Soundtracks for Super Mario RPG Available for Pre-order in Vinyl (2023 Remaster) and CD (1996 and 2023)
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was developed by Square and published by Nintendo for the Super NES in 1996. Coming off of Final Fantasy VI in 1994, and Chrono Trigger in 1995, Square was at the peak of their 2D RPG output. From the Nintendo side, Shigeru Miyamoto served as producer, ensuring a higher quality use of the Mario brand than was seen with other early ‘90s products like the Super Mario Bros. movie. Super Mario RPG went on to be critically and commercially successful and was remastered for the Switch in 2023.
The soundtrack to Super Mario RPG was composed by Yoko Shimomura. She had previously composed the soundtrack to 1994’s Live a Live after she joined Square in 1993. Shimomura was previously at Capcom, where she composed the soundtrack to Street Fighter 2, and contributed to the soundtrack for Final Fight. She subsequently composed the soundtracks to many classic RPGs, including Legend of Mana and Kingdom Hearts. For the 2023 remaster, Shimomura created new arrangements of the soundtrack, aiming for a balance between the nostalgic sounds of the SNES and modern sensibilities.
Square Enix is currently taking pre-orders for the soundtracks to both the original game and the remaster. They are releasing the soundtrack for the 2023 remaster in both a 2-CD option or 4-disc vinyl option. Additionally, a collection of both of the 2-CD soundtracks for the original and remaster is available, and it includes a complete track commentary written by Shimomura herself. The expected release date is April 2025.
Super Mario RPG Remaster Vinyl Soundtrack