i always felt that way about Sunsoft's later stuff on the NES. Its hard to believe something like Journey to Silius (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkWYvENgxwA) is coming from the same console as 99% of other NES games. [/quote]Ooh, yes. Sunsoft did some really interesting stuff programming-wise-- they used the PCM for bass and the other channels for percussion, exactly the opposite of what most sound programmers did.
And the above-mentioned Gimmick is what happens when they combine this with an extra chip to provide more sound channels. It's awesome. :)
Also, back to the original post... how the heck did I not mention Tim & Geoff Follin? Seriously?
Geoff Follin did the Tom & Jerry game for NES, which somehow managed to
outdo the SNES version soundtrack-wise. For those who haven't played it, bask in the awesomeness of the first level theme here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjj2uguJNlc).
As for Tim? Just take a listen to the title theme from Solstice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_gObHt1uZA). It starts off simple, and then goes into full Heavy Mithril mode. Or Treasure Master (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUu6E-5lPTw), which, for reasons known only to Tim, is also a cover of the
Starsky & Hutch theme.
Oh, yeah, and the Follin brothers
did not use the PCM channel at all. Seriously. They're just that good.
And that's not even getting into the Follins' SNES work, like Plok (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRarpk3WaR0), Spider-Man & X-Men (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExnFN-ayCTE), and Rock 'n' Roll Racing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3kYqIui_Xc). Most of the music in these games uses
only 5 of the 8 sound channels on the SNES, leaving the rest free for sound effects.
Silver Surfer on the NES, (also by the Follin Bros. incidentally) this soundtrack deserved a far better game if you ask me. If I could play guitar I'd probably do a cover of this, but seeing as I can do MIDIs... :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGNSHNf-nlU&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGNSHNf-nlU&feature=related)
Adventures of Bayou Billy on the NES, is it me or do many of the worst games get the best soundtracks?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5WIOp69wqQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5WIOp69wqQ)
Buzz & Waldog, despite ripping off the sound engine (among other things) the soundtrack itself is pretty awesome for the most part, aside from the music in the 2nd and 5th stages being way too repetitive. Now if only Someri Team did the same thing. :P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng_Ro-EPXpY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng_Ro-EPXpY)
And I agree on Recca and Gimmick!. :P
Despite being a sucky game, Linus Spacehead's music is pretty awesome.
- KingPepe
- Sep 26 2010, 06:22:52 PM
Despite being a sucky game, Linus Spacehead's music is pretty awesome.[/quote]Ooh, yeah. All of Codemasters' NES stuff was like that, come to think of it-- it was all programmed by Commodore 64 veterans who knew how to push sound chips to their limits. Several of their games surprised me in the "wow, an NES can make that sound?" sort of way.
Rise of the Triad on the PC has by far some of the best MIDIs I've heard in anything on the system, (if you can call it that) even better than Doom and Duke Nukem 3D in my opinion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD2sX3T8Aus (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD2sX3T8Aus)
Pitfall II for the Atari 2600, easily the best soundtrack on the system (although there's not much competition given that many of the games didn't have any music) back when Activision produced more than CoD and the same rhythm game over and over again. Pity the music ended up being bastardised in Super Pitfall on the NES.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rKW0lRTMaU&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rKW0lRTMaU&feature=related)
Streets of Rage II on the Mega Drive, (or Genesis if you prefer although I personally don't) not entirely sure if you'd call it envelope-pushing but it's certainly my favourite soundtrack on the system and goes to show that Yuzo Koshiro knows how to utilise the MD's sound chip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVYx0OgWdbE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVYx0OgWdbE)
Anything Matt Furniss did on Genesis/Mega Drive. There's a reason my first Obscure Video Game Music posting on YouTube was from Daffy Duck in Hollywood. (Even better, I got a comment on it from the man himself!)
Seriously, compare the MD versions of Mortal Kombat and Mickey Mania to the SNES versions thereof. And Pitfall is equally good on either system, but I owned still own the MD version and I like its soundtrack better. :)
I especially love the percussion programming in Furniss' tunes. May be the most realistic drum samples I've heard on the system.
Everything that the Follin brothers did, including the title music for this unreleased Mega Drive game! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqyEbu8cmMg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqyEbu8cmMg)
Power Quest on the Game Boy Color, which actually surpasses V.Fame's stuff IMO.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKz98yvMG5Y&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKz98yvMG5Y&feature=related)
The Commodore 64 versions of Commando and Bionic Commando, which if you ask me sound 100 times better than the NES versions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrQuR1LHAVI (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrQuR1LHAVI)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1g0wGMj1gU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1g0wGMj1gU)
I think the best soundtrack on NES is Mike Tyson Punch Out's theme when the guy is running with the guy on the bike
I liked the original Doom's soundtrack a lot... I actually think that game has a lot to do with Metal being my favorite genre of music these days. The MIDI solo bits in between riffs and such are really amazing, even awesome guitarists sometimes struggle to play those licks.
That old NES game called Marble Madness... I remember those tracks vividly to this day, that was pretty killer music. Some of it actually sounded angry (map 3) or sad/manic (map4). Not envelope pushing, just very memorable tunes overall.
All of my favorites are stereoypical though, somewhat... SF2 sound track = sex, it rapes my ears when I hear poor version of the tracks in pirated games just because I love the original versions so much :p
The 1st sonic on the MD also has really sexy music, best Ive ever heard from the MD to this day.. Usually games on the MD grinded at me with those massively thick/clunky sounding tones, but this is an exception. :somari:
Removing the accidental double post - KingPepe
I agree with the Doom music, I like the music from the 2nd level a lot...