Every jump, slide, and attack in a Music Level is mapped to a 16th-note grid of the song. If the song’s BPM is 120, then a jump must occur on beat 1, a slide on beat 2, a punch on the “and” of beat 3. The game provides no visual countdown; instead, a subtle low-frequency pulse (felt more than heard) acts as a metronome.

: A rock-heavy rendition of "Antisocial" by the band Trust .

: A mariachi band arrangement of Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" . It features ukulele and classical guitars, requiring players to time jumps with accented guitar strokes .

Between the frantic musical levels, the game uses ambient sound masterfully. The "Toad Story" world (a parody of feudal Japan) features dripping water, rustling bamboo, and the distant pluck of a koto . The "20,000 Lums Under the Sea" levels filter all sounds through a watery low-pass EQ—punches feel muffled, and music swells like it's echoing through a submarine hull.