Episode 137 – The Music of the Nintendo 64

!https://xvgmradio.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Ep137.png The Nintendo 64 was released in 1996 in Japan and North America. September 29th, 1996 to be exact; 30 years old as of this recording! Though it wasn’t as big of a financial success for Nintendo as their two previous consoles, it was still an extremely important console. Often considered home to the birth of 3D games (it wasn’t, for the record,) Nintendo garnered much interest from developers who were willing to experiment with their console which felt like it was bucking the technology trend by sticking with cartridges and avoiding redbook audio. Regarding the music, there is no dedicated sound chip. Instead, sound is processed by the CPU, which meant songs had to be compressed immensely to fit. The console used ADPCM samples heavily, with reverb being used frequently to hide the compression in tracks. With all that said, there are some absolute bangers in the N64 library, for both games AND music. Today on XVGM Radio, Mike and Niko wax nostalgic about this mid-to-late 90s console that captured the hearts of so many gamers. Though its library was much smaller than its main competition, it still managed to pull off an incredible run that is worth exploring by gamers in celebration of its 30th anniversary! We’d love to hear what you thought about these games and the tracks we’ve picked! Do you have any memories of the Nintendo 64? Shoot us an email at [XVGMRadio@gmail.com](mailto:XVGMRadio@gmail.com) or join in on the discussion at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/XVGMradio Also, we have a Discord Channel! Join us and chat about the show, share a random or obscure VGM song you love, or just chit chat with Mike and Justin about tacos! Join for free here: https://discord.gg/zWxDYfn As always, thanks to all of our wonderful Patrons: Scott McElhone, Ryan McPherson, Cam Werme, Rayjkayj, Reptile, Chris Murray, Claire Myers, Brad Austin, Nick Davis, Red Hua, & Kitty Sparks. Become a Patron, get cool rewards, and more at http://www.Patreon.com/XVGMRadio Check out all episodes of XVGM Radio on www.youtube.com/dongled for another more visual format! Our Instagram, and BlueSky are great ways to interact with us! Find us on there under our handle @XVGMRadio If you’re an Apple Podcasts listener, please consider leaving a rating and a review to let us know how we’re doing! It also helps with getting the show to show up when others are searching for VGM! **TRACK LISTING:** Intro – Super Mario 64 (N64, 1996) “Main Theme” Koji Kondo 1 – Hybrid Heaven (N64 – 1999) “The Experiment (Dr. Bross’ Blue Rex Chase)” Nobuyuki Akena, Yusuke Kato, Satoru Okubo, Hideto Inoue 2 – Robotron 64 (1998) “Humanoid” Aubrey Hodges, Orpheus Hanley & Danny Lewis 3 – Rocket: Robot on Wheels (N64 – 1999) “In a Fixed Machine” Julian Soule 4 – Multi-Racing Championship (1997) “Mountain” Jun Enoki & Tomoo Yamaguchi 5 – Jet Force Gemini (N64 – 1999) “Something With A Beat” Graeme Norgate, Robin Beanland, Alister Lindsey 6 – Tetrisphere (1997) “Flim Flam” Neil Voss 7 – Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64 – 1998) “Windmill Hut (Song of Storms)” Koji Kondo 8 – Mario Artist: Talent Studio (2000) “So Kawaii! (Talent BGM 1)” Kazumi Totaka, Kenta Nagata & Toru Minegishi 9 – Sin & Punishment (N64 – 2000) “Risk One’s Neck” Toshiya Yamanaka 10 – Pilotwings 64 (1996) “Birdman” Dan Hess