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When playing retro games it's common to admire the music, with a sense among some that chiptunes of the 8- and 16-bit era are a cut above modern soundtracks. There are still spectacular soundtracks in modern gaming, particularly those performed by live bands and orchestras, yet for some retro music can't be topped.

There are real scientific reasons for chiptunes being particularly memorable, however, those classic tracks that we can't get out of our heads. Examples are the iconic main themes within NES and SNES Super Mario games, for example, and it's limitations of technology that help to hard-wire these tracks into our heads. It's a result of old cartridge technology requiring music to be programmed into the game, rather than simply being edited and scripted tracks as they are today.

When in skilful hands, such as those of Koji Kondo, music is integrated with the gameplay and specific audio triggers to blend the track with your gameplay. So, in the classic Mario titles there's a connection between the music and the rhythm of your platforming; this applies to a range of games and franchises, of course.

It's certainly logical, and gives an intriguing insight into the topic of retro music. Check out the video below and let us know what you think.

Thanks to Ryan Millar for the tip.

[source gamesradar.com]