Viva Piñata wasn’t just about growing flowers and attracting strange candy animals. For a lot of people, the music did a lot of the heavy lifting. In my house, that was definitely the case — my wife played it as much for the soundtrack as for the oddly soothing garden-building.
Now that soundtrack is getting a proper re-release.
Materia Collective has announced Rare Treats: Viva Piñata Revisited, a newly remastered and re-recorded version of Grant Kirkhope’s original score. It’s out now on streaming services, with a 2xLP vinyl edition available to pre-order.
Grant Kirkhope goes back to Viva Piñata
The original music was written for the 2006 Xbox 360 title by Grant Kirkhope, whose credits include Banjo-Kazooie, GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark. For this new version, he’s gone back to the score himself and reworked it with a full orchestra.
The new recordings were performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and recorded at the same studio used for the original soundtrack. The idea isn’t to radically change the music, but to give it better sound quality and a bit more space to breathe.
“Working on Viva Piñata was one of my favourite projects,” recalls Kirkhope. “It was the first time that I got to use live orchestra and I really didn’t know what to expect. I think I shed a tear after the first few notes of ‘Island Welcome’, it was fantastic to hear my music being played by real people, they bring it all to life in a way that only humans can. I’m so pleased to be able to bring this score back, recorded with the same orchestra in the same studio that I originally did it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have revisiting it.”
What you actually get
The physical release is a 2xLP set on confetti vinyl, in a gatefold sleeve. It includes:
- Newly recorded orchestral versions of the original tracks
- Liner notes by Justin Cook, lead designer on Viva Piñata
- New artwork by Steve Mayles, who also worked on the original game
Viva Piñata is one of those games that sneaks up on you. It looks lightweight, but can really get under your skin. The music is a big part of that — cheerful without being annoying, relaxing without being boring.
Rare Treats: Viva Piñata Revisited is available now to stream, and the vinyl version can be pre-ordered from the Materia Store. If the Viva Piñata music ever stuck with you, this is probably the nicest way it’s ever going to sound.
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Christian Cawley is the founder and editor of GamingRetro.co.uk, a website dedicated to classic and retro gaming. With over 20 years of experience writing for technology and gaming publications, he brings considerable expertise and a lifelong passion for interactive entertainment, particularly games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.
Christian has written for leading outlets including TechRadar, Computer Weekly, Linux Format, and MakeUseOf, where he also served as Deputy Editor.
When he’s not exploring vintage consoles or retro PCs, Christian enjoys building with LEGO, playing cigar box guitar, and experimenting in the kitchen.
