Key

Some Of My Favorite Musical Moments in Super Mario 64

I'm continuing on my discussion of Super Mario 64 by not only diving deep into the levels, but into the music as well. I've mentioned in previous posts already how certain levels really wouldn't be the levels they are if it weren't for the soundtrack, and that is true. And just like my discussion with the levels, I'd like to talk about a few tracks that really standout to me.

Metal Cap Mario
I wanted to talk about this one first because I mentioned it when I talked about Hazy Maze Cave, and man, even thinking about playing the game again makes me excited to hear this song amongst many other greats for what will feel like the first time again. Not only are you virtually impenetrable when using this powerup, the music just makes you feel so cool and godlike that you can't help but run into as many enemies as you can. You can walk underwater with it, you look cool, it's just a great powerup. Mix that with a great song that honestly doesn't last long enough, and you've got a recipe for a great Mario powerup. They should just make this track like...10 minutes longer.

Castle Theme
Probably the first song you'll hear when you jump into Super Mario 64, and it does its job well. It sets you up for an adventure by not just being a welcoming addition to the game, but also making you feel like you're about to take on the adventure of a lifetime. Despite the castle being overthrown by Bowser and despite Princess Peach being kidnapped....again. The music in the castle is so nice and inviting that it's hard to just not stand in the middle of the room and just let the music play for a little bit. After a tough boss fight, after a tough star in any given level, the castle theme really adds a nice comfort to the game that you can go back to at any point in your journey.

Dire, Dire Docks
While not being one of my favorite levels in Super Mario 64, it'd be a lie if I said that this level didn't have my and I'm sure others top 3 songs in Mario games altogether. The calmness and ease of the music makes traversing a water level that much easier as water levels in Mario games are notoriously difficult. And Dire, Dire Docks is no exception. Jolly Roger Bay while having a lot of the same themes as Dire, Dire Docks, is not nearly as difficult as this one probably more due to the fact that Jolly Roger Bay comes up in a playthrough much earlier than Dire, Dire Docks, so it's expected that the level will be much less difficult in that regard. But, doesn't stop the music from being great.

Saulaac

Hi Key, it's super to read up about soundtracks in games, thanks. I always liked the Super Mario tracks and the driving melodies. Am I right that they were written by Mahito Yokota, Koji Kondo, Shiho Fujii & Naoto Kubo?

The Metal Cap theme sounded very fun. A sort of Copa Cobana cha cha fused with some sort of strong (garage house) beat.

My kids sometimes play Super Mario Odyssey on Switch. I try to encourage them to go to “New Donk City Daytime” or “To the Next World” just so that I can listen in.

Key

Koji Kondo a yes for Super Mario 64. The soundtrack is fantastic and I agree, Super Mario Odyssey has some great ones as well. I'll be excited to see what they do with the next Mario game if there is one. That's great to hear that you enjoyed what you heard though. Metal cap mario is such a cool track and it's very easy to hear why.

Thanks for reading, friend

Key

Banjo-Kazooie

I freaking love this game. As far as games that I would replay over and over that are from this era of gaming, Banjo-Kazooie is up there if not the first on the list to get another playthrough from me. I actually think this game amongst all the others I've played is the one I have replayed the most. It's got everything you need to have an unbelievably great experience in a game that is simply titled "Banjo-Kazooie".

Even from the opening cutscene of the game, it's just you and other characters playing music together in a forest having a good time. There's no hint as to what happens next and why you end up traversing an enormous castle filled with secrets at every corner. It's the subtlety and the creative writing that makes this game shine more than a lot of other platformers. And granted, there's still a lot of great platformers on the Nintendo 64, and I will certainly be talking about them this month, but Banjo-Kazooie is special in the sense that it's not just a platformer, it's got so much more. Much like Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie comes packed with cool moves that you know from the start as well as new moves that you learn about throughout your playthrough. You got your simple rolls and melee attacks etc, but once you start to traverse the castle and enter various on top of various levels, you start to see that the game has so much more to offer than it lets on. And that's not a bad thing by any stretch. Even after playing this game maybe 10 times over the years, it still brings me joy when I 100% a level and I can move onto the next level to experience it again and again and again. The levels themselves never get old because they also come jam packed with all kinds of things you can do. And as Banjo-Kazooie is a collectathon, there are a lot of things to collect. Notes, jinjos, puzzle pieces. They're all there. You just have to learn to overcome the obstacles that hold these valuable collectibles that you need in order to take on more levels.

And even while you're going from level to level, Banjo-Kazooie offers an amazing hub world of sorts in Gruntilda's Lair. The music, the creepy laugh coming from Gruntilda every time you walk in and out of a room, and just the amount of things that are scattered all over the castle making it worthwile to check every nook and cranny that you can. Some things will lead you to secret rooms that holds interesting secrets and other things will lead you to the puzzle to open the final level, only to realize that you need a ton of jigsaw pieces to complete it. So you come back to that later. But you found it just by exploring which is what makes Banjo-Kazooie not just a great platformer, not just a great collectathon, but a great game overall to just experience time and time again.

And even with all of that, once you get through all the levels and experience everything they've had to offer, you then move onto the last few parts of the game which lies in Gruntilda's Furnace Fun and then subsequently fighting Gruntilda on top of her castle. And I still hold the belief that the final mega jinjo encounter that eventually takes Gruntilda down is still one of the very coolest ends to a boss fight. It's certainly been surpassed over the years, but it is still oh so satisfying to finally get those few eggs that you need in order to unlock the mighty jinjo to let it wreak havoc.

And then of course once that's all done, you enjoy the fact that you just beat one of the coolest and most fun games on the Nintendo 64. And hell yes to the fact that these are available on Game Pass because once I have some time to kill, I really want to revisit it again because it really it just an unbelievably great game. And it shows even to today's standards. I guarantee you can go back and play this today and you'd still have as much of a blast if not more than you had when you played it originally. I still have good memories (and some bad) of finally getting the final collectibles needed in the final level - Click Clock Wood and just realizing that although this adventure is over, there is another one soon ahead.

Speaking of which, while we're on the topic of levels. Click Clock Wood always stood out to me as I'm sure it did with others because while the other levels are super creative and really great in their own rights and really do work with the themes that they are going for, nothing beats Click Clock Wood. Basically due to the fact that it's literally 4 levels in one. And they all flow together so well as you'd expect given that the 4 levels are based on the 4 seasons. It'd be weird if it didn't flow well.

The music is also great, but that also goes for all the levels in the game if i'm gonna be honest. The soundtrack is absolutely awesome. I honestly don't think I really have a standout track that I would say is my favorite because they all have their own strengths that make them unique to the levels that they are mixed in with. And as many times as I have played this game, I still think the soundtrack works so perfectly with every levels theme and it really shows that the composers did everything they could do to make sure you were as immersed into the levels as possible. And it works. You've got creepy music for the darker levels, you've got cool robotic music for Clanker's Cavern which is literally based around a large metal fish. It's little things like that that add to the uniqueness of the game while also managing to add to its greatness overall.

Banjo-Kazooie to me should certainly be seen as a staple in gaming in general and I still hold the belief and i'm sure others do as well that it was, is, and will continue to live on as one of the best 3D platformers of all time. And that's crazy when you think about the other games in the system that all perform excellently for what they are. This is why I feel like the Nintendo 64 had a leg up when it came out because man, so many great games were born because of it. There just aren't that many games that I hold to as much of a high regard as I do with Banjo-Kazooie, except maybe Breath of the Wild or Fallout 3. It just has that special something that has lasted with me all the way into my 30's. It's crazy to think that I played this game for the first time that long ago, and like I said, have played it many times since. And each time I playthrough it, I can easily see myself playing through it again in months or years time.

Key

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Two big games out of the way and many more to go, but I figure as we're in the theme of getting the more popular games out of the way, I think it's time to talk about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Much like Banjo-Kazooie, I think Ocarina of Time comes very close to the top as far as how many times I've gone through it. It's got everything you need in order to make each playthrough while always being the same, still feels fun and interesting as certain areas of the game are still very difficult despite the game being released way back in the day. It's part of what I love about the game as a whole is that it's not afraid to throw things at you that you weren't necessarily prepared for. There's also so much stuff to do in the game that it really feels like an adventure unfolding before your very eyes.

You've got dungeons, boss fights, an enormous open world that is simply a delight to trek through. And that music, ooooh yes that music. As far as soundtracks go in Zelda games, this one is truly a remarkable one.

It's probably been said over and over again over the years from multiple different outlets, but it's only because it rings so true even against today's standards - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is definitely one of the best games of all time. And it's even more impressive considering the limitations of the Nintendo 64 at that time, and yet they still managed to make a game that has continue to influence developers and gamers alike. It's a true staple in the systems library and I urge anybody that has yet to experience this game to find yourself a copy and play it. It's great for people that are fans of the franchise but it's also great for people that are looking for a bit of a challenge matched with some great gameplay overall.

I just have very vivid memories of sitting in my room in my parents house and playing hours of this game and trying to take on dungeons and whatever else came into my path. And much like games like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie respectively, Ocarina of Time manages to also create a fun and fluid main story and tops it off with again, what I think is one of the best boss fights I've seen in a Zelda game, and that includes the likes of Breath of the Wild and Wind Waker. Both games are excellent in their own right, but the fight against Ganondorf/Ganon in Ocarina of Time is truly a remarkable fight that puts everything you know to the test.

I've probably spent hours listening to the music in this game because as I said before, the soundtrack is so good. Music from The Temple of Time all the way to the various songs you learn on your Ocarina, it all creates a beautiful atmosphere and some even come with their own effects either with teleporting or changing the day to night and vice versa. Not only are they catchy jingles, but they all serve their own purpose in their respective areas. I also remember the Spirit Temple being relatively easy in relation to the other dungeons and temples, but I still think a lot of difficulty is placed in these areas of the game to not only test your abilities, but to also test your own skill when it comes to performing these abilities. Like I said, you've got a lot at your disposal once you get far enough into the game, and you feel like you can take on anything once you reach that point. But the journey to get to this point can be annoying at times, but the payoff is always nice. Except the water temple. **** the water temple.

Key

My Favorite Ocarina Songs From The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

As I had said in my previous post about Ocarina of Time, the soundtrack is fantastic. To be expected from a Zelda game but y'know, sometimes the soundtrack really adds something special and unique to a game that it's hard to compare it to others, and instead just letting it sit as it's own work of art. I was going to try to talk about my favorite songs in general from the game, but there are so many that stick out to me that the list would almost be endless. Not the worst thing in the world but also not really the most interesting especially if you have also played the game. Most of the songs that aren't played on the Ocarina are fan favorites anyway so I feel like it'd be a little more interesting to talk about the songs you learn on the Ocarina in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Song of Time
This song in particular is exactly the reason why I have such an enormous amount of nostalgia for this game. I remember spending so much time just sitting in the Temple of Time because I could not get away from loving this song and how it made you feel. There's a sense of dreariness mixed with vocal goodness that really adds to this song. And the version you learn on the Ocarina is just as good. Though, if I were to choose my favorite version, it'd be the Temple of Time version. But, the Ocarina version is just as good.

Sun's Song
While simultaneously being one of the more simple and non interesting songs you learn on the Ocarina, it does have one of the more important parts of the game - being able to change from day to night. The ability to do so does come in handy in various parts of the game, and I think that's probably why I like that it's so simple and somewhat forgettable. For something to be super effective in a game, it doesn't necessarily always have to be the most groundbreaking thing. Sometimes, much like this song, a far more important aspect of the game is simply hidden by a simple little tune. Still a fun one all the same.

Epona's Song
This particular song has a lot of personal connections with me both when I played the game for the first time many moons ago and even to certain parts of my life in recent years. Back when I started to play piano again, Epona's Song was one of if not the first song I taught myself to play in full. I figured it had a pretty consistent melody that it'd be pretty easy to get the notes together and I worked on it from time to time. And finally after some weeks of practice, I was and am still able to play this song in its entirety on the piano. While just being an overall great song in the game, it's really just a great song in general that is also very fun to play.

Requiem of Spirit
You didn't think I was going to end this list without talking about perhaps my favorite song to learn on the Ocarina, did you? Of course not. Requiem of Spirit is absolutely beautiful and nearly breathtaking when you learn it for the first time. I just remember being in absolute awe because I realized that my adventure is nearing its conclusion and for then this song to come into play, it really set a different mood for the rest of the game. A sort of mellow / dark feel kind of took the overlay and made the rest of the game feel really special in its own way. It's also just a really helpful song to learn since it allows you to teleport to the Spirit Temple which is one of if not my favorite temples of the entire game. The whole atmosphere and music that goes along with it is truly amazing, though it is notoriously the easiest temple in the game in my honest opinion. But we're not talking about that right now.

As far as the rest of the songs go, they're honestly all great. It's hard to pick and choose the ones that are played on the Ocarina because they are all good if not great in their own rights. But I just remember being particularly stricken by these ones that I mentioned here. I know Song of Storms is fantastic but I think I have overplayed that song so many times over the years that I actually have lost some sense of enjoyment for it. In the context of the game I definitely understand why it is the way it is, but just not one of my all time favorites. Hell, I may have even forgot to mention some on this list that I feel did deserve to be on it, but I'm ok with what I mentioned thus far regardless.

Key

Turok 2: Seeds of Evil is a great game

To those that have played this game and maybe even to those that haven't, it really should be no surprise that I love this game. I have since talking about this game many years ago played its predecessor and I still hold Turok 2 in high regard as not only being a great sequel in a great series of games, but also being just a fantastic first person shooter with its own twists and turns to make it unique.

While not giving too much away, you are Turok, you have the ability to possess many different types of weapons to take on dinosaurs and other enemies as you progress from level to level. Of course starting off you begin with your basic weapons like pistols and whatnot, but once you get a little further, you start to see the ridiculousness shine through with laser weapons and a spinning circular blade that you can throw at enemies and subsequently watch it boomerang back to you. It's truly a sight to behold when the sawblade is just spinning in place knocking down enemies hit points over time.

They came out with a reboot of this game on PC and when I found out about it years ago, I remember just sitting on my computer for hours going from mission to mission and reliving my love for this game and seeing just how good it was and still is even to today's standard. While it may definitely show its age as far as graphics, the gameplay is still really top notch. As long as you can get used the the old style Nintendo 64 controls, that is if you are playing on original hardware. I recommend playing the reboot since the controls have all been updated to work with PC style controls. Which makes the game feel even more seamless allowing you to experience more than what you probably experience when playing the game many years ago.

As much as I would like to say I have actually beaten this game in its entirety, I haven't. Well, at least not until I beat the reboot and enjoyed that. But if were talking back when I played the game originally, no, I did not actually beat the game myself, at least not without cheats. But, unfortunately for me, the game ramped up in difficulty and I just wasn't ready to playthrough a game that was this hard, or at least that hard back in the day. I had no issues getting through level to level in the reboot. Hence the reboot existing in the first place I suppose.

I don't really know if this game gets overlooked or not when it comes to die hard fans of the console, but it definitely felt like not a lot of people played it back in the day. That could be more due to people just not really wanting to play games with guns in it or the like of that. Remember this was released on the Nintendo 64 so while Goldeneye and those games also exist on the console, it's always sort of strange to look back and see what the console did have to offer in terms of games like this. And ya know what? I bet I would have loved them more if I was just a little bit older when this and those originally released. Fortunately I have come to appreciate these games over the years.

Turok 2 is just a lot of fun to play and I highly recommend the reboot if you haven't checked it out yet. And that goes for those that haven't even checked this game out at all.

Key

Glover

This is one of those games that I was really excited to talk about because not only is it one of my favorite games on the system, but it is also just a really good game with a lot to offer in terms of originality and uniqueness. If you've played Glover you already understand what I'm talking about. It's a really interesting twist on 3D platformers and actually fits nicely in that genre if not its own specific genre that I don't know about. But we'll just call it a 3D adventure platformer.

The game starts you off with a cutscene with a wizard who has two gloves on, and with his experimenting going wrong, one of the gloves falls into the bowl of evil liquid and...well you guessed it, turns evil. While the other glove proceeds to fall out the window falling down to the surface below. This is where your game starts and right from the get go you see what this game is going for. You may think that everything is bright and cheery and wonderful, but due to the evil glove taking over and bringing everything into darkness, your left in this depressing desolate world that once thrived and its your job to get it back to its original state. But, it's also not just that. It's also an excellent twist on platforming due solely to the fact that your partner in crime in this game is a ball. A bouncy ball that has the power to transform into multiple different forms be it glass, bowling ball, and one other one that I don't remember. Basically, you have to learn to traverse each level with the ball and do some insane trick shots to get you to where you need to go. And the level design just further compliments this even more. The whole game is built around the idea that you are trying to maintain the integrity of the ball in your hand throughout the whole thing. You'll have to jump from platform to platform while also figuring out how to get your ball to higher or lower elevations without either rolling it off a cliff or breaking it when its in glass form. As you progress, you will learn many different tricks to get through the platforming elements easier and easier, but of course as you progress, the game gets harder and harder.

It's not the most difficult game in the world though especially if you like figuring out puzzles and learning how to maneuver yourself and the ball to do some really sick stuff. The game allows a lot of creativity and problem solving while also maintaining its uniqueness with each level bringing some light heartedness and joy to the game. But then you go back to the hub world and realize that the world is still in darkness and you just need to continue pushing forward.

Glover is just another shining example as to why the Nintendo 64 is beloved by everyone. It's games like this that really set the bar for where you can go with a game and it seems like we had a lot of games where developers were just trying out new things and seeing where they could go with their respective franchises. It's truly fascinating to see how many great games came to life because of the existence of this system. I would be surprised if I didn't enjoy Glover if I decided to play it today. I have watched playthroughs of it on Youtube over the years but I want to play it again for myself.

Mindy

I remember getting this game with the N64 but was too stupid to know what to do in the game. I bought Golden Eye and NFL Blitz asap.

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Key

My Favorite Level in Banjo-Kazooie

I touched on this a little bit in my Banjo-Kazooie post when talking about the levels. Click Clock Wood came to mind immediately as one that stuck out to me, but is it necessarily my favorite level in the game? Well, let's find out:

Overall, Banjo-Kazooie has great level design after great level design and as you progress through the game, you start to see that more and more, and you start to really see things go further than you'd expect further cementing this game as one of the best on the console. You have snow levels, desert levels, levels that make you go underwater. It's got everything a great 3D platformers needs in order to not only be great, but to continue to be great after so many years. Each time I play through it, the levels always feel fresh and always feel fun to go through collecting everything you can before moving onto the next one. But which level do I consider to be my favorite? Well, if I'm honest, that answer could be different depending on when you ask me, but if were talking right now, and if you gave me a list to choose from and I had to choose my current favorite based on multiple different factors? I would have to say Mad Monster Mansion.

I mentioned before that each levels reeks of originality and creativity which makes them always interesting to go through despite them never changing from playthrough to playthrough. The one level I was always excited to get back to was indeed Mad Monster Mansion. It feels like a whole world inside a world with the overall theme taking place in and around a creepy mansion. You've got graveyards, gravestones that come to life, ghosts, scary cabins to go into. Multiple different types of mini games that help you collect what you need to progress. And, of course you can turn into a pumpkin and flush yourself down a toilet. It's got everything I love about the level design in this game as a whole. Just it's own world within a world without feeling like it's out of place. With the carnival like music in the background, it really sets the scene for what you are about to endure. Not only is it a creepy mansion setting, it's mixed so well with a sort of upbeat vibe that kind of makes you want to explore every nook and cranny despite it's terrifying nature.

You even get to tricks ghosts in a hedge maze. That's pretty dope.

I've just always enjoyed going through this level again and again because I feel like out of all the levels you play in the game, this one just has some of the most attention to detail in terms of making it a worthwhile experience to go through. And even more so when you're trying to 100% the game. I just enjoy everything the level has to offer despite it being certainly difficult at times. And it all comes together nicely and even more so when you step into a church and find yourself having a sort of piano-off with a giant ghost hand.

Not necessarily something you'd expect but yeah, you have to compete against a giant ghost hand on a giant piano in a humongous giant church in a creepy graveyard. It just oozes with originality.

Even the hub world does an amazing job at setting the scene even before you go into the level. Once you reach this part in Gruntilda's castle, you realize that the game just ramped itself up and is ready to give you everything it's got. This is around the same time you'll see levels like Gobi's Valley and Freezeezy Peak which are great levels in their own right and have creativity to each their own. Mad Monster Mansion to me has always stuck out even a little more so than Click Clock Wood. That opinion could easily shift once I play the game again in the coming months, but for now that's how I feel about it. It's a great level in an already great game.