World Ten: Music Tracks

I figured that I'd write up another top 10 article regarding the pieces of music from classic gaming that get stuck in my head the absolute most. Only single songs, mind you...but later on I plan on throwing together another top 10 list of the best entire soundtracks. Not too soon or anything though, so don't hold your breath. Hopefully I can pull out a few surprises for you, rather than mostly traditional ones!

Geez, I'm listening to a bunch of music at the moment but obviously it'll make it a bit fuckin' difficult to think of other tunes at the same time.

Also these top 10 lists just really make life difficult for me. There're so many wicked songs in games that I absolutely love and it's damn tough to pick just TEN of them, but that's my own punishment that I will JUST HAVE TO ENDURE! I'm not gonna order these things, because I just can't bring myself to do it. I'll also try to link you guys to a sample of each entry, whenever I can manage to do so. So without further adieu:

Castlevania 2 (and other entries in the series) - Bloody Tears

Ahh, Bloody Tears. I feel like the reason they gave this track the name that it has, is because Castlevania games made you cry from frustration until you started bleeding out of your eye sockets. Until you get used to the games, of course, but there are some sections that still give me trouble to this day. Not because I don't know how to tackle them...but mainly because of some devious and random enemy placement *pointed look at Harpies carrying Fleamen around in the Clock Tower stage of CV1*.

Bloody Tears made its debut in Castlevania 2, which was actually the easiest of the 3 NES CV games with respect to difficulty, but made up for it in confusion about what the hell you were supposed to be doing and where you were supposed to be going the whole time. I suggest you check out James Rolfe's very first Angry Video Game Nerd video, because he drives the point home about how ridiculous the game actually is quite well. Bloody Tears played during the daytime in the overworld, and it was damn catchy. So catchy in fact, that it has become a go-to track in many other CV games after the CV 2...for example, Bloody Tears is used quite effectively in Super Castlevania 4 during the Clock Tower stage, and it fits the bill quite well. In fact, now that I think about it, it's interesting to think that Bloody Tears can fit a situation as simple as traversing between towns in one Castlevania game, while also feeling completely at home in one of the most frantic stages of another...kinda gives you the impression that it must be a pretty sweet track, right? To be that versatile?

Well it is. I can't explain it too well, but it is. It has a really catchy sound to it, while also remaining true to the gothic roots of the style of the game series...probably due to the fact that one of the main parts of the track sounds like it's being played on an organ...and almost frantically. Then the next main section of the piece comes in and fills it out quite nicely with a less frantically-paced tune that fits perfectly with the previously established, rapid-fire organ composition. It all comes together in a classic piece of video game music that really doesn't have any similarities to any other track that I can think of. Ever.

Weird, I never noticed that before. Props to Bloody Tears!

Super Mario Bros. 2 - Main Overworld Theme

Now, you're probably thinking that this is a strange choice for a Mario song. "MARIO 2?? NOT THE ORIGINAL MARIO THEME? WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS MAN'S BRAIN!" I dunno what's wrong with my brain, and it's gotten to the point where I just try not to even think about it anymore and embrace whatever the hell I've been given. There's something about this catchy music tune that just sometimes reverberates in my skull for days at a time...I'm being serious. DAYS AT A TIME. I'll go to bed with this little ditty stuck in my head, and I'll wake up and just keep thinking about it. For some reason, the original Mario Overworld theme just doesn't seem to do that. Maybe it's the pretty sweet bass line in the background, or the interesting arrangement of eccentric sounds and trills that compose the main line of the piece, but it's just damn catchy! The fact is, Super Mario Bros. 2 is a severely underrated game with severely underrated characters, enemies, and music tracks.

In fact, a while ago I was screwin' around with the keyboard that I bought (six?) years ago. Being a nerd, what's the first thing that I try to do with said keyboard? Emulate various pieces of music that I've heard from video games. Probably the first two that I learned to play just by ear and with no reference at all, were two pieces from Mario Bros. 2. One, of course, is this one that I'm mentioning right now, and the other was that weird underground theme, which just really has a neat ebb and flow to it, particularly in the drum section.

So take that, cliché Mario music top 10 mainstay!

Mother 3 - Theme of Love

Oh geez. I wish I knew where to start...in fact, I really should've written an article about Mother 3 before trying to reference a specific piece of music in the damn game, but alas.

Mother 3 is my favourite RPG ever. I've played a fair share of old RPGs as well as recent ones, and up until I experienced this game, Final Fantasy 3/6 and Chrono Trigger were the top competitors for my number 1 spot. Little did I know that Mother 3 would come along and absolutely destroy any chances those two games had of finally settling in at the first place spot, shunting them down the RPG ladder.

In case anyone reading this doesn't know what Mother 3 is, it's the sequel to a game found on the SNES called EarthBound, and it officially released only in Japan. Thanks to emulation and an amazing fan translation, I was able to experience this game in full. Bear in mind that Nintendo, usually a company that halts certain actions such as the use of their characters or games, didn't halt production on the fan translation of the Japanese ROM...which is odd, but it seems like it was okay in their eyes for people in North America to want to experience the game. After all, it was originally promised for the Nintendo 64 as EarthBound 64, but was later scrapped. It's not exactly a direct sequel, but it definitely has ties to EarthBound in a few characters, particularly the main antagonist of the story. You play as a few characters over the course of the game, but the main focus is on a boy named Lucas, who I'm sure you'd recognize from Super Smash Bros: Brawl, at the very least. Unfortunately I can't say much more about the game without spoiling anything, and I don't plan on doing so because this is a game that really just needs to be experienced, and I don't feel like I could do it even a shred of justice.

All you really need to know is that this is really the only game that has absolutely devastated me emotionally. Stories in games and movies don't really fuck me up all that easily...so when Mother 3 came along and shattered my heart and mind, I thought I was going insane. Afterward, I eventually saw hints of other people who've played the game that were also as touched as I was, which made me feel somewhat normal again...but for a video game to actually bring a man to tears, who has never been moved as such by any book, movie, video game, or other form of media before...that says something. Hell, the commercials that were released in Japan show a woman talking about the plot and breaking down, so what the hell does that say about the game?

Anyway! That was a bit of a tangent...but the fact of the matter is that the Theme of Love plays throughout the whole game in various forms. One arrangement is an upbeat theme as the game introduces you to a town, for example. However, it's the arrangement that's played at the climax of the game that really sticks out, because it's used to great effect at the most pivotal moment in the story where everything just culminates in a fantastic ending that'll never, ever erase itself from my memories.

Unless I get Alzheimers or something.

That's all I can really say, unfortunately...but I'll have to write about this game soon, where I'm sure that I'll explain what the deal is with Mother 3 and why it's so damn good.

Strange, funny, and heartrending in fucking spades...poor Lucas.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Dungeon Theme (Light World)

How could I make a list of amazing music tracks without using a tune from the Legend of Zelda series? Again, you're probably surprised that I picked a tune that you only hear a few times in the game, rather than the iconic main overworld theme that so many people love. Fact is, I absolutely love the dungeon music in the Light World dungeons...there's something about it that just fits perfectly.

The tune itself is somewhat brooding, letting you know that you've entered an area where you really need to be on your toes, but it's not brooding to the point that you want to go and shiver in a corner in the dark. It's mysterious, which fits the entire concept of a Zelda dungeon because these things are pretty much designed to be gigantic puzzles in and of themselves. At the same time, it's not nearly slow enough or eerie enough that it's not a catchy damn tune that gets stuck in your head while you slash at a few Stalfos.

In all honesty, I can't explain this one all too well...it's pretty much just that it fits the areas that it appears in, and does an awesome job of it. A Link to the Past is one of my personal favourite Zelda games (probably only beaten by Wind Waker...again, I'm sure you're thinking I'm weird cause a lot of people couldn't stand the sailing, etc.), and this particular track definitely brings back the best memories from the game. The dungeons of the Dark World were just not as good as the Light World ones, I thought...and the music in the Dark World dungeons is just kind of trying to scare you, but falling short. At least that's how it feels to me, and that just doesn't feel very Zelda if you ask my opinion. The games are all about figuring out the best course of action, and discovering what to do next in sequence, and the mood that the Light World dungeon theme sets seems to fit that idea perfectly to me.

Doom - At Doom's Gate (E1M1)

If you think there's any other track that fits the first level of Doom better than this one, then you've probably got feces between your ears.

Doom has to be one of my absolute favourite game series, and for good reason too. It's a solid FPS that revolutionized the genre and made shooters what they are today. Without Doom as a stepping stone that was WAY ahead of it's time (considering the previous game to come from iD was Wolfenstein 3D), who knows where we'd be today with respect to FPS games.

Oh wait. I do. We wouldn't be ANYWHERE because Doom was and still is amazing.

Doom was about shooting horrible, demonic things with guns and getting through levels alive. You ran fast as hell in this game, and you had to react fast in order to survive...so what better way to start off a game with such fast paced gameplay with a fast-paced piece of music. Sure, it's just a MIDI track! But who gives a shit? The music for Hangar just fits the damn level, and fits the feel of the game perfectly. When you fire up Doom and hear the music for Hangar, you want to kill things with guns. I'd say that's a pretty good mentality to instill in the player, wouldn't you? Particularly because that's what the whole game is about.

Oh, and it has guitar riffs that are impossible to actually physically pull off, if I'm not mistaken. Awesomeness.

To quote the Doom manual: 'nuff said.

...except that I highly recommend you check out the remix album on OverClocked Remix called The Dark Side of Phobos. Its rendition of Hangar (called Hangarmageddon) is absolutely perfect.

Tetris - Korobeiniki

I bet you're looking at the title of this fuckin' music theme and thinking "What the hell is that jumbled mess of a name?" Fine, I'll make it simple for you. It's the Tetris theme. Done. If you don't know what it is by now, then stop reading immediately and educate yourself by playing Tetris.

Korobeiniki is the actual name of the Russian composition which can be found in most iterations of Tetris ever since its initial use in Type A of the original GameBoy version. The fact that it has reappeared in almost every version of Tetris really says something, because the damn piece of music certainly fits like a glove! I'm not even sure why! Sure, Tetris was originally conceptualized by a group of Russians (specifically Alexey Pajitnov, Dmitry Pavolvsky and Vadim Gerasimov...all geniuses as far as I'm concerned), but it's not like the game screams "RUSSIA" when you're actually playing it. So why does a Russian musical composition about peddlers fit so damn well?

Fucked if I know, but it's a damn good selection of music. The pacing of it just feels good for a puzzle game such as Tetris...not overly chaotic and not overly calming either. Just kind of the perfect in-between where you can enjoy the tune as well as think clearly about what you need to do. At least until you start getting too close to the top of the screen and it picks up the pace, and all of a sudden you start panicking. That sudden change in tempo just messes you right up. Perhaps that's why it's such an effective track for Tetris...the fact that it can be used at different speeds and tempos to actually cause a change in the mental state of the player.

Beats me. Awesome song though, and it'll be associated with Tetris as long as video games exist. Also the version of this song in Super Smash Bros: Brawl is damn epic, so check it out if you haven't already.

In Soviet Russia, TETRIS PLAYS YOU!

Sorry. Had to do it!

Metroid - Kraid's Lair (Brinstar Depths)

The Metroid series has a whole whack of cool tunes...and they range from very catchy, memorable tunes (Brinstar theme from Metroid 1) to intensely creepy and atmospheric background noise (Wrecked Ship, from Super Metroid). The common element of every BGM in the Metroid series, however, is that they're extremely good at setting the mood for the area that you're in. For example, the Lower Norfair tune in Super Metroid is practically a death march that really fits the flame-laden, lava-loaded region that you're exploring, while also getting you absolutely pumped to finally blow the ever-living crap out of Ridley.

However, perhaps the most memorable tune from the Metroid series can be found in the first entry. When you access Kraid's Lair of the twisted labyrinth that is Planet Zebes, you're greeted by an eerie melody that really makes you feel uneasy, particularly in comparison to the music from Brinstar, the area that you just came from. Suddenly you realize that things're getting a bit serious and you've got a boss coming up, but first you've gotta make your way through this mostly gray area with odd music and illusions that throw you off of your path. Enemies have gotten a bit tougher as well, and so the tone of the game has gotten a lot more intense than when you were blowing away Zoomers and Skrees to the catchy Brinstar tune.

It's just interesting to me that the sudden change in tune, in this case, fucks you right up. It's catchy, yeah...but in an incredibly creepy and foreboding way. The same could be said about Ridley's lair later on, which also has a very ambient and creepy sound to it. It feels to me like these songs really remind you that you're on your own in this strange and hostile planet, particularly in Kraid's lair because it's the first region that really starts to make you second-guess yourself and think things through.

The remix of this track for Super Smash Bros. Melee was awesome as well, and featured on a level that didn't get nearly enough recognition. But that's for another time. The fact is, the music of Kraid's lair is really the first instance in Metroid where you can feel the tone of the whole game change as a result of a simple change in background music, and for that I really feel like it's memorable.

Mega Man 4 - Pharaoh Man

So a lot of people bash Mega Man 4 as being the first of the classic games that was crappy. I wholeheartedly think those people should lighten up...but maybe that's because I've got a soft spot for the game because it was actually the first Mega Man game I wound up playing when I was a kid. You see, our video game rental store really didn't have that much in the way of Mega Man, and at the time I rarely was allowed to rent any form of game unless it was a shitty day outside or something like that. Mega Man games, however, were most often out on those days. Mega Man 4 was the first one I got my grubby fingers on, and I was instantly hooked on it.

The first robot master I managed to destroy was Toad Man, and at the time, I didn't know to go on to Bright Man and use the Acid Rain I had just acquired to make quick work of him...no, instead I went to Pharaoh Man's stage, which had a damn cool tune to it that almost instantly got stuck in my brain and it still hasn't left.

If there's one thing that you can always count on when it comes to Mega Man, it's a solid set of tracks to scrap robots to. Actually you can count on Mega Man games to deliver a lot more than that, usually...but the soundtracks always manage to stick out. A lot of people'll argue that Mega Man 2 has one of the best NES soundtracks ever, if not THE best. Well, Mega Man 4 has a damn good set of tunes as well, and Pharaoh Man's just sticks out. It suited the desert-themed level perfectly, while remaining upbeat and action-oriented to suit the general destruction that you'd be dishing out on your robotic adversaries. For some reason, this Mega Man tune has become absolutely engrained in my memory, and it's the first one that comes to mind when I think of the classic Mega Man series.

Also, I don't care what anyone says...the addition of the charge shot to the series was pretty damn sweet, and the first stage in which I found out you could charge your shots just happened to be this one.

Dragon Warrior - Overworld Theme

Here's a cool one. If there's any song that ever really makes you feel like you're truly alone from the NES era, it's this one.

Dragon Warrior is a great game, and the first one happens to be my personal favourite of the NES entries in the series. There's something about being in control of only one character, and fighting only one enemy at a time that just seems to intrigue me. Maybe it's because I'm simple or something...but I doubt that because I also like Final Fantasy which has more characters to control and more enemies to fight at once. I'm not sure why it is that I like that solitary feeling of Dragon Warrior, but it's neat. It kinda helps you to put yourself in the position of your character more efficiently...you're not controlling a team, you're controlling yourself.

Or maybe I'm just crazy and should shut up right now about that. Onto that theme...as soon as you leave the safety of any town, you're out in the wilderness on your own. This is accompanied by a tune that just really, really sets that kind of mood. It's a simple track that loops quite quickly, but it always manages to make you feel uneasy, reminding you that you're no longer safe and could be jumped by a monster at any point in time. At the same time, however, you get sucked into the tune quite easily because it's so simple but so catchy at the same time...

But that's just lulling you into a false sense of fuckin' security.

There are some occasions in Dragon Warrior where you're walking around the overworld for quite a long time, and for some damned reason you just don't come under attack from any critters. This is when you zone out and get sucked in by the mysterious background music, only to suddenly be jarred into consciousness again by a sudden attack from a Drakee or something.

I guess what I'm trying to say I find cool about this piece of music is that it really makes you feel alone in that you're controlling one character...but at the same time it reminds you that you're far from alone out there in the overworld because it keeps you tensed up until you run into an adversary. In that respect, it's a very cool tune.

Final Fantasy 3/6 - The Fierce Battle

This track is officially called The Fierce Battle according to the soundtrack for FF3 (I know it's technically 6, but I'm gonna call it FF3 because that's what it was called when I played it on my Super Nintendo here in Canada). If that doesn't make you recognize it, then I'm pretty sure "that fucking badass music that plays when you fight AtmaWeapon on the Floating Continent" might help you out a bit.

My first time playing through FF3, the Floating Continent became a real pain in the ass for me. I'm pretty sure it's simply because I wasn't leveled up enough, and it wound up taking me forever just to get through it alive. The biggest roadblock was, of course, AtmaWeapon...a very tough boss that you battle right before you meet up with that maniacal clown, Kefka, and General Gestahl.

Final Fantasy 3 has some damn fine music. From the mysterious overworld themes to the intense fight music, to the serene and moving tune of the Opera that you have to memorize the lines to...there are memories made as a result of this soundtrack. There're a few reasons why the AtmaWeapon battle music really stuck out at me.

First of all, it's fucking awesome. It's fast paced and different from the other boss theme that you hear most of the time. The fact that it differs should tip you off here...AtmaWeapon means fuckin business, and this battle isn't for panzies. The high tension that the music establishes makes you realize that every goddamn move that you make is gonna count.

Secondly, I'm reminded of a memory with a friend of mine when we were playing through FF3 together. We were just about to die and gave AtmaWeapon a damn good run for its money, but it seemed like the end was near. Three of the party were dead, and only one character was left standing. Out of desperation, and perhaps a realization that we rarely, if ever, called out Espers, we decided to do so as a last ditch attempt before another Flare spell sent our poor party member to their doom. It was Bismark...that damn whale, which actually is pretty crappy, but we gave it a shot anyway. Bismark swam across the screen, dragging a bunch of friendly bubbles with it and doing a measly 300-something damage. Well, damned if that was enough to kill AtmaWeapon. The asshole disintegrated and the battle was won, all because of Bismark.

Thirdly, because I endured that fight so many damn times my first time through that it's just etched into my head. Epic music though.

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So that's the end of this entry, although some mad shoutouts go to the YouTube community for having samples of all of the songs I've talked about!

Also to James Rolfe for being a god.