#35 - Mouryou Senki Madara
Ma-Da-Ra
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Mouryou Senki Madara |
| Track title: |
Ma-Da-Ra |
| Game release year: |
1990 |
| Composer: | Konami Kukeiha Club |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 2)
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Review by Jace:
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With the Famicom's extra VRC6 sound channels, this sounds almost more like a Sega Genesis song than an 8-bit Nintendo tune. All of this song's components come together to create a powerful whole in which the parts are not stepping over or convoluting each other. Notably, one of the square waves is dedicated to a flute-like whistle that both emphasizes and augments the melodies coming from the VRC6. Something like that could only have been pulled off in this era of VGM design by a very dedicated person with a patient and focused ear.
Note by juef: this game has only seen a japanese release, there's no TAS of it, it's an RPG, and the track is not from the ending of the game. You know what that means? That ¬¢¦¤¢£¤@ screenshot has been a pain in the ass to grab!! :P |
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#34 - Super Mario Bros 2
Enjoying the Land (Stage Theme 1)
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Super Mario Bros 2 |
| Track title: |
Enjoying the Land (Stage Theme 1) |
| Game release year: |
1988 |
| Composer: | Koji Kondo |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 3)
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Review by Jace:
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Genre-wise, I'm not sure that this song has any peer among NES music: ragtime piano. That alone would make it notable, but it also just happens to be as clever and catchy as any music that Koji Kondo would ever create, and while it's true that I love hyperbole, I'm not intending to use it when I say that Kondo created some of the most clever and catchy melodies of the 20th century, in any music medium. Previously among these reviews, I've lamented the supposed popularity of Mega Man 3 as a game as being an unjustly determining factor in the appearance of two of its songs on this list. There's another side to that coin, however. While Mega Man 3 is popular among us, The Shizz brethren, I must assume that we are all aware that it is "popular" in the way that a "popular" band we might like can sell out glorified bars with a capacity of 500, while Super Mario games are popular in the way that U2 sells out stadiums with capacities of 60,000. Taken to that extreme, I think it's possible that the near-ubiquity of Super Mario music in video gamedom negatively influences our collective ability to judge that music on its own terms. I'm certainly guilty of this. I mean, I love this song. Production-wise, while simple, it evokes not just "piano," but a particular type of piano (upright) so effectively and cleanly that I have no doubt that hours were spent tweaking the volume envelope to be juuuust right. Compositionally, I find it to be instantly unforgettable while still harboring plenty of movement and boasting a rock-solid walking bassline. However, I am not confident that I am capable of analyzing the success of this work purely as a piece of music, because it is so strongly associated with a game that I love. I embarked on this project originally thinking that that's something we were supposed to strive for, to focus on the music on its own terms, for its own sake, but this song makes me realize how hard that must have been for people who actually grew up playing Contra and Castlevania games. Few things in this grand endeavor gave me more anxiety than trying to rank music from the Super Mario series in phase 3, thinking to myself more than once, "here's a song that I want to give a 90+, but is that only because it's an inextricable part of my happy memories from childhood? And if I give it a lesser rating, am I only doing that out of a potentially unfounded fear that I would only be giving it a high rating due to nostalgia?" It was hard to feel capable of being fair. Ultimately, I do think it would be absurd if some of the works of Koji Kondo, which, for whatever reason, I most certainly do love, did not occupy space on our list, and I'm very happy to see this piece where it is. |
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#33 - Double Dragon
Main Title
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Double Dragon |
| Track title: |
Main Title |
| Game release year: |
1988 |
| Composer: | Kazunaka Yamane |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 1)
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Review by Norrin_Radd:
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I can't tell if I am surprised or not to see this track rate so highly. On the one hand, this is easily one of the most recognized NES tracks of all time (and can definitely be victim of fanboysim and reverse fanboyism), and nostalgia has got to play at least some factor in it's rating, either good or bad. But one the other hand, it's also a really killer track, featuring everything all of us NES-Heads enjoy in an NES song. Soaring leads, groovy bass lines, tons of hooks, intricate ad-libs, well above average production for a 1988 game, and the list goes on.
Ultimately, I think anyone who puts aside their nostalgia for a moment will probably still agree that this song is indeed worthy of the it's place in this list, and then some. |
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#32 - Castlevania 3 - Dracula's Curse
Evergreen (Ending)
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Castlevania 3 - Dracula's Curse |
| Track title: |
Evergreen (Ending) |
| Game release year: |
1990 |
| Composers: | Yoshinori Sasaki, Jun Funahashi, Yukie Morimoto |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 25)
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Review by Norrin_Radd:
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It's unbelievable how much the original NES composer could extract from only 2 square waves and a triangle wave. I love the way the triangle frames the chord progression of this track, and the squares just absolutely go to town.
I'm far from an expert on the subject, but the way the squares are written, and the way they interact with each other, really does feel on par with actual classical composers. The amount of expression in this song, especially considering the limitations of the hardware, can not be denied. It's a shame that so many people can not get past the stigma of square waves to really appreciate what was written here.
Unlike classical composers, NES composers had no basis of comparison, or wealth of knowledge to draw from for how to make an NES song sound like this, technically. There is no teacher or class, or university dedicated to NES orchestration. These NES composers were absolutely on their own, and what they ended up crafted is every bit as emotional and impactful as any famous classical songs once you learn what to appreciate. Another triumph of NES music. |
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#31 - Zelda II - The Adventure of Link
Temple Theme
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Zelda II - The Adventure of Link |
| Track title: |
Temple Theme |
| Game release year: |
1988 |
| Composer: | Akito Nakatsuka |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 12)
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Review by Norrin_Radd:
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I'm sorry that I sound like a broken record here, but again: Why has this track never been featured in another Zelda game or project? This is a fantastic "dungeon" theme! In my humble opinion, much much better than the dungeon themes from any other Zelda game. This particular track features just the right amount of the quirkiness that has made the Zelda series so famous, with the perfect blend of perilous tension.
One of the qualities I really appreciate about this theme is that it really portrays a great feeling of labyrinthine confusion. When the rapid fire arpeggios start firing away, and the bass starts hammering away 8th notes, this song becomes the perfect musical equivalent of having 1 square of health left, and being completely lost in the maze of dark corridors. The way the entire track wraps up at the end by returning to that cheeky rhythmic break down always gets me! Akito Nakatsuka deserves to be a name we all know! |
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#30 - Shatterhand
Final Area
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Shatterhand |
| Track title: |
Final Area |
| Game release year: |
1991 |
| Composers: | Iku Mizutani, Koichi Yamanishi |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 4)
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Review by Jace:
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An epic NES metal tune of the highest caliber, perhaps the definitive statement of Iku Mizutani and a grand declaration to virtues such as patience, perseverance, vision, and that intangible inner flame we refer to as "creativity." Without all of these qualities working together in one conglomeration of human energy, a composition such as this would not have been possible. In a very particular way, this track reminds me of the greatest compositions of Metallica: the real magic behind classic Metallica rests not in each song's primary figures alone, but in the short, clever transitions that link those figures together. The small (but not insignificant) chains that lock one major section to the next highlight those longer sections like a blacklight on fluorescent paint. It's sort of like how the best parts of a roller coaster can be the small moments in between pure speed, when you traverse a hump just-so, and it's engineered to bail your center of gravity and give you that perfect feeling of momentary weightlessness. |
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#29 - Zelda II - The Adventure of Link
Title Theme
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Zelda II - The Adventure of Link |
| Track title: |
Title Theme |
| Game release year: |
1988 |
| Composer: | Akito Nakatsuka |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 1)
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Review by Norrin_Radd:
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This is by far my favourite title screen and title theme on the NES. This song is absolutely majestic! There is a magical quality to this song, that is really hard to describe. The shimmering effect used on the square waves through out the entire soundtrack are never put to better use than they are during this theme. It's almost as if the composer wanted to tell the entire story of the game in a single song. At every point of this song, you can hear reference to some location in the game. From the towns, to the overworld, and even the dungeons themselves. It seems clear to me that this track was marvelously written to encompass an entire journey.
"Impa says that the mark on Link's hand means that he is the hero chosen to awaken Zelda. She gives Link a chest containing six crystals and ancient writings that only a great future king of Hyrule can read."
You can picture Link opening the writings to this song, and it is glorious. |
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#28 - Metroid
Introduction
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Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Metroid |
| Track title: |
Introduction |
| Game release year: |
1987 |
| Composer: | Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 1)
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Review by Jace:
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This prelude to the journey of Samus is the most menacing song composed for the NES, and I say that not in spite of the music box melody that is sandwiched in between brutal sledgehammers of low-end thud, but because of it. The opening chords seem to be serving as a dire alarm, and the abrupt nature in which this alarm breaks into a twinkling, childlike motion immediately speaks something ominous to me. This feeling of anxiety only increases as the rhythm moves the melody into a slightly up-tempo waltz, and is then confirmed as the waltz is halted by that shuddering alarm, now even more aggressive and suffocating than the first time it played. A sonic incarnation of the acidic air and dark unknown of Planet Zebes. It sounds like the snuffing out of life. |
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#27 - Mega Man 2
Bubble Man
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Mega Man 2 |
| Track title: |
Bubble Man |
| Game release year: |
1989 |
| Composers: | Manami Matsumae, Yoshihiro Sakaguchi, Ogeretsu Kun |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 10)
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Review by Norrin_Radd:
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This was the first of two NES songs I actually wrote lyrics to when I was 7 years old that I would sing along as I played. Seeing how highly this track has been rated compared to other tracks in the series means that I was probably not alone as a kid.
There are some fantastically subtle techniques being used on this song to give it a nice "water" level sound. Most notably, at the very start of the song, the square 2 is being used to create echoes for the high pitch triangle wave notes! This is a very seldom used technique, but it's so damn effective, especially here. The overall effect is best described as a "drippy" reverb. It almost makes the echoes of the already smooth textured triangle wave sound as if they are echoing back in a room full of water, like a pool or something. It really gives this song a rich texture that matches the cascading water, and underwater motif.
Now, speaking of the triangle wave. If you listen to the triangle wave carefully, you will hear that there is a bass line embedded inside a very bouncy string of higher pitched notes. This is one of the reasons you just can't help but adore NES music. With all the limitations imposed by the hardware, these composers absolutely refused to compromise. They continued to find innovative ways to get their music across, even if they had to write two melodies in one channel!
As if all of that triangle \ square wave mingling wasn't fancy enough, That same square channel that is already echoing the triangle wave is also used to play the electro tom sample you hear! For only having 3 melodic tracks available to them, the composers for this game added more detail and forethought to this track than probably any NES game ever up until that point of time. I really would like to see a time line of when techniques like this started to become more common. I wonder if Mega Man 2 was a true innovator?
It's really easy to neglect this soundtrack when the much more flashy Mega Man 3 is right around the corner. The melodies in MM3 are much more outrageous, and maybe even more immediately remembered, but when you pull the curtain back on a track like this, you will be amazed at what you can discover. Still worth singing along to, over 20 years later. |
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#26 - Castlevania 3 - Dracula's Curse
Demon Seed (Block-6)
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Castlevania 3 - Dracula's Curse |
| Track title: |
Demon Seed (Block-6) |
| Game release year: |
1990 |
| Composers: | Yoshinori Sasaki, Jun Funahashi, Yukie Morimoto |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 10)
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Review by Norrin_Radd:
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This track has a very paranoid feeling to it. It's almost like a Castlevania take on the Metal Gear series. This is not a typical super virtuoso Castlevania track. Instead, it takes a much slower approach, and instead of filling the song with tons of neo-classical melodies, it fills it with an absurd amount of echo and reverb qualities. This really makes the notes that are chosen stand out, and it really emphasizes the moments when the rhythm section and the leads come together. For as little as they seemingly have going on, this is a very well produced NES track, which really does get its point across. |
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