Although I never owned a NES, I still got to play a few times and totally got hooked on the music. But when I played Super Mario All-Star, I realized that the musics from Super Mario Bros. 1 and 3 didn't translate well into the 16-bits era. And until about the year 2000 there was barely any way to find the tracks on the Internet since it was usually limited to MIDI tracks - only the Mario 1 track sounded about right.

But thanks to ever-improving technology, mp2 and mp3 came to be and we could finally listen to the original tracks we so cherished when we were younger. But along with the original tracks came what one might call remixes.

When I was looking for Shining Force II tracks, I got fooled by the Shining Force II Symphonic Suite and thought that this album's Dwarf theme was the original one. That's when I realized that orchestration (real or make-believe) can give amazing results. It's especially obvious with Final Fantasy; since the Final Fantasy VII soundtrack lacked realism, most of the remixes by orchestras and piano (Aerith's theme, JENOVA, the Bombing Mission, One-Winged Angel) sound so much better. Even older, more well-arranged tracks like The Dreadful Fight (Final Fantasy IV) have had nice arrangements.

However, I must say that I'm not too fond on Dark Mage remixes, Except MAYBE for JENOVA, must of them seem to move away from the original theme. Plus, One-Winged Angel sung in Japanese doesn't sound as dramatic.

There are also arrangements from newly adapted videos games for newer consoles. Final Fantasy Origins made Final Fantasy I and II into 16-bits games, both from graphics and music. That latter part was simply astounding, especially for FF I. FF II also had good upgrades, but tracks like Magician Tower sounded better on the NES. Final Fantasy III (the real one) also had excellent arrangements for the DS.

So, generally speaking, do you prefer the original track from the original game or you prefer the "upgraded version" when it exists? What about arrangements with real (or make-believe real) instruments or more electronic remixes like the Black Mage?

I think it depends on the game, personally. 

For instance, I prefer the piano 'remixes' or upgrades, or arrangements, whatever you want to call them, of Final Fantasy VII's soundtrack, as they just sound better to me. However, for Final Fantasy IX, I prefer the original. 

In some cases, I like the remixes and the originals equally, because they sound like two different takes on the same theme, but not the same music. I love some dubstep remixes of Mario music, for instance. They sound fantastic, even though they're not really anywhere close to the originals they were inspired by. It still makes for good videogame music. 

I prefer the orchestral versions of the .hack// instrumental songs, but that's because they become so weirdly haunting that way, and the digital sound doesn't translate well unless you are in-game and see why the digital scratches occur when they do. So for that one, if I'm just listening, orchestra. If I'm playing, the original, because you need context. 

For some reason, I usually seem to prefer the originals over the remixes. For some reason, I've never been a big fan of any of The Black Mages remixes I've heard. Though for other games, I think it depends on who's remixing the songs and what games they come from. Most of the time though I prefer the originals.

Yunimori : I have mixed feelings for Final Fantasy IX. The Treno theme was definitely better in-game than with regular piano, however I did find a (amateur) rendition of Kuja's theme that was better with a real piano because the beat was faster. Also, Vamo Alla Flamenco has had pretty good orchestration.

I mostly like the remixes more than the original songs. That especially applies to video game music.

I'll use your example. I played Super Mario Bros. for the NES on the computer for a long time, and then I found videos of Super Mario All-Star. I loved the Super Mario All-Star music a lot more than the original.

I've heard a lot of original video game songs, and then I played Super Mario 64 hacks with remixes of them. I loved the Super Mario 64 remixes a lot more.

PacmanandMariofan : Pff. Young people these days. No respect for great classics; they would rather have butchered (but modern) versions.

Actually, I respect the classics, but I like the modern versions more for the most part. Almost all of the remixes I've heard are good, and those are the ones I like. I don't like the bad remixes though

I'm deefinitely far from an originalist. Back then music was kind of limited to 8-16 bit instruments, but with modern technology you can breathe new life into songs by adding in actual instruments (though a decent synthesizer works too).