Nintendocore is a hyperactive fusion genre that weaponizes the bleeps, bloops, and melodic chaos of 8-bit and 16-bit video game soundtracks—particularly from Nintendo consoles—by smashing them into the breakneck intensity of post-hardcore, metalcore, and electronic music. Pioneered in the mid-2000s by bands like HORSE the band, the style thrives on jarring contrasts: saccharine chiptune melodies collide with guttural screams, blast beats, and syncopated breakdowns, creating a sound that's equal parts nostalgic and abrasive. Keytars, Game Boys, and synthesizers mimic the aesthetic of classic game soundtracks, but instead of looping peacefully in the background, they're thrust into mosh-pit-ready arrangements that oscillate between glitchy electronica and full-throated metal aggression.
What distinguishes nintendocore from its neighbors is its unapologetic embrace of kitsch and irony. While post-hardcore and metalcore focus on emotional weight or technical precision, and trancecore leans into euphoric synth buildups, nintendocore revels in absurdity—song titles reference obscure game lore, and compositions often mimic the frantic pacing of side-scrolling platformers. It's less about refinement and more about controlled chaos, where nostalgia is both celebrated and deconstructed through volume and velocity.
This is music for anyone who ever rage-quit a game but loved every second of it—a genre that transforms childhood soundtracks into adrenaline-fueled anthems. If you've ever wanted to headbang to the Super Mario Bros. underworld theme while someone screams over it, nintendocore is your rabbit hole.
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List updated:
| #20 | ByBuckner & Garcia | Released:1982-02 | |||
| #80 | ByAn Albatross | Released:2001-05-13 | |||
| #3 | ByHORSE the band | Released:2003-03-03 | |||
| #83 | By777minus111 | Released:2004-01 | |||
| #28 | ByThe Advantage | Released:2004-04-06 | |||
| #36 | ByDJ Scotch Egg | Released:2005-08-29 | |||
| #5 | ByHORSE the band | Released:2005-09-20 | |||
| #58 | ByBubblegum Octopus | Released:2005-12-20 | |||
| #51 | ByPowerglove | Released:2005 | |||
| #4 | BySky Eats Airplane | Released:2006-01-01 | |||
| #86 | ByKola Kid | Released:2006-01-15 | |||
| #23 | ByThe Advantage | Released:2006-01-24 | |||
| #35 | ByThe Advantage | Released:2006-01-24 | |||
| #25 | ByArsonists Get All the Girls | Released:2006-02-06 | |||
| #22 | ByGtuk | Released:2006-02-25 | nintendocorepost-hardcore | ||
| #92 | ByThe $hit | Released:2006-08-25 | |||
| #13 | ByGO! With Fourteen O | Released:2006-09-28 | |||
| #17 | ByEnter Shikari | Released:2006-10-30 | |||
| #44 | ByCutting Pink With Knives | Released:2006 | |||
| #67 | ByGtuk | Released:2006 | nintendocore | ||
| #60 | ByHanni Kohl | Released:2007-01-01 | |||
| #61 | ByI Shot The Duck Hunt Dog | Released:2007-01-07 | |||
| #6 | ByEnter Shikari | Released:2007-03-04 | |||
| #2 | ByEnter Shikari | Released:2007-03-12 | |||
| #1 | ByEnter Shikari | Released:2007-03-14 | |||
| #41 | ByMadhatter | Released:2007-04 | |||
| #96 | ByGO! With Fourteen O | Released:2007-07-25 | |||
| #40 | Byiamerror | Released:2007-08-09 | |||
| #26 | ByArsonists Get All The Girls | Released:2007-08-14 | |||
| #8 | ByHORSE the band | Released:2007-08-28 | |||
| #42 | ByChaos Con Queso | Released:2007-09-25 | |||
| #84 | ByThe $hit | Released:2007-11-26 | |||
| #71 | ByHelia | Released:2007 | |||
| #97 | ByEnter Shikari | Released:2007 | |||
| #9 | ByHanni Kohl | Released:2008-01-01 | |||
| #10 | Byiamerror | Released:2008-05-03 | |||
| #91 | ByMotionless Battle | Released:2008-07-22 | |||
| #89 | ByEnter Shikari | Released:2008-11-03 | |||
| #57 | ByGO! With Fourteen O | Released:2008-12 | |||
| #27 | ByI Shot The Duck Hunt Dog | Released:2008 | |||
| #7 | ByEnter Shikari | Released:2009-01-01 | |||
| #73 | ByHORSE the band | Released:2009-04 | |||
| #74 | ByDelayed Desire | Released:2009-05-01 | nintendocore | ||
| #59 | ByKarate High School | Released:2009-05-19 | |||
| #34 | ByEnter Shikari | Released:2009-06-15 | |||
| #45 | ByArsonists Get All The Girls | Released:2009-07-14 | |||
| #12 | ByThe Protomen | Released:2009-09-08 | |||
| #14 | ByHORSE the band | Released:2009-10-02 | |||
| #19 | Byiamerror | Released:2009 | |||
| #32 | ByShemales From outta Space of Death | Released:2009 | nintendocore | ||
| #43 | ByShemales From outta Space of Death | Released:2009 | nintendocore | ||
| #53 | ByI Fight Dragons | Released:2009 | |||
| #72 | ByLove Through Cannibalism | Released:2009 | |||
| #65 | Bytake back the roman empire | Released:2009 | |||
| #78 | ByN# | Released:2009 | |||
| #68 | ByStigmata | Released:2010-02-01 | |||
| #81 | ByStigmata | Released:2010-02-01 | |||
| #46 | ByN# | Released:2010-04-28 | |||
| #16 | ByWe Butter the Bread With Butter | Released:2010-05-14 | |||
| #70 | ByAntitainment | Released:2010-07-02 | hardcorenintendocore | ||
| #95 | ByRandom Encounter | Released:2010-09-15 | |||
| #15 | ByMonomate | Released:2010 | |||
| #93 | ByRandom Encounter | Released:2011-02-27 | progressive rocknintendocore | ||
| #18 | ByEnter Shikari | Released:2011-05-19 | |||
| #21 | ByFUCKING WEREWOLF ASSO | Released:2011-07-11 | |||
| #30 | ByI Fight Dragons | Released:2011-10-24 | |||
| #87 | ByI Set My Friends on Fire | Released:2011 | |||
| #63 | ByEnter Shikari | Released:2012 | |||
| #88 | ByHeccra | Released:2013-01-02 | |||
| #54 | ByKubbi | Released:2013-01-18 | |||
| #77 | ByI See Stars | Released:2013-03-28 | |||
| #52 | ByEnter Shikari | Released:2013-04-05 | |||
| #56 | ByI See Stars | Released:2013-05-28 | |||
| #39 | ByKirby's Dream Band | Released:2013-07-26 | |||
| #37 | ByEnter Shikari | Released:2013-11-03 | |||
| #82 | ByError37 | Released:2013-12-23 | |||
| #62 | ByEnter Shikari | Released:2015-01-19 | |||
| #11 | ByKubbi | Released:2015-02-05 | |||
| #64 | ByI See Stars | Released:2015-08-28 | |||
| #38 | Bycasio dad | Released:2015-10-01 | |||
| #90 | ByDanimal Cannon | Released:2016-03-11 | |||
| #94 | ByI Drink My Coffee Alone | Released:2018-01-28 | nintendocore | ||
| #31 | Byшумные и угрожающие выходки | Released:2018-03-11 | nintendocore | ||
| #69 | ByI See Stars | Released:2018-06-06 | |||
| #33 | ByI Set My Friends on Fire | Released:2018-09-06 | |||
| #99 | ByEnter Shikari | Released:2019-02-15 | |||
| #66 | ByElectric Dragon | Released:2019-06-28 | |||
| #29 | ByHeccra | Released:2019 | |||
| #76 | Byiamerror | Released:2020 | |||
| #49 | ByJonathan Young | Released:2021-05-24 | metalnintendocore | ||
| #55 | ByWe Butter the Bread with Butter | Released:2021-12-20 | |||
| #75 | ByGaMetal | Released:2023-02-05 | metalnintendocore | ||
| #47 | Byfallingwithscissors | Released:2024-06-24 | |||
| #24 | ByArsonists Get All The Girls | Released:2024-09-06 | |||
| #48 | By100DEADRABBITS!!! | Released: | nintendocore | ||
| #50 | ByHORSE the band | Released: | |||
| #79 | ByEnter Shikari | Released: | |||
| #98 | ByCookiebreed | Released: | |||
| #85 | ByMy Final HeadShot | Released: | |||
| #100 | Byneoblaze | Released: |