Grant Kirkhope composing for a Mario game still sounds like a fever dream, but the legendary Rare veteran delivered one of the most surprisingly excellent soundtracks of the Switch era with Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.
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"The Adventure Begins" sets a tone that is unmistakably Kirkhope -- warm, orchestral, and brimming with personality -- while battle tracks like "Hoppers!" and "Mid Boss Mayhem" bring a tactical intensity that perfectly matches the XCOM-inspired gameplay nobody saw coming from a Rabbids crossover.
The soundtrack takes you on a journey through wildly varied biomes, and Kirkhope nails every single one. "A Song of Ice and Desert" transitions between scorching and frozen landscapes, the Icicle Golem trilogy ("Freeze," "Fracas," and "Finale") builds tension across a multi-phase boss encounter, and "Lost in the Swamp" drips with eerie atmosphere before "Spooky Skirmish" kicks the combat energy back up.
The cemetery section is a particular highlight, with "A Stroll in the Cemetery" offering haunted beauty before the fighting breaks out. But the crown jewel of this entire album is the Phantom of the Bwahpera sequence. Spread across three acts, this operatic boss battle is one of the most audacious and hilarious things ever put in a Mario game -- a Rabbid phantom who literally sings opera at you while you fight.
Kirkhope channels his love of theatrical composition into something genuinely unforgettable with "Phantom's Phenomena" and "Phantom's Crescendo." It is the kind of moment that makes you realize this game was a labor of love, not a cash-in crossover.