If there’s one great thing about video games, apart from the games themselves that is, it’s the music. From the very first days of home computers and consoles games have been making us hum along with often simple – yet unforgettable melodies. With the advent of video sharing sites and webcams people all over the globe have been able to perform their very own tributes to their favourite gaming inspired ballads, and here are our top 5!
5. Tetris Drum Cover – 3000 Views
Launching way back in 1989, Tetris came pre-packaged with the Gameboy – so if you had a gameboy you played tetris! But if there was one thing more awesome than having a console that you could carry around with you was the timeless sound track of the game – no matter how many times it repeated (and that was quite a lot) somehow it never got tiring.
One person who was obviously not put off, and in fact obviously became quite a fan was YouTube user MooseHeadStudios – a keen player of the drums, he’s drummed along with the tetris theme tune, giving it that really punchy drum beat and bass that was somehow missing from the gameboy’s mono speaker.
4. Super Mario World – 200,000 Views
As anyone who owned a Super Nintendo during the 1990’s will tell you one of the best and most memorable games was the one that was actually packaged with it – Super Mario World! This 16-bit reboot to the classic plumber’s sideways scrolling adventures not only brought with it improved graphics but also a more melodic sound system, which is something the designers wasted no time in using!
A duo/quartet (depending on how you look at it!) on YouTube have given this classic tune a work over – SongeLeReveur (guitar) and Trudbol’s One Man A Cappella Quartet (vocals) have re-mastered the theme song in their very unique style! Starting off slowly but building up to the punchy main theme these guys have really captured what made this song a true classic!
3. Legend of Zelda : A Link to the Past – 20,000 Views
Another SNES stalwart, a link to the past was Zelda’s first outing on the 16-bit system, and what a game it was! A really deep and immersive adventure that was complimented by its rich and playful colour pallet and of course its unique music. Anyone who even came close to completing this game will have some of these songs imprinted on their sub-conscious whilst they battled their way through the game.
YouTube group SwarfieldMusic have created a play-along to the first twelve minutes of the game, with a screen showing the actual game in play as they go! Quite an achievement to not only keep in time but remember the whole score. Featuring drums, guitars and even a violin!
2. Angry Birds – 3,800,000 Views
Angry birds was an instant hit when it launched on the iPhone in December 2009, selling over 12 million copies of the game in Apple’s App Store alone. The simplistic yet addictive game play was a huge draw for everyone, but let’s not forget that trademark music! Just hearing that music somewhere in public still makes me want to get out my phone and start playing.
It wasn’t just me who was a huge fan of this original score, YouTube group PomplamooseMusic have amassed a huge number of views with their amusing take on the theme song. Featuring drums, guitars a girl singing acapella and even a harpsichord! They’ve even released the song into the iTunes store.
1. Super Mario Bros – 1,400,000 Views
There is a reason why there are so many Nintendo songs that have made it into this top 5 – their signature light and fun game soundtracks have endured for years, and have millions of fans worldwide. At number one in our list is the original Super Mario Bros theme tune. In a time where video game audio systems were limited, Nintendo still managed to come up with one of the most iconic game soundtracks of all time. Quite a feat when you compare it to the buzzing and beeping of the competition of the time.
So even without the biggest number of views, we have still decided to make YouTube user Jimmy’s take on the original Mario Bros theme tune our no. 1. A fully one-man production Jimmy has really hit on what made this song so great in the first place! He’s even managed to human-beat-box in some original sound effects such as jumping and going down a tube. Awesome work Jimmy – we salute you!
This top 5 comes courtesy of arcade machine supplier Liberty Games, who sell a range of refurbished classic arcade machines for your home.
