Paper Mario -- ahhhh, what a lovely game. It's fit with the happy story as Mario saves Princess Peach from the Evil Bowser. This game has the most amazing music I've ever heard. It's so happy, so fun, and everything. Yuka Tujiyoko created the music. Let me give you a little background on the game:
Mario is on his way to a party for Peach. As the party goes on, the castle lifts out of the ground, with Bowser's castle under it. Mario is thrown into 8 chapters of many mini battles, mini-boss battles, and 1 or more major boss battles. Ever chapter, you gain a new partner equipped with many interesting characteristics and many ways to help you. If you don't have a Nintendo 64 (The only platform this game is made on), I'd prefer to get Paper Mario: TTYD for GameCube. This review will be broken up into CDs and chapters. This is difficult to review, because its not regular music done by different people. So cut me some slack. =)
DISC 1
A Plea From the Stars
Songs in the opening: Story of the Stolen Spirits, Main Title, A Party at Peach's Castle, and Mario's Theme. A highlight song in the opening is the Main Title. It's the theme music for the whole game, as it's showing the different obstacles Mario has to battle. Story of the Stolen Spirits is more a cheerful song with most likely keyboards imitating xylophones, turning into dark and evil as it tells you why Mario is on this mission. A Party at Peach's Castle has some nice bass sounding sounds. It has some different transitions during the song, which makes it different. Mario's Theme has the famous tune in it, which is my favorite part about it.
Storming Koopa Bros. Fortress
This is where you have woken up from having been blown out of the window by Bowser. You are in Goomba Village. Songs in Chapter 1: March Ahead, Goomba Village Theme, Battle Fanfare, Hey You!, Gates of Goomba Castle, Goomba King's Decree, Toad Town Theme, Nice to Meet You, A Kingdom in Chaos, Fuzzy's Stole My Shell, Koopa Village Theme, Koopa Bros. Fortress, Bill Blaster! Go Faster!, Koopa Bros. Keep Cool, Trojan Bower, Attack of the Koopa Bros. This chapter and the other chapters have TONS of songs, so this will be lengthy. I like the March Ahead (On the Goomba Trail) and Goomba Village Theme. They are the more cheerful sounds with the nice use of instrument imitation. In the March Ahead, it changes key for a second, which makes it cool and also has a nice imitation of what again sounds like xylophones. I usually skip a lot of songs in this chapter, because a lot of them are boring. Fuzzy's Stole My Shell is another highlight. They have the different percussion noises along with the funny keyboard sounds. In Koopa Village Theme, it's a lighter, calm song. It has the melody in the treble clef and has a nice harmony in the bass clef.
The Mystery of Dry Dry Ruins
Songs in Chapter 2: Toad Town Variations, Mt. Rugged Theme, Dry Dry Desert Trek, Mysterious Dry Dry Outpost, Dry Dry Ruins Quest, Chomp Attack. I love the Toad Town Variations because of the different songs. They have clips from the flower garden, Tayce T.'s place, Toad Town Tunnels, and that little house with Shy Guy's Toybox. They are so happy, and they have different sounds in treble and bass clef on whatever the hell they're using to make this music. Mt. Rugged Theme is a bouncy song, if you ever feel like dancing to it. Dry Dry Desert Trek and Mysterious Dry Dry Outpost are boring, in my opinion. Dry Dry Ruins Quest is interesting with the fast bass clef and the slower, but on tempo treble clef. And then it has a nice transition between fast and slow. Chomp Attack is a fast song, but boring. Next chapter!!
The 'Invincible' Tubba Blubba
Songs in Chapter 3: Forever Forest Theme, Approach to the Mansion, Boo's Mansion Theme, Gusty Gulch Adventure, Tubba Blubba's Castle, The Castle Crumbles, Tubba's Heart, Ghost Gulping. The Forever Forest Theme is very interesting with its instruments used (imitated). It's supposed to have a minor sound, but still sounds happy to me. Approach to the Mansion is a scary song, I don't like it. Boo's Mansion Theme is such a neat song. Done in non-4/4 time, it's more of a waltz than just a regular song. Gusty Gulch Adventure is also a cool song. It's fun to play on guitar and everything. It's a Spanish type theme, which makes it different. Tubba Blubba's Castle through Ghost Gulping are boring songs, and I never care to listen to them.
Trials in the Toy Box
Songs in Chapter 4: Shy Guy Riot, Shy Guy's Toy Box, All Aboard!, General Guy's March, Keeping Pace. Shy Guy Riot is just like the Toad Town theme except faster and in a different key. It's such a transition going from scary music to a world full of color and fun. Shy Guy's Toy Box is the most cheerful song on here. It has the neat treble clef harmony with the bass clef just doin' its own thing. All Aboard! is a cool song, but I normally don't listen to it. General Guy's March is something I never listen to because it's pretty much identical to Keeping Pace. Keeping Pace is a funky song with transitions from battle fanfare to the tropical theme. Don't know why it's tropical, but it is. End of Chapter 4.
DISC 2
Hot Times on Lavalava Island
Songs in Chapter 5: Princess in Distress, Hang in There Peach!, Twink's Theme, Jade Jungle Theme, Welcome to Yoshi's Village, Search for the Fearsome 5, Raphael the Raven, Hot Times in Mt. Lavalava, Escape From Mt. Lavalava, Lava Piranha Attack, Go! Mario! Go!. Let me tell you first that songs Hot Times through Go! Mario! Go! not including Lava Piranha Attack are boring, and I don't listen to them. Princess in Distress is another waltz type song in non-4/4 time. It's the theme for Peach when she's in the castle. Hang In There, Peach! is just like the previous song, but in 4/4. It's the theme for when you take control of the princess during chapter intermissions. Twink's Theme is another joyful song, which is the theme of the star kid, of course, named Twink. Nice use of xylophone action and stuff. Jade Jungle Theme is a cool percussion based song. Some keys in there, but its more the bass and percussion. Welcome to Yoshi's Village is the only song that incorporates more than 4 instruments/sounds. You have the percussion, the bass line, and the treble clef in 3 parts. The real melody doesn't come out until the middle of the song, so you have a while to wait. Fearsome 5 is the exact same thing but much faster, because you are searching for the 5 yoshi kids who have gone missing. It slows down at the end, and then speeds up back to the original tempo.
Dark Days in Flower Fields
Songs in Chapter 6: Clouds Over Flower Fields, Flower Fields Rondo, Lakilester the Great!, Huff N. Puff's Theme, Huffin' and Puffin'. Clouds Over Flower Fields is a happy song, with some off keys to show you that at the time, Flower Fields is not the greatest place to be in. Huff N. Puff took away the sunshine!!! Just some keyboard sounds, nothing special. Flower Fields Rondo is when the clouds have gone and the sun is back. It's much happier and includes different sounds of keyboard. It's not your average happy sound, but it really puts you in a good mood. At least it does for me. I don't listen to Lakilester the Great!. Huff N' Puff's Theme is one of those 'tough' kinda songs. You'd know what I meant if you heard it. Huffin' and Puffin' is such a cool song. You have drums in the beginning, doing a nice line, followed by keyboards imitating something I don't know. Then you have almost a windpipe kind of noise. Like your blowing into a bottle and you hear that noise. It's cool.
A Star Spirit on Ice
My favorite chapter!! Songs in Chapter 7: Cold Reception in Shiver City, Detective Mario, Snow Road, Starborn Valley Trail, Over Shiver Mountain, Crystal Palace Crawl, Freeze!. I am in love with all of these songs especially CRYSTAL PALACE CRAWL. But I'll start at the first song. The Shiver City song has the jingle bell type of theme. You have the xylophones under the keyboards making it sounds like some other kind of xylophone or whatever. Detective Mario is the mysterious kind of song. It really sounds mysterious. In a minor key, still sounding happy, you have the regular old keyboard noises. It's still entertaining and sounds so cool. Snow Road, at the beginning has percussion and keyboard made sounds (DJ/Percussion sounds). It then goes into almost a chime sound. It's a beautiful song. Starborn Valley Trail is something I don't always care to listen to so I'll skip it. Over Shiver Mountain has a nice intro with percussion and xylophones. It's snowy, what else do you expect? Crystal Palace Crawl is certainly my favorite. You have xylophones followed by chime noises and then the wind noises. It's in a minor key, but it's the most beautiful song I've ever heard. Freeze! is a major song, and it's during the boss battle. It has the keyboard sound and some windy noises. End of Chapter 7.
A Star-Powered Showdown!
Songs in Chapter 8 and Ending: Shooting Star Summit, Star Way, Sanctuary!, Siege on Bowser's Castle, Angry Bowser, Bowser's Rage, Wish of the Princess, King of the Koopa's, Beware! Bowser's Castle!, Star Spirits' Request, Goodbye, Twink!, Princess Peach Saved!, Victory Parade, The Celebration Continues, Mario and Peach's Theme. Shooting Star Summit has that chimy and snowy feel to it, though it doesn't sound like it very much. It's sort of majestic-like, since, y'know, it's the stars you're looking at. Star Way has a major sound, and a beautiful sound. In the bass, it almost has a violin sounding sound in it. On top of that, you have that snowy sort of feel again. It's really the kind of music you'd think of when you see snow or something. Sanctuary! is very much like Star Spirits' Request except for it's more upbeat and adds more instruments. I don't like it as much as Request, but it's still a pretty song. Well, you go from a beautiful song to the worst possible song ever! You're in Bowser's Castle! Oh, no! Siege on Bowser's Castle is a very creepy song, of course in a minor key. You have the maddening noises of percussion with some almost electric noises. It's a very weird song, but it gives you the idea of how bad Bowser really is. Angry Bowser is the song where you talk to him, and fight him. You have that really cool bass line under all the evil melody. More electric noises sets up this song to be very evil. The melody is pretty simple, but it makes the song sound cool with all the minor harmony. Not really harmony, harmony is such a good word, but Bowser is so bad. Bowser's Rage is the music for the second fight with him. You start with organ sounds. Then into what seems like a tornado of fury. You have the minor melody of keyboards on top of the bass harmony. It's much like the other Bowser songs, because, psh, it's Bowser. They all have to be evil. Wish of the Princess is a nice break from all the evilness. This is where Princess Peach wishes for Mario to beat Bowser and gives him more power to use against the Star Beam. It's more wind-ish, almost violin noises. King of the Koopa's is still in the second fight, but after the break with Peach and Twink. It's still a minor sound in the beginning, but not as bad. When you break into the real melody, it's still that electric feeling, but worse than ever before! It's as minor as it can be, and it sounds as horrific as Bowser is! And of course, you have to have this scary music. It's not unusual for Mario to die in this fight. I've beat Bowser about 4 times. YESS...K. Beware! Bowser's Castle! is kind of boring. It only shows you that Bowser's castle is toast, for it's about to hit the ground. Star Spirits' Request is another beautiful song, with that chime feeling in the melody. There's almost an echo feeling in the bass keyboard. You also have the windpipe noise in the song. It really is beautiful. Goodbye, Twink! is so sad! You see Twink for the last time! It's major with some minor notes, 'cause, y'know, you're leaving him until next time (next time you delete a game and play again). You have your chimes, your violin sound, and your wind noise. It's almost like snow falling, it's that kind of feeling. Princess Peach Saved! is really nothing special. Victory Parade and The Celebration Continues is just a redone song with music from all chapters. So I really don't have to explain that song. It's about 7 minutes in length, so it'd be hard to explain it anyways. Mario and Peach's Theme is the most beautiful song on this album and in this game, in my opinion. You have the xylophone feel in the bass, doing those slides giving you a feeling of a song you'd listen to if you were a baby. In the melody, you just have a regular keyboard creating a beautiful sound. It also adds one more harmony. Which makes it sound better. Then it has a transition and goes on into a new key. It's still pretty much the same, but more minor. It's still beautiful, and then it's the end of the song, and the end of the cd.
Both CDs have 79 songs, clocking out at about 2 hours and 40 minutes. I have listened to this whole CD in full, so, yes, I have sat here at this damn computer for 3 hours. It's about 200 megabytes, not too bad.
I have no idea where to buy it in stores, so, IM me at cant6fly6in6here or MSN me at chillbee@cfl.rr.com if you want it from me or if you want me to give you the website where I got it. I would totally recommend this CD to anyone. It has the most beautiful sounds than anything else. I give it a 5 out of 5. Some people really have talent, at least in my opinion. Paper Mario will always be my favorite game to play, mostly because of the music. I am glad to have done a review on this CD, because people need to hear it!
Sorry about the length, and if this doesn't really explain much. Hey, it's hard to explain music like this. I tried my best. Have fun listening!!
