Paul McCartney Is a Big Fan of Super Mario Bros. and Composer Koji Kondo

28.02.2024 - 15:34 / gamerant.com / Koji Kondo / Romeo Moran / Nintendo

Legendary music composer Koji Kondo, best known for creating the classic Super Mario Bros. theme, recently shared a fun little story about how another icon, former Beatle Paul McCartney, acknowledged him and his most popular work. His timeless Super Mario Bros. song is so famous that it earned Kondo a major industry award in what is said to be the gaming equivalent of the Oscars.

Super Mario Bros. turns 40 next year, celebrating four decades of highly acclaimed games and a sprawling universe that's created many classic characters and elements. The Super Mario Bros. theme isn't the only famous piece of video game music that Kondo has composed, as he's also created many songs for other Nintendo franchises, but it is the one that will likely be most associated with him.

In a recent interview with The Washington Post, Kondo recounts the story of how he and fellow Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto were attending a Paul McCartney concert in Japan a year after Super Mario Bros. launched for the Famicom. He says that the Beatle learned that they were in the crowd and asked to meet them backstage. When they met, McCartney and his then-wife, the late Linda McCartney, sang the unmistakable opening passage of the Super Mario theme to them. Kondo described it as quite the «incredible moment» for a well-known figure like McCartney to be a fan of his work.

If the classictheme feels like it's perfect for the way the game is played, that's because Kondo specifically matched it to the Super Mario experience. His initial composition was gentle and relaxing, which didn't line up with the gameplay—with all the jumping and running around, it was more 8-bit adrenaline rush than light stress reliever. After scrapping a different second draft, Kondo went back to the original idea and sped it up once he got a feel for the game, and the classic piece was born.

For younger gamers who might want to have that experience from nearly 40 years ago, the original Super Mario Bros. is available via Nintendo Switch Online. Though it has some modern additions, it's still true to the gameplay of the time with its classic challenges and arcade-style design. It remains a game that anyone can pick up and play, but takes hours of effort to master.

Meanwhile, the franchise is still going pretty strong, with a slate of Super Mario Bros. games set for release this year. The pipeline includes Luigi's Mansion 2, a remake of Mario vs. Donkey Kong from the Game Boy Advance era, and Princess Peach: Showtime!, the character's first-ever solo title. While the newer games have explored different genres, the classic side-scrolling Mario gameplay still resonates with people everywhere, proving that the style continues to be a winning formula.