Why is Mario Kart 8's music so good?

Thomas Game Docs April 16, 2024
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Thomas Game Docs

@thomasgamedocs

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Hi there, it's Thomas! Every week I cover a different aspect of video game history, from Animal Crossing's sound design to why Link from Zelda is so hot!

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Mario Kart 8's music is one of Nintendo's greatest musical soundtracks... but what makes it so good? It turns out the music from this game was 20 years in the making, and there's a key ingredient in the game's music that you're probably not aware of! Here's my breakdown of Mario Kart music, Japanese jazz fusion, and how those two worlds collided with Mario Kart 8! PATREON - https://patreon.com/ThomasGameDocs MERCH - https://teespring.com/stores/thomas-game-docs TWITTER - https://twitter.com/thomasgdocs SOURCES DIMENSION: J-Fusion Officially Made Mario Kart Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeDRHTLQjcw (This is the video that got me interested in this topic, so thank you to Cuevas Productions!) Wikipedia - Le Mans Japanese theme songs - https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BB%E3%83%9E%E3%83%B324%E6%99%82%E9%96%93%E3%83%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9#%E3%83%86%E3%83%AC%E3%83%93%E6%9C%9D%E6%97%A5%E3%81%AE%E3%83%86%E3%83%AC%E3%83%93%E4%B8%AD%E7%B6%99 Wikipedia - F1 Grand Prix opening themes - https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/F1%E3%82%B0%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%97%E3%83%AA#%E3%82%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%97%E3%83%8B%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B0%E3%83%86%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E YouTube - F1 Grand Prix title sequences - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBisHLxZWc0 YouTube - More F1 Grand Prix title sequences - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rYbd2c1LWA YouTube - More HD F1 Grand Prix title sequences - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8js2e-cVKiE YouTube - Le Mans title sequences - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXr4-z7WPSY YouTube - Dimension’s Le Mans album - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPIpfVH1_qc YouTube - Mario Kart 8 Music recording playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbCOGQCF6GO0LnnGU9gspUjOnGCpMwz1d Kotaku - Mario Kart 8 sound team interview - https://kotaku.com/the-music-of-mario-kart-8-1592469987 Iwata Asks - Kenta Nagata Mario Kart 7 interview - https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/3ds/mario-kart-7/1/3/ Mario Wiki - Mario Kart 8 liner notes - https://www.mariowiki.com/Mario_Kart_8_Original_Soundtrack#Liner_notes CREDITS Xylophon - Glissando hoch.wav by BockelSound - https://freesound.org/s/489495/ -- License: Attribution 4.0 1987 Model Car Formula 1 photo taken by Takayuki Suzuki - https://www.flickr.com/photos/78475089@N02/22031030520/

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