Celebrating the Wii’s Catchy Music 15 Years Later
Image via Clémentin on Pixabay
The Nintendo Wii is a nostalgic console for many, as it introduced us to the worlds of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy, and Metroid Prime 3. However, you’d never think the console’s own soundtrack and casual titles would stand the test of time as well. As we celebrate the Wii’s 15th anniversary, let’s look back on Kazumi Totaka’s memorable themes.
In the video game music scene, the Wii Shop Channel theme is still being covered to this day as it resonates with us because of its joyful charm. Totaka, known for his work on the Animal Crossing series, composed these masterful tracks from the Wii console itself.
“His catchy writing style often captures a playful, joyous sound that seems as if it came from a child’s imagination,” said No Straight Roads and Mighty Fight Federation composer James Landino. “I think this energy he taps into really resonates with listeners, recalling fond memories of our childhood and our wild ideas.”
Cover artists have also been able to put their own spin on the popular song. J-Music Ensemble brought in the characteristic accordion to bring a unique charm to the track, while Lacey Johnson presented a powerful rocky twist to the familiar tune. Both of these covers come within a year from this article, showing how this theme still stays in our minds to this day. It’s also very approachable for cover artists to bring their own take.
In fact, every week on Wednesday, a Twitter user (@WiiWednesday) reminds us about the tradition of booting up the Wii Shop Channel for regular updates with a clip from Nirvana: The Band The Show. During this popular web series, the two characters Matt and Jay sing available games from the Wii Shop Channel as lyrics while the catchy music is playing. It’s a hilarious take on the popular track, and it’s a welcome video to watch every Wednesday. Whenever I hear the Wii Shop Channel music, these lyrics are present in my mind.
Inverse and Digital Trends writer Joseph Yaden explains that the track is “nostalgic and wholesome,” so “watching Matt and Jay get so excited for the new games is funny and endearing.” He also believes that the song is an earworm. “With the Twitter account that retweets it every Wednesday, it gets stuck in your head even more,” Yaden said. “And now it’s a tradition.” Yaden likes this iteration so much that he even sang his own version on Twitter.
Of course, the Wii Shop Channel isn’t the only song we remember fondly from the Wii era. The Mii Channel has a wonderful melody that’s just as catchy as the Wii Shop Channel. Totaka also uses a few seconds of silence beautifully to transition between different parts of the song in a natural fashion. It also helps you reflect on the choices of the Mii’s creation. Do you really want the eyebrow that way? It gives you a contemplative moment before driving you back into the runway of the music.
The popularity of the Mii Channel’s soundtrack is apparent on insaneintherainmusic (Carlos Eiene)’s YouTube channel as it’s one of his most popular videos with over four million listens. Collaborating with Gabe Nekrutman and Chris Allison, the three musicians elevate the music further with their vibrant use of the brass instruments and tambourine. The jazzy riffs are also executed beautifully within the framework of the track with some exciting plays on the original source material.
But why do we remember these tracks so fondly? They act as a somewhat nostalgic cushion to lay our metaphorical heads on.
“These themes are so widely remembered for two reasons,” said GameXplain writer and host Joey Ferris. “ A lot of the Wii’s audience were kids and teenagers when the system came out, so we relate the music to the time we spent with friends and family making Miis and shipping for new games to play on the Shop Channel.” The other he claims is because Nintendo hasn’t made “nearly as catchy music for the Wii U eShop or any music at all for the Switch eShop.”
“You really don’t know what you have until it’s gone.”
CHRIS PENWELL
Chris Penwell is a writer and podcaster who loves to talk about video game music. His favorite soundtracks are from the Kingdom Hearts series, Celeste, Beyond Good & Evil, Gravity Rush, and Final Fantasy X.
