Hey Steemit!
OSTs make up the majority of the music I listen to, and they're so underrated I just had to share them! Feel free to listen while reading. 😊
Happy Valentines' Day everybody! If you didn't catch my last post, I'm dedicating this month to writing love-related songs! I think it'll be quite an interesting challenge, since you wouldn't normally think of OSTs as "romantic", but I'll figure it out.
Anyway, the song I want to share today is from a game called Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time!
Source: aminoapps.com
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is an RPG developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in 2005. It is the second game in the Mario & Luigi series, and is the prequel/sequel to Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the Game Boy Advance.
Although the prequel/sequel to Superstar Saga, the game's plot is completely unrelated to that of its predecessor with more emphasis on the time-traveling theme, which involves the protagonists traveling in between the past and present of the Mushroom Kingdom. The adventure follows Mario, Baby Mario, Luigi, and Baby Luigi while they search for Princess Peach, who has been abducted by an alien species only known as the Shroobs.
The game is considerably darker in tone than its predecessor, especially in its plot and themes.
Source: wallpaperflare.com
The gameplay centers on the co-operation between the quartet, who must use their specific qualities and skills to solve puzzles to progress through and features multiple role-playing game elements, but with a turn-based battle system focused on timing accuracy.
Partners in Time was critically acclaimed by the media, and was praised by critics for its characterization and comical style, as well as its use of the DS's dual screen and the rumble feature.
Source: vistapoint.net
Oh man this game came out 15 years ago! Dang I feel old. This was one of my absolute favourite games growing up. I remember watching the trailer soo many times on their website in anticipation of its release and my mother buying it for me. 😅 Man that sure takes me back...
Well anyway, the reason why I chose this game is because I thought it'd be relevant to the theme of love. While Valentine's' Day is stereotypically shown to be for couples (esp on social media), I think it's also good to acknowledge the other people you love in your life, like your friends and family. To that end, here's the song I want to share today:
This song is called Star Shrine, and the only time you'll hear in-game is at the summit of this place called Star Hill.
You can already see why I love this area. It's blue, there's stars shining and twinkling all around, and the song is soo peaceful-sounding.
The actual Star Shrine area looks more like this:
Source: youtube
Sorry for the blurriness I couldn't find a better picture.
In the game, this area is actually quite tedious because you have to go to each connecting island and shoot a beam so that it connects into a star as shown above. It's kinda like a dungeon I guess, because of all the puzzles and enemies running around. But in space.
The music really helps though. It's largely made of xylophone sounds, with a string instrument (I think harp?) as the harmony, as well as some synth in the background to give it that airy, spacey-sound. The harp is really beautiful, and really shines in the bridge at 1:10 and 2:15. Those are definitely my favourite parts, before it quickly goes back to the xylophone melody again.
Source: youtube
I think the xylophone in the song definitely gets repetitive after a while, but it works for a "dungeon", and it also kinda encapsulates what family love is like. You grow accustomed to it, and kinda take it for granted because they're just always there. But when it comes down to it, you know they'll have your back. And this is actually demonstrated in-game during a key scene that plays out when you complete the "dungeon".
It's a pretty long cutscene, but basically there's this Star Gate that blocks the path ahead. It judges those who wish to pass through it. All of them except Luigi is permitted to pass through. So they have to find this thing called the Aurora Block. When they do that and go back to the Gate, it acts like a douche and trolls Luigi yet again, saying this whole thing was a test.
But the important part is when Mario and the babies stand up for Luigi. They call the Gate out for being a douche and sets things straight. Now that's what being a bro means.
The scene after that gets really sweet, when the Gate validates Luigi's worth to the team and praises him.
It's such a nice cutscene, albeit a tad long. But it's one of the more memorable ones in the game. I remember being very salty at the Star Gate for making me go through all that trouble for a test, but whatever.
Source: tumblr.com
I looove the Mario & Luigi series so much. The first 3 games in particular are absolutely fantastic! The characters and dialogue are so well-written, and even if they don't actually talk, the Mario Bros. are so expressive in these games; it's probably the most you'll see of their personalities. And Yoko Shimomura did an amazing job on the soundtrack! So if you're a fan of RPGs, definitely consider checking out these games!
Thanks for reading!
To find out more about me, check out my intro post here!
Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://tacocat.steemblogs.club/2020/02/14/ost-of-the-day-47-mario-luigi-partners-in-time-star-shrine-%f0%9f%8c%9f/
