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10. Overworld
Super Mario Land
Super Mario Land for Game Boy was in many ways an unconventional entry of the Mario platforming series. It was produced without the involvement of Shigeru Miyamoto, it wasn’t set in the Mushroom Kingdom, it didn’t feature Princess Peach, and it replaced Mario’s fireballs with bouncy balls. The developers ignored the previous two Super Mario games and took the gameplay straight back to its roots from Super Mario Bros., and this was also the case with the music. The overworld theme of Super Mario Land hearkens back to the simplistic melody of the original NES classic. It just sounds so happy! So fun! It makes me want to skip all around until my cares just float away.
I have always been a fan of Super Mario Land‘s soundtrack, and I’m sad to see that it doesn’t get hardly any exposure compared to Mario’s other music. The original Mario overworld and underground themes have been in dozens of games, yet the poor little overworld theme from Mario Land has gone mostly forgotten. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a track from the game’s soundtrack worked its way into Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
(You can also listen to some cool remixes of this tune here and here)
Great list, Kyle! I’m a little sad to see that this wasn’t on the list, though! ;) (or the Bowser’s Lava Lair version from Super Mario Galaxy 2!)
Couldn’t agree more about Wind Garden, though. Easily the best Mario song ever composed. Hearing Super Mario 64‘s Main Theme in Super Mario Galaxy 2 was also one of my favourite moments in the entire game, so I’m very pleased to see that at number three too! :)
(PS: is it weird that I’m also quite partial to the Mario Paint theme? Probably…)
Hmm, got to say i didnt like your list that much, i tought it will be just super mario (main series) music. But, i have to agree with you on the number one spot. For music lovers that particular track is just mind blowing. Gusty garden is my favourite levwl of the galaxy series, and i think that the music is the main reason why i keep coming back for more. Hands down the greatest mario theme ever.
Why would you list other Mario games besides the main Mario titles? Mario Kart and RPG outings shouldn’t be lumped in also. You could seriously have a top ten list from just Galaxy 1 and 2, so this list is very short sighted.
I wanted to go for variety here, otherwise it could have just ended up as a Top Ten overworld theme list! I also couldn’t forget about the RPGs which are near and dear to me and have great music that is even better than the main series at some points.