The Music Theory of Super Mario RPG's Battle Music

SPOILERS FOR FINAL BOSS INCOMING
The battle themes from Super Mario RPG are great, and all take an interesting approach to rhythm which manages to evoke a perfect middle ground between bouncy Mario fun and epic RPG battles.
0:00 - Intro
0:50 - Fight Against Monsters
2:39 - Fight Against a Somewhat Stronger Monster
6:32 - Fight Against an Armed Boss
8:46 - Fight Against Smithy
10:26 - Fight Against Smithy, Who Likes Transforming
14:05 - Outro
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[@emmbeesea]

Yoko Shimomura's work for the Mario RPGs is some of my favourite VGM ever. A perfect counterpart to Koji Kondo's style and foundation for the series.

[@cube2fox]

Do you know who made the remix for Switch?

[@danw9403]

​@@cube2foxYoko Shimomura was in charge of the remake's soundtrack as well

[@romo_lampkin]

Kinda wild, I was watching a streamer play an Ocarina of Time randomizer, which had custom music. One of the songs sounded like it could be Kingdom Hearts song through and through. So I asked, and it was from a Mario & Luigi game. Lo and behold, who wrote it? Yoko Shimumura. What a hero

[@silask.1966]

@@romo_lampkinwell it‘s a woman soooo….. heroenne? I don’t know how to write that

[@Embyreal]

@@romo_lampkinshe’s also the same woman who gave birth to SF2’s many iconic themes when she first started at Capcom

[@Emilio1985]

Shimomoura is easily one of the finest composers in video games.

[@RonaldPoe]

Agreed. As a KH fan since 2003, Yoko Shimomura is the GOAT. Her battle themes in particular have always been great and featured interesting percussion parts. The way she couples her complex rhythmic layers with comparatively slower and simpler lead melodies (often on violins and piano) never fails to impress. I'm so happy we're finally getting a video from him on her battle themes. Mario and Luigi also had some truly impressive boss themes in its run ...

[@mr.j3rs3y]

ABSOLUTELY! My favorite ost from her has to be when she remade her OST for LIVE-A-LIVE

[@AtomizedSound]

Heard

[@Kingu-Sama]

Not even just one of the best in VGM, one of the best of this era.

[@SMCwasTaken]

Same with Junichi Masuda

[@vaiyt]

One thing i love about the final boss theme: unless you've been overprepared Smithy is likely to make the first attack, and the note delay at the end of the intro syncs pretty well with Sledge landing on Mario and company.

[@genius11433]

Yeah! Funny thing is, that's precisely how I remember it: 🎶 _Bum-ba-dum-bum-bum - _*_BOOM!_*_ -bum-bum-bum-buh-buh-dum-bum-buuuuuum_ 🎶

[@lennalefay]

This is such a good catch!!! Without going into detail and spoiling anything, if you haven’t found out already, the remake supports this theory being intentional 100%!

[@Dayserking]

@@lennalefaythey forced it 😂😂😂

[@Manas-co8wl]

Looks like I've overprepared every time... hard not to though I'll try a quicker run next time and see if this is true

[@Xunkun]

AND THEN THEY MADE IT _PART OF THE CUTSCENE_ IN REMAKE kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJivoGOhhtZjmsk

[@MrGermanpiano]

Much love to Yoko Shimomura for all the great music she made!

[@reev9759]

Final Fantasy 15 soundtrack was so bad.

[@AxeMain]

​@reev9759 what's bad about it? I never even played the game and still like a lot of the songs

[@ethanbagley471]

​@@reev9759what??? Lmao. That soundtrack is incredible

[@DorienTheHeroOfTheArts]

@@reev9759 The soundtrack is incredible, what?

[@reev9759]

@@DorienTheHeroOfTheArts Final Fantasy 15 soundtrack is far more generic than Super Mario RPG's. It's hard for Yoko to take risks, which she hasn't done in quite a while even since Kingdom Hearts. She's been complacent lately with her soundtrack writing.

[@rudeboyspodcast]

Spoiler for those who haven't played the remake: The music is even BETTER. Shimomura went out of her way to expand a bunch of songs with better instrumentation and even some wicked solos. We are truly blessed.

[@gab_v250]

I should say it. Shimomura goated composer

[@Epic_C]

It was interesting on the battle theme of the ever so subtle change of the music for each chain you score between chain 1 and chain 5. Listen closely if you haven't noticed yet. It'll reset if you miss your chain.

[@shelbyherring92]

Only the mixing could have been better for some of the tracks, like the Smithy battle themes feel hollow without the basslines. But still, that's like... three subpar sections in two great songs out of an amazing soundtrack. Literally, the only little nitpick anyone really has about it. Edit: Gab, Shimomura's been GOATed since Street Fighter 2 and Breath of Fire... There's a reason she's one of the Big 3 between herself, Uematsu, and Kondo.

[@yukonexpatriate4017]

Is 'the music is even better' actually a spoiler?

[@TheNuje]

I love that they used the same composer to be able to do it again with expanded capabilities. However, I have one issue with the bass line in the boss battle theme just before it loops. The original and remake version sort of build towards the end of the line, specifically in the bass line. But the remake version, I feel, should have used B for the bass note in the first beat of the final measure instead of the tonic E. It's a tiny nitpick, but it sounds a bit abrupt to me, like it resolves slightly too early. Most of what I've heard though (I have yet to actually play the remake) is brilliant!

[@johntauren]

The Mario RPGs all have banging music. Can't help but think about how the idle poses in the Mario & Luigi series is like them jamming to the battle music.

[@SJT9791]

I think she’s the same composer.

[@sonicbhoc]

​@@SJT9791she is. Also, she's the composer for Kingdom Hearts. You can really hear it in the battle against Dark Bowser in Bowser's Inside Story.

[@johnnymerchant]

Fight Against a Somewhat Stronger Monster is one of my favorite video game tracks of all time, and I had NO idea about the rhythm motifs. Awesome.

[@ShyRanger]

When you pointed out the Cuban/Hispanic rhythm comparisons, it did make me think. The Smithy Gang boss rhythm DOES sound a lot like something out of some popular songs Pitbull or Enrique Iglesias' club dance songs.

[@gab_v250]

MR WORLDWIDE

[@monkey_blu]

This soundtrack is permanently engraved in my heart and it is very dear to me. Hearing people talk about it fills me with so much joy

[@RafaelAAMerlo]

Please, make one more even deeper video about this OST, there are so many aspects to which is so beautiful ❤❤❤

[@BradsGonnaPlay]

Seconded! He could talk about anything Yoko Shimomura and I’d be captivated for hours

[@JustKiddingNYC]

Since it was skipped, I wanted to mention that "Smithy who likes transforming" transitions for a couple measures into a surf music vibe for me. Which I love lol. I think it's the ray of hope in the dissonant and tritoney song of Mario and his friends fighting back.

[@s.lajoie9961]

Yet another gem! I had never realized how much rhythm impacted these songs I thought I was familiar with.

[@solidskullz5736]

Fight against an armed boss has always been my favorite song in the Mario rpg, when I got to the fight against Mack in the remake I was absolutely delighted by the more sinister vibe that the remake gave it

[@drostealth]

The final final boss music, with how it comes off jarringly different from the rest, serves to underscore how truly alien Smithy is. His first form could still easily come from a normal Mario game, his second form is just vastly different. The music just helps to underpin it

[@birchwwolf]

gotta remember this game came out when RPG videogames barely performed in the US and EU. this title was an entryway into the genre for many who thought Final Fantasy was too D&D-nerd-serious and EarthBound too immature (blame the marketing), and Shimomura's score does a lot of heavy lifting to make text menus and power level mgmt feel as fun and novel as the opening cutscene plot twist of a Bigger Threat in the Mushroom Kingdom.

[@Autopilot7535Autopilot]

I was really hoping for "beware the forests mushrooms" but thid is awesome too!

[@Mystik3eb]

Rhythmic motifs are a new concept for me, and I love it! Well noticed, dude!

[@Spladoinkal]

As a drummer, I'm ALWAYS down for some rhythmic analysis!

[@LessAshamed]

GOAT SNES battle themes right here. Also- I highly recommend running these tracks emulated and muting the sound channels one at a time... there's some hidden lofi samples in here that are used MASTERFULLY.

[@GeekMasterGames]

I genuinely hope this isn't the only time you visit SMRPG! I can't wait for the game!

[@calvinlesko8773]

Nice elucidating points as always. Also want to point out that the whole tone melodic figure discussed in the 2nd Smithy theme is the response part of the call-and-response melody from The Road is Full of Dangers. So cool that the main exploration theme and all the battle themes are elaborations of each other.

[@shirayasha]

This was the OST that put Yoko Shimomura on the map

[@BlueAizu_]

Don't forget she helped do Street Fighter II before this game!

[@coastersplus]

As deserved, but I wish Live-A-Live's soundtrack got a bit more recognition after the remake, also a ton of great stuff in both versions.

[@brennanmack563]

This was for me one of, if not the first OST that I paid close attention to in the end credits and looked up her work later. Unfortunate that (iirc) Kondo and Uematsu both got the same billing as her just because some of their music is featured in the game (a VERY small portion of the overall track list).

[@mr.j3rs3y]

@@coastersplusFR LAL’S SOUNDTRACK IS AMAZING

[@sniperczar]

I think the intro line in Smithy's theme comes from the final Bowser boss theme in Super Mario Bros. 3. Love the rhythmic analysis here, it's no surprise that Shimomura also gave us Blanka's theme in Super Street Fighter II!

[@breakingglass27]

The Smithy theme reminds me a bit of Kraftwerk, specifically "Trans Europe Express". The chugging drums and pitch-shifting horns imitate the sounds of trains, while Smithy's has a more industry-influenced feel

[@LanEXHikari]

I clicked for the strong enemy/mini boss's battle music and it was so worthy and cronchy. Excellent video! Thanks for breaking down these absolute jams! 👾✌🏼

[@NoxVGM]

Great video! Rhythm is often overlooked but without a doubt is the driving force and backbone to a good battle theme, and this game's OST examplifies it really well. Pretty excited to hear the new renditions of these themes in the remake

[@RameshKumar-ng3nf]

This channel is GOLD ❤🙏 Learned a lot from this channel over the years 🙏

[@AaronRinggenberg]

Right on time! I knew we could count on 8-bit Music Theory for some SMRPG love when the remake dropped :D I've had an inkling about the similarities between the battle themes for years. Thanks for helping put this feeling into words!

[@kaptenteo]

This game's soundtrack is a masterpiece. The remake's rearrangements are also superb, but I'm really glad you can swap between it and the original on the fly. I know most people know her for the Kingdom Hearts soundtracks, but I will always consider Super Mario RPG and Legend of Mana to be Shimomura's finest works.

[@zacharywong483]

Fantastic video and analysis, as always! Love your rhythmic analysis videos!

[@JohnOethGuitar]

Awesome video! I love how the bouncy rhythms keep the battle themes a bit lighter.

[@goldencheeze]

So glad to see other people commenting about the composer! I grew up on Kingdom Hearts and the Mario RPG series’ of games. Everybody talks about Koji Kondo (and rightfully so, fair enough… his works are awesome too!) But I swear every other month I learn about a new one of my favorite game series which Yoko Shimomura composed for. She is probably half the reason I love the M&L series, and Kingdom Hearts. Another great composer people sleep on is Grant Kirkhope, they’re all inspirations and the reason I want to probably try composition one day. I was listening to M&L Dream Team music just earlier so this gave me so much whiplash when I see this video in my recommended and see people giving her the recognition she deserves for creating so many great memories. Banger video ((as usual from vg music theory youtube channels)) I hope you cover Dream Team one day, the battle theme, boss theme and final battle are some of my favorite pieces in gaming, and I’d love to see a dive into what makes them such ear candy to listen to. The forest and final battle from Paper Jam is also pretty good, and BiS also has a great soundtrack… I’ve thought about trying my hand at videos like in your or Scruffy’s style of analytical content in media, though probably after going to college for music first. (And learning how to edit videos… youtube is hard) By the way, how do you make sheet music and visuals for these pieces? Do you listen with headphones, turn up the volume, and try to pick up all the details and create it in musescore or something? I’m interested in how you edit visuals, I’m sure it’s not easy and probably takes time to produce high quality long form content, since you need to know both video editing software on top of the musical knowledge Always warms my heart to see big views on what I generally thought of as a very niche content overlap between gamers and people interested in music.

[@Ghostblock]

I was hoping you would make this video! Great work as always man.

[@jessekeeble9530]

I've been watching your content for years. I just wanted to thank you for teaching me so much about music theory I'm not even a musician but I've gained so much more experience.

[@tanmanharris4820]

Awesome job on the video! I love watching all the music theory videos you make. I would love seeing a similar video with the boss themes from Paper Mario the Thousand Year Door

[@AtomizedSound]

You could do a whole series of videos on the music of this soundtrack. Love this game and the soundtrack is soo fun

[@squwooshk]

One of my favorite game osts ever

[@Spladoinkal]

So Dorian scale for angry boss music, got it! :P

[@stabngab]

I love your videos, your voice and everything you do. Never stop

[@ILoveThisBlank]

Great video! This has me super excited to replay this game. I'll probably do the original first, but I'm looking forward to the remake, too!

[@bmac4]

Going for a rhythm and bass based approach was smart, Mario historically has a more jazz/latin/groove element to his soundtracks and bass and rhythm are vital to that sort of music. Its arguably the biggest part of what separates Mario RPG music from, say, the classically inspired Dragon Quest music.

[@themotioncodemarc]

Man, this channel is a treasure. Thank you kindly good sir.

[@thegothaunt]

I LOVE this OST. Thanks for the deep dive!!!

[@user-tb5mb2ng9n]

It’s always a good day when you upload

[@noahfeazell3336]

I've never heard someone explain rhythm in such a perfect way. Should be more studied on in music theory.

[@martialpanyvino]

Thanks for your work :)

[@SoundEngraver]

Amazing analysis of my all-time favorite game! Yoko Shimomura had a truly unique voice when it came to rhythm.

[@Rubelplys]

That was one of the best fucking videos I've ever seen, no joke!!! Keep it up!

[@TurboStrawberryKat]

These themes have been stuck in my head for years, and I listen to them all the time! Glad I'm not the only one. I can't wait to hear them in the remake!

[@mimisaiko]

Love you analysis on rhythm!

[@johnrogers9262]

Man, this video is amazing! The soundtrack of this game informed my love for the genre and still does 25 years later. Thanks for making this, I can't wait to play the remake.

[@brianarsuaga5008]

I have been humming these tracks for the last week in anticipation of the remake (which seems to have embellished these tracks quite a bit, judging by the trailer). In fact, I was humming it at the moment that this showed up in my feed, which was a very fun surprise!

[@stepmom6488]

music analysis like this just fascinates me and i kind of can never keep up

[@violet_broregarde]

I never thought of the bassline as the "de facto melody" but it makes sense to hear you say that. To me the melody changes instruments a lot. Organ, then organ/xylophone, then orchestra hits, then bass, then organ to end the song, then back to organ

[@boone99999]

fight against an armed boss seems like it has a motif of the dungeon you fight it in.

[@jordansean18]

Im glad the new soundtrack properly translates "Armed Boss" to "Weapon Boss"... As in, one of Smithy's Weapons

[@evan]

I am so stoked for the remake!! My favourite game of all time and defo one of my top soundtracks

[@appleinatophat1089]

Would love for you to do more Yoko Shimomura videos. The Kingdom Hearts soundtrack never fails to make me cry

[@particalman1016]

This game is my all time favorite from my childhood, it's the reason why I love RPGs, and it's amazing soundtrack is why Yoko Shimomura is near the top of my list of all time favorite videogame composers. Also This was a great breakdown of the music, but there is one motif that connects all of the themes used for Smithy's gang. You Touched on it briefly, "A Fight Against an Armored Boss" Is just a remix of "Here's Some Weapons" but it goes further than that! Take the opening organ notes of the battle theme for Smithy's first form, It's the same note pattern of the last few notes before the loop of the previous two songs, then that same note pattern appears again in the battle theme of Smithy's second form in the form of a bass line near the end of the song before the loop.

[@thomaskurek9943]

I always enjoy your videos! Only missing a video on Hiroki Kikuta‘s music. ;)

[@echud1567]

6:55 Hey man, as a musician i am PROUD of knowing what an ostinato is as a word and so should you 😭

[@natyfop]

Not gonna lie, I had trouble listening to your explanations because I was bopping to the music the whole time. I made an effort though! Great video as always!

[@thespeedyyoshi]

I LOVE the rhythm videos. Yay ^w^ (As a fellow percussionist of course)

[@brennanmack563]

So hyped for the remake!

[@andrewblake3210]

Oh! Just hearing this music again makes me so happy!

[@Manas-co8wl]

Main Palette: 6:32 Habanera Rhythm Auxillary: 1:29 Basic Theory 2:55 Variation 5:29 Sidenote: Building intensity 9:00 #4, b7 6, i - IV7(b9) ["Castlevania" Code]

[@ninjakoriku]

I don’t think most people would list SMRPG as their absolute favorite game soundtrack, compared to epic scores with Chrono Cross & FF7 but it absolutely captures the spirit of Mario music, in that it’s stuck in your head forever and impossible to hate

[@Joshuajin5017]

I enjoy listening to video game music but if you gave me a sheet of music I couldn't read it to save my life but your explanations and reasons have given me a new perspective and more reasons to enjoy the gaming music I do

[@Adventureruler]

I loved the video! Video game music IS my fav genre of music

[@cjt217]

I'm so excited to hear how these tracks are all going to be reimagined TOMORROW!!!!

[@Crimson_aries88]

Great job man love it super Mario RPG is my favorite snes and ost

[@stephencheney9811]

Playing the remake, I'm tempted to add "rhythm" to its hybridized list of genres. No one made the connection at the time because the genre literally didn't exist. This game came out several months before Parappa the Rapper, but look at the mechanism of timed attacks, the Mushroom Derby race, and even timing your dashes in Marrymore to knock down doors. It's so fitting then that a lot of what subconsciously made the game so great was down to its rhythms.

[@Zetaku3]

Love it, how did you isolate the drums from the main music :o

[@8bitMusicTheory]

There's a software called JCOM-SPC that let's you isolate the different channels for SNES music!

[@bemasaberwyn55]

@@8bitMusicTheory did you have that when you made that CT vid years ago?

[@RafaelAAMerlo]

@@bemasaberwyn55 I was thinking about using that to Chrono Trigger as well XD Is there any tutorial out there of how to do it?

[@brennanmack563]

Old SNES emulators (at least ZSNES) let you turn specific sound channels on and off. I learned so much about VGM back in the day once I discovered that.

[@8bitMusicTheory]

@@bemasaberwyn55 Yeah, that's how I made the smash mouth x secret of the forest mashup haha

[@DRjaffy]

I know this is completely unrelated but I really hope one day you cover two planets approach the roche limit from kirby and the forgotten land. I love your content, and that song needs/deserves a musical genius to break it down.

[@RomanTorchic]

Booster Tower’s original theme has been stuck in my head for a while now.

[@Gigas0101]

I might need a rewatch or two in order to get all the details. I tend to start headbanging to Fight Against Smithy. Fight Against Smithy Who Likes Transforming sounds like scary surfer rock to me, what with that rad bass.

[@Flargenyargen]

Masterpiece of a soundtrack. Likely my favorite ever.

[@legionofpie]

If you're in a mood to study cool beats, check out the time signature on the "Factory Theme"

[@gilsinan]

One of the greatest RPG battle themes of all time is Shimomura-san's "Victory in the Dream World" from Mario & Luigi Dream Team, which has the same rhythmic theme and is (I like to think) a direct reference to the original battle theme in Seven Stars. Also, the figure that evokes "Castlevania vibes" from Fight Against Smithy, is, of course, ultimately paraphrasing Bach (the fugue part of the d minor t&f, BWV 565).

[@SMCwasTaken]

Never Let Up is better

[@TheNuje]

Have you ever thought of doing a video about the music mini-game here, and why you can plunk in whatever notes in your custom melody to finish the song and it somehow sounds at least passable? It's a very specific trick of harmony (and the fact that your melody is only half as long as the 3 you find throughout the game, and it ends on a tonic chord in C) but it might be worth looking into for at least a short video.

[@ThrashmIO]

Would @8bitMusicTheory ever consider covering the Battleclash/Metal Combat ost? I know they're not the most well-known games, but goddamn, the tracks are both powerful and highly thematic.

[@TheGreatSammyJack]

Battle against an Armed Boss im just realizing now: The drum beat sounds like a smithing hammer hitting every 4 beats. Im definitely hearing what i want to hear, but it would be really cool if that vibe was intended.

[@nomarnox8840]

I'm genuinely surprised the Culex Theme was not talked about! Great video nonetheless, this game is one of my most favorite gaming experiences I've ever had.

[@maxemus1529]

Im so glad you remember Culex too! That driving bass is awesome, really makes you feel like you're fighting a being frim a different dimension

[@GalaxianSR]

I love this game's soundtrack so much, most, if not all of the songs in the game are bangers

[@TurtwigX]

This is the game that made me such a big Yoko Shimomura fan. One of my fave game scores of all time!!

[@Kyrbi0]

Fantastic analysis & commentary. I knew these songs were good but not *that* good. Can't wait to introduce this to my wife via the remake

[@EmanueleVaccari]

The magic of Shimomura sensei!

[@deathblowringo4168]

For the Switch remake release, I'll rename those: 0:50 Battling Monsters 2:39 Battling Strongish Monsters 6:32 Battling a Weapon Boss 8:46 Battling Smithy 10:26 Battling Smithy's Many Forms

[@Haganeren]

I know those music since so long ago.. It's crazy for me to see them being analyzed like that.

[@georgesms]

The idea of alternating downbeat with off beat is at the heart of the samba/bossa claves. You should check Carlos Sandroni's book, it has been recently translated to english.

[@DouglasZwick]

If you played Tetris 99 last weekend, you had a chance to unlock the SMRPG skin, which uses the first three battle themes for the three phases of gameplay. I really like how they expanded the themes without adding complexity.

[@7thangelad586]

I hoped you would mention the Culex theme just to bring up my favorite SNES game Final Fantasy IV ;)

[@Tyrarl]

Ive always felt the "Battle against an armed boss" theme sounded "circus-y" as a kid. I appreciate your analysis and i felt kind of validated when you described the sound being "like a carnival"😅

[@ztarburst]

The Mario & Luigi RPG's have excellent music.

[@apollolux]

On a technical note, if you rip the samples directly from the original game or otherwise run the original music through a converter like SPC2IT/OpenSPC and open the resulting music modules in a tracker like ModPlug/OpenMPT, you'll find that most of the drum tracks are single recordings of long percussion riffs rather than multiple individually sliced percussion instruments and the resulting musical scores reflect that. My assumption when I originally found this out back around 2001 or so was that it was done to save space in the cartridge, but there's also a possibility that some of the percussion riffs might have been too technically complex (i.e. taken up too many audio channels in the eight channel limit, not even including prioritizing sound effects) to have allowed for standard game compositional practices at the time, even for Square or Shimomura herself, but it probably still "sounded cool" so they came up with the single-channel workaround that they did.

[@ChroniclerC]

The miniboss music in particular has SNES-era Square fingerprints *allll* over it.

[@swordsmancs]

Would love to see an analysis of the basic battle music from TTYD, that shit always slapped for me

[@user-we5xb8kv4k]

its because the music that this game can be played blindfolded, it can also keep your timing perfect for most of the game, and if you get lost, just follow the music and try again, IT LOOPS

[@burn1none]

I love the old music and somehow love the new music just as much

[@rfmerrill]

I'm pretty sure "Fight Against An Armed Boss" is a mistranslation. It should be "Fight Against A Boss Who Is A Weapon" (since nearly all the members of the Smithy Gang are anthropomorphized weapons--sword, spear, bow, cannon, knife, ax)

[@dave_the_slick8584]

So if they're weapons, by default they'd be armed. The title makes sense still.