Many elements of video games help separate the good from the great and the great from the legendary. When it comes to Mario and his various titles, there are multiple parts that stick out to fans more times than not, and one of them has to do with the franchise’s music. From the legendary main theme, to “Jump Up, Superstar” and everything in between the franchise is stacked with many memorable music tracks. So, when Mario & Luigi Brothership was being made, the teams at Nintendo and Acquire had to make sure the music fit perfectly.
In a chat with Famitsu, director Haruyuki Ohashi and producer Akira Otani talked about bringing in Hideki Sakamoto to help make the soundtrack stand out. Ironically, initially, they had some problems on that front, for when they showed it off to Shigeru Miyamoto, he noted that the “Mario-ness” of the beats were off, and that it was too “ordinary.” So, Otani made some suggestions:
“For this game, I suggested basing it on the image of Mario and Luigi in action. I requested that the music had a greater sense of liveliness and included more brass and percussion. Then I left it to them, and they made music that truly had that ‘Mario-ness’.”
As for Ohashi, the game’s setting helped guide the music team on what to do next:
“Since this time the game takes place journeying around a large ocean, the first direction was to make music that created a grand atmosphere. We also wanted to display the depth of the adventure by making some relaxed music too. But received feedback that it wasn’t very Mario-like, so we added more brass and under Sakamoto’s direction settled on which instruments to use. By settling on using South American instruments, all the tunes became brighter. And with our direction adjusted, things continued smoothly from there.”
To read our review of Mario & Luigi Brothership, click here!
