Using the Wind Waker

Nintendo soundtracks include some of the most celebrated pieces of video game music in the long history of the industry. From the ubiquitous theme of the original Super Mario Bros. to the waterworks-inducing tones of Koji Kondo's wholly epic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time score, nostalgia and a rising appreciation for video games as a medium have seen orchestrated renditions of popular tunes come to both studio recordings and live shows.

While it's nice to see the most cherished of blips and bleeps get a symphonic makeover, however, Colin McIsaac of Nintendo Underdogs Reorchestrated is determined to see some of Nintendo's lesser-known "hidden gems" get the limelight.

Inspired by other Nintendo-themed music projects such as Zelda Reorchestrated and the Banjo-Kazooie Symphony, McIsaac began a Kickstarter to fund this tribute to the most underappreciated pieces of Nintendo's music library. NUREO's basic objective is to build an album of 20 lesser-known fan favorite tracks, rearranged and orchestrated using MIDI sounds to imitate live instruments; McIsaac cites WarioWare's "Ashley's Theme," Super Mario RPG's "Beware the Forest Mushrooms," and Mario Kart's "Rainbow Road" as examples of the underdogs he hopes to reinvigorate.

With a humble financial goal of $6,000 and an enticing list of stretch goals — which include live soloists, art accompaniments for each track, and guest arrangements by Symphony of the Goddesses composer Eric Buchholz and Pokemon Reorchestrated mastermind Braxton Burks — this project is yet another awesome way Nintendo fans will get to jam out if it hits its funding goal on 27th April this year.

Will you be pitching in to help Colin McIsaac realize his dream of getting Nintendo's undervalued treasures the attention they deserve? What musical "underdogs" would you be interested in seeing make their orchestral debut through NUREO?

[source kickstarter.com]