A piano run tumbles down the SPC700 like someone spilled jazz all over the Mushroom Kingdom. Yoko Shimomura's Super Mario RPG score is one of those SNES soundtracks that has no business sounding this sophisticated on 16-bit hardware.
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"Fight Against an Armed Boss" hits with this funky, urgent bassline that still lives rent-free in my head decades later. "Beware the Forest's Mushrooms" bounces between playful and eerie in a way that perfectly captures how weird this game actually is.
And "Happy Adventure, Delightful Adventure" just radiates warmth. Pure comfort. If you grew up with Square RPGs but somehow skipped this one, Shimomura's writing here will make you wonder what took you so long.