Editing Music in Pikmin

{{page title| Music in ''Pikmin''}}

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The '''music''' of {{p1}} accompanies every aspect of the game, from the gameplay to the [[cutscene]]s and [[menu]]s. Generally, the textural style of the music reflects the futuristic world of [[Hocotate]], the organic environment of [[PNF-404]], and/or the small scale and nature of the [[Pikmin family|Pikmin]] themselves, by varying instrumentation, register, and rigidity of rhythm. During gameplay, the music sets the mood of the area and dynamically adapts its intensity according to what is happening on-screen, albeit to a lesser degree than the following games in the [[Pikmin series|series]]. During cutscenes, the music is predetermined and functions more linearly and punctually. While all of the music in ''Pikmin'' is melodically driven, no established melodic gestures seem to become motifs; that is, none of the soundtrack's unique melodies (besides perhaps the main theme's melodic gesture) become more important to the game than the rest, unless the melody is heard over most of the 30 [[Day|days]].

The soundtrack to ''Pikmin'' was composed by Hajime Wakai. All of the compositions in the game are either synthesized sounds or samples attempting to mimic real instruments. The majority of these are sampled from the [[Assets used in the Pikmin series#Kurzweil K2500|Kurzweil K2500]] and [[Assets used in the Pikmin series#Roland SC-88|Roland SC-88]] synthesizers.

== Menus ==

{{infobox track

|official = y

|internal=jungle.jam

|header = y

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{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = Level Select

|internal=select.jam

|header = y

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{{infobox track

|name = View

|internal=map.jam

|header = y

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{{infobox track

|name = Challenge Mode

|internal=char.jam

|header = y

}}

Heard in the [[Challenge Mode menu]]. This theme contains a more agile melody than the file select music, and it shines throughout the piece, even in a call-and-response pattern. The beat is more pronounced and the instruments all have more clout, to give [[Challenge Mode (Pikmin)|this mode]]'s menu more excitement than the main game's.

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = Results

|internal=cresult.jam

|header = y

}}

Heard [[Challenge results menu|after a Challenge Mode challenge]]. This theme matches the excitement of the original menu, if not surpassing it by adding a rock drum kit to the mix. The track is still local to Challenge Mode however: the main melody is played on the same synthesizer that played the other menu's theme.

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = Today's Results

|internal=d_end2.jam

|header = y

}}

{{infobox track

|name = Journey Complete

|internal=fresult.jam

|header = y

}}

== Cutscenes ==

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = Carry, Fight, Increase and be Eaten

|header = y

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{{infobox track

|name = Prologue

|internal=opening.stx

|header = y

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Heard after beginning a new game, accompanying the [[Cutscene#Opening|prologue cutscene]]. This eclectic soundtrack begins in space, with synthesized drones and patterns gravitating around C to set the mood that the protagonist of the game is from an alien planet. [[Captain Olimar]]'s idling ship seems to produce a small hi-pass waltz in D♭, almost as though he is listening to a radio. This hint of D♭ resounds in a dramatic string section when a passing meteor approaches; the strings quiet down as the scene cuts back to the [[S.S. Dolphin]], but the drone of C gets more intense as hand percussion and an alarm sound effect join in. Finally as the meteor strikes the ship a cymbal roll and a leaping gesture on marimba and pizzicato strings warp the previous ethereal drone into chaos. The strings descend across stinging triads far from C as the ship plummets to [[PNF-404]]. Finally as the camera cuts to the sky and ground another cymbal roll changes the tempo and genre to an orchestral rock beat in D minor with another alarm sound overlay. The drums and orchestra simultaneously cut out to a residual ring when the ship crashes; as the entire cutscene has no sound effects on its own, this sudden {{w|tacet}} during the expected sound of a crash landing produces a wholly suspenseful effect, only to be resolved when the first [[day]] begins.

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = Discovery of Onion

|internal=onion.stx

|header = y

}}

{{infobox track

|name = Meet the Pikmin

|header = y

}}

Heard when Captain Olimar plucks a new type of Pikmin. This theme stresses curiosity, by way of a transposed melody. That is, the marimba establishes a key of G major, while the exotic synthesizer playing the melody is playing in A♭, making the theme not dissonant but odd. The perfect mood set for a player who did not expect a Pikmin to be plucked from the ground.

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = Finding of Parts

|header = y

}}

Heard when Captain Olimar discovers the [[Main Engine]]. Triumphantly ringing through flute, piccolo, vibraphone, french horn, and two synthesized sounds used in the [[#Today's Results|Today's results]] theme, this short scalar melody aids both the understanding of how Pikmin can help and of how [[ship parts]] are important.

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = Spaceship Part Obtained

|header = y

}}

{{infobox track

|name = Power-Up!

|header = y

}}

{{infobox track

|name = Level Complete

|header = y

}}

{{infobox track

|name = Night Comes

|internal=d_end1.stx

|header = y

}}

Heard when a [[day]] ends and Pikmin are returned to their Onions. The tone of this piece is very conclusive, yet also builds enough tension through augmented chords and strong melody that the player eagerly awaits the S.S. Dolphin's liftoff by the end. The reverb in this theme is more prominent and more polished than in other cutscenes, most likely since this theme is to be heard at the end of every day.

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = My Mistake

|internal=d_end3.stx

|header = y

}}

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = End of Day

|internal=badend0.stx

|header = y

}}

Plays when the S.S. Dolphin departs after day 30 with all mandatory ship parts but without all 30 ship parts. Flute, strings, vibraphone, marimba, and piano reprise the theme of the Sunset cutscene, with a more conclusive air and a slower tempo, although this reprise does not play the final note. Instead, the scene cuts to three curious Pikmin watching the S.S. Dolphin depart, and the music changes to a progression of loosely connected major and minor chords that sum into a feeling that the events portrayed are not the end of the story. The following cutscene uses the Epilogue theme.

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = Escape & Fail

|internal=badend1.stx

|header = y

}}

Heard when the S.S. Dolphin departs after day 30 without all mandatory ship parts. The beginning of the cutscene is the same as the Epilogue theme, but this theme is heard when the S.S. Dolphin is shown trying to escape the atmosphere. The theme begins the same way as the successful theme, but synthesized chromatic noises, again resembling alarms, intervene as the S.S. Dolphin slows its ascent. Finally the apex of the Dolphin's flight is accented by a dissonant synthesized glissando, after which all music cuts out and the ship falls.

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = Live as a Pikmin

|internal=badend2.stx

|header = y

}}

Heard after the final analysis of the [[Cutscene#Bad ending|bad ending]]. This bouncy theme sets a mood of failure and the request to try again more than it predicts the fate of Captain Olimar. A piano and some comical instruments play a frivolous tune, passively complemented with the motivic Native American bass flute from the game's main theme. Xylophone and marimba descend the chromatic scale as [[Olimar as Pikmin|Olimar as a Pikmin]] descends from the Onion. Then, the main motif of the game resurfaces in flute and trombone with a very jocular feel, before resolving and ending with Olimar planted in the ground. This theme's joyous mood helps indicate that this ending is roughly a joke, and not to be considered the serious, canon ending.

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = Chapter Complete

|internal=compend0.stx

|header = y

}}

Heard after the S.S. Dolphin is completely repaired. The Sunset theme is reprised, more closely in instrumentation than the neutral departure, but veers off-course and elongates as Captain Olimar addresses a goodbye to the confused Pikmin one last time. The augmented conclusion of the theme still occurs when Olimar enters the Dolphin, and the D♭ major 7 chord on which it ends is extended back to the Pikmin as they attack a [[Bulborb|Spotty Bulborb]]. As they latch on, the theme cleverly combines both the beginning of the Sunset theme and the melody and piano of The Final Trial theme, until the final pan upward to the sky.

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = Escape to Hocotate

|header = y

}}

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = Enemy Reel

|header = y

}}

{{infobox track

|name = Credits

|header = y

}}

{{infobox track

|name = The Impact Site

|internal=tutorial.jam

}}

A playful theme that immediately reassures the player that Captain Olimar is safe after he crash-lands at [[The Impact Site]]. The high-pitched melody carried on glockenspiel and pizzicato violin also accent the tiny stature of Pikmin as they are discovered.

'''Instruments'''

*'''Main version''': '''Oboe''', {{w|contrabassoon}}, '''glockenspiel''', '''violin''' (pizzicato and section), violas, and cellos.

*'''Sunset version''': '''Oboe''', '''tenor recorder''', and nylon guitar.

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|official = y

|internal=play3.jam

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'''Instruments'''

*'''Sunset version''': Marimba, '''music box''', violins, violas, and cellos.

{{clear}}

===''The Forest Navel''===

{{infobox track

|name = The Forest Navel

|internal=cave.jam

}}

With a widening scope of exploration, a new visual landscape, and three types of Pikmin, [[The Forest Navel]]'s theme can afford to sound more exotic. The principal of this theme is a chordal instrument upon a droning C, unlike the previous two areas with a solid melody over C major. The faster tempo may also encourage the player using this area to discover more efficient ways to organize Pikmin.

*'''Sunset version''': Synth guitar (used as both the drone and the main melodic instrument) and soft pad strings.

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = The Distant Spring

|internal=yaku.jam

}}

'''Instruments'''

*'''Enemy mix''': Contrabassoon, timpani, snare drum, bass drum, clash cymbals, piano, violins, violas, cellos, and basses.

*'''Sunset version''': Tenor recorder, celeste, echoing {{w|glass harp}}, mark tree, reed organ, piano-like synth pad (with flanger and slide), and female choir.

{{infobox track

|name = The Final Trial

|internal=flow.jam

}}

The gentle, calm, and predominantly major music of the game so far suddenly takes a sinister turn in [[The Final Trial]]. Although the melody and some accompaniment are a chipper skipping tune, the texture underneath it is a bass drone in F and a chromatic glockenspiel that does not fit in wherever the piece goes. And whenever combat ensues, the piece becomes even more suspenseful with low piano octaves that accent at weird times.

'''Instruments'''

*'''Enemy mix''': Snare drum, clash cymbals, piano.

*'''Sunset version''': '''Flute''', french horn, harp, glockenspiel and violins.

{{clear}}

{{infobox track

|name = Impending Doom

|internal=boss2.jam

|header = y

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{{infobox track

|name = Final Boss Battle

|internal=boss3.jam

|header = y

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{{infobox track

|name = New Record

|internal=fanf5.stx

|header = y

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{{infobox track

|name = Finding Lost Pieces

|header = y

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== See also ==

{{music}}