Tag: Music
Feature From Banjo To Mario - Grant Kirkhope Talks Big Huge Troubles And Composing For Massive IPs
Part Two: "How the f*** am I going to write music for a Mario game!?"
Last week, in celebration of Banjo-Kazooie's 25th anniversary, we published the first part of our career-spanning interview with Mr. Grant Kirkhope, composer extraordinaire and the man responsible for some of our favourite music ever, video game or otherwise. Part One covered his...
Feature From Bon Jovi To Banjo - Grant Kirkhope On The "Complete Fluke" Of His Rare Musical Journey
Part One: Mr. Banjongles
Grant Kirkhope is an interviewer's dream, and not just because he's responsible for some all-time great video game soundtracks. He’s great company — frank, funny, and loquacious. We spoke to him most recently for our Nintendo Life VGM Fest back in 2021 and only ended up publishing a small fraction of our chat in our...
Random Jack Black Sings Mario Movie Song, 'Peaches', Live At The Game Awards Concert
Annnd, it's stuck in our heads again
We had just about managed to get Bowser's Mario Movie love ballad, 'Peaches', out of our heads after singing it on repeat for the past three months. Now the voice of Bowser himself Jack Black has ensured that we're humming it all over again after he performed the song live at last night's The Game Awards 10-Year...
News Grant Kirkhope Appears To Have Completed His Work On Mario + Rabbids
"8 years writing music for Mario is at an end"
Legendary video game composer Grant Kirkhope, known for hits like GoldenEye 007 and Donkey Kong 64, appears to have completed his work on Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. In a brief message on social media at the start of this month, Kirkhope mentioned how he thought his time writing music for Mario was...
News Jam Out To Splatoon 3's Jazzy New Battle Song Before Sizzle Season Kicks Off
Yoko's back
We are nearing the release of Splatoon 3's Sizzle Season 2023 later on this week, and to get us all in the mood Nintendo has released one of the fresh new tracks that will be backing up our splatting from 1st June. Titled 'Rockagilly Blues', this jazzy little number sees the former front-woman of in-game band Ink Theory teaming up with...
News Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope Wins Award For Best Original Video Game Score At The Ivors
BWAAAH!
We had a good time with Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope when it was released on the Switch in late 2022, and the game has just been recognised for its excellent soundtrack at this year's Ivor Novello Awards, where it took home the prize for Best Original Video Game Score. The award was presented to Gareth Coker, Grant Kirkhope and Yoko...
Random Fan's Minor-Key Nintendo Covers Put A Strange Twist On Classic Gaming Themes
Tuning in
We love a good gaming tune. Our Nintendo playlists consist of hours of upbeat tunes from our favourite games, each one capturing the carefree, joyous feeling of the level from which it originates (bar some exceptions, of course — we're looking at you 'Forest Temple'). But what if these tunes weren't quite so upbeat? What if the happy...
Random Japanese Orchestra Performs Two-Hour Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Concert
With a little TOTK to finish
The Breath of the Wild soundtrack might have been something of a departure for the Zelda series with its grand themes and sweeping scores replaced by something a little more subtle, but there are still some top-notch tunes to be heard in there. Many of us have been listening to the soundtrack on repeat in the run-up to...
News Splatoon And Link's Awakening Remake Composer Leaves Nintendo After 17 Years
Ryo Nagamatsu joined in 2006
Long-time composer at Nintendo Ryo Nagamatsu has left the company after 17 years to "work a little wider". Announcing the news on Twitter earlier today, the composer and arranger — whose most well-known works include The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, Mario Kart 8, Splatoon 2, Splatoon 3, and the Link's...
Exclusive Metroid's Kraid Theme Gets Chill Jazz Cover On Upcoming 'Game Music Lullabies' Album
Joins tracks from Zelda, Mega Man, NieR and more
What do you get when you combine the Kraid theme from Metroid will the chilled-out jazz orchestration of Gentle Love — the musical duo behind the Prescription for Sleep: Game Music Lullabies albums? Well, you end up with something a little like the track that you can hear above, exclusively revealed...
Random Here's How The Salmon Run Music Is Recorded For Splatoon 3
Cello choons
We love a bit of Salmon Run here at Nintendo Life. The Splatoon 3 game mode takes the usual 'ink, swim, repeat' format of your standard Turf War Battle (not to cast any shade, we love a good Turf War too) and throws in the added distractions of a never-ending onslaught of enemies, bosses, and eggs. What's more, it has a cracking...
Random Game Boy Version Of The Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Theme Is Spectacular
Doo doo doo doo dooooooo! ♫
We know what you're thinking, and yes, we only recently highlighted a wonderful animation for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in the style of the Game Boy Color. But we're back with another find and this time it's a beautiful Game Boy interpretation of the main theme from the upcoming game. Posted on YouTube...
News Mario Movie Jack Black Song 'Peaches' Debuts On Billboard's Hot 100 Chart
Peaches, peaches, peaches...
One of the highlights of the Mario Movie was when Bowser...spoiler alert...performed the song 'Peaches' about the Mushroom Kingdom's princess. The song, performed in real life by Jack Black, has been charting ever since, and now it's made it into the 'Billboard Hot 100' in the US, debuting at 83 on the list. As noted in...
Feature Music Review: Fair Winds & Following Seas - An Ambitious Rendition Of A Zelda Masterpiece
The Wind Waker revisited by ZREO: Second Quest
The music of The Legend of Zelda is as much a part of the series’ identity as any of its characters, locations, and items. Though the specific arrangements change throughout the series, there are always familiar tracks and themes for fans to hear. This unique but similar philosophy to Zelda music...
News Nintendo Uploads Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom 'Main Theme' Song
Have a listen
Marketing for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is well and truly underway, and as part of this, Nintendo has now launched the Switch title's official website in Japan. Perhaps the highlight is the fact you can now listen to the main theme song in full. Many have already extracted the audio file: There are also a handful of...
Random Fan Recreates Bowser's Mario Movie Song, 'Peaches', In WarioWare DIY
Koopa creativity
If there's one thing that we have seen everywhere since the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it's Bowser's musical statement of love in the song 'Peaches'. This track has received a full music video, a real-world performance by Jack Black (dressed in a superb Bowser-themed suit, of course) and it's now even
News Square Enix Adds 'SaGa' Series Music Update To Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
Available now
Following an update to Theatrhythm Final Bar Line last week, the game has now received some new DLC. This second pack adds music based on the long-running SaGa series. Digital Deluxe and Season Pass 1 owners can download a total of eight "incredible tracks" from across the SaGa games. The lineup includes the following songs:...
News Super Mario Bros. Theme Is The First Video Game Track Added To The Library Of Congress
Let's-a go to the National Recording Registry!
The US Library of Congress has today announced the 25 tracks that will be added to its National Recording Registry as “defining sounds of the nation’s history and culture”. For the first time ever, one of these tracks comes from a video game, and it is none other than Koji Kondo's iconic theme...
News Mario Movie's Jack Black Song 'Peaches' Now Eligible For Oscar Nomination
The music clips have already received millions of views
Nintendo and Illumination's Mario Movie is absolutely dominating at the box office, but it's not the only success. The Mario Movie song 'Peaches' performed by Jack Black as Bowser has also been charting. Not long after the real-life version of the song was released it made it into the top 100...
Video Jack Black Performs Bowser's Mario Movie Song 'Peaches'
"Peaches, peaches, peaches, peaches, peaches..."
Update: In a quick update, it seems 'Peaches' has already reached the top 100 on iTunes - coming in at #61, in between Linkin Park and Ellie Goulding. Original: The Super Mario Bros. Movie had an amazing soundtrack filled with all sorts of appropriately themed tracks, but one that stood out was...
News Here's Where To Buy Super Mario Bros. Movie Physical Soundtrack On Vinyl, CD And Cassette
Pre-orders open now
Update: Pre-orders are now live for the entire Super Mario Bros. Movie music collection! Shipping is estimated to begin in Q3 2023, with the pink and yellow vinyl set being exclusive to iam8bit. If you want to add this beauty to your music collection, get pre-ordering! <products id="23077"> <products...
News Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Soundtrack Out July, Will Include Volume 4 DLC Music
Is Volume 4 coming soon, then?
The official soundtrack for Xenoblade Chronicles 3 launches on 29th July 2023, exactly a year after the game's release. The Limited Edition will be available first, with the Regular Edition coming out on 2nd August 2023. Announced today by Procyon Studio — the video game music company founded by the lead composer on...
News Squid Sisters To Debut New Song At Splatoon 3's Next Splatfest, Here's A Sneak Peek
Take a trip back to Inkopolis
Nintendo hasn't completely forgotten about the Squid Sisters. The recent Splatoon 3 DLC saw them make a return and now in a surprise update, they'll be debuting a new song. It's officially titled 'Tomorrow's Nostalgia Today' and there's been a video clip of it uploaded on Nintendo's official YouTube channel. Here's a...
News Square Enix Adds 'The World Ends With You' Music Update To Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
Out now
Update [Fri 17th Mar, 2023 00:55 GMT]: This update adding 'The World Ends With You' Music is now live - you can access it via Season Pass 1 or the Digital Deluxe upgrade. Here's a quick teaser of what's on offer: Original story [Tue 14th Mar, 2023 04:00 GMT]: Square Enix's musical game Theatrhythm Final Bar Line will be getting a very...
News Shin Megami Tensei 30th Anniversary Concert Will Dazzle At Anime Expo 2023
A first-ever for the west
Atlus has revealed that it will be holding a Shin Megami Tensei concert as part of Anime Expo 2023 in July this year. The concert, which is exclusive to Anime Expo attendees, will be held at The Novo on 1st July and is one of many events across the year that the company is holding to celebrate the demonic RPG series' 30th...
Random Here's How Deep Cut Records Music For Splatoon 3
Wait, they're humans!?
The Splatoon series has always had a central Idol group for each game — Callie and Marie made up Splatoon's Squid Sisters, and Pearl and Marina made up Off the Hook for Splatoon 2. For Splatoon 3, we have Deep Cut, featuring Shiver, Frye, and Big Man — and now we know just how the music of this terrific trio is created...
News New Splatoon 3 Art Book Makes A Splash In Japan Next Month
Update: Pre-orders are now open
Update [Thu 16th Feb, 2023 09:45 GMT]: Pre-orders for both the artbook and the soundtrack are now live over on PlayAsia. If you're looking to grab one or both of these check out the links below, and read our original story for more info. <products id="22409"> <products id="22410"> Original article...
Feature The Real Songs That Inspired Iconic Nintendo Music
And a few non-Nintendo ones for good measure
Have you ever been listening to music, enjoying yourself, and then BAM, suddenly you hear the first four notes of a song from a video game — and then you have that song stuck in your head for the rest of the day? Well, that's not always a coincidence. Many musical composers take heavy inspiration from...
News Special Edition Fire Emblem Engage CD Releases In Japan Next Month
Containing a whopping TWO tracks
An official vocal CD containing some of the tracks from Fire Emblem Engage is set to release in Japan on 15th March. We'd hesitate to go as far as to call this one an 'album' since there are only two of the game's tracks on there, but it boosts the Fire Emblem collection all the same, we suppose... Confirmed in a...
Feature Video Game Music That Didn't Need To Go That Hard
It had no right!
There is a lot of video game music out there that goes hard. By "goes hard" we mean it slaps. By "it slaps" we mean it's a bop. By "it's a bop" we mea— forget it. These are tracks that are really good. In the vast majority of these instances, the tracks match the situation pretty perfectly. A high-stakes moment in the game might...
News Iconic GoldenEye "Gong" Sound Is Present And Correct In Switch Online Version
Update: Gong not gone
Update #2 [Fri 27th Jan, 2023 02:00 GMT]: GoldenEye 007 is now live on the Nintendo Switch Online service and it seems there's no need to worry. Sound the gong — everything sounds as it should! Update [Thu 26th Jan, 2023 21:05 GMT]: Digital Foundry’s John Linneman has stressed that while he "doesn't know" the exact...
Random Fan's Recreation Of Radiohead Album Using Mario 64 Music Is Utterly Brilliant
'In Rainbow Roads'
Have you ever wanted to know what Radiohead's incredible 2007 album 'In Rainbows' sounded like if it was the soundtrack to an N64 game? Then look no further. The hugely talented on4word has recreated the entire album using music and sound effects from Super Mario 64. The premise is ridiculous, but the results are actually...
News Check Out These Sublime Soundtrack Samples From Octopath Traveler II
42 song previews are available
Can you believe we're only just over a month away from Octopath Traveler II's release? Well, ahead of the game's launch on 24th February, Square Enix has shared some previews of the game's soundtrack over on its Japanese site (via NoisyPixel). And my goodness, if there's one thing we can be sure of, the music sounds...
News The Simpsons Hit & Run Soundtrack Is Out Now On Spotify And Apple Music
Can we have the game now as well?
There have been a number of stories over the years about possibly reviving The Simpsons Hit & Run - a Grand Theft Auto-like title set in the fictional town of Springfield. While we don't seem to be any closer to a comeback, it seems the game's soundtrack was actually uploaded to services like Spotify and Apple...
News Undertale Creator Toby Fox Shares His Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Soundtrack Contributions
He showed off his fan art too!
Putting bugs and glitches aside, if there's one thing that most of us can agree on in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, it's that the games have a top-notch soundtrack. We knew that Undertale creator Toby Fox had leapt back into the studio for a couple of tracks this time around and he has now confirmed precisely which...
News Atlus Remembers N64 Classic Snowboard Kids On Its 25th Anniversary
And the soundtracks are coming to streaming services
Hold the phone, readers — it's Snowboard Kids' (Snowboard Kiiiiiiids~) 25th anniversary, and we now feel really ancient. More importantly, the game's publisher, Atlus, acknowledged the game's birthday by announcing that all the games' soundtracks would be available on streaming services on...
News Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's First Mod Has Removed Ed Sheeran's Song 'Celestial'
Sorry, mate
Honestly, we don't mind listening to singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran every now and then, but it seems not every Pokémon fan feels the same way. A new mod for the latest releases Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has gone to the extent of removing - yes, removing - Ed's song 'Celestial' from the games. To add insult to injury, it's apparently...
Random Musician "Restores" Chrono Trigger Soundtrack Using Uncompressed Samples
Music Revolution
Update: The video has been made private, and it appears that Mathew Valente's account has been hacked. We'll be sure to update this post once the soundtrack has been made available again. For now, you can listen to some samples over on his Twitter account: Mathew Valente, known as TSSF and who worked on the cancelled fan game...
Talking Point What's The Best Use Of Licensed Music In A Switch Game?
(No, it's not Mad World)
You know that feeling you get when you're driving down a highway at sunset, and the perfect song comes on the radio? All of a sudden, it feels like you're in a music video, or that bit at the start of a '90s teen movie, where everything is sparkling and perfect. The music becomes a soundtrack, and your life becomes a story...
News Sega Reveals Sonic Frontiers 'Ares Island' Theme Song
Go on, have a listen
After a long wait, Sonic Frontiers is finally releasing on all platforms including the Nintendo Switch next week. In the lead-up to the game's launch, Sega has been sharing more about what to expect from this all new "open-zone" Sonic the Hedgehog experience. Now, in the latest videos - the focus is on the game's music -...
Random Yasunori Mitsuda Reveals Almost 200 Songs Were Scrapped From Mario Party's Soundtrack
Ya like jazz?
Today sees both the OG Mario Party and its successor, Mario Party 2, land on the Switch thanks to the NSO Expansion Pass, and this has led to a certain amount of reminiscing from the games' developers. One such peek into the past comes courtesy of Mario Party composer Yasunori Mitsuda (thanks, @gosokkyu, for the translation). Tweeting...
Random Arctic Monkeys Song Potentially Makes Obscure DS City Builder Reference
I Bet That You Look Good On The Dual Screen
Sheffield-based rock band Arctic Monkeys have released their seventh studio album The Car today. This may have been something playing on the radio (or however the younguns listen to their music nowadays) here at NL Towers, but it's now on our radar for a totally different reason today — it apparently...
News Here Are The Top Five Persona 5 Royal Music Tracks According To Atlus
Let's dance!
Persona 5 Royal is absolutely loaded with incredible music tracks. If you don't believe us, make sure you check out our review of the Switch port, where we quite literally say the words "amazing soundtrack" - go on now! Read More: Persona 5 Royal Review (Switch) Given the sheer number of absolute bangers on the official soundtrack,...
News Jun Senoue Isn't Involved In Composing Music For Sonic Frontiers
"Senoue-san has been a great support"
If there's one thing you can always guarantee with a Sonic game, it's an absolutely banging soundtrack. And from what we've heard of Sonic Frontiers so far, we've been impressed. Leading the music for this game is veteran Sega composer Tomoya Ohtani, who first started out on 1999's Dreamcast cult classic ChuChu...
Poll What's The Best Piece Of Music In A Nintendo Game?
Tuuune!
How on earth are you supposed to pick just one standout music track from Nintendo's history? Surely an impossible ask, right? Well, you fine folks certainly stepped up to the challenge. We recently asked you to tell us your favourite music from a first-party Nintendo title, and boy, did we get responses! We got nearly 300 comments at the...
Random This EarthBound-Themed Rube Goldberg Machine Is Packed With References
Now I take my backpack to the world and fill it with memories
Musical Rube Goldberg machines — you know, where the marble knocks over the teapot and then bounces down a staircase made of xylophones (which sounds insane if you haven't seen the videos) — used to be the realm of engineering and musical geniuses only, like the incredible Wintergatan...
Talking Point Is The Golden Age Of Licensed Music In Games Over?
Try and make the answers more than "maybe"
There is a moment in a young person's life — a brief window, around 13 years of age — when their internal maelstrom of hormones, peer pressure, and insecurity reaches its peak, turning the teen into soft, malleable putty, ready to be coaxed into a fandom by the next influential moment that comes along...
Talking Point What's Your Favourite Music Track From A Nintendo Game?
A.K.A, the world's toughest choice
One of the most important aspects of any game, in this writer's opinion, is the music. We've all been there: you might be stepping onto a new island in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker or floating through 'Space Junk Galaxy' in Super Mario Galaxy when a new music score plays in the background and completely...
Random Persona Composer Would 'Love' To Write Music For The Legend Of Zelda
He's got a soft spot for Xenoblade Chronicles, too
The Legend of Zelda franchise is well known for its incredible music. With iconic tracks including 'Lost Woods' and 'Gerudo Valley' from Ocarina of Time alongside the beautiful, ambient music from Breath of the Wild, we ima
Random Halloween Music Album Features New Takes On Classic Metroid, Castlevania Tracks
'Scarlet Moon Halloween' is available now
It's October, so you know what that means: it's time to ditch the colourful get-ups and cheerful demeanor for spooky outfits, schlocky horror films, and a general appreciation for all things dark and sinister. That's right, Halloween is just around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than to lose...