Music secrets in Nintendo games
Melodies played backwards
Before Zelda: When Skyward Sword was released for the Wii in 2011, a major music Easter egg made the rounds on the internet: fans had discovered that the trailer's music (which later became known in the game as Ballad of the Goddess) played backwards sounds the same as Zelda's Lullaby from Zelda: A Link to the Past and Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Unbelievable that these two iconic Zelda songs play so well both forwards and backwards and go together so well:
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This wasn't the only time Nintendo used this reverse method in Zelda games. Parts of the Song of Healing and Saria's Song in the Nintendo 64 offshoots Majora's Mask and Ocarina of Time also result in the melody of the other piece when the notes are played backwards. Even more striking is an example from Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, where the Lorule Castle piece of music played backwards yields the well-known Hyrule Castle tune from Zelda: A Link to the Past:
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On the Nintendo Switch, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the most prominent example where Nintendo has once again successfully used this trick. Lifelight is the well-known theme song of the game, which many players should probably still remember almost five years after the release. Did you know that the new melody in Final Destination played backwards gives Lifelight? Hear for yourself:
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Hidden Morse Codes
Morse Codes can be transmitted as sound signals - messages can be transmitted through a sequence of short and long tones be transmitted. The emergency signal SOS ( ... --- ... ) is carried out with a sequence of three short, followed by three long and finally three short signals. Did you know that these hidden SOS messages can be heard in several tracks from Nintendo's masterpiece Zelda: Breath of the Wild? It is quite possible that these SOS signals in the game's four titans originate from the warriors Mipha, Revali, Daruk and Urbosa, who uttered desperate last calls for help:
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Many years earlier, Nintendo had hidden several Morse code messages in Wii Sports Resort by the lighthouse. And also in the following console generation, there was a piece of music in the final battle of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U / 3DS that contains a Morse code message. If you translate the audio signals, you get the word Master Core ( -- .- ... - . .-. / -.-. --- .-. . ) - the name of the boss of the game. You can hear the message from minute 1:53 to 1:58 in the piece of music - if the sequence goes too fast for you, halve the playback speed on YouTube:
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Subtle Remixes
The biggest Mario Kart music mystery is found in Mario Kart Wii : The upbeat melody of the leafy forest is catchy and fits perfectly with the autumn ambiance - did you know that a slightly darker version of the leafy forest was used for Bowser's fortress in the same game? It's a subtle remix that probably very few players noticed:
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Another slightly more recognizable remix ( Tranquil Pipes Teahouse ) can be heard in a teahouse in Paper Mario: The Origami King, where a greatly slowed down version von Blatterwald ensures a relaxed atmosphere:
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In Zelda: Breath of the Wild there are some subtle remixes of well-known songs such as from the citadel of time or the house music from Zelda: Ocarina of time. However, one melody is so subtle that nobody seemed to have discovered it months after the release, so that the game's composers had to dissolve the easter egg (see paragraph 10 of our music news at the time). In Breath of the Wild's new Kakariko music track, the original Kakariko melody from Zelda: A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time has been hidden in the form of a chime (which is emphasized more in the following video from minute 3:04 to show the To make sounds recognizable for everyone):
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Speaking of Breath of the Wild, there's also a little secret to the music track Talus (Battle Iwarok). Part of the tune sounds very similar to the Nintendo GameCube jingle - once you hear that connection, you'll be hooked the next time you fight an Iwarok:
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Staying with Nintendo's cube console: The Nintendo GameCube menu music is so slow that hardly anyone recognized a melody. If the speed is increased many times over, one can hear that this is a very specific tune, namely a subtle remix of the Japan-exclusive Famicom Disk System jingle :
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Hidden Songs
Let's move on from the subtle melodies and remixes to songs deliberately hidden in the game world, the players can only be found in certain places. In the Mario Kart 8 (and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe) Water Park, the Merry-Go-Round melody familiar from Super Mario 64 can be heard if you drive to the underwater carousels and stop there:
External Content www.youtube.com Content from external sites will not be automatically loaded and displayed without your permission. Show all external content By activating the external content, you agree that personal data will be transmitted to third-party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our data protection declaration. Totaka's song is hidden not only in Mario Kart 8, but also in numerous other well-known Nintendo games (be it Animal Crossing, Zelda, Mario or Smash Bros.). – often in such hard-to-find locations that it takes fans a long time to discover the 19-note melody. Kazumi Totaka, Nintendo's video game composer, is behind these Easter Eggs and always incorporates his melody into the games he has contributed to:
External content www.youtube.com Content from external sites will not be automatically loaded and displayed without your consent. Show all external content By activating the external content, you agree that personal data will be transmitted to third-party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our data protection declaration. There are numerous music secrets in Super Mario Odyssey too – the fact that Mario can jump onto the globe of his airship and melodies can be heard as a result should be known to many by now. What is much less well known is that with the Roentgenolite (as a Moai statue) transformation in Super Mario Odyssey 5, Mario can hum various tunes from other games such as Super Mario Bros., Super Mario World and Super Mario Galaxy if you wait long enough: External Content www.youtube.com Content from external sites will not be automatically loaded and displayed without your permission. Show all external content By activating the external content, you agree that personal data will be transmitted to third-party platforms. We have provided more information on this in our data protection declaration.
Finally, there's a well-kept Easter egg in the game's pause menu, where the Rosalina's Observatory tune from Super Mario Galaxy is hiding hat:
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These are just a few of the many musical mysteries that can be found in Nintendo games, and it's safe to assume that Nintendo will continue to do so in future games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will add some again. Do you know any special Easter Eggs that should not be missing in a potential second special? And which music secret in this special do you like best? Feel free to write your opinion in the comments!
