December 05, 2023

Toby Fox vs Yoko Shimomura

December 05, 2023/ Sarah Lahaise

A good video game soundtrack sticks with the listener long after the game has ended. It will hit the victorious moments with jubilant chords, and deepen the emotional moments, with unsettling strings and melancholy melodies. Everyone has a game soundtrack that rings in their mind and is always there to comfort them with nostalgia.

For this round of blog posts, we distributed a poll, and decided to each take a category to write about. Which brings me to my dilemma; for my category (video game soundtracks), there was a tie. Both Kingdom Hearts and Undertale won with three . So, what better way to commemorate both memorable games than with a comparison of the artists, and their history developing music.

Toby Fox

Toby Fox is well known in pop culture for his first game, Undertale, and for it’s sequel, Deltarune. Both are wonderful entries into the indie genre and have stirred hearts across the globe. In the beginning, Undertale was just a proof of concept , as he was testing his abilities with game development before he moved on to truly create the game of his dreams. Fox created the game from the ground up, developing each song on the soundtrack, designing the characters, and marketing the game as it was completed. After launch, the game was picked up by a ton of Let’s Players, who ran through the game and helped popularize it, praising it for it’s unique encounters and storytelling. To this day, the game is embedded into pop culture.

However, Undertale is not the first soundtrack Fox worked on, and Megalovania, it’s most iconic number, did not originate in Undertale.

Prior To Undertale

Long before The tale, Fox debuted (at 15) with an ill-advised ROM hack of EarthBound, suitably named the “EarthBound Halloween Hack.” It was a disaster of writing, and something that Fox has come to regret. The thing that piqued interest in it, however, was that Fox either remixed or wrote entirely new pieces for the soundtrack. Most notably, in the final fight, a now-familiar tune, in it’s earliest form, can be heard. Megalovania.

The Sburb Beta Logo from Homestuck, often signaling earlier entries in the comic.

Then, a new project presented itself before Fox; Homestuck, an online webcomic presented with interactive elements and musical backings. For several years, Fox composed a ton of works (115 songs for the original comic, and 188 unreleased, unofficial or spin-off songs) for the comic. His leitmotifs would then be incorporated into related songs by different producers, and he was instrumental to the musical landscape that scores Homestuck.

One more thing: Megalovania once more appears in this work, remastered and renamed MeGaLoVania.

Yoko Shimomura

In the same vein as Fox, Shimomura is a masterful giant in her field, composing works for 71 soundtracks and arranging pieces for 12 more. She is best known for her work during her time at Square Enix (think Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Super Mario RPG), but she began her career at Capcom.

Before Kingdom Hearts

Capcom Logo

In 1988, she began working at Capcom right after graduating from a prestigious college. Her parents were originally dismayed; they had paid for her education and were hesitant for her to go into video game music, which was less respected. However, she was inspired by video game music, and especially Heavenly Flight from Dragon Quest 3, and had become determined to compose music of such quality. She accepted the job despite their concerns and went on to publish a ton of popular soundtracks, most famously Street Fighter II, Final Fight, and Samurai Sword.

Square Enix Logo

However, in 1993, she got tired of the arcade style she had been writing at Capcom and needed the change. More interested in a classical sound, she began working at Square, the company that would become Square Enix, and started off her career with a hit; Super Mario RPG. During her time at Square, she wrote some of her favourite soundtracks for Live A Live, Final Fantasy VII, and Secret of Mana. Then, she worked on what would become her best-known work, Kingdom Hearts.

Midiplex

After the release of Kingdom Hearts, Shimomura left Square Enix for maternity leave and never went back, instead going into freelance. She has since worked on every Kingdom Hearts game released, as well as a ton of music for Nintendo (the Mario & Luigi series primarily), and Capcom.

Conclusion

Both artists have seen huge success, though their rise to stardom was incredibly different and difficult. Toby Fox’s beloved game and characters pair to his stellar songwriting, while Shimomura’s signature melodies and soundtracks are a staple in most gamer’s inventories.

In a final note: A really interesting tid-bit about Megalovania itself is that it’s inspiration comes from none other than Yoko Shimomura. Shimomura’s track, Megalomania, from Live A Live was incredibly impactful for Fox, who sought to replicate it for the Halloween hack. However, he found it too difficult to remake, and instead, chose to compose a version inspired by it, instead. Thus, Megalovania (Halloween – Vampire, Transylvania, etc.) was born.

Three N64 Controllers of different colours on a counter in an arcade. The lights are dim, and the controllers are in focus.

When Sarah isn’t hostage to her cat’s snuggles, she can often be found playing Stardew Valley or Minecraft. Raised on the Nintendo Wii, she’s had a life-long love of video games and hopes to express this passion through her writing. Some of her favourite games include – Paper Mario (N64, 2000), Super Paper Mario (Wii, 2007), Mario Galaxy, Hollow Knight, and Undertale.

November 17, 2023

Speedrunning - A Quick History

November 17, 2023/ Sarah Lahaise

Super Mario 64 Trash Edition Release Video.

Video game challenge playthroughs aren’t anything new. Players of all ages and skill levels compete on various objectives; some official and in-game, others self-imposed or modded in. In some circles, there are even mods and ROM hacks upping the difficulty of long-standing favourites. For example, a friend of mine recently published a ROM hack of Super Mario 64, called “Trash Edition”. According to them, there’s even a competition to see who can beat the four most difficult levels without save-states.

However, there is a certain type of challenge run universally beloved and revered: Speedruns. If a video game exists, there is most likely at least one person to have speedrun it. Challenges range from awe-inspiring to absolutely absurd.

A great example of the absurd is Twilight Princess’s Low Percent Runs. To goal of this run is to reach the end of the game with as little progress as possible. Fewest dungeons, fewest items, etc. The goal is no longer speed, necessarily. So, it’s no surprise that these runs are 20 hours long.

To make this run work, a skip was found in the form of an animation error. You see, when Link picks up a rupee in the game, the game pauses to let you stare at this new development. However, the animators accidentally left out a crucial frame, and so, on each run through of the animation, Link edges backwards. In this state, he can even slide through barriers. So, theoretically, if you leave your game running just long enough, you can slide right through a barrier, and skip entire dungeons. Sure, it’s not a time save, but it’s an effective Low Percent strategy.

Regardless, all speedrunning takes years of hard work, technique refinement, and practice. Runners push the limits of human gaming to blast through games and are hypnotizing to watch. So, how did this phenomenon begin? Let’s dive in.

The Dawn of Speedrunning

Speedrunning predates the internet, with records chronicled in gaming magazines, having been mailed in, and published in various issues. However, with the rise of the internet, there was a boom in activity. Now you could submit videos of your runs, and chat in real time about routes. Websites began popping up to record the fastest times through different games, and the highest scores.

Generally, there is a consensus that Doom was the first game to have developed a community around speedrunning in the early 90s. Embedded in the game itself, there were features that allowed players to record reliable evidence of their run through the game. Even better, an end screen showed the completion time. This ease of access to speedrunning proof, plus the rise of Usenet and internet forums, birthed the community.

The header image of Speed Demos Archive. On one side, a list of video files, while on the other, an army man runs through fire. The caption reads: Playing through games quickly, skillfully, and legitimately. — The header of Speed Demos Archive’s current Homepage. Screenshot Taken By Me.

Then, in 1996, Nightmare Speed Demos launched itself onto the scene. It began as a leaderboard for runs through the game Quake on the hardest difficulty. As speed-running gained steam, the website branched out, first to Metroid in 2000, and soon was one of the best catalogues for speed-running. The website is still available now, under the name Speed Demos Archive, and one can scrounge through the old files, links, and threads.

The Dawn of the Tool-Assisted Speedrun

Another major achievement was reached in 2003, when a TAS was created for Super Mario Bros. 3 garnered huge attention. Though it was not the first created (that honour goes once more to Doom), it brought the concept to a wider audience. A TAS, or Tool-Assisted Speedrun, is a run not played by an actual person, but are emulated to achieve the best theoretical times and routes through a game. The tool runs through the game frame-by-frame to achieve pixel perfect timing and runs, that push the limits of the game. They are not actually admissible (legally) to leaderboards, due to the aforementioned lack of player. They’re fascinating to watch, as they launch from the edges of ledges and move faster than one would think possible.

Posted by zVyper, this is a former World Record for the Path of Pain.

Through the years, as new skips and glitches are found and used, there has been one constant; the speedrunning community remains an accepting and strong community. Where at the start, runs were recorded on old cameras, or in game, now each run can be streamed to a live audience. There are catalogues of runs on Speedrun.com, YouTube and Twitch that are incredible to witness. For example, fans of Hollow Knight will appreciate this speedrun of the hardest parkour section in the game; The Path of Pain.

October 13, 2023

Majora's Mask - A Memorable Game With A Chaotic Backstory

October 13, 2023/ Sarah Lahaise

In 1987, Shigeru Miyamoto released the first installment of the now famous Legend of Zelda series to the world. It quickly exploded into international success, and has spawned 20 main series games, many spin-off adventures, and has forever embedded itself into the psyche of Nintendo gamers. Even those with a passing knowledge about gaming can quote the famous line; “It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this!” or “I am Error” from the sequel. After the long wait for the newest instalment in the series, Tears of the Kingdom, one can’t help but be reminded of the insane development time of another, much earlier entry into the series: Majora’s Mask.

NOrth American box Art for the initial release of Majora’s Mask. Image from Wikipedia.

To refresh some memories, and to enlighten those unfamiliar; Majora’s Mask followed quickly on the heels of Ocarina of Time, one of the best-selling Legend of Zelda games of all time. When development began, Miyamoto simply wanted an expansion for Ocarina of Time using the new Nintendo 64DD tech. When used, it could add an entirely new adventure, remixing the old one, and even having enemies do double damage. But Eiji Aonuma wasn’t inspired to remix the dungeons he had just finished developing and brought his concerns to Miyamoto. In response, Miyamoto offered a challenge; complete an entirely new game in one year, and they would scrap the expansion.

At the time, the company was competing with PlayStation, and though they had just hit success, Ocarina of Time had taken 5 years to create, after Link’s Awakening’s release in 1993. To continue trying to outpace their competition, they needed to speed up production and cut budget costs significantly.

The game ended up taking on an even darker twist than Ocarina of Time, trapping the young Link in a three-day time loop, a play on Ocarina of Time’s time travel mechanic. At the end of the three days, he faces impending doom at the “hands” of a falling moon and the titular “Majora’s Mask”. Throughout his journey across Termina, an entirely new landscape from the regular Hyrule he normally ventures through, there are themes of grief, loss, and inevitability. Though familiar assets are used, the game feels entirely new and fresh.

The game isn’t without flaws, of course. Aonuma and some of the developers have long disliked the final product, even if fans of the series adore Majora’s Mask. More recently, the game received a 3DS remake, and to develop it, Aonuma was tasked with replaying the original, an experience that he disliked. From this playthrough, he developed what he called the “What in the world list” and changed them to better fit the Zelda formula and make the game more intuitive.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (3ds Remake). Photo taken by me.

In the end, while the game has become one of the more memorable entries in the series, it was mainly an elaborate and rushed project, which has become somewhat of a regret from the people who made it. While it has had some market success, selling 3.36 million copies since its release, the insane development schedule has never worked successfully again. Ocarina of Time’s dungeons did end up getting remixed, as an extra “Master Quest” with the 3DS remake.

Over the years, it’s been taking longer to develop main series games. Tears of the Kingdom took 6 years, beginning its development in 2017. Ironically, it started the same way; it began as DLC and expanded into a full game. It matched and exceeded expectations coming off of Breath of the Wild, and was a wonderful sequel game, and another shining achievement amongst the stars of the series.

Video Game History