Gaming died with the first generation of 3D consoles (PS1 / N64). The graphics used to look so clean, but now it's just block polygons. Even the new 3D stuff kinda sucks most of the time.
No, it has 5. Two square wave, 1 triangle wave and 1 noise channel. There's a DPCM channel for samples, but it's mostly used for voice and sounds like the drums on Super Mario Bros. 3.
It si worth mentioning that the MT-32 was not a PSG, but a MIDI-synth. MIDI makes it way less complicated for artists to make music, but it does provide some limitations for how much flexibility programmers have over the sound generator.
But I would say that the sound isn't the issue; It's the arrangements in terms of the sound. The range of sounds a PSG can provide is quite limited, so much more effort was put into the arrangement. Still, there are a lot of recent games that has good music.
MIDI is widely used in videogames.(maybe even today)
Prime example is the Final Fantasy series,since the 7th,Nobuo started using MIDI and it made it a lot easier for him to make music for next three Final Fantasy games,as well as other Square's games and remakes.Until PS2 era,it was the actual hardware (or softsynths) playing actual MIDIs,now you get recorded playback from MIDI synthesizers.
Mate, you are so right about what TRUE video game music really is. Heck I built a retro game PC and I'm using a Roland MT-32 and a Roland Sound Canvas SC-55mkII for DOS game MIDI music.
You were right about that Tiny Toons Mega Drive (Genesis) vs SNES, another fine example is Police Quest I VGA (1992) for the PC which can either use the MT-32 or the SC-55 or even OPL2. And it sounds best using the MT-32 (1987) where the SC-55 (1991) is the "new" tech.
Just wanted to throw in there that the Genesis version of TTA sounds better IN YOUR OPINION. I think the SNES version sounds more realistic, it's just that you played the Genesis version louder to bring out the subtleties more.
As far as games sticking with chiptune music...hrmm...I don't know, but I think it depends on the game. The new 8bit Megaman games of course should have chiptunes, but it sure would feel odd playing WoW with bomb drums and bloopy blips. Just sayin...
I loved it when games had redbook audio... but I'm the only person who loved it.
(Final Fight CD had the greatest music ever.)
anyway, there are modern genres of music that are similar to classic video game songs. (Drum and bass being the most obvious). it's jsut that the guys doing game music now either think they have to make epic orchestral scores to compete with film, or they cop out and use liscensed tracks because it's easy.
I love the intent of this video, but CDs offered a consistent quality of music from system to system across PCs. I was a weirdo, I always spent a lot of money to get fairly decent sound. So I love great MIDI music. I think that the PC version of FFVII is more enjoyable because I have Yamaha XG hardware. But everyone else had SB16s and were stuck with crappy sound. I would love to have MIDI options, it works better for some/many VGs that don't look "real."
@professors84 Well this is a 3 year old video, so you're kind of banking on the fact that I wouldn't learn anything until you just posted. So really you're the one who's late to the party.
snes music works on the same basis as .mod, .s3m, .xm, and .it so it maintains a small file size (even smaller for mega drive and nes)
i hate the huge .mp3 especialy when used in game maker games (of course alot of people also use midi) as it takes forever to load and when it does the game sometimes crashes
You know which game blew the genesis chip with it´s outstanding soundtrack? Thunder Force IV, Technosoft really did one of the best Genesis and 16 bit generatioon soundtracks Ever
Agree. Video game music these days is awful...like ear bleedingly awful. I miss the old era of video game music. Once games became 3D and shit it became awful. Mass Effect, Deus Ex, Halo, all those games have shitty BGM specially compared to classics like Mario, Donkey Kong, Monkey Island.
I love chiptunes, and I love the Genesis sound more the SNES sound even though I played a lot more SNES than Genesis back in the day. But in this video, the Genesis version sounds better partially because it's much louder.
Also, showing one example that supports your argument is called cherry picking.
The Genesis rendered each note on the spot and allowed the harmonic signature of each note to vary. To achieve this on SNES would have required using a lot more samples, eating up memory.
"But in this video, the Genesis version sounds better partially because it's much louder."
I was saying the Genesis version sounds better because its a closer sounding adaption to the original cartoon version. This is more of a case of sound direction than hardware though.
"Also, showing one example that supports your argument is called cherry picking." True but this video is old and I'm too lazy to revise my points. I just leave it up for archival purposes.
Honestly, I could have done this video a WHOLE lot better with more illustrated points but honestly I just don't care anymore. Partially because Mega Man 9 happened but also the article I posted in the description. The SNES was sample based and the Genesis generates. The hardware is apples and oranges but there were some games that just sounded better on Genesis and vice versa. It's like how the original Monkey Island is preferred with Adlib over Amiga's sound hardware.
The Genesis version was being compared to the original track from the cartoon in terms of how close it sounds to Shirley Walker's original composition.
THE SOUND QUALITY WASN'T BEING MEASURED, IT WAS THE CONSISTENCY OF THE FUCKING ARRANGEMENT! I'm so sick of explaining this shit.
Even though it's mostly unheard of to have 8- and 16-bit music in modern games, I feel that the chiptunes of old have more atmosphere to them (for the most part).
Most of the current video game music basically samples or recreates (or remixes) old video game music, which shows just how timeless some of the old tracks were.
@NuclearSidewalk I was looking past the choice of instruments and more to how the sequencing was done =/
The SNES one OBVIOUSLY has better instruments and is an arrangement of the Sheryl Stoner track from the cartoon. The Genesis one despite the grainy instruments while also a rearrangement closely resembles the track from the cartoon in terms of how it's sequenced. Had the sequences from both games been switched, I'd say I'd like the SNES better because of the way the track is composed.
Don't forget Robert Prince from ID Software. He scored wolfenstein 3d and Doom. Some artists have done modern metal covers of the Doom tunes and they sound great with real instruments!
yup, the music in DOOM was absolutely sick. if i'm right, it was composed so it sounds the same when it's played backwards, to piss off all those silly people who thought there are satanic lyrics backmasked into rock music...
that is, if there wasn't enough satanic graphics in the game itself, hehe.
The only noticeable backwards part is the intro to level 30 (Icon Of Sin) from Doom 2. After warping into the main room you hear a weird backwards voice. When reversed, you hear it say "To win the game you must kill me, John Romero"!
I am a composer for films, but my greatest dream is to score a videogame using only pc-speaker sound. If you want to be impressed, check out the pc-speakversion of Monkey Island 2. If you can find it.
If the composition is great, it doesn't matter what hardware is being used to play it, being it chip or streamed music.
But... Composers on classic systems were faced with much more limitations, and thus HAD to be much more creative to make great music.
If you compose everything on your home PC, having practically no limitations, a lot of people suddenly produce much less sophisticated work as when they had to cope with limitations.
I remember my bro told me about golden days of gaming (Not the 70's but rather th 80's) Many games were unique in music like the mario bros. tune,and when I heard the the nes batman....I was blown away. So in truth I linda get the point what you were trying to say. Thanks for making this video and P.s:Love the classic bit tunes :D
There's nothing wrong with modern videogames music. Think about Ocarina of time, the first Tomb Raider, Halo's main theme, the soundtracks from Wipeout and Wipeout 2097, World of Warcraft, Oblivion, Mass Effect soundtracks.
Everything from Nobuo Uematsu is brilliant, think about the soundtrack of Lost Odyssey!
The problem imho isn't in using more complex sounds instead of chip musics, but the fact most game producers don't put much effort into having a good soundtrack.
My position isn't the sound hardware itself but how people have used it. It doesn't bode well for me when Redbook Audio or Streamed Music is used in games in place of MIDI due to the lack of subtlety. Often when "real" bands have their music on a game. I have little problem with orchestrated music, Mario Galaxy is proof of that. I just think it suffers from being streamlined and the sound direction tends to go one way when it does.
Maybe the technical limits of the old gaming systems forced the people working on the games soundtracks to be more imaginative.
Not only that, but, as with programming, the littler game companies were, the most they seemed to put effort in sponsoring the best geniuses in programming, designing and music composing.
some actual game have game typed music, Some composer use Roland Sound Canvas or Yamaha MU sound module who is really good for this type of music, other will take more realistic sound from actual sound module.
For me SC or MU is better than anything else to compose music game.
Or even tu sso ound oldschool the MT-32.
Quality sound it's subjectif, poor quality sound can sound good, SSH use YamahaMU2000 elecrtique Guitar, not realistic at all, but it's sound so good. it's a exemple like others
Perhaps you should have talked about LucasArts' iMUSE system that could blend different MIDI musical scores together in a seamless fashion to create the *ultimate* gaming experience. This is not something that can be done in games with CD audio tracks or games that use MP3s, or OGG, or whatever inflexible music file format the developers chose.
The beauty of hardware sound is that the machine can change it on the fly (as iMUSE has proven) to make a seamless transition to a changing situation.
It's the tools. The evolution of gaming music correlates with the evolution of soundcards. :)
The charm of old school gaming music is that the limited hardware and software forced composers to be really creative. They worked against limitations. Today you can buy one program and produce any kind of music you like, from pop to metal to techno to classical. It's all there. So maybe it's a question of preference? Nostalgia? :)
It's a bit like arguing that we should still be making games in 8-bit. The music is allowed to mature along with the visuals imo. You may prefer a certain style or sound but I hardly think that qualifies as evidence that game music has lost it's bearings or "died."
Could've fooled me with 6 minutes devoted to tech and like 30 seconds to the actual composition.
But what's with your comparison? It's two different arrangements from different composers from different games. If any one sounds better it's because the arranger is better, it has nothing to do with the system other than the obvious sound quality.
So what exactly is your point? Better composers write better music? Or that games can skate on high quality sounds opposed to high quality writing?
I dunno, I want to agree with you but I don't think I can completely. I love music for the old systems because I love crunchy synth sounds and because of their limited resources the music usually had to be pretty upbeat and/or catchy.
That being said, as games become more theatrical experiences their composers will draw on the same techniques used in movie scoring. The only thing, I think, that better technology has done is enable the composer to come closer to what he actually invisions.
I agree man, that was a good video. But... you seriously think that the Genesis version of Tiny Toons sounds better than the SNES version? To me, all of the music that was similar to a port of a game always sounded cheap.
When I talk about this I used Sparkster for expample (graphics too).
I don't like to say that any synthesizer is 'better' than any other... just different. I think all synths can make sounds which are interesting or unique in some ways. There were Megadrive games which had amazing music which wouldn' work on a SNES, or SNES games which had great tunes which wouldn't be as good on a Megadrive... and the NES sounded great too (in its own way).
SNES can handle wavetable music, so it's a plus if your looking for something that handles like an orchestra, vocal samples and clear pitched instruments.
Genesis however is great for FM synthesis. While not particularly good with samples as the SPC700 chip, there is a certain type of mood that can be achieved with FM sound.
It's arguably apples and oranges. Handles well on their own right but sucks to compare.
Journey to Silius - I still dream of the music to that game after not playing it for years! I programmed a few MODs in my day. Props to the old school! I wish I could export some SNES classics to CD.
Even if you don't support emulation, the community has a few tools in which you can playback tracks from console games as if were running in sound test.
You can use these applications, make waves or MP3s of the files in question and put them on a CD-R if that's what you're talking about.
I have some ripped NES and SNES sound files. I could probably just have Winamp dump to Wave, after I reinstall it. I like that the old Winamp had native MOD support. Once upon a time, I was hunting for MODs online and came across a new format: MP3
I always thought the Snes was an oddball for video game music, it sounds more realistic than NES and Genesis, but I always knew something was missing. I still like a lot of Snes music, but none of my favorites I like because of having realistic samples. Infact most of my favorite songs have the least realistic music in Snes games because they brings me back to my childhood of game music the most. I'm more interested in the character of the instrament than the realism of it.
Nice vid. Had to disagree with the Genesis sounding better on TTA . Funny how the volume gets obviously turned down on the SNES version and turned way up for the Genesis version. There's some dope Genesis music/sound though. Ghouls N Ghosts. Revenge of Shinobi. Phantsay Star II, Gaiares, Sonic 1, Valis 3, etc. It's all a matter of taste. Do you want higher fidelity, more dynamics, but softer safer sound of the SNES? Or the OG raw synth grit of the Genesis. I like both.
The TTA track that sounded better wasn't based on sound quality (and for you implying that I intentionally muted the SNES music, shame on you. Marginal errors are merely human mistakes, not a means of sabotage). It was actually based on how the derived track compares to Sheryl Stoner's original track on the show (because the track in question DID come from the show), in which the composition is closer in heart. The instruments sound "real" on the SNES, but that alone can only do so much.
Chiptune has its renessaince, I mean I was trying out NFS: UC and felt like going back to the 80's sometimes, when hifi meets retrosynth. Also, there are SID Metal bands like Armcannon and Machinae Supermacy, so don't underestimate 8 bit music just yet. I personally love to mix the SPIRIT of gametunes into some of my music, because I miss not the instruments, but the atmosphere of those games, especially from my Amiga. (R.I.P. buddy, always loved you.)
well, i agree with you to a certain extent. i dunno bout chipped music but i do think that video game music is dying. even the latest zelda, i dont remember a single tune to it but i loved and still remember the N64 zeldas music really well.
getting the music right for video games is very hard, but i think nostalgia is tainting your memory a bit, there were just as many games with awful music back then as there is now i think (too many)
Though mp3's have possibly made programmers a lot lazier about it. Music can really change a game if done right, outrun, monkey island, turrican, system shock and loads more wouldnt be remebered anywhere near as fondly without the soundtracks.
I think the reason you see this is games are focusing on atmosphere over memorable music. The only two I know that manage to keep both is Zelda and Metroid.
I think a game like Oblivion was an example of one that could have kept atmosphere and had memorable tunes for each town but they didn't.
The main problem IMO is just games are trying to be more like movies and if you are in a warzone in Call of Duty 4 you don't want to hear some tune because the game is so cinematic.
It would be foolish to play CoD4's score on a Roland or SID sounding tools because like you said, it looks more like a movie.
Fortunately, a game like Castlevania benefits from said evolution.
Should sound direction evolve simply because the tools have become available? In order to stand by this position, one must assume that this applies to game development on a general scale not just sound.
Sidenote: i actually listen to chiptunes more then real music. the only non-chiptune albums on my iPod are Jeff Wayne's WOTW and The orange box sountrack.
It's not about trying so hard; it's about improvment. i'm so glad that the game industry decided to replace those damn beeps and bloops with an actual genre or with an orchestra. and what did you mean they forgot where they came from? what type of BS is that? >:1
I think the message in this video is highly misunderstood. It's not about the tools. What I was getting at was that COMPOSITIONS lack character in today's games. The fact that games used blips and bloops back then is merely incidental. I mean Hook on the freakin' SNES was FAR from what you thought my message was and it kicks the crap out of most modern game music and it may as well have been streamed on redfuckingbook audio.
I'm just asking for some memorable tunes a bit more often.
i understood you. as i was listening to the songs in this vid, i couldn't see what the 'characteristics' you were talking about. i'm sure some of them have them, but to say that music from modern games has none, i have to disagree. game music from mainly from japan are amazingly good and display a good amount of personality and characteristics, such as 'the idol of the time and space' and 'out of darkness' from DMC4. the songs are gorgeous and they mix angelicness with elegance.
Hmmm... Quite an interesting video. I'm myself very big fan of chip/oldskool music from games (and just oldskool-written). I'm not very familiar with old consoles (coz i never had one, i was happy Speccy-user :) ) but some tunes i've heard (including in this video) sounded just amazing! But i think more modern games and chipmusic will not quite good blend together. Of course if the game itself made oldscoolish - the chip music will greatly improve athmosphere! Sry for my english - I'm russian :/
God. I remember how some nes game music would almost bring a tear to my eye. When I hear the original LoZ theme I get more hyped up than a kid watching the power rangers opening credits.
youre taking the argument too far: sure we all miss classic tracks but that does not mean that anything else isn't conducive to a good game! the sega version of the tinytunes song sounds more 'olschool' than the snes, but the snes sounds MUCH better and also better fits the game, with the 16bit graphics the environment changes and so must the music (there would be a mismatch between both) To sum it up: classics sound good not because they sound good but because they fit with the game in question
I could name so many games that would not be the same without the midi. Take a look at Zelda: Twilight Princess for example. I got a great feel from that game, but people whine saying "The music sucks, it has to be a real orchestra to be any good." yeah...bull...You have great music in that game and one of my other favorites is "Crusader:No Remorse" and it's sequel. That was midi (or MOD or something) and it still sounds great.
Not enough developers are composing midi-like music anymore. Some of the most well done music programming was done by RARE on the N64. Generally I find most SNES music more appealing but there was some magic that happened on the N64. The SNES was amazing because of it's Sony soundchip the N64 and Gameboy Advance use CPU power for the sound so most bad programmers used most of the power for graphics. RARE made a lot of great tunes that changed as you did or moved environments.
Call me crazy, but I think that gaming music is the only form of music I truely love. But the type and style of the music is also dependant to the style of the game. I dont think sound bytes would do justice to a game such as Shadow of the Collossus to give you that imersion feeling, but I dont think a recorded electric guitar solo would be fitting for a Castlevania game before Symphony besides Rondo. Likewise licnesed tracks are perfect for games like GTA to add immersion to it.
Well for DS, I'd like to see more games attempt FM synth or PSG if the mood of the game demands it.
Likewise I still want to hear modern videogames go for something less realistic and gritty and try to do that "little bit of everything and then some." type of thing...like when generic-cartoony characters such as Puggsy, Plok or Wix&Liz were created.
No one goes for that anymore I noticed, unless they're indie.
It's like how I'd like to hear some cheap MIDI used for point-and-clicks.
I too would like to hear some new soundbites in games but only if it creates some good immersion in the games. I wouldnt call it appealing to a game if, like Call of Duty 4, having realistic envoroments but music not sounding realistic. But for a game like Blue Dragon, not to insult Nobuo Uematsu for his great work, but a sound bite soundtrack would be perfect for that game due to it's old school cartooniness style.
Good video. Don't forget the Ay - 3 - 8912 Sinclair Spectrum / Atari ST etc. chip and also the mighty C64 SID chip. Also, SNES sound played at a frequency of 32000Khz as opposed to the 44.1Khz of standard CD Audio. I agree with you regarding certain Sega Megadrive tunes sounding better than their SNES equivalents. 'Mr. Nutz' was one example. Inferior sound chip but superior composition.
Oh, also, sorry for the quick edit. Does anyone know where I could get my hands on some program for the Mac that would let me make NES- and GBA-era chiptunes? Hopefully for free, although I'm open to the money cost variety if there's no choice or if freebies are massively inferior.
There are few tracker programs such as Cubase (costs 150 for the previous version which is good enough since it supports VST and trust me it has a crapload of plugins), Vocaloid (for chipmusic-sounding singing. Costs about $150 and in Japanese if you want Hatsune Miku) and Cherry which is free but it's also in Japanese. I'm no good with trackers seeing how I prefer to "play by keyboard" but I'm sure you can find something that works. I myself am also searching like you are though.
Some very excellent points there. I feel the same way. Music, be it low or high tech, should be based on how it fits into the game. And whoever that kid was at the beginning really knows nothing about game composition.
Man, you talked about chiptunes, and didnt mention the Commodore 64? You should at least play 'Monty on the Run'. The C64 made the demo scene, and it's what brought gaming music into the rest of the world.
Well the C64 was technically a home console, it was also marketed for its gaming ability. They even went so far as to make the Commodore GS, it looks a lot like an Atari, with the cartridge port on top, and the game ports on the front. It was sold ONLY for gaming. When it comes to music on the C64, the biggest place for them, the most popular place for them, was in games.
Which according to them is bad. FF7 was one that was first criticised. But if you can get a chance to find some sound tunes for 'Saga' or 'Zombies' check it out. I would have loved to have owned that. Oh, and 'Axelay' is another good one that makes some interesting uses of tunes while using certain notes to imitate atmosphere. I thought someone ripped it from the game. But this was on the actual soundtrack.
But of course when you try to be bigger and better something goes wrong. Like with the FF games. Not saying they were bad. But when fans were reviewing the older pieces they talked about the stuff that made them good. But as soon as things got to the PS1 there was a problem. Either the creator lost his touch. Or it was a case of "why is the sounds still like they came out of the 32-bit era, while being on a console that should support stereo sound.
The notable composers for that series was 'Nobuo Uematsu' (FF) and 'Kenji Ito', (Seiken series aka Mana series, aka FFL series). Listen to those and you'll be surprised. It had so long since I really listened to those "tinny" tunes. Yet they were enjoyable. I enjoy the music they have today but certain ones. But, again if the music moves you to play then the composers did the job right. Unfortunately we can't say that about everything. But yes I hate those that can't see it for what it was.
You made me realize something I always felt. I've collecting game soundtracks for years now. I just popped in the soundtrack for 'Saga', remember that series on the Gameboy? Yes, don't forget the music for the portables. They were just as good but again you needed a sound system to really hear their full potential. If you ever get the chance check out the tunes to that series. And again you'll see how well done they were just on a portable alone.
But also I could understand what made the medium so special. Even though the sound bytes were synthesized (when you compare it to stuff today) you could see how the composers really put their effort in despite their limitations. And yet you still got a really great pieces. You should have put 'MM' up there as an example. The first game is a great example that for it's day showed what could be done.
Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot that LucasArts did that one. Yeah, the SW games were great additions too. Again another one of your examples of games that used licensed tracks. Again it's 'LucasArts', so they can do that. So it's not like someone else had to do anything with it. But with 'Mario RPG' that's a good example of using licensed tunes composed by another company. The whole Square/Nintendo deal. The beauty of what made game music what it was.
Ah game music. So unappreciated these days. Especially the older stuff now since you have the bigger consoles. After watching your vid yesterday, while I couldn't understand all the tech mumbo jumbo I understood and felt it. I played games during that time and a good chunk of it was what got me into collecting it.
OMG, Journey to Silius...when I was a kid, I hooked my SNES up to my boombox and TAPED that music. True too what you said. Every single point you raised = agree. You are my kind of gamer, and the only reason I still tolerate this d*** site. I think that the ungrateful "Eternal Newbies" who refuse to acknowledge and appreciate gaming's past are to blame. They are taking a dump on the hobby.
Oops, meant NES. I'm sure one of the wee wittle baby gaming jackals would have jumped on me for that. Anyway, one other thing I forgot: Earthbound had great music because it DELIBERATELY went backwards in terms of art direction. Both graphically and aurally...but it did it with an insane level of polish and a clear agenda. It proves/proved that making a powerful atmosphere is better then making just GOOD music.
Gaming died with the first generation of 3D consoles (PS1 / N64). The graphics used to look so clean, but now it's just block polygons. Even the new 3D stuff kinda sucks most of the time.
NightshadesPromise2 3 months ago
NES itself has 4 channels,not 5,but it is expandable with chips on cartridges.
xan1242 6 months ago
@xan1242
No, it has 5. Two square wave, 1 triangle wave and 1 noise channel. There's a DPCM channel for samples, but it's mostly used for voice and sounds like the drums on Super Mario Bros. 3.
KeijiKG 6 months ago
@KeijiKG Oh I forgot about DPCM channel,nevermind...
xan1242 6 months ago
@xan1242 Only in japan me' boy, only in japan...
Maskakoopa 1 month ago
@Maskakoopa Action 52 has an expansion PCM.
xan1242 1 month ago
koji kondo- the motzart of the video game world. truly nintendo music still are great even to this day, but the snes/nes music are the best
supersmashbro596 7 months ago
It si worth mentioning that the MT-32 was not a PSG, but a MIDI-synth. MIDI makes it way less complicated for artists to make music, but it does provide some limitations for how much flexibility programmers have over the sound generator.
But I would say that the sound isn't the issue; It's the arrangements in terms of the sound. The range of sounds a PSG can provide is quite limited, so much more effort was put into the arrangement. Still, there are a lot of recent games that has good music.
TheMovieCreator 10 months ago
@TheMovieCreator (Sorry for late response)
It was a LA synth with MIDI interface.
MIDI is widely used in videogames.(maybe even today)
Prime example is the Final Fantasy series,since the 7th,Nobuo started using MIDI and it made it a lot easier for him to make music for next three Final Fantasy games,as well as other Square's games and remakes.Until PS2 era,it was the actual hardware (or softsynths) playing actual MIDIs,now you get recorded playback from MIDI synthesizers.
xan1242 6 months ago
Mate, you are so right about what TRUE video game music really is. Heck I built a retro game PC and I'm using a Roland MT-32 and a Roland Sound Canvas SC-55mkII for DOS game MIDI music.
You were right about that Tiny Toons Mega Drive (Genesis) vs SNES, another fine example is Police Quest I VGA (1992) for the PC which can either use the MT-32 or the SC-55 or even OPL2. And it sounds best using the MT-32 (1987) where the SC-55 (1991) is the "new" tech.
Shame you didn't make any mention of SID
wocko1 1 year ago
Just wanted to throw in there that the Genesis version of TTA sounds better IN YOUR OPINION. I think the SNES version sounds more realistic, it's just that you played the Genesis version louder to bring out the subtleties more.
As far as games sticking with chiptune music...hrmm...I don't know, but I think it depends on the game. The new 8bit Megaman games of course should have chiptunes, but it sure would feel odd playing WoW with bomb drums and bloopy blips. Just sayin...
RichieEastside 1 year ago
I loved it when games had redbook audio... but I'm the only person who loved it.
(Final Fight CD had the greatest music ever.)
anyway, there are modern genres of music that are similar to classic video game songs. (Drum and bass being the most obvious). it's jsut that the guys doing game music now either think they have to make epic orchestral scores to compete with film, or they cop out and use liscensed tracks because it's easy.
BillyCauseyjr 1 year ago
I love the intent of this video, but CDs offered a consistent quality of music from system to system across PCs. I was a weirdo, I always spent a lot of money to get fairly decent sound. So I love great MIDI music. I think that the PC version of FFVII is more enjoyable because I have Yamaha XG hardware. But everyone else had SB16s and were stuck with crappy sound. I would love to have MIDI options, it works better for some/many VGs that don't look "real."
EpicureMammon 1 year ago
You know Chad Warden was just a troll right?
professors84 1 year ago
@professors84 Well this is a 3 year old video, so you're kind of banking on the fact that I wouldn't learn anything until you just posted. So really you're the one who's late to the party.
KeijiKG 1 year ago
@KeijiKG
So to be more direct, I've known that for a while now.
KeijiKG 1 year ago
@KeijiKG
That's reasonable. I just thought it was pretty obvious he was a troll from the get go.
professors84 1 year ago
snes music works on the same basis as .mod, .s3m, .xm, and .it so it maintains a small file size (even smaller for mega drive and nes)
i hate the huge .mp3 especialy when used in game maker games (of course alot of people also use midi) as it takes forever to load and when it does the game sometimes crashes
plus fm sythisis rules!
MrDimwit646 1 year ago
I think the SNES version sounded way better. The Genesis version of that song was horrific.
I liked your choice of scrolling Earthbound text.
gheldon 1 year ago
It would have been a nice video if it wasn't pro-nintendo.......
Why do not separate nes AND genesis together (for example) and new gen scores on the other side from the start to the end ?
Comparisons between nes and genesis are irrelevant in my opinion.
Throughout all the video you sell nintendo stuff...
Aksvarn 1 year ago
SNES etc is crap compared to Roland MT 32. What killed the games music on the PC was the digital CDROM music.
wintersgrass 1 year ago
You know which game blew the genesis chip with it´s outstanding soundtrack? Thunder Force IV, Technosoft really did one of the best Genesis and 16 bit generatioon soundtracks Ever
somahiru 1 year ago
Omg Demon's Crest!
OmegaDude22 1 year ago
I Think it ended in modular music.. it still gave a cool atmosphere, while being small in file size (Compared to CDDA, Mp3s, OGGs)
bobjoe212x 1 year ago
Agree. Video game music these days is awful...like ear bleedingly awful. I miss the old era of video game music. Once games became 3D and shit it became awful. Mass Effect, Deus Ex, Halo, all those games have shitty BGM specially compared to classics like Mario, Donkey Kong, Monkey Island.
Darkfire9189 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
this video sucks diddles
Pigziggy 1 year ago
Nice info and nice video and nice music and I agree - but SID rules in 8 bit (Commodore 64!) and you didn't included it!
HardWarUK 1 year ago
@HardWarUK
Chalk it up to personal Myopia I guess.
KeijiKG 1 year ago
I love chiptunes, and I love the Genesis sound more the SNES sound even though I played a lot more SNES than Genesis back in the day. But in this video, the Genesis version sounds better partially because it's much louder.
Also, showing one example that supports your argument is called cherry picking.
The Genesis rendered each note on the spot and allowed the harmonic signature of each note to vary. To achieve this on SNES would have required using a lot more samples, eating up memory.
OneAndOnlySnob 1 year ago
@OneAndOnlySnob
"But in this video, the Genesis version sounds better partially because it's much louder."
I was saying the Genesis version sounds better because its a closer sounding adaption to the original cartoon version. This is more of a case of sound direction than hardware though.
"Also, showing one example that supports your argument is called cherry picking." True but this video is old and I'm too lazy to revise my points. I just leave it up for archival purposes.
KeijiKG 1 year ago
@OneAndOnlySnob
Honestly, I could have done this video a WHOLE lot better with more illustrated points but honestly I just don't care anymore. Partially because Mega Man 9 happened but also the article I posted in the description. The SNES was sample based and the Genesis generates. The hardware is apples and oranges but there were some games that just sounded better on Genesis and vice versa. It's like how the original Monkey Island is preferred with Adlib over Amiga's sound hardware.
KeijiKG 1 year ago
The Journey To Silius piece is brilliant. Whoever squeezed that out of the humble NES sound chip had to be a genius.
SyriusBelsferg 1 year ago
The genesis version sounds like shit.
Boggieman667 1 year ago
why don't we talk about Adlib sound card
A lot of good music was made for it
Zolg08 1 year ago
@6:34, the Genesis version sounding better is a matter of opinion. The Genesis FM sound is like knives in my ears for some reason.
KIFulgore 1 year ago
@KIFulgore
The Genesis version was being compared to the original track from the cartoon in terms of how close it sounds to Shirley Walker's original composition.
THE SOUND QUALITY WASN'T BEING MEASURED, IT WAS THE CONSISTENCY OF THE FUCKING ARRANGEMENT! I'm so sick of explaining this shit.
KeijiKG 1 year ago
AMEN.
Even though it's mostly unheard of to have 8- and 16-bit music in modern games, I feel that the chiptunes of old have more atmosphere to them (for the most part).
Most of the current video game music basically samples or recreates (or remixes) old video game music, which shows just how timeless some of the old tracks were.
drewmaughan 2 years ago
Hey if a music composer wants to make this music they can. So i dont get your point.
IMakeOrWatchVideos 2 years ago
Of course you don't, you're too stupid for reading comprehension. You're 16 for crying out loud.
KeijiKG 2 years ago
Calling people names and placing down because of there age does not make you look to smart.
If anything i was asking for a summery of what your tying to say.
IMakeOrWatchVideos 2 years ago
Am I the only one who thought the TTA song sounded better on the SNES? The Genesis version has some nice parts, but was mostly beepy bwompy.
NuclearSidewalk 2 years ago
@NuclearSidewalk I was looking past the choice of instruments and more to how the sequencing was done =/
The SNES one OBVIOUSLY has better instruments and is an arrangement of the Sheryl Stoner track from the cartoon. The Genesis one despite the grainy instruments while also a rearrangement closely resembles the track from the cartoon in terms of how it's sequenced. Had the sequences from both games been switched, I'd say I'd like the SNES better because of the way the track is composed.
KeijiKG 2 years ago
Don't forget Robert Prince from ID Software. He scored wolfenstein 3d and Doom. Some artists have done modern metal covers of the Doom tunes and they sound great with real instruments!
adamgh0 2 years ago
yup, the music in DOOM was absolutely sick. if i'm right, it was composed so it sounds the same when it's played backwards, to piss off all those silly people who thought there are satanic lyrics backmasked into rock music...
that is, if there wasn't enough satanic graphics in the game itself, hehe.
uN1Qu3DZ 2 years ago 3
The only noticeable backwards part is the intro to level 30 (Icon Of Sin) from Doom 2. After warping into the main room you hear a weird backwards voice. When reversed, you hear it say "To win the game you must kill me, John Romero"!
adamgh0 2 years ago
I am a composer for films, but my greatest dream is to score a videogame using only pc-speaker sound. If you want to be impressed, check out the pc-speakversion of Monkey Island 2. If you can find it.
phadde 2 years ago
I'll check it out.
KeijiKG 2 years ago
I approve of this vid and completly agree with all statements. N'd the songs were good too =D
ghey32 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
get a girlfriend !!!!
benjaggerben 2 years ago
I could say the same of you.
The shame of you posting such mundane comments on a video that's 2 years old.
KeijiKG 2 years ago
does it matter how old the video is ?
benjaggerben 2 years ago
Yeah because my priorities change over time.
KeijiKG 2 years ago
What the hell was that kid in the beginning saying? Was that english?
What's wrong with all those little shits today, seemingly incapable of uttering a single comprehensible sentence.
I mean what does he say? What I get is 'True game has some fayzeecen in the background, fajokus bolling!'
What the hell is that? Does anyone speak retard, and can they translate?
Shavarnarak 2 years ago
Totally Agree with you. Nice selection of examples. Excellent Video!...very educational.
xor2086 2 years ago
If the composition is great, it doesn't matter what hardware is being used to play it, being it chip or streamed music.
But... Composers on classic systems were faced with much more limitations, and thus HAD to be much more creative to make great music.
If you compose everything on your home PC, having practically no limitations, a lot of people suddenly produce much less sophisticated work as when they had to cope with limitations.
porcorosso81 2 years ago
It's funny how that the tones of the NES can't really be reproduced with new tech.
vladpiranha 2 years ago 2
They can with sampling, but it just doesn't behave like the hardware does.
KeijiKG 2 years ago
They can. Basically any new synthesizer + bit crusher.
mrtvi46 2 years ago
I remember my bro told me about golden days of gaming (Not the 70's but rather th 80's) Many games were unique in music like the mario bros. tune,and when I heard the the nes batman....I was blown away. So in truth I linda get the point what you were trying to say. Thanks for making this video and P.s:Love the classic bit tunes :D
RockHard6667 2 years ago
Times Change man, get over it.
And for the record I am a huge fan of 8 bit soundtracks.
sanitycollapse 2 years ago
Read the article on the right side of the page idiot.
KeijiKG 2 years ago
I did read it you dumbass.
Now go suck a cock somewhere....no one cares what you think dude.
sanitycollapse 2 years ago
You clearly did.
KeijiKG 2 years ago
There's nothing wrong with modern videogames music. Think about Ocarina of time, the first Tomb Raider, Halo's main theme, the soundtracks from Wipeout and Wipeout 2097, World of Warcraft, Oblivion, Mass Effect soundtracks.
Everything from Nobuo Uematsu is brilliant, think about the soundtrack of Lost Odyssey!
The problem imho isn't in using more complex sounds instead of chip musics, but the fact most game producers don't put much effort into having a good soundtrack.
Shendue 2 years ago
I agree.
My position isn't the sound hardware itself but how people have used it. It doesn't bode well for me when Redbook Audio or Streamed Music is used in games in place of MIDI due to the lack of subtlety. Often when "real" bands have their music on a game. I have little problem with orchestrated music, Mario Galaxy is proof of that. I just think it suffers from being streamlined and the sound direction tends to go one way when it does.
KeijiKG 2 years ago
Yeah, i see your point.
Maybe the technical limits of the old gaming systems forced the people working on the games soundtracks to be more imaginative.
Not only that, but, as with programming, the littler game companies were, the most they seemed to put effort in sponsoring the best geniuses in programming, designing and music composing.
Shendue 2 years ago
agreed
pwEclipse 2 years ago
the same can be said with todays graphics, nowadays the developers make games that has a nice shell but no content.
Back at the 8 bit era since they couldnt do to high graphics they focused more on the story and made better story games
tevlar 2 years ago
some actual game have game typed music, Some composer use Roland Sound Canvas or Yamaha MU sound module who is really good for this type of music, other will take more realistic sound from actual sound module.
For me SC or MU is better than anything else to compose music game.
Or even tu sso ound oldschool the MT-32.
Quality sound it's subjectif, poor quality sound can sound good, SSH use YamahaMU2000 elecrtique Guitar, not realistic at all, but it's sound so good. it's a exemple like others
valeth05 2 years ago
The main problem of the SNES was that game storage media didn't allow much space for high quality samples, thus each sample was compressed
Zolg08 2 years ago
I'll admit that there are some things I've yet to grasp for sound hardware. So it's helpful getting comments like these.
KeijiKG 2 years ago
This is, my friend, a great video!!! You have brought up some good points! But I agree PC gaming needed a look in with LucasArt and Sierra
HardWarUK 2 years ago
There's nothing wrong with a modern-ish sounding soundtrack if it's well thought out, ie Shadow of The Colossus.
InsertSh33p 2 years ago
Perhaps you should have talked about LucasArts' iMUSE system that could blend different MIDI musical scores together in a seamless fashion to create the *ultimate* gaming experience. This is not something that can be done in games with CD audio tracks or games that use MP3s, or OGG, or whatever inflexible music file format the developers chose.
The beauty of hardware sound is that the machine can change it on the fly (as iMUSE has proven) to make a seamless transition to a changing situation.
usernameunavailz 2 years ago
I think so... In this days all the music isn't generated by hardware, all the videogames music are now recorded in mp3...
deejaykike 2 years ago
It's the tools. The evolution of gaming music correlates with the evolution of soundcards. :)
The charm of old school gaming music is that the limited hardware and software forced composers to be really creative. They worked against limitations. Today you can buy one program and produce any kind of music you like, from pop to metal to techno to classical. It's all there. So maybe it's a question of preference? Nostalgia? :)
*back to Monkey Island theme* :D
mrtvi46 2 years ago
It's a bit like arguing that we should still be making games in 8-bit. The music is allowed to mature along with the visuals imo. You may prefer a certain style or sound but I hardly think that qualifies as evidence that game music has lost it's bearings or "died."
kabukibear 2 years ago
Jesus fucking christ...
Again people my argument isn't the technology, it's the direction and composition. I never said everything should be in 8-bit, FM or whatever.
KeijiKG 2 years ago
Could've fooled me with 6 minutes devoted to tech and like 30 seconds to the actual composition.
But what's with your comparison? It's two different arrangements from different composers from different games. If any one sounds better it's because the arranger is better, it has nothing to do with the system other than the obvious sound quality.
So what exactly is your point? Better composers write better music? Or that games can skate on high quality sounds opposed to high quality writing?
kabukibear 2 years ago
I dunno, I want to agree with you but I don't think I can completely. I love music for the old systems because I love crunchy synth sounds and because of their limited resources the music usually had to be pretty upbeat and/or catchy.
That being said, as games become more theatrical experiences their composers will draw on the same techniques used in movie scoring. The only thing, I think, that better technology has done is enable the composer to come closer to what he actually invisions.
kabukibear 2 years ago
I agree man, that was a good video. But... you seriously think that the Genesis version of Tiny Toons sounds better than the SNES version? To me, all of the music that was similar to a port of a game always sounded cheap.
When I talk about this I used Sparkster for expample (graphics too).
cloob1 2 years ago
I don't like to say that any synthesizer is 'better' than any other... just different. I think all synths can make sounds which are interesting or unique in some ways. There were Megadrive games which had amazing music which wouldn' work on a SNES, or SNES games which had great tunes which wouldn't be as good on a Megadrive... and the NES sounded great too (in its own way).
dusthillguy 2 years ago
A good example of how the Genesis can sound better than SNES is the music in Sonic & Knuckles, in Flying Battery Zone.
AY3EIGHTYNINE10 3 years ago
Depends on your definition of better.
SNES can handle wavetable music, so it's a plus if your looking for something that handles like an orchestra, vocal samples and clear pitched instruments.
Genesis however is great for FM synthesis. While not particularly good with samples as the SPC700 chip, there is a certain type of mood that can be achieved with FM sound.
It's arguably apples and oranges. Handles well on their own right but sucks to compare.
KeijiKG 3 years ago
Journey to Silius - I still dream of the music to that game after not playing it for years! I programmed a few MODs in my day. Props to the old school! I wish I could export some SNES classics to CD.
indigonegative 3 years ago
There are some methods.
Even if you don't support emulation, the community has a few tools in which you can playback tracks from console games as if were running in sound test.
You can use these applications, make waves or MP3s of the files in question and put them on a CD-R if that's what you're talking about.
Think I've done that a few times.
KeijiKG 3 years ago
I have some ripped NES and SNES sound files. I could probably just have Winamp dump to Wave, after I reinstall it. I like that the old Winamp had native MOD support. Once upon a time, I was hunting for MODs online and came across a new format: MP3
indigonegative 3 years ago
Good times!
KeijiKG 3 years ago
I gave you a 5 stars. You said what needed to be said about game music.
clownhorse 3 years ago
I always thought the Snes was an oddball for video game music, it sounds more realistic than NES and Genesis, but I always knew something was missing. I still like a lot of Snes music, but none of my favorites I like because of having realistic samples. Infact most of my favorite songs have the least realistic music in Snes games because they brings me back to my childhood of game music the most. I'm more interested in the character of the instrament than the realism of it.
clownhorse 3 years ago
Nice vid. Had to disagree with the Genesis sounding better on TTA . Funny how the volume gets obviously turned down on the SNES version and turned way up for the Genesis version. There's some dope Genesis music/sound though. Ghouls N Ghosts. Revenge of Shinobi. Phantsay Star II, Gaiares, Sonic 1, Valis 3, etc. It's all a matter of taste. Do you want higher fidelity, more dynamics, but softer safer sound of the SNES? Or the OG raw synth grit of the Genesis. I like both.
blargvision 3 years ago
The TTA track that sounded better wasn't based on sound quality (and for you implying that I intentionally muted the SNES music, shame on you. Marginal errors are merely human mistakes, not a means of sabotage). It was actually based on how the derived track compares to Sheryl Stoner's original track on the show (because the track in question DID come from the show), in which the composition is closer in heart. The instruments sound "real" on the SNES, but that alone can only do so much.
KeijiKG 3 years ago
My mistake, I meant Richard Stone.
KeijiKG 3 years ago
what's the song at 0:22? i recognize it from somewhere...i think it might have been 'The incredible Machine 3'.
poopskinTheLiar 3 years ago
You couldn't have said it better.
matkovicha 3 years ago
Really? I dunno, the gift of hindsight kind of makes me feel like I should rephrase a lot of things based on how people generally responded.
Thanks though.
KeijiKG 3 years ago
Chiptune has its renessaince, I mean I was trying out NFS: UC and felt like going back to the 80's sometimes, when hifi meets retrosynth. Also, there are SID Metal bands like Armcannon and Machinae Supermacy, so don't underestimate 8 bit music just yet. I personally love to mix the SPIRIT of gametunes into some of my music, because I miss not the instruments, but the atmosphere of those games, especially from my Amiga. (R.I.P. buddy, always loved you.)
LittlePlushyDemon 3 years ago
He looks so much like my room mate (Phillipines), man that was scary!
Detteermerkeligisbac 3 years ago
well, i agree with you to a certain extent. i dunno bout chipped music but i do think that video game music is dying. even the latest zelda, i dont remember a single tune to it but i loved and still remember the N64 zeldas music really well.
isthatyoushiela 3 years ago
In hindsight, it's more of the composition than it is the tools that gets to me.
KeijiKG 3 years ago
getting the music right for video games is very hard, but i think nostalgia is tainting your memory a bit, there were just as many games with awful music back then as there is now i think (too many)
Though mp3's have possibly made programmers a lot lazier about it. Music can really change a game if done right, outrun, monkey island, turrican, system shock and loads more wouldnt be remebered anywhere near as fondly without the soundtracks.
aaron9992000 3 years ago
Around the end I make it a point it's not so much the tools, but the composition that matters.
KeijiKG 3 years ago
Ugh, everybody DOES realize that Chadwarden is a JOKE, right?
Rubycon99 3 years ago 2
LONG LIVE VIDEOGAME 8 BIT MUSIC!!!!
MusijaeThe80sGirl 3 years ago 6
I think the reason you see this is games are focusing on atmosphere over memorable music. The only two I know that manage to keep both is Zelda and Metroid.
I think a game like Oblivion was an example of one that could have kept atmosphere and had memorable tunes for each town but they didn't.
The main problem IMO is just games are trying to be more like movies and if you are in a warzone in Call of Duty 4 you don't want to hear some tune because the game is so cinematic.
JCnTHBs 3 years ago 2
The important part will always be atmosphere.
It would be foolish to play CoD4's score on a Roland or SID sounding tools because like you said, it looks more like a movie.
Fortunately, a game like Castlevania benefits from said evolution.
Should sound direction evolve simply because the tools have become available? In order to stand by this position, one must assume that this applies to game development on a general scale not just sound.
I can embrace that.
KeijiKG 3 years ago
I thought the SNES version of Tiny Toons sounded better...
The Genesis, while weak in the sound department, defiantly lived up to the SNES in the Sonic series..
Oh, and great video- nice to see someone else who cares for real game music!!
therandyrandall89 3 years ago
Well, i'm fine with orchestras instead of chiptunes as long as they manage to keep that classic feel to the music (portal did this pretty well).
poopskinTheLiar 3 years ago
Sidenote: i actually listen to chiptunes more then real music. the only non-chiptune albums on my iPod are Jeff Wayne's WOTW and The orange box sountrack.
poopskinTheLiar 3 years ago
I used to do that, but then I realized real music is so much better.
aegistron 3 years ago
It's not about trying so hard; it's about improvment. i'm so glad that the game industry decided to replace those damn beeps and bloops with an actual genre or with an orchestra. and what did you mean they forgot where they came from? what type of BS is that? >:1
Sonicthehedgehog1899 3 years ago
I think the message in this video is highly misunderstood. It's not about the tools. What I was getting at was that COMPOSITIONS lack character in today's games. The fact that games used blips and bloops back then is merely incidental. I mean Hook on the freakin' SNES was FAR from what you thought my message was and it kicks the crap out of most modern game music and it may as well have been streamed on redfuckingbook audio.
I'm just asking for some memorable tunes a bit more often.
KeijiKG 3 years ago
i understood you. as i was listening to the songs in this vid, i couldn't see what the 'characteristics' you were talking about. i'm sure some of them have them, but to say that music from modern games has none, i have to disagree. game music from mainly from japan are amazingly good and display a good amount of personality and characteristics, such as 'the idol of the time and space' and 'out of darkness' from DMC4. the songs are gorgeous and they mix angelicness with elegance.
Sonicthehedgehog1899 3 years ago
Hmmm... Quite an interesting video. I'm myself very big fan of chip/oldskool music from games (and just oldskool-written). I'm not very familiar with old consoles (coz i never had one, i was happy Speccy-user :) ) but some tunes i've heard (including in this video) sounded just amazing! But i think more modern games and chipmusic will not quite good blend together. Of course if the game itself made oldscoolish - the chip music will greatly improve athmosphere! Sry for my english - I'm russian :/
Serpent117 3 years ago
You know, this video supports the graphic vs. gameplay arguement aswell. It's not always about the technology but how that technology is implemented.
Wolvenchaos 3 years ago
God. I remember how some nes game music would almost bring a tear to my eye. When I hear the original LoZ theme I get more hyped up than a kid watching the power rangers opening credits.
Wolvenchaos 3 years ago 2
youre taking the argument too far: sure we all miss classic tracks but that does not mean that anything else isn't conducive to a good game! the sega version of the tinytunes song sounds more 'olschool' than the snes, but the snes sounds MUCH better and also better fits the game, with the 16bit graphics the environment changes and so must the music (there would be a mismatch between both) To sum it up: classics sound good not because they sound good but because they fit with the game in question
ciniguez 3 years ago
TL:DR
KeijiKG 3 years ago
even more brief: the genesis version (tiny tunes) sounds too '8bit' for a 16 bit game, hence I believe the snes versions better fits the game
ciniguez 3 years ago
in journey to sillis, the sound is supposed to be trumpet and piano. this must stage 3 in the game.title music is also great
SystemCrash64 3 years ago
I should have had that instead of taking a rip from a website. That was pretty badass.
KeijiKG 3 years ago
They also used a sample of an actual bass guitar being played for pretty much all the tracks in J2S.
FreedomGotAnAK 3 years ago
I could name so many games that would not be the same without the midi. Take a look at Zelda: Twilight Princess for example. I got a great feel from that game, but people whine saying "The music sucks, it has to be a real orchestra to be any good." yeah...bull...You have great music in that game and one of my other favorites is "Crusader:No Remorse" and it's sequel. That was midi (or MOD or something) and it still sounds great.
Krow150 3 years ago 2
In my opinion the SNES version sounds better :P
ratsouffle 3 years ago
And your opinion shall remain valid and unopposed despite my differential views.
Apparently no one else in Internets Land got the memo, like banhammering Take2/RockStar.
KeijiKG 3 years ago
Not enough developers are composing midi-like music anymore. Some of the most well done music programming was done by RARE on the N64. Generally I find most SNES music more appealing but there was some magic that happened on the N64. The SNES was amazing because of it's Sony soundchip the N64 and Gameboy Advance use CPU power for the sound so most bad programmers used most of the power for graphics. RARE made a lot of great tunes that changed as you did or moved environments.
jdsony 3 years ago 5
Agreed, the Mario Kart 64 music was all l33t, every single tune. Also, to go along with RARE, Diddy Kong Racing Battle Mode was awesome music.
LaddyDongdegs 3 years ago
Call me crazy, but I think that gaming music is the only form of music I truely love. But the type and style of the music is also dependant to the style of the game. I dont think sound bytes would do justice to a game such as Shadow of the Collossus to give you that imersion feeling, but I dont think a recorded electric guitar solo would be fitting for a Castlevania game before Symphony besides Rondo. Likewise licnesed tracks are perfect for games like GTA to add immersion to it.
smroWfonaC 3 years ago
Well for DS, I'd like to see more games attempt FM synth or PSG if the mood of the game demands it.
Likewise I still want to hear modern videogames go for something less realistic and gritty and try to do that "little bit of everything and then some." type of thing...like when generic-cartoony characters such as Puggsy, Plok or Wix&Liz were created.
No one goes for that anymore I noticed, unless they're indie.
It's like how I'd like to hear some cheap MIDI used for point-and-clicks.
KeijiKG 3 years ago
I too would like to hear some new soundbites in games but only if it creates some good immersion in the games. I wouldnt call it appealing to a game if, like Call of Duty 4, having realistic envoroments but music not sounding realistic. But for a game like Blue Dragon, not to insult Nobuo Uematsu for his great work, but a sound bite soundtrack would be perfect for that game due to it's old school cartooniness style.
smroWfonaC 3 years ago
Oh heavens no.
I already know it's more about the atmosphere.
Don't use sound bytes as a term to describe PSG or FM either, because technically sound bytes refers to recorded audio.
Just so you know.
KeijiKG 3 years ago
I am pretty much a n00b when it comes to technical stuff in consoles and computers that doesnt involve system graphic specs.
smroWfonaC 3 years ago
*pat pat* You're welcome here.
KeijiKG 3 years ago
Retro music... ROCKS! And I'm glad you think so too. Saving to favorites.
AnimaLabs 4 years ago
there is always a theremin you know
kuwaizair 4 years ago
That's not chipmusic though.
KeijiKG 4 years ago
I loved the old school VG music ;_; sounded so sexy :(
8monoxxx 4 years ago
Good video. Don't forget the Ay - 3 - 8912 Sinclair Spectrum / Atari ST etc. chip and also the mighty C64 SID chip. Also, SNES sound played at a frequency of 32000Khz as opposed to the 44.1Khz of standard CD Audio. I agree with you regarding certain Sega Megadrive tunes sounding better than their SNES equivalents. 'Mr. Nutz' was one example. Inferior sound chip but superior composition.
alaggan 4 years ago
Maybe the advent of CD audio killed it all. Too easy to slap in a rock track and less effort required for a decent chip tune.
alaggan 4 years ago
I dunno, those first two could easily be classified under PSG.
SID actually sounds a bit more defined.
KeijiKG 4 years ago
As one who as a child occasionally rocked out to chiptunes, I salute you. Good job, man.
Gl3ipnir 4 years ago
Oh, also, sorry for the quick edit. Does anyone know where I could get my hands on some program for the Mac that would let me make NES- and GBA-era chiptunes? Hopefully for free, although I'm open to the money cost variety if there's no choice or if freebies are massively inferior.
Gl3ipnir 4 years ago
There are few tracker programs such as Cubase (costs 150 for the previous version which is good enough since it supports VST and trust me it has a crapload of plugins), Vocaloid (for chipmusic-sounding singing. Costs about $150 and in Japanese if you want Hatsune Miku) and Cherry which is free but it's also in Japanese. I'm no good with trackers seeing how I prefer to "play by keyboard" but I'm sure you can find something that works. I myself am also searching like you are though.
KeijiKG 4 years ago
Some very excellent points there. I feel the same way. Music, be it low or high tech, should be based on how it fits into the game. And whoever that kid was at the beginning really knows nothing about game composition.
laughingfurry 4 years ago
Man, you talked about chiptunes, and didnt mention the Commodore 64? You should at least play 'Monty on the Run'. The C64 made the demo scene, and it's what brought gaming music into the rest of the world.
SlaserX 4 years ago
I'm familiar with SIDs and all but my focus has been mostly console games.
KeijiKG 4 years ago
Well the C64 was technically a home console, it was also marketed for its gaming ability. They even went so far as to make the Commodore GS, it looks a lot like an Atari, with the cartridge port on top, and the game ports on the front. It was sold ONLY for gaming. When it comes to music on the C64, the biggest place for them, the most popular place for them, was in games.
SlaserX 4 years ago
Well I guess this won't be the last time I do a piece on videogame music.
KeijiKG 4 years ago
Which according to them is bad. FF7 was one that was first criticised. But if you can get a chance to find some sound tunes for 'Saga' or 'Zombies' check it out. I would have loved to have owned that. Oh, and 'Axelay' is another good one that makes some interesting uses of tunes while using certain notes to imitate atmosphere. I thought someone ripped it from the game. But this was on the actual soundtrack.
yuukisama2001 4 years ago
But of course when you try to be bigger and better something goes wrong. Like with the FF games. Not saying they were bad. But when fans were reviewing the older pieces they talked about the stuff that made them good. But as soon as things got to the PS1 there was a problem. Either the creator lost his touch. Or it was a case of "why is the sounds still like they came out of the 32-bit era, while being on a console that should support stereo sound.
yuukisama2001 4 years ago
The notable composers for that series was 'Nobuo Uematsu' (FF) and 'Kenji Ito', (Seiken series aka Mana series, aka FFL series). Listen to those and you'll be surprised. It had so long since I really listened to those "tinny" tunes. Yet they were enjoyable. I enjoy the music they have today but certain ones. But, again if the music moves you to play then the composers did the job right. Unfortunately we can't say that about everything. But yes I hate those that can't see it for what it was.
yuukisama2001 4 years ago
You made me realize something I always felt. I've collecting game soundtracks for years now. I just popped in the soundtrack for 'Saga', remember that series on the Gameboy? Yes, don't forget the music for the portables. They were just as good but again you needed a sound system to really hear their full potential. If you ever get the chance check out the tunes to that series. And again you'll see how well done they were just on a portable alone.
yuukisama2001 4 years ago
But also I could understand what made the medium so special. Even though the sound bytes were synthesized (when you compare it to stuff today) you could see how the composers really put their effort in despite their limitations. And yet you still got a really great pieces. You should have put 'MM' up there as an example. The first game is a great example that for it's day showed what could be done.
yuukisama2001 4 years ago
MM? Maniac Mansion? Manic Miner? Majora's Mask?
Sorry, but sometimes abbreviations go over my head.
KeijiKG 4 years ago
Sorry should have said 'Mega Man'. Since you were mentioning it it would have been the easiest since it's about older stuff.
yuukisama2001 4 years ago
Oh yes, Mega Man is the perfect example of good game game music. Mega Man 1 up to 7 should have had some mention. Guess I got too bohemian...
KeijiKG 4 years ago
Hahaha! I was thinking of another great game tune on the SNES. Ever heard of the game series 'Zombie's Ate my Neighbors'? That's another good one.
yuukisama2001 4 years ago
Heard OF the game but haven't heard the music.
Although I know Lucasarts made good use of the SNES sound chip with the Star Wars games so I expect good things.
KeijiKG 4 years ago
Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot that LucasArts did that one. Yeah, the SW games were great additions too. Again another one of your examples of games that used licensed tracks. Again it's 'LucasArts', so they can do that. So it's not like someone else had to do anything with it. But with 'Mario RPG' that's a good example of using licensed tunes composed by another company. The whole Square/Nintendo deal. The beauty of what made game music what it was.
yuukisama2001 4 years ago
Ah game music. So unappreciated these days. Especially the older stuff now since you have the bigger consoles. After watching your vid yesterday, while I couldn't understand all the tech mumbo jumbo I understood and felt it. I played games during that time and a good chunk of it was what got me into collecting it.
yuukisama2001 4 years ago
OMG, Journey to Silius...when I was a kid, I hooked my SNES up to my boombox and TAPED that music. True too what you said. Every single point you raised = agree. You are my kind of gamer, and the only reason I still tolerate this d*** site. I think that the ungrateful "Eternal Newbies" who refuse to acknowledge and appreciate gaming's past are to blame. They are taking a dump on the hobby.
boilerplate 4 years ago
Oops, meant NES. I'm sure one of the wee wittle baby gaming jackals would have jumped on me for that. Anyway, one other thing I forgot: Earthbound had great music because it DELIBERATELY went backwards in terms of art direction. Both graphically and aurally...but it did it with an insane level of polish and a clear agenda. It proves/proved that making a powerful atmosphere is better then making just GOOD music.
boilerplate 4 years ago