The Music of Video Games [17] Kid Icarus

[MetaFish]

This song sucks cock.

[KonaKonaKaabisteru]

Why Smash left out Skyworld? D:

Ah, how much I miss those tedious days of playing this.The painful Underworld, Dungeons, freeing Centurions, getting so much hearts as I can to buy a candle and a pen for a map, getting turned into an eggplant 60 times in a row, hopping through the overworld, trying my best outdo the Zeus's endurance challenges, happily hiking up the Skyworld- and I still approve the looping shooting level.

BTW 3-4 was so much a pain, it made some serious damage to my brain.

[zerozebra]

2:38 that scary azz ghost going apeshit, lmao

[MrDante83]

nice but short...

[FlameAdder]

Oh man, that ending theme. It needs to be orchestrated.

[forerunner06]

haha, first time I heard the music at 1:22 in Links Quest for ass 2 xD

[mephisto39]

Ahhhhh, nostalgia does a body good :)

[waZelda]

I was afraid that he would get farther in four and a half minutes than I ever did in the game. luckily he didn't.

[fuckedup610]

Brings back the memory. Played this one the most!! Amazing game.!!!

[razorblade42069]

Awesome, bravo. Thanks for taking the time & effort to create and post these videos. I have always dreamed of creating a History of video games museum. Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka and Kid Icarus & Metroids music has been a huge reason I fell in love with games. One Nintendo game with great music I don't see is Kid Niki: Radical Ninja.

[CMOODO]

this song hurts my ears lmao

[4583945]

I think it's impossible for anyone to hate Kid Icarus. If you do, you have no soul.

[shaunberry1982]

I got my First NES when I was 5 years old in 87, Typical day, Get up, Play Super Mario Brothers, The legend of Zelda and Festers Quest. Watch Back to the Future, go out attempt to recreate the scene with the clock tower= tree and rope= rope burned hand. good old days.

[shaunberry1982]

I miss Steping into a store and seeing NES games on the shelves, I remember the old days. Very nostalgic, I wish I could walk into a store full of cardboard boxes with pictures of games on them just one last time, to rip open that brand new golden nintendo seal of approval. Ahh the days, thank god I was born when I was to see it all happen. 80's was the turning point in the games industry.

[mongorians22]

god hip tanaka was a great composer. this and his songs from the first metroid need to be more apreciated. kraids theme, the beginning theme from metroid, the enging music from metroid, and this all need to come back

[ijustshtmypants]

@mongorians22

There's a sweet 23 minute video of Hip kickin ass live on Vimeo- "Hip Tanaka @ Cheapbeats".

Check it out if you haven't already.

[GialloHorror]

Kid Icarus is one of my Top 5 video games of all time!! I love this game just as much today, as I did back in 1987!

LOL @ that grim reaper. That dude used to piss me off so bad.

The funny thing about Kid Icarus was that it was one of the few games that, actually, got easier the farther you got. The 1st couple of boards were hell, and those stupid eggplant asshole used to piss me off all the time LOL! LOOOOOOL!!!

Ah man, what memories!

[KonaKonaKaabisteru]

@GialloHorror How come I wasn't the only one who noticed that? (-lvl-);

Skyworld was awesome to beat when I killed many guys easily in one shot with all Zeus's weapons.

[GialloHorror]

@KonaKonaKaabisteru Hell yeah man. Skyworld was my favorite. I liked on level 9 how right away you'd get a hot springs room to fill up your energy.

Levels 9-11 were definitely my favorite

[CMOODO]

They should just realease 'Classic Nintendo' and re-release all the old games and lots of new games for $10-25 each, it's rediculas paying $100+ for a mega man game, eaven if they released it on disc form or shrunk the cartrages, would sill be great, the games that the re-release could have red cartrages and be 'greatest hits' like they do now hahaha

All the music on new games is gay most of it is just real music, witch is all gay now

[nintygaming]

One of the hardest games of all time, yet an instant classic.

What is it with old-school gamers like us? Why are we such glutton's for punishment of insanely difficult games?

[Luxuryball]

Aww, I wanted to see him beat the game. ;_;

[morrowindarcherman]

Win, i havent been able to find the original version of this on youtube until now it was like at the bottom of the list when you search "Kid Icarus Theme" lol

[TheTallMan35]

Where's the music of skyworld?

[ThePotterman10]

8Bit ftw

[KrazyKali69]

2:52 reovlutionary war music? lol

[thedavidmo]

8uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

[CrazyJimLiZarD]

Only bad thing with that is your arrow strength isn't the same as if you played through legit.

[Quez256]

This and Adventure Island, the 2 games that taught you that eggplant is evil

[morrowindarcherman]

@Quez256 lol

[samuelwilliams]

i used to think the healing well in the temples was a sand pit when i was a kid, so i used to press down and walk back and forth thinking i was a crab. Man the things you did as a kid lol >> take me back

[evilmidget]

this game had some great music, but it was one of the most challenging platformers i have ever played.

[jroseka]

agreed, so f-ing hard

[TuucciZ]

There is memorable music these days, especially by Nintendo. Metroid Prime series has wonderful pieces, and so do the Paper Mario series, and Super Mario Galaxy.

The difference is that the music pieces of the old games are treated as common knowledge, whereas the newer games and their songs are yet to become common-knowledge classics.

[BeefBoullionaire]

@TuucciZ Yeah... I also think that people are just less impressed with game music in current games now that the technology has caught up. Now that they can take any piece of recorded music and stick it in a game, there's nothing separating "video game music" from music in general anymore. In the old days, it took more of a composer/programmer to come up with awesome tunes while working within the constraints of a system's sound hardware.

[TuucciZ]

@BeefBoullionaire Video game music still has one advantage: What's around the piece. In my other comment, I mentioned the Metroid Prime series. Giving a couple of it's songs to someone who hasn't played the games doesn't generally make a fan.

But hey, give them a controller, and the music will suddenly sound nothing short of amazing.

[FireJigglypuff2310]

@TuucciZ

The difference is that older games' music had to rely on a good melody to be good. Now, most video game music is an orchestra playing a few notes that will not be remembered.

[AitoHidenori]

@TuucciZ The difference is there were only a few "old games." Today, there is a huge amount of video games with an even vaster array of soundtracks, with a fairly diverse consumer market, so likely, a lot of video game music produced today will not become "classics" like the Mario brothers theme because it is just one piece in a giant assortment of others to choose from.

[TuucciZ]

@AitoHidenori True, that has to do with it as well. And it's not only the amount of games, it's usually the amount of music in those games which causes an overload of tunes... And the role of that abundance of music. These days, videogame music is more often ambience or background music due to the wide selection of sound effects and voices there are. In earlier games, the soundscape was empty for the most part, so the music was used to fill that gap.

[AitoHidenori]

@TuucciZ Okay...so if you agree with all of that, what was with your first comment which was at least insinuative of the contrary?

[TuucciZ]

@AitoHidenori "Has to do with it as well." The songs of older games are more likely to become classics for a multitude of reasons - among them the reason you pointed out.

[AitoHidenori]

@TuucciZ Alright, that has nothing to do with what I just asked you, unless what you meant in your original comment was not what is actually written and inferred there, so I think something is being lost in translation in this situation...

[TuucciZ]

@AitoHidenori I dunno, I'm confused and have about 20 hours of sleep deprivation. lol.

[ShootAndSpin]

@TuucciZ I think the music almost HAD to be good because it was so present during gameplay. In today's games there is so much going on in them, whereas in the 8-bit games all you had were basic sound effects and music all at one volume level. I haven't played some of these games in over 20 years, and I can still remember a lot of the music note-for-note. 20 years from now I bet there'll only be a small portion of game music I can remember.

[TuucciZ]

@ShootAndSpin Absolutely true. That doesn't necessarily make the new music worse, though, it just doesn't have that great a role - and even more importantly just because old music had to be good doesn't mean it always successfully reached that goal.

[ShootAndSpin]

@TuucciZ I agree completely. There has been some amazing music for games in the past couple decades, and there have been some games in the 80's that really missed the mark.

[TheMostTruth]

@TuucciZ i do not concure. the old video games had better songs (in general) but still, yes there are great music today aswell. but not the same thing since everyone today doesn't have to use the same modulator : p

[TuucciZ]

@TheMostTruth The music of yesterday was better because everyone was limited by the same video game console capabilities? I didn't exactly get your point, but I'm guessing you're referring to that it's quite a feat to be able to create versatile, moody soundtracks with nothing but blips and bleeps. I do agree, but that does not make the music better in absolute quality.

[NeuralNetProcessor]

@TuucciZ That is actually a very good point. Props on that and also your ability to spell real words.

[P4W3R]

I like this and the intro of metroid!

[breathingreflection]

2:17 marks the first level where those annoying little jerks try to steal your stuff!

[johrons]

i would stand in one spot just to hear the music

[FrameRate22]

you're not the only one

[Anciegher]

they don't make as memorable music now as compared to back at the nes/snes times :(

[SegaDudeIsHere]

Mario Galaxy is memorable.

[hikarinoryu]

agreed

[killermonkeyto]

F-Zero X was good too

[Camwi]

For the most part, I agree with you. But there are some memorable game soundtracks these days. LittleBigPlanet comes to mind.

As for Kid Icarus, those first few levels were so damn hard for me, but the game (and music) was so enjoyable anyways.

[snus666]

My top Nes list is as follow

1) Journey to silius

2) Metriod

3) Shadowgate

4) Faxanadu

5) Duck Tales

[LCDscreen2521]

Yay Kid Icarus! Fun game, though it seems to get a lot of hate. D:

I've played and beaten the Gameboy one, it was really easy... I should probably get the NES one some time.

Fuck Pitt in Smash Bros., though. "YAYAYAYAYAYA!" >: (

[Kl4pp5tuhl]

Agreed. Nintendo could have had their own "God Of War"-like Character, and instead they decide to put him in as the small kiddie cupid he was back then.

Nintendo's "Keep it Childish" Policy is getting on my nerves & nuts.

[XvDarkArcanavX]

Yeah their editing of games is a bunch of horse shit. They turned the chainsaw maniacs in Zombies Ate My Neighbors into lumberjacks for fucks sake.

[Kl4pp5tuhl]

What is unacceptable is that some of those censored games were sold uncensored in Japan.

They kept the best stuff to themselves.

[liquemascis]

I wanted to hear this music again so I looked it up and here it is! I only remember the game for it's music. Probably the best ever on the NES.

[frenchfrey65]

u know i never played this game till last year, and u know what, it does need a new game, it's awesome, hard, but awesome

[SgtRedHotPepper]

Man, this game is hard...downloaded it on VC, never even heard of Pitt before. Eggplant dudes can go to hell - I hate those f&*%ers!!

Sweet game, though. Things change up quite a bit after the first temple - side scrolling was even better than going up and up.

Thx Gar

[number999999999]

yup still its gamethis hard who made us great gamers today -_- now with all their easy game we make them try a game fro mthe nes and they cant even complete 1 level (ask a 1year to 15year to do circus and youll see XD)

[nicezombies]

favorite game of ALL TIME!

[dulcebase]

What a great game. I wonder why they never made any more besides the game boy version?

[microblan]

This game pwns... It was so fun to play!

[jonnyveliky]

Just like on Super Smash Brothers Brawl

My favorite one next to Famicom Meledy(random NES games), Green Hill Zone(Sonic 1), Emerald Hill Zone(Sonic 2), & Cavern(Metal Gear Solid)

And what's weird is that I don't play that much Metal Gear...well, not since 1998 on that Pizza Hut demo disc when they put Metal Gear Solid on that(when Snake had no facial hair & had both eyes).

Snake had a point about Kid Icarus with the constant "Game Over" issue Pit had. Honestly, I Epic Fail'D at Kid Icarus.

[pianomaster24]

This opening still gives me chills :D

[RaustBD]

especially the brawl version.

It has the feeling that somebody presumed dead makes a triumphant reappearance saving everyone.

[armandroh666]

1:22 to 2:18. one of the most epic themes in gameing history.

[brothermopsy]

Those are the same doorways from rygar! LOL!!!!!!!

[sabombardonist]

Why do the old games get awesomely epic music?

[fredyellowone]

yea, why? its crazy!

[Kl4pp5tuhl]

Because Companies still cared about them at that point.

[Kl4pp5tuhl]

I TAKE MY STATEMENT BACK! There are still companies who care!!!

Look up "Owlboy" on Youtube, first Video.

Great Music!!!

[Undechypheredcrab]

@sabombardonist Because back then, games actually deserved epic music.

[CMOODO]

@sabombardonist

The only game with good music in the past 15 years is red dead redemption, and that music wasn't even that good

[sabombardonist]

@CMOODO I disagree. MOTHER 3 had EXCELLENT music, as did the Golden Sun series, the Metroid Prime Series, Halo series, Final Fantasy series, Super Mario Galaxy 1&2, and several others.

[IRSPONGEBOB]

@CMOODO Sin and Punishment 2 says hi...Oh, and F-Zero...And Starfox...And the trailer music from "Kid Icarus: Uprising."

[CMOODO]

@IRSPONGEBOB

What

[IRSPONGEBOB]

@CMOODO You're not going to say hi back?

[AlexRaykin]

@sabombardonist I think the fact that they were limited in texture and dynamics and many other elements. Those vast limitation made them focus on beautiful melody, harmony, and rhythm.

[thebiggreen101]

@sabombardonist because they were composed by software that had unique squares, noise, and triangles. Also, it was standard: no matter what company, it all sounded the same.

>> Another thing: i own this on NES, so type in 8uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu... in the password select screen.

[asl19999]

@sabombardonist originiality has died. Shit like COD is released every year; killing the industry.

[Samoutuomas]

@asl19999 Thank god for indie games. Independent developers are making the real innovative games right now and replacing most big companies, just like before. Activision/COD etc. has only killed (or almost killed) the mainstream games industry. Activision already caused the video game market crash of North America in the 80's by making shitty rehashes and bad ports of arcade games for consoles (which Nintendo brought back from the grave with Super Mario and NES), now they are doing it AGAIN!! :/

[quocdarock]

@Samoutuomas COD4 brought a lot of innovation then they milked it and now.... meh. =/

[demandred753]

That level 2 theme is awesome.

[aguyok]

One of the best Videogame Soundtracks on the NES, Period

[fordieform]

omgods i love this game

-hero

[andruko7]

i want this song on my ipod

[Alkaline67]

Great game. It's very different, but that makes it all the more charming. The music, composed by the brilliant Hip Tanaka, is some of the finest work on the NES.

[TheFurryProductions]

I don't care what anyone says! Kid Icarus was a vastly underrated game and didn't get the fame it deserves! Kid Icarus was awesome, and still is awesome! Long live Pit, and may he appear once more for a Wii game!

[snus666]

Time to dust of the old nes and start playing, will be a cool experience to see this on a 42" flatscreen and hear the music in a my surround, yeah i know that i cant hear it in sourround ;P

[GypsyRed]

I've never played this... even as a kid. I'm kinda curious though... Pretty cool soundtrack.

[CalmedNutHead]

was this game on turbo grafx? too dont hurt muy rep?

[AlucardsQuest]

No this was made by Nintendo for Nintendo systems. The easiest way to play the game now is on the Virtual Console.

[Sontaki]

no it was on nes

[Dispale]

really good experience game

[asl19999]

classic

[jamiehouse73]

my God was this game amazing on gameboy. I beat this one too... but i never played it on NES. wow...

those fucking snakes!! hahahaha... u just hit 999 of them, and u had enough money to buy ANYTHYING!!! I would just kill enough of those and beat the crap out of everything! haha

[AquamentusZero]

You missed something. It was hard, but gtreat fun. I strongly recommend getting it on emulator.

[MadCircle01]

different game though, sort of a sequel to this one

[DKongfreak]

IWSTK!

[doppleganger4827]

Never played this game, I guess since it came out around the time I was born. I heard much about it, of course. TomBobBlender (does Mario Paint music & Let's Plays) mentions this game a lot for some reason.

[MadCircle01]

same badass that made the metroid tracks!

[GypsyRed]

You can pick up the same style almost immediately. I love stuff like that. :D

[ZONICvsMARIO]

LMAO u say its (1987) but even the kid icarus title screen says (1986) ^_~

[garudoh]

It was released in Japan in 1986. I use North American dates (when available) for my videos.

[CMOODO]

@ZONICvsMARIO

haha i was thinking the exact thing, i thought it was a typo

[Rubberman202]

Yes, yes, YES!!!

[rickhh1]

Would have liked it if you included the underworld (1-4/2-4/3-4 level music) and the world 3 music too. But still a great collection in this video.

[Markell1991]

The game scrolls up well for a NES game. Nice!

[Uborpriest]

great series :)