So did y’all see the announcement last week? There’s a new remake of Star Fox 64 coming to Switch 2 just called “Star Fox”. You might not know this about me, but there are is an incredible soft spot for me with the Star Fox franchise with the main soft spot being for Star Fox 64. I’m even hyped for the new character designs although I did have to warm up to some of them…and have yet to warm up to all of them…
As I’ve previously mentioned, I love space and the entire vibe of it. That’s why this week’s VGM pick of the week is the Main Menu music from Star Fox 64.
This calm little theme I remember opening Star Fox 64 and just hanging on the menu so I could listen to this theme. I’m not sure if it’s the instrumentation or the simple melody or the “echo” in the bassline? Something about this song just evokes “space” to me. It says “you’re floating through space and this is its background music”
Even the 3DS version of the theme works great for this, although the instrumentation is less ethereal:
Nintendo did a really cool thing too and released a preview of some of the music from the Switch 2 release of Star Fox. One of the tracks happened to be this menu music. It’s almost orchestrated, and it evokes similar to the original but with the added instrumentation to be something you could hear in a music hall:
Are you excited for Star Fox [Switch 2]? Do you have a favorite song from the soundtrack? Let me know in the comments or let’s talk about it in the music channel in Discord!
Space. I’ve been obsessed with it growing up and still continue to be filled with awe any time I look into the clear night sky. There are also songs in which I’m instantly transported to space. John Williams’s Star Wars music, Holst’s The Planets, etc.
The song I chose for this week’s Music Monday I actually listened to way before playing the game it’s from. The track for this week is Gusty Garden Galaxy from Super Mario Galaxy!
Super Mario Galaxy was one of the first Mario soundtracks to be done with a full orchestra, which is a big deal. A music nerd myself, I also grew up listening to many different types of what most would call “Classical” music. The fact that there were now games that seemed to crossover made it so surreal to me. I would listen to this song so much as it was probably one of the most popular songs on the soundtrack!
The melody of this song is so memorable as well. The strings and other instruments carrying the melody have an almost lyrical nature to them as the guitar speedily strums and the bass carries on the movement of the piece. As I close my eyes listening to this song, I can picture myself flying through space and speeding past the stars.
As I drove to and from work today, the song was on my mind. I opened up my Nintendo Music App and played an extended 30 minute version of Gusty Garden heading to work. There’s something about the song that also bubbles up emotions to me so it probably wasn’t the best that I’m driving to work and tears are welling up (happy tears, mind you). On the way home I listened to one of those compilations of where Gusty Garden has shown up in games. It shows up in a LOT! The melody shows up in like three different songs in Galaxy 1, then a few times in Galaxy 2, then in the Mario and Sonic games and Mario Kart games, among others.
The song most recently was included in the Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which I was able to see this past weekend. (No spoilers, but it was amazing)
Brian Tyler did an amazing job of taking the tracks and movie-izing them, just as he did for the first Illumination Mario movie (which ALSO HAD THE GUSTY GARDEN SONG IN THE CREDITS)
For someone who didn’t grow up with a Wii and didn’t play Galaxy until he was older (although I did play Galaxy 2 in college after one of my friends let me play on his console), I deeply respect what was done with this soundtrack as a whole…even moreso with Gusty Garden.
Here are a few good remixes that I’ve found as well of Gusty Garden:
8-bit Music Theory even did a great video dissecting Gusty Garden as well:
What are your thoughts on Gusty Garden Galaxy? Let me know in the comments or out over on the Bundy’s Bear Cave Discord!
Sometimes video game music can be nostalgic, sometimes it can hold memories. Other times, it can just hit you the first time you hear it. This week’s song? It’s not even a year old yet and it hit me in just the right spot.
This week’s song is “Breaking Through (Heart of Gold)” from Donkey Kong Bananza! Even if you haven’t played the game, you might have heard this during the medley of the Game of the Year songs during The Game Awards:
There’s something about the strings in the song. That combined with the beat and guitar just hits and instant goosebumps. The song tells an abridged story of what happens in the game, which you’ve spent however many hours playing. How your song allows the singer to find you and also the way.
The song also takes bits from Donkey Kong’s history and that mixed with the lyrics of “Let’s go to the core and nothing can stop us now” brings me great joy and almost instant tears every time I hear it
IN FACT, you get an exclusive by reading this…I did actually sing this song and recorded myself doing it. Keeping the song unlisted on YouTube so enjoy!
I bet you thought it was only going to be Retro songs on here, didn’t you?
What do you think of this song? Let me know in the comments or over on Discord!
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