BD retro VGM Playlist - Post ONE retro game music track!

[BIG EDD]

https://youtu.be/FYkNeTjoyP8

Super R-Type Continue screen Super Famicom superb tune and wish it was a level tune.
Had to pick this as it’s so unusual for a continue screen and a wicked tune.

[hudson]

Not sure if it's been mentioned but the music from the first level of Violent Storm is easily one of the greatest gaming tunes of all time.

haha, it's so cheesy! It's like from the Beverly Hill Cop music times

[hudson]

You have to and the end credits music from the SFC game, Assault Suit Valken / Cybernator by NCS Misaya. That's an awesome track that sounds as if it was taken from a movie.

Is this the one?

[hudson]

https://youtu.be/FYkNeTjoyP8

Super R-Type Continue screen Super Famicom superb tune and wish it was a level tune.
Has to pick this as it’s so unusual for a continue screen and a wicked tune.

Yeah, that's nice. Amazing it's a continue screen as the track remains interesting with progressive riffs for nearly 4 minutes and unless you're having a ciggy break, then you may miss it. Actually, I. bet that's what would happen

[Team Andromeda]

It is a great track though - which Hueslbeck tune isn’t?

I wasn't the biggest fan of some of his SNES tunes *hides*

[Team Andromeda]

https://youtu.be/FYkNeTjoyP8

Super R-Type Continue screen Super Famicom superb tune and wish it was a level tune.
Has to pick this as it’s so unusual for a continue screen and a wicked tune.

Super R Type is one of the best sounding SNES games of all time . I'm amazed the music doesn't get much credit

[Leon Retro]

Super R Type is one of the best sounding SNES games of all time . I'm amazed the music doesn't get much credit

I love how some musicians really embraced the SNES sound chip early on and it inspired them to make really powerful, unforgettable chip tunes. So many early SNES games have truly excellent music.

Then the disparity between good and bad SNES music became an issue, because some musicians didn't have a clue how to use the chip properly. You could always rely on Konami when it came to music, but lots of SNES music is really muffled and pretty poor. When you have top quality tunes in the likes of ActRaiser, F-Zero, Contra 3, CV4 etc... There were no excuses for all the really weak tunes in other games.

[hudson]

Indeed. The chip allowed for a very limited amount of sampling too and talented Donkey Kong Country composer, David Wise, made tunes such as this... *melts into track.

[Leon Retro]

Indeed. The chip allowed for a very limited amount of sampling too and talented Donkey Kong Country composer, David Wise, made tunes such as this... *melts into track.

It's funny how some people say bad things about the SNES sound chip, when there are lots of examples of how capable and special it was. Sure, you can look at the tech specs and say it wasn't ideal, but in practise talented musicians did wonders with it. It's just a sad fact that lots of musicians didn't do the chip justice.

Anway, that DKC tune is a golden classic,

[hudson]

Yeah, it's pure snobbery. I guess unless they're comparing lazy ports? Still it's subjective. Each system has their limitations, but this shouldn't defeat a composer. Most of the time a decent composer will create something special having to work with such limitations and possibly create some amazing happy accidents along the way.

[Hirst]

I love the MD sound chip, but the SNES one is good in different ways. MD can do lovely guitars, SNES can do weird choir type noises. You can easily get great music from both, it's just very different.

[Leon Retro]

Yeah, it's pure snobbery.

It's also stupid, because it was a sound chip in a $200 console, not something you'd get in a music studio. You can listen to the best SNES music and say the sound quality isn't ideal, but for people who just enjoy what they're hearing, some tunes are still really impressive. The music in F-Zero, Contra 3 etc... sounds really impressive, even if you could analyse the audio and say the quality could have been better with much more expensive audio tech. What's the point in looking at things that way? I get a kick out of how clever people did wonders with limited console tech; it still impresses me.

Each system has their limitations, but this shouldn't defeat a composer.

Yeah, limited audio tech was a challenge that creative, clever composers embraced. All retro consoles display a huge disparity between the best and worst music. Clever people managed to create unforgettable chip tunes that still resonate with people today.

The limitations of early sound chips led musicians to create very melodic tunes that stuck in people's head. I see that as a very positive side effect of how simple the tech was, even if some people prefer how music became more ambient and orchestral based as hardware became far more capable in the audio department. There's something very organic about chip tunes that really appeals to me and adds to the game experience. There hasn't been much modern game music that has grabbed me and felt really memorable.

[Leon Retro]

I love the MD sound chip, but the SNES one is good in different ways. MD can do lovely guitars, SNES can do weird choir type noises. You can easily get great music from both, it's just very different.

It's a strange one with the SNES, because you could look at games like ActRaiser, Final Fantasy 3 etc.. and say the sound chip was good for orchestral and choir style music. But then you listen to F-Zero's soundtrack and it sounds like a synthy jazz band. There are plenty of games that show how versatile the SNES sound chip is. It's just a fact that it was good at orchestral style instruments, so lots of games exhibit that sort of sound.

I think the MD sound chip is better at sounding like a synthesiser, which some musicians did wonders with. Streets of Rage 2 is a perfect example of how the MD can deliver synthy techno style tunes. It's just a sad fact that lots of musicians composing for the MD did a terrible job, so there's a huge gap between tunes that do the hardware justice and tunes that completely fail to use the hardware properly.

An interesting part of retro gaming is observing the huge disparity in quality for games across all systems. Standards were all over the place in the 8 & 16-bit era.

[Team Andromeda]

I was SEGA all the way, but the SNES soundchip was something else and blew away the MD. Axelay, Castlevania IV, Super R Type and Star Fox sound incredible to this very day

[Mayhem]

Speaking of chip tunes... you have to remember this was 1985. There was very little like this out there anywhere... and then Hubbard appeared.