Hotel Mario - Demo Music
In 2021 (and possibly earlier), it was discovered that composer Marc St. Regis had a portfolio containing multiple demo tracks from Hotel Mario. You can listen to these tracks here:
The portfolio went down sometime in 2024, but luckily the tracks were saved and posted elsewhere. Let's go analyze these demo tracks and learn about some stolen valor along the way...
(Note that many of the tracks in the video have been edited to match the final tracks' speed. A download to the originals is in the video's comments.)
Sections:
Investigating The Demo Tracks -- Improper Credits
Investigating The Demo Tracks
All of the demo tracks are in stereo as opposed to the mono music used in the final game, and appear to be unmastered.
The tracks were initially in one medley totalling 3:16 in length - I've separately analyzed each track to avoid any biases.
| Track Location | In-Game? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 to 0:07 | Yes Title/World Map music |
Reverb added Some instruments not present |
| 0:10 to 0:36 | Yes Roy's Hotel theme |
Matches the "clear" music the best. Slowest variant (Variation 2) has a 5% faster tempo |
| 0:40 to 0:59 | Yes Morton's Hotel theme |
Matches Variation 2 the best, especially with its drums. Final music is about 30% faster. |
| 1:00 to 1:05 | Yes Bowser's Hotel "clear" theme Unused longer variant |
Identical to final track. |
| 1:06 to 1:36 | Yes Ludwig's Hotel theme |
Instrumentation is different than any of its variations. Final has a 15% faster tempo. |
| 1:36 to 1:42 | Yes "Biggest Fan" cutscene music |
Missing drumfill at end, but otherwise identical |
| 1:43 to 1:56 | No | Uses the same theme as a section of Larry's Hotel theme. Likely a cutscene track. |
| 1:57 to 2:03 | No | Unknown where this could've gone. It sounds vaguely like the piggy bank cutscene's music. |
| 2:18 to 3:06 | No | A rather lengthy theme that doesn't appear in the final game. Its upbeat tone and organ makes it sound like circus music. |
According to St. Regis, the game's music was originally MIDIs written with Opcode Studio Vision on a Mac OS 7, and the following synths were used:
Studio Electronics Obie Rack, Yamaha TG-100, Roland S770 (custom and stock samples), MKS-20, MKS-50, Casio CZ-100, MT-40 (customized)
Improper Credits
Cool stuff, ain't it? However, if you know the credits of Hotel Mario by heart - and hey, who doesn't? - you'll notice a discrepency in the audio section:
St. Regis is not credited at all for his work. Rather, a man named Jack Levy is credited for the game's theme music. Strange... especially when one realizes that the game's "theme music" was actually taken from the 1933 film Little Women, which was composed by Max Steiner! What is going on? Have we the CD-i Nintendo equivalent of Tommy Tallarico?
Well, the answer can be found in a YouTube comment from St. Regis that has seemingly only been preserved on the VGMPF Wiki page for Hotel Mario. I'll archive it here for posterity's sake:
That’s because my good friend Jack Levy took all the credit for my work–something I just found out recently. He did assist with sound design, and production assistance, However I, Marc St. Regis, am the composer and performer.
St. Regis would also confirm that Levy co-created the alternate theme variations heard in Hotel Mario, but never actually composed new music.
A shitty move for sure, but at least the truth is out there now.
There's one lingering question I have, and it's this: Who decided to put the Little Women theme in the game?
Return to top
Last updated: October 7th, 2024.