The song also utilizes some very musical techniques in order to come together. Each individual instrument has a role to play in the band and the song would be worse without even a single member. This type of jazz theme is simply unheard of in other modern video game soundtracks. In the background, it is very easy to hear the baritone saxophone leading into each and every new musical phrase. The trombones come in after about seven to eight seconds and play their line very strongly as well. Right in the intro the saxophones begin complementing each other with a harmonized line meanwhile, the trumpets are finishing off the lines. By incorporating this, composer Koji Kondo is breaking down the fourth wall by specifically and purposely drawing attention to the music and contentiously notifying the player that this music is worth listening to.Ĭontinue listening through the first fifteen seconds of the track and pay attention to how every single instrument in the track makes itself noticeable. This is such a unique feature of a game soundtrack! Not ever have I heard a drummer count off the band, indicating right away that Nintendo is going for a much more of a genuine musical feel. The drummer is the one who counts off the jazz band as opposed to the conductor in an orchestra. Right off the bat, you can hear the drummer doing a count off with his drumsticks. Just listen to the track above and think about it! As a result, it becomes easier to make out each contribution in the band. In a jazz band, however, each individual player has a certain and very specific role. This places less emphasis on the members and emphasizes instead on the full sections. Why is this contrast important? In an orchestra, many players work together with their section to make a larger, all-encompassing sound. Compare this to the usual size of an orchestra, which can range from 50 to 100 members, and it becomes quite easy to see that 3D World‘s soundtrack is played by quite the small crew. \”Big band\” is just a relative term for jazz, though, meaning that the band is maybe only 15-20 members in size.
The first thing you should notice is that, in contrast to the full orchestra that many games have used to record music recently, 3D World utilizes a big band to record its music. For this article, I would like to look at one song in particular that truly defines the direction of the whole game. More importantly, whereas other soundtracks just may fit well with the subject matter, this one takes risks, venturing deep into the realm of the jazz genre and introducing several very genuinely musical elements nary seen in games.
It is not just a cool set of songs to listen to it is a defining characteristic of the game. The game has excellent level design, mechanics, multiplayer, and graphics, but the one thing that I feel has been criminally overlooked is the game’s excellent soundtrack. Many people considered Super Mario 3D World to be one of the best games of 2013, if not the best game of 2013.