Totaka's Song is a simple, 19-note and 8-bar melody, that Nintendo sound designer Kazumi Totaka is known for inserting in most of the titles that he has worked on. The song is very simple and 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. This same technique was used to hide a remix of the Super Mario Bros. overworld theme in the Super Mario World Special World music.

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Games containing Totaka's Song

Go to a fake scientist screen in Mission Four and wait 40 seconds.

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. Totaka's Song. In Mario Paint, clicking the letters on the title screen will cause different effects to happen, one of which being 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.

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.

On the Game Over screen, wait 2 minutes and 30 seconds to hear the song.

This game contains three different versions of Totaka's song:

Go to Richard`s frog-filled villa and wait for 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.

After the end of the credits, wait on the End Screen for 1 minute 15 seconds.

Enter "Trial Mode" from the game's main menu and wait on the next screen for 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

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.)

This game contains 2(!) different versions of this song:

Go to the training room controller configuration screen and wait for 3 and a half minutes. 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.

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.

Cards P-13 and P-15 in Series 4 contain the "Who's Dunnit?" mini-game, 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 the game itself is hidden in collectible card packs.

After completing a cave, wait on the Treasures Salvaged screen for approximately 3 minutes 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 50 seconds on this screen, the song will play. It was also discovered in 2019 that if you go into a cave with the memory card unplugged you will hear it. Wait on the unable to save screen for 3 minutes and 40 seconds and Totaka's song will play.[1]

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.

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.

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).

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, playing the Animal Crossing stage "Smashville" on a Saturday will make K.K Slider to play some of his musics. Rarely, Totaka's song is played during the battle but there's a chance that K.K will play the song inbetween the battle that it can barely be heard due to the fighting effects.

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.

The song can be listened to in the same way as all the other games in the series. Also, while being 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 a long amount of time. 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, If you stay for long enough the music will briefly play the notes.

You can also buy the K.K. Song from T.I.Y. and up once you have upgraded to it.

In Yoshi's New Island, wait in the world map in level 6-8 for 5 minutes, & then, the song will begin, using the instruments of the map theme song.

If the player goes to a course with Yoshis on it, certain Yoshis will hum the tune. It is faint as the tune is largely covered up by the course's music, but once the music is removed, the song is clearly identifiable. Here is video evidence of it.

The song will play if the player starts design DJ KK's home using the card amiibo. If the player uses the turntable, it will play said song.

Same as Mario Kart 8: see above.

Wait in the movement settings screen for 3 minutes and a remixed version of the song will start to play.

When K.K. Slider is on the island, request the song K.K. Song. K.K. Slider whistles the song almost immediately after.

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, however these games have neither been confirmed or deconfirmed and many users are still trying to find different creative ways to unlock this hidden song. It is theorised that it is in every game that Totaka composed.

In Wii Sports if you play a game of tennis and get a rally going, you may notice 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 at the same tempo as 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 found here. More info here.

When you capture a Moe-Eye and put on the sunglasses, waiting around a while results in the Moe-Eye hums 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. A Reddit post by Zi5han shows off captured footage that shows a Moe-Eye humming a tune similar to the Song.

The Totaka's Song was discovered in Brawl to in a rare instance to play in the background of Smashville if you get K.K. Slider to appear in the background of the stage. This is 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. Even with the same requirements, the song never seems to appear. This might be because the only songs Totaka composed for the newer games are the Wii Sports Resort remix in Smash 4 (that only appears on the Wuhu Island stage) and the Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer theme in Smash Ultimate (That appears on all the Animal Crossing stages). There is a high possibility that the song could be hidden in these stages. However if it is, it has not been discovered yet.

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, then 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 just 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. The last three notes for Tokata's Song are the same notes for the theme in Mother 3, however this could just be a coincidence.

Video

The Easter Egg Hunter Totaka's Song

References