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Downloads
NES Collection 1 (ZIP)
NES Collection 2 (ZIP)
NES Collection 3 (ZIP)
NES Collection 4 (ZIP)
NES Collection 5 (ZIP)
The downloads are zipped. Each zip file contains MP3s of each track in the
collection as well as a playlist. Once unzipped, the package should be
WinAmp-ready.
Although I recommend WinAmp for playback, you can use other mechanisms,
like Windows Media Player or an MP3 player. I am aware that WinAmp is
no longer directly supported anymore, but it absolutely ruled back in the late
1990s, so I need no further justification.
You can burn your own CDs from the collections. Each of the four
collections fits on one CD, provided that no 2-second delays appear
between the tracks (they will still fit, but just barely).
I believe my playlist order is the best, but you are free to mix the tracks up
and redistribute as you see fit. I would appreciate it if you give me credit
for the mixing job if you re-post the collections, though. They were
time-consuming to prepare, to say the least.
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NES Album 1 Tracks
Sample: Mega Man 2 Metal Man
Game |
Song Context |
1. Life Force |
Level 6 |
2. Kirby's Adventure |
Upbeat |
3. Shinobi |
Level 1 |
4. Jacky Chan's Action Kung Fu |
Level 2 |
5. Bionic Commando |
City (Level 8) |
6. Mega Man 2 |
Dr. Wily's Hideout, levels 1 and 2 [1] |
7. Blaster Master |
Level 2 |
8. Contra Force |
Level 1 |
9. Life Force |
Level 3 [2] |
10. Ninja Gaiden |
Death Mountain (Level 2) |
11. Rambo |
Main Combat Theme |
12. Mach Rider |
Still Standing City Theme |
13. Totally Rad |
Cave (Level 4) |
14. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 |
Burning Building (Level 1) |
15. Time Lord |
The Future (Level 1) |
16. Life Force |
Boss [3] |
17. Heavy Barrel |
Last Stage [4] |
18. Strider Hiryu |
Phantom Train (Level 2) |
19. Mike Tyson's Punch-Out |
Main Combat Theme [5] |
20. Fester's Quest |
Streets [6] |
21. Blaster Master |
Level 1 |
22. Chip 'n Dale |
Cannery [7] |
23. Mega Man 2 |
Metal Man |
24. Castlevania 3 |
Aquarius (multiple levels) |
25. Star Tropics |
Main Combat Theme |
26. Bionic Commando |
Tower (multiple levels) |
27. Ninja Gaiden |
Prison Escape (Level 2) |
28. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade |
S.S. Coronado |
29. Castlevania 3 |
Evil Forest |
30. Final Fantasy |
Under the Sea |
31. Ninja Gaiden 2 |
Level 1 |
32. Strider Hiryu |
Red Dragon |
33. Rush 'n Attack |
Level 2 |
34. Jacky Chan's Action Kung Fu |
Fast Automatic Scrolling (multiple levels) |
35. Guerilla War |
Ending |
36. Castlevania |
Level 1 [8] |
37. Life Force |
Level 1 |
38. Hector '87 |
Level 1 |
39. Final Fantasy |
Cave (various locations) |
40. Strider Hiryu |
Kazakhstan (Level 1) |
41. Rygar |
Sagila's Hideout |
42. Totally Rad |
Underwater (Level 3) |
43. Super C |
Level 1 |
44. Gun.Smoke |
Level 1 [9] |
45. Skate or Die |
Downhill Jam [10] |
46. Totally Rad |
Circus Tent (Level 1) [11] |
47. Tetris |
Song 1 [12] |
48. Road Runner |
Level 1 |
49. Spy Hunter |
Main Theme [13] |
50. Battletoads |
Wookie Hole (Level 2) |
51. Goonies 2 |
Level 1 [14] |
52. T and C Surf Design |
Main Theme |
53. River City Ransom |
Main Theme |
54. Kid Icarus |
World 1 |
55. Jacky Chan's Action Kung Fu |
Level 3 |
56. Strider Hiryu |
Japan (and other contexts) |
57. Contra |
Level 1 |
58. Jacky Chan's Action Kung Fu |
Level 1 |
59. Metroid |
Brinstar [15] |
60. Legendary Wings |
Level 2 |
61. Super Mario Bros. 3 |
Music Box |
62. Prisoner of War |
Level 2 |
63. Code Name Viper |
Levels 5 and 6 |
64. Gauntlet |
Any Room (selected randomly) |
65. Castlevania 3 |
Dracula's Showdown |
66. Final Fantasy |
Main Theme [16] |
67. Gauntlet |
Any Room (selected randomly) |
68. Rygar |
Gran Mountain (Level 2) |
69. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade |
JEHOVA floor puzzle |
70. Paperboy |
Main Theme |
71. Super Mario Bros. 2 |
Outdoor Theme |
72. Wizards and Warriors 3 |
Knight's Theme |
73. Prisoner of War |
Level 3 |
74. Chip 'n Dale |
Casino |
75. Duck Tales |
Jungle (The Amazon) |
76. Code Name Viper |
Ending |
77. Kirby's Adventure |
Mellow |
78. The Legend of Zelda |
Title Theme |
79. Castlevania 3 |
Victory |
80. Ninja Gaiden |
Foster (CIA briefing) |
81. Willow |
Zhena |
82. Wizards and Warriors 3 |
Thieves' Guild |
83. Super Mario Bros. 2 |
Ending [17] |
84. Willow |
Ending |
85. Road Runner |
Game Over |
Special Notes
[1] Probably one of the most memorable themes from the entire Mega Man
franchise, other than the title screen theme song itself. This track and others
like it have caused Mega Man 2 to win a whole mess of musical awards.
[2] Very appropriate theme for Life Force, where your ship is sandwiched inside
a tunnel of infernal heat, with tongues of flame bursting everywhere. The level
characterized by this song is LITERALLY hell.
[3] The boss theme for Life Force makes you feel like you're in a lot of
trouble (you are). Interestingly enough, the arcade version of this track had
the treble and bass flipped around: high became low, and low became high. The
NES version of the track (the one most people remember) still turned out
stellar.
[4] It's common for the catchiest songs to appear at the start of a game as a
way of giving the game staying power in the mind of the player. For some
reason, Data East decided to put one of their best songs at the END of the
game, instead.
[5] The Wii Punch-Out game reprises this theme over and over. Amazing,
considering it's over 20 years old!
[6] As much as the AVGN hates this game, he still likes the music!
[7] Ever listen to the Bay Area theme of Final Fight? Perhaps the composer was
the same.
[8] This is actually from Castlevania 3, which reprises the first game's theme.
[9] No, it's not a typo. "Gun.Smoke" is the actual title of the game. It's
weird because the game clearly inherits all the publicity of the TV show,
despite having introduced the period as a way of supposedly avoiding trademark
conflicts.
[10] This is a classic example of a quality track, the entirety which people
rarely hear. The downhill jam competition lasts only a few seconds, but the
track lasts over a minute before looping.
[11] Very clever "be-bop" take on the classic carnival tune.
[12] This is actually Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy," from The
Nutcracker. Not sure if he'd be rolling over in his grave now that his famous
tune found its way into a popular video game?
[13] Midway appropriated the entire Peter Gunn theme song.
[14] Cyndi Lauper, in all her loud and colorful glory, performed the original
"Goonies are Good Enough" song. The chiptune variant does not disappoint.
[15] Not many memorable Metroid songs. Which one did Super Smash Brothers use?
[16] The recurring theme had to come from somewhere. Here it is: Final Fantasy
I.
[17] I've fooled plenty of people by playing this theme on the piano. For some
reason, they think it's Mozart.
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NES Album 2 Tracks
Sample: Bionic Commando Level 1
Game |
Song Context |
1. Battletoads and Double Dragon |
Atop the Missile (Level 5) |
2. The Goonies |
Bonus Cave |
3. Heavy Barrel |
Level 2 |
4. Double Dragon 2 |
Final Boss |
5. Legacy of the Wizard |
Dungeon Entrance |
6. Fester's Quest |
Boss Theme |
7. Bad Dudes |
Level 1 |
8. Code Name Viper |
Level 1 and 2 |
9. Guerilla War |
Level 1 |
10. Batman |
Level 4 |
11. Code Name Viper |
Drug Factory (Level 7 and 8) |
12. Mighty Final Fight |
Level 2 |
13. Double Dragon 3 |
Italy (Level 4) |
14. Bionic Commando |
Level 1 [1] |
15. Gauntlet |
Any Room (usually with harsh challenge) |
16. Battletoads |
Intruder Excluder (Level 8) |
17. Shadow of the Ninja |
Title Theme [2] |
18. Double Dragon 2 |
Level 2 |
19. Tiger Heli |
Main Theme |
20. Heavy Barrel |
Level 1 |
21. Double Dragon |
Level 1 [3] |
22. Double Dragon 2 |
Tractor |
23. Guerilla War |
Level 3 |
24. Shadow of the Ninja |
Level 1 |
25. Mega Man 3 |
Spark Man |
26. Kirby's Adventure |
Upbeat 2 |
27. Double Dragon 3 |
Tomb [4] |
28. Ninja Gaiden 2 |
Windy Peaks (Level 2) |
29. Blaster Master |
Level 5 |
30. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 |
Burning Building (Level 1) |
31. Castlevania 3 |
Swamp |
32. Duck Tales |
Boss |
33. Code Name Viper |
Final Boss |
34. Metal Gear |
Base |
35. Double Dragon 2 |
Level 1 |
36. Legendary Wings |
Level 3 |
37. Duck Tales |
Spaceship [5] |
38. Life Force |
Level 4 |
39. Gradius |
Level 4 |
40. Super Mario Bros. |
Overworld |
41. Blaster Master |
Level 6 |
42. Guerilla War |
Mine Cart Rescue |
43. Castlevania 3 |
Clockwork |
44. Blaster Master |
Level 3 |
45. Mega Man 4 |
Dr. Cosack's Hideout, levels 3 and 4 |
46. Willow |
Wilderness |
47. Guerilla War |
City |
48. Mighty Final Fight |
Level 4 |
49. Bad Dudes |
Level 2 |
50. Life Force |
Level 5 |
51. Mega Man 3 |
Dr. Wily's Hideout, levels 1 and 2 |
52. Battletoads |
Surf's Up (Level 5) |
53. Batman |
Level 3 |
54. Super C |
Level 4 |
55. Double Dragon 3 |
Streets (Level 1) |
56. Castlevania 3 |
Cathedral |
57. Duck Tales |
Underground |
58. Mega Man 2 |
Heat Man |
59. Star Tropics |
Spaceship Combat Theme |
60. Life Force |
Level 2 [6] |
61. Jackal |
Level 1 |
62. Legendary Wings |
Level 1 |
63. Ninja Gaiden 2 |
Tower of Lahja (Level 3) |
64. Legend of Kage |
Main Theme |
65. Kirby's Adventure |
Dark Room |
66. Marble Madness |
Beginner Race |
67. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure |
Medieval Theme [7] |
68. Mega Man 2 |
Flash Man |
69. Gradius |
Level 1 |
70. Ninja Gaiden |
Level 1 |
71. Chip and Dale |
Challenging Level (numerous contexts) |
72. Double Dragon 2 |
Main Theme |
73. Kirby's Adventure |
Upbeat 3 |
74. Karate Kid |
Okinawa (Level 2) |
75. Lemmings |
Any Level [8] |
76. Kirby's Adventure |
Sailing Airship |
77. Time Lord |
Pirate Ship (Level 4) |
78. Hector '87 |
Level 2 |
79. Mega Man 3 |
Dr. Wily's Hideout (levels 3 and 4) |
80. Castlevania 3 |
Spooky Ship |
81. Bionic Commando |
Sewer |
82. Double Dragon |
Boss Hideout (Level 4) |
83. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure |
Main Theme |
84. Rainbow Islands |
Main Theme |
85. Kirby's Adventure |
Mellow 2 |
86. Zelda 2 |
Town |
87. Double Dragon 2 |
Ending |
88. Shadow of the Ninja |
Ending |
89. Time Lord |
Stony Gulch (Level 3) |
90. Gun.Smoke |
Victory |
Special Notes
[1] It's truly amazing how long this song has been around (over 20 years). From
the original arcade game all the way to the latest 3-D variant, it's a catchy
theme you just can't get away from.
[2] Unusual pick: I've never actually played "Shadow of the Ninja." But if you
listen to a soundtrack, the track is sometimes good enough to put on an album
even if you lack a gameplay context.
[3] The "electric guitar solo" in this iconic song turned out quite good,
considering how few instrumentation options were available to the sound
designers.
[4] In the arcade version, the context did not occur inside a pyramid, but
rather during a fight against some sort of tree-monsters.
[5] This track has attracted a lot of attention. It's not my personal fave, but
I figured I had to include it because it's a fave of a lot of people.
[6] By now you've probably noticed that when it comes to Life Force, I've
pretty much included the whole enchilada. If for no other reason, you should
play that game for the music.
[7] It's not EXACTLY Scarborough Fair from Simon and Garfunkel, but it's close.
[8] To be honest, Lemmings deserves a soundtrack in its own right. But I was
not impressed with how the NES version's chiptunes turned out. The Atari ST and
IBM PC versions have the best renditions.
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NES Album 3 Tracks
Sample: Wizards and Warriors 2 Inn
Game |
Song Context |
1. Street Fighter 2010 |
Surfing Hoverdisks (Planet 5) |
2. Crystalis |
Floating Tower |
3. Castlevania |
Level 2 |
4. Bump 'n Jump |
Level 1 |
5. Faxanadu |
Title [1] |
6. Wizards and Warriors 2 |
Inn |
7. Athena |
World of Labyrinth |
8. Castlevania 2 |
Forest of Danger |
9. Bomberman 2 |
Item Gotten |
10. Street Fighter 2010 |
Desert (Planet 3) |
11. Double Dragon 3 |
Japan (Level 3) |
12. Bionic Commando |
Enemy Headquarters |
13. Crystalis |
Mount Sabre |
14. Castlevania |
Level 6 |
15. Ikari Warriors |
Main Combat Theme |
16. Double Dragon 3 |
Ninja Dojo |
17. Guerilla War |
Level 2 |
18. Street Fighter 2010 |
City Skyline (Planet 1) |
19. Batman |
Level 2 |
20. Extra Mario Bros. |
World 2 [2] |
21. Metal Gear |
Jungle |
22. Battletoads |
Ice Cave (Level 4) |
23. Double Dragon |
Blue Cave (Level 3) |
24. Legendary Wings |
Level 4 |
25. Mega Man Exile |
Crash Man [3] |
26. Mighty Final Fight |
Level 1 |
27. Vice Project Doom |
Level 2 |
28. Nightmare on Elm Street |
Level 1 |
29. Castlevania 2 |
Night |
30. Castlevania |
Level 5 |
31. Street Fighter 2010 |
Brawl (Planet 1) |
32. Gun.Smoke |
Level 6 |
33. Ninja Gaiden |
Demon |
34. Trojan |
Sewer |
35. Final Fantasy 2 |
Under the Sea Reprise |
36. Air Fortress |
Inside Fortress |
37. Double Dragon |
Level 2 |
38. Die Hard |
Main Theme |
39. Mighty Final Fight |
Level 3 |
40. Street Fighter 2010 |
City |
41. Nightmare on Elm Street |
Street |
42. Extra Mario Bros. |
Underwater [4] |
43. Athena |
World of Sea (Level 3) |
44. Bionic Commando |
Foreshadowing |
45. Shadowgate |
Main Theme |
46. Wizards and Warriors |
Main Theme |
47. Mega Man Ultra |
Crash Man [5] |
48. Gun.Smoke |
Level 2 |
49. Athena |
World of Forest (Level 1) |
50. Castlevania 2 |
Town |
51. Star Tropics |
Village |
52. Gyromite |
Main Theme |
53. Crystalis |
Ocean |
54. Legendary Wings |
Level 5 |
55. Mega Man Exile |
Metal Man |
56. Faxanadu |
Mystery |
57. Nightmare on Elm Street |
Level 2 |
58. Crystalis |
Pyramid [6] |
59. Wizards and Warriors |
Saved Medieval Peasant Babe |
60. Prince of Persia |
Main Theme |
61. Prisoner of War |
Level 1 |
62. Bomberman 2 |
Bonus Stage |
63. Ninja Gaiden |
Mine |
64. Skate or Die |
Downhill Race |
65. Crystalis |
Field |
66. Hector '87 |
Level 3 |
67. Street Fighter 2010 |
Underwater |
68. Star Tropics |
C-Island |
69. Bubble Bobble |
Main Theme |
70. Street Fighter 2010 |
Plants |
71. Super C |
Level 2 |
72. Gyromite |
Sleepwalking |
73. Bomberman 2 |
Level 1 |
74. Street Fighter 2010 |
Title [7] |
75. Double Dragon 3 |
Sacred Stones |
76. Trojan |
Level 2 |
77. Mega Man Exile |
Heat Man |
78. Thexder |
Main Theme [8] |
79. Kung-Fu Master |
Main Theme |
80. Castlevania |
Level 3 |
81. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles |
Highway |
82. Skate or Die |
Pool Joust |
83. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles |
Level 2 |
84. Bomberman 2 |
Showdown with bad guy |
85. Who Framed Roger Rabbit |
Dabbling in Watercolors, Eddie? |
86. Star Tropics |
Sub-C |
87. Crystalis |
Town [9] |
88. Final Fantasy |
Ending |
89. Star Tropics |
Mica |
90. Romance of the Three Kingdoms |
Main Theme |
91. Hector '87 |
Game Over |
92. Street Fighter 2010 |
Ending |
93. Bump 'n Jump |
Finish Level |
Special Notes
[1] I have not played Faxanadu to completion, but others have rated the
soundtrack high. On that point, I agree.
[2] You could have played the entire NES library and still not heard this song.
That's because this is a music hack from one of the best ROM hacks of Super
Mario Bros. of all time. The author is described only as "ATA."
[3] Mega Man Exile is another ROM hack, this time of Mega Man 2.
[4] I would have preferred the original Super Mario Bros. to have this as the
underwater track!
[5] My all-time favorite music hack!
[6] Favorite song from the Crystalis soundtrack.
[7] This game, like Life Force, has virtually no track that can't be called
excellent.
[8] As much as the theme is catchy, I would not recommend playing the NES
version! The IBM PC version is much better. The PC version also features a copy
of the likely inspiration for this track: Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."
[9] Once again, few tracks from Crystalis that can't be called excellent.
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NES Album 4 Tracks
Sample: Bayou Billy Fighting Stages
Game |
Song Context |
1. Robocop (Gameboy) |
Level 2 [1] |
2. Castlevania 3 |
Aqueduct |
3. Mega Man 6 |
Plant Man |
4. Lock 'n' Chase (Gameboy) |
Level 1 |
5. Casino Kid |
Title |
6. Goonies 2 |
Password Entry |
7. Bump 'n Jump |
Level 2 |
8. Contra Force |
Level 2 |
9. S.C.A.T. |
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10. Mega Man 5 |
Wave Man |
11. Adventures of Bayou Billy |
Fighting Stages [2] |
12. Mega Man 5 |
Wily |
13. Mega Man 3 |
Snake Man |
14. Mega Man 2 |
TItle |
15. Duck Tales 2 |
Haunted Ship |
16. Crystalis |
Cave Canals |
17. Castlevania 3 |
Rising through Tower |
18. Adventures of Bayou Billy |
Shooting Gallery |
19. Ikari Warriors 2 |
[3] |
20. Code Name Viper |
Incan Ruins |
21. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade |
Tank Battle [4] |
22. Silver Surfer |
Victory |
23. Mega Man 3 |
Needle Man |
24. Robocop (Gameboy)
|
Level 1 [5] |
25. Mega Man 6 |
Mr. X |
26. Top Gun 2 |
Level 2 |
27. Rush 'n Attack |
Level 1 |
28. Mega Man 3 |
Magnet Man |
29. Double Dragon |
Red Cave |
30. Battletoads |
Level 1 |
31. Wizards and Warriors 2 |
Level 2-A |
32. Castlevania Chorus of Mysteries |
Level 4-A [6] |
33. Contra |
Waterfall |
34. Totally Rad |
Level 1 |
35. Mega Man 4 |
Bright Man |
36. Mega Man 4 |
Wily 2 |
37. Maniac Mansion |
Rock Theme |
38. Robocop (Gameboy) |
Title |
39. Dick Tracy |
Patrol |
40. Duck Tales 2 |
Niagra Falls |
41. Super Mario Bros. 3 |
Level 1 |
42. Link's Awakening (DX) |
Overworld |
43. Solstice |
Title [7] |
44. Mega Man 2 |
Wood Man |
45. Mega Man Exile |
Wily 4 |
46. Mega Man 2 |
Bubble Man |
47. Rad Racer |
Theme 1 |
48. Top Gun 2 |
Level 1 |
49. Gauntlet |
Main Theme |
50. Link's Awakening (DX) |
Mountains |
51. Castlevania Chorus of Mysteries |
Level 4-B |
52. Crystalis |
Fort Shyron |
53. Mega Man 3 |
Title |
54. Mega Man 2 |
Crash Man |
55. Batman Return of the Joker |
Level 1 |
56. Mega Man 3 |
Hard Man |
57. Mega Man Exile |
Wily 3 |
58. Totally Rad |
Level 2 |
59. Wizards and Warriors 2 |
Level 1-A |
60. Batman Returns |
Level 1 |
61. Mega Man 3 |
Air Man |
62. Goonies 2 |
Level 2 |
63. Lock 'n' Chase (Gameboy) |
Ending |
64. Adventure Island |
Level 1 |
65. 3-D World Runner |
Main Theme |
66. Adventures of Lolo 3 |
Main Puzzle Theme |
67. Link's Awakening (DX) |
Start |
68. Maniac Mansion |
Baroque Theme [8] |
69. River City Ransom |
Park |
70. Link's Awakening (DX) |
Ghost House |
71. Solstice |
Main Theme |
72. Solomon's Key |
Main Theme |
73. Wizards and Warriors 3 |
Hidden Ending? [9] |
74. Castlevania 3 |
Credits |
75. Adventures of Bayou Billy |
Ending |
76. Mega Man |
Bomb Man |
77. Legendary Wings |
Ending |
78. Final Fantasy 2 |
Spooky |
79. Castlevania 3 |
Nightmare Theme (Alucard) |
80. Final Fantasy 2 |
Resolution |
81. Totally Rad |
Ending |
82. Legendary Wings |
Game Over (Continue Possible) |
Special Notes
[1] A version of this song has appeared in many of the home computer ports of
Robocop made by Ocean, including the Commodore 64. This is from the version on
Gameboy.
I hope you don't think I'm "cheating" by putting Gameboy NES tracks in the
collection. They are unquestionable chiptunes, and on a "type" of NES, so go
figure.
I'm unlikely to post any Super NES or Genesis tracks on this page. Such music
sounds a lot different from chiptunes (they no longer sound "chippy" if they
employ wave synthesis, or even just FM synthesis).
[2] As horribly hard and flawed as this game is, the music is great. Unusual
combination.
[3] It took me a while before I realized what the unusual percussion at the end
of the track was a reference to: Athena's triple jump!
[4] Tim Follin is one composer whose works I should have exhibited more often
in earlier collections. There are plenty of those in collection #4.
Of all the composers who have had to program chiptunes for the NES, Follin is
probably the most inventive in terms of instrumentation.
[5] This theme comes straight from the movie. Few surprises there.
But you might be surprised I completely left out the music from Data East's NES
version of Robocop. The arcade music was good (composed by Data East), but the
music in their own NES port turned out mediocre.
[6] This music is from a truly excellent ROM hack of Castlevania.
EVERY part of the game was hacked, including graphics, level design, enemy
types, boss appearance, boss BEHAVIOR, sound, and music. EVERY song was
replaced with a different song!
[7] Was Tim Follin trying to set a record for longest Title theme? This song
goes on for nearly 3 minutes!
[8] Unlike most other video game music, this music does not appear to be
precisely timed on regular intervals. It's clear the Maniac Mansion soundtrack
had not only stellar composers, but good performers as well.
[9] It's just a guess that this might have been intended as the original ending
music for the game, since it was the last track in the NSF, and it seems to
imply resolution.
And talk about implying resolution! That game's ending was anything but in
terms of resolution. You go forward in time, leading the way to what should
have been an epic sequel...only for gamers to discover that no sequel would be
forthcoming.
Hey, it's not too late...!
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NES Album 5 Tracks
Forgive me, folks, for I have sinned. Actually, worse--I have committed a felony.
The felony is a total failure to include a single Compile song in any of the previous
four collections. This latest album was constructed some four years after the last
one, so it took me a while to remember which games I hadn't covered yet. Anyway, this
album should serve as my redemption.
Sample: Guardian Legend Fungus Labyrinth
Game |
Song Context |
1. Crash Test Dummies |
Level 1 |
2. Super Spy Hunter |
Level 1 |
3. Golgo 13 |
Driving Section |
4. Snailiad |
Amastrida Abyssus [1] |
5. Bucky O'Hare |
Yellow Planet |
6. Bio Force Ape |
Minecart Mash [2] |
7. Godzilla |
Story Intro |
8. Zanac |
Level 2 |
9. Bucky O'Hare |
Blue Planet |
10. Gyruss |
2 Warps To Uranus [3] |
11. Guardian Legend |
Last Labyrinth |
12. Gun-Nac |
Final Stage |
13. Godzilla |
Level 2 |
14. Battle of Olympus |
Phthia |
15. Golgo 13 |
Underwater |
16. Clash at Demonhead |
Underworld |
17. Journey to Silius |
Level 3 |
18. Bucky O'Hare |
Magma Tanker |
19. Super Spy Hunter |
Level 2 |
20. Metal Gear: Snake's Revenge |
Jungle [4] |
21. Zanac |
Level 1 |
22. Godzilla |
Level 1 |
23. Guardian Legend |
Sea Corridor |
24. Gun-Nac |
Level 2 |
25. Zanac |
Title Screen |
26. Spelunker |
Main Cave |
27. Bucky O'Hare |
Green Planet |
28. Guardian Legend |
Fungus Labyrinth |
29. Battle of Olympus |
Pelopennesus |
30. Clash at Demonhead |
Overworld |
31. Xexyz |
Overworld |
32. Smash T.V. |
Main Theme |
33. Gyruss |
Main Theme |
34. Bucky O'Hare |
Escape! |
35. Guardian Legend |
Fast Corridor |
36. Bio Force Ape |
Highrise |
37. Journey to Silius |
Title Screen |
38. Godzilla |
Title Screen |
39. Gun-Nac |
Fire Stage |
40. Ninja Gaiden 3 |
Final Stage |
41. Golgo 13: The Mafat Conspiracy |
Title Screen |
42. Battle of Olympus |
Phygria |
43. Guardian Legend |
Fungus Corridor |
44. Journey to Silius |
Level 2 |
45. Rolling Thunder |
Level 1 [5] |
46. Eight Eyes |
Spain Boss |
47. Rockin' Kats |
Warehouse |
48. Metal Gear: Snake's Revenge |
Base |
49. Spelunker |
Title Screen |
50. Guardian Legend |
First Labyrinth |
51. Eight Eyes |
Title Screen |
52. Golgo 13: The Mafat Conspiracy |
Boss |
53. Bucky O'Hare |
Cell |
54. Rolling Thunder |
Level 2 |
55. Super Spy Hunter |
Level 3 |
56. Bucky O'Hare |
Red Planet |
57. Journey to Silius |
Level 1 |
58. Gun-Nac |
Title Screen |
59. Zanac |
Final Victory [6] |
60. Battle of Olympus |
Attica |
61. Godzilla |
Level 3 |
62. Guardian Legend |
Main Theme |
63. Gun-Nac |
Slot Machines from Outer Space [7] |
64. Snake, Rattle n' Roll |
Level 1 |
65. Gun-Nac |
Level 1 |
66. Felix the Cat |
Level 1 |
67. Joe and Mac |
Main Theme |
68. Dr. Mario |
Fever |
69. Snake, Rattle n' Roll |
Level 2 |
70. Tom and Jerry |
Theme 2 |
71. Rockin' Kats |
Street |
72. Battle of Olympus |
Laconia |
73. Cruz |
Puzzle Theme [8] |
74. Fire n' Ice |
Level 3 |
75. Tom and Jerry |
Theme 1 |
76. Guardian Legend |
Ending |
77. Journey to Silius |
Ending |
78. Bucky O'Hare |
Ending |
Special Notes
[1] Technically, Snailiad is not an NES game, but rather a NewGrounds finalist
entry back in 2011. I am including the track here because it's that badass.
I suggest checking it out; it's a Metroidvania-like game featuring...snails?
[2] Unreleased titles generally don't have jaw-droppingly stellar music. Bio
Force Ape is a very welcome exception.
[3] No; this isn't a joke. The game actually shows that before the stage.
[4] The NES Metal Gear games departed significantly from Hideo Kojima's vision,
but one thing is definite: you can't knock the music in them.
[5] Unless you live in Japan or got ahold of an unlicensed copy, you might be
surprised that Sega had indeed made a fully-working Rolling Thunder port.
You would be amazed at how many Sega titles got "unofficial" ports.
[6] I am being very kind, letting you listen to the game victory song here.
Zanac is one of the most evil spaceship shooters ever made--prompting some to
rage-quit on the first level. And there are twelve levels!
[7] I can't put my finger on the exact date, but some time in the early 1990s,
Japanese rail-shooter designers went completely insane and started putting
malevolent slot machines and Hello Kitty money banks into their games.
It is anybody's guess if the world is a better place for it.
[8] After having played with NSFs for a long time, I finally tried my hand at
creating my own NES chiptune. Here it is.
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"How I Did It"
The act of compiling over 400 songs, from different games, from different
contexts in each game, and editing and mixing them to perfection, should not be
taken lightly.
Procuring the source
My best discovery in the making of these collections was a specialty file
format, called an "NSF," or Nintendo Sound File. An NSF is
basically a subset of the NES ROM assembly code that generates the sound
programming for a NES game.
Most of the NSFs I collected from www.zophar.net,
a site devoted to emulation and ROM hacks.
However, there were some games for which I could not acquire an NSF. In these
cases, the only way to capture the audio is to play the game in an emulator to
the point where the song begins, start recording, wait for as many repetitions
as needed, and then stop recording.
It's clearly to the audio mixer's advantage to use NSFs whenever
possible. This is because the mixer will not need to worry about issues
like the game's sound effects interfering with the recording. It's not possible
to avoid combat sounds for some games, especially overhead shooters, so an NSF
allows you to do the impossible and capture the track without any background
noise. Hector '87 is a prime example.
Audio Capture
Both NSFs and actual gameplay samples used the same emulator for capture: FamiCom
Emulator Ultra, better known as FCE Ultra. The program lets you
log WAV files for any type of sound output.
Now, despite the fact that the emulator does a lot of the tough work for you,
you still need to be patient enough to record so many tracks. That's a test of
endurance more than anything else.
Audio Editing
Audacity was the waveform editor of choice here, although it was far from
the only option. I generally performed the following tweaks on the recorded WAV
files:
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Split bulk recordings into individual files
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Transform audio into CD-quality format (44,100 Hz 16-bit stereo)
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Normalize audio and amplify/attenuate accordingly
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Apply fade-ins and fade-outs
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Find beats at beginning and end of song; trim to make good segueways between
tracks
Of these five tasks, the last one was by far the hardest. It involved having
both a good ear for incidental sounds that last a fraction of a second, and a
good eye for the equivalence of such sounds as represented in the waveform
visualization. One cannot be sloppy here!
Album mixing
This step is possibly the most fun, but it's still demanding. Using WinAmp,
I played around with the order of the edited WAV files as a way of identifying
the optimal mix order, as well as flagging audio issues that required
re-editing in the previous step.
Task #5 of audio editing makes this job simpler, because it's far easier to flow
the end of one track into the beginning of another if the beats are
synchronized. But you need to listen to each transition, multiple times if
necessary, to tell if the desired effect was obtained.
The "no-delay" mixing style I picked for these albums was more challenging than
the alternative. The alternative is a long fade-out for each track and a
2-second silence delay before the start of the next, as is common with many
albums.
Easter Eggs?!
A final word about NSFs: I was shocked to discover that many games had a type of
Easter Egg that could only be found by hacking the ROM image, in the form of unused
musical tracks!
Battletoads, Guerilla War, and Wizards and Warriors 3 are
but a few examples. The reason these games had hidden tracks? Probably the
original commission for music involved a set number of songs with specific
themes. Likely the soundtrack, once composed, synthesized, and integrated into
the ROM image, was left alone when deciding how to ultimately use the score in
the game.
While ROM chips were not cheap back then (each 16-KB multiple would deduct from
a game's potential profits), it might have required less in re-architecture
costs just to keep hidden tracks where they were.
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About Me
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