Mario & Friends
The most recent 2D platformer starring a famed plumber that filled many players with a sense of whimsy and delight followed by a song from a Britpop group named after a desert respite. I think just maaaybe, you're gonna be the ones to guess it...
Super Mario Bros. Wonderwall
One of the best launch titles, if not the best, for the GameCube and a 1964 song about a girl falling for a member of a motorcycle gang who then meets a tragic end after she dumps him because of peer pressure.
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader of the Pack
An enhanced version of the two original titles in the franchise in which your rival starts with an Eevee, and a Beatles song (and album and movie).
Pokemon Yellow Submarine
Perhaps the best brawler on the SNES (and featuring four half-shell heroes) and a Cyndi Lauper staple. Perhaps if you look you will find it…
TMNT IV: Turtles in Time After Time
A launch title and a game of the generation that redefined open world games paired with a Tone Loc song about, well, you know…
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Thing
This driving game is the second-best-selling title in its franchise and the second-best-selling title on the console it released on, and the song sold 8 million units in the U.S. while also helping raise over $80 million for humanitarian causes.
Mario Kart Wii/We are the World
This action RPG’s sequences were done by Studio Ghibli, and this song with some nonsensical lyrics from 1958 was performed by Ross Bagdasarian, the creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Oo-ee-oo-ah-ah, ting-tang, walla-walla, bing-bang!
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Doctor
This 5th-gen release in the Unova region with a “Weird Al” parody of a Chamillionaire song that rings true for many of our listeners.
Pokemon White and Nerdy
Matt Groening’s creations meet Grand Theft Auto and a 1985 Kate Bush song that found a new audience after being featured in Stranger Things.
The Simpsons: Hit and Running Up That Hill
A game in a long-running Square series that departed from the more futuristic settings of its recent predecessors and a Dolly Parton classic written for a film she starred in about the daily work grind.
Final Fantasy IX/9 to 5
This primate-centric game released on the WiiU in 2014 and again on the Switch in 2018 combined with a song whose music video mimics a photoshoot, but not of a Centerfold.
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze Frame
A blue orb with eyes must solve puzzles to rescue his girlfriend and a song by The Kinks in which a “woman”’s name is spelled out again and again.
The Adventures of LoLola
A DS remake of a GameBoy Color game that takes place in the Johto and Kanto region, and a Kanye West song (featuring Jaime Foxx) about a woman who is only after one thing.
Pokemon Heart Gold Digger
A Tecmo game from 1986 where an explosively named character must make his way through a pyramid to defeat Belzebut and rescue the royal Pamera family, and a song whose lyrics include “Suckin’ on a chili dog outside the Tastee Freeze.”
Mighty Bomb Jack and Diane
A horribly named virtual pet video game for the Dreamcast and a popular Shania Twain song about feminine identity with a music video that parodied those of Robert Palmer.
SeaMan! I Feel Like a Woman!
A long-running franchise that resulted in controller dust paired with a one-hit wonder from a cop from Beverly Hills.
Mario Party all the Time
This stealthy BK classic combined with a song by Roger Miller, a man of means by no means.
Sneak King of the Road
One of the first installments in the 3rd-gen (and the first games co-published by the Pokemon Company) which features Groudon, and a Rolling Stones song that was the inspiration for a chain of restaurants specializing in American cuisine and a salad bar.
Pokemon Ruby Tuesday
Mack and Mick must retrieve stolen goods from the Hamburglar while Kim Wilde sings about who we were in the ‘80s. Well, most of us anyway…
M.C. Kids in America
This game is the unnumbered fifth entry in a series about vehicular combat and a one-hit wonder from Ram Jam that was featured in the level “Castle Rock” in Rayman Legends.
Twisted Metal: Black Betty
The first game in the series featuring an iconic pink hero that was named after the lawyer who helped defend Nintendo against Universal Studios and a song by (not Sega) Genesis whose music video featured puppets crafted by the creators of the show Spitting Image.
Kirby's Dream Land of Confusion
A rhythm-based game where a canine spits fresh rhymes and a song by the Sugarhill Gang famously performed by “Rosie” as an anniversary surprise in The Wedding Singer.
PaRappa the Rapper's Delight
This mobile version used AR to help you catch ‘em all paired with a Fleetwood Mac song that mirrored the strain on the working relationships of the members of the band, particularly after a breakup between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.
Pokemon Go Your Own Way
A 2016 game from Remedy Entertainment meant to be a sequel to Alan Wake and a 1983 song by Matthew Wilder. What does it mean? She said...
Quantum Break My Stride
A game with very similar mechanics to the second Mana game in which a boy and his shapeshifting dog traverse multiple historical periods and an Extreme love ballad about showing love in ways other than simply saying “I love you” that hit #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Secret of EverMore Than Words