I wouldnāt have predicted that Nintendo would release a music streaming service, but more surprisingly is that itās actually good. Their pre-configured playlists, the ability to extend music to allow it to loop repeatedly for an hour, and the ease of the experience isā¦ Well, look at the eShop. Nintendo has not always been the best at this sort of UX.
I listen to video game music quite a bit, and Nintendo has worked with some of the best composers in the industry. Most importantly, however, Nintendo hasnāt fallen into the trap of having all their game music sound like movie scoring. Big-budget games these days almost invariably fall to the orchestral side of things with their stings and swells, but Nintendo music still sounds distinctly video game-y.
If thereās one big downside, itās that I can only play it off of my phone. But thereās another big downside, and thatās the fact that the music choices are extremely limited right now. Itās also a bit of a weird collection. How is it that we have Metroid Prime, the original Metroid, and the Famicom Disk System version of Metroid, but no Super Metroid? In fact, where are lots of other games? More specifically, where are the following games?
As a note, this list will only include games that Nintendo could conceivably host on their service. That is to say, game properties that they own. It would be great to see music from Nintendo-adjacent properties on here from other publishers, and that could happen, but let’s stick with the easy stuff. Hopefully, Nintendo will add these games soon.
Super Mario Bros. 2
I was nearly going to say Dr. Mario, but the Game Boy version of the music is already on that. And, okay, while not completely ideal, I can listen to 60 minutes of extended Chill. Itās good enough for science. So, okay, failing that, how about Super Mario Bros. 2?
Of course, Iām talking about the North American version of Mario 2, and not what we know as The Lost Levels.Ā I feel the soundtrack of what was originally Yume KÅjÅ DokiDoki Panic is appreciated but underrated. Itās easily one of KÅji KondÅās best works, especially on the NES. It has a bouncy, jazzy quality, but for some reason (possibly because its original association wasnāt Mario), it doesnāt get remixed into modern Mario soundtracks as often as tracks from Mario 1 and Mario 3 do.
I would imagine that we wonāt have to wait too long for this one. Since Super Mario Bros. is Nintendoās bread and butter and the music is so iconic, I expect getting all the soundtracks up will be a priority for them.
Pilotwings
Speaking of appreciated but underrated, hereās a soundtrack by Soyo Oka. I mean, all of her soundtracks should be on here: SimCity, Super Mario Kart, Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally. Jump Soyo knows how to spin a track. In the early days of the SNES, she created these songs that are paradoxically both haunting and intense. They often include a buzzy brass sound that just feels so emblematic of the console itself.
But while all her work belongs on the service, Pilotwings should be a priority. Thereās something relaxing about the mix of slap bass and sweeping synth. It feels like calmly plummeting to Earth from 10,000 feet. A good match for so many moods.
Star Fox
Star Fox 64 is already on here, and thatās a reasonable pick. However, as good as it is, the soundtrack attached to its predecessor is much more memorable. Star Fox 64 was aiming for space opera and managed to hit it with pretty decent accuracy. I donāt know what Hajime Hirasawa was going for. Uncomfortable arousal in space?
The original Star Fox has an incredibly varied mix of songs ranging from mysterious to exciting to weirdly dancy. Iām not sure I even know of another video game soundtrack as loudly expressive as this one. The depth of tracks like Fortuna and Titania are just completely uncalled for, and itās easy to get Corneriaās theme burned into your brain. Iām afraid that it might take a while for Nintendo to get around to adding this one, which is practically criminal. There oughta be a law.
F-Zero
It feels like Nintendo is just rediscovering the F-Zero series themselves, working to add all the games to their NSO services and releasing the well-received F-Zero 99. Now, if only theyād get around to re-releasing F-Zero GX or, yāknow, giving us a new one.
Until then, it would sure be nice to get some of the seriesā music on the service. Well, wait, remixes of Mute City and Big Blue ā arguably the most well-known of the series ā are available through the Mario Kart 8 soundtrack, so thatās something. However, those tracks, in all their modern glory, donāt hold a candle to how well the first game nailed its tunes out of the gate. After all, itās where we got Mute City and Big Blue in the first place.
Iām not sure how to even describe F-Zeroās music. Excessive? If you play it while driving in your car, I can almost guarantee youāre going to find yourself unexpectedly speeding. I bet if you took your pulse before and after listening to a few of F-Zeroās tracks, youād find a marked increase in your heart rate. Itās borderline offensive how high-energy this music is.
The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker
The Zelda series has a history of great soundtracks, so itās hard to mark one for priority. Personally, I could listen to the Song of Healing from Majoraās Mask on loop all day and just get super depressed. But instead of doing that, maybe Wind Waker would be a better choice.
Wind Waker is a stark departure from the tunes featured previously in the series. While it still plays off some of the themes, it mixes in a nautical theme that gives each of the major islands a very distinct feel. Not only that, but the Great Sea traversal music is relaxing in a way that you donāt really find outside of, say, Breath of the Wild. It still feels very adventuresome, but at the same time, kind of peaceful.
The downside is that a lot of the individual tracks are reserved for boss battles, which are fine if youāre in the mood, but I donāt find them to be as interesting. On the other hand, I think Farewell Hyrule Kingdom, which is a melancholy remix of the Hyrule Castle theme from Link to the Past, is just too good. It can almost bring a tear to my eye.
Splatoon 2
Splatoon 3 is already on Nintendo Music, which seems appropriate since itās the most recent. However, the playlist is pretty much just the songs that appear on the game itself rather than ones that were brought over from previous games (aside from remixes). Thatās still pretty cool.
The problem I have is that I donāt really like the central band in Splatoon 3, Deep Cuts. I donāt hate them, either, but they donāt hit me the same way that Splatoonās Squid Sisters, or especially Splatoon 2ās Off the Hook, does. Some of their songs are available in the song. So, an itch is being scratched, but just not as thoroughly as I would hope.
Itās a good bet that Splatoon and Splatoon 2ās soundtracks will make it to the service, I just hope itās sooner rather than later. I love the seriesā OSTās and being able to filter and sort by the in-game bands will be so rad.
Golden Sun
Back when Golden Sun first came out, every time I started up the game, Iād sit on the opening screen to soak in the overture. Thereās a stunning amount of grandeur in every bit of the gameās music. By JRPG standards, the game itself isnāt terribly special (though it was impressive for a handheld game at the time), but the soundtrack itself feels huge. By itself, it made it feel like you were playing something important.
Itās a very unified soundtrack, so while youāll get everything from relaxing villages to fights against powerful foes, it all feels thematically linked. You wonāt suddenly get power rock out of nowhere like a lot of other games of its genre. Not that variation is a problem (itās often preferred), but consistency can make it easier to listen through an entire soundtrack.
Super Mario RPG
Iām a bit surprised this soundtrack isnāt already included since the remake is still pretty fresh in memory, having been released just last year. However, by the choices made on the service, itās obvious that recency isnāt really an indicator of whether or not a gameās soundtrack will be available. So, I hope they get Super Mario RPGās soundtrack on there soon.
KÅji KondÅ is a tough act to follow, and it was probably very tempting to play off of his iconic themes, but Yoko Shimomura went completely off in her own direction. The soundtrack is rather bizarre but incredibly appealing. A lot of it is a bouncy, brass-heavy, percussive sound. Sometimes, it aims for whimsy, while other times, itās just exciting and fun. Every so often, it gets surprisingly emotional. Iām not crying. I was just cutting onions. Iām making a lasagna.
It would be great to see the remakeās OST on Nintendo Music, especially since the game also included the original score. When it was first released, I kept the game on my desk, listening to its songs while writing guides about balls.
Advance Wars
Speaking of recent remakes, Advance Wars recently got a gloss-up by Wayforward. If you werenāt familiar with the soundtrack of the classic GBA title, hopefully you are now. Advance Wars is a game that makes war uncomfortably cheerful. Like, cities are being occupied and fought over, bombs are being dropped, military hardware is being wrecked, and people are (assumedly) dying, but itās treated more like a sport. Itās no more serious than if the COs were going out to play frisbee golf in the park.
And the soundtrack just completely underscores that. Itās largely just a collection of infectious pop-rock tunes with buzzy, distorted guitars and jaunty basslines. But what makes it stand out is the fact that so many hooks and riffs in the songs are as unique as they are catchy. A lot of these songs play on loop for half-hour-or-more long missions, so itās probably important that they donāt get old very quickly.
There are also a lot of songs on the soundtrack. Every CO has its own theme, so even if you exclude the variations of tunes that play under different situations, you still have a long runtime. But thereās also a lot of variation in there. Beyond the pop-rock songs, there are more traditional marches mixed in alongside even heavier sounds. Itās a joy to listen to.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
This one feels kind of like cheating, since Super Smash Bros. Ultimate doesnāt strictly have much of an OST, rather it takes in songs from all the different series that get represented in the game and more beyond that. Sometimes, the songs are presented as they were in other games, and other times, the songs are completely remixed in interesting ways.
Itās maybe the least likely soundtrack on this list to make its way to the service. If it does, Iād expect it to arrive after a lot of other games are added to make overlapping tracks a lot simpler. But beyond that, SSBU contains a lot of songs that donāt belong to Nintendo. They would probably have to get permission from publishers like Capcom and Konami to put the whole soundtrack up. Otherwise, I guess they could exclude those songs. I guess what Iām saying is that itās possible. Iām just not counting on it being anytime soon. I canāt predict the future, though, so who knows?
Published: Nov 1, 2024 04:50 pm