It should by now be a well established fact that Nintendo really, really loves
nostalgia. Look at all the recent enemy comebacks in New Super Mario Bros Wii or
Super Mario Galaxy 2, the entirety of Super Smash Bros or the fact Donkey Kong
Country Returns will have 90% music remixed from older themes in the series for
evidence of that.
But it has to be said there is no series better than the Mario one for the sheer
amount of remixed music going around. No, not the fan stuff that makes up 90% of
Youtube, the official songs Nintendo seems to tweak and put into all the
spinoffs. So here’s a nice look at all the excellent music remixes Nintendo has
made for the Mario series thus far, and yes, this means a lot of Youtube videos.
Super Mario Bros Theme
Ah forget it. It’s been used in so many different Mario games that trying to
list all the remixes would crash browsers, scroll the page beyond recognition
and end up with at least fifty games listed.
All you need to
know. The list of remixes was long even before Youtube got to it..
Let’s just say the music
went from level music to the iconic theme for the whole game for a reason.
Luigi’s Mansion
Also known as the series Nintendo seems extremely obsessed with remixing the
theme music of. Not that I blame them, but something can certainly be said about
a song so apparently popular you could replace pretty much the entire music
tracklist of its original appearance with remixes of it and probably have some
to spare.
That way to music
remixes. And a mansion nothing like the one in the brochure.
Also quite funny to
realise is that most of the remixes are probably better than the original theme.
So here’s a look at all the remixes of the Luigi’s Mansion music in Mario games.
Mario Super Sluggers
First up, Mario Super Sluggers. No, this list isn’t in chronological order,
because I’m lazy. And yes, this is probably one of the least imaginative of the
remixes. Still, listen to it and say you can hate it:
Just what every corny
horror theme needs! Stock animal noises in the background!
Mario Hoops 3 on 3
Mario Power Tennis
The game which has at least five different remixes of the Luigi’s Mansion theme!
The normal and gimmick court themes are quite dull and standard for the course,
but the match point one sounds like it’d be used in some kind of satanic ritual
or boss battle, and is all the more epic for it.
The most epic remix
of the Luigi’s Mansion theme ever? I can almost see this being in Banjo Tooie/Donkey
Kong 64 style and used for a boss battle.
Mario Kart DS
And for the next trick, the Mario Kart DS version. This one is pretty much an
old school piano version of the theme, and while not as interesting to listen to
as some of the others, certainly would feel right in a movie about the game shot
in some kind of olde worlde sepia tone.
Almost like you’re
watching an 80s made film of the game!
Super Smash Bros
Brawl
Another excellent piece of music, all thanks to the fantastic music composers
and artists working on Super Smash Bros Brawl. Goes well with the stage too,
unless for some insane reason someone decided putting Tetris music in the
background was supposed to fit the mood.
And no, the Airship Theme and Castle music don’t fit at all here. They’re good,
but there’s definitely a time and place for everything, and this isn’t it.
As usual for music,
Brawl delivers.
Beta
Good, but a bit
cheesy.
Mario and Luigi
Superstar Saga
Very nice how E Gadd
uses a futuristic remix of the theme for his motif in Mario and Luigi.
Partners in Time
And again, albeit
with a more homely feel.
Bowser’s Road
Another classic song,
and by the amount of remixes, it seems to have almost beaten the Bob-omb
Battlefield music in becoming the unofficial Super Mario 64 theme song.
Mario and Sonic at
the Winter Olympics
Oh boy, this game isn’t popular with the Mario fandom, nor very good, but it
had some great music as the below shows. It’s not quite as overly flashy as the
Galaxy 2 version, but it’s about what I’d expect the original Mario 64 one would
be like on Wii strength hardware. Bravo, Sega did something right in a recent
game with Sonic in it.
Actually quite good
Super Mario Galaxy
Does this beat the sequel’s version? Your mileage may vary, but it’s a nice
remix, and suits Bowser perfectly. Indeed, I hope Super Mario Galaxy 3 goes the
extra step and puts this for Bowser level 1, the sequel’s version for the second
Bowser level and a new remix for the third Bowser level. That would be
fantastic.
Excellent, but the
sequel’s version kinda blows it away in terms of quality.
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Everything is better
with ominous latin chanting, and this is no exception. It’s almost like a part
capella from what I can tell. Suits Bowser’s Gravity Gauntlet perfectly too,
especially with how the level is about breaking into Bowser’s Castle (hey, title
drop!)
Pure bliss in
Bowser’s Road form!
The Others
Welcome to Crocodile
Isle (Donkey Kong Land 2)
It’s not often the low quality MIDI remix is the better one, but this is a rare
exception to the rule, with the handheld song. Really, maybe it’s the eight bit
way the music has to be made to work in a Game Boy game, but the more crude way
it’s been… well, composed really does seem to install more terror into the
player than possibly even the SNES original.
Random Fact: The
other exception is the MIDI version of the Syrup Castle map theme for Wario Land
1, which turns a subtle background beat into something foreboding as all can
get.
Bowser Battle (Itadaki Street DS)
Another one for the
obscure records, Itadaki Street DS takes the already extremely catchy Bowser
theme and outright makes it sound better. Yes, it’s already been remixed for the
castle and Bowser themes of Super Mario Kart, but the below kinda kicks it up a
notch:
Super Mario World;
the electric guitar version?
Anything from DDR
Mario Mix
Wario’s Theme and
Bowser’s Castle theme stand out here, the former being a remix of Greenhorn
Forest from Wario World (put away the rocks!) and the latter being a remix of…
wait for it… the Mario Kart Double Dash Bowser’s Castle theme. Gee, they sure
do find obscure music for these things, right?
I’d never
think I’d ever hear a remix of Mario Kart music which would make me think ‘this
is epic’. Now I have. Okay, there was Waluigi Pinball in Brawl…
Not the only time the
above was done. It’s also the basis for Glittertown in Wario Land Shake It (Wario
meets Las Vegas!) and I think WarioWare’s music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPhgoIxubHM
Yeah, the above is quite cool too. Reminds me of pop music. Pity about the fact
the Shake King in Neon looks so ridiculous.
Super Mario Bros
Theme (Mario Galaxy 2 Cosmic Clones)
Oh man. You know the other themes above are remixes of the original theme? Well
this… isn’t quite. It’s a remix of the Mario Galaxy 2 Cosmic Mario theme,
which is a remix of the Super Mario Sunshine Shadow Mario theme, which in turn
is a remix… of the original Super Mario Bros theme.
In other words, like
two mirrors placed opposite in a hallway, it’s a recursive passage that can
shatter the fabric of reality due to remix overdose. But it’s a nice song.
And here’s an aside…
Yeah, the Crescent Moon Village theme from Wario Land 4 has appeared in the
original WarioWare as cut scene background stuff. Not many people pick that up,
but it’s a very nice reference to the game, and one which makes the scene of
Mona and the gang chasing Wario for their pay remind me of Wario’s escapes in
Wario Land 4…
Okay, with the minor difference past Wario didn’t go falling into the sea after
his rocket got hit mid flight. Yeah, magical teleportation vortexes trump escape
pods people, here’s the empirical evidence!
Really though, no one
can hate the Crescent Moon Village music. If you do, you have no heart.
Really, the above
location is awesome. Only Mario amateurs disagree, right?
So what about those
remixes eh? Heard any interesting remixes of classic Mario tunes in any recent
games? And do you think they’ll ever reach the stage where you’ll hear a DDR
Mario Mix 2 remix of the Mario Kart version of Galaxy 2’s Cosmic Clone theme? Or
would that completely lose what’s being remixed in the first place?
Nintendo loves
music remixes. I wonder if they’re even going to remix the remixes of the
remixes? Meh, wouldn’t be surprising.