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Video Game Music that "Brings You Back"

Posted by Bob Mackey

Because I've been playing video games since I started retaining memories (roughly age 3), a disturbing amount of my personal history can be linked to my lifelong hobby. The past, for me, is not defined by important world events, but rather, what I happened to be playing at that moment in time. Case in point: September 11th was the first day I was able to get my hands on the original Advance Wars. Coincidence? I really hope so.

That being said, going back to Mario Kart 64 (which has aged pretty terribly) recently reminded me how much of my goddamned mid-to-late teenage years were spent playing this game. Let me point out that A.) I didn't own an N64 until said teenage years had passed and B.) I never even owned Mario Kart 64. But just upon hearing one specific song from the game's soundtrack, I'm immediately brought back to my days of teenage nerd solidarity replete with endless pizzas, soda, and other body-destroying substances we used to shield ourselves from the outside world. The funny thing is, back when there were only two Mario Karts in the world, I preferred the SNES one by a pretty big margin. Yet I still distinctly remember accompanying one of my friends to Toys R Us to buy the game nearly 12 years ago, as well as the pizza that was consumed afterwards. I'm honestly surprised that I didn't grow up to be a 400-pound shut-in.

So what song from Mario Kart 64 whisks me away to the wonderful and awkward world of puberty?

Ahh, I can feel the loneliness and rejection of being a teenage nerd wash all over me like an oatmeal bath. While I go out and search for a rope, please feel free to share your own nostalgia-inducing tunes. I'm sure I'll be fine.

Related Links:

Bad Games With Good Music: Eternal Sonata
OST: Treasure of the Rudras
OST: DuckTales

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Posted Jan 28 2009, 04:00 PM

Filed under: nintendo, mario kart, ost, music, nostalgia, bob mackey, soundtrack

Comments

Roto13 said:

I was playing Crusader of Centy on 9/11. I also hope that was a coincidence.

January 28, 2009 9:44 PM

About Bob Mackey

For a brief period of time I was Bull from TV's Night Court, but some of you may know me from the humor column I wrote for Youngstown State University's The Jambar, Kent State University's The Stater, and Youngstown's alternative newspaper, The Walruss. I'm perhaps most well-known for my bi-weekly pieces on Something Awful. I've also blogged for Valley24.com and have written articles for EGM, 1UP, GameSpite and Cracked. For all of my writing over the years, I have made a total of twenty American dollars. It's also said that I draw cartoons, which people have described with words such as "legible." I kidnapped the Lindbergh Baby and am looking to do so again in the future.

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