The SNES Turns 30: A look at some of the system’s best soundtracksBy Matthew Martin| October 22, 2021 Video Game Blogs Thirty years ago (more or less, depending on if you’re in Asia where it’s more, or Europe where it’s less), Nintendo released their follow-up to the Nintendo Entertainment System, the SNES. Released at a time when the video game market was, once again, booming, the SNES nevertheless represented a reasonably-sized gamble for the Big N. At this point in time, at least in North America, no game console manufacturer had been able to release two successful systems in a row: Atari exploded with the 2600 but the attempted follow-up, the 5200, was met with shrugs. Various other systems, like the Intellivision and ColecoVision, came and went without much fanfare and, other than being regarded as niche units by a minority of people, were mostly regarded as one-offs. Nintendo knew they needed to evolve and knew they couldn’t keep producing NES games forever; already SEGA was making headwinds with their Genesis/MegaDrive and its “16-Bit” boast. Even though SEGA had released the Master System a few years before, it failed to catch on in North America, making the Genesis feel less like a second-attempt and more like a revolution akin to the NES. Nintendo’s 8-Bit system looked out of date; an upgrade was needed and the SNES had the goods. Already we’ve looked at a few of the games that helped define the system and make it the winner it was in the 16-Bit Console Wars. Now we turn to something a bit more subtle and moody, and consider some of the best soundtracks on the Super Nintendo. THE BIG THREE (MARIO, ZELDA, METROID) As with the games, there are simply too many SNES soundtrack masterpieces to discuss them all, so I’m going to focus on just a handful and, from each, only one song apiece. Super Mario World was discussed in the previous article but, seeing as it’s easily the most-played SNES game of them all, and the title that set the perfect first impression, it needs to be considered from a soundtrack perspective too. And of all the catchy, memorable, and fun tunes to be heard, nothing was as epic and stunning to my 1st-grade ears as the castle theme. Moody warbles start the piece, followed by the fast staccatos of the violins and the french horn melody: It’s a creepy and terrifying opening, from a child’s perspective, and then it gets big and bombastic, making you feel like a lone hero trapped in an imposing fortress of ultimate evil. The NES had some great tunes but the SNES showed just how much was lacking on that 8-Bit machine, and Super Mario World’s soundtrack was the first proof of that. Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content Zelda‘s Overworld Theme is easily the most iconic of the franchise. First appearing on the original NES title, it was redesigned and changed for the (redesigned and changed) sequel, Zelda II. The SNES follow-up was meant to be a return to what worked in the first game and that extended to its soundtrack, specifically its Overworld Theme. While Super Mario World offered a completely different series of songs compared to the ones found in the NES trilogy, A Link to the Past remixed the original theme song and perfectly showed just how more robust a soundtrack could be on the SNES. Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content I could sing the praises of Super Metroid for another ten articles. It’s the defining 16-Bit game as far as I’m concerned and the best iteration of the Metroidvania genre it helped inspire. Nintendo’s R&D2 team did everything right, both intentionally and accidentally, and produced one of the greatest video games ever made. As excellent as the gameplay, mood, pacing, and difficulty curve are, it’s the soundtrack that has managed to age the best. A perfect blend of subtle when it needs to be and pulse-pounding when it has to be, the entire soundtrack is excellent to jam to. Of them all, the Brinstar Vegetation theme is the standout for me. It encapsulates the varied styles that make the game so great. It starts out subtle, yet catchy, and by the end, is a headbanger. Through all of it, there’s a haunting, almost ethereal quality and a killer bass line. Amazing stuff here. Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content THE RPGs (CHRONO TRIGGER, MARIO RPG, FINAL FANTASY VI) As said in the previous article, the SNES was the RPG system and that’s a genre that prides itself on great music. Of course it does; it’s a style of game that’s, by design, a slow-paced, methodical, reading-heavy experience. There’s a lot of menu-checking, equipment-swapping, and walking from place to place, talking to people. You need a great accompaniment that is both memorable yet not too intrusive. It’s no coincidence that the three best RPGs on the system also have the three best RPG soundtracks. Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content It is stupidly hard to pick just one song from each of these games, as they are among my most replayed of all time. For Chrono Trigger, arguably the greatest RPG ever made, I settled on the song that the player will hear many times during his play through and, if you’re like me, every time it kicks in you’ll have feelings of melancholy, mystery, a sense of purpose, and poignancy all wrapped together, much like the game itself. Mario RPG probably has the most fun soundtrack of any Role-Playing Game. Every song is a marriage of Square’s RPG “grandiose” philosophy and Nintendo’s “simple yet catchy” approach to game design. The whole tracklist is amazing but there’s one that will always stand out: As a kid, I used to boot up the game, journey to Rose Town, and just leave my system running while I did other things in my room. The music is endlessly cheery without ever becoming obnoxious and to this day I can’t hear it without bopping. Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content Where to begin with Final Fantasy VI’s brilliant compositions? Which song takes the cake? My first pick would be the Opera House Scene, but that sounds better as a remastered orchestra with a proper singer than the MIDI warbles of the SNES. For me, Final Fantasy VI is the video game that first made me feel like I was playing an epic novel, and that feeling began as soon as I started the game. There’s a brief bit of dialogue, which is hardly a shock in an RPG, and then the trio of characters head off to their destination. But instead of transitioning to a map screen and the player taking over, the game fades out…and then the opening credits roll like the start of a movie. As MagiTek soldiers march along the snowy fields toward Narshe, the team of developers’ names scrolls over the screen. It’s hardly a remarkable thing today but, at the time, it was unlike any game experience I’d ever had before. I knew right then I was in for something epic and that feeling was cemented with the militaristic-yet-mysterious “Terra’s Theme” that played over that opening. Final Fantasy VI’s soundtrack is one I go back to regularly; it makes for great music when I’m writing, but I can’t help but stop and just listen whenever Terra’s Theme plays. Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content THREE PERFECT OPENINGS (DONKEY KONG COUNTRY, F-ZERO, STAR FOX) There are three more that I couldn’t not at least pay some homage to… Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content Rare worked miracles with the SNES and the Donkey Kong Country series, but it’s David Wise’s soundtrack that really stands the test of time and while I could pluck literally any tune from the first two games and hold it up as the best (in particular, Aquatic Ambiance and Stickerbush Symphony), I’m highlighting the music for the first level in the first game. This set the tone: Dynamic, evolving, robust, and unlike anything ever heard on a 16-Bit machine: It’s the perfect opening for a game that was unlike anything ever seen on a 16-Bit machine. F-Zero was just a single-player game. Imagine that: A racing game that has no two-player mode. It’s unheard of today, but the game got away with it by being too much fun not to love. A big part of the appeal was how the game made you feel like you really were going far too fast to comprehend. A game like that needs a soundtrack that’s pulse-pounding, and F-Zero had it. Right off the bat, you get Mute City and its ear-wormy melodic hook, driving bass line, and fast percussion. It’s hardly the most expansive soundtrack in gaming, but it’s highly memorable and tons of fun, much like the game itself. Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content Nintendo’s soundtracks are the work of dozens and dozens of different composers. They come from different countries, love different genres, trained in different generations, etc. What unites them all, and what makes all of their work quintessentially “Nintendo” is how you can listen to a soundtrack for the first time and somehow convince yourself (1) it’s a song you’ve always known, and (2) it’s the only possible song that would work for this brand new game you’ve never played before. The music fits the game like a hand in glove, and Star Fox’s first level theme, Corneria, is that in a nutshell. Nothing else makes sense, nothing else feels right for Star Fox. It’s got a sci-fi-inspired synth piano guiding the main melody, with an electric guitar as the accompanying line, and a steady snare drum keeping your head banging. The game was a 5 FPS mess, let’s be honest, but it was hard not to smile with that soundtrack pounding your eardrums. Please accept YouTube cookies to play this video. By accepting you will be accessing content from YouTube, a service provided by an external third party. YouTube privacy policy If you accept this notice, your choice will be saved and the page will refresh. Accept YouTube Content * * * * * Those are just a few of the titles that helped shape the SNES with their soundtracks. What are your picks for the best tunes of the 16-Bit era? Leave us a comment below!
