Developer / Publisher: Konami Composer: Kenichi Matsubara, S . Terishima
PART 1:
Full Title: Castlevania II: Simon's Quest System: Nintendo Entertainment System Year: 1988 (US)
1 - Message of Darkness 2 - The Silence of Daylight 3 - Bloody Tears 4 - Monster Dance 5 - Dwelling of Doom 6 - Within These Castle Walls 7 - Last Boss 8 - Game Over 9 - A Requiem
PART 2:
Full Title: ドラキュラII 呪いの封印 (Dracula II: Noroi no Fuin) System: Famicom Disk System Year: 1987 (JP)
10 - Message of Darkness 11 - The Silence of Daylight 12 - Bloody Tears 13 - Monster Dance 14 - Dwelling of Doom 15 - Within These Castle Walls 16 - Last Boss 17 - Game Over 18 - A Requiem
First released in Japan on floppy disk as Dracula II: Noroi no Fuin in 1987, and later ported to the NES as Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, there are two different versions of the same score. The original made use of an additional sound channel unique to the FDS (Famicom Disk System), and I've included both in their entirety here.
There are more differences between the two than the US cartridge version simply lacking an extra voice, however. Sometime during the 15 month gap that separated the two releases, Konami decided to tweak the soundtrack.
For their second attempt they added new (and more driving) percussion parts, and all sorts of reverb/ delay effects that weren't there before. Other differences can be heard as well, including a different length for A Requiem and a different bass part for Within These Castle Walls.
Its neat hearing how the original version sounds, but I much prefer the changes they made for the American release. Despite having less channels to work with, I am of the opinion that they managed to make the music more complex and interesting by manipulating the soundchip with more care.
Castlevania II Music (NES) - The Silence of Daylight (Town Theme)explod2A032009-05-07 | Track 2 / 18 (Complete Soundtrack)
Developer / Publisher: Konami Composer: Kenichi Matsubara, S . Terishima
PART 1:
Full Title: Castlevania II: Simon's Quest System: Nintendo Entertainment System Year: 1988 (US)
1 - Message of Darkness 2 - The Silence of Daylight 3 - Bloody Tears 4 - Monster Dance 5 - Dwelling of Doom 6 - Within These Castle Walls 7 - Last Boss 8 - Game Over 9 - A Requiem
PART 2:
Full Title: ドラキュラII 呪いの封印 (Dracula II: Noroi no Fuin) System: Famicom Disk System Year: 1987 (JP)
10 - Message of Darkness 11 - The Silence of Daylight 12 - Bloody Tears 13 - Monster Dance 14 - Dwelling of Doom 15 - Within These Castle Walls 16 - Last Boss 17 - Game Over 18 - A Requiem
First released in Japan on floppy disk as Dracula II: Noroi no Fuin in 1987, and later ported to the NES as Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, there are two different versions of the same score. The original made use of an additional sound channel unique to the FDS (Famicom Disk System), and I've included both in their entirety here.
There are more differences between the two than the US cartridge version simply lacking an extra voice, however. Sometime during the 15 month gap that separated the two releases, Konami decided to tweak the soundtrack.
For their second attempt they added new (and more driving) percussion parts, and all sorts of reverb/ delay effects that weren't there before. Other differences can be heard as well, including a different length for A Requiem and a different bass part for Within These Castle Walls.
Its neat hearing how the original version sounds, but I much prefer the changes they made for the American release. Despite having less channels to work with, I am of the opinion that they managed to make the music more complex and interesting by manipulating the soundchip with more care.Cheap Dinosaurs 8/3/17 - Zillion & Strollexplod2A032017-08-06 | Cheap Dinosaurs performs a cover of Zillion's main theme (Sega Master System), and an original composition, Stroll.
Performed 8/3/17 @ Boot & Saddle Bit Brigade w/ Cheap Dinosaurs (NO CARRIER on visuals)Cheap Dinosaurs 8/3/17 - Yu-No (Crisis)explod2A032017-08-06 | Cheap Dinosaurs' cover of Crisis from the PC-98 game Yu-No. Original composition by Ryu Umemoto.
Performed 8/3/17 @ Boot & Saddle Bit Brigade w/ Cheap Dinosaurs (NO CARRIER on visuals)The Best Way to Learn NES Music: NSFplayexplod2A032016-02-17 | If you're interested in covering or arranging NES music, one of the best tools out there is NSFplay. It comes with a keyboard display that allows you to see the parts as they play in real time.
You can isolate the different voices (from the audio mix and/or the keyboard display), and halve the tempo (up to 8x).
I think one of the most popular methods people use is to open MIDI files in music notation software. But the downside is that the MIDI files you find of NES music are not directly related to the actual game music in any way. They're covers made from scratch, and are often rife with errors or re-interpretations. There's also tons of tons of NES music that hasn't had MIDI arrangements ever made of it as well.
NSF files (nintendo sound format) is the actual original game music, ripped from the ROMs' data, so you're able to study and dissect the original parts.
NSF files. Asides from some obscure stuff, virtually every NES and Famicom soundtrack is available here: http://gilgalad.arc-nova.org/NSF-ArchiveDark Souls - Gwyn, Lord of Cinder (8-bit)explod2A032012-07-06 | A cover of Gwyn, Lord of Cinder using authentic NES audio. Composed by Motoi Sakuraba for the Dark Souls soundtrack.
A classic effect in chipmusic is briefly examined, using examples from both the C64 and NES:
Sphere Brain [C64] - Tero & Toni Hilpenin Magician - Neil Baldwin M.C. Kids - Charles Deenan Darkman - Jonathan Dunn Silver Surfer - Tim & Geoff Follin Asterix - Alberto González Skate or Die 2 - Rob Hubbard Bee 52 - Gavin Raeburn Overlord - Jeroen TelNES Audio: Rob Hubbard DPCM Sawtoothexplod2A032012-03-28 | http://retrogameaudio.tumblr.com
In this video, a unique trick for generating a sustained melodic sound from the sample channel is examined.
The corresponding tumblr post will have to wait a day or two. It'll include a famitracker instrument download for the sunsoft bass samples, and more detailed information. :)
There is also a way to generate a sawtooth waveform with the sample channel, but I'll save that topic for its own video.NES Audio: Duty Cycle Modulationexplod2A032012-03-12 | http://retrogameaudio.tumblr.com
A quick explanation of the 4 duty cycles and how they can be used.
Here we demonstrate another single channel echo, created by Neil Baldwin for Hero Quest. He has a detailed retrospective of his work as an NES composer @ http://dutycyclegenerator.com
Before jumping into more details, I wanted to take a step back and share a quick review of the Nintendo's sound channels. Some details are left out, like the frequencies available, why the system is mono, samples that aren't DPCM, etc. But anything I left out has potential to be explored further in a separate blog post. :)
Audio Credits:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Super Mario Bros. 2
MC Kids
Bad Dudes
Mega Man 2
Snake's Revenge
Super Mario Bros. 3
Journey to SiliusSingle Channel Echo by the Follin Bros.explod2A032012-03-06 | http://retrogameaudio.tumblr.com
A demonstration of single channel echo used by Tim and Geoff Follin in their NES music. For more detailed information, visit the tumblr.
There is a similar sound used in Maniac Mansion (David Warhol- sound programmer), but I left it out because it uses hardware fades (I06 in famitracker if I recall correctly), and that prevents me from recreating it without information in the tracker-space.
Please leave questions or suggestions for future topics for my site below. :)Demonstrating Reverb/ Echo with Ducktalesexplod2A032012-03-05 | http://retrogameaudio.tumblr.com
Hey everyone, I just made a new tumblr for talking about sound design in retro vgm. I decided to start by tackling a basic and simple effect:
A common method for creating a reverb or echo effect works by doubling up a melody with a delayed and quieter version of itself. Here I use the African Mines theme from Ducktales to demonstrate how this works.
If you have any questions about retro game audio, feel free to ask in the comments below. I'll try to answer as best as I can, and possibly make a tumblr post about it. Suggestions are welcome as well.Chips Challenge Music (Atari Lynx) - Endingexplod2A032012-01-22 | Track 15 / 15 (Complete Soundtrack)
Chip's Challenge Platform: Atari Lynx Developer: Epyx, Publisher: Atari Sound and Music: Alex Rudis, Bob Vieira Year: 1989
Huge thanks go out to pIENESS for ripping this soundtrack! I've been wanting to share some lynx music for a while, but I could never get the audio working well enough in Handy on my computer.
MP3 links coming soon.The Wicker Man 8-bit (NES) - Nighttime Cutsceneexplod2A032011-12-05 | An arrangement of Willow's Song from the 1973 film 'The Wicker Man'. If they ever made a Wicker Man game for the NES, I would imagine there being a seduction cutscene with this music.
Arranged with famitracker - authentic NES audio.
The original is composed by Paul Giovanni and can be seen in context here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIac4nKaAy4Exorcist 8-bit (NES) - Final Area BGMexplod2A032011-12-05 | Imaginary NES game music based on the 1973 film The Exorcist. You've reached the final stretch and it's up to you to free Regan from Satan.
Arrangement from Tubular Bells, original composed by Mike Oldfield. Arranged in famitracker, authentic NES audio.
Base samples are from from Gremlins 2 (SunSoft).Demons Souls - Maiden Astraeas Theme (8-bit NES cover)explod2A032011-06-20 | A cover of Maiden Astraea's theme music from Demon's Souls, using authentic NES audio. Some liberties are taken with the arrangement, of course... I wanted to imagine what the theme might sound like as boss fight music on the nintendo.
The original is composed by Shunsuke Kida, and can be heard here: http://youtu.be/K-rNVnrFQDgBelmonts Revenge - Password Entry (8-bit cover / FDS)explod2A032011-06-11 | Here's another Castlevania arrangement. Just a little test, arranging Game Boy music for the NES with FDS audio.
Original is composed by Hidehiro Funauchi for Belmont's Revenge and can be heard here: http://youtu.be/UlKxU6zkC_kCastlevania Legends - Clock Tower of Darkness (8-bit cover / VRC6)explod2A032011-06-10 | Here's something a little different from my normal uploads. I did a cover of Clock Tower of Darkness using the NES / Famicom with Konami's VRC6 audio expansion. This is the same expansion Akumajou Densetsu used. I also borrowed the DPCM samples from CV3 as well.
The original was composed by Youchi Iwata and Kaoru Okada for Castlevania Legends on the original Game Boy. You can listen to it here: http://youtu.be/7XvaVG-GeukEnduro Racer Music (SMS) - Endingexplod2A032011-06-05 | Track: 5 / 5 (Complete Soundtrack)
Enduro Racer (JP, US, EU) Super Cross (SA) Platform: Sega Master System
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Unknown Year: 1987
Tracklist: 1 - Title Screen 2 - BGM 1 3 - BGM 2 4 - End of Race, Results 5 - Ending
VGM playback sampled with in_vgm v.0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.Enduro Racer Music (SMS) - End of Race, Resultsexplod2A032011-06-05 | Track: 4 / 5 (Complete Soundtrack)
Enduro Racer (JP, US, EU) Super Cross (SA) Platform: Sega Master System
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Unknown Year: 1987
Tracklist: 1 - Title Screen 2 - BGM 1 3 - BGM 2 4 - End of Race, Results 5 - Ending
VGM playback sampled with in_vgm v.0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.Enduro Racer Music (SMS) - BGM 2explod2A032011-06-05 | Track: 3 / 5 (Complete Soundtrack)
Enduro Racer (JP, US, EU) Super Cross (SA) Platform: Sega Master System
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Unknown Year: 1987
Tracklist: 1 - Title Screen 2 - BGM 1 3 - BGM 2 4 - End of Race, Results 5 - Ending
VGM playback sampled with in_vgm v.0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.Enduro Racer Music (SMS) - BGM 1explod2A032011-06-05 | Track: 2 / 5 (Complete Soundtrack)
Enduro Racer (JP, US, EU) Super Cross (SA) Platform: Sega Master System
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Unknown Year: 1987
Tracklist: 1 - Title Screen 2 - BGM 1 3 - BGM 2 4 - End of Race, Results 5 - Ending
VGM playback sampled with in_vgm v.0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.Enduro Racer Music (SMS) - Title Screenexplod2A032011-06-05 | Track: 1 / 5 (Complete Soundtrack)
Enduro Racer (JP, US, EU) Super Cross (SA) Platform: Sega Master System
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Unknown Year: 1987
Tracklist: 1 - Title Screen 2 - BGM 1 3 - BGM 2 4 - End of Race, Results 5 - Ending
VGM playback sampled with in_vgm v.0.35. Special thanks to smspower.org. Download the complete soundtrack here- 224k MP3: http://tinyurl.com/3tdjyshAstro Warrior Music (SMS) - Game Over + Jinglesexplod2A032011-06-03 | Track: 6 / 6 (Complete Soundtrack)
Astro Warrior (JP, US, EU) Sapo Xule: S.O.S. Lagoa Poluida (SA) Platform: Sega Master System
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Unknown Year: 1986
Tracklist: 1 - Title Screen 2 - Galaxy Zone 3 - Boss Theme 4 - Asteroid Zone 5 - Nebula Zone 6 - Game Over + Jingles
VGM playback sampled from in_vgm 0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.Astro Warrior Music (SMS) - Asteroid Zoneexplod2A032011-06-03 | Track: 4 / 6 (Complete Soundtrack)
Astro Warrior (JP, US, EU) Sapo Xule: S.O.S. Lagoa Poluida (SA) Platform: Sega Master System
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Unknown Year: 1986
Tracklist: 1 - Title Screen 2 - Galaxy Zone 3 - Boss Theme 4 - Asteroid Zone 5 - Nebula Zone 6 - Game Over + Jingles
VGM playback sampled from in_vgm 0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.Astro Warrior Music (SMS) - Nebula Zoneexplod2A032011-06-03 | Track: 5 / 6 (Complete Soundtrack)
Astro Warrior (JP, US, EU) Sapo Xule: S.O.S. Lagoa Poluida (SA) Platform: Sega Master System
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Unknown Year: 1986
Tracklist: 1 - Title Screen 2 - Galaxy Zone 3 - Boss Theme 4 - Asteroid Zone 5 - Nebula Zone 6 - Game Over + Jingles
VGM playback sampled from in_vgm 0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.Astro Warrior Music (SMS) - Boss Themeexplod2A032011-06-03 | Track: 3 / 6 (Complete Soundtrack)
Astro Warrior (JP, US, EU)
Sapo Xule: S.O.S. Lagoa Poluida (SA)
Platform: Sega Master System
Developer, Publisher: Sega
Composer: Unknown
Year: 1986
Tracklist:
1 - Title Screen
2 - Galaxy Zone
3 - Boss Theme
4 - Asteroid Zone
5 - Nebula Zone
6 - Game Over + Jingles
VGM playback sampled from in_vgm 0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.Astro Warrior Music (SMS) - Galaxy Zoneexplod2A032011-06-03 | Track: 2 / 6 (Complete Soundtrack)
Astro Warrior (JP, US, EU) Sapo Xule: S.O.S. Lagoa Poluida (SA) Platform: Sega Master System
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Unknown Year: 1986
Tracklist: 1 - Title Screen 2 - Galaxy Zone 3 - Boss Theme 4 - Asteroid Zone 5 - Nebula Zone 6 - Game Over + Jingles
VGM playback sampled from in_vgm 0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.Astro Warrior Music (SMS) - Title Screenexplod2A032011-06-03 | Track: 1 / 6 (Complete Soundtrack)
Astro Warrior (JP, US, EU) Sapo Xule: S.O.S. Lagoa Poluida (SA) Platform: Sega Master System
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Unknown Year: 1986
Tracklist: 1 - Title Screen 2 - Galaxy Zone 3 - Boss Theme 4 - Asteroid Zone 5 - Nebula Zone 6 - Game Over + Jingles
VGM playback sampled from in_vgm 0.35. Special thanks to smspower.org and Sonic of 8! Download the soundtrack here- 224k MP3: http://tinyurl.com/3jwcuszVampire: Master of Darkness Music (SMS) - Endingexplod2A032011-06-01 | Track: 11 / 11 (Complete Soundtrack)
Master of Darkness / Vampire (Sega Master System) aka: Vampire: Master of Darkness / In the Wake of Vampire (Game Gear)
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Fumie Kumatani, Yoko Wada Year: 1992
Tracklist: 1 - Intro 2 - Story 3 - Thames River 4 - Boss Theme 5 - The House of Wax Dolls 6 - Epitaph 7 - Laboratory 8 - In the Wake of Dracula 9 - Final Battle 10 - Jingles (Round Start, Stage Clear, Round Clear, Death) 11 - Ending
VGM playback sampled from in_vgm v0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.Vampire: Master of Darkness Music (SMS) - Jinglesexplod2A032011-06-01 | Track: 10 / 11 (Complete Soundtrack)
Master of Darkness / Vampire (Sega Master System) aka: Vampire: Master of Darkness / In the Wake of Vampire (Game Gear)
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Fumie Kumatani, Yoko Wada Year: 1992
Tracklist: 1 - Intro 2 - Story 3 - Thames River 4 - Boss Theme 5 - The House of Wax Dolls 6 - Epitaph 7 - Laboratory 8 - In the Wake of Dracula 9 - Final Battle 10 - Jingles (Round Start, Stage Clear, Round Clear, Death) 11 - Ending
VGM playback sampled from in_vgm v0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.Vampire: Master of Darkness Music (SMS) - Final Battleexplod2A032011-06-01 | Track: 9 / 11 (Complete Soundtrack)
Master of Darkness / Vampire (Sega Master System) aka: Vampire: Master of Darkness / In the Wake of Vampire (Game Gear)
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Fumie Kumatani, Yoko Wada Year: 1992
Tracklist: 1 - Intro 2 - Story 3 - Thames River 4 - Boss Theme 5 - The House of Wax Dolls 6 - Epitaph 7 - Laboratory 8 - In the Wake of Dracula 9 - Final Battle 10 - Jingles (Round Start, Stage Clear, Round Clear, Death) 11 - Ending
VGM playback sampled from in_vgm v0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.Vampire: Master of Darkness Music (SMS) - In the Wake of Dracula (Round 5)explod2A032011-06-01 | Track: 8 / 11 (Complete Soundtrack)
Master of Darkness / Vampire (Sega Master System) aka: Vampire: Master of Darkness / In the Wake of Vampire (Game Gear)
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Fumie Kumatani, Yoko Wada Year: 1992
Tracklist: 1 - Intro 2 - Story 3 - Thames River 4 - Boss Theme 5 - The House of Wax Dolls 6 - Epitaph 7 - Laboratory 8 - In the Wake of Dracula 9 - Final Battle 10 - Jingles (Round Start, Stage Clear, Round Clear, Death) 11 - Ending
VGM playback sampled from in_vgm v0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.Vampire: Master of Darkness Music (SMS) - Laboratory (Round 4)explod2A032011-06-01 | Track: 7 / 11 (Complete Soundtrack)
Master of Darkness / Vampire (Sega Master System) aka: Vampire: Master of Darkness / In the Wake of Vampire (Game Gear)
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Fumie Kumatani, Yoko Wada Year: 1992
Tracklist: 1 - Intro 2 - Story 3 - Thames River 4 - Boss Theme 5 - The House of Wax Dolls 6 - Epitaph 7 - Laboratory 8 - In the Wake of Dracula 9 - Final Battle 10 - Jingles (Round Start, Stage Clear, Round Clear, Death) 11 - Ending
VGM playback sampled from in_vgm v0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.Vampire: Master of Darkness Music (SMS) - Epitaph (Round 3)explod2A032011-06-01 | Track: 6 / 11 (Complete Soundtrack)
Master of Darkness / Vampire (Sega Master System) aka: Vampire: Master of Darkness / In the Wake of Vampire (Game Gear)
Developer, Publisher: Sega Composer: Fumie Kumatani, Yoko Wada Year: 1992
Tracklist: 1 - Intro 2 - Story 3 - Thames River 4 - Boss Theme 5 - The House of Wax Dolls 6 - Epitaph 7 - Laboratory 8 - In the Wake of Dracula 9 - Final Battle 10 - Jingles (Round Start, Stage Clear, Round Clear, Death) 11 - Ending
VGM playback sampled from in_vgm v0.35. Visit track 1 from this selection for a download link.