This remastering of the Super Mario World soundtrack allows us to hear what iconic music sounds like when it is not compressed for the Super Nintendo limiting hardware. The result is richer, more dynamic versions of some of the most recognizable melodies in video game history.
The Super Mario Restored Project is the group responsible for giving new life to these classic songs, and the way they are doing it is very interesting. Instead of just taking the tracks as they sound on the SNES and tweaking them, they are actually digging up the original samples and restoring them completely unpacked. Essentially, it’s probably similar to how Super Mario World composer Koji Kondo originally intended the song to sound.
The fully restored soundtrack is not yet available, but there is a solid selection of tracks that you can listen to now. Here is the famous title screen jingle:
And here’s the “Athletic” theme, which you’ll remember from some of the most chaotic levels in Super Mario World. You can compare it to the original version of the song to see how the process of compressing the tracks degrades the quality.
Listening to these tracks restored to their unzipped glory is a wonderful pleasure, and The Super Mario Restored Project is doing a great job. But to be honest, it’s kind of confusing me. There is something slightly disorienting in listening to this song that is so intertwined with my psyche with all this newfound clarity. The high-pitched, metallic sound of the original song feels so right to me. Still, the remastering is pretty cool just for the news.
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