I have recently been back in my retro games era. I’ve been reconnecting with a lot of games that I grew up with: Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 (which I’ll talk about soon in a blog post I promise!!), Donkey Kong 64 and older Pokemon Titles (Pokemon Sapphire and Pearl are the ones I remember the most).
So anyway, my algorithm decided to bless me with this absolute BOP. I’M SHOCKED. I’m shocked how well this song has aged. Typically with older video game compositions, they don’t lend themselves to age very well due to the limitations of the hardware at the time. However, this composition of the Mermaid’s Palace from Donkey Kong 64 tickles me absolute pink! I had to share it!
It almost reminds me of Marble Halls by Enya. It has a very similar regal sound to it. What I do appreciate is (what seems to me) the harp in the background sort of acting as a base for the entire sound. It lends the sound to being immersive and feels like it’s underwater. The sound of what seems to me an Oboe, flute, and xylophone all complement the harp very beautifully and are instruments that are used throughout the DK 64 Soundtrack. The instruments here are used especially gently and kindly. It almost sounds hopeful and yet sad at the same time. In the game, the Mermaid gets her pearls stolen by K. Rool and she’s subsequently very upset. I think the theme captures both the beauty, elegance, sadness, and hopefulness all while keeping in mind that the player is going to be submerged in water, which will affect the track of the game in the studio vs the audio effect done to the player while they’re submerged, which causes the sound to reverberate more as if they’re listening to a sound underwater.
A sister theme to this sound is Banana Fairy Isle. This song differs from the Mermaid Palace as the harp is THE first thing a player hears when entering the island to activate the warp pad. This is important to establish the island as something important as the island is above water, the tempo needs to be a lot different and the Banana Fairy Island track needs to stand its own against the other spots in the over-world of DK Isle. This theme is a lot more sad, the Banana Fairy Queen is all alone and is crying as her Banana Court have all fled the island after being scared by K. Rool’s ship crash. She entrusts the player with a Banana Camera that allows for the Kongs to take pictures of the stray fairies.
There’s a sense of loneliness, delicateness, and magic that isn’t captured in the Mermaid’s Palace theme. I think this makes sense as the ‘tingle’ sounds help the player identify banana fairy’s in the game’s world to take pictures of. I think banana fairies wouldn’t be as impactful as a collectable if this audible cue wasn’t sort of built-in with the place location… almost reminding the players to not forget about the Banana Fairy Queen and of her task. I remember the tempo of the harp closely matches the Tiny Kong’s movement cycle, almost as if the island is also sonically guiding the player to the Banana Fairy Queen and to find the secret of the isle (which you need Tiny Kong’s help for, anyway).
I mean… like these two tracks are instant bops imo. They differ so much from their ‘hub’ locations that they’re pretty memorable. I can still hear the Banana Fairy Island theme in my head sometimes whenever I hear a high pitch jingle sound, like car keys or the sound of coins hitting each other. I’ve actually meditated with both themes! I think they’re great!
I also want to share a orchestration interpretation of the Mermaid’s Palace. I think it retains the spirit of the original soundtrack; however, it elevates it very gorgeously.
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