OST of the Day #62: Mario Kart Wii - Rainbow Road 🌈

taco.cat (67)in INVEN Gaming • 4 years ago

Hey Steemit!

OSTs make up the majority of the music I listen to, and they're so underrated I just had to share them! Feel free to listen while reading. 😊

I was watching a couple of Mario Kart videos the other day, and it's been a while since I've done a song from that fantastic series, so why not bring it back right?

Source: Wallpapercave

I actually intended to choose a song or track (hehe geddit) from Mario Kart: Double Dash, but none of the songs really hit it for me. Maybe it's because they're not as developed as the songs in the future games? Or perhaps it's because I didn't actually play that game during my childhood as I didn't have a GameCube back in the day. I really wished I had though, it looks super fun!

One of the nostalgic Mario Kart games for me is definitely Mario Kart Wii. It wasn't the first Mario Kart game I played mind you (not by a long shot), but it was the first one I played on a Nintendo console.

Source: Wired
Oh man I remember opening up the box for this, and I was so excited to try out the Wii Wheel!

So if you've never played this before or you've never even owned a Wii (dang you missed out), Mario Kart Wii is a multiplayer-oriented racing game for the Nintendo Wii, developed by Nintendo EAD and was released worldwide in April 2008. It is the sixth installment in the main Mario Kart series and the eighth overall. Mario Kart Wii retains the traditional item-based weaponry familiar with the franchise, where players can select a Mario franchise driver and themed vehicles.

New key elements introduced to Mario Kart Wii include new racers (bringing the total to 12 up from 8 in previous game), and a new type of vehicle: bikes! The game takes advantage the Wii's motion controls, with a Wii Wheel included in most Mario Kart Wii packages, though the game is still compatible with other controllers.

Source: Deviantart

I loved Mario Kart Wii! It took some geting used to with the Wheel, but after the initial hurdle I was practically a pro. I don't know how many hours I spent on that game, but I'm pretty sure I got 3 stars on all the Grand Prix cups. And I played a good amount of online too. Oh man, remember when you could play online for free.?

Anyway, I couldn't write about Mario Kart Wii without bringing up one my most iconic tracks in the series; Rainbow Road!

I was one of those people who would always choose Rainbow Road for the final track in a multiplayer VS. It's just a good final track to end on you know? With everyone falling to their death and me maniacally laughing as I do tricks on the rainbow half pipe. 😂

Anyway, here's the song:

This is probably one of my favourite songs in the game. It's definitely got that magical vibe going with the constant light beats and those subtle sounds mimicking shooting stars in the background. All the different instruments just fit so well together! The flutes coming in with the melody, with the electric piano as the harmony and the brass with the backup.

I also like the subtle nod to Super Mario Galaxy's Good Egg Galaxy song around the 0:30 mark. I never noticed that while playing, but it's a really good touch, especially since you can see star bits at the starting section of the track.

Source: GamesRadar

Overall, this song is pretty chill for a track as crazy as Rainbow Road. I guess the contrast works since a great fanfare is not exactly something you want to hear when you're falling off to your death every couple of seconds.

The soundtrack for this game was composed by Asuka Ota and Ryo Nagamatsu; who both used new interpretations of the familiar melodies from earlier games alongside original material. I believe Ota was the one who composed this song, and she did a great job, especially mixing in some Galaxy melodies.

Source: pinterest

Oh man, listening to this again just brought all that nostalgia back. I remember when I first saw this Rainbow Road while playing, I was astounded! It looks so good! The track was so shiny and colourful, the space background was so magical, and the Earth below was so cool! I remember purposely falling off a couple of times just so I could see it better.

Sidenote: I actually wrote about another Mario Kart Wii track called Maple Treeway about 2 years ago here!

If Nintendo ever makes a Mario Kart 9, I think they should definitely add in a Double Dash mode, where you can play with 2 people controlling a single kart. I only got to play the game once in a Japanese retro game store, and watching videos of it makes me wish it was on the Switch so bad! It would be perfect for the Switch too, since it's built for couch coop games! It was such a unique mechanic that they totally should've brought back. C'mon Nintendo please!