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Tomoya Ohtani's "Mario and Sonic Rio" Interview - Part 2

Main theme focus, plus capturing the Brazilian feel in this second half of his special look into the game’s music.

Tomoya Ohtani has returned to complete his interview session with Mario and Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games sound directors Teruhiko Nakagawa and Kenichi Tokoi. In this part, they go over the process of making the game’s universal theme song.

Unlike previous installments where there were more orchestral takes to the M&S Olympics themes, to keep with the positive spirit Brazil, M&S Rio’s theme is heavily influenced by the city of Rio de Janerio and samba:

Teruhiko: The important point was that it’s not a complex melody, and that it should be uplifting, light beat that you can imagine Rio from. The latter parts we focused on speed and momentum. I usually make the total code and melody first, and then I start implementing details. I tend to start with the main rhythm or bass, but this time I started to compose a melody for the piano. I composed the total structure of the song at first and added other elements gradually. Finally, I arranged the tune in the late stage of compositional process. I decided to add the solo part of Bateria after I discussed with our team members.

That influence is also spread to individual event themes and other happenings, such as picking different costumes for Miis to even button press sounds. The two wanted to create the feel of Rio for every piece of music in the game while keeping the two series’ respective origins in check:


"Nakagawa: In the 3DS version of Mario & Sonic [Rio], there are Olympic Game events mode where you can enjoy the events like you would in the Olympic Games and Plus events mode that you can enjoy each events with a bit of a special gimmick. In the Rhythmic Gymnastics, we used the main theme from Super Mario Bros., which is very recognizable. We’ve arranged that theme to Brazilian music as well, and it comes in two different types of events, Olympic Games and Plus event."


Further in the interview, Nakagawa tells Ohtani that new to the M&S Olympics series’ sound is the inclusion of "dynamic BGM," where during certain moments of gameplay the music alters itself to stimulate the excite of when an event comes to a pinch. He gives one of the events - Boxing - as an example:


My favorite is Boxing, as the situation ramps up it gets intense. I hope the change in music comes natural. I made some sound effects to get the viewers excited as they’re in the ringside and they’re gradually getting into the event, like having them sound like they’re counting down when your character is down in the ring. I owe a lot to the programmers for implementing everything but it was fun trying a lot things.


To close out the interview, the two hope the sounds of the game help create the uplifting atmosphere of Rio de Janeiro during the real life Olympic Games from the extensive work they went through with the help of over a hundred talented people during development. Ohtani himself cites its as being “one of [the] more distinctive Mario & Sonic [at the Olympic Games] sound track yet!

You can read the full interview over at the SEGA Blog. To anyone that owns either or both copies of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and listened to its music here and there, what do you make of it? Tell us in the comments below.

4th July, 2016 - 05:56 GMT Twinny Article viewed 1396 times 0 Comments

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