This came up on my playlist while cleaning up some sketches this morning, and it hit me (again) how hard the music goes in Mischief Makers and what a core part of the experience of the game the audio is.
Most of this game's tracks just pop into my head out of nowhere, they're burned into my soul, and this one's no exception. I still haven't heard anything else like it.
I'm no music expert, I just love how much of the Mischief Makers soundtrack leans hard into a hard, mechanical feel to match Marina's robotic nature, but still has a vibrant, upbeat sound to it that goes well with her personality while hinting at the danger of an alien planet. The first time you hear this track is the theme park level that'd put Action Park to shame, which really cements it as part of the game's identity.
It feels like the game's background music is being played on power tools from another galaxy, and it gives the whole game a soundscape that's hard to put in words, but blends in so well that it feels completely natural to the world you're getting a look into.
(Hanzawa also made music for Gunstar Heroes and Alien Soldier, and was part of the sound team for Dynamite Headdy, with DH being up there among my favorite video game OSTs of all time. Absolute legend.)