Super Mario RPG Original Sound Version

This two-disc set is one of my favorites in my collection. The first song, "Tanoshii Boken Yukai Na Boken" ("Happy Adventure Pleasant Adventure"), is a catchy three-and-a-half-minute mix of several songs found in the game. Track 5 is a fast-paced version of the Bowser battle song from Super Mario Brothers 3. The ninth and tenth tracks are happy, upbeat, and great. Track 19 is just about the best theme in the whole game. It plays whenever you fight a particularily difficult boss, and it conveys a real sense of intensity of how tough the battle is. "Docaty Mountain Railroad" is fast-paced country music. Usually I despise country-style music, but this is a rare exception, because it's just such a good song. "Long Long Ago" should definitely bring back memories, it is the original 8-bit music from Super Mario Brothers! More treats are on disc 2, including track 7, which is from Final Fantasy, and track 15, which is a more upbeat version of the underground theme from Super Mario Brothers. With such tracks as these and most of the others, I just can't describe how great this album is words.

In every Mario game that I played, there was always wonderful, hummable music to accompany me as I crushed those Koopas down to size. This CD set is no exception. "Super Mario RPG: Legend of The Seven Stars" was such an incredible game, and the music, wonderfully composed by Yoko Shimomura along with a few familiar tunes by Koji Kondo of the classic Mario games and Nobuo Uematsu of the riveting Final Fantasy series, perfectly matches the humor and excitement of the videogame. One track I especially love is track 39 on the first disc. The tune's fast paced rhythm reminded me of something like Offenbach's Can-Can music, only a little faster. In fact, I love all of the tracks, especially the last six tracks on disc two. The finale, track 21, is excellent, and worth bouncing too. If there is any negative in this album, it may be that the track title labelings are too overdramatic and sound like they could be in a "Secret of Mana" album. All in all, this CD is a must-have to anyone's videogame music collection, especially if you're a Mario fan. Oh, by the way, there are three familiar "Final Fantasy" tracks on Disc 2, so Final Fantasy fans will get a kick out of this box as well.