“Super Mario 64 Main Theme” was written by Koji Kondo, a Japanese composer, pianist, and music director. Kondo works for Nintendo, a world-famous video game company, composing music for the games they develop. “Super Mario 64 Main Theme” was released in 1996 as a part of the game Super Mario 64.  The song was also released on the Super Mario 64 Original Soundtrack.

          Kondo began working at Nintendo in 1984, and still works there today.

          “Super Mario 64 Main Theme” itself is played mainly with an electric piano and percussion instruments. Unfortunately it is difficult to find more information about the composition of “Super Mario 64 Main Theme”, as most of the information available is focused on other pieces of Kondo’s.

          I chose this piece because I like to choose music that is different from what we’re learning about in class so that I can develop a larger picture of the music in the region we are currently studying. I specifically chose this piece because Nintendo video games are an important part of Japanese and world culture today, and because I am an avid consumer of their products. I am also very interested in the story writing and musical composition work that goes into making a complete video game. People often don’t consider the writers, musicians, and artists that all contribute to the creation of video games.

“Super Mario 64 Main Theme”:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hT04AB1JU4