#55 - Journey to Silius
Title Theme
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Journey to Silius |
| Track title: |
Title Theme |
| Game release year: |
1990 |
| Composers: | Mabocha N, Marumo, Naoki Kodaka, Nobuyuki Hara,
Shinichi Seya |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 1)
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Review by Norrin_Radd:
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Pure intensity. It's pretty obvious why this track was voted onto to this list. It's over a minute long, and it only relents for a split second before pummeling you with more action. The drummer does one mind-stacking fill after another, the bass player never stops pounding away staccato notes and the squares are in full on lead guitar mode. This song has just about everything you would need for an indulgent melodic instrument rock track. This is instant gratification at it's finest. |
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#54 - Mega Man 2
Wood Man
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Mega Man 2 |
| Track title: |
Wood Man |
| Game release year: |
1989 |
| Composers: | Manami Matsumae, Yoshihiro Sakaguchi, Ogeretsu Kun |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 4)
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Review by Jace:
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Yuukichan's Papa and crew really crack their knuckles with this one. Right off the bat, a full cadre of drum sounds created by creative pitch bending of the triangle and square wave channels, in addition to the typically percussive noise channel, lays a heavy foundation of baditude for what follows. While superficially one of the more Iron Maiden-y tracks in Mega Man 2 (the galloping rhythm section, the simplicity of the soaring melody), there's a brooding quality to the chord progression that is unlike just about anything Maiden ever tackled. Wood Man's theme is also a good display of how the composers got creative with the harmonic intervals available to them. The squishy, warm sound of the NES square waves when harmonized in middle-low registers (and the fact that they're in mono) creates a unison effect that I feel is richer than what is typically available to regular instruments, like the electric guitar. |
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#53 - Gauntlet
Title Theme
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Gauntlet |
| Track title: |
Title Theme |
| Game release year: |
1987 |
| Composers: | Hal Canon, Earl Vickers |
| Download: |
NSFE
, NSF (track 5)
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Review by Jace:
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I tend to enjoy it when NES songs have really erratic sorts of "warp zone" moments, as occurs in this otherwise straightforwardly-medieval Gauntlet tune about 28 seconds in. The triangle wave and one of the square waves lock a still-strange groove in 4/4 while the other square wave pirouettes all over them with what appears to be an arpeggio in 6/8, though I can't be quoted on that authoritatively as there are additional beats for the wackadoo square wave at the end of the phrase that throw it out of my feeble mind's window. From there, the melody continues on a jaunty, chalice-raising course with increasing kingliness. The warp zone factor combined with the clever turn back into the loop's opening figure seem to say, "you will never leave the dungeon." |
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#52 - Contra
Jungle, Hangar (Stages 1, 7)
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Contra |
| Track title: |
Jungle, Hangar (Stages 1, 7) |
| Game release year: |
1988 |
| Composers: | Hidenori Maezawa, Kyouhei Sada |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 2)
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Review by Norrin_Radd:
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Everyone knew this song was going to be on the list somewhere. But where exactly says quite a lot about the state of this track in particular. Like it or not, I think this might be the most famous NES song for people who know anything about NES music. Throughout the history of the internet, this song has gone from being the single most bad ass song ever remembered, to a song that is so over played and over praised that you sometimes actively dislike it (same thing with Super Mario Bros. Stage 1-1). It's been through the ringer, and yet it is still here ready to throw down. It's extremely hard to talk about this song objectively when it has been an active part of my life for over 20 years. Hell, this one song is the reason I started playing NES songs on guitar. Regardless, I will try my best to describe what this song did/does to make us tingle inside. Despite being a very hard song to play on the instrument, everything about the way this song is written and performed just screams GUITAR. The envelope on a lot of the notes actually has a plucked sound, which can't help but compare itself to the guitar. If I had to liken it to an actual band, I guess I would have to say it has a Swedish Melodic Metal vibe going on. Like In Flames before they got all watered down. The way the two square waves play off each other is sort of like two guitar players on stage, standing back to back, trading off doing solo after the other. That might even have some weird parallel with the fact that the game is one of the greatest two player games in the world. Aside from the unashamedly guitar driven squares, this track has a punchy and energetic rhythm section that REALLY stands out. I can't really think of another game that did these kind of rhythmic sections, where the kick drum and the song play on the same notes. It's kind of the exact same thing Meshuggah does to add emphasis to the beats. It's kind of also the reason you can help but tap your foot, pump your fist and bang your head to this song. My only hope is that some day, when you mention NES music to a co-worker or casual acquaintance, that they jokingly hum this song out loud to you, instead of Mario 1-1. It's Contra's time. |
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#51 - Batman
Stage 4
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Batman |
| Track title: |
Stage 4 |
| Game release year: |
1990 |
| Composer: | Naoki Kodaka |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 4)
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Review by Norrin_Radd:
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The rhythm section of this song is absolutely out of control. Just listen to the hi-hats and the drum fills! This hi-hat has at least twice as much energy and sass as the People's Court Intro theme, and those drum fills are disgustingly groovy. I never really noticed how killer the tom samples are for this game, until I muted the two square waves so I could just hear the rhythm. The more I listen to the drums the more I am leaning towards this game having one of the most realistic 8-bit drummers on the entire system. The sequencing is really amazing. When it comes to the leads in this song, aside from that intro riff (for which this song may be most well known), I think they take second fiddle to the insane amounts of energy in this track's rhythm section. However, there is still a lot of interplay between the two square waves that may not even be immediately apparent either. They aren't just playing in harmonizing thirds the entire time like I would have assumed. I think I will have to start listening to this entire soundtrack again with new ears/eyes. This one serves a worthy place on this list. |
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#50 - Akumajou Densetsu
Big Battle 1 (Dracula's 2nd Form)
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Akumajou Densetsu |
| Track title: |
Big Battle 1 (Dracula's 2nd Form) |
| Game release year: |
1989 |
| Composers: | Yoshinori Sasaki, Jun Funahashi, Yukie Morimoto |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 17)
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Review by Jace:
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I feel, though perhaps not deliberately inspired by Castlevania music, that this is the sort of sound that early incarnations of bands like Dark Tranquility ,or maybe even Emperor and their ilk, were striving for in their scathing blurs of blackened melodicism. It's not hard to imagine a swarm of blastbeats and a background wash of frantically tremelo-picked minor chords cozying right up to the heat of this composition. I imagine that this one probably emerged very organically as the composers were brainstorming. "Alright guys...Dracula battle." And they nailed it, right through his big black heart. |
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#49 - Castlevania
Vampire Killer (Courtyard)
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Castlevania |
| Track title: |
Vampire Killer (Courtyard) |
| Game release year: |
1987 |
| Composers: | Kinuyo Yamashita, Satoe Terashima | | Arranger: | Hidenori Maezawa |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 2)
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Review by Jace:
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This song reminds me to be impressed that NES composers were working in mono. Precise volume manipulations in the track's second figure trick the ear into thinking that things are occurring on a slightly larger soundstage than is actually possible. Melodically, this same section twinkles with a dark mystery that is a tad B-movie horror, and I mean that in a good way, as this feeling juxtaposes with its surrounding heroically neo-gothic portions to create Castlevania's uniquely vampirical vibe. There's also a rhythmic bounce (which I've frequently referred to as FUNK in this project) to a lot of these songs (not just Castlevania, but the NES in general) that distinguishes them stylistically, and that is sometimes overlooked or even detrimentally forsaken in the arrange/remix/metal covers world. "Vampire Killer" is an example of a tune that I think sounds best in its native form, just two square waves, a triangle and some noise. |
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#48 - Castlevania 3 - Dracula's Curse
Rising (Block-5)
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Castlevania 3 - Dracula's Curse |
| Track title: |
Rising (Block-5) |
| Game release year: |
1990 |
| Composers: | Yoshinori Sasaki, Jun Funahashi, Yukie Morimoto |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 5)
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Review by Norrin_Radd:
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It's inevitable that a ton of Castlevania songs will end up on this list. However this one seems a little unexpected. Let's break it down and see what it's all about. Right off the bat, this is a much slower than usual CV track. Focusing more on atmosphere than Malmsteen licks. There are some very nice uses of duty cycles and instrument envelopes to create some very original sounding square waves and echoes. It's not in your face over the top, but this song is really packing heat when it comes to refinement and atmosphere. The composer did find the time to throw in a nice beefy 9/8 section, which is so very welcome. It had to have taken balls for these old school composers to submit a track for the game that used hybrid meters. It's something I only grow to appreciate more, the older I get. |
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#47 - Contra
Alien's Lair (Stage 8)
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Contra |
| Track title: |
Alien's Lair (Stage 8) |
| Game release year: |
1988 |
| Composers: | Hidenori Maezawa, Kyouhei Sada |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 6)
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Review by Norrin_Radd:
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This is what I consider to be the most creative and original track on the NES. The conventions that this song broke are staggering. First and foremost, this is one of the only NES songs to feature hybrid time signatures. Sure, there are dozens of other NES tracks that also had odd meters, but nothing on the system even comes close to this track in terms of application (Godzilla track 2 probably gets second place). In order, the time signatures in this song go from: 11/8 to 5/8 to 6/8 to 6/8 to 7/8. This is, quite simply, not something that was done on the NES. To the point where I have always secretly assumed the NES composers were strictly told not to use unusual time signatures. The thing about this song (and part of the reason I believe it was even created\allowed) is that it was made to sound alien. The level itself is titled Alien's Lair. I mean, that says it all. The melodies and the harmonies are down right bizarre and hectic. Through out the entire track you can never gain your footing because the meters change so rapidly, and with such a coldly calculated precision, that the entire track feels alien. Given the technology at the time, I simply can not believe a track like this was conceived and executed so well. My favourite NES song. |
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#46 - Castlevania
Wicked Child (Upper Yard)
Listen to this track:
Requires Flash10
Track information:
| Game title: |
Castlevania |
| Track title: |
Wicked Child (Upper Yard) |
| Game release year: |
1987 |
| Composers: | Kinuyo Yamashita, Satoe Terashima | | Arranger: | Hidenori Maezawa |
| Download: |
NSFE
(complete), NSF (track 4)
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Review by Jace:
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"Wicked Child," maybe along with "Bloody Tears," is the ultimate Castlevania THROWDOWN track. Magic gloves donned, sword in one hand, whip in the other (who needs a shield?), heroic preparatory stuff barging into my mind that doesn't even happen in the game, an unflinching Belmont waiting on one side of the door to mayhem before bursting through and taking care of the booming business of monster murder. The vaguely "call-and-response" section near the end is a highlight of the Castlevania canon, solidifying the song as more than just a piece of energetic background music, but an anthem. Much better neo-classical metal riffing than most actual metal bands ever achieved, partially wrapped into such an undeniable little package by that hyper-disco bassline. |
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