If Nintendo’s sound engineers had had the same capabilities in 1985 that AAA-level games have today, Super Mario Bros. might have sounded a bit like this.
It’s been over 25 years now since the 1985 release of the seminal Super Mario Bros., and it’s safe to say that videogame technology has come quite a long way in those two-and-a-half decades. Graphics, control schemes, and sound technology are at levels now that videogame makers couldn’t have even dreamed of in the early 80s.
Now, when your character sprints across an iron bridge in a warzone, you hear the ricochets of bullets against the structure, you hear your footsteps echoing against metal, and you hear your character grunt and gasp for breath as he slides into cover to regenerate health. Realistic sound goes a long way into making a videogame immersive.
As seen here, though, that really kind of depends on the videogame. One YouTube artist decided to remix the famous World 1-1 with modern “realistic” sound effects to accompany Mario’s actions.
You know what? I think I’m going to stick with the old version, thanks.
(@louiebaur on Twitter)
