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: 1991.
Final Fantasy IV (Super Nintendo), composed by Nobuo Uematsu
Final Fantasy IV, released in the west as Final Fantasy II, completely changed the way stories in role playing games were told. You had characters who had unique personalities, and their own lore. You had romance, betrayal, death, and you even had cinematics that helped enhance the story. Nobuo Uematsu's success with his score of the first three Final Fantasy titles were already considered to be successful in their own rights. Final Fantasy 4 would not only become another successful score for him, but one that would help define his career. However, it wasn't easy to compose for Final Fantasy 4.
The liner notes on the Final Fantasy 4 soundtrack depict Nobuo Uematsu humorously explain how arduous of a process it was to compose for the game. Like many composers who worked on the Super Nintendo, he struggled with composing on the system. As indicated in the soundtrack liner notes, translated by Rebecca Capowski, he and his staff would often spend the night at Square because it was that difficult to compose on the Super Nintendo, and time was not on their side. Uematsu would call this "practically living at [Square]." Also in his words, the entire soundtrack "from start to finish [was] a series of trials and errors."
Final Fantasy IV is also known for featuring a piece that would be used to help teach music to kids in Japanese schools. Theme of Love, the leitmotif for the relationship between Cecil and Rosa, was introduced to the music curriculum in the spring of 2005. Out of the pieces from the soundtrack that
are considered to be popular, Theme of Love is the simplest. The easiest for school children with an interest in music to learn. Final Fantasy IV pushed the boundaries of what is considered "video game music" and just "music." Regardless of hardware limitations and time restrictions, the soundtrack is still just as timeless now as it was back in 1991, even if it was made almost entirely from trials and errors.
Final Fantasy IV, released in the west as Final Fantasy II, completely changed the way stories in role playing games were told. You had characters who had unique personalities, and their own lore. You had romance, betrayal, death, and you even had cinematics that helped enhance the story. Nobuo Uematsu's success with his score of the first three Final Fantasy titles were already considered to be successful in their own rights. Final Fantasy 4 would not only become another successful score for him, but one that would help define his career. However, it wasn't easy to compose for Final Fantasy 4.
The liner notes on the Final Fantasy 4 soundtrack depict Nobuo Uematsu humorously explain how arduous of a process it was to compose for the game. Like many composers who worked on the Super Nintendo, he struggled with composing on the system. As indicated in the soundtrack liner notes, translated by Rebecca Capowski, he and his staff would often spend the night at Square because it was that difficult to compose on the Super Nintendo, and time was not on their side. Uematsu would call this "practically living at [Square]." Also in his words, the entire soundtrack "from start to finish [was] a series of trials and errors."
Final Fantasy IV is also known for featuring a piece that would be used to help teach music to kids in Japanese schools. Theme of Love, the leitmotif for the relationship between Cecil and Rosa, was introduced to the music curriculum in the spring of 2005. Out of the pieces from the soundtrack that
are considered to be popular, Theme of Love is the simplest. The easiest for school children with an interest in music to learn. Final Fantasy IV pushed the boundaries of what is considered "video game music" and just "music." Regardless of hardware limitations and time restrictions, the soundtrack is still just as timeless now as it was back in 1991, even if it was made almost entirely from trials and errors.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Super Nintendo), composed by Koji Kondo
If you were to trace where most of the recurring motifs in the Zelda series originated from, you would trace it to the soundtrack for A Link to the Past, otherwise known in Japan as Triforce of the Gods. Two recurring motifs that came from the first Legend of Zelda were brought back for this game. The main theme, and the treasure theme. In this game, we are introduced to the Hyrule Castle theme, the fountain fairy theme, the master sword theme, Ganon's leitmotif, the Kakariko Village theme, and Zelda's lullaby.
In an interview with Shogakukan translated by GlitterBerri, Kondo states that one of his intents for the game was to make everything sound so good in stereo, you could tell which direction a mouse was lurking from in the darkness. In the same interview, Kondo expresses his pride for what he accomplished with the sound effects of the game. Specifically, the chicken sounds. As for the actual music, he felt most proud of the theme for Hyrule Castle. This theme did become a recurring motif, as stated earlier, but it didn't start appearing in every other Zelda title until it resurfaced in Wind Waker not once, but twice.
Originally, the soundtrack alone took up 1 megabit of memory. Back then, that was a lot. Especially since many Super Nintendo games could only hold 4 megabits of memory. A Link to the Past, however, was expanded to hold 8 megabits of memory. Such dedication to the music helped make A Link to the Past not only a benchmark must-own title for Super Nintendo owners, but it also helped make A Link to the Past one of the best in the franchise.
If you were to trace where most of the recurring motifs in the Zelda series originated from, you would trace it to the soundtrack for A Link to the Past, otherwise known in Japan as Triforce of the Gods. Two recurring motifs that came from the first Legend of Zelda were brought back for this game. The main theme, and the treasure theme. In this game, we are introduced to the Hyrule Castle theme, the fountain fairy theme, the master sword theme, Ganon's leitmotif, the Kakariko Village theme, and Zelda's lullaby.
In an interview with Shogakukan translated by GlitterBerri, Kondo states that one of his intents for the game was to make everything sound so good in stereo, you could tell which direction a mouse was lurking from in the darkness. In the same interview, Kondo expresses his pride for what he accomplished with the sound effects of the game. Specifically, the chicken sounds. As for the actual music, he felt most proud of the theme for Hyrule Castle. This theme did become a recurring motif, as stated earlier, but it didn't start appearing in every other Zelda title until it resurfaced in Wind Waker not once, but twice.
Originally, the soundtrack alone took up 1 megabit of memory. Back then, that was a lot. Especially since many Super Nintendo games could only hold 4 megabits of memory. A Link to the Past, however, was expanded to hold 8 megabits of memory. Such dedication to the music helped make A Link to the Past not only a benchmark must-own title for Super Nintendo owners, but it also helped make A Link to the Past one of the best in the franchise.
Police Quest III: The Kindred (MS-DOS/Amiga), composed by Jan Hammer
Police Quest is a series that has been around since 1987. Designed by former California Highway Patrol officer Jim Walls, and published by Sierra Entertainment, the Police Quest series puts you in the role of police officer Sonny Bonds working in the line of duty doing everything from traffic runs to stopping homicidal maniacs. The Police Quest games are known to bring the realities of police work to an adventure game, right down to having the game penalize you for not following
the most basic of police procedures.
What makes Police Quest III stand out in this primer is its composer. The previous two Police Quest games were composed by in-house composers for Sierra. But for the third game in the series, the composer was Grammy award winning Jan Hammer. Famous for helping make the original Miami Vice a success with his score for the series, Jan Hammer's experience with using music to tell the story of police officers helped enhance the story-driven nature of the third Police Quest game.
This should also be considered a huge accomplishment for video games, because back then, video games rarely used composers who had prior experience with movies or television shows. Jan Hammer's involvement helped authenticate, and enhance the story of the police even more than it already was when Jim Walls first conceived the series.
In an interview with Art Connor, Hammer explains how composing for video games is different from composing for anything else. "it’s like an interactive, interchangeable erector set, where you have the pieces of music flowing into each other in an unpredictable order, depending what the player does. So you work in smaller segments, and you know they have to sort of lead into each other."
It took the minds of those who have actually experienced what being an officer on duty is like to bring a game series like Police Quest to life. It took the developers of Sierra to turn their vision into a fun title to add to their already impressive adventure catalog. And for the third game, it took one of the most prolific composers in the music industry to make Police Quest III the complete story-driven police adventure that it is.
Police Quest is a series that has been around since 1987. Designed by former California Highway Patrol officer Jim Walls, and published by Sierra Entertainment, the Police Quest series puts you in the role of police officer Sonny Bonds working in the line of duty doing everything from traffic runs to stopping homicidal maniacs. The Police Quest games are known to bring the realities of police work to an adventure game, right down to having the game penalize you for not following
the most basic of police procedures.
What makes Police Quest III stand out in this primer is its composer. The previous two Police Quest games were composed by in-house composers for Sierra. But for the third game in the series, the composer was Grammy award winning Jan Hammer. Famous for helping make the original Miami Vice a success with his score for the series, Jan Hammer's experience with using music to tell the story of police officers helped enhance the story-driven nature of the third Police Quest game.
This should also be considered a huge accomplishment for video games, because back then, video games rarely used composers who had prior experience with movies or television shows. Jan Hammer's involvement helped authenticate, and enhance the story of the police even more than it already was when Jim Walls first conceived the series.
In an interview with Art Connor, Hammer explains how composing for video games is different from composing for anything else. "it’s like an interactive, interchangeable erector set, where you have the pieces of music flowing into each other in an unpredictable order, depending what the player does. So you work in smaller segments, and you know they have to sort of lead into each other."
It took the minds of those who have actually experienced what being an officer on duty is like to bring a game series like Police Quest to life. It took the developers of Sierra to turn their vision into a fun title to add to their already impressive adventure catalog. And for the third game, it took one of the most prolific composers in the music industry to make Police Quest III the complete story-driven police adventure that it is.
Rockin' Kats (Nintendo), composed by Tsukasa Masuko
It is more likely that you will recognize Atlus, the developer of this game, rather than the game itself. That's because Atlus is the developer of the Shin Megami Tensei series. And the people that worked on the first Shin Megami Tensei game worked on this game, including the composer.
Rockin' Kats takes place in New York City in a time period inspired by the swing and bop eras. You play Willy, the aforementioned "Rockin' Kat" who must fight crime boss Mugsy and his cohorts, and rescue his girlfriend Jill from their evil clutches. The game follows a non-linear path to the
finale, as the levels you can choose from are divided by "channels."
Some of the music sounds like typical light hearted platformer music. Nothing that stands out too much. But the pieces that do stand out are enough to warrant a feature in this primer. There are pieces that capture the environment of Willy's current location, and with the levels inspired by different
television genre's back in the day, you're bound to get a kind of authenticity in an eclectic set of stages that didn't really exist as much as it should have in the 8-bit era.
You also had pieces with drum riffs that were heavily inspired by big band music, further delving into the jazz inspired world created with this game. Masuko was primarily a composer of Atlus for the 90s before moving onto games for other companies. But Masuko's work in Rockin' Kats can be considered a domino effect for the kind of music that would help shape the Shin Megami Tensei series, and later, the Persona series. Popular franchises in their own rights with music heavily rooted in the jazz genre.
If you beat the game, and sit through the entire staff roll, Mugsy challenges you to a rematch. But to get to him, you have to complete one final level that tests your in-game abilities to the fullest with difficult obstacles, and strict timing challenges. All to the cheerful music from the first stage,
regardless of where each section of this secret final level looks like. Sound familiar? Games like the Super Mario series did this, especially the recent ones. But a final platformer challenge like the one Rockin' Kats gave you, in the way it was presented, was a rather surprising, yet innovative way to reward players with a truly satisfying ending, to a rockin game...no pun intended.
It is more likely that you will recognize Atlus, the developer of this game, rather than the game itself. That's because Atlus is the developer of the Shin Megami Tensei series. And the people that worked on the first Shin Megami Tensei game worked on this game, including the composer.
Rockin' Kats takes place in New York City in a time period inspired by the swing and bop eras. You play Willy, the aforementioned "Rockin' Kat" who must fight crime boss Mugsy and his cohorts, and rescue his girlfriend Jill from their evil clutches. The game follows a non-linear path to the
finale, as the levels you can choose from are divided by "channels."
Some of the music sounds like typical light hearted platformer music. Nothing that stands out too much. But the pieces that do stand out are enough to warrant a feature in this primer. There are pieces that capture the environment of Willy's current location, and with the levels inspired by different
television genre's back in the day, you're bound to get a kind of authenticity in an eclectic set of stages that didn't really exist as much as it should have in the 8-bit era.
You also had pieces with drum riffs that were heavily inspired by big band music, further delving into the jazz inspired world created with this game. Masuko was primarily a composer of Atlus for the 90s before moving onto games for other companies. But Masuko's work in Rockin' Kats can be considered a domino effect for the kind of music that would help shape the Shin Megami Tensei series, and later, the Persona series. Popular franchises in their own rights with music heavily rooted in the jazz genre.
If you beat the game, and sit through the entire staff roll, Mugsy challenges you to a rematch. But to get to him, you have to complete one final level that tests your in-game abilities to the fullest with difficult obstacles, and strict timing challenges. All to the cheerful music from the first stage,
regardless of where each section of this secret final level looks like. Sound familiar? Games like the Super Mario series did this, especially the recent ones. But a final platformer challenge like the one Rockin' Kats gave you, in the way it was presented, was a rather surprising, yet innovative way to reward players with a truly satisfying ending, to a rockin game...no pun intended.
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega Genesis), composed by Masato Nakamura
In an effort to compete against Nintendo, Sega created a platform game revolving around a mascot character. This character would end up being one of the most culturally iconic characters outside of a Nintendo game. But that wasn't the only thing that separated Sonic the Hedgehog from all the other platformer games at the time. It was fast paced, it was colorful, and most importantly, the music was some of the most upbeat you ever heard in video games.
Credit goes to Masato Nakamura, who wasn't a traditional video game composer. He was an experienced producer who formed popular Japanese pop group, Dreams Come True. He formed this group at around the same time he was asked to compose for Sonic the Hedgehog. Nakamura composed the music on an Atari computer. He was limited to only being able to play four different sounds at a time. But he was willing to work within the limits to help Sega produce something that
would compete with, or even possibly surpass Nintendo.
Nakamura's goal for his music was to make Sonic, and the soundtrack cinematic. He was given the color schemes, and the background of each level he was to compose. In an interview with Sonic Retro, Nakamura is quoted as saying "I wanted melodies that the player would hum along with as they were playing, dramatic music for when the scenes were intense, climactic music for when bosses would show up, and then tie it all together with an uplifting theme for the end credits."
Speaking of the end credits, instead of just making a brand new piece, he instead created a medley of the soundtrack (except for the bonus, and boss themes). The medley ends with the opening title theme, as if to bring the entire experience of playing this game to a complete circle.
In an effort to compete against Nintendo, Sega created a platform game revolving around a mascot character. This character would end up being one of the most culturally iconic characters outside of a Nintendo game. But that wasn't the only thing that separated Sonic the Hedgehog from all the other platformer games at the time. It was fast paced, it was colorful, and most importantly, the music was some of the most upbeat you ever heard in video games.
Credit goes to Masato Nakamura, who wasn't a traditional video game composer. He was an experienced producer who formed popular Japanese pop group, Dreams Come True. He formed this group at around the same time he was asked to compose for Sonic the Hedgehog. Nakamura composed the music on an Atari computer. He was limited to only being able to play four different sounds at a time. But he was willing to work within the limits to help Sega produce something that
would compete with, or even possibly surpass Nintendo.
Nakamura's goal for his music was to make Sonic, and the soundtrack cinematic. He was given the color schemes, and the background of each level he was to compose. In an interview with Sonic Retro, Nakamura is quoted as saying "I wanted melodies that the player would hum along with as they were playing, dramatic music for when the scenes were intense, climactic music for when bosses would show up, and then tie it all together with an uplifting theme for the end credits."
Speaking of the end credits, instead of just making a brand new piece, he instead created a medley of the soundtrack (except for the bonus, and boss themes). The medley ends with the opening title theme, as if to bring the entire experience of playing this game to a complete circle.
Street Fighter II (Arcade), composed by Yoko Shimomura and Isao Abe
The original Street Fighter II was nothing short of monumental. It was a revolution to the arcade gaming scene, and it was a genre definer. And Yoko Shimomura, when given a list of games to work on, chose this game completely by random. Although Shimomura didn't put any thought into choosing to compose for Street Fighter II, she knew right away what kind of music would work for the game. In discussing the music with the planner, she brought up the idea that instead of composing themes for each of the fighters, she would compose themes for the fighters country of origin, with a comical twist (in her own words).
For the most part, she had no trouble composing the pieces for the game. There was one piece that gave her the most trouble though, Blanka's stage theme. It wasn't until she saw a yellow bag on the rack of a train in her commute that she came up with the melody to his theme. She was determined to compose the melody so much, that she rushed through Capcom studios as quickly as she could to get to work, and to get her idea out of her head.
As great as Shimomura's work is, it shouldn't overshadow Isao Abe's work. This was his first game as a composer for Capcom. He contributed the VS screen theme, the "Here Comes a New Challenger" jingle, and Sagat's stage theme. What makes Sagat's theme stand out, when compared to the other stage themes composed by Shimomura, is that he composed the piece with an 11/8 time signature.
A time signature is a rhythm indicator that determines how many beats are in each measure of a piece of music. The time signature is read as a fraction, with the top number representing the number of beats, and the bottom number representing what type of note is used. Like quarter notes, half notes, whole notes. The most common' time signatures are 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, and 6/8. You don't often here of pieces with an 11/8 time signature.
While Isao Abe continued to work on the Street Fighter, specifically the different updates to Street Fighter II, the original version of Street Fighter II would be Yoko Shimomura's only involvement with the series, as she left Capcom to persue new career opportunitys at Square. Street Fighter II was innovative and revolutionary for fighting and arcade game enthusiasts. The music that Yoko Shimomura composed, with Isao Abe's help, greatly enhance game, and help sell it as one of the most
important game releases in the 90s.
The original Street Fighter II was nothing short of monumental. It was a revolution to the arcade gaming scene, and it was a genre definer. And Yoko Shimomura, when given a list of games to work on, chose this game completely by random. Although Shimomura didn't put any thought into choosing to compose for Street Fighter II, she knew right away what kind of music would work for the game. In discussing the music with the planner, she brought up the idea that instead of composing themes for each of the fighters, she would compose themes for the fighters country of origin, with a comical twist (in her own words).
For the most part, she had no trouble composing the pieces for the game. There was one piece that gave her the most trouble though, Blanka's stage theme. It wasn't until she saw a yellow bag on the rack of a train in her commute that she came up with the melody to his theme. She was determined to compose the melody so much, that she rushed through Capcom studios as quickly as she could to get to work, and to get her idea out of her head.
As great as Shimomura's work is, it shouldn't overshadow Isao Abe's work. This was his first game as a composer for Capcom. He contributed the VS screen theme, the "Here Comes a New Challenger" jingle, and Sagat's stage theme. What makes Sagat's theme stand out, when compared to the other stage themes composed by Shimomura, is that he composed the piece with an 11/8 time signature.
A time signature is a rhythm indicator that determines how many beats are in each measure of a piece of music. The time signature is read as a fraction, with the top number representing the number of beats, and the bottom number representing what type of note is used. Like quarter notes, half notes, whole notes. The most common' time signatures are 4/4, 3/4, 2/4, and 6/8. You don't often here of pieces with an 11/8 time signature.
While Isao Abe continued to work on the Street Fighter, specifically the different updates to Street Fighter II, the original version of Street Fighter II would be Yoko Shimomura's only involvement with the series, as she left Capcom to persue new career opportunitys at Square. Street Fighter II was innovative and revolutionary for fighting and arcade game enthusiasts. The music that Yoko Shimomura composed, with Isao Abe's help, greatly enhance game, and help sell it as one of the most
important game releases in the 90s.
Streets of Rage (Genesis), composed by Yuzo Koshiro
Yuzo Koshiro loves club music. He made this abundantly clear when he worked on the Misty Blue soundtrack. He recognized how well the Sega Genesis was selling internationally, and how popular club music was on MTV. So for the Streets of Rage soundtrack, he wanted to give gamers the best of both worlds. The trendiest music genre for a game on the trendiest game console. It was an unusual approach for him to want to compose music with an international target audience in mind, as club music wasn't nearly as popular in Japan. But Koshiro's idea was approved by the manager of Sega's consumer department at the time, despite some hesitation towards the idea from the rest of the staff.
Koshiro sites Soul II Soul and Enigma as influences to the soundtrack. Specifically, Enigma's Sadness Part 1 was the main inspiration for the games title theme. Koshiro felt that music in video games at the time did not have music that revolved a new kind of sound, known as Ground Beat. Ground Beat is defined as music composed around a specific beat as opposed to a specific melody. Beats were the main draw of club music. It didn't entirely matter what the main melody was, if
it had a good beat, it was a good enough hook to draw the attention of music lovers.That was what gave Koshiro the drive to compose for Streets of Rage, to raise awareness of that kind of music through video games. He truly believed that music was starting to be defined by beats, not melodies.
To help Streets of Rage's electronica music sound as authentic as it can, Koshiro developed his own audio programming language to help compliment the outdated PC88 system he used to compose the music. It was important for the games soundtrack to perfectly replicate the timbre and percussion sounds. And if the audio programming software couldn't do it, he was gonna do it himself. This game was one of the toughest soundtracks to work on for him, calling it a good deal of painstaking work according to the liner notes of the soundtrack, as translated by Ben Schweitzer. But Koshiro's dedication to the game, combined with his appreciation for club music helped create the passion to compose music for a game that would arguably help define who Yuzo Koshiro was as a composer.
Yuzo Koshiro loves club music. He made this abundantly clear when he worked on the Misty Blue soundtrack. He recognized how well the Sega Genesis was selling internationally, and how popular club music was on MTV. So for the Streets of Rage soundtrack, he wanted to give gamers the best of both worlds. The trendiest music genre for a game on the trendiest game console. It was an unusual approach for him to want to compose music with an international target audience in mind, as club music wasn't nearly as popular in Japan. But Koshiro's idea was approved by the manager of Sega's consumer department at the time, despite some hesitation towards the idea from the rest of the staff.
Koshiro sites Soul II Soul and Enigma as influences to the soundtrack. Specifically, Enigma's Sadness Part 1 was the main inspiration for the games title theme. Koshiro felt that music in video games at the time did not have music that revolved a new kind of sound, known as Ground Beat. Ground Beat is defined as music composed around a specific beat as opposed to a specific melody. Beats were the main draw of club music. It didn't entirely matter what the main melody was, if
it had a good beat, it was a good enough hook to draw the attention of music lovers.That was what gave Koshiro the drive to compose for Streets of Rage, to raise awareness of that kind of music through video games. He truly believed that music was starting to be defined by beats, not melodies.
To help Streets of Rage's electronica music sound as authentic as it can, Koshiro developed his own audio programming language to help compliment the outdated PC88 system he used to compose the music. It was important for the games soundtrack to perfectly replicate the timbre and percussion sounds. And if the audio programming software couldn't do it, he was gonna do it himself. This game was one of the toughest soundtracks to work on for him, calling it a good deal of painstaking work according to the liner notes of the soundtrack, as translated by Ben Schweitzer. But Koshiro's dedication to the game, combined with his appreciation for club music helped create the passion to compose music for a game that would arguably help define who Yuzo Koshiro was as a composer.
U.N. Squadron (Super Nintendo), composed by Mari Yamaguchi
U.N. Squadron might be more recognizable to hardcore fans as Area 88, a manga series about Shin Kazama, member of the mercenary air base which the manga was named after. It was adapted into an OVA series in the 80s, and then would be adapted as a scrolling shoot 'em up for arcades in 1989. The Super Nintendo port of the arcade game was released in Japan and North America in 1991. In North America, it was renamed U.N. Squadron in an attempt to appeal to the western market. Despite the name change, everything else about the game and plot remained the same.
Manami Matsume was the original composer of the arcade game. For the game's soundtrack to be adapted for the Super Nintendo, the task was given to newcomer Mari Yamaguchi. Her first original score for a video game will be featured later in the primer, but U.N. Squadron would become the first game released with her name attached to the credits. Her work in this game was one of the few games that, at the time, really showed how well the rock music genre can be performed on the Super Nintendo system.
Area 88 was already a fairly popular franchise to begin with. But over in the west, as U.N. Squadron, the game is arguably the most popular form of media for the Area 88 franchise. There are those who would say U.N. Squadron has one of the best Super Nintendo soundtracks. There are also those who would say U.N. Squadron is one of the best shoot em' ups in the entire Super Nintendo library. This game is memorable for so many reasons, and it was released within the Super Nintendo's first year. It could be debated over which version was better. The arcade, or the Super Nintendo.
But as a Super Nintendo game, U.N. Squadron is something that should not be overlooked. A major part of that reason is the arrangement work from newcomer Mari Yamaguchi, of music composed by one of Capcom's most distinguished composers, Manami Matsume.
U.N. Squadron might be more recognizable to hardcore fans as Area 88, a manga series about Shin Kazama, member of the mercenary air base which the manga was named after. It was adapted into an OVA series in the 80s, and then would be adapted as a scrolling shoot 'em up for arcades in 1989. The Super Nintendo port of the arcade game was released in Japan and North America in 1991. In North America, it was renamed U.N. Squadron in an attempt to appeal to the western market. Despite the name change, everything else about the game and plot remained the same.
Manami Matsume was the original composer of the arcade game. For the game's soundtrack to be adapted for the Super Nintendo, the task was given to newcomer Mari Yamaguchi. Her first original score for a video game will be featured later in the primer, but U.N. Squadron would become the first game released with her name attached to the credits. Her work in this game was one of the few games that, at the time, really showed how well the rock music genre can be performed on the Super Nintendo system.
Area 88 was already a fairly popular franchise to begin with. But over in the west, as U.N. Squadron, the game is arguably the most popular form of media for the Area 88 franchise. There are those who would say U.N. Squadron has one of the best Super Nintendo soundtracks. There are also those who would say U.N. Squadron is one of the best shoot em' ups in the entire Super Nintendo library. This game is memorable for so many reasons, and it was released within the Super Nintendo's first year. It could be debated over which version was better. The arcade, or the Super Nintendo.
But as a Super Nintendo game, U.N. Squadron is something that should not be overlooked. A major part of that reason is the arrangement work from newcomer Mari Yamaguchi, of music composed by one of Capcom's most distinguished composers, Manami Matsume.
Super Castlevania IV (Super Nintendo), composed by Masanori Adachi and Taro Kudo
Director Masahiro Ueno loved the first Castlevania game so much, he wanted to remake the game in his own vision for the Super Nintendo. That included making the game less frustrating in some parts, adding new levels, taking advantage of the Super Nintendo's graphics capabilities, and of course, the music. Previous Castlevania soundtracks were more upbeat, and fitting to a typical action style game. And while Super Castlevania IV did have its upbeat music pieces, it was only a small part of what
the soundtrack ended up being. Unlike the previous Castlevania games, the soundtrack to Super Castlevania IV was dark, haunting, and more atmospheric. It is one of the few Castlevania games where the music placed a stronger emphasis on the atmosphere of the world, over the mood of heroically killing monsters.
Super Castlevania IV also featured arrangements of iconic pieces from the first three Castlevania titles. Vampire Killer from the first, Bloody Tears from the second, and Beginning from the third. And this wouldn't be the first time that these three pieces would reprise themselves in Castlevania titles. You will even hear the Theme of Simon in Castlevania Bloodlines, and Castlevania Chronicles. Speaking of the Theme of Simon, this piece is an essential part of the musical experience of this game. Most of stage one uses this piece, and the last half of the final battle against Dracula uses this piece. It's as if Theme of Simon is used to introduce you to the game, and provide the finale of the game as well, bringing the entire experience of this game to a complete circle.
Neither Masanori Adachi or Taro Kudo would return for any other Castlevania title. But for their only Castlevania title, the soundtrack is widely regarded by Castlevania fans as the most haunting and atmospheric in the entire franchise. A soundtrack that only helps enhance Super Castlevania IV, widely regarded by Castlevania fans as one of the best strictly-action oriented games in the entire franchise.
Director Masahiro Ueno loved the first Castlevania game so much, he wanted to remake the game in his own vision for the Super Nintendo. That included making the game less frustrating in some parts, adding new levels, taking advantage of the Super Nintendo's graphics capabilities, and of course, the music. Previous Castlevania soundtracks were more upbeat, and fitting to a typical action style game. And while Super Castlevania IV did have its upbeat music pieces, it was only a small part of what
the soundtrack ended up being. Unlike the previous Castlevania games, the soundtrack to Super Castlevania IV was dark, haunting, and more atmospheric. It is one of the few Castlevania games where the music placed a stronger emphasis on the atmosphere of the world, over the mood of heroically killing monsters.
Super Castlevania IV also featured arrangements of iconic pieces from the first three Castlevania titles. Vampire Killer from the first, Bloody Tears from the second, and Beginning from the third. And this wouldn't be the first time that these three pieces would reprise themselves in Castlevania titles. You will even hear the Theme of Simon in Castlevania Bloodlines, and Castlevania Chronicles. Speaking of the Theme of Simon, this piece is an essential part of the musical experience of this game. Most of stage one uses this piece, and the last half of the final battle against Dracula uses this piece. It's as if Theme of Simon is used to introduce you to the game, and provide the finale of the game as well, bringing the entire experience of this game to a complete circle.
Neither Masanori Adachi or Taro Kudo would return for any other Castlevania title. But for their only Castlevania title, the soundtrack is widely regarded by Castlevania fans as the most haunting and atmospheric in the entire franchise. A soundtrack that only helps enhance Super Castlevania IV, widely regarded by Castlevania fans as one of the best strictly-action oriented games in the entire franchise.
Super Ghouls n' Ghosts (Super Nintendo), composed by Mari Yamaguchi
The Ghosts n' Goblins series were notorious for being one of the most difficult games ever released. This was the third game in the series, and the first not to be released initially as an arcade title. It was released exclusively as a Super Nintendo title. Every title in the Ghosts n' Goblins began with the same piece, originally composed by Ayako Mori. But this would be the only recurring track, as the rest of the soundtrack would be original works from Yamaguchi.
One distinguishing feature of the music in the franchise was that each boss character had its own theme. Typically, all the bosses would share one theme, maybe two, and the final boss would get its own exclusive theme. In the Ghosts n' Goblins series, each individual boss had its own theme.
But to bring focus back to this specific game, and not the franchise as a whole; U.N. Squadron may have been Mari Yamaguchi's first work as a composer for Capcom, but Super Ghouls n' Ghosts was her first original score for a video game. She would eventually become more famous for her work in the Mega Man series, but her accomplishments on the Super Nintendo should not go unnoticed. Her abilities with the brass instruments are some of the most dramatic you'll hear in video games, at least from the 16-bit era.
Her emphasis with the brass instrument can be heard on other Super Nintendo games where she was the original composer. Her allegro techniques are also more noticable when compared to other Capcom composers at the time. An allegro is a music technique where the musician performs a series of notes very quickly. She doesn't always do an allegro in the main melody. She usually reserves those for the background melodies.
For her original first game, Mari Yamaguchi made quite an impression, enhancing the drama that unfolds while trying to survive a game like Super Ghouls n' Ghosts....both times..
The Ghosts n' Goblins series were notorious for being one of the most difficult games ever released. This was the third game in the series, and the first not to be released initially as an arcade title. It was released exclusively as a Super Nintendo title. Every title in the Ghosts n' Goblins began with the same piece, originally composed by Ayako Mori. But this would be the only recurring track, as the rest of the soundtrack would be original works from Yamaguchi.
One distinguishing feature of the music in the franchise was that each boss character had its own theme. Typically, all the bosses would share one theme, maybe two, and the final boss would get its own exclusive theme. In the Ghosts n' Goblins series, each individual boss had its own theme.
But to bring focus back to this specific game, and not the franchise as a whole; U.N. Squadron may have been Mari Yamaguchi's first work as a composer for Capcom, but Super Ghouls n' Ghosts was her first original score for a video game. She would eventually become more famous for her work in the Mega Man series, but her accomplishments on the Super Nintendo should not go unnoticed. Her abilities with the brass instruments are some of the most dramatic you'll hear in video games, at least from the 16-bit era.
Her emphasis with the brass instrument can be heard on other Super Nintendo games where she was the original composer. Her allegro techniques are also more noticable when compared to other Capcom composers at the time. An allegro is a music technique where the musician performs a series of notes very quickly. She doesn't always do an allegro in the main melody. She usually reserves those for the background melodies.
For her original first game, Mari Yamaguchi made quite an impression, enhancing the drama that unfolds while trying to survive a game like Super Ghouls n' Ghosts....both times..
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