The Video Game Music Challenge [Official Game Thread]

[Colorful Arty]

Okay, I'm finally going to catch up on feedback, since I'm quite behind:

Round 3 Feedback

Responses to IchoTolot's choices

1) Awesome song. The song is fitting for 2020 I'd say. I love the orchestral sound to it.
2) Oh man, that is an awesome song, but I can already picture how it would play on a super difficult mission. It's like the song itself is trying to fill you with despair.
3) Another rockin' song!

Responses to Lana's choices

1) Never played Pugsy, but I already love this song. I can definitely see it being nostalgic for me as well if I had played it as a kid.
2) Incredibly fitting that you put this track as your frustration track, because rtw used it for when he played "The Gravity Zero" in DoveLems, and it ended up being his least favorite level in the whole pack. I recognized it right away.
3) A nice bopping song. Sounds like it would be a great song for a Lemmings level.

Responses to Turrican's choices

1) A very nice track. Grand Turismo I've noticed has some very peaceful music. I also caught a portion of the song that sounded identical to Last Day from Majora's Mask, which is one of the most depressing and frightening songs I've heard, so hats off to the composer for taking that stock sound and making it sound peaceful.
2) Rule of thumb: if you're going to make an incredibly difficult boss fight, it better have epic music people don't mind listening to over and over again. This definitely follows said rule.
3) More Turrican music! Never played the game, but everytime I hear a track from it, I enjoy it. This is no exception.

Responses to 607's choices

1) I remember Super Circuit! It was always my least favorite Mario Kart after the SNES one (which I didn't play until I was an adult). That said, it wasn't bad by any means, and indeed Sky Garden was always one of the best courses from it, along with Sunset Wilds (I love the Shy Guys that try to hijack your kart)
3) Dude, you just took me back in time to when I was a kid. I remember Mario Deluxe! That was the best way to play the original Super Mario Bros. imo.

Responses to grams88's choices

2) Very atmospheric. It sounds like I'm in an ancient temple in outer space.
3) Man, when I think of nostalgic songs, rarely do rock songs come to mind. Maybe I didn't have as rocking of a childhood then. XD I likey very much.

Responses to Nessy's choices

1) Ah, Stone Tower Temple. Really creative dungeon, very weird music, and one of my least favorite Zelda dungeons. I really dislike that one lava room with the Deku fans and all of the Elegy of Emptiness statues you need to make. But the worst part is the Stray Fairies. Why do I have to flip the dungeon 18 times to get them all? I've always thought the music for this dungeon was really off. Stone Tower Temple is in the deepest part of Ikana, which is an incredibly dark and creepy land, and what music is in the dungeon? Happy Ocarina music. Not what I would have chosen; I would have made Ikana Castle the dungeon instead. That said, I love the flip the dungeon upside-down gimmick, I love how the music changes slightly to reflect the upside-down-ness of the dungeon, and Gomess is the best miniboss ever.
2) This is not the Skull Man I know. Really good music; I'm a sucker for good 8-bit tracks, and Mega Man always delivers on that.
3) Birabuto Kingdom! Proof that the original Game Boy could have great music (Plus Tetris)

Responses to Dullstar's choices

1) Dude, you awakened my childhood! I freaking adore Roller Coaster Tycoon, and the Merry Go Round music is sooo good! Holy cow, I never knew the music was a 42 minute loop! That explains why I never got tired of it. I always put a Merry Go Round in my parks just to hear the amazing music.
2) The two stars I never got in this game were Tick Tock Clock 100 coins and Wing Mario over the Rainbow. Both of those stars had this music playing on their respective levels. I share your sentiment of frustration.
3) Heck yeah, more RCT! I definitely prefer the original's menu music over the second one's.

Responses to SQron's choices

1) I've only played a Mortal Kombat game once, and I had no idea what to do. I like the track though.
2) I can tell this was made on the Windows soundfont by the instraments' sound. A nice gloomy song, and that game's cover looks interesting: A pirate cat!
3) Never played Mario All Stars, but it's a nice rendition of the Mario theme.

Responses to Proxima's choices

1) Never played Chrono Trigger myself, but this is a good theme. I especially love the intro.
2) Still haven't played Celeste either, but the music I've heard is all amazing. This is a good theme; I love the synth sound it has and the theromin used for that otherworldly sound.
3) Aquatic Ruin is a classic track! I love the Sonic 2 soundtrack, and this music is one of my favorites. Very nostalgic.

[Colorful Arty]

Round 4 feedback

Responses to SQron's choices

1) That video thumbnail scares me a bit. Mr. Nutz looks a bit creepy, but at least the music is a bop!
2) I love Hot Head Bop from DKC2. DKC2 has one of the best soundtracks, and the Lava theme is definitely... hot. When I played the GBA version growing up, I didn't think much of it, but the SNES version is catchier and more atmospheric.
3) Another atmospheric one. Very nice.

Responses to rtw's choices

1) This is a nice one! Also, the boxart looks very interesting. Never heard of this game before.
2) This sounds like a song that would play on a foggy day. Very smooth.
3) Dang, I love this song! Never heard of it or the game it's from before, but I adore that eerie 16-bit sound.

Responses to IchoTolot's choices

1) Oh man, that is a nice orchestral song! It sounds like something that would play when you're coming home victorious from a war.
2) Daaang, this one is slick! I love that bass line. It's one of those songs that's so easy to listen to and just flows so well.
3) Well, this definitely has a dark feel to it. Nice kicking bass.

Responses to Turrican's choices

1) Sounds similar to the Turrican music I've heard. Very good track, although I'm not sure if I would call it upbeat.
2) Ooh, quite a magical song this one. Love the drums in the background.
3) Did not expect lyrics in this song, so that caught me off guard. This is definitely an eerie song.

Responses to 607's choices

1) Wooly World has some very happy music, indeed. The main theme has been forever ruined for me because it's used in Smash Ultimate for a spirit battle that I had to repeat a LOT of times. This song is really nice, though.
2) Space Junk Galaxy is one of my little sister's favorite tracks, and she can actually play it on piano, so I've heard it quite a bit. Considering it's a world based on trash, the music is gorgeous.
3) Holy cow, nothing like a tragic song such as this to make you feel like a real piece of trash for letting one of your animals die. I feel like this track would also work well as a break-the-girl's heart song.

Responses to Dullstar's choices

1) I can not hear any Jazz music without thinking of Simon anymore. Such a good soundtrack.
2) I need to play Celeste one of these days. I got it for Switch when it went on sale, but I haven't touched it. The soundtrack is amazing, and this song is gorgeous. I'm a sucker for repetitive, sad piano songs.
3) I forgot about this song. Twilight Princess has a lot of dark and twisted songs, but this one slipped my mind.

Responses to Lana's choices

1) That track is basically the definition of hectic multiplayer music and it is amazing.
2) Very nice. Sounds like you're exploring a long-lost temple.
3) Submerged Castle is a fun place. One of my favorite dungeons. The music unnerves a lot of people, but I never found it that bad. Then again, I also never found the Waterwraith to be scary either, so...

Responses to Nessy's choices

1) I freaking adore this song! FNAF has always had pretty awesome music (as shown by the title screen music for each game), but Sister Location is where the music really got kicked into high gear. This 8-bit retro track is so pumping. Just don't listen to it while driving, lest you go way too fast.
2) A nice 16-bit theme.
3) I've never found Song of Healing to be dark or gloomy, but rather very calming. It truly has a "healing" effect on me when I listen to it. It's also a bit sad (especially when it plays during a few of the cutscenes in the game).

Responses to Proxima's choices

1) I clicked the link and all of a sudden was faced with Akseli's avatar! XD This is a bopping song! I love these retro 8-bit songs that push the limits of what could be done back in the day!
2) One of these days I'll play Hollow Knight. Every track I've heard from it has been amazing, and this one is no exception. I love the strings.

[607]

Responses to Nessy's picks

4.1: Hm, not a fan of this one! Some parts are okay, but the whole sound of it seems unnecessarily dirty. Dirty can be good, but I don't think it fits the track. And I also don't think it fits an uplifting mood, so I personally would not consider this track uplifting.

4.2: Yeah, that's a good one! About the picturing of the environment: I hear several hints to an underwater scene. This track does not actually play underwater, does it?
Are you American? It seems like the NSTC version is indeed very expensive.

4.3: Hey, I mentioned Majora's Mask in my reply to Dullstar! Yeah, this is one that certainly works. I like the melancholy in it (I also picked quite a melancholy track)

Responses to Proxima's picks

3.1: Hey, Chrono Trigger is nice, because the soundtrack is on streaming platforms. Indeed this one does not sound familiar to me... but I like where it's going! It's very varied, but still coherent. That's impressive! Not sure yet if it's one of my favourites, but I added it to my favourites on SST so I will listen to it again later. Indeed it is not popular, I can see there.

3.2: I love that one! (hadn't heard it before) It's hard to imagine associating this with frustration. Although, actually... I just got to the part starting at 1:57, and there is in fact some frustration there, I think! It seems to make me a bit angry at the world. Wow, what a progression in this track. It's long, but I have to finish it.

3.3: Ah, I know that one. Yeah, nice track! And it actually has a nostalgic sound to it. That makes it easy for it to make you feel nostalgic, I suppose.

4.1: Oh, I forgot about that one! I don't need to say more either. I haven't actually bought the VVVVVV soundtrack yet... I should do that some time.

4.2: I haven't listened to this soundtrack yet, although I've heard good about it. This sounds beautiful! Very atmospheric indeed. I love the flute.

4.3: Well, come back for it!

3) Heck yeah, more RCT! I definitely prefer the original's menu music over the second one's.

Interesting, another one who does!

3) Birabuto Kingdom! Proof that the original Game Boy could have great music (Plus Tetris)

Or just listen to any of Alberto J. Gonzáles' work on Game Boy (and GBC).

Considering it's a world based on trash, the music is gorgeous.

PS: We reached 100 posts!

[SQron188]

@Colorful Arty
3.2 I'd recommend Claw to you. It's a  platformer with beautiful, even mesmerising, 2D graphics (it is tough as nails, though!); the main character is voiced by Stephan Weyte (listen here) whose work was featured in several Humongous Entertainment games, and he did the famous voice of Caleb in Blood! The game itself can be downloaded here: https://captainclaw.net/en/downloads.html

4.1 You could say that! The actual game and Mr. Nutz are precious, though.

4.2 I think it'd be a challenge to find a weak track in the DKC2 OST!

[Nessy]

Sixth Round!

This time the round has been created by 607:

1) Music with unusual sounds
2) Favorite music that plays in a cave or underground area
3) Music that is technologically impressive (for the system it's on)

Round will end on August 31 at 18:00 UTC

[SQron188]

Round 6:

Spoiler

1. Silent Hill 2 - Promised Mutilation (probably most of the tracks made for Silent Hill 1-4 games would qualify here)
2. Heroes Of Might And Magic III - Underground Theme (think of fairy tales)
3. Turrican 2 - The Final Fight (the soundtrack of this game was made in the TFMX Pro format which allows up 7 sound channels in a piece of tracker music, at a time when the standard was 4)

[IchoTolot]

Round 6:

Spoiler

1) Music with unusual sounds

Command and Conquer Remastered OST - C&C Credits Outtakes Theme (Bonus Tracks): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2km1WedZcjc

In the original game it was planned to include a few outtakes from the video sequences - sadly the diskspace was too limited. For the remastered they dug up the audio track from these outtakes scenes though! This music track is the result and I think the screwed up voice lines are unusual enough.

2) Favorite music that plays in a cave or underground area

Darkest Dungeon - The Cove Battle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB22jMz5oNk&list=PLu-c4HJwSuIlyQ2YDgav7opgfFgFIeWnb&index=11

It's just such nicely haunted track fitting the overall athmosphere of the game. Darkest Dungeon (+ the DLCs) is definitly a title I am very proud to have beaten on the standard difficulty as the game is VERY unforgiving.

3) Music that is technologically impressive (for the system it's on)

Mick Gordon - DOOM 2016 soundtrack - BFG Division: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHRuTYtSbJQ

This track is just absolutely brutal and perfect and it was made through very impressive techniques. As a reference here is Mick Gordon's GDC talk on how he developed the soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4FNBMZsqrY   
It's really worth watching!

[LanaAndCo]

Music with unusual sounds

Rayman - Deep Concentration (https://fi.zophar.net/soundfiles/playstation-psf/rayman/SLUS-00005_39.mp3)
This is a very creative piece of music, really, using drawing noises to make a music track, that's clever! Too bad the level isn't as peaceful... Sigh, this why I think the first Rayman needed a repolishing. Everything was great except the level design. I don't define the game as just being hard, but also being unfair. You think you finally finished the darn level? NOPE, *magical sound and new obstacles appear* GO AROUND! I would like to also thank Rémi Gazel for the amazing work he did for Rayman, may he rest in peace...

Cave/underground music

Kirby Super Star - Trees in the Depths of the Earth (https://vgmsite.com/soundtracks/kirby-super-star/wssokorpth/34%20Trees%20in%20the%20Depths%20of%20the%20Earth.mp3)
You know, I was this close to chose Hazy Maze Cave from Mario 64, since this is what comes to my mind when you ask me to represent "cave music", but, it also plays in an another level that isn't underground and I prefer the Kirby music anyway. So yeah, The Great Cave Offensive... I love this sub-game, I just love adventure in general. The areas you go through aren't supposed to be things you see in caverns but this is what makes your mission so entertaining! You got a jungle, a crystal lake, a tall tower and a huge garden all of which are filled with treasures and enemies. See, this is what I call a good treasure hunting in an enormous cavern while you got trapped in it by your own stupidity! Also, why is the title of this track referring to "Earth"? Kirby's planet is named Popstar and is nothing like Earth. Maybe it's just a reference to Jule Verne?

Music that is technologically impressive (for the system it's on)

Gimmick! - Slow Illusion (https://fi.zophar.net/soundfiles/nintendo-nes-nsf/gimmick/4%20-%20Slow%20Illusion.mp3)
Hey, this game isn't that obscure, a lot of people actually recognise Gimmick!, mainly for its OST too. Yeah, it had the advantage of being developed on the last years of the Famicom, when programming techniques were more mastered, but it's still a pretty impressive little game. But what about the music? Well first, I need to tell you about the audio capacities of the Famicom. It has 5 audio channels :
          - The 1^st and the 2^nd are of the same kind, they are pulse wave channels, mainly used for the main melody.
          - The 3^rd is a triangle wave channel, mainly used for the bassline.
          - The 4^th is a noise channel, mainly used for percussion and sound effects, like a waterfall or an explosion.
          - The 5^th is a sample channel, for importing highly compressed instruments. While it was sometime used, mainly for percussion, the number of samples were kept at a bare minimum because it costed ROM space.
And that's where Sunsoft, the game's developer, come into account. Because most, if not all, of their games utilize the 5^th channel as a bass, which was far from easy because of the limitation of the system. When done correctly, this can give the music a better sounding bassline than using the triangle wave channel. And it's not over, since a special chip was also added to the game's cartridge : the "SUNSOFT 5B". Not only does this chip extend the capabilities of the console but also comes with a YM2149 audio chip, providing three additional audio channels. Sadly, there was a problem... When the game was exported to Scandinavia (the only region who officially had the game beside Japan), the extra audio channels were removed, making the music a bit weird. Here's the PAL version for comparison : https://fi.zophar.net/soundfiles/nintendo-nes-nsf/gimmick-eur/3%20-%20Track%203.mp3. Apparently, it has something to do with the NES only using its 5 audio channels. Oh, and if you're wondering why I didn't choose the more well known "Strange Memories Of Death" instead, it's simply because I don't want to put unused tracks in my answers, and because Slow Illusion is smoother to my ears.

[Colorful Arty]

Round 6

Spoiler

1) Music with unusual sounds

Literally any track from Earthbound; the whole game uses a very unusual soundfont. That said, I have to go with the Hotel theme, which is one of my favorites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB_ksRqtY8w

2) Favorite music that plays in a cave or underground area

So many great cave songs, that it was hard to pick one. In the end, I went with Webs Cavern from Frogger - He's Back! A hauntingly beautiful track from my childhood, played when you enter the deepest, darkest cavern in the game. Simply gorgeous: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyjN1dT7rLM

3) Music that is technologically impressive (for the system it's on)

The entire MOTHER 3 soundtrack, but if I had to pick one track to really stand out, I'd say Etude for Ghosts. This song plays in a GBA game. That is all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nUKvT12gO4

[Dullstar]

Music with unusual sounds

Earthbound - Boris' Cocktail It's quite strange.

Favorite music that plays in a cave or underground area

Cave Story - Jenka 2 (Labyrinth) (Original) (Remastered version in Cave Story+) Basically any area BGM in this game other than Moonsong (Outer Wall) and Balcony would technically qualify. But considering the boss at the end of the whole Labyrinth segment of the game, this is probably very deep within the island. Plus, it's a strong contender for my favorite song from this game.

I'm going to hold off on the last one for now. I need to think a bit more about what would qualify a piece as technologically impressive, I think. Knowing how something was done can make something that didn't seem technically impressive become technologically impressive, but it can also make something that seemed superficially technologically impressive suddenly become a lot less impressive.

[607]

I'm going to hold off on the last one for now. I need to think a bit more about what would qualify a piece as technologically impressive, I think. Knowing how something was done can make something that didn't seem technically impressive become technologically impressive, but it can also make something that seemed superficially technologically impressive suddenly become a lot less impressive.

Understandable! I did not consider that this prompt will be difficult to answer for people that do not know much about the technology behind video game music, as I do.
I will reflect more on my own prompts after going through all people's picks.

But first, let me make some myself.

6.1: Hm... Okay, I'm thinking of three things right now.

Spoiler

Firstly, Donkey Kong Country, obviously. Secondly, some of my own music—but that doesn't count, as the music I'm thinking of has not appeared in a video game. Thirdly, a specific track from a Humongous Entertainment game. The latter is just weird, and frankly not one of my favourite pieces of music, so I'm leaning towards Donkey Kong Country. We've already had quite a bit from that game, though, is that bad? It's such a good soundtrack! I'll first consider whether I don't know any obscure game with music with unusual sounds. Can't think of any! I hope there actually are, and other people will have been able to find something for this prompt... Here is Mining Melancholy! Possibly my favourite theme throughout all of Donkey Kong Country... but that would be hard to say without grading each one individually! Should fit the prompt well, though, the first 15 seconds are made up entirely out of unusual sounds. I love the dwarf humming at the end too!

6.2: Ah, this one I know!

Spoiler

Yoshi's Woolly World's soundtrack might've beaten Yoshi's Island's soundtrack for me, the latter's cave theme is still my favourite of all time, I think. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nu91OzzP_fapN7aAHAKV8vJb01NcOuYH/view?usp=sharing I'm honestly not sure quite why I like it so much. It's very chill, I think I like that. And I'm happy that there is a Mario cave theme that is not a remix of Super Mario Bros.'.

6.3: So when I had thought of this prompt, I immediately thought of something I could use for it. However, after seeing

Spoiler

IchoTolot mention something about pc games in relation to this prompt, I thought of another that is much more dear to my heart! I wonder if someone else will mention the game I had in mind—I'm not counting on it, though. The music that is dear to my heart is the Bubble Dizzy PC speaker soundtrack! (I hope it's okay that there's two tracks in this video, it's less than 4 minutes together anyway ) In case anyone doesn't know: pc's have a speaker built-in (not quite sure if all still do now, but they used to), which can be used to create music when the pc does not have a sound card. This speaker has a big limitation, though: it must have a fixed frequency at any given time. There is no possibility for mixing. This means that at any time, only one tone can play. And in most PC speaker tunes this is very noticeable! In this one, however, 3 voices seem to be playing simultaneously! How is that possible? Well, you can hear it if you listen closely and see it if you examine the tunes in Audacity: the different lines are simply alternated quickly, giving the illusion of 3 sounds playing at once.

The best thing is that the music itself is great too!

I'll start with people's fifth round picks now!

The prompts

1) Music from a video game that people wouldn't be able to tell is from a video game just by listening to it
2) A really creepy/scary track from a game (Note: unlike dark and gloomy the intention of this one is to actually make you feel fearful/scared)
3) A track from a video game you wish you could forget so you could hear it again for the first time

Responses to Turrican's picks

5.1: Well yeah, that makes a lot of sense! A lot of tracks from racing games would; Re-Volt's would work too. Not a fan of this track myself (nor do I like Re-Volt's soundtrack much).

5.2: Hm... it's a bit unsettling at some points, but it seems more weird than creepy or scary to me. At the beginning it was quite intense, but that dropped off quickly.

5.3: Hey, we had something from this game before, right? I'm curious why you would wish to forget this one! I don't hear anything remarkable about it, but I don't know the context it plays in.

Responses to Colorful Arty's picks

5.1: I see the top comment on YouTube thinks so too, but I do not think this game is overrated. I regret buying it, to be honest. It wasn't great anyway, but it not having a mid-stage save system while having very long stages makes it unplayable for me. Anyway, onto the music: Yeah, I agree, people could mistake this for a song from the real scene! I perhaps would suspect it to be from a video game, but maybe that's because I've listened to video game music so much. It's very good!! Not a style I'm a fan of, but very well done. It's got a lot of movement too! I'm impressed.

5.2: I don't think I ever considered that Portal or Portal 2 might have music playing during the game! I only knew the ending songs. Hm... maybe I am not very susceptible to scary music. I just find the voices sound funny, like a person making fun of a hip hopper. Although I can definitely imagine it being scary in the context of the game!! It's certainly weirding me out at this point. Good pick.

5.3:

BotW had kind of a lackluster soundtrack to me (I prefer in-your-face music to atmospheric music)

Agreed! In your face isn't quite necessary, maybe, but I like a constant flow of music, instead of some droplets now and then. But yes, that is a great track! In what way is it a track from your childhood, though? Do you refer to the hints to the original The Legend of Zelda Overworld theme?
In any case, good pick, I would say!

Responses to IchoTolot's picks

5.1: Woah, I listened to close to a minute of it, but I really do not like this stuff, so that's it for me. Perfectly valid pick, though. I would not have guessed it was made for a video game.

5.2: Yeah, the clock ticking does make it creepy. I quite like this one. This one could also work for 5.1, probably. Maybe it could play in a modern superhero film.

5.3: Alright! I don't really have anything to say on this, other than that I like your point about wanting to keep your experiences. But couldn't I forget everything about the credits to Yoshi's Island while still remembering that I loved them? And then when I listen to it again, the memories will flow back...

Responses to Dullstar's picks

5.1: Hey, nice one! That's the first classical style track for this prompt (or in the entire game, even?).

5.2: Hey, Celeste again! I'm curious for what will happen!
Huh. Not sure what's scary about that, but again, maybe scary just doesn't work for me. As for the other one: nice of you to not spoil it, I didn't even look at the video because I wanted to hear it first. Nice one, but I'm still not scared. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I wasn't scared by my own pick either, but it was the best one I could think of. Are other people, then?

5.3: 20 more minutes of Celeste. Alright, I'm not going to listen to all of that, I think. Your reasoning makes sense, although I think that maybe they are so super long to avoid the problem you mention?

[Dullstar]

Understandable! I did not consider that this prompt will be difficult to answer for people that do not know much about the technology behind video game music, as I do.
I will reflect more on my own prompts after going through all people's picks.

Eh, eventually there was going to be one that I didn't have a good answer for. It happens. Although in my case it's kind of the opposite - I do know a lot about the technology, but I tend not to be all that impressed by it, possibly from observing from now and not as it was created? Probably each upgrade in the hardware would have been impressive at the time it was released, but now, it's not so impressive anymore unless it really breaks my notions of what the hardware is capable of. Somewhere out there, someone managed to get an NES to play this .mod file (albeit at a bit lower quality) using a generally unused ability the system had to play PCM (DPCM, however, was commonly used), but I can't find the post again. There is, however, a reason that the functionality was generally unused: it took too much CPU. For that reason the only game I'm aware of that used it (Battletoads) only used it on the pause screen. Allegedly, this song on the SNES required some tricks to get working, but I can't really verify it due to not knowing enough about that particular system's exact capabilities (i.e. I know it uses sampled audio and has 8 channels, but I don't know any finer details than that about the limitations). It's a nice song, for sure, but it also doesn't seem that technologically impressive without knowledge of what they had to do to make it work. It's discussed as part of this video, but it has a number of inaccuracies overall, so I'm not really sure how credible the specific claims about the song are.

Reply to 607's reply to my pick for 5.3

Most of the songs in the game are actually fairly long, but Summit's a bit of an exception: the total runtime for all the variations comes out to about 10 minutes, but since the level consists partially of

Gameplay/story spoilers

revisiting old areas after you'd fallen in the previous level

it mostly changes out the instrumentation to match the areas which is a cool effect, but also doesn't really help much with the repetitiveness if you go slow (which I did while I was trying to 100% the level). The actual theme is probably around 1:30 to 2:00, as an estimate (I could check, but I didn't). Most other songs in the game build up as your progress through the level, which keeps things nice and fresh. On A-side, it wasn't an issue when I was just playing through the first time not caring about 100%. Of course, that's just my opinion.

[607]

Somewhere out there, someone managed to get an NES to play this .mod file (albeit at a bit lower quality) using a generally unused ability the system had to play PCM (DPCM, however, was commonly used), but I can't find the post again. There is, however, a reason that the functionality was generally unused: it took too much CPU. For that reason the only game I'm aware of that used it (Battletoads) only used it on the pause screen.

Waiit, on the NES? I thought you were saying on the SNES! I was going to say that the Toy Story menu theme on Mega Drive also plays a .mod. Just listened to the Battletoads NES pause screen music, though, and that is cool! That reminds me, I also have a GBC game that uses PCM samples. I think you can hardly call the music music though, as besides the title theme, it's only percussion, there's no melody. I can't actually find that soundtrack anywhere, though! You can see footage from the game here, though. https://youtu.be/_Qg5mi3wgSI I would call the soundtrack and the game itself technologically impressive, even though I dislike both.

Continuing on with round 5:

Responses to Nessy's picks

5.1: Hm... not quite sure about that one. The 'boings' in it make me associate it with a video game. But I suppose it could also fit a western (thinking of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which also has such strange sounds in it )

5.2: That is not a theme that seems familiar to me, nor do I remember the part of the game you mention. (I never played the game, but I did watch a 100% walkthrough of it, so I must've seen it ) I suppose it's pretty creepy, though!

5.3: Mega Man games making someone rage quit does not sound strange at all. Good reason for wanting to forget it, though! Being able to enjoy it without the sour associations. And it's a pretty fun track too!

Responses to SQron's picks

5.1: Was not expecting the singing! I guess it could be from some kind of opera spin-off?

5.2: Okay yeah, that one I actually found a bit unnerving!

5.3: Heh, this upload has quite large stereo separation (of course in the original track the stereo separation was 100%), which means I finally hear something come from the left again (my left ear is stuffed at the moment). Very cool track! It's nice to hear the Turrican soundtracks through this forum game... I'd heard quite a bit about them but never listened to them. Chris Hülsbeck is actually not one of my personal favourite composers, even though I do appreciate his greatness. I think I'll remember this track though, I quite like it!

Responses to LanaAndCo's picks

5.1: Yeah, that is definitely a film soundtrack. Compared to this, Super Mario Galaxy's credits theme totally sounds like a video game theme. Very nice, though! Very interesting game too. I don't recall hearing about it before, but I read the Wikipedia page now. Perfect pick! I totally would not have suspected this to be from a video game if I heard it in a general soundtrack context. That must be a long staff roll, though. Or is part of it an ending cinematic too? I am listening to it in its entirety, it's that nice.

5.2: I like that! Reminds me of the dungeon tracks in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but this is more upbeat and a lot busier.

5.3: Huh. That's really interesting. I should go to bed now, but I want to read up on both this apparent mess-up, and this Japanese 'artist'.

[Proxima]

Once again I've been slow, but then again, the game has also been slow in moving on

Incidentally... @Colorful Arty No response to my round 3 picks?

Fourth round (continued)

12) Music with a very dark and gloomy sound to it

Norfair Ancient Ruins (Super Metroid). The whole game has a fantastically created gloomy atmosphere as you explore the ruins of a dead planet taken over by the Space Pirates -- but this is where both the game and the soundtrack reach their most intense.

Fifth round

13) Music from a video game that people wouldn't be able to tell is from a video game just by listening to it

Going to go with Mantis Lords (Hollow Knight), even though I had a HK pick last round. Can't help it. This track has amazing orchestration and sounds like something you would hear in an operatic overture to create a mood of fast-paced tension and thrill. Which also makes it perfectly suited for the fight where it plays in-game.

14) A really creepy/scary track from a game

Fire Temple (Ocarina of Time). I know anything I say about this may be controversial, given that Nintendo (inadvertently) included a Muslim call to prayer in the track; but considering the sound alone, the way the chanting fades and swells is really well done and gives it an extremly creepy atmosphere -- like there are people or spirits in the distance somewhere, out of sight but you know that whichever way you go you have to be careful, then suddenly they are all around you....

15) A track from a video game you wish you could forget so you could hear it again for the first time

Going to pick the low-hanging fruit here (no pun intended). Stickerbush Symphony (Donkey Kong Country 2) is so powerful that I wish I'd gotten to find out what it would have felt like, to hear it for the first time in-game without having any idea that this was coming. The first time I played DKC2 was when I was visiting a friend in Texas (the same occasion that I got to know Chrono Trigger, incidentally) and I only got as far as the second world.

Sixth round

16) Music with unusual sounds

Oops, I already played the Fire Temple card Let's go with Singing Mountain (Chrono Trigger). Yes, there is an actual music track here, after you've listened to the wind for a minute and it's an unforgettable, gorgeous melody.

17) Favorite music that plays in a cave or underground area

I mean, that's only about half of all videogame tracks, including several of my previous choices! If I had to choose my favourite, though, it would be "Brood" (DROD: Journey to Rooted Hold), and that's not easy to find on YouTube. The best I can do is this Let's Play -- "Brood" is playing from 6:11 to 10:32. (The top-down view doesn't make it very clear that we are underground, but this is the tenth level below ground of King Dugan's Dungeon.) (And yes, I am the second person speaking in the LP.)

18) Music that is technologically impressive (for the system it's on)

Eh, I'm not an expert on music technology so I have no idea whether this is accurate, but a piece that sounded impressive to me (again, for the system): Bubble Man (Mega Man 2). I've heard that the MM2 soundtrack is well-liked, but I wasn't that impressed... except for this awesome track

[607]

Well, I'm naturally quite curious to see people's picks for round 6!

Responses to SQron's picks

6.1: That's pretty creepy! Would've worked for 5.2. Works for this one too though. In any case, this track doesn't sound too musical, to me.

6.2: That's pleasant! This must be a hugely vast cavity. The atmosphere is so wide and lush...!

6.3: Ah that's not fair, you're linking to a remastered version. I will listen to the Kuokka77 (non-Dolby) video. Huh, so far it sounds like something that could be possible with 4 channels. Let me actually download the mod so I can follow along. - Never mind, that's not possible! Sounds like Chris programmed his own music discipline, and it is not convertible to the regular formats. But yeah, I'm confused, as I'm only hearing 3 sounds at a time, not 6 or 7! Actually no, I just heard at least 4! It's not obvious to me, though. Although the track does sound quite lush, maybe, for example, the drum track uses two tracks? I'd doubt it... seems unheard of. Yeah, I'm not sure! If you know more about it feel free to clarify things a bit for me. In any case it is a great track!!

Responses to Ichotolot's picks

6.1: Haha, that's amazing! Unusual sounds indeed. Very humorous. Reminds me of the Cannon Fodder intro FMV. The track is quite catchy too! They did a good job on it.

6.2: Wow, like SQron's pick, this is very much unlike any underground music I've ever heard! It's great, though. And hear I can definitely imagine it creating a fitting atmosphere. It gave me an association of a passage in either Narnia or LotR, where they're underground. I quite like this track! I bought it.

6.3: I assume this pick is not about the system it is on but about the way it was made? I'd say that's fine, as a lot of recent video game music is simply an audio stream, and I suppose it would be a bit unfortunate if none of that could be included. However, for the birth year prompt the restriction was a lot tighter than that. But yeah, this does sound very impressive! I don't think I'm going to watch the video, but I got some stuff out of the comments out of this video, and also just out of how it sounds.

Responses to LanaAndCo's picks

6.1: Aah, great pick! I had forgotten about this track. This is exactly the kind of track I had in mind when making the prompt. ... I was going to comment more, but then I saw the grey part... Rémi Gazel died?? (after some reading up) *sigh* That makes me sad. I had missed that news. I am subscribed to his YouTube channel, and was expecting new projects from him in the future. But yeah... this track, and the entire Rayman soundtrack, is amazing.

6.2: Is there not earth on Popstar, though? There's grass, it seems like...! The music sounds a lot more volcano-like than cave-like to me.

6.3: Waait, there's no square on the Famicom or NES? I had never heard of this game, I think! It's great, though! Yeah, a sample-based bass on NES is something I've never heard before. Sounds great!
I was trying to compare the two versions you linked to hear what channels were missing, but it seems like the second one wasn't recorded in the same way, as it sounds really muddy.
I do love the YM2149! It's unfortunate that grams isn't playing anymore... Most Atari ST music isn't on YouTube, though.

Responses to Turrican's picks

6.1: Ah, I see, atmospheric sounds! They are interesting!

6.2: Skyrim! I don't think we've seen that yet in the game. That's quite minimal! I expect that it works great in the game, but for listening to on itself it doesn't give me enough to pay attention to.

6.3: Huh yeah, that does sound technologically impressive! I guess that's Hülsbeck using his own procedures again. I really wonder how this one works! Especially the part starting at 0:04... it just doesn't sound sample-based at all!