Music
Music in thePikmin series accompanies every part of each game, from ambient music during gameplay andmenus, to pre-rendered cutscene scores, to minor jingles for small events. The style is quite unique and extremely varied across the games, featuring many different instruments and textures that reflect the game environments onPNF-404 and beyond. Most notably, much of the music is dynamic: gameplay events and parameters can add or subtract elements from the music. For example, enteringcombat will often bring a new intense percussion track into the mix, and the passage ofsunset thins the music down to a quiet, peaceful rendition.Bosses in the games have their own themes, andnon-canonical game modes (such asChallenge Mode orBingo Battle) have a different, less serious compositional style, to reflect the different structures and styles of gameplay. Overall, music gives the games more character and interest, and can even help direct the player's attention to important in-game elements.
General information[edit]
The music that accompanies gameplay in the main games is dynamic, meaning that certain conditions of the game can add or subtract elements from the music. Most commonly, if anenemy is near or combating the leaders and Pikmin, the music will add an intense track of percussion and other instruments to its mix, further engaging the player in the combat. Atsunset, the music will subtract elements to become higher in register, thinner in texture, and calmer in mood, suggesting the approaching end of the day's events and complexity. As the games progress, this dynamism in the music becomes more and more a part of gameplay; afterPikmin, new mixes are added when Pikmin are carrying spoils (a high-register accompaniment suggesting success) and performing tasks like removingobstacles. While still an aesthetic addition, a beneficial consequence of this dynamic music is its ability to organize the psychology of gameplay. It can not only adjust the mood of a theme to reflect the efficiency and intensity of a day, but even direct the player's attention to something, and help categorize the many actions that Pikmin perform over the course of a day.
Generally, the gameplay music of thePikmin series has quite an avant-garde style, with many non-tonal progressions and harmonies that make themes more complicated and interesting. At times, a theme may be intended to be so complex that its streams of information cannot all be followed at once, directing the player's attention completely to gameplay rather than scenery. At other times, the music stands aside for gameplay by being serene or simple, playing more of an ambience to the environment than a theme to Pikmin's actions.
Duringcutscenes, music is a predetermined length, often followed by a loop over a dialog segment; these cutscene scores can be played by many different sizes and types of ensembles. Pre-rendered cutscenes (such as the cinematics inPikmin 2) are normally scored by a Hollywood-style orchestra and electronics, making them feel all the more cinematic. Music during cutscenes is more prominent, since the player can do nothing to alter it or the events it scores.
Pikmin[edit]
Composer: Hajime Wakai
- See:Music inPikmin
Pikmin has a soundtrack that generally reflects the small scale of the Pikmin and grows in texture and variation as moreparts of theS.S. Dolphin are recovered. Enemies and sunset can bring about dynamic changes, but the music is often meant mainly to score the natural scenery of theareas with an array of natural instruments. Contrastingly, themes aboutCaptain Olimar and his ship are generally synthesized, to suggest their alien nature.Pikmin has the most melodically-driven soundtrack of the series, but few of its melodies or gestures become motivic.
Pikmin 2[edit]
Composers: Hajime Wakai, and Kazumi Totaka
- See:Music inPikmin 2
Pikmin 2 has perhaps the most varied soundtrack of all the games, thanks to itscaves. Cave themes are the first and only instance ofrandomly structured music in the series, andPikmin 2 has25 different minimalist themes with which to score each sublevel. This game also introduces in-game cutscenes, which have eclectic pre-rendered scores; and new complements to the music, triggered by conditions such as carryingtreasure or playing as a particularleader. The music is generally more ambient in this game, but introduced in the cutscenes are newleitmotifs that become very popular in this game and the next.
Pikmin 3[edit]
Composers: Asuka Hayazaki, Atsuko Asahi, and Hajime Wakai
- See:Music inPikmin 3
Pikmin 3's soundtrack has a much more atmospheric and often experimental mood to it, though new melodic motifs and some fromPikmin 2 give it contextual stability. The music's dynamism now occurs regardless if the trigger is on-screen, making the music more effective as a gameplay tool. Afternoon time and variations in weather also provide new parameters for changing the music. Compared to the previous games,Pikmin 3 uses much more advanced sound technology, allowing new instruments to score the high-definition scenery; particularly, unique synthesizer sounds are very prominent in this soundtrack. Quite a few themes in this game are re-orchestrations ofPikmin 2 themes, giving the game itself a more modernized mood while establishing its reference point in the series.
The additional music inPikmin 3 Deluxe was composed by Soshi Abe and Babi.
Pikmin 4[edit]
Composers: Asuka Hayazaki, Kenta Nagata, and Soshi Abe
- See:Music inPikmin 4
Pikmin 4's soundtrack is highly ambient, much more so than any other game in the series. Its main area themes in particular feature music that is very fragmented and sparse in melodic information, though the themes for cutscenes,bosses, and side modes are more in spirit to what is heard in previous games. Possible in part by this new minimalistic approach, every single type of enemy will now also bring about a unique change in the music when a leader is nearby; each enemy adds a unique instrument or mix that is characteristic of the creature. Motifs established inPikmin 2 also reappear in some cutscenes, further tying in the many returning features from that game, such as the reintroduction of multi-flooredcaves.
Hey! Pikmin[edit]
Composers: Kento Hasegawa, and Masato Kouda
Hey! Pikmin's soundtrack is very different to those of the other games in the series, reflecting how its gameplay is also very different. It features melodically-driven themes featuring a large variety of synthesized sounds, often featuring audio effects like reverb.Area themes each have 2 versions: a main version for the "front side" of the area, and a secondary version, always more ambient and atmospheric, for the "back side", though these themes don't share a structure; in fact the soundtrack lacks any dynamic elements. Everymenu and boss has a unique theme, giving the soundtrack a wide range of styles and tone colors, and while there are few consistent elements throughout the soundtrack, most themes do reflect the calm nature of the game.
Pikmin Bloom[edit]
Composer: Masato Kouda[1]
Pikmin Bloom's soundtrack is small but diverse. It features several different styles of music to accompany its menus, activities, and events. In general, its soundtrack is very light and positive-sounding, reflecting its genre as a mobile game. Some of its music comes fromHey! Pikmin's soundtrack.
Music outside the main games[edit]
Pikmin Adventure[edit]
Composers: Ryo Nagamatsu, and Hajime Wakai
In the Wii U gameNintendo Land, aPikmin-themed attraction calledPikmin Adventure features several re-orchestration of themes from the first two games, as well as new compositions inspired by those. While the structures of these derivative compositions are quite true to the originals, their instrumentation is much more frivolous, reflecting the friendly, lighthearted mood ofNintendo Land.
Pikmin Short Movies[edit]
Composers: Shigetoshi Gohara, Hajime Wakai, Ryoji Yoshitomi, and Mahito Yokota
ThePikmin Short Movies were scored by a team of four, including Shigetoshi Gohara, Hajime Wakai, Ryoji Yoshitomi, and Mahito Yokota. The score includes brand new music and sound effects, though some additional music and sounds were borrowed from the previous titles,Pikmin,Pikmin 2, andPikmin 3.
Promotional material[edit]
- See also:Promotional material.
Strawberry Flower released a Pikmin-themed song,Ai No Uta, along with the release ofPikmin (which sold more copies than the game itself), and later a number of otherPikmin-themed singles and albums. ThePikmin OST is calledPikmin World. For the advertising ofPikmin 2, another song,Tane no Uta, was used. In most trailers forPikmin 3, the game's ownMission Mode theme was used.
Super Smash Bros. series[edit]
- Main article:Super Smash Bros. Brawl#Music.
- Main article:Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U#Music.
- Main article:Super Smash Bros. Ultimate#Music.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl,Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, andSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate have stages that represent in thePikmin franchise. These stages feature some tracks that either come from thePikmin media directly or are remixes created on purpose for theSmash series.
Donkey Konga[edit]
The drumming video game seriesDonkey Konga uses several songs from other Nintendo franchises. The Japanese version of the originalDonkey Konga includesAi no Uta as a playable song. The Japanese version of the originalDonkey Konga 2 includesTane no Uta as a playable song.
Symphonic Legends - Music from Nintendo[edit]
On September 23, 2010,WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln held a symphonic tribute concert in Cologne, Germany calledSymphonic Legends – Music from Nintendo. The concert celebrated Nintendo's classic video game music by performing orchestral arrangements; the area selection themes fromPikmin andPikmin 2 were arranged by video game composer and orchestratorHayato Matsuo into an orchestral medley entitledPikmin (Variations on a World Map Theme).
See also[edit]
- Strawberry Flower
- Promotional material
- Audio – samples of music on the wiki
References[edit]
- ^Post by Masato Kouda on Twitter