For many years now, fans have been frustrated about how hard it is to find obtain Nintendo music outside the games themselves. Okay, there are the occasional soundtrack CDs for big hitters like Mario and Zelda, and the company does hold the odd concert here and there…
But for the most part, the music is locked to the games themselves. As a result, if you want to listen to music from somewhat more obscure games (like the Mario RPGs, Wario Land or Yoshi series), you’ll have to find a music player in game, or unofficially acquire the songs on a site like KH Insider or YouTube.
It’s an annoying situation, and it’s one that’s long meant fan favourites are locked to games that might be hard to come by all those years later.
Now though, things may have finally changed. Why? Because earlier today, Nintendo announced Nintendo Music, an official music app filled with songs from their beloved games and franchises. Here’s the official trailer for it on YouTube:
As well as the announcement itself on Twitter:
Nintendo Music, a new smart-device app exclusively for #NintendoSwitchOnline members, lets you stream or download music from Nintendo’s library of soundtracks!
Nintendo Music will be released later today! Learn more: https://t.co/X5uL1ThupO pic.twitter.com/2NOu7k22zf
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) October 30, 2024
It’s pretty much everything you’d expect it to be, and in a good way at that. You can search through a list of games to find music from them, letting you hunt down those catchy pieces you’ve long forgotten the name of. You can search by theme, letting you listen to only songs from final boss battles, title screens or haunted houses among various others. And you can even hide spoilers or extend songs too, meaning that your quick browse through a new game’s soundtrack won’t accidentally give away the identity of the final boss in the process.
What’s more, the selection isn’t half bad either. Okay, it’s not going to have every Nintendo song ever, at least not right from the start.
But the ones it’s launching with are an impressive selection at least. Indeed, based on the official site and screenshots, it seems like the soundtracks for the following titles are included on day 1:
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Donkey Kong Country
- Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
- Kirby’s Dream Land
- Kirby Star Allies
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Metroid
- Metroid Prime
- Nintendogs
- Pikmin 4
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
- Splatoon 3
- Star Fox 64
- Super Mario Bros
- Super Mario Galaxy
- Super Mario Odyssey
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Tomodachi Life/Collection
- Wii Channels/Menu
- Yoshi’s Island
With the following being listed as coming soon:
- Donkey Kong Country 2
- F-Zero X
- Super Mario 64
- The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
That’s quite the lineup to say the least. Indeed, with two beloved Zelda games and 3D Mario platformers on day 1, along with retro fan favourites like Donkey Kong Country and Yoshi’s Island, it’s clear Nintendo wants to make a strong first impression here. And hey, given that Kirby and Pokémon are represented, it seems like they’ve been getting together with other license holders to make sure that Nintendo published (not in-house) games see their soundtracks make it to the service as well.
Either way, Nintendo Music apparently launches today for all Nintendo Switch Online Members. And with every feature and series you can imagine being included here, it seems like the exact thing fans have wanted from a music like service like this.
So check out the official site here for more information on what’s included…
Then make sure to look at the App Store of choice for your smartphone to download the app today!
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