Super Mario: 10 Great Songs That Defined The Franchise

4. Super Mario Bros: Underworld Theme

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox2Fjp9oeAI Beauty in its simplicity. Taken at face value the underworld theme from the original Super Mario video game is just a series of descending and ascending notes with no accompaniment whatsoever. But as we learned from the soundtrack to a certain movie about a killer shark sometimes all you need are a few notes to create a specific mood. The key is using the notes in the right arrangement which makes all the difference. The descending manner the notes are used in the Underworld Theme evokes a sense of going under something or somewhere which applies nicely to Mario's case as he is going down a pipe and into the lower recesses of Bowers kingdom. I like how the use of notes on the lower register helps to evoke a sense of dread or foreboding to the proceedings. It makes you thankful, despite the admittedly non-threating forces Mario meets underground, to be nonetheless grateful at finding the pipe out of there and back up into the sunshine.