Game Soundtracks We Love: Super Mario Bros

Hello to everyone! Thank you for joining us, on our cuppa filled gaming journey.

Last week, we started September with a 3DS game about life and all the adventures/experiences it can hold: Fantasy Life. If you missed it and want to check it out: Game Soundtracks We Love: Fantasy Life

We are jumping back to the days of the NES this week (may of hit a few bricks along the way); with a classic! This title has been noted for being the video game that changed the industry (for the better) back in the 80’s.

Game of Choice

Of course; our choice for this week is: Super Mario Bros.

Most will likely already know the typical story of a Super Mario Bros game, but just incase: Princess Toadstool has been kidnapped by King Koopa and his followers, and is being held captive in one of the castles in the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario (with help from his brother) goes on a dangerous journey across the kingdom, in hopes of finding and saving Princess Toadstool. Unfortunately; The Princess is (typically) in another castle! (Oh dear)

The overworld theme has become a staple in the Mario series and is one of the tracks that many gamers associate with the series. It’s been used in (as far as I know) every Mario game in the series, in one form or another (sometimes as a secret track). The NES was very limited to the sounds it could produce, but the track just sounds so jolly, fun and is very catchy! It really added to the entertainment value – I love it! 😀

The dreaded underwater levels…I very much disliked them; warp pipes were my “bestest” friends 😀 . I did how ever like the track for the levels; it continued with the fun and jolly sound while fitting perfectly for being underwater – always made me think of a dolphin enjoying life under the sea, happily swimming gracefully underwater…Mario certainly didn’t swim like that though 😛 .

Upon hearing the castle theme track; you knew it was time to focus. The track really made the castle feel all the more dangerous and (to some extent) a little creepy. It works brilliantly for the final level; ramps up the tension, sprinkles some dread into the atmosphere and makes you want to get out of there as fast as you can! If you managed to survive until the end of the castle; you were confronted by King Koopa, lobbing hammers and breathing fire balls to try and singe Mario’s moustache off  😮  – Remember kids; don’t breath fire balls at people, it’s not nice! Oh, and ideally leave hammers alone too; they’re not for throwing! 😮 (lol)

Final Thoughts

Super Mario Bros had a simple concept and didn’t have a complex soundtrack, but perhaps it shows; games don’t need to be filled with complexities to make them enjoyable. The soundtrack is firmly fixed into many a gamer’s memories, due to it’s entertainment factor, the emotion it brought to the levels and no doubt; the catchy overworld theme 😀 .

A few questions for you:

• Have you ever liked a track but not the level it was used for?
• If you have played the original Super Mario Bros; What levels do you remember the most?
• Did you enjoy the soundtrack for Super Mario Bros?

Would love to read your thoughts 😀 – Thanks for reading!