3. Only in Smash Bros.

Yet, surely you encountered a few surprises with the returning songs despite the specifications you provided.

Of course.

Were there any songs that threw you for a loop? I mean, we probably shouldn’t let too many cats out of the bag before players have a chance to play, but can you name at least a few of the surprises without giving away too much?

Sure. The “Cooking Guide” was pretty interesting.

The Cooking Guide. (From the Nintendo DS game 'Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat?')

Right. The one known for providing recipes and cooking instructions aloud in a robotic, computer-generated voice called speech synthesis. “Tenderise the meat” for example. If you listen to the song they had done for us, the first thing it says is

(laughs)

Only the original composer can get away with this sort of playfulness though and I was glad that he took the pains to work with the original data from the game in arranging this piece.

The musician in charge actually came to me to tell me in person what an interesting track he had come up with.

Really? (laughs) Our office got a kick out of it as well.

Were there any songs that made you wonder if you had gone too far?

Well, there are some songs I wouldn’t have picked were this a regular game. “X” is one of these.

X you say? One of the very early titles for the Japanese Game Boy? (released in Japan in 1992) What a small world! (laughs)

X. Just like the game title...

You mean the X from the Japanese title Super Smash Bros. X? Really? (The Japanese title for Super Smash Bros. Brawl is Super Smash Bros. X)

Just kidding. (laughs) Actually, I really like the song from the tunnel scene in X. You might even say it was Totaka-san’s debut song. He became famous as the model for Animal Crossing’s “K.K. Slider” character.

Really? Totaka-san wrote the song for “X”?

I didn’t know either, but it would appear so. It’s a short song with only a few phrases, but it’s really good. I was happy to use it as is, but he made a nice arrangement that sounds awesome.

I imagine all the songs are worth listening to.

You’d better believe it.

Leaving aside those that simply edited or collaborated in other ways, how many people composed music for Super Smash Bros. Brawl?

More than thirty I believe.

Wow! That’s a record that will be impossible to break.

For sure. (laughs) Something possible only with Smash Bros. (To be continued)