I got Super Mario RPG the day after I got all my wisdom teeth out. While I was sucking my food through a straw, I got a chance to play this rather offbeat child of Square and Nintendo. Everything about it made me smile, and not just because I was on happy painkillers; bright colors, cute characters, and a fabuloso soundtrack combined to make this a game that can only be summed up as happy. And so follows the OST.
The soundtrack to Super Mario RPG was composed, for the most part, by Yoko Shimomura (of Legend of Mana fame). Let me just say right now that, though the tunes range from light and happy (“Hello Happy Kingdom”) to dark and mysterious (“The Dungeon is Full of Monsters”), there’s always that touch of bounciness that you can’t ignore. It just makes you wanna smile and imagine fat Italian plumbers bouncing on turtles, and that’s just fine.
Koji Kondo (Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros.) also provides his wonderful compositions for the soundtrack, and it’s great to hear the familiar theme of “Long Long Ago…” (those who have played the game will know what I’m talking about). Many classic Mario Bros. themes have been redone and arranged nicely to my great joy.
Now, if getting together Shimomura and Kondo wasn’t enough, Square decided to lend the soundtrack some classic Final Fantasy IV pieces, now called “Fight with Culex”, “Victory Over Culex”, and “Conversation with Culex” which everyone will recognize as the Crystal Theme. It’s wonderful nostalgia and if you play the game itself, it’s even better.
This was another of the wonderful CDs I found for $10 at Book Off, and I was not disappointed. I recommend this CD to fans of bouncy, happy music, or those looking for a nostalgia trip with classic Nintendo beats. And of course, it’s got Shimomura. The soundtrack is actually considered a rarity now, as most online stores do not carry it and it ranges from $30-$80 on eBay.
