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.