Mario Music
Image: Nintendo

We love a good gaming tune. Our Nintendo playlists consist of hours of upbeat tunes from our favourite games, each one capturing the carefree, joyous feeling of the level from which it originates (bar some exceptions, of course — we're looking at you 'Forest Temple'). But what if these tunes weren't quite so upbeat? What if the happy feeling was instead kinda stressful?

That is a question that has been answered by kuribo98 on YouTube, whose Nintendo themes "but in minor" covers have got us reevaluating our relationships with the classic tracks.

Take, for example, the Overworld theme from New Super Mario Bros. That's an upbeat track, right? Well, you flip the key into minor and this frolic through the Mushroom Kingdom begins to sound like the last stages of a spooky battle, where a hoard of zombies is closing in on the castle and only Mario is left to stop them. If you don't believe us, you can see for yourself in the cover below:

How about the Wii Sports theme? This is arguably one of Nintendo's most iconic pieces of music out there, brilliantly encapsulating all that is fun and exciting about playing sports on (you guessed it), your Nintendo Wii. Nothing could spoil that sense of unbridled joy, right?

Wrong! Played in minor, this upbeat track begins to sound like the background music to a boss fight against a vampire. You thought Matt's tennis skills were scary enough? Think again...

There are many more minor covers besides these over on kuiobo98's channel, which we would recommend checking out if you wanted to hear a melancholy twist on musical moments from Nintendo Land, Super Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart Wii and many more.

We'd feel bad finishing on such a spooky note, however, so fortunately the creator has also made some funky twists on Nintendo classics too. Our personal favourite is the swing jazz cover of Ocarina of Time's 'Song of Storms' — the perfect pick-me-up after the minor-key mix-ups.

Be sure to head over to kuribo98's channel on YouTube to find all of their Nintendo covers.

Which cover is your favourite? Let us know in the comments.

[source youtube.com]