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.
