The 'Shroom:Issue 124/Palette Swap

Director's Notes
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Hi, everybody! Welcome to the July issue of Palette Swap!

I have good news for you this month! We have two new sections for you this month! will now be writing Featured Character Artwork, and is starting Mario's Boombox again. Please do check out both of their sections this month and show your support. Palette Swap hasn't been this big in a long time, although we are missing a couple sections this month, but we are always accepting new writers, so if there's a section you want to write for, send us an application!

With that out of the way, please enjoy all of the great sections we have this month! ~FunkyK38

Section of the Month

This time, gets a win with his debut section covering the soundtrack for Kirby: Planet Robobot! Congratulations, and a big thank you to everyone who voted! Please do keep it up!

Featured Character Artwork
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Hello everybody! It’s your old pal Shoey here bringing back an old classic; Featured Character Artwork! Basically what’s going to happen is that every other month I’m going to feature a character’s artwork and explain to you why I think it’s special. For my first edition, I’m going to do an enemy artwork from one of my favorite games; Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. That enemy is Carroboscis, a carrot enemy who hails from the land of Booster Pass. First off, I’ve always liked the Super Mario RPG artwork style. I think the Claymation style looks really good and makes all the artwork look really unique. I think it’s really cool how you can see the texture of the carrot, because I think that makes it stand out compared to other art styles. They make the carrot shine, which is really neat, and I think that, combined with the texture, really show how much effort went into making artwork for what is essentially a really minor enemy. Rather than have a pointed end like a regular carrot, this enemy has a horizontal tail, sort of like a ghost tail. This makes sense since this enemy is basically a spooky ghost carrot; the blackened face and the way its mouth is shaped really highlights how spooky this enemy is in my opinion. I’ve always been a fan of Super Mario RPG because I think it’s got a lot of charm to it. One part of that charm is the fact that they made official artwork for every enemy, including minor enemies like this spooky carrot. I like this enemy because of how much I love the idea of a spooky wizard carrot enemy. Well, that’s all for this edition. Until next time, this has been Shoey with Featured Character Artwork!

What's on the Box?
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Hello readers, and welcome back to What's on the Box.

If any of you follow my wiki career, you probably know that I've been doing a lot of Super Princess Peach stuff recently. After several months I have finally finished that project, and I decided the best way to commemorate that is to look at the boxart for that game.

Sadly, however, much like WarioWare: Smooth Moves from last month, this boxart doesn't have a lot going for it. It features Princess Peach, surrounded by a lot of bubbles, looking on in shock as Mario is tied up by the Army Hammer Bro. And that's it.

It's a real shame, because this game is probably one of the most unique Mario games we've ever had. The gameplay and enemies just make it feel so different, it almost feels like it's from an entirely different game series, and that's something the boxart should have reflected more.

What we get is Princess Peach surround by bubbles, which don't appear in the game, and some flowers in the lettering, flowers also play no part in the game. Even the pink for the "Super" is out of place, because other than the Peach's dress, pink plays no part in the game. None of the enemies or vibes are pink.

I'm alright with the bubbles being there, but what would have been better is if they were filled. Perry is a major part of the game, both gameplay and story-wise, yet he is completely snubbed. The vibes are also pretty important, and they too don't feature.

As it is, the boxart is incredibly plain, but if it had things like Perry, like the vibes, like vibe-infused enemies in the bubbles, then this would be an amazing boxart cover.

Ongoing Fan Projects
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Mario's Boombox
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Today I’d like to take a look at a song from Andy Stein, better known on the Internet by his YouTube username, Mandopony. Andy tackles a variety of musical projects, but I have primarily taken interest in his various video game-inspired original songs. While Andy creates songs based on games as diverse as ‘’Luigi’s Mansion,’’ ‘’Undertale,’’ and ‘’Bendy and the Ink Machine,’’ I plan to spend today looking at his song based on ‘’The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask ,’’ ‘’Just 3 Days.’’

Now, there’s not a lot going on with this song musically. While the music is catchy, rather upbeat, and fun, there are no spectacular moments in the instrumental to discuss. The lyrics, however, provide a very interesting look into the perspective of Skull Kid throughout the game and his interactions with Majora. The themes present in the lyrics are rather dark, which forms a very strange contrast with the upbeat instrumental. I don’t know if this was a stylistic choice on Mr. Stein’s part, or if the music just fell together best this way, but I feel that it actually works well for the song; Majora’s Mask never shied away from the idea of contrasting celebration and jubilation with despair, as evidenced by Kafei and Anju’s wedding and the way the Festival of Time coincides with the ultimate fall of the moon and the destruction of Termina.

Wait, is the marriage not voided if the groom is a child? Actually, this video provides some interesting information about the inspiration for this sidequest and ‘’Majora’s Mask’s’’ themes of confronting the end of the world.

Now, to actually jump into the discussion of the lyrics:

The song’s theme of isolation becomes clear very quickly, with Skull Kid stating “I was all on my own. / I didn’t care if anyone was there.” I find it interesting that Skull Kid tries to deny his loneliness at this point in the song, because we’ll see very soon that he does indeed care very much as to if other people are there. It may be some kind of a coping mechanism; perhaps he’s trying to convince himself he doesn’t ‘’really’’ want other people to care for him. Either way, it’s not convincing. Skull Kid goes on to mention his love of mischief and his affinity for harmless pranks, but adds a bit of interesting information. Skull Kid states that “I loved to pull pranks and make believe that someone noticed me.” Aha, so he does seem to crave attention from others around him. Skull Kid definitely seems to resent his isolation, reflecting his position as an outcast in the [zelda.gamepedia.com/Lost_Woods Lost Woods] and the fact that the Four Giants abandoned him long ago. Skull Kid’s frustration with his isolation eventually turns to anger, making him an easy target for Majora to manipulate… I suppose it may be more common a scenario than we’d like to admit, minus the demonic masks, of course.

Moving along, the song quickly goes over Skull Kid’s encounter with the Happy Mask Salesman and the story of how he came into possession of Majora’s Mask. The song then launches into its chorus, where Skull Kid reveals a few interesting bits in regards to his relationship with Majora. Skull Kid asks “Oh Majora, / What have you done to me?” and goes on to say, “I used to be so carefree. / Now I can’t escape this misery. / … / I never want to show my face again.” Here, Skull Kid blames Majora for his issues and his torment. I have to wonder how accurate Skull Kid’s assessment is here, though. I mean, we already saw that Skull Kid had some emotional issues before Majora entered the picture, but perhaps Majora is actively egging on Skull Kid’s anger and pushing those issues to the front and center. I don’t know exactly how the two are interacting, but what is clear is that the introduction of Majora to the situation has accelerated the development of Skull Kid’s internal issues. In the end, though, Skull Kid dismisses his worries and lack of self-esteem with his observation that “In just three days / it won’t matter anyway.” The line provides a crucial hint to the nature of Skull Kid and Majora’s partnership; Majora is able to manipulate Skull Kid into bringing about the end of the world so easily because he seems to view the apocalypse as a positive, an escape from his suffering.

While Skull Kid laments having to show his face, I’d recommend all fans of the source game recall how much they wish they had never seen this face.

In the second verse, Skull Kid notes how Majora, here compared to a “new toy” has given him new powers with which to prank or torment people. The way he describes himself and Majora in the opening four lines of the second verse emphasizes Skull Kid’s child-like nature. Stating that “It feels so good to be replaced / when the world says that you’re a disgrace,” Skull Kid provides further hints that he views himself as an outcast. The idea that Majora could ‘’replace’’ Skull Kid is an interesting one. Did Majora suggest it? Does Skull Kid just have that much self-loathing? In any case, it’s sad and helps contribute to that feeling of Majora being a tempting demon who uses Skull Kid’s emotional issues to further its own goals. Skull Kid continues by launching into a dramatic description of his plan to crush Termina with the moon. When Skull Kid tells his audience not to “act surprised when I / watch the flames and laugh,” it becomes clear that he’s lashing out against a world which he sees as having betrayed and forgotten him. As he’s spent more and more time with Majora, Skull Kid has become wrathful and vengeful, deciding to use his new powers to punish the world that’s neglected him. This becomes clear with the second chorus, which contains some revealing alterations of the first chorus. Rather than asking what Majora has done ‘’to’’ him, Skull Kid starts the second chorus by cheerfully asking what Majora has done ‘’for’’ him. Skull Kid notes that he “used to be so weak inside, “ but he’s now in a position of power, a fact which he’s using to get his revenge on a world which has been cruel to him. Rather than wishing to hide his face behind a mask, Skull Kid simply tells Majora that he “never wants to see this place again”. Majora’s influence over Skull Kid has turned this lost and lonely child into a vengeful killer. I think it’s important to note here, that Skull Kid never became evil or fell under Majora’s control; Majora just was able to use Skull Kid’s internal issues to bring out his anger and channel it into destructive behavior. Again, it’s a theme that, magic aside, definitely crops up in real life.

The bulk of the third verse simply reiterates Skull Kid’s frustration with the world and his poor self-image, so it isn’t worth looking at in great detail here. It’s at the end of the third verse, though, where Skull Kid seems to begin to realize the magnitude of his actions. As the moon draws near, Skull Kid notes that “There’s no going back / and nowhere to run”. Seeing the fruition of his plan, Skull Kid starts to question just what he’s accomplished. As the start of the final chorus, he asks Majora why he’s still so miserable after finally getting the revenge he was so desperate for. Asking Majora if he should “have trusted all / the things you say,” Skull Kid seems to realize that Majora’s interests may not have lined up with his own as closely as he thought, and figures out that trusting Majora may have been a mistake. In the end though, it’s too late for doubts, and Skull Kid resigns himself to his fate as a dead puppet with the whispered admission that “In just three days… / It won’t matter anyway.” It’s a chilling and depressing end to Skull Kid’s story.

Overall, this song has a fun instrumental, some nice accompanying artwork, and gives its audience an amazing look at Skull Kid’s emotional and mental states throughout his experience with Majora. I truly appreciate how Majora is depicted as preying on Skull Kid’s weakness and using his emotional issues to push Skull Kid to commit acts of greater and greater consequence. The look into the character of Skull Kid certainly helps this wonderful piece of music stand out as a wonderful ‘’Legend of Zelda’’ original song.