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Totaka's Song is a simple, 19-note, 8-bar melody. Nintendo sound designer Kazumi Totaka is known for inserting it into most of the titles that he has worked on. The song is often hidden several minutes into a rarely-heard song in the game, requiring a player to find a place where the song plays and wait.
Games containing Totaka's Song[]
X (Game Boy, 1990)[]
Go to a fake scientist screen in Mission Four and wait 40 seconds to hear the song.
Mario Paint (Super NES, 1992)[]
Mario Paint on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System was long thought to be the earliest Nintendo game that Totaka's Song can be found in, until the song was also found in X. In Mario Paint, clicking the letters on the title screen will cause different effects to occur, one of which is Totaka's Song playing. To hear it, one must simply click on the "O": it will turn into a bomb and explode, after which the song will play.
For the Frog the Bell Tolls (Game Boy, 1992)[]
After the third quest in the castle, a boat to the Nantendo Fun Center will appear in Port Town with a new building next to it. Enter this building and wait 3 minutes and 30 seconds to hear the song.
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Game Boy, 1992)[]
On the Game Over screen, wait 2 minutes and 30 seconds to hear the song.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Game Boy, 1993 / Switch, 2019)[]
This game contains three different versions of Totaka's song:
- Go to Richard's frog-filled villa and wait 2 minutes and 30 seconds. This works in all versions, including The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX and the 2019 remake on the Nintendo Switch. It's worth noting that Richard is actually a cameo appearance of a character in Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, which is probably the reason Totaka hid his song here.
- In the Japanese version, start a new game and enter your name as "とたけけ" (Totakeke). The music in the file select screen will be replaced with a remix of Totaka's Song. This can also be heard in the German version of Link's Awakening DX by entering the name "MOYSE".
- The third version was discovered in the game's music data, but a method of playing it in-game has not been discovered. This version is a solo, using an instrument that sounds like the Full Moon Cello.
Virtual Boy Wario Land (Virtual Boy, 1995)[]
After the end of the credits, wait on the End Screen for 1 minute and 15 seconds.
Yoshi's Story (Nintendo 64, 1998)[]
Enter "Trial Mode" from the game's main menu and wait on the next screen for 2 minutes and 10 seconds.
Mario Artist: Talent Studio (Nintendo 64DD, 2000)[]
One of the included demo videos plays Totaka's Song while an old person crosses the road. (It is not known whether this song is available for user-created videos.)
Luigi's Mansion (GameCube, 2001)[]
This game contains 2 different versions of the song:
- Go to the training room controller configuration screen and wait for 3 minutes and 30 seconds to hear the song.
- The game contains a music file named "PianistQuiz03" which is an upbeat piano version of Totaka's Song. The name indicates that it is meant to be played during Melody Pianissima's music quiz, but no method of accessing it in-game has been found yet.
Animal Crossing (GameCube, 2001)[]
K.K. Slider, or "Totakeke," owes his name to Kazumi Totaka. To hear Totaka's Song in Animal Crossing on the Nintendo GameCube, one must approach K.K. Slider when he plays music on Saturday night. The player must then request the song "K.K. Song". This is one of the three hidden songs in Animal Crossing, and without requesting it, K.K. Slider will never play it. Requesting "K.K. Song" will cause K.K. Slider to play a version of Totaka's Song, and afterwards, the player will receive a recording of the song that sounds a lot more like the version of Totaka's Song that players are used to hearing.
Animal Crossing-e (e-Reader, 2003)[]
Cards P-13 and P-15 in Series 4 contain the "Who's Dunnit?" minigame, which has Totaka's Song as its normal background music. This is a rare instance of a game where the song is not hidden at all, although one could argue that the minigame itself is hidden in collectible card packs.
Pikmin 2 (GameCube, 2004)[]
After completing a cave, wait on the Treasures Salvaged screen for approximately 3 minutes and 50 seconds. This only works in the GameCube version; the song was removed from the New Play Control! release. Also, if you enter a cave without a memory card inserted, you will get a prompt stating so. If you wait approximately 3 minutes and 40 seconds on this screen, the song will play.[1]
Yoshi Touch & Go (Nintendo DS, 2005)[]
The song playing in the level where the wind blows away the clouds you draw contains Totaka's Song after 3 minutes and 45 seconds. However, the stage will usually end before this part is reached. To hear it, just leave the game paused, as the music continues to play on the pause menu.
Animal Crossing: Wild World (Nintendo DS, 2005)[]
In Animal Crossing: Wild World, the song can be found in the same way as the first game. However, since the Train Station is no longer present, one must speak to K.K. Slider at The Roost cafe beneath the town museum. It can also be heard in Wolfgang's house.
Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii, 2008)[]
Along with the same method as in Wild World, one can find the song in another way. While being driven to or from the city in Kapp'n's bus, leave the Wii running without going through the text while Kapp'n is facing away from the player. This triggers a cycle of him whistling some of K.K. Slider's tunes, including K.K. Song (Totaka's Song).
Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii, 2008)[]
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, when the the Animal Crossing stage Smashville is selected on a Saturday, K.K Slider will be present, playing his songs in the background of the fight. Rarely, Totaka's Song is played during the battle.
X-Scape (DSiWare, 2010)[]
In X-Scape, the DSiWare sequel to Totaka's first work and the first instance of the song, one can find the song in a way much like the original, by waiting on a fake scientist screen for a few minutes while the music remains distorted.
Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo 3DS, 2012)[]
The song can be listened to in the same way as in all the other games in the series. The song also plays while on the loading screen connecting to the Internet after speaking to Kapp'n for 2 minutes and 25 seconds. After the original song has looped, Totaka's Song will play as if it is part of the original song itself. You must have a slow internet connection in order to be on the page for long enough to hear the song. You can find video evidence of Totaka's Song in Animal Crossing: New Leaf here.
Totaka's Song can also be heard in Club LOL as a brief section of the normal background music. It can only be heard after waiting for a long time.
You can also buy K.K. Song from T.I.Y. and up once you have upgraded to it.
Yoshi's New Island (Nintendo 3DS, 2014)[]
In Yoshi's New Island, wait in the world map in Level 6-8 for 5 minutes The song will begin, using the instruments of the regular map theme.
Mario Kart 8 (Wii U, 2014)[]
If the player races on a course with Yoshi on the sidelines, certain Yoshi will hum the tune. It is difficult to hear, as the tune is largely covered up by the course's music, but if the music is removed, the song is clearly identifiable. Here is video evidence of it.
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (Nintendo 3DS, 2015)[]
The song can be heard while designing DJ KK's home using his amiibo card. If the player uses the turntable, it will play said song.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch, 2017)[]
The song can be found with the same method as Mario Kart 8 (see above).
Luigi's Mansion (Nintendo 3DS, 2018)[]
Wait in the movement settings screen for 3 minutes, and a remixed version of the song will start to play.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo Switch, 2020)[]
Like in previous Animal Crossing games, the song is present as the purchasable K.K. Song, and can be requested when asking K.K. Slider to play a song. The song may also be played at random points on the radio featured in game.
Unconfirmed Games[]
These games may contain Totaka's Song, but its location has not been discovered or confirmed. A lot of games Totaka has worked on have been speculated to be deconfirmed, but these games have neither been confirmed nor deconfirmed, and many users are still trying to find different creative ways to unlock this hidden song. It is theorized that the song is present in every game that Totaka has composed music for.
- Wave Race 64
- Wii Channels
- Kenkou Ouen Recipe 1000: DS Kondate Zenshuu
- Wii Music
- Yoshi's Woolly World
Wii Sports (Wii, 2006) & Wii Sports Club (Wii U, 2013)[]
If you play a game of tennis and get a rally going, you may notice that the sound effect for the ball hitting the tennis racket is a slightly different pitch each time the ball hits. If you record the ball sounds and play them back to the rhythm of Totaka's Song, it seems to match perfectly. However, this may be due to one's mind making the racket hits sound like the song when played in the correct tempo. Video evidence of its existence can be found here. More info here.
Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo Switch, 2017)[]
When you capture a Moe-Eye and put on its sunglasses, waiting around for a long time will cause the Moe-Eye to hum some tunes, including the Super Mario Bros. theme, the Super Mario Bros. ending theme, the Super Mario World ending theme, and the theme for Gusty Garden Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy. There is speculation that one of the tunes it hums is Totaka's Song. Posts online display captured footage that show a Moe-Eye humming a tune similar to the song.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U (Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, 2014) & Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Nintendo Switch, 2018)[]
Totaka's Song was discovered in Brawl to very rarely play in the background of Smashville while K.K. Slider is present in the background of the stage. This is likely because Kazumi Totaka composed a lot of Animal Crossing music for the game. However, the song has not yet been discovered in the later two games in the series. Even if the same requirements are fulfilled, the song never seems to play. This might be because the only songs Totaka composed for the newer games are the Wii Sports Resort remix in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U (which only plays on the Wuhu Island stage) and the Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer theme in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (which can play on any of the Animal Crossing stages). It is possible that the song could be hidden in a different stage that Totaka composed music for, but it has not yet been found.
Other[]
The music for the "NO BLANK FRAMES" error screen on the Game Boy Camera is a very short tune using the first 6 notes of Totaka's Song, followed by the first 5 notes repeated in a higher key. However, the note lengths are somewhat different, and Kazumi Totaka is not listed in the credits, so this may be a coincidence.
On the official European website for Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Totaka's Song can be heard by clicking on K.K. Slider.