Nintendocore

Definitions

An aggressive genre of modern rock music influenced by chiptunes (“music that samples or emulates the audio capabilities of older sound chips”) and video game music.

uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“Did you ever wonder⟳ what it would be like⟳ to mix⟳ the theme song from the original Mario Bros. games with chugging guitars and the vocal stylings of someone who wasn't hugged enough as a child? You're not alone. In fact, there's an entire genre of music devoted to this sound⟳ – it's called nintendocore. Growing out of metalcore – a fusion of heavy metal and punk – nintendocore derives its distinctive sound⟳ from the use⟳ of synths reminiscent of mid-eighties video games.”

“In the ever-changing landscape of music, that's given way to such genres as emo, screamo, nu metal and Nintendocore, one question⟳ remains! Does anyone play⟳ rock music anymore?”

“At the time of writing, Spotify currently lists over 4,000 online categories and sub-categories of music ranging from Nintendocore – a genre delineated solely by the overlay of bludgeoning, bowel-stewing grunge riffs on old-school videogame soundtracks – to Pornogrind, a maximum security subgenre of Grindcore (a convulsing fusion of rawboned, buzz-sawing death metal and tightly coiled hardcore punk).”

“In the US, a well-known Brooklyn music venue hosted a Minecraft concert featuring much loved bands[…]. The sprawling nightclub was painstakingly recreated and featured performances from the popular emo act American Football, "Nintendocore" videogame musicians Anamanaguchi and electronic artist Baths[…].”

CEFR level