Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo create orchestral Super Mario Galaxy scores
Updated
Updated · Pitchfork · May 9
Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo create orchestral Super Mario Galaxy scores
5 articles · Updated · Pitchfork · May 9
After Kondo rejected Yokota's first 2007 drafts, Yokota spent three months rethinking Mario's sound and used a 50-plus-player orchestra across Galaxy and its sequel.
The music blended symphonic arrangements with ambient synths to match the games' universe-spanning setting, motion-controlled play and more emotionally expansive tone.
The scores for tracks including Egg Planet, Gusty Garden Galaxy and Sky Station Galaxy helped redefine Mario's musical identity and set a cinematic benchmark for later video-game soundtracks.
How did a single rejection of 'cute' music lead to an orchestral revolution for the entire Mario series?
With critics and fans so divided, what is the secret to Nintendo's cinematic box office success?