Nintendo has released a selection of Donkey Kong Bananza tracks on its Nintendo Music app. This, quite predictably, players claim is far too little. Earlier today, the whole mail went out announcing that the app now allows you to stream some “select” tracks from this young hit title of recent times, this is not open to everyone and to access this service, you shall need an active Nintendo Switch Online subscription.
What exactly is this Nintendo Music? Kind of cool, but in a sort of weird way. It allows you to hear authentic Nintendo game soundtracks. But one must be a Nintendo Switch Online subscriber to have the privilege of using it, and that seems to be some sticking point. Like, can’t we just buy the tracks or Spotify them one by one alongside any other music? Just more Nintendoology, I guess.
Nintendo America’s announcement tweet virtually cracked under a flood of comments, not all positive. One person outright asked, “select? why not the whole thing?” and that’s honestly a valid question. Another pointed out the fact that only nine tracks were available and barely enough to represent the soundtrack of an entire game. Come on Nintendo; we know there are other massive jams in this game.
But really, it ain’t just about the Bananza music; in fact, the players are using this bait to demand other soundtracks too. Several of the commenters are begging for Mario Kart World music next. “A switch 2 game on the music app. We are so close now to getting mario kart world there!,” claimed one user. That was some big-brain commentary if I might say.
International fans are beginning to meet frustrations. One guy expressed himself in Spanish questioning why soundtracks aren’t released at launch, saying they’ve grown past listening to “zebra zebra” 24/7. One Frenchman outright asked, “Je veux juste la toune du zèbre!” which means “I just want the zebra song!” So apparently, there is one zebra track everybody is obsessed about?
There’s the whole subscription thing to take into account also. One user said you need to have an active NSO subscription, so it isn’t really free. Another said he’d rather listen on YouTube instead for free, tagged #DoBetterNintendo and #StopTheGreed. I mean, $20 a year just to access music from games you already purchased, really?
Some of the replies have turned downright chaotic. Someone demanded Nintendo add trophies or achievements to Switch 2, completely unrelated to music. Another was just screaming “GIVE ME GANGPLANK GALLEON OOOH RAHHHHHH” while slathering the post with fire emojis. Honestly, I feel that. Then, another asked for “snake banana pleeeeeeease,” which I don’t even know what that means, but it sure sounds cool.
One of the strangest parts is figuring out how Nintendo chooses which games get the music update, and when. Like, why Bananza now? The game’s been out for a while. One user theorized that Nintendo doesn’t want to do Switch 2 stuff directly yet since it just came out, and that we shouldn’t expect anything substantial for a while. Another person just gave up entirely, saying “I stopped trying to figure why Nintendo does anything years ago,” which honestly same.
It is nice that they keep adding music on the app, but at the end of the day, players want more. The whole select tracks thing is just teasing when everyone wants a full soundtrack. Did I mention there is a subscription to wrangle with? But hey, finally got some Bananza official bangers to listen to. Nine tracks? Nothing between us. Give me some Mario Kart World music next? One can hope.
So, to anyone who has Nintendo Switch Online, head to the Nintendo Music app to check out these tracks. Just don’t expect to find the full soundtrack or music from other games just yet. Nintendo moves at their own pace, and that pace is… well, it’s something alright. Still, it’s progress, and any new official game music is better than none I suppose. Even if it’s just nine tracks out of what’s probably a much larger soundtrack.
