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I'm sure most of you haven't heard of Barbie Horse Adventures: Blue Ribbon Race, for quick context. Barbie Horse Adventures: Blue Ribbon Race is a horse racing game for Game Boy Advance based on the Barbie license released in 2003. The game has the player take control of Barbie and race their horse through the Primrose Hill Charity Cup. The various courses require that Barbie picks up items along the way. The game is played in a 2D isometric perspective. The player can dress up Barbie in a variety of riding outfits. There is limited multiplayer in the form of two-player minigames. For those of you who do remember the game, you probably remember the unsetteling title screen song. That, along with the image of a distorted horse walking across the screen, looking like it is about to fall over. Made the title screen something that is most likely burned into the mind of 2000s kids.

But what many don't know is that the title screen music began something known as "Barbie Syndrome"...

It all began at Mobius Entertainment, which I worked at for five years, we were doing the Sound Test for the title screen theme. We got this guy called Jorge to listen to the music. Everything seemed normal, until we heard him screaming. When we got to the room, Jorge was lying on the floor convulsing, his skin was pale and his eyes were blank white. No pupils. We managed to get him on an ambulence. And we hoped for the best...

Unfortunately, it was too late...

Jorge had died of cardiac arrest. after that. we attempted to change the music. We made it more upbeat and more-childlike, and it seemed normal, so we did the Sound Test. And it also seemed normal. So we released the game normally, and we hoped it would be normal music that we changed from the unsetteling original...

But it wasn't...

Shortly after the games release, we got a visit from the F.B.I, telling us that the games music had caused multiple children to commit sucide by hanging themselves or jumping from high places. and those who didn't were inflicted with severe headaches, nasuea and epilepsy. We were confused, we asked them to tell us what the music sounded like. They grabbed a Game Boy Advance and turned on Blue Ribbon Race, when we listened to the music, we were shocked...

It was the original music...

We were mortified, we had the F.B.I payed to cover up the incident. And all the copies were recalled and the music was changed to the one you hear today. I do know I will get in trouble with the F.B.I for revealing this, but please believe me, it is serious...

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