The Super Mario World soundtrack is one of the most iconic in gaming history. Practically anyone who has owned a Super Nintendo perks up at the Fortress theme’s haunting tones or the upbeat tune Wandering the Plains that plays on the world map.
These songs are so familiar that it’s odd to think that we’ve never heard the Super Mario World soundtrack without the compression needed to fit it in the limited space of a SNES cartridge. Thanks to the Super Mario World Restored Project, fans can enjoy the soundtrack as it sounded when it was originally composed on the Roland D-550 synthesizer.
What’s different about the Super Mario World Restored Project?
There have been plenty of reimaginings and remixes of the Super Mario World soundtrack throughout the years. However, the Super Mario World Restored Project is the first attempt to reverse engineer the original files to identify the exact samples used in the soundtrack’s production.
It’s incredible to hear the nuances in these tracks that were lost due to compression. For example, in Overworld, rhythmic strumming sounded like just a random stringed instrument in the compressed version. The Vanilla Dome theme also has a lot more body in the restored version. Now, it’s obvious that the composer used a guitar sample. Whether you prefer the cartridge or restored versions of the songs, these arrangements give a unique look into the Super Mario World soundtrack’s creation and are a treat for any fans of the game.
The entire soundtrack hasn’t been uploaded yet, so some fan favorites are missing as of writing. In particular, I’m pumped to hear the chilling Ghost House track. The songs are getting uploaded at a fast clip, so we’ll likely have access to the entire soundtrack soon.
This gift is sure to keep on giving. It’s inevitable that once the full Super Mario World Restored Project tracklist is released that an intrepid fan will create an MSU-1 conversion that allows us to enjoy these songs alongside the game.
