How much of Super Mario Galaxy’s 2 soundtrack was recorded with the orchestra?
Tell us about your experience working with this group this time around. OSV: The “Mario Galaxy Orchestra” was credited for the performances for the first game. With customers’ positive reaction to the piece, from the beginning of development we were planning to utilize “Gusty Garden.” For the theme piece, which appears in the first scenario of Sky Station Galaxy, we were focusing on the unique action of the title where Mario flies in space more actively than before. I personally have strong feelings about the “Gusty Garden” piece, as I had been totally hanging up for the piece during the development. For this title we intentionally adopted more merry and carefree pieces of course the epic atmosphere to travel throughout the galaxy was, without any change. Yokota: I believe many pieces for the previous title reflected a serious and cosmic atmosphere. Why was this, and what do you view the “theme” for Super Mario Galaxy 2 to be? OSV: Yokota-san, you were responsible for the majority of the composition for Super Mario Galaxy, so what did you do this time to keep things fresh? The “Gusty Garden” piece that you created for the original game has become somewhat of a theme for the Super Mario Galaxy series, but it wasn’t featured very prominently in the game. I was also responsible for world maps, demo plays etc. Nagamatsu: I was responsible for the pieces for Melty Monster Galaxy, Fleet Glide Galaxy, Puzzle Plank Galaxy, Slimy Spring Galaxy, and the final battle against Bowser. What was his role on the project, and what areas in particular was he responsible for? OSV: We noticed in the game’s credits that Ryo Nagamatsu was also involved with the music. I was responsible for Yoshi Star Galaxy, three pieces for Planet Mario, and Bowser Jr.’s Fiery Flotilla. Kondo: This time I took part in overall musical supervision and in composition. What was your role this time around, and what pieces in the game were you responsible for? OSV: Kondo-san, we know that for Super Mario Galaxy, you handled 4 pieces, including “Egg Planet” and the comet observatory pieces. Two visual features – symbolic blue skies and Yoshi as a new playable character – hugely factored into our musical decisions. Yokota: One of the largest differences is the adoption of big band style using saxophones and drums, along with traditional orchestral instruments. Did you approach this game any differently than you did the first, and what are some of the defining features of Super Mario Galaxy 2 that factored into your musical decisions? We know you’re likely busy working on your next projects, so thank you for taking the time to speak with us about your work on Super Mario Galaxy 2.Let’s start by talking about your approach to Super Mario Galaxy 2. We also talk about some of our favorite tracks from the game, including “Yoster” and “Square Timber.” We discuss the influence of Yoshi on the game’s score, each composer’s respective contributions, the retooling of music from the original Super Mario Galaxy, and the return of “Gusty Garden” as an anthem for the series. We’ve been very fortunate to sneak some of Mahito Yokota, Koji Kondo, and Ryo Nagamatsu’s time away from their new projects to talk about their work on Super Mario Galaxy 2, which is surely one of the best soundtracks of the year. Yes, I know it took us awhile, but I’m really excited to let you all know that we have a follow-up to that Blast From The Past interview we published some time ago covering the original Super Mario Galaxy.