Nintendo Life (Jim Norman): Firstly, congratulations on Mina! How does it feel to finally see the game out in the wild?
Jake Kaufman, Composer (Yacht Club Games): It’s an absolutely massive relief! This took us a long time, and I was pretty confident that it would be a hit, but you can never know how it will specifically affect individual players. It’s a huge rush to hear people’s stories and see them feeling inspired and uplifted by something we’ve poured our hearts into.
The game clearly takes a lot of inspiration from the Game Boy Color era. Do you have any fond memories of this time? What games were you playing?
I had grown up with an original Game Boy, playing TMNT: Fall of the Foot Clan, Super Mario Land, Metroid II, Mega Man, and Motocross Maniacs, all through elementary and middle school. By the time the Game Boy Color came out (just after high school, for me), I was already doing soundtracks, so the GBC was more “work” than “play”. Most of my favourites on GBC were ports or remakes – Link’s Awakening DX, Donkey Kong Country, Metal Gear Solid – but I also loved Oracle of Ages/Seasons and Kirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumble.
Coming off the back of Shovel Knight, how did your work start on Mina?
Sean came over to my studio one day and excitedly showed me the early Mina prototype, and I was sold from that moment. About a year later, I joined the Yacht Club staff full-time. While work on Mina was accelerating, though, I was still finishing up Shovel Knight Dig and Pocket Dungeon. As much as I loved those projects, I couldn’t wait to roll onto Mina. I had a million ideas for what I wanted to do with it! Having something new to look forward to after the current project has been a big part of what keeps me going.
After spending so long with Shovel Knight, how difficult was it to ‘find the sound’ of Mina?
A lot of my inspiration was less about specific styles and more from the emotions I felt while playing the games
Since I thrive on novelty, going from one soundtrack to another is less of a problem for me than deciding on the exact specifications, software and hardware combos, and the like. In Mina’s case, I didn’t love the idea of limiting myself to the Game Boy’s sound chip, despite (and perhaps because of) my professional experience with it. I felt the Game Boy alone would sound quite underwhelming next to the NES + VRC6 lushness of Shovel Knight. After several false starts, I learned that Game Boy cartridges could technically use sound expansion chips, although it was never done in commercial games. Before long, I’d settled on an ideal chip to augment and expand the Game Boy’s sound: The Konami SCC. This well-loved expansion chip came from a totally different console (the MSX computer), but why not just pretend they released a Game Boy version, for a Metal Gear 2 port or something?
Which game soundtracks inspired you on this project?
It’s hard to give a precise list, but there’s clearly some Castlevania and Final Fantasy in there. Also, from the moment we confirmed Koshiro-san’s involvement, I leaned a little bit into ActRaiser and Etrian Odyssey, so our styles would mesh even more. A lot of my inspiration was less about specific styles and more from the emotions I felt while playing the games – I worked on some of the more sombre pieces while thinking about, e.g., the “needle-drop” moments in Death Stranding, where a track starts playing as you’re nearing a shelter. That feeling of a song telling a story while also keeping you company on a long, lonely journey. Outside of game music specifically, I was inspired by film noir / golden age jazz soundtracks, Zydeco music from Louisiana, and Appalachian folk songs.
Each area of Tenebrous Isle has its own distinct soundscape. What was the biggest challenge of making them sound unique but also part of one cohesive world?
I wanted to make sure there was a progression of energy; less of a sudden jarring change in mood, and more of a smooth gradient between areas. I wrote several versions of the main overworld theme – western, southern, and eastern – which crossfade seamlessly into one another as you move around the central part of the map. These then lead into more atmospheric “regional overworld” themes, to give you some breathing room to explore as you make your way toward specific areas. Once you’re deep into, e.g., the Bayou or the Crypt, which more resemble dungeons or levels, the action picks back up again, and it doesn’t let up until you’ve beaten the area boss.
I totally understand the joy of holding an actual disc in your hands or looking at a glossy printed cover
What’s your favourite track in the game?
Gator Gallop (Bayou) for sure. But I think Gentle Carriage (Train Cabin) is up there too. It’s slow and ambient, but it’s all about that minimal beat drop.
This game is full of secrets! Did you slip any into the score, too, and can you share some with us?
Here’s one: You can optionally encounter a shady character in an out-of-the-way location who, to put it politely, offers to let you dance with them. A certain band, who you can see performing in the Music Hall after you’ve completed a side quest, plays a set of several consecutive songs. One of their songs is actually a cover of the dance song! This piece is well-known on Tenebrous Isle and beyond as a popular standard. There are a bunch of other in-universe callbacks and references which are easy to miss unless you’re listening closely.
What was it like collaborating with the legendary Yuzo Koshiro on the score?
A dream come true! He’s been one of my favourite composers since I was a teenager, and I’d been hoping for a chance to work with him for years. I was pretty insistent on inviting him to be guest composer for Mina, since I felt he would be a perfect fit for both the game itself and for my own style. His tracks in the game are note-for-note transcriptions of the demos he sent; I tried to make them as accurate as possible, without adding or changing anything. I saved all my arranging and remixing for the area bosses and alternate layers, and left his tracks totally intact. Anything else would feel like painting a moustache on the Mona Lisa!
Finally, we know that the soundtrack is getting a vinyl release (and our fingers are crossed for some physical game release news soon). How important is physical media to you?
Not at all! I’ve never been a collector, and I’ve moved houses too many times to willingly accumulate material objects. That said, I totally understand the joy of holding an actual disc in your hands or looking at a glossy printed cover, and won’t ever judge anyone for it. So I’ll always push for high-quality collectible releases of my work. The Mina vinyl looks and sounds really amazing!
