delay of up to 240 ms with feedback and filtering. A short, dark delay on a send gets close.
- N64. Reverb was written into each game's sound code, and it was often big and soft. Use one reverb on a send with the high end rolled off, and keep bass and drums mostly dry.
- PS1. One dark, half-rate hardware reverb shared by the whole song. The PS1 reverb guide has settings, and simpleSPU FX runs any track through a model of the chip, SoundFont tracks included.
- GBA. Low sample rates and software mixing gave a grainy, slightly noisy sound. A bit crusher set lightly, or downsampling to around 13 to 22 kHz, helps.
Using them in music you release
Samples ripped from a game are the publisher's property, and rips almost never come with permission to use them. They're great for learning how a soundtrack was built, or for a cover you keep to yourself. For anything you publish or put in your own game, use SoundFonts made from original or openly licensed samples, such as the chiptune and General MIDI banks in the best free SoundFonts, and check each licence.
Common questions
Where can I download N64 or SNES SoundFonts?
Fans share them on SoundFont archives such as Musical Artifacts and Polyphone's SoundFont
library, and on game music forums and Reddit, usually named after the game. For SNES games
you can also make your own from an .spc file with the free tool VGMTrans.
Can I use video game SoundFonts in FL Studio?
Yes. They're ordinary SF2 files, so FL Studio's Fruity SoundFont Player or a SoundFont plugin such as simpleSF2 can play them. The FL Studio guide covers both.
Can I use video game SoundFonts in music I release?
Usually not. Samples ripped from a game belong to its publisher, and rips rarely come with permission to use them. They're fine for learning and covers you keep to yourself. For releases, use SoundFonts made from original or openly licensed samples.
Why doesn't my SoundFont sound like the game?
A SoundFont carries the samples but not the console's sound chip: its sample rate, interpolation, echo or reverb, and whatever the game's music engine did on top. Adding a filter and the right kind of echo or reverb gets most of the way back.
Do Sega Genesis SoundFonts sound like the Genesis?
Only roughly. The Genesis made most of its music with an FM synthesis chip rather than samples, so a Genesis SoundFont is a set of recorded notes. It can sound right on single notes but won't respond the way the chip did.