To start things off before we get into the music related questions, introduce yourself to everybody!

Wassup, I’m Irikachana! I’m a growing composer, digital artist, and game developer. I am a huge fan of JRPGs and things from around the early 2000s.

How did you first become familiar with the MOTHER series? What’s your favourite game of the three?

My introduction to the MOTHER series was all out of curiosity thanks to Super Smash Bros. Characters such as Ness (and Lucas) were unknown to me at the time, and the music they brought with them piqued my interest. (as a kid, I spent a lot of time listening to Snowman through the Sound Test in Brawl) It’s a hard pick for me, but I’d have to say MOTHER 2 is my most favorite out of the three. I loved how big the world felt, and beating it for the first time is something I’ll never forget.

Of course, you’re most well known in the community for your music covers and restorations. Where did this all begin, and what are your primary inspirations?

My musical endeavors began a very long time ago when all I had was my mother’s grand piano and a little Casio PT-30. The first song I taught myself was Lavender Town from Pokémon Red & Green, due to its simplistic melody. I eventually got a laptop, installed FL Studio, started making my own original tunes & arrangements of some of my most favorite VGM, and the rest is history. Some of my biggest inspirations are Kazumi Totaka, Noriyuki Iwadare, Masaya Matsuura, and of course, Shogo Sakai. (if we’re talking VGM, of course)

Your MOTHER 3 Music Restoration Project kick started your career. What’s it like restoring Sakai’s music? Is it difficult to track down all the original instrument samples?

It’s both extremely fun, but also quite demanding. While a very big chunk of the game’s sound sources is well known at this point, there are a few minor instruments and a lot of percussive samples that are still unknown, but in due time I’m positive they will all eventually be found. Outside of that though, it’s such a blast bringing these beloved songs to a limitation-less listening experience.

Some argue the compression the GBA creates when processing the audio adds a lot of depth and character to it. In this case, what method do you use to emulate that sound, without losing the cleanliness of your own restoration?

It all boils down to what I do for the mix. In some songs, there is a delay effect on instruments (like the flute in Fight With Mecha-Drago) that makes the flute feel reverb-y and distant, so I try to convey what the song is attempting to communicate on a greater scale, with more advanced effects. Sometimes, this process involves sacrificing the chiptune sounds for the delay on some tracks, so I do understand that these restorations may not be for everyone who’s into those little details. I also make sure to listen to the songs as they sound on GBA so I can get the leveling of each instrument just right.

Of course, some of your most popular restorations are the N64 MOTHER 3 tracks. How do those compare to restoring a song from the GBA version?

With the N64 MOTHER 3 tracks, it involves the same process of listening to the audio we currently have of them and figuring out mixing, effects, instrumentation, and such. Songs like the original Tazmily Village, however, aren’t fully present in the GBA outside of leitmotifs, so it requires recreating it completely by ear. It isn’t hard by any means, but it does take a bit more work. (I’d like to mention Pinci here, as they’re the ones who helped me out a ton with the sequence of that song, so please check out their work!!!!

Although it’s not common knowledge, Takuto Kitsuta programmed the music for the N64 version of MOTHER 3. Do you think some of the technical discrepancies on how the music is mixed was due to his involvement?

I’d like to believe that he definitely played a big part in helping Sakai translate his music onto the Nintendo 64. With what little previews we have of the OST, most of the tracks sound absolutely stunning, especially for N64 music.