Why do we refer to the music played in SM64's Water Levels as Dire Dire Docks?

[RichardRowe]

Everyone says that it's Nintendo's official name for the song, but I've yet to see a place where they actually officially named the song.

Infact, it would make much more sense for the song to be named Jolly Roger Bay.

It's the first place you hear the song, and it fits there better than it does in Dire Dire Docks.

I would imagine if SM64 was made today, Dire Dire Docks would have a completely different sounding song, sort of reminiscent of an Airship theme, to reflect it's Military type vibes with the Submarine and all.

Also I've never understood the argument that "Maybe Dire Dire Docks was made before Jolly Roger Bay?" because that doesn't mean the song was made at the exact same time as the level. It's entirely possible that they could've made the song after they added Jolly Roger Bay. And even still, that wouldn't stop them from giving it the official name of Jolly Roger Bay when they actually gave it an official name, because by that time, the game would've been released, and with that would be Jolly Roger Bay.

[Latios212]

Everyone says that it's Nintendo's official name for the song, but I've yet to see a place where they actually officially named the song.

See the official English release here: https://www.mariowiki.com/Super_Mario_64_Original_Soundtrack

Track titles on officially released soundtracks can be odd and inconsistent sometimes. We generally stick with titles from OSTs if possible, with some consideration for using an unofficial title if it's overwhelmingly generally used. In this case, despite the level order, for whatever reason it may be, "Dire, Dire Docks" is both the official and widely used title.