2016-08-26 14:09:55

I also like the yakuza soundtracks, especially the first game, like receive you, ID, and the end of the drama.

going in to the wilds, collecting pokedex, and capturing them are my kind of thing,
training them, making them evolve, and generally making them stronger is my ultimate goal,
fighting other manamon tamers, winning the tournament, and fighting octoros are what these manamons like to do,
and ultimately, I become the master of mana!

2016-08-30 18:00:26

Castlequest/castle exolent, especially on the nes, has one of the best 8 bit soundtracks in my opinion. The level clear music is my favorite in the game, it sounds like it was plucked out of a classic dizney movie.

be a hero and stop Coppa now!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dkm … DkWZ8/edit
-id software, 1995

2016-09-03 12:52:18 (edited by pulseman45 2016-09-03 12:56:20)

Personally I have quite a bit of trouble for finding my favourite 8-bit videogame soundtrack.
Especially since the japanese philosophy and the occidental one seem to be quite different in the chiptune department. The japanese philosophy feels more like composing good tunes but exploiting the hardware in a rather simple way, whereas the occidental philosophy feels more like pushing the hardware to it's limit. For example when you here that very fast arpegio that's made to mimic a chord and that sound a bit like a telephone is ringing, there is a pretty good chance that it's not a japanese production.
Exemple of fast arpegio there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D0s7mTNW60
I know what I say may appear as chliché or unjustified, but that's what my 8-bit soundtrack experience tells me.
Now the thing is, both the japanese and the occidental scene offer great stuff, but the occidental scene impresses me even more for it's technical mastery of certain hardware.
For example, did you know that a gameboy color could sound like that?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPxdWubUslk
Or that the classic gameboy could do that?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMc66XAdGVc
To bad one of the channel's missing at some point on the video. But seriously, that "é" sound at some point of the track was amazing for the time, especially since it was not a voice.
So, with many different way to compose and many great stuff from anywhere, finding my favourite 8-bit soundtrack is like impossible. Definitely one of my favourite videogame era, especially since videogame soundtracks tend to sound more like film scores today, and that makes them pretty unpersonnal in my opinion.

2016-09-03 17:58:08

all the Mario effects originally were 8 bit... but I wouldn't put those statements in a box like that. Some of the best 8 bit video game soundtracks were from Japanese games... and what do you mean by most soundtracks today being unpersonal because they're like film scores? Assuming unpersonal is a word... and I'm not sure it is. hahaha. big_smile

Discord: clemchowder633

2016-09-03 20:18:09

@pulseman45 I certainly agree with you on that. However, sometimes the occedental filosiphy is split between the US and europe especially for dos games, in which the US adopts the japanese filosiphy (see the "happy" theme from cosmos cosmic adventure for an example)

be a hero and stop Coppa now!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dkm … DkWZ8/edit
-id software, 1995

2016-09-03 23:02:37

I honestly wouldn't go so far to put those statements in stone the way I see them being discussed at the moment, but that's just me. Music is a much greyer area than that... overall quality though, I can definitely say that Japanese games tend to put emphasis on gameplay over content. In certain genres, anyway.

Discord: clemchowder633

2016-09-04 00:49:04

Yeah I'm looking at you electronic arts for milking that shitty madden franchise.

be a hero and stop Coppa now!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dkm … DkWZ8/edit
-id software, 1995

2016-09-04 15:17:22 (edited by pulseman45 2016-09-04 16:12:12)

@assault_freak: I agree that wasn't the best way to speak my mind. What I meant is that the limits of the 8 bit systems made the videogame soundtracks have a very distinguishable sound, and that it's not the case anymore. Not that it is a bad thing, only now I often say myself that videogames are so realistic that you almost feel like watching an interactive movie, and I don't like that to much. But that's my own feeling and that's understandable if many people disagree. Plus there are many soundtracks I don't know or even didn't listened carefully enough so I can't really be right on that.
Anyway that's why I mostly play fighting games on this generation, probably because it's not a straight up adventure and that many of there soundtracks are stuck in my head.
@Ammericandad2005: To be honest, I don't know to much about old DOS games, but I'll go check the Cosmo Cosmic Adventure eventually, I guess you are right.
And yes, there are soundtracks which pretty much prove that what I say about japanese and occidental chiptune isn't totally true. Think Streets Of Rage for example. Plus I don't mean to hurt anyone by saying I prefer japanese chiptune to occidental chiptune or the reverse,because as I said there are many good tracks wherever they come from, and I simply wanted to share a personnal impression.

2016-09-04 17:35:47

For interactive movies... I definitely feel that's a more American thing than Japanese, where they sometimes have bigger budgets and go more for flashy productions and less substance. Japanese games, even long rpgs, still feel and play like video games, even in the presentation itself. And in terms of soundtracks, I've always liked Japanese ones far more personally as well, chiptunes or not. Since we both love fighting games, it's fair to say that if you compare fighting game soundtracks, most people will always mention Japanese ones first... the new killer instinct is the first soundtrack I've actually enjoyed from a western Fighting game in a very long time. lol Street Fighter 2 remains one of my favourite ones todate.

Discord: clemchowder633

2016-09-04 18:20:44 (edited by pulseman45 2016-09-04 18:26:32)

I agree with you for the fact it's more American then japanese. Many soundtracks I like are japanese, but I must admit I did not listen to many American soundtracks in comparison. I don't know about the new killer instinct, but I do like the soundtrack of the first one quite much.

2016-09-04 23:43:36

in fact what I said about cosmos cosmic adventure applies to pretty much all of the big american dos devoloppers of the 1980s and 1990s. for another example, check out the soundtrack to king's quest 4. sierra hired a profetional film composer to do the music, and it shows.

be a hero and stop Coppa now!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dkm … DkWZ8/edit
-id software, 1995

2016-09-05 00:23:49 (edited by pulseman45 2016-09-05 00:26:58)

OK, I shall check that too.
Also, another point I thought would be worth mentionning is that, when I hear a track that reminds me of something I heard before, I end up liking it instead of dispizing it because of it's similarities, maybe it's because of nostalgia.
For example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaiXR1gcHog
When I found out that this song reminded me of "Auld Lang Syne", I replayed it many times and I still like it a lot today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-XpHoJ3CDk
Not quite as obvious in my opinion, but this one reminds me of an old song called "those were the days", the chorus of that song, that is. And I also replayed it a lot, even though the loop is so short.
I guess it's better like that. I think those tracks are beautiful anyway.

2016-09-05 01:00:33

I agree with you. I can point out similaraties in many games, especially in the 8 and 16 bit era. for example, elecman's theme from the first mega man reminds me a lot of journey's "don't stop belivin", the name entry music in rainbow islands reminnnds me a lot of "everyone is special" from barney (the last line of the chorus at least) and the moon cresta theme sounded a bit like ride of the valcories when I heard it, though on closer listening it sounded more like the theme from galaxian.

be a hero and stop Coppa now!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dkm … DkWZ8/edit
-id software, 1995

2016-10-08 22:29:40 (edited by pulseman45 2016-10-08 22:31:55)

OK, I'm back here because I thought I would share a very small detail in the Pokemon Red and Blue soundtrack that makes me think it was even more amazing than what I thought in the first place. It's about a very precise moment in the game.
Let's say you get out of the St. Anne ship, then it lives and you are back in Vermillion city. What makes the thing beautiful is that the three themes you hear in a row (the St Anne's theme, the surfing theme and Vermillion City's theme) are all on the same key, A major. To me it's a good way to keep the immersion in that part of the game. Metaphorically speaking, it's like saying that if the waves of Kanto's sea produced a note, it would be A. There are three other themes in the game that are on the same key, so I don't know if it's a coincidence, but still it's very well done, and I can't think of another soundtrack that does it this way.

2016-10-08 23:48:11

the entirity of the smb1 soundtrack (except for the castle theme) is in the key of c, as is a large chunk of the soundtrack to smb3.

be a hero and stop Coppa now!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Dkm … DkWZ8/edit
-id software, 1995

2016-10-09 06:51:05

I have all of the Harry Potter video game soundtracks! I also really really enjoyed the soundtrack to Warriors of might and magic. I really wish I could find that one!

2016-10-09 14:03:31 (edited by pulseman45 2016-10-09 14:08:23)

Yes! Just how couldI forget Mario?
Since Super Mario World they went even further by composing a min theme and have many other themes being variants of it.