Muzax 9, 3rd and final part - Mario, the Nintendo’s mascot

In the 3rd part of this Muzax episode, dedicated to the Mario saga, you will hear music from the games Super Mario Bros 2, Super Mario Collection, Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, Super Mario World and Super Mario 64 on NES, Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64.

Listen to and download this podcast in MP3 format by clicking on this link.

Content of broadcast:
Let’s continue the exploration of Mario’s world.

“Super Mario Bros 2” was released on NES in 1988 in Europe and in the USA.
With the help of a selection screen, the player selects one character from four to travel through the different levels of the game.
Of course, the first character is Mario, then his brother Luigi, thirdly Toad, who lives in the Mushroom Kingdom and finally Princess Peach also named Princess Toadstool depending on the version. Each character has his or her own abilities.
We are now at the heart of the game.
The production of this episode of Mario has a complex story. Indeed several versions exist with the same name.
In fact, a first version was released in 1986 exclusively in Japan on “Famicom Disk System”. This episode had not been sold abroad because it was too similar to the first episode of the series.
Then, in 1988, the “Nintendo of America” branch created its own version by making over a game released one year earlier and called “Doki Doki Panic”.
For the greatest pleasure of its fans, in 1993, on “Super Nintendo”, a collection of games from the “Super Mario Bros” series was released. It is called “Super Mario Collection” in Japan and “Super Mario All-Stars” in the rest of the world.
Four games are included in this collection: “Super Mario Bros 1”, “Super Mario Bros 3” and the 2 versions of “Super Mario Bros 2”.
We are now listening to the intro of “Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels” corresponding to the Japanese version of “Super Mario Bros 2”.
The collection released in Japan includes the US version of Super Mario Bros 2 renamed “Super Mario USA”.

“Super Mario World” was released in Japan in 1990 on the new Nintendo console: “Super Famicom”.
This game was released in 1991 on the American continent then in 1992 in Europe.
This episode presents the character Yoshi for the first time.
This lovely little dinosaur accompanies Mario and his brother Luigi through the 74 levels of the game.
We are listening to the music from the first level when Mario is alone.
Let’s see how the music changes when Mario is with Yoshi.
You have probably heard an additional sound which reminds us of the little dinosaur’s rapid footsteps.
The aim of the game is to set Princess Peach free from “Bowser”, the “King of Koopas” but also to save Yoshi's friends.

In “Super Mario 64”, we discover Mario's voice played by Charles Martinet for the first time.
Mario became Nintendo’s mascot. He was originally created by Shigeru Miyamoto, art director and a genius in the area of game design. He has innovated and completely revolutionised the world of video games. As for the music, the main themes were composed by Koji Kondo.
This broadcast dedicated to Mario is now over. Thanks for listening and tune in soon for a new episode of Muzax!

Muzax 9, part 2 - Super Mario Land and Mario’s underground worlds

In the 2nd part of this Muzax episode, dedicated to the "Mario" saga, you will hear music from Mario games on Game Boy, NES, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Wii but also remixes and covers by rap and funk groups.

Listen to and download this podcast in MP3 format by clicking on this link.

Content of broadcast:
Let’s continue to discover music from Mario’s world.

"Super Mario Land" was released in 1989 on the famous Game Boy, the best-selling hand-held console in the world with more than 118 million devices.
Listen to the cover of this piece of music by the group "Ambassadors of Funk".
Let’s move on to a version of "Deep Black Skys".

Music from the first "Super Mario Bros" is generally reused in the latest versions of the game. However every new game has its own new tunes.
Let’s see how one of these themes has evolved.

The music we are now listening to is a piece of music from the very first Super Mario Bros released in 1985 on NES.
Used in the majority of Mario’s games, this music can be heard in underground worlds.
This music theme, very short at the beginning, has been enriched from version to version, mainly in tones but also sometimes in melody.
We are still on NES in "Super Mario Bros 3".
A three-year period of time has gone by between the first episode of the saga and the third one. However we can hear a big difference in terms of sound quality.
In 1996, Mario appears in a role-playing game in "Super Mario RPG" on Super Nintendo.
In a completely different style, let’s listen to the"Super Mario 64" version.
This new episode on Nintendo 64 is the first to be released in 3D. Once more, Nintendo overturns the world of video games by leading the evolution of games of this genre.
We also note a slight evolution at music level.
In 2002, the Game Cube has its own version in "Super Mario Sunshine".
Even the Wii enjoys this music in "Super Paper Mario" released in 2007.
The same year, the Wii is equipped with one of the best Mario games, "Super Mario Galaxy".

Like the main theme, this music is remixed many times. Here is a version by "DJ Clue".
Accompanying the music, we can hear additional sound effects from the game.
Let’s discover another remixed version.

Muzax 9, part 1 – Music from the Mario's saga games

The ninth broadcast of Muzax is part of the mini-series “Presentation of famous video games music”. The music you will hear is from the “Mario” saga as played through the ages on different consoles.

In the 1st part of this Muzax episode, you will hear music from Mario games on NES, Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, GameCube and also covers by different orchestras and a rap group.

Listen to and download this podcast in MP3 format by clicking on this link.

Content of broadcast:
Today, let’s discover the world of the most famous video game character: “Mario”.

Mario was first seen in 1981 in the arcade game called “Donkey Kong”. At that time, Mario’s name was “Jumpman” and he had to save Princess “Pauline” who was prisoner of a frightening gorilla called “Donkey Kong”.

In 1983, the first game dedicated to Mario was released on an arcade game, likewise on the first liquid crystal devices called “Game & Watch” - ancestors of our handheld games consoles - and also on the first Nintendo television console sold in Japan, called “Famicom” which stands for “Family Computer”.

Famicom was finally renamed “Nintendo Entertainment System”, also known as NES, when it was released in the USA in 1985 and in Europe in 1986.

The music we are listening to now is written by Koji Kondo and is part of “Super Mario Bros” released in 1985.

This music is used in many other games where the little plumber with a moustache is present. Here is the same music found in the third part of the series “Super Mario Bros 3”.

In 1993, a compilation called “Super Mario All-Stars” was released on Super Nintendo with a collection of games from the “Super Mario Bros” series on NES.

Every new Nintendo console must have one or more Mario games. Here is the same music theme in “Super Mario 64”.

In 1999, still on Super Nintendo 64, we can see Mario in “Super Smash Bros” with a more contemporary style of music.

It's a scat version that the player will discover in "Super Mario Sunshine" on "Gamecube".

Mario became a best-seller through his sheer popularity and he wasn’t afraid of turning his hand to being a dancer in 2005 in “Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix”.


Mario’s music is known by a whole generation and has been performed in a number of completely different styles.

Here is a version played by “The Big Band of Rogues” opening the 2003 “Mario and Zelda Big Band Live” concert dedicated to the music of these two sagas.

The Internet is overflowing with music and videos about the most famous plumber of all time.

You can even find a rap version recorded by “Benefit” whose lyrics describe a less soft vision of Mario world.

Let’s listen to an orchestra version of the main theme of Super Mario Bros.