#8. Soyo Oka/Shinobu Amayake- Wario’s Woods OST (SNES Version)

 

Year Of Release: 1994

Label: Nintendo, I guess? I don’t know, the Wario’s Woods soundtrack never got an official release.

Genres: 16-bit, bitpop, digital fusion, jazz pop

Tracklist:

1. Title Theme (1:17)

2. Main Menu (1:16)

3. Lesson (0:57)

4. Round Game (1:46)

5. Wario’s Theme (0:39)

6. Round Clear (0:05)

7. Clear Loop (1:00)

8. Round 99 Clear (0:09)

9. Round Game Ending (1:36)

10. Game Over (0:19)

11. Versus (1:30)

12. Versus ~ Winner (Player 1) (0:04)

13. Versus ~ Winner (Player 2) (0:04)

14. Result ~ Winner (Player 1) (0:11)

15. Result ~ Winner (Player 2) (0:07)

16. Versus Results/Time Records (0:55)

17. Vs. CPU ~ Scene (0:40)

18. Versus ~ Winner (CPU) (0:06)

19. Result ~ Winner (CPU) (0:04)

20. Vs. CPU Ending ~ Staff Roll (1:34)

21. Time Race (1:45)

22. Time Race ~ New Record (0:05)

23. Time Race ~ No Record (0:08)

24. Sound Test (0:58)

25. Unused Track (0:40)

Last time, I kinda stretched the definition of the word “obscure.” Today, I’m kinda stretching the definition of the word “album.” Yeah, the soundtrack was never actually given an official release. But I really did wanna talk about the wonderful music from this wonderful game. The SNES (much superior to the bafflingly more popular NES version) of Wario’s Woods is actually my favorite falling block puzzler, and the soundtrack makes it even better.

The first thing you’ll notice is that this is a VERY short soundtrack. Most of the tracks here are under a minute in length, none of them even reach two minutes, and the whole thing goes by in less than twenty minutes. But the thing is, each of these tracks is a burst of exuberant joy, and none of them feel like they go on too long. Bouncy Kirby-esque synthpop melodies and jazzy rhythms and instrumentation (well, 16-bit approximations of jazzy brass instruments) should easily put a smile on the face of even the grumpiest of grumple grommits. Very energetic, but not too manic. This has gotta be some of the most bubbly music I have ever listened. Certainly lighthearted, but in no way is this lightweight. 

In all honesty, this is one of the best soundtracks of the 16-bit era, and it’s a damn shame that this soundtrack, and the game in general isn’t more popular.

FIND IT HERE-

YouTube: https://youtu.be/c_rTkjsRv3Q

KHinsider: https://downloads.khinsider.com/game-soundtracks/album/wario-s-woods (this one has a different order and I think some of the tracks are different)