Nintendo is on an unusual run heading into the end of the year. Its big hardware release in 2024 turned out to be a big, loud watch. Anyone who pays for Nintendo Switch Online can download Nintendo Music to listen to music from the Japanese game maker’s most popular titles. What’s more surprising is the fact that this is now how good the app is, even now.
Nintendo Music is available on iOS and Android starting today. The app includes tracks from several genres, including Mario games, Metroid, Pokémon, Legend of Zelda, and Starfox. There are also tracks from lesser-known franchises, such as Fire Emblem: Blade Blade for the Game Boy Advance or Nintendogs for Nintendo DS.
After a quick scan of the list, I couldn’t find any real deep cuts, as much as I wanted to find songs from Mother (AKA, the EarthBound) games. However, there is indeed the Wii Shop Channel music, which is, in this writer’s humble opinion, the best menu theme ever created. Once you jump in, you’ll find yourself disappointed that one of your favorite games isn’t on the list, even though there are still hitters like Metroid Prime sound track.
Nintendo Music includes curated playlists for specific characters, such as Bowser or Yoshi; other playlists should match your mood with titles like “Good Night” or “Powering Up.” You can also create your own playlist. There is also a feature that allows you to hide the songs of certain games if you don’t want to spoil the game’s songs. However, the best addition might be the ability to extend tracks to 60 minutes so if you want to hear the opening theme Animal Crossing: New Horizons ad nauseam (because, face it, of course, you do).
I wrote this article listening to the themes that emerged The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Timeand yes—in case you were wondering—a real trip down memory lane. For each track, Nintendo includes a screenshot from a section of the game if you want that “oh, I remember the Deku Tree theme”. Hey, there’s even a separate playlist that includes every ocarina song from the 26-year-old Nintendo 64 game.
Nintendo Switch Online is usually $4 or $20 per year. It enables features like cloud storage and online play on Nintendo Switch. It also offers access to Nintendo’s back catalog of select past titles from the NES, SNES, Game Boy, and Nintendo 64. Whether you think any of that stuff is a good deal is up to you, but Nintendo Music doesn’t have any additional costs for subscribers, so you might as well give it a try if you’re already paying.
The app leaves plenty of headroom for Nintendo to add more music from its long, long library. Yes, you can still search for the same song on YouTube, but Nintendo Music adds some extra, special features that you should definitely try. However, if I want really good remixes, like Radiohead’s In the Rainbow, which is made entirely of foley from Super Mario 64, I’m yet to look elsewhere.
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