Iconic...
Forgotten...
Timeless...
Innovative...
These are the soundtracks that helped shape and define what we hear in the video games that we play. I am Nitro, and this is the M Disk Playlist's Video Game Music Primer: 1994.
Skyblazer (Super Nintendo), composed by Harumi Fujita
After briefly working on Mega Man 3, featured in the 1990 Primer episode, Fujita became a freelance composer. Her first composition released as a freelancer was this game, an action platformer based on Hindu mythology. But you wouldn't know that if you played the game in North America, thanks to Nintendo of America's strict stance on religion in video games at the time. But even not knowing that this was a game inspired by Hindu mythology, you could still till that the music sounded different than what you would usually hear in video games at the time. There was a Middle-Eastern vibe in much of the soundtrack that didn't just help enhance the setting of the game, it helped make the Hindu setting more authentic. That's not to say that the music wasn't entirely of the Middle Eastern flavor, there were some parts of the soundtrack that captured the similar feeling of a dramatic confrontation that you might expect in a role playing game.
Harumi Fujita was one of Capcom's signature composers, working on titles like Ghosts 'n Goblins, Bionic Commando, Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers, Gargoyle's Quest, and as noted earlier, Mega Man 3. After leaving Capcom, Fujita would continue to work independently for video games like Skyblazer up until the 1999 release of the Game Boy Color port of Magical Tetris Challenge. She then spent her time working in theater, but has signed with video game music label company, Brave Wave Productions. Along with Fujita, Brave Wave Productions also features Capcom allumni Manami Matsumae, and Yoko Shimomura.
Skyblazer may not be the most immediately recognizable game in Fujita's resume outside of Capcom, but it is one of her more innovative soundtracks. Combining Hindu culture with epic storytelling to create an audible experience not often heard in video games at the time. The boss rush near the end of the game even shows innovation. Usually when there's a boss rush, you would fight the bosses to their battle themes. But in Skyblazer, the bosses fought in the boss rush got a completely different theme, further amplifying the intensity of having to fight familiar foes right before the final foes. There was innovation to be seen, and to be heard throughout this entire game.
After briefly working on Mega Man 3, featured in the 1990 Primer episode, Fujita became a freelance composer. Her first composition released as a freelancer was this game, an action platformer based on Hindu mythology. But you wouldn't know that if you played the game in North America, thanks to Nintendo of America's strict stance on religion in video games at the time. But even not knowing that this was a game inspired by Hindu mythology, you could still till that the music sounded different than what you would usually hear in video games at the time. There was a Middle-Eastern vibe in much of the soundtrack that didn't just help enhance the setting of the game, it helped make the Hindu setting more authentic. That's not to say that the music wasn't entirely of the Middle Eastern flavor, there were some parts of the soundtrack that captured the similar feeling of a dramatic confrontation that you might expect in a role playing game.
Harumi Fujita was one of Capcom's signature composers, working on titles like Ghosts 'n Goblins, Bionic Commando, Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers, Gargoyle's Quest, and as noted earlier, Mega Man 3. After leaving Capcom, Fujita would continue to work independently for video games like Skyblazer up until the 1999 release of the Game Boy Color port of Magical Tetris Challenge. She then spent her time working in theater, but has signed with video game music label company, Brave Wave Productions. Along with Fujita, Brave Wave Productions also features Capcom allumni Manami Matsumae, and Yoko Shimomura.
Skyblazer may not be the most immediately recognizable game in Fujita's resume outside of Capcom, but it is one of her more innovative soundtracks. Combining Hindu culture with epic storytelling to create an audible experience not often heard in video games at the time. The boss rush near the end of the game even shows innovation. Usually when there's a boss rush, you would fight the bosses to their battle themes. But in Skyblazer, the bosses fought in the boss rush got a completely different theme, further amplifying the intensity of having to fight familiar foes right before the final foes. There was innovation to be seen, and to be heard throughout this entire game.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Sega Genesis), composed by...
...well, the names of the credited composers alone are worthy of its own section of this segment. Officially, the composers for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 are Brad Buxer, Bobby Brooks, Darryl Ross, Geoff Grace, Doug Grigsby III, and Scirocco, the alias used for Cirocco Jones. But there is a gray and muddy area in terms of whether or not the official composer credits is a smoke screen for who actually provided the music for this game. For years, it has been heavily rumored that a large portion of the soundtrack was actually composed by Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson had always been a fan of Sega, especially the Sonic games. When Jackson visited Sega, he was invited to work on the music for the upcoming Sonic 3 title by former executive Roger Hector. Three of the official composers; Buxer, Grigsby, and Jones have each worked with Michael Jackson since he was part of the Jackson 5. Buxer states that Jackson did work on the soundtrack, but requested that he did not get credit for it, due to the sound not being up to his standards. According to Jones' discography page on the website musicpowers, Jackson is credited as working on "levels 2 and 3." The other officially listed composers had various roles in Jackson's career, as a solo artist, and as a member of the Jackson 5.
Comparisons to Michael Jackson's music have been made by researchers online. The original motif for Knuckles has been compared to Blood on the Dance Floor. Carnival Night Zone's music has been compared to Jam. Ice Cap Zone's music has been compared to Smooth Criminal, and Who Is It. The credits theme has been most featured as unofficial evidence of Jackson's involvement with the game, as this piece has been compared to Stranger in Moscow.
But despite the relationship between Michael Jackson and the Sonic 3 composers, as thoroughly researched by Sonic Retro, there is still disputes over whether or not Michael Jackson had any part in the game, specifically on Sega's end. Whether it's due to Jackson's personal preference to how his music should sound, or due to Sega wanting to distance themselves from Jackson in the midst of his child abuse allegations, it has never been 100% confirmed or denied that Michael Jackson had any role in the music.
When Sonic and Knuckles, the second half of Sonic 3, was released, Howard Drossin became the primary composer. This resulted in Knuckles' motif, and the mid-boss theme being replaced. Even when Sonic 3 was connected to Sonic and Knuckles, the music was still replaced, adding more to the mystery of who exactly composed for Sonic 3, as well as the mystery of who actually has the rights to the music composed for Sonic 3. This is even more evident when only the music for Sonic and Knuckles was released officially.
But despite the behind the scenes mystery behind the music, the music is still continued the tradition of creating memorable music to enhance the experience of a Sonic game. Taking a cue from the original Sonic CD soundtrack, and embracing the kind of music that was popular at the time of the game's development. It was a departure from Masato Nakamura's contributions to the first two Sonic games in terms of tone, and production. We even got different variations of each zone theme, for each act you were in. Sometimes the variations were extremely subtle, but there were times where the different variations of each zone theme felt very different from one another. A unique way to keep the music in each zone fresh throughout. In the absence of Nakamura came a musical approach to the Sonic series that encapsulated the 90s era of dance and hip-hop, while additionally capturing all of the dramatic moments of Sonic's final 2D journey on the Genesis.
...well, the names of the credited composers alone are worthy of its own section of this segment. Officially, the composers for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 are Brad Buxer, Bobby Brooks, Darryl Ross, Geoff Grace, Doug Grigsby III, and Scirocco, the alias used for Cirocco Jones. But there is a gray and muddy area in terms of whether or not the official composer credits is a smoke screen for who actually provided the music for this game. For years, it has been heavily rumored that a large portion of the soundtrack was actually composed by Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson had always been a fan of Sega, especially the Sonic games. When Jackson visited Sega, he was invited to work on the music for the upcoming Sonic 3 title by former executive Roger Hector. Three of the official composers; Buxer, Grigsby, and Jones have each worked with Michael Jackson since he was part of the Jackson 5. Buxer states that Jackson did work on the soundtrack, but requested that he did not get credit for it, due to the sound not being up to his standards. According to Jones' discography page on the website musicpowers, Jackson is credited as working on "levels 2 and 3." The other officially listed composers had various roles in Jackson's career, as a solo artist, and as a member of the Jackson 5.
Comparisons to Michael Jackson's music have been made by researchers online. The original motif for Knuckles has been compared to Blood on the Dance Floor. Carnival Night Zone's music has been compared to Jam. Ice Cap Zone's music has been compared to Smooth Criminal, and Who Is It. The credits theme has been most featured as unofficial evidence of Jackson's involvement with the game, as this piece has been compared to Stranger in Moscow.
But despite the relationship between Michael Jackson and the Sonic 3 composers, as thoroughly researched by Sonic Retro, there is still disputes over whether or not Michael Jackson had any part in the game, specifically on Sega's end. Whether it's due to Jackson's personal preference to how his music should sound, or due to Sega wanting to distance themselves from Jackson in the midst of his child abuse allegations, it has never been 100% confirmed or denied that Michael Jackson had any role in the music.
When Sonic and Knuckles, the second half of Sonic 3, was released, Howard Drossin became the primary composer. This resulted in Knuckles' motif, and the mid-boss theme being replaced. Even when Sonic 3 was connected to Sonic and Knuckles, the music was still replaced, adding more to the mystery of who exactly composed for Sonic 3, as well as the mystery of who actually has the rights to the music composed for Sonic 3. This is even more evident when only the music for Sonic and Knuckles was released officially.
But despite the behind the scenes mystery behind the music, the music is still continued the tradition of creating memorable music to enhance the experience of a Sonic game. Taking a cue from the original Sonic CD soundtrack, and embracing the kind of music that was popular at the time of the game's development. It was a departure from Masato Nakamura's contributions to the first two Sonic games in terms of tone, and production. We even got different variations of each zone theme, for each act you were in. Sometimes the variations were extremely subtle, but there were times where the different variations of each zone theme felt very different from one another. A unique way to keep the music in each zone fresh throughout. In the absence of Nakamura came a musical approach to the Sonic series that encapsulated the 90s era of dance and hip-hop, while additionally capturing all of the dramatic moments of Sonic's final 2D journey on the Genesis.
Super Metroid (Super Nintendo), composed by Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano
If one word could describe all of the asethetics of Super Metroid, including the soundtrack, it would be "atmosphere." Both Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano are primary composers for the Metroid series as a whole, starting with this game. Yamamoto began his career as a composer for Nintendo, with his first work being Nintendo version of Punch-Out!!. Production on Super Metroid actually began in 1991, one year after the Super Nintendo's release in Japan. Yamamoto wanted to create an audio-visual experience that sounded as realistic as possible, with rich and expressive sounds.
Yamamoto learned to make the sound effects enhance the cinematics in the game while collaborating with director and scenario writer for Super Metroid, Yoshio Sakamoto on the game Famicom Tantei Club. Such attention to detail that Sakamoto had allowed for the sounds, not just the music, to be as authentic as possible for the kind of hardware they were working with.
Minako Hamano, while having less experience as a composer than Yamamoto at the time, would end up serving as a metaphorical bridge between the past and the future of the Metroid series. She composed the title screen music, which was an arrangement of the original Metroid's title theme, composed by Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka. She would also compose all of the boss themes in the game. There are four boss themes in all, but one of those battle themes would end up becoming associated with recurring antagonist Ridley. Starting with Super Metroid, Ridley would get his own unique battle theme in every Metroid game he has appeared in. But in Super Metroid, it's just a regular boss theme that happened to be used for Ridley, in addition to other enemies, as well as the escape theme in the game. Hamano's other contributions to the game include the music heard in Wrecked Ship, all of Maridia, Tourian, and the ending theme, which was co-composed with Yamamoto. Hamano had also originally recorded voice clips for when protagonist Samus Aran dies, but they ended up not being used because they unintentionally sounded too sexual for the game.
While most of the soundtrack is etheral, there are a few pieces of music that emphasised the drama of the game and story more than the environment. Examples of this include the boss themes, the music you hear in Crateria after acquiring the morph ball, and the lower level of Norfair. But for the most part, the soundtrack was very etheral, which was something that couldn't be established on the limited hardware of the Nintendo system, and the Game Boy for Metroid II: Return of Samus.
Other than atmosphere, Super Metroid also excels in story telling from mostly audio cues. Sure, in the beginning, you get a text-based prologue explaining the events prior to Super Metroid. After this, there is no written or spoken dialogue. You would see and hear everything unfold. The final battle against Mother Brain, is heralded as one of the most memorable events in 90s gaming. It wasn't just you vs Mother Brain until she died. It was a story unfolding before you, with sound cues helping deliver and enhance the emotional parts of the battle.
Super Metroid innovated the action-adventure genre in multiple ways. As a game, it was already incredible. You had large areas to explore at your own leizure, and everything looked so organic. But without the music and sounds on hardware like the Super Nintendo, that organic planet you were forced to explore on your own could not be as mysterious, or as haunting. A large portion of the atmosphere created in this game is owed to the efforts of Yamamoto and Hamano.
If one word could describe all of the asethetics of Super Metroid, including the soundtrack, it would be "atmosphere." Both Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano are primary composers for the Metroid series as a whole, starting with this game. Yamamoto began his career as a composer for Nintendo, with his first work being Nintendo version of Punch-Out!!. Production on Super Metroid actually began in 1991, one year after the Super Nintendo's release in Japan. Yamamoto wanted to create an audio-visual experience that sounded as realistic as possible, with rich and expressive sounds.
Yamamoto learned to make the sound effects enhance the cinematics in the game while collaborating with director and scenario writer for Super Metroid, Yoshio Sakamoto on the game Famicom Tantei Club. Such attention to detail that Sakamoto had allowed for the sounds, not just the music, to be as authentic as possible for the kind of hardware they were working with.
Minako Hamano, while having less experience as a composer than Yamamoto at the time, would end up serving as a metaphorical bridge between the past and the future of the Metroid series. She composed the title screen music, which was an arrangement of the original Metroid's title theme, composed by Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka. She would also compose all of the boss themes in the game. There are four boss themes in all, but one of those battle themes would end up becoming associated with recurring antagonist Ridley. Starting with Super Metroid, Ridley would get his own unique battle theme in every Metroid game he has appeared in. But in Super Metroid, it's just a regular boss theme that happened to be used for Ridley, in addition to other enemies, as well as the escape theme in the game. Hamano's other contributions to the game include the music heard in Wrecked Ship, all of Maridia, Tourian, and the ending theme, which was co-composed with Yamamoto. Hamano had also originally recorded voice clips for when protagonist Samus Aran dies, but they ended up not being used because they unintentionally sounded too sexual for the game.
While most of the soundtrack is etheral, there are a few pieces of music that emphasised the drama of the game and story more than the environment. Examples of this include the boss themes, the music you hear in Crateria after acquiring the morph ball, and the lower level of Norfair. But for the most part, the soundtrack was very etheral, which was something that couldn't be established on the limited hardware of the Nintendo system, and the Game Boy for Metroid II: Return of Samus.
Other than atmosphere, Super Metroid also excels in story telling from mostly audio cues. Sure, in the beginning, you get a text-based prologue explaining the events prior to Super Metroid. After this, there is no written or spoken dialogue. You would see and hear everything unfold. The final battle against Mother Brain, is heralded as one of the most memorable events in 90s gaming. It wasn't just you vs Mother Brain until she died. It was a story unfolding before you, with sound cues helping deliver and enhance the emotional parts of the battle.
Super Metroid innovated the action-adventure genre in multiple ways. As a game, it was already incredible. You had large areas to explore at your own leizure, and everything looked so organic. But without the music and sounds on hardware like the Super Nintendo, that organic planet you were forced to explore on your own could not be as mysterious, or as haunting. A large portion of the atmosphere created in this game is owed to the efforts of Yamamoto and Hamano.
Final Fantasy VI (Super Nintendo), composed by Nobuo Uematsu
Uematsu's work on the Final Fantasy series had already been considered memorable, and a large part of what made the Final Fantasy series what it was at the time. The sixth installment, released in the states as Final Fantasy III, was considered by Uematsu himself to be his best work. The work he put into this game was so satisfying to him, he felt that if he could never compose again after this game, he would end his music career with no regrets. At the same time, Final Fantasy VI was the most challenging game Uematsu had worked on at that point in his career. But, unlike when he faced difficulties in composing Final Fantasy IV, he found solace in knowing that he didn't NEED to make six sound as close to orchestrated as the Super Nintendo would allow. Instead, Uematsu used the experience he had accumilated from working on IV and V to create a more eclectic, soundtrack.
The eclectic nature of the soundtrack compliments the eclectic gameplay and storytelling. Unlike previous Final Fantasy titles, no one main protagonist seemed more prominant over the other. Every main protagonist felt important, and each main protagonist had its own motif to help introduce, and deliver their story. The motifs ranged from dramatic and exciting, to very light hearted and carefree. And of course, the main antagonist needed his own motif. But unlike Golbez in 4, and X-Death in 5, Kefka's theme was very different. Kefka's theme goes from very simplistic and bouncy to dramatic and passionate in less than two minutes. It literally developed Kefka's personality gradually, instead of instantaniously.
Of course, it would be a disservice to talk about the music of Final Fantasy VI without talking about the opera. Never before had an original opera been produced for a video game. You were even required to interact with Celes as she performed the opera itself. And speaking of Celes' performance, while it wasn't possible for clear vocals to be produced in video games at the time, Uematsu instead used a synthesized vocal sound sample to harmonize the lyrics to the opera.
Later in the game, you face catastrophe, as Kefka actually succeeds in his quest to conquer the world. The shift in the tone of the music changes along with the harsh conditions of this desolate world that Kefka created. Nothing is peaceful, calm, or assuring. Everything is presented as hopeless. But once you reunite with a certain number of protagonists, the hopeful tone in music replaces the dark and isolated overworld theme in Kefka's conquered world.
The final battle theme, Dancing Mad, is one of Uematsu's favorite pieces he has composed. In an interview with N-Sider, Uematsu is quoted as saying "when you make a song it's two to three minutes in length, you have the introduction, the main part and the ending. But... for Dancing Mad I didn't really put a stop on it, so I kept on working on it, working on it, working on it...I got to play around with it for something like fourteen minutes, and it's really one of my favorites." And that's not even the longest piece for the game.
The ending theme is a medley of the protagonist motifs. If you managed to rescue and reunite with all of them after Kefka destroys the world, you will get a near 20 minute ending theme. Which, for Super Nintendo, was enormous. Final Fantasy VI was a testimant to how far the Super Nintendo could go in producing music. Uematsu showed the world that he could make an opera, climactic 10 to 20 minute pieces, on top of composing an eclectic soundtrack for a series that had already solidified his reputation as one of gaming's best composers. And at the time, after years of struggling with the Super Nintendo, Uematsu had composed something that made him feel like he had reached his prime in video game music composition.
Uematsu's work on the Final Fantasy series had already been considered memorable, and a large part of what made the Final Fantasy series what it was at the time. The sixth installment, released in the states as Final Fantasy III, was considered by Uematsu himself to be his best work. The work he put into this game was so satisfying to him, he felt that if he could never compose again after this game, he would end his music career with no regrets. At the same time, Final Fantasy VI was the most challenging game Uematsu had worked on at that point in his career. But, unlike when he faced difficulties in composing Final Fantasy IV, he found solace in knowing that he didn't NEED to make six sound as close to orchestrated as the Super Nintendo would allow. Instead, Uematsu used the experience he had accumilated from working on IV and V to create a more eclectic, soundtrack.
The eclectic nature of the soundtrack compliments the eclectic gameplay and storytelling. Unlike previous Final Fantasy titles, no one main protagonist seemed more prominant over the other. Every main protagonist felt important, and each main protagonist had its own motif to help introduce, and deliver their story. The motifs ranged from dramatic and exciting, to very light hearted and carefree. And of course, the main antagonist needed his own motif. But unlike Golbez in 4, and X-Death in 5, Kefka's theme was very different. Kefka's theme goes from very simplistic and bouncy to dramatic and passionate in less than two minutes. It literally developed Kefka's personality gradually, instead of instantaniously.
Of course, it would be a disservice to talk about the music of Final Fantasy VI without talking about the opera. Never before had an original opera been produced for a video game. You were even required to interact with Celes as she performed the opera itself. And speaking of Celes' performance, while it wasn't possible for clear vocals to be produced in video games at the time, Uematsu instead used a synthesized vocal sound sample to harmonize the lyrics to the opera.
Later in the game, you face catastrophe, as Kefka actually succeeds in his quest to conquer the world. The shift in the tone of the music changes along with the harsh conditions of this desolate world that Kefka created. Nothing is peaceful, calm, or assuring. Everything is presented as hopeless. But once you reunite with a certain number of protagonists, the hopeful tone in music replaces the dark and isolated overworld theme in Kefka's conquered world.
The final battle theme, Dancing Mad, is one of Uematsu's favorite pieces he has composed. In an interview with N-Sider, Uematsu is quoted as saying "when you make a song it's two to three minutes in length, you have the introduction, the main part and the ending. But... for Dancing Mad I didn't really put a stop on it, so I kept on working on it, working on it, working on it...I got to play around with it for something like fourteen minutes, and it's really one of my favorites." And that's not even the longest piece for the game.
The ending theme is a medley of the protagonist motifs. If you managed to rescue and reunite with all of them after Kefka destroys the world, you will get a near 20 minute ending theme. Which, for Super Nintendo, was enormous. Final Fantasy VI was a testimant to how far the Super Nintendo could go in producing music. Uematsu showed the world that he could make an opera, climactic 10 to 20 minute pieces, on top of composing an eclectic soundtrack for a series that had already solidified his reputation as one of gaming's best composers. And at the time, after years of struggling with the Super Nintendo, Uematsu had composed something that made him feel like he had reached his prime in video game music composition.
Earthworm Jim (Genesis), composed by Mark Miller
Earthworm Jim was a different take on the platform genre that was dominating the gaming scene in the 90s. Humor was rarely a dominant part of console games at the time, only really found in PC games. But in Earthworm Jim, humor was a large part in creating the aesthetics of the game. Never before could you catapult a cow in the air, fight a snowman in hell, bungie jump with a snot monster, and there was even references to classic Tex Avery cartoons in the game.
The most prominant example of humor being incorporated into the games soundtrack would be the music for What the Heck. It starts with the beginning of Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, and then it immediately transitions to very tacky elevator music with different stock screaming sounds in the background. You also got hillbilly style music featuring farm animals in the background, for a level about racing through outerspace.
The music for Earthworm Jim was composed with the sound driver GEMS, Genesis Editor for Music and Sound Effects. It was designed specifically for Sega Genesis games by Mark Miller, with additional assistance from Jonathan Miller, Burt Sloane, and Chris Girgg. Like the iMUSE engine developed for LucasArts, GEMS was programed to "communicate" with what was happening in the game in-real time.
There are disputes as to who actually composed the music for the game. Mark Miller, or his partner in Virgin Interactive Tommy Tallarico, or both? Mark Miller did receive in-game credits for the music, but Tallarico did help write the music, yet could not be credited due to unspecified legal reasons. As of this production, there is barely any info on Mark Miller to help support his involvent in the game.
The music and the atmosphere of the level didn't always have to mesh with each other. There are times where the music does match the environment, but the soundtrack didn't rely entirely on the game's atmosphere to enhance the experience. The soundtrack's role in enhancing the gaming experience was split. It either enhanced the atmosphere of the game, the humor of the game, or both. It's the kind of soundtrack that wasn't afraid to do things differently for a game that also wasn't afraid to do things different that helped Earthworm Jim stand out as a unique kind of action platformer.
Earthworm Jim was a different take on the platform genre that was dominating the gaming scene in the 90s. Humor was rarely a dominant part of console games at the time, only really found in PC games. But in Earthworm Jim, humor was a large part in creating the aesthetics of the game. Never before could you catapult a cow in the air, fight a snowman in hell, bungie jump with a snot monster, and there was even references to classic Tex Avery cartoons in the game.
The most prominant example of humor being incorporated into the games soundtrack would be the music for What the Heck. It starts with the beginning of Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain, and then it immediately transitions to very tacky elevator music with different stock screaming sounds in the background. You also got hillbilly style music featuring farm animals in the background, for a level about racing through outerspace.
The music for Earthworm Jim was composed with the sound driver GEMS, Genesis Editor for Music and Sound Effects. It was designed specifically for Sega Genesis games by Mark Miller, with additional assistance from Jonathan Miller, Burt Sloane, and Chris Girgg. Like the iMUSE engine developed for LucasArts, GEMS was programed to "communicate" with what was happening in the game in-real time.
There are disputes as to who actually composed the music for the game. Mark Miller, or his partner in Virgin Interactive Tommy Tallarico, or both? Mark Miller did receive in-game credits for the music, but Tallarico did help write the music, yet could not be credited due to unspecified legal reasons. As of this production, there is barely any info on Mark Miller to help support his involvent in the game.
The music and the atmosphere of the level didn't always have to mesh with each other. There are times where the music does match the environment, but the soundtrack didn't rely entirely on the game's atmosphere to enhance the experience. The soundtrack's role in enhancing the gaming experience was split. It either enhanced the atmosphere of the game, the humor of the game, or both. It's the kind of soundtrack that wasn't afraid to do things differently for a game that also wasn't afraid to do things different that helped Earthworm Jim stand out as a unique kind of action platformer.
Demon's Crest (Super Nintendo), composed by Toshihiko Horiyama
Although his name does not appear in the credits, the VGMdb credits for the Makaimura Ongakutaizen album set credits him for the Demon's Crest pieces. Demon's Crest is part of the Gargoyle's Quest series, a spin-off of the Ghosts n' Goblins series.The previous Gargoyle's Quest games were composed by Yoko Shimomura, Harumi Fujita, and Yuki Iwai. Those soundtracks captured the spirit of the lore established by Ghosts n' Goblins. Demon's Crest, however, does something that no game in the Ghosts n' Goblins games, Gargoyle's Quest games, or even games in Konami's popular action-horror series Castlevania did.
The score of Demon's Crest was composed almost entirely dominated by a pipe organ. Other instruments are used, like strings, synthesized choirs, and keyboard synths. But where many other soundtracks to action games used percussion and beats, Demon's Crest has no percussion instruments. It was a very macabre soundtrack to match the macabre atmosphere better than any other action-horror game at the time. The only "modern" instrument used in the entire soundtrack is bass. Other than that, the soundtrack to Demon's Crest was composed almost entirely using instruments that were most appropriate to the world and horrors of the game.
Demon's Crest was truly a one of a kind game at the time. It's tough to compose a soundtrack that completely omits a basic type of instrument like percussion, and to make that soundtrack work well, and make that soundtrack appropriate to the form of media it is being composed for. Horiyama pulled it off. It was his very first game as primary composer. The first time you heard his music was the password theme for Mega Man X. Demon's Crest was only composed by him. And with this game, he showed that he knew how to create the most appropiate music for the tone and nature of the world the music was being made for.
Although his name does not appear in the credits, the VGMdb credits for the Makaimura Ongakutaizen album set credits him for the Demon's Crest pieces. Demon's Crest is part of the Gargoyle's Quest series, a spin-off of the Ghosts n' Goblins series.The previous Gargoyle's Quest games were composed by Yoko Shimomura, Harumi Fujita, and Yuki Iwai. Those soundtracks captured the spirit of the lore established by Ghosts n' Goblins. Demon's Crest, however, does something that no game in the Ghosts n' Goblins games, Gargoyle's Quest games, or even games in Konami's popular action-horror series Castlevania did.
The score of Demon's Crest was composed almost entirely dominated by a pipe organ. Other instruments are used, like strings, synthesized choirs, and keyboard synths. But where many other soundtracks to action games used percussion and beats, Demon's Crest has no percussion instruments. It was a very macabre soundtrack to match the macabre atmosphere better than any other action-horror game at the time. The only "modern" instrument used in the entire soundtrack is bass. Other than that, the soundtrack to Demon's Crest was composed almost entirely using instruments that were most appropriate to the world and horrors of the game.
Demon's Crest was truly a one of a kind game at the time. It's tough to compose a soundtrack that completely omits a basic type of instrument like percussion, and to make that soundtrack work well, and make that soundtrack appropriate to the form of media it is being composed for. Horiyama pulled it off. It was his very first game as primary composer. The first time you heard his music was the password theme for Mega Man X. Demon's Crest was only composed by him. And with this game, he showed that he knew how to create the most appropiate music for the tone and nature of the world the music was being made for.
(Box art for the JPN release was illustrated by Yasuomi Umetsu, and that is the only reason why I chose to use that instead of the NA box art.)
Contra: Hard Corps (Sega Genesis), composed by Hiroshi Kobayashi, Akira Souji, Kenji Miyaoka, Michiru Yamane, Akira Yamaoka, and Hirofumi Taniguchi
Contra had always been known for three things: It's fast paced action, the baddest looking aliens you had ever seen, and it's difficulty. Music isn't immediately the first thing to come to mind when you think of the Contra series. But with a game like this, the music needs the attention just as much as the rest of the game. Previous Contra games had been composed by no more than three composers at time. This game in the Contra series required six composers.
Various websites have listed Aki Hata as being one of the game's composers. However, her name was not in the credits of the game, and there is no other information to confirm or deny her involvement in the game. It would make sense if she was involved in the game, as she was the only one of two composers that has prior experience with Contra, with her work on the game Contra III: The Alien Wars for the Super Nintendo. She has no credits in that game either, but her website actually does state that she composed two pieces for the game. The other composers to have worked on Contra III as a sound effects designers were Hirofumi Taniguchi, and Hiroshi Kobayashi.
Arguably, the most popular names on the composer list are Akira Yamaoka and Michiru Yamane. Yamaoka, famous for his work on the Silent Hill series, and Suda51 games in recent years got his start as a freelance composer working on the game Jerry Boy, released in the states as Smartball. That would be his only game before working with Konmai primarily on Genesis titles. And Michiru Yamane, had been with Konami since the late 80s at that point. She wouldn't become a household name until Symphony of the Night. But in what could be considered ironic, there is a hidden boss in Contra: Hard Corps that uses a fast paced rearrangement of the famous Vampire Killer piece from the Castlevania series, a series that would soon make Yamane one of gaming's most famous composers.
Kenji Miyaoka was primarily a programer for Konami, with this game being the only game he helped composed. And then there's Akira Souji, already an established member of the Konami Kukeiha Club in his own right. Under the alias "Akiropito" he has accumilated experience working on not just the Contra series, but the Castlevania series, and the Rocket Knight Adventures series, another one of Konami's more popular franchies in the 90s.
There is no information as to who specifically composed what. But it's hard to dispute what all these composers brought to Hard Corps. Experience from composers already familiar with Contra's fast paced gameplay, experience from composers who have been with Konami for a long time at that point, and experience from soon-to-be popular composers who haven't even hit their primes yet. All the ranged and diverse experiences came together to create one of Sega's most intense, exciting, fast paced, and most rocking soundtrack to grace the Genesis system.
Contra had always been known for three things: It's fast paced action, the baddest looking aliens you had ever seen, and it's difficulty. Music isn't immediately the first thing to come to mind when you think of the Contra series. But with a game like this, the music needs the attention just as much as the rest of the game. Previous Contra games had been composed by no more than three composers at time. This game in the Contra series required six composers.
Various websites have listed Aki Hata as being one of the game's composers. However, her name was not in the credits of the game, and there is no other information to confirm or deny her involvement in the game. It would make sense if she was involved in the game, as she was the only one of two composers that has prior experience with Contra, with her work on the game Contra III: The Alien Wars for the Super Nintendo. She has no credits in that game either, but her website actually does state that she composed two pieces for the game. The other composers to have worked on Contra III as a sound effects designers were Hirofumi Taniguchi, and Hiroshi Kobayashi.
Arguably, the most popular names on the composer list are Akira Yamaoka and Michiru Yamane. Yamaoka, famous for his work on the Silent Hill series, and Suda51 games in recent years got his start as a freelance composer working on the game Jerry Boy, released in the states as Smartball. That would be his only game before working with Konmai primarily on Genesis titles. And Michiru Yamane, had been with Konami since the late 80s at that point. She wouldn't become a household name until Symphony of the Night. But in what could be considered ironic, there is a hidden boss in Contra: Hard Corps that uses a fast paced rearrangement of the famous Vampire Killer piece from the Castlevania series, a series that would soon make Yamane one of gaming's most famous composers.
Kenji Miyaoka was primarily a programer for Konami, with this game being the only game he helped composed. And then there's Akira Souji, already an established member of the Konami Kukeiha Club in his own right. Under the alias "Akiropito" he has accumilated experience working on not just the Contra series, but the Castlevania series, and the Rocket Knight Adventures series, another one of Konami's more popular franchies in the 90s.
There is no information as to who specifically composed what. But it's hard to dispute what all these composers brought to Hard Corps. Experience from composers already familiar with Contra's fast paced gameplay, experience from composers who have been with Konami for a long time at that point, and experience from soon-to-be popular composers who haven't even hit their primes yet. All the ranged and diverse experiences came together to create one of Sega's most intense, exciting, fast paced, and most rocking soundtrack to grace the Genesis system.
Earthbound (Super Nintendo), composed by Keiichi Suzuki and Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka
Earthboud was Nintendo's take on the traditional role playing game genre, initially released in Japan as Mother 2 in 1994. The Mother series has been known for combining quirky, whimsical, and emotional themes with dark undertones, all composed with different styles of music not common in other role playing games.
The soundtrack was divided almost evenly between the two composers. While Hip Tanaka was one of Nintendo's most prominant composers, working on music and sound effects for many Nintendo titles, including Mario Paint (highlighte in the 1992 primer episode), Keiichi Suzuki's video game experience lies almost exclusively with the Mother franchise. Other than the Mother series, Suzuki is known for his work in films such as Takeshi Kitano's Outrage trilogy, and Satoshi Kon's Tokyo Godfathers.
Both composers were heavily influenced by rock music. So much so, that artists like the The Who, The Doors, Chuck Berry, and The Beatles on multiple occasions were either directly, or indirectly sampled to help produce the music in the game. Kotaku's "The Many Samples and Sound-Alikes of Earthbound" highlights some of these comparisons, and samples from artists of other genre's.
Earthbound has it's charming music moments, it's fun music music, and it even has it's dramatic music. But when it comes to Earthbound's main antagonist, Giygas, the music becomes horrifying. Giygas is the essense of evil, and when you finally confront him, you feel that essence as you listen to...white noise. Yes, the final battle theme is literally white noise, layered over the sounds of distorted breathing, and distorted static. It's like you're in the same room as Giygas.
Rarely does a soundtrack convey as wide a variety of emotions as Earthbound did. Love, joy, fear, hopeful, hopeless, excited, sadness, and everything in between. Earthbound made you feel all of those emotions in a single game.
Earthboud was Nintendo's take on the traditional role playing game genre, initially released in Japan as Mother 2 in 1994. The Mother series has been known for combining quirky, whimsical, and emotional themes with dark undertones, all composed with different styles of music not common in other role playing games.
The soundtrack was divided almost evenly between the two composers. While Hip Tanaka was one of Nintendo's most prominant composers, working on music and sound effects for many Nintendo titles, including Mario Paint (highlighte in the 1992 primer episode), Keiichi Suzuki's video game experience lies almost exclusively with the Mother franchise. Other than the Mother series, Suzuki is known for his work in films such as Takeshi Kitano's Outrage trilogy, and Satoshi Kon's Tokyo Godfathers.
Both composers were heavily influenced by rock music. So much so, that artists like the The Who, The Doors, Chuck Berry, and The Beatles on multiple occasions were either directly, or indirectly sampled to help produce the music in the game. Kotaku's "The Many Samples and Sound-Alikes of Earthbound" highlights some of these comparisons, and samples from artists of other genre's.
Earthbound has it's charming music moments, it's fun music music, and it even has it's dramatic music. But when it comes to Earthbound's main antagonist, Giygas, the music becomes horrifying. Giygas is the essense of evil, and when you finally confront him, you feel that essence as you listen to...white noise. Yes, the final battle theme is literally white noise, layered over the sounds of distorted breathing, and distorted static. It's like you're in the same room as Giygas.
Rarely does a soundtrack convey as wide a variety of emotions as Earthbound did. Love, joy, fear, hopeful, hopeless, excited, sadness, and everything in between. Earthbound made you feel all of those emotions in a single game.
Uncharted Waters: New Horizons (Super Nintendo), composed by Yoko Kanno
Yes. THE Yoko Konno. The same one who composed music for memorable anime such as Macross Plus, The Vision of Escaflowne, Magnetic Rose, and Cowboy Bebop. But before she made a name for herself in the anime industry, she was one of Koei's most prominant in-house composers. She was also the one that helped introduce video game music to Koei games with her work on the first Romance of the Three Kingdoms game.
The Uncharted Waters is a historical fiction series takeing place during the Age of Exploration, a time where exploration overseas helped shape and define European history and culture. In New Horizons, you take the role of six explorers, with different skills, and different stories. The game was originally released for the PC-Engine, Sega Genesis, and the Super Nintendo. The Super Nintendo version is widely regarded as the superior version, in terms of the music.
In comparison to the other soundchips, Kanno was able to take advantage of the higher quality instrument samples that were offered by the SNES' S-SMP chip, to create a more realistic sound when compared to what you heard on the other systems at the time.
While the series achieved some notoriety in Japan, it failed to achieve a moderate amount of success in the east, partily due to the popularity of Sid Meier's Pirates in the east. Despite this, New Horizons is still the most recognizable of the two Unchated Waters games.
Whether it's due to the improved gameplay, the historical setting, the music, or a combination of the three, New Horizons made exploring the open seas, and making a career out of those explorations an adventure in its own right. It is also worth investing interest in this game to hear some of Yoko Kanno's earlier works before she became immensely more recognizable for her works in the anime industry.
Yes. THE Yoko Konno. The same one who composed music for memorable anime such as Macross Plus, The Vision of Escaflowne, Magnetic Rose, and Cowboy Bebop. But before she made a name for herself in the anime industry, she was one of Koei's most prominant in-house composers. She was also the one that helped introduce video game music to Koei games with her work on the first Romance of the Three Kingdoms game.
The Uncharted Waters is a historical fiction series takeing place during the Age of Exploration, a time where exploration overseas helped shape and define European history and culture. In New Horizons, you take the role of six explorers, with different skills, and different stories. The game was originally released for the PC-Engine, Sega Genesis, and the Super Nintendo. The Super Nintendo version is widely regarded as the superior version, in terms of the music.
In comparison to the other soundchips, Kanno was able to take advantage of the higher quality instrument samples that were offered by the SNES' S-SMP chip, to create a more realistic sound when compared to what you heard on the other systems at the time.
While the series achieved some notoriety in Japan, it failed to achieve a moderate amount of success in the east, partily due to the popularity of Sid Meier's Pirates in the east. Despite this, New Horizons is still the most recognizable of the two Unchated Waters games.
Whether it's due to the improved gameplay, the historical setting, the music, or a combination of the three, New Horizons made exploring the open seas, and making a career out of those explorations an adventure in its own right. It is also worth investing interest in this game to hear some of Yoko Kanno's earlier works before she became immensely more recognizable for her works in the anime industry.
Donkey Kong Country (Super Nintendo), composed by David Wise, Eveline Fischer, and Robin Beanland
Donkey Kong Country built its hype around the fact that something on a 16-bit system looked like something that could only be done on computers, or 32-bit systems. After the games release, the legacy of Donkey Kong Country became dominated by its soundtrack.
Of the three composers involved with this game, David Wise's experience with Rare has been the most extensive. Joining them as a freelance composer after founders Tim and Chris Stamper were impressed with Wise's very own demo of the Yamaha CX5, Wise contributed the soundtracks to many of Rare's most memorable games like Slalom, the Wizards & Warriors series, Battletoads, and Snake Rattle n Roll. Then there's Donkey Kong Country, with a soundtrack so successful, his name almost became synonymous with the game.
Rare asked Wise to compose three "jungle" themed demos for the game. All three of those demos ended up being edited together to become one of the most iconic pieces to be associated with the Donkey Kong character, DK Swing. In the middle of working on the game, and after the demos were produced, Wise was offered a full time position with Rare, despite the initial feeling that his work would be replaced with a Japanese composer.
Wise was also joined by then-newcomers to Rare, Eveline Fischer, and Robin Beanland. Fischer composed the pieces Simian Segue, Candy's Love Song, Voices of the Temple, Forest Frenzy, Treetop Rock, Northern Hemispheres, and Ice Cave Chant. Eveline Fischer would later in her career contribute the music to most of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, and work as a voice actress for Rare titles like Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong 64, and Perfect Dark as the lead protagonist, Joanna Dark. Robin Beanland only composed Funky's Fugue, which was originally used to help promote Rare's upcoming fighting game, Killer Instinct. He would remain with Rare as a composer all the way up to their Xbox One contributions, including their newest title, Sea of Thieves.
Arguably, the most popular piece from this game is Aquatic Ambiance, the first piece he composed for Rare as a full time employee. Wise sought to emulate the Korg Wavestation's wave-sequencing technique on the S-SMP chip. It took five weeks for Wise to get the piece to sound just right. Aquatic Ambience, and DK Swing are considered by Wise to be two of his three favorite pieces from the Donkey Kong Country series.
David Wise was very knowledgeable with synthesizers. It helped land him a job working for Rare, it helped him work with the Super Nintendo in a way that had never been done before at that point, and by doing this, it allowed him to continue contributing to Rare on a full-time basis. This knowledge, and passion for music helped create a soundtrack that could arguably be considered the most memorable aspect of the entire game.
Donkey Kong Country built its hype around the fact that something on a 16-bit system looked like something that could only be done on computers, or 32-bit systems. After the games release, the legacy of Donkey Kong Country became dominated by its soundtrack.
Of the three composers involved with this game, David Wise's experience with Rare has been the most extensive. Joining them as a freelance composer after founders Tim and Chris Stamper were impressed with Wise's very own demo of the Yamaha CX5, Wise contributed the soundtracks to many of Rare's most memorable games like Slalom, the Wizards & Warriors series, Battletoads, and Snake Rattle n Roll. Then there's Donkey Kong Country, with a soundtrack so successful, his name almost became synonymous with the game.
Rare asked Wise to compose three "jungle" themed demos for the game. All three of those demos ended up being edited together to become one of the most iconic pieces to be associated with the Donkey Kong character, DK Swing. In the middle of working on the game, and after the demos were produced, Wise was offered a full time position with Rare, despite the initial feeling that his work would be replaced with a Japanese composer.
Wise was also joined by then-newcomers to Rare, Eveline Fischer, and Robin Beanland. Fischer composed the pieces Simian Segue, Candy's Love Song, Voices of the Temple, Forest Frenzy, Treetop Rock, Northern Hemispheres, and Ice Cave Chant. Eveline Fischer would later in her career contribute the music to most of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, and work as a voice actress for Rare titles like Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong 64, and Perfect Dark as the lead protagonist, Joanna Dark. Robin Beanland only composed Funky's Fugue, which was originally used to help promote Rare's upcoming fighting game, Killer Instinct. He would remain with Rare as a composer all the way up to their Xbox One contributions, including their newest title, Sea of Thieves.
Arguably, the most popular piece from this game is Aquatic Ambiance, the first piece he composed for Rare as a full time employee. Wise sought to emulate the Korg Wavestation's wave-sequencing technique on the S-SMP chip. It took five weeks for Wise to get the piece to sound just right. Aquatic Ambience, and DK Swing are considered by Wise to be two of his three favorite pieces from the Donkey Kong Country series.
David Wise was very knowledgeable with synthesizers. It helped land him a job working for Rare, it helped him work with the Super Nintendo in a way that had never been done before at that point, and by doing this, it allowed him to continue contributing to Rare on a full-time basis. This knowledge, and passion for music helped create a soundtrack that could arguably be considered the most memorable aspect of the entire game.
No comments:
Post a Comment