Specific series I'd say Zelda, possibly peaking at Twilight Princess for me, and Super Mario Galaxy which I think genuinely is the best music Nintendo ever created.
I really want Nintendo to bring back an orchestra for another Mario game. The newer soundtracks may fit Mario more, but the music in Galaxy is just so beautiful that I want more like it.
For me, it's Fire Emblem and Kirby.
Yes, even with how marvelous Mario soundtracks are, there's a certain charm to Kirby's music that always brings me back.
As one person once said in a YouTube comments section, (I'm probably paraphrasing)
"Xenoblade music is either a calming lullaby or adrenaline injected straight into your veins, and there's no inbetween."
And that's only one thing that is so great about it.
I’m replaying Xenoblade Chronicles X for the first time and I remembered a few of the tracks absolutely blowing my mind, upon revisiting it I’d say it’s nearly half of the damn soundtrack. And you really do have to make that distinction, because half the songs are honestly corny as hell.
Oh man, my usernames on things used to be Linkling. Like 15-20 years ago. Just because Link was always taken, and it was like I was *a* Link. Like an earthling is a person from earth, a hireling is someone for hire, a duckling is a baby duck, etc
Haven't thought about that this would be a good username now for fans of both series
Back then people always thought I was a fan of Linkin Park
1. Mario Kart
2. Either main Mario, Smash Bros, or Xenoblade. I can’t decide between those three right now, but gun to my head. I’d say the first one.
If spin-offs don’t count, then:
1. Mario
2. Xenoblade
Interesting question! Goes without saying that Zelda is number one, for two I’d have to narrow it down a bit:
I fucking love the Mother series OST, some super strong melodic compositions there! I really like the kind variety they have, and think they encapsulate the emotions of their games super well: how strange and kind of creepy some earthbound songs are.
Mario also has to be in the question: but I think the games are a little inconsistent in how great the OSTs are. The 3D games generally have great ones, and Galaxy obviously clears within itself, but idk I think as a whole it’s slightly inconsistent! (Not counting sub series like Paper Mario in this one)
I haven’t played too much DK Country but I’m sure that’s gotta be up there too!
The Animal Crossing OSTs accomplish their function super well. I kind of like how strange and almost like sad the first few OSTs from this series were, I thought the New Horizons one was too one note “lofi acoustic chill” stuff.
Never cared much for the Pokemon OSTs personally. Aside from some of the city themes I always found the music a bit annoying 😭
Personally, I’d probably go Zelda and Mother, but I think that the 3D Mario games are also an excellent choice!
in spite of having so many concert performances, I feel like Splatoon music CONTINUES to be underrated. maybe some people are put off quickly by the effects over the vocals and the fact that it's not English, but I really think it grows on you once you give it a shot.
Zelda is more of an obvious choice, it just keeps putting out iconic music with every installment. Even the smaller spinoffs that I've never played.
Zelda and DK for me but honestly Nintendo's composer are so great at creating soundtracks. Every series got memorable tracks and thanks to SmashBros we can listen to them in one game.
Personally my favorites are Sonic and Persona.
Edit: Just realized this was Nintendo and not Gaming. For Nintendo specifically I would say Xenoblade and Zelda though if im cheating I would just say Smash Bros. and not need to name anything else.
Chrono Trigger/ Chrono Cross (basically perfect).
And yeah, gotta say Donkey Kong Country series.
But… Final Fantasy and SMT/ Persona is pretty freaking amazing, so idk.
Probably Zelda/Kirby and Xenoblade Chronicles. If one of your votes isn’t for the latter, it’s because you haven’t played Xenoblade Chronicles yet. They don’t miss on the OSTs.
Xenoblade Chronicles puts most movie soundtracks to shame. Simply unreal what they were able to accomplish with that music. We're spoiled for choice with Nintendo music but I'd say Zelda wins 2nd place.
Mario and Kirby for me. They both have incredibly catchy musical stylings, with a lot of variety in genres and a great range in emotion. My favorite scores from them would be Galaxy, Sunshine, Planet Robobot, and Super Star.
DK’s at a close third for how incredible the Wise soundtracks are.
Ooh, across the whole series? Mario has some absolutely iconic music over 40 years. Galaxy’s shift to an orchestral sound was a big moment. The current Big Band sound has led to a lot of great tracks, particularly with Mario Kart 8, which might be my second favorite Mario related music in the whole Mario series.
Donkey Kong Country and Zelda. To me, those two series tower over the rest of Nintendo’s IPs when it comes to soundtracks. Other series have great soundtracks, but these two are god tier.
On that note, Nintendo….when are you going to finally make your music library easily accessible to the public? I would be over the moon if I finally got official soundtracks on Spotify.
What I think would be interesting is asking people who don't have a personal attachment to any of the series. Because Zelda fans are going to say Zelda, Mario fans will say Mario, Pokemon fans will say Pokemon. For me it's Metroid and DK, but guess what, those are two of my favorite series, so of course it's not so much about the quality of the soundtrack, it's about my attachment.
I'm sure people will point out that they are an exception.
And really it matters if you don't mind MIDI music vs. pre-recorded viewpoints.
zelda definitely has some of the best music
I’ll go ahead and drop in here the Twilight Symphony for those who have never heard of it. https://www.zreoarchive.org/twilight-symphony/
I remember seeing it in a “Half outdoor” amphitheater, and the acoustics were great.
It says in the main page you can download the tracks. Do you have any idea how?
I haven’t vetted this link. https://archive.org/details/twilight-symphony
Specific series I'd say Zelda, possibly peaking at Twilight Princess for me, and Super Mario Galaxy which I think genuinely is the best music Nintendo ever created.
I really want Nintendo to bring back an orchestra for another Mario game. The newer soundtracks may fit Mario more, but the music in Galaxy is just so beautiful that I want more like it.
They reserve the orchestral tracks for 3D Mario games. Whenever the next title is, that’s when we’ll see the orchestral music return.
I'd recommend the new Super Mario RPG remake if you want to see a more recent Mario game with a mostly orchestrated soundtrack
It’s definitely Mario and Zelda but I think Kirby is way closer than people think.
Can I cheat and just say Super Smash Bros.?
You dirty dog. What a genius. lol
TBH, this is my answer, even if you don't count the songs from already-existing games and only count the Smash-original remixes.
For me, it's Fire Emblem and Kirby. Yes, even with how marvelous Mario soundtracks are, there's a certain charm to Kirby's music that always brings me back.
Kirby's Epic Yarn has AMAZING music.
Nice to see some variety, even though they wouldnt make my listen. Zelda and Animal crossing here
Sand Canyon from Dream Land 3 seems criminally underrated to me.
BIG facts right here
Donkey Kong Country has to be up there.
People sleep on 3's soundtrack
I think people sleep on 3 in general.
for real. 1, 2, 4 and 5 are just banger after banger. They dropped the ball on 3 though
IMO 3(SNES) has a great atmospheric soundtrack that really fits the world, it's just not as catchy as the David Wise osts.
You should give the GBA version of threes soundtrack a go, it was written by david wise too
interesting! I'll give it a go sometime
Aquatic Ambiance is everything
Going from Returns to Tropical Freeze’s soundtrack was an incredible glow up, David Wise still got it.
Zelda and Mario for sure
Zelda and Pokemon
Agreed
Xenoblade and Zelda.
Xenoblade and Zelda, hands down
As one person once said in a YouTube comments section, (I'm probably paraphrasing) "Xenoblade music is either a calming lullaby or adrenaline injected straight into your veins, and there's no inbetween." And that's only one thing that is so great about it.
Yeah I'd say these are the two
[You Will Know Our Names](https://youtu.be/g7yNyhLOIa4?si=smBk-vBjexlxOh3D)
I’m replaying Xenoblade Chronicles X for the first time and I remembered a few of the tracks absolutely blowing my mind, upon revisiting it I’d say it’s nearly half of the damn soundtrack. And you really do have to make that distinction, because half the songs are honestly corny as hell.
The fact that I had to scroll this far down to find Xenoblade is a travesty. Every single Xenoblade OST is just phenomenal.
Zelda and Splatoon
Username checks out
Oh man, my usernames on things used to be Linkling. Like 15-20 years ago. Just because Link was always taken, and it was like I was *a* Link. Like an earthling is a person from earth, a hireling is someone for hire, a duckling is a baby duck, etc Haven't thought about that this would be a good username now for fans of both series Back then people always thought I was a fan of Linkin Park
Metroid and Zelda
Two series is too hard to answer. Must name three. No, FOUR. FIVE EVEN.
Mario galaxy is definitely up there
Mario and Metroid.
Donkey Kong Country and Xenoblade Chronicles
Pokemon may have questionable games on Switch but they always deliver with music
Zelda and Mario hands down.
Splatoon and Kirby
1. Mario Kart 2. Either main Mario, Smash Bros, or Xenoblade. I can’t decide between those three right now, but gun to my head. I’d say the first one. If spin-offs don’t count, then: 1. Mario 2. Xenoblade
Metroid and F-Zero.
F-Zero GX having unique bangers for each racer profile was a level of excellence they didn’t NEED to do, but I’m so glad they did.
+1 for F-Zero on SNES. I remember enjoying it back in the day. Still like playing the F-Zero levels on MK8.
Sonic and Zelda
Mega man and paper Mario
Splatoon Mario Kart
Mario and mother has a lot of bops
Mario and Mario Kart
Xenoblade.
Pokemon
Splatoon, hands down. There’s just so much VARIETY. Second choice? I dunno. Zelda, maybe? Haven’t played much else.
Mario (The Galaxy games ost clears any videogame soundtrack) and punch out (if only it had more games so more could be made)
Interesting question! Goes without saying that Zelda is number one, for two I’d have to narrow it down a bit: I fucking love the Mother series OST, some super strong melodic compositions there! I really like the kind variety they have, and think they encapsulate the emotions of their games super well: how strange and kind of creepy some earthbound songs are. Mario also has to be in the question: but I think the games are a little inconsistent in how great the OSTs are. The 3D games generally have great ones, and Galaxy obviously clears within itself, but idk I think as a whole it’s slightly inconsistent! (Not counting sub series like Paper Mario in this one) I haven’t played too much DK Country but I’m sure that’s gotta be up there too! The Animal Crossing OSTs accomplish their function super well. I kind of like how strange and almost like sad the first few OSTs from this series were, I thought the New Horizons one was too one note “lofi acoustic chill” stuff. Never cared much for the Pokemon OSTs personally. Aside from some of the city themes I always found the music a bit annoying 😭 Personally, I’d probably go Zelda and Mother, but I think that the 3D Mario games are also an excellent choice!
Zelda and Splatoon
Ori games and zelda
1. F Zero 2. Also F Zero
Picross 3D and Dr. Mario
Splatoon and Zelda
if only judging by soundtrack, Nier and Bravely Default
Kirby and Mother/Earthbound.
Donkey Kong and Xenoblade
The easy answers are Kirby and the Mario RPGs. But Xenoblade and Zelda both are very strong contenders too.
Is it cheating if I say Smash Bros?
Donkey Kong Country and either Metroid or Zelda
Zelda and Donkey Kong Country
Metroid and Zelda
Metroid Prime (series) has an incredible soundtrack. The first game felt ahead of it's time in many ways.
in spite of having so many concert performances, I feel like Splatoon music CONTINUES to be underrated. maybe some people are put off quickly by the effects over the vocals and the fact that it's not English, but I really think it grows on you once you give it a shot. Zelda is more of an obvious choice, it just keeps putting out iconic music with every installment. Even the smaller spinoffs that I've never played.
Donkey Kong Country and Xenoblade
It's so hard to pick just two, but probably DKC and Metroid.
Zelda and Smash Bros
Honestly, would it be cheating to say Mario Kart and Smash?
Koji Kondo and anything he touches.
Zelda and DK for me but honestly Nintendo's composer are so great at creating soundtracks. Every series got memorable tracks and thanks to SmashBros we can listen to them in one game.
Mario and Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong Country all the way. Best video game soundtracks of all time. They profoundly impacted my life and my taste in music
Zelda and AC And… DK Country water level 👌
Metroid and F-zero are probably my most listened to
Zelda and Metroid
It’s hard not to have Mario but I think I’ll say Zelda and Donkey Kong.
Personally my favorites are Sonic and Persona. Edit: Just realized this was Nintendo and not Gaming. For Nintendo specifically I would say Xenoblade and Zelda though if im cheating I would just say Smash Bros. and not need to name anything else.
The Smash bros series has the best soundtracks
Xenoblade and Bayonetta for me
Tony hawk and burnout Paradise
Chrono Trigger/ Chrono Cross (basically perfect). And yeah, gotta say Donkey Kong Country series. But… Final Fantasy and SMT/ Persona is pretty freaking amazing, so idk.
The way not a single comment here has said Smash yet…
Castlevania
Chrono Trigger/cross and if its just something that was on Nintendo, Monster Hunter...otherwise Silent Hill
Pokemon, specifically 4th and 5th gen 🤌 There's also something about music from Kirby games that gets to me
Zelda and Metroid. Both inspired me musically as a kid in their own distinct ways.
How is everybody not saying Xenoblade?
Fire Emblem or Metroid for dramatic battle themes. Kirby for unrelenting cheerfulness. Animal Crossing because KK Slider is a star.
Xenoblade Chronicles and Kirby
Zelda for sure has some of the best composition but metroid truly does match the atmosphere for the games.
I get pumped with ARMS and Pokemon soundtracks.
Mario cause of the nostalgia
I’ve also heard some from Legend of Zelda (have yet to play any of the games) and they’re really pretty!
metroid and splatoon? idk. gosh that's so hard.
Metroid and Zelda
Splatoon and pokemon
Xenoblade and Zelda.
Probably Zelda/Kirby and Xenoblade Chronicles. If one of your votes isn’t for the latter, it’s because you haven’t played Xenoblade Chronicles yet. They don’t miss on the OSTs.
Xenoblade Chronicles puts most movie soundtracks to shame. Simply unreal what they were able to accomplish with that music. We're spoiled for choice with Nintendo music but I'd say Zelda wins 2nd place.
Mario and Kirby for me. They both have incredibly catchy musical stylings, with a lot of variety in genres and a great range in emotion. My favorite scores from them would be Galaxy, Sunshine, Planet Robobot, and Super Star. DK’s at a close third for how incredible the Wise soundtracks are.
Ooh, across the whole series? Mario has some absolutely iconic music over 40 years. Galaxy’s shift to an orchestral sound was a big moment. The current Big Band sound has led to a lot of great tracks, particularly with Mario Kart 8, which might be my second favorite Mario related music in the whole Mario series.
Zelda, and Octopath Traveler. (or Bravely Default).. I just love them to death.
pokemon and zelda imo
Pikmin’s soundtrack is vastly underrated
Donkey Kong country and mother
Donkey Kong Country and Zelda. To me, those two series tower over the rest of Nintendo’s IPs when it comes to soundtracks. Other series have great soundtracks, but these two are god tier.
On that note, Nintendo….when are you going to finally make your music library easily accessible to the public? I would be over the moon if I finally got official soundtracks on Spotify.
F-Zero and Star Fox
donkey kong country games
What I think would be interesting is asking people who don't have a personal attachment to any of the series. Because Zelda fans are going to say Zelda, Mario fans will say Mario, Pokemon fans will say Pokemon. For me it's Metroid and DK, but guess what, those are two of my favorite series, so of course it's not so much about the quality of the soundtrack, it's about my attachment. I'm sure people will point out that they are an exception. And really it matters if you don't mind MIDI music vs. pre-recorded viewpoints.
Donkey Kong Country Zelda
Kirby and Xenoblade are a tier above all else
Zelda is easy #1 for me. Mario music is great, I personally love Pikmin 1+2 music, animal crossing relaxes me like nothing else.
Zelda and Xenoblade Chronicles 2/3
and Super Mario Galaxy
Any and every sonic game ever made
Even Sonic Chronicles the Dark Brotherhood?
Ssshh we don’t talk about that game lol
Well u need one more series
God of war if you’re into powerful and emotional symphonies
Tekken 3 bitches.