Uploaded February 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Free download: m-a-t-o.bandcamp.com/track/wily-stage-mega-man-2

A lot more info below ↓

I'm trying out OBS for capturing video, because in this case, the framerate is more important than the resolution. I'm really trying to get as much performance as possible from my notebook. Tell me what you think about the quality in the comments!

I made this remix 4 months ago. While playing Mega Man 2, when I first heard this song, I really liked it and started thinking about how I could remix it to make it sound even better, while using the same hardware. I tried using Famitracked before, but I had no idea how to use it so I put it away for a while. Then, about a year ago, I came across this video [ youtube.com/watch?v=Pf5y4SLET4Y ] which shows a track from VVVVVV covered in Famitracker, which inspired me to give it another chance and learn how to use it. I also watch 8-bit Music Theory's video on the composition side of Mega Man music, and began to make my remix.

I realized that it would be hard to have decent drum kit sounds with NES's basic sound chip, the 2a03, so I used an expansion chip from Namco, N163. I didn't need all 5 channels, but the way the chip lets me use custom waveforms really helped me with adding extra instruments and harmonies. I used the 2a03's pulse tracks for the melody, trying to make it sound as close to the original. [ youtube.com/watch?v=N4VtxWRfPOk ]

For the drums, I loaded the DPCM channel with 5 samples that I got from FL Studio's pre-installed packs, which took up 7kb after converting. It was a challenge to get the best kick drum sound, but I ended up with a very punchy and deep kick. Still, the DPCM channel was very quiet, and pretty noisy. That's why I combined it with the Noise and N163 tracks to get a decent sound. For easy orientation, they're next to each other: Noise, DPCM and Namco track 1. In some places I also doubled the sound to Namco 3. The bass is made up from the Triangle wave track and Namco 2, which has a deep saw sound. The pad, or the background filling tone is placed in Namco 4, and it has a slow timbre to be more cool.

An interesting part is quickly moving the melody from 2a03 to N163 between the frames 12 and 13. I wanted to use the Pulse tracks for the echoed background melody, but I still had to finish the main melody, so I made a N163 instrument that sounds really close to the 25% Pulse instrument. (You can't use the same instrument settings for different sound chips, because they work differently.) It sounded a bit noisy, but that's okay, because I needed to use it only for a few notes.

To spice things up, I added a break at frame 14 with a nice drum solo, and there are some low intensity sections at frames 8 and 1C. (Frames can be seen in the top left black square) They make anticipation for the next parts of the song.

I decided that I'll make the MP3 for this available at 12 likes (Reached!) and I'll upload the Famitracker exported text at 24 likes (Reached!). Thanks for listening!

Update: 25. 2. - Reached 12 likes! MP3 now available at instaud.io/1orq (with panned Pulse channels).
Update: 10. 3. - Reached 24 likes! Famitracker file now available at pastebin.com/YrW406Du
Update: 11. 6. - I beat Mega Man 2!
Update: 3. 8. 2021 - FLAC download now available at m-a-t-o.bandcamp.com/track/wily-stage-mega-man-2