Donkey Kong Country 2 - Welcome to Croc Island

Composer: David Wise

Simply put, the greatest world map theme, ever.

David Wise's soundtrack to the original SNES Donkey Kong Country trilogy ranks amongst the funnest, most dynamic, and most original video game music ever. EVER. This is fantastic stuff. While the tunes from, say, Megaman X, are straightforward 16-bit MIDI-metal, this is more orchestral, more epic, more engrossing, more emotional. And this is just the world map theme! Sets the stage perfectly. If you recall playing through the original DKC, you'd remember how disappointing it was at the end, that it left you with the feeling that you hadn't truly been challenged. Well, rest assured, the creators almost went too far in correcting this - Donkey Kong Country 2 is HARD, and before you even start stage one, this theme lets you know it in no uncertain terms. Shit just got real.

I don't think it's possible to listen to this theme, or much of any of David Wise's DKC music, without picturing hoards of pirates waving the Jolly Rogers. The sparse percussion is truly the drums of war; very militaristic, like what you might hear coming from the drumhead of an approaching army of marching soldiers. And the riff just sings the songs of the high sea. I can best describe it as being both light and fun yet moody and serious. A jolly melody over some gloomy incidental music.

And so I sit here, writing this entry, listening to Welcome to Croc Island on repeat, through my headphones, coming to the realization that this really is the best of the best. If the desired effect of video game music is to put the player into the moment, to suck you in so completely, and for you to have fun doing it, then it absolutely does not get any better than this. So far the only track I've blogged on that comes close is Super Mario RPG's "Forrest Maze."

I think there's something to be said for a track that so effectively combines the mood and seriousness of the game with the underlying fun factor that should form the basis of all video games. They are, after all, games, and Welcome to Croc Island is the most effective example I have yet to come across that bridges those two factors. This song is fun but serious, upbeat but grim, moody yet light, and a perfect musical representation of the best DKC game. It says: You know you are here for fun, but since you're here, you'd better take it seriously. Absolutely brilliant. David Wise, kudos you to sir, a true innovator and a real composer of MUSIC, not just trite progressions and bland riffs made up from preprogrammed computer instrumentation. A tour de force from a virtuoso composer.

Doom - E1M1 - At Doom's Gate

Composer: Bobby Prince

I fear opening a can of worms by starting to include tracks from computer games. The question becomes, where does it stop? It seems almost unfair to compare 8-bit and 16-bit tunes with computer compositions, considering how much deeper the instrumentation and quality can be. So I figure I'd try to beat around the bush a bit by including this classic Stage 1 theme from the original Doom. It should be noted, however, that while I do enjoy this tune, it is not the best from the original series, yet it is probably the most immediately identifiable backing track from Doom. I personally prefer the E2M1 song "I Sawed the Demons" or the E3M8 track "Facing the Spider." No matter, "At Doom's Gate" is still a quality piece of early MIDI video game thrash.

Most of the tunes in the soundtrack to Doom are blatantly stolen from the late 80's-early 90's thrash scene, of which I am personally a huge fan. For example, the main riff in "I Sawed the Demons" is the basically the verse riff from Master of Puppets after a kickass drum roll introduction; E3M3's "Deep Into the Code" is obviously Slayer's "Behind the Crooked Cross" (which one could argue is also a blatant bite of Master of Puppets); E3M1's "Untitled" is undeniably taken from Pantera's "Mouth for War", or Doom II's "Entryway" is clearing the opening riff from Megadeth's excellent "Hangar 18" (which in and of itself was the basis of Metallica's epic "The Call of Ktulu"). While immediate first impressions of "At Doom's Gate" may remind you of Metallica's "Master of Puppets" intro riff, it is really closer to the chorus of "No Remorse" from their debut album Kill 'Em All, specifically the harmony riff.

The riff carries the whole song, transitioning between what I believe is a I-IV-Vm progression starting in E. The riff itself is absurdly simplistic; on the guitar you are just tremelo picking the low E, hammering on the octave and progressing down 3 whole steps while on the last measure moving up a half-step before repeating. The song has a great beat; I particularly like the double bass drum kicks throughout and the cymbal crashes during the final progression. In fact, the drums seem to be the most "realistic" instrument in the entire song.

As with the rest of Bobby Prince's Doom soundtrack, At Doom's Gate is really just one simple riff milked for all it's worth, but the underlying harmonization and kickass drum beats keeps you rocking and rolling and, more importantly, blasting and killing.

Super Mario RPG - Forrest Maze

Composer: Yoko Shimomura

Wow, what a song.

I never played RPGs as a kid, and in fact it took me years to even learn the definition. I remember people trying to example them to me: "You backtrack a lot, go and get items and return them to previous areas to unlock new places." So, you mean like getting the Morph Ball to be able to proceed to new zones in Metroid, or finding keycards to open large doors in Doom? No, not quite. Either way, Super Mario RPG was the first, and, to date, only RPG I have ever played all the way through. Mario made the game more accessible; I was already familiar with most of the characters, and it was a standalone game, meaning I didn't have to know any backstory to play, a la Final Fantasy.

Super Mario RPG has one of the greatest, most dynamic soundtracks in 16 bit gaming history. The Forrest Maze track here plays as Mario and Mallow search for the doll Geno, who somehow became alive the night before and ran off into the forrest. The song is cheerful and optimistic and peaceful... it seems so inappropriate to go from this to the battle theme if you get into a scuffle with one of the crazy dancing plants. But then it goes for the dark, gloomy, minor breakdown at about 0:20 seconds that seems futile and hopeless, only to almost immediately reprise back to the main, jolly melody.

In comparison with the last two songs I wrote about, this is obviously much more of an ensemble, orchestral piece. No real percussion, the bass lines are simple two note I-IV (I think... I am sure there is a musical term for this but I don't know it). The melody itself is composed of synth-strings in both lead and rhythm that give it the classical feel it has.

Special note should be made, I think, to not only the composition of such great pieces, but knowing exactly when and where to use them in the game for maximum effect. The Forrest Maze, as with most other tunes in this game, is brilliantly placed. I simply cannot see how this song could be anything other than the Forrest Maze theme. It conjures up images of trees, greens and shrubs. It also conjures up images of brilliance, and one of the greatest adventure games, ever.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Mystic Cave Zone (1 Player)

Composer: Masato Nakamura

Sonic the Hedgehog was one of the few Sega Genesis games I had actually played back in the day, as I never owned a Genesis. Being a young SNES enthusiast perhaps clouded my judgement toward any non-Nintendo games; I had always taken at face value the fact that the Super Nintendo was far superior to the Sega Genesis. Technically speaking I know nothing about how video game music is composed, compressed, integrated into the cartridge and then processed by the box. The SNES and Genesis, despite both being fourth-generation, 16 bit gaming consoles, obviously differ in how they process and play back their music. A good example would be comparing the soundtrack of an SNES game to that of a Genesis; the songs themselves are the same - same progressions, notes, etc. - but are processed differently, or perhaps use a different sound library for playback. Somebody knows, and that obviously is not me.

Whatever.

The intro farts out the short recurring motif featured throughout the song as it segues from verse to verse. The motif itself sounds eminent and dangerous, something you would think as introducing you to the stage's boss. As the trash-lid drums and bouncy metallic bass lines kick in under the loud, sustaining 'wooooooooo's of the four-note lead, I cant help bob my head a little bit, despite how painfully dated the Genesis music processor makes the piece sound. In fact, in spite of loving the cheeky cheery bass and upbeat groovy tempo, it's hard not to find the lead slightly annoying. Balance the levels out and turn the lead down just a hair and it would be perfect. Just underneath the mix you can hear a bloopy-bleepy descending riff just past the fourth mesaure in the five-measure lead riff. As the tune segues into the second verse, this becomes a simple two-note hammer on/pull of over the circus-inspired carnivalesque lead.

The lead in the second verse is pretty much stolen from Entry of the Gladiators by Julius Fucik. Knowing this song since my youth and always associating it with the circus or a carnival but never knowing what it was called, I just had to take a good ten-minute time out to prowl YouTube in hopes of finding it. Jackpot! Anyway, even as the Mystic Cave Zone track segues into the Gladiators riff, the rhythm holds it down in place, the great bouncy bass line continues before it loops back around to the intro motif that connects the two pieces together. Like a tessellation, all video game tracks are to be looped ad infinitum; the motif is the glue that holds the two verses together and allows for a smooth flowing endless loop.

This fun, upbeat tune is one of the best to be found in the Sonic franchise, and will no doubt be one of the few, if any, Genesis tracks that will make this list. Now after listening to this track over and over while composing this entry, I think it's time to fire up the Xbox Live Arcade and play me some Sonic 2!

Megaman X - Intro Highway

Composers: Setsuo Yamamoto, Makoto Tomozawa, Yuki Iwai, Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama

I was probably in third or fourth grade when this game first came out. I'd known of the Megaman series on the original Nintendo, but had never played them before. For a young kid, the difference between an original NES and the brand spankin new SNES was too gargantuan; no way could I go back to crappy 8 bit games after experiencing the wondrous lifelike amazingness of the 16 bit revolution. So I missed out on the original Megaman experience. I don't pretend to claim that I actually shelled out the $50 for the game, no doubt it was given to me as a birthday or Christmas present - I don't really remember. And that's really besides the point.

This track is found on the opening highway stage when you first start a new game. From the READY that flashed on the screen as the first few measures of this song kicked in, it was immediately obvious that this was going to be one kick-ass game. It's actually rather amazing when you listen in detail - solid computer drum beats and fills hold down the rhythm perfectly, the main riffs bending over the flowing bassline, and the simplistic rhythm of fifth-notes.

The bass impresses me the most. Though hard to hear on first listen, the bass lines are just as intricate and well thought out as the lead riffs. The bass octave (?) slaps leading into the second verse are completely natural - amazing to think they were programmed into an archaic early 90s 16 bit synth processor. The drum rolls in the segue leading back into the first verse towards the end are a little much, but hardly overkill. When you take the whole piece in context, the bleeps, beeps and beats don't sound nearly as dated as the very-synthed 90's style drum rolls.

And finally, something I most appreciate about video game music, is how the rhythm and structure dictate the lead riffs more than anything else. For example, in the opening riff, how the notes bend from one into the other - not that uncommon for a riff composed on a guitar, but played through a keyboard? My understanding of keys and synths is very rudimentary, and to be honest I have absolutely no idea how early video game soundtrack composers wrote these pieces, let alone transferred them into a 16 bit cartridge. So maybe the lead bends aren't as impressive as I thought. No matter, all assembled, this makes for one amazing video game track, and perhaps the best opening stage tune that comes to mind.

Most importantly, though, is it sets the stage for one amazing video game. Plenty more great tunes are to be found in this game, and only time will tell how many days it takes me before I am forced to revisit another one of the game's excellent tracks (hint: I am 100% positive it will happen at least once, if not two or three more times).

a New Month, a New Gimmick

In my last post, written almost 5 months ago, I stated my desire to rejuvenate this blog, as it has sat here for years now with seldom few entries. Laziness is perhaps the main hurdle keeping me from posting more regularly. Considering now how I have only free time, let's give this fucker a go again. In an attempt to continue writing, I have decided to start reviewing various bands, albums, movies, books, songs, games, etc. in hopes that covering such enjoyable topics will remind me how enjoyable writing can be.

As I started writing this entry, and in fact this very sentence, I had not yet decided what I was going to talk about. I have chosen that, since today is the first of the new month, this will be the maiden entry in 30-day collection of what I perceive to be the greatest video game soundtrack songs of the late 80s and early 90s. I haven't the slightest clue how this will turn out, nor if I can actually find 30+ tracks that I enjoy enough to write a couple paragraphs about. So without further ado, I am off to YouTube to find my first song. Entry coming soon.