Part 15.5: Music Break
This is the track that plays when you fight the Fierce Pork Trooper. Immediately, horns jump out in quick succession, with a heavy timpani in the background. The song is almost saying, “You’re messing with the wrong Pigmask and now you’re gonna get beat up.” The horns rise up in pitch, creating suspense, and then the beat drops. The heavy use of brass instruments along with the timpani make the song feel big, tough, and imposing, much like the Fierce Trooper himself. But not only is he a Fierce Trooper, he’s a Fierce Pork Trooper, a member of the Pigmask army. This song sounds like a military anthem, with all the stiff staccato notes in the song. The greatest contribution to this militaristic feel is the strings which quickly rise up the scale, responding to the call of the brass, ending with a triumphant finale before the song loops.
What I believe to be the most memorable part of the song is the motif inspired by Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 6, where notes take drastic jumps up and down the scale. The fact that it goes up and down fits really well with this boss fight, since it matches the idea of a big guy beating you up. This motif pretty much dictates the whole structure of the song. There are only two melodic phrases in the whole song. The first one plays twice, switching to a lower brass instrument the second time. The second phrase Is also kind of played twice – when it plays once, it repeats itself three more times, going down in pitch. On the last repetition, it mixes itself up a little bit, giving a sense of finality to the phrase, rather than making you anticipate it to go a pitch down again. These phrases mirror the structure of the Shostakovich part, as in the pattern jumping up and down, the first note stays the same, but the second note goes down a pitch every time (the melody stays the same, but the pitch goes down and the lead instrument changes each time).
The next song on the list is called “White,” and it is the quintessential winter song. It’s got the sleighbells, the festive rhythm, the cozy bass – everything! The melody is straight from an earlier song in the soundtrack which played as rain poured out the forest fire in Chapter 1, which my favorite song in the soundtrack, “Mind of a Thief” derives from. It played when Duster snuck to Osohe Castle. It’s theorized that the beautiful tracks that play in the Dur-T Café are songs from the scrapped Nintendo 64 version of the game, but were too good to not put in the Game Boy Advance version. Thus, they play on an abandoned jukebox. Can you guess the kind of place this song would play in?
This song shares the melody of “Monkey’s Delivery Service,” which was planned to be Tazmily Village’s theme on the Nintendo 64 version. I will analyze this song through that lens. I really love the start of this song; the different instruments that all play similar phrases sound like all the different villagers are greeting you, each with their own way of saying “hello.” I don’t know what instrument does the little solo after that, but it’s an extremely cool way to transition to the melody. The synth that begins the melody reminds me of all the quirky little jokes that the people had when you talked to them. The organ that comes after that further expresses the joy that everyone had. Then, that joy turns to “happiness” with the introduction of Fassad’s accordion, which slides in as some tragic chords play behind it. After that section comes an orchestra that repeats the accordion’s part in epic fashion, as if declaring that what came just before it created the sad state it’s in now. At exactly the 1-minute mark, the song reaches its climax with a high note, surrounded by depressing chords. I believe this symbolizes the current state of Mother 3’s story. Everything is going horribly wrong with the village, and it’s getting to its breaking point. Will it actually break though? The sad chords gradually fade away as the song loops back to the beginning, representing the fate still unknown for Tazmily. This song is simply poetic, and I’m so glad it found a place in the official soundtrack.
This song is aptly named, “Resolve,” which, as a noun, can be defined as “firmness of purpose.” If you connect it with the story of the game, it can be interpreted as the essence of Lucas’s mission; it’s depressing that it has to be this way, but it’s not going to discourage him from carrying it through. It fleshes out the idea presented at the end of the last song. A cello plays despairingly as an electric piano rocks back and forth. A guitar plays defiantly as some brighter strings rise above the horizon like the brilliant, young sun. Drums kick in to combat the strings which have now become more solemn. They rise higher and higher, but the song returns to where it was at the beginning, as if the drums had failed to win. But when the drums kick in for the second time, the guitar turns electric and dramatically overpowers everything that came before it! I love the way the guitar sounds here, too. It just sounds so raw, portraying how Lucas has an emotional scar that will never go away, but even so, his resolve cannot be broken. When a hero is needed most, Lucas begins standing up against Fassad and his evil schemes, resisting his seduction of instant happiness, in turn defending what it truly means to live a fulfilling life. I wish this song didn’t loop, because the electric guitar would have been a perfect way to give it a solid conclusion.
This next song has a decidedly “beachy” theme, with the tropical percussion and steel drums that come in after the intro. It sounds very calm and relaxed. If you take a listen to You Make Me Feel Brand New by the Stylistics, you’ll find the two songs have a lot of similarities. I don’t really have anything else to comment on this song.
The final, and my favorite song of this jukebox collection, is “Adolescence.” According to the full title, the cow that was in line for the bathroom suggested this one; she’s got good taste! Jokes aside, this song is solely about Lucas’s growth, not concerned with the greater context surrounding it. As a result, it is extremely uplifting. It’s theorized that this song was going to play outside Alec’s house at the beginning of the game (Mom’s Hometown) which could very well be true because they both share the same energy level. This song just feels different, though. I think because it’s completely independent from any of the soundtrack’s leitmotifs. That, along with the name of the song. At the beginning of the game, Mom’s Hometown made you excited to play a fun game where nothing could possibly go wrong; Adolescence is happy despite everything possible going wrong. At the point you hear this in the game, Lucas’s mother was killed by the obliviously ambitious army that has destroyed every aspect about the way he lived, and he’s on a journey to stop it from getting any worse. Despite everything, Lucas is still growing and maturing at a rapid pace. Despite everything, Lucas is still getting stronger, just as he had wanted. Despite everything, Lucas is blossoming.
This concludes part 15½ of the analysis. The story will continue in part 16.