That first "It's a me, Mario!" sample blew minds in 1996, and then Koji Kondo dropped an entire soundtrack that redefined what platformer music could be. Super Mario 64's score lives in the space between jazz fusion and playground energy.
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Dire Dire Docks is all liquid bass and floating pads, genuinely beautiful in a way NES hardware could never touch. Slider's swing rhythm became instantly iconic, and Lethal Lava Land grooves harder than any volcano level has a right to.
The Merry-Go-Round track repurposes a Chopin waltz into something eerie and playful at once. Koopa's Road builds dread with a walking bassline that means business. If this wasn't your introduction to game music that works completely outside the game, go back and actually listen.