The Super Mario Happy Fun Hour
The Super Mario Happy Fun Hour is a one-hour program hosted by Katherine Chi (Knox '07) on Knox College's radio station (90.7 FM WVKC). The show features music only from older video games published on the Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, and other machines made prior to 1995.
Contents
Music of the Show
The Super Mario Happy Fun Hour acquired most of its music from websites such as VGMusic.com and OverClocked ReMix. Because the show intended originally to play music that most people found displeasing, all airings featured either simplistic MIDI files or abrasive techno remixes of video game melodies. The show's track list was primarily created based on Chi's own experience with video games, although requests were taken during each show from listeners' favorite childhood games.
Video games featured frequently on the show:
- Super Mario Brothers (and its incarnations)
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Golden Axe
- Altered Beast
- Bubble Bobble
- Tetris
- Street Fighter II
- Megaman
- Castlevania
- Contra
- Earthbound
Occasionally music would be played from games published on Playstation or other gaming systems, but only by user request. Songs were most commonly requested from The Legend of Zelda video game series.
History
Origin of the Name
The name of the Super Mario Happy Fun Hour is based off of the Engrish frequently printed on Japanese t-shirts, magazines, and other products. These items feature English adjectives in bizarre combinations intended to heighten excitement.
First Airing
The first airing of The Super Mario Happy Fun Hour took place during Winter Term 2006. During its initial airing, the show featured music exclusively from Super Mario Brothers. Because the sountrack of the game was limited to roughly 10 songs varying in length from 5 seconds to 3 minutes, Katherine added remixes of the Super Mario Brothers theme song as well. Eventually the show expanded to include music from other Mario Brothers games, such as Super Mario Kart, Super Mario World, and the second and third sequels on the NES. By the fourth airing, broadcasted music from a variety of games published on primitive game consoles, like Altered Beast, Sonic the Hedgehog, Tetris and Megaman.
Show of Fall Term 2006
During Fall Term 2007, the show ran for 2 hours every Saturday morning. The first half of the show would be comprised of songs from various video games. However, the second hour became a "theme show" that featured music solely from one video game or a video game series. The games featured as theme shows included:
- Megaman
- Castlevania
- Final Fantasy
- Chrono Trigger
Show of Spring Term 2007
Spring Term 2007 was the first and only season in which The Super Mario Happy Fun Hour played at a time other than Saturday morning. At its Monday night time slot, it received a much broader audience, including cooks from Galesburg restaurants, high school students, and the usual Knox College crowd. Most requests came from callers outside the Galesburg area.
