In 2020, many gigabytes of internal Nintendo data leaked onto the wider Internet. It is known as the “Gigaleak” and contains source codes and assets of many games. Use data from this leak, a group of enthusiasts compiled high quality versions of the SNES Super Mario World Original Sound Tracks (OST).
The work was made possible when source code from the Gameboy Advance remake of Super Mario World was found in the leaked data. The source code contains the names of the monsters, which were the same as those used in the original SNES game. This enabled the team to find the original samples among the gigabytes of leaked files.
We wondered what would be done with all the code, speculating that it would be a poison pill for the emulator scene. This type of hack was not even on our radar and we are delighted that the project is coming to light. The reproduced songs have a completely different quality than the original SNES soundtrack. This is largely due to the samples not having to be compressed or chopped to fit a pattern and work with the sound disk of the console. Other discrepancies in the sound also come from the fact that the monsters in these versions, unlike in the game, do not match the playing length in the original game.
Regardless of the changes, it’s interesting to hear a more complete, well-rounded sound from these classic video games. It reminds us a bit of the later CD console era, when sound designers were able to break free from the limitations of earlier hardware. Of course, we’re still bowing to changing chiptune – and this MIDI Gameboy mod is a great place to start if you’ve curious. Video after the break.