A few days ago, I posted the first installment of this five part series, in which I had Tetris slated at number five in our countdown. Now to be honest, I wasn’t sure how I felt about selecting it as the fifth best/most iconic soundtrack in video game history, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. If I could go back in time, I might be tempted to give it an honorable mention with Pokemon and the DK franchise instead of the fifth slot, and I believe I selected it mainly for nostalgia’s sake and for the fact that it was among the precursors to modern day video games, but I did indeed choose it, and that’s something I have mixed feelings about. The next franchise on this list however, fails to evoke the same mixed emotions that Tetris did. This franchise, without question, belongs here.
4) Mario
Perhaps the game series of our childhood, the Mario franchise easily has some of the catchiest, most iconic, and genuinely fun music in all of video game history. Sure, the games are fun, though many would argue, and justifiably so, that the series has been milked to death, but the music is half the reason we enjoyed Mario games so much in the first place all of those years ago, and it’s still fun to listen to every now and then. Go ahead and ask any 20-something year old to hum the theme song for the Mario franchise, and I bet you won’t find too many quiet people. After all, the Mario franchise is the best-selling video game franchise of all time, having sold more than 446 million copies world-wide. Those are mind-blowing numbers. The Halo franchise for example, has sold about 50 million copies world-wide, a number which dwarfs in comparison. I mean, basically everybody who’s played video games has at least touched one Mario game in their lives.
So whether you’ve played it in an arcade, on a Super-Nintendo, N64, a Game Boy, DS, or on the Wii, pretty much everyone has fond memories of this franchise, its characters, and its music. From Mario Kart and Mario Tennis to Super Mario 64 and countless others, from the above-ground to the underground, and fiery dungeons to deep blue seas; we’ve had some good times Mario, and that is in large part to that catchy little theme song and the music that followed.
Alright next up on the countdown is number three and one of my personal favorite franchises in all of video games. Until then, enjoy a bit of the Mario theme song, for old time’s sake.
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