The best and worst Nintendo music of all time

The best and worst Nintendo music of all time

Posted on October 10, 2026 by Ethan in 3DS, Features, GBA, General Nintendo, Switch, Switch 2, Wii, Wii U

Today, we’re going over the best and worst Nintendo video game music of all time.

Nintendo games are known for having some of the most beloved music in the industry, but that doesn’t mean every single one is a hit. For as many Nintendo games as there are with excellent soundtracks, there are also some that… don’t sound very good. So today, we’re going over some of the best and worst games when it comes to their music, and including examples of each one.

Do note, if you happen to view this post a few months after publishing, some of the video links may wind up broken. This list is also spoiler-free and doesn’t include any tracks with names or melodies that spoil the plots of their respective titles.

Best: Xenoblade Chronicles

All three titles in the mainline Xenoblade Chronicles series have fantastic music, and each one goes for something a little different. Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition’s music is upbeat and explorative, with its fair share of sad and calm tracks as well. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has a more adventurous side to it, but it also leans into a bit of melancholy for some of its music, too. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 takes a less upbeat approach, focusing more on thought-provoking slow and atmospheric melodies. The soundtrack in the third game is actually my personal favorite, but all three soundtracks are so good that any of them are prime candidates to come out on top. It’s very difficult to pick just one track to showcase, because there are so, so many good ones from the series as a whole.

Worst: Yoshi’s New Island

Everyone knows of that one song from the opening of this game that just plays an extremely obnoxious kazoo. Indeed, Yoshi’s New Island’s music is riddled with kazoos left and right. Not just that, but almost every song in the game is a full remix of the main theme – which makes the entire soundtrack feel lazy and uncreative.

Here’s a fun tidbit: Yoshi’s New Island has a fantastic credits theme that starts off with a touching piano. And it’s not a remix of the main theme, it’s completely original! Listening to this track, it’s hard to believe this is from Yoshi’s New Island at all. It’s got this peaceful, sophisticated serenity to it, and… oh. Never mind. At a minute and 30 seconds in, those awful kazoos come back and ruin the entire song.

Aside from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island and Yoshi’s Woolly World (which have great music), just about every game in the series does that thing where every song is a remix of the main theme. Yoshi’s Crafted World, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book – and the lack of melody variety really winds up hurting each title. Speaking of Yoshi…

Best: Yoshi’s Woolly World and Kirby’s Epic Yarn

It might seem a bit random to include these both in the same section, but the same composer worked on both of these titles. They’re both great games, if not a bit easier than usual for their respective franchises, but the music elevates them to a completely different level. Both games have curious, whimsical, and upbeat soundtracks that add a ton of heart to the gameplay. We wrote an entire editorial about these games and their music right here, if you’re interested!

Worst: Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Hold up, hold up! Don’t type that angry comment just yet. If you look at Animal Crossing: New Horizons as a whole, there are actually a lot of great individual music pieces here. The opening melody that plays during the first few days perfectly fits the isolated island vibe, and the game’s holiday themes have a lot of heart. In fact, I’d say a good chunk of the tracks in this game are great – except for the hourly themes, which unfortunately play most of the time.

Now, there are a few good hourly themes – 2 AM’s soft piano, 6 PM’s City Folk-esque accordion, and 1 AM’s late night vibes are some examples. But generally speaking, the electronic zips and zaps you hear on most of these tracks don’t match the tropical island aesthetic in the slightest. 2 PM has this super-loud instrument that almost sounds like an odd whistle, 3 AM makes you feel like you’re going crazy (though maybe that’s the intent), and 8 PM, 9 PM, and 10 PM always kind of meshed together for me even though I could remember New Leaf’s equivalent pieces effortlessly. It’s strange, because all of the non-hourly music matches the tropical vibe perfectly, with its use of organic instruments – but then the music you hear most of the time feels very out of place. A truly strange decision in a game that can and does have good music at times.

Best: Mario Kart World

Mario Kart World’s soundtrack is, without exaggeration, one of the greatest of all time – and the fact that it wasn’t even considered for The Game Awards’ best soundtrack award (supposedly because the soundtrack is not on Spotify) is a crime. You’ve got a perfect mix of new tracks and old, as well as a huge number of remixed themes across the Mario series. This soundtrack has energetic songs, chill vibes, and just about every style of music you can think of. It’s a fantastic representation of what Nintendo can do, and to be honest, the sheer quality of the music here almostjustifies the $80 price tag. Almost.

Worst: Metroid 2: Return of Samus

Note that we’re talking about the Game Boy original here, not the Nintendo 3DS remake. But when I played it a year or two ago, I distinctly remember many of the background tracks and noises (which are more “ambient” than “melody”) specifically being grating enough for me to turn the volume down.

Of course, the developers weren’t working with a lot here, as the Game Boy hardware is very limited. But other Game Boy games have good music – Super Mario Land comes to mind, despite its short run time – so we’re not too sure what happened here. Needless to say, tracks like this playing in the background don’t set the atmosphere in any meaningful way. Other than maybe making you feel a little bit unnerved, if we’re being generous.

Best: Pokemon Pokopia

I don’t see many people talk about Pokemon Pokopia’s soundtrack, but I find it very interesting. Pokopia has a cutesy exterior, but the game as a whole is wrapped up in this sort of subtle sadness and emptiness that I actually find really refreshing for a game of its kind. It’s not this hugely dark story or anything, but the music does a really good job of making the world feel desolate and abandoned, as if all of the emotions that were once present in the world disappeared, leaving nothing but silence. The track above is a good example of what Pokopia’s music can add to an otherwise cozy life simulator – the soundtrack adds some depth, character, and heart to a game that’s already full of all of these things.

Worst: Super Mario Advance series

At the time of their release, the Super Mario Advance games were neat because they were the first time you could take them on the go. Nowadays, though, there isn’t a ton of reason to play them over their SNES counterparts – and one reason is because of the music.

It’s no secret that the Game Boy Advance’s sound chip isn’t very good, and the Super Mario Advance series’ butchering of classic themes is a good example why. I played a lot of Super Mario Advance 4 on Nintendo Switch Online, and in particular the fortress theme always hurt my ears to the point where I’d have to turn the volume down. Likewise, all of the other Super Mario Advance tracks sound fuzzy and low-quality. Again, mostly a hardware issue, but still doesn’t sound very good in practice.

Best: Paper Mario: The Origami King

This is another candidate for one of Nintendo’s greatest soundtracks of all time. In fact, almost every single track in Paper Mario: The Origami King isn’t just good, but great. When looking for a track to showcase here, I wound up finding the title screen theme first – and yep, it’s good enough to showcase. But the rest of the soundtrack is absolutely excellent. I remember this game being announced by surprise in 2020, and being surprised myself that the music was so polished and catchy for a title that felt like it was announced and released overnight.

What do you think are Nintendo’s best and worst video game soundtracks? We probably could’ve doubled or even tripled the length of the list, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to let us know in the comments down below.