Overview

Now this is cool stuff! This CD contains forty-one tracks from some of Nintendo's most popular games. It was released in North America through Nintendo Power magazine as a bonus to music lovers out there.

Body

It begins with Yoshi's Island. Whimsical and energetic, it makes me feel like I'm running through the forest with Yoshi, or dancing with him, or rocking Baby Mario to sleep, or battling Baby Bowser and his cronies. I found myself moving to the beat of F-Zero's tunes; they made me feel like I was more in a dancing hall than a race track.

The music to Ken Griffey Jr.'s Winning Run by Rare is, of course, exceptional. There are even voices like "No One Can Stop This!" or "Base!" popping up unexpectedly throughout the three tracks. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past's music is awesome, from that familiar Overworld theme to the dark foreboding tunes on Death Mountain.

Super Metroid follows — mostly of the dark and creepy variety coutesy of Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano. We conclude with the totally awesome Star Wars-ish space opera nebula wave of Star Fox. This section includes a reprise of the game's main theme and explodes into a climactic finale. Wow.

Summary

The individual items on this soundtrack are excellent and they come together to produce a diverse release. However, those looking for complete soundtracks ought to look elsewhere as there are many omissions here.