Favorite NES music?

[Apollo]

And I'm not talking about re-mastered, orchestrated, or any of that. I'm talking about straight from the NES soundtracks.

The only ones I can think of right now (probably because I'm listening to them right now) are the Level One (Forest) Theme from Blaster Master, and Protoman's song at the end of Megaman 3. About the latter one, a full track of the song was on the cart, but got cut off by the end credits. It gets even better after the cut-off.

[grolt]

I loved the BLASTER MASTER music too, but oddly the music that still sticks with me is the music from FRIDAY THE 13TH. Pretty haunting and surreal, it definitely used the synthetic sound of 8-bit to make a truly otherworldly horror. Repetetive? Yeah, but so was John Carpenter's music for HALLOWEEN, and wel all know where that sits in the pantheon of film scores.

[incubus421]

Whenever you mention NES music I'm sure mario and mega man are a few of the first game series that come to mind. FF, like always, I'm sure is up there on people's lists as well.
But there is a game which I have always loved the music for and that is WWF Wrestlemania Challenge. Don't know why but all the music during matches is very catchy.

[starchildskiss78]

Two NES games that I was always quite fond of their music were Super Mario Bros 3 (I liked how each world had their own different map music) and Final Fantasy. (I always thought that for 8-bit music it was beautifully done and conveyed quite well the feeling of the game.) I also thought some of the music in Mega Man 3 was well done.

[RadiantSvgun]

While not my favorite, the boss music from Fester's quest stays in my head.

[Kevincal]

Silver Surfer intro song is very cool. Game sucks though. SMB 3 music is great. Tetris. Zelda.

[Chuplayer]

Mega Man 2's music is head-bangingly good!

I liked the music in the original WWF Wrestlemania game. Wrestlemania Challenge seemed like a step down in every category, but I loved Jim Duggan's theme song.

The music in Micro Machines is excellent. I just wish there was more of it.

The Zelda 1 overworld theme is a classic.

[dlopez9069]

I like the music in shadowgate. it really makes the game soooo much better.

[PingvinBlueJeans]

I always dug the T&C Surf Designs music. The music in Double Dragon was pretty kick-ass as well...especially the title screen.

[Push Upstairs]

The music in "Lifeforce".

I'd still love to hear the all the music from the game done by a full orchestra.

[walrusmonger]

Castlevania 1-3 all awesome.
SMB 3-awesome
Zelda- awesome.

[Greg2600]

Anything Konami (Ultra) did, particularly TMNT II, Skate or Die, Jackal, Blades of Steel, etc. Jackal is probably the most fun to play along with.

[Lord_Magus]

Awesome thread :)

There are countless soundtracks from NES games that I enjoy listening to, but if I had to name a single song I'd say the title music to Wizards and Warriors II: Ironsword.

Also, I absolutely love the music to Faxanadu. It's probably one of the many reasons I found that game to be very unique and atmospheric.

Other honorable mentions:
Journey to Silius
Ghosts'n'Goblins
Metroid
Zelda I-II
Final Fantasy

[Hep038]

Mega Man I FTW.

[Graham Mitchell]

The Guardian Legend
Iron Tank
Metroid
Blaster Master
Rodland
Godzilla: Monster of Monsters
Bionic Commando
Strider
Section Z
Almost anything Konami (particularly Gyruss and the Castlevania games)
Oddly enough, Predator
Anticipation
Air fortress
Willow

[bust3dstr8]

All the Konami music on the NES was kickass, even the not so good games had great music.


Conta

Remix http://www.vertexguy.com/music/tributes/CPKcontrajunglejam.mp3

[Rob2600]

This is definitely the topic for me! So many NES games have great, well-written music. Some of my favorites are:

Blades of Steel
Castlevania
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Contra
Legendary Wings
Mega Man II
Metal Gear
Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden II
Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Track and Field II


To a slightly lesser extent:

The Adventures of Bayou Billy
Bad Dudes
Double Dragon
Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode
Jackal
Life Force
Top Gun

I also like the title screen music in Wizards and Warriors.


Anything Konami (Ultra) did, particularly TMNT II, Skate or Die, Jackal, Blades of Steel, etc. Jackal is probably the most fun to play along with.

Yes, Konami/Ultra NES games almost always featured great music. So did most Capcom and Nintendo games. A few Tecmo and Sunsoft games impressed me, too.

[LifeGame]

Sky Shark got pretty good music not to repeat the usual SMB and Megaman.

[AcePuppy]

I gotta say it has to be the Friday the 13th theme. http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/nintendo/nes/FridayThe13th.mid

[Little Samson]

Castlevania I-III, and the intro to Mega Man 2.

[spoon]

All the LJN Marvel comics games had sweet music. Sadly, most of the time the games were not as good.

I have always liked

Journey to Silus
Meaga Man 2
Ninja Gaiden
Punch Out!
Double Dragon 1 and 2
Super Mario Bros 2

[Rob2600]

Castlevania I-III, and the intro to Mega Man 2.

The ending music in Mega Man II is great, too. It even features a drum solo! Then again, all of the music in that game is great.

Actually, everything about that game is great. It's the exact opposite of Cheetahmen II.

[majinbuu]

Hiya

Just wondering where do you guys find nes music? I've downloaded some from 2a03.org and Zophar's Domain. Any other suggestions?

Thanks
Sam

[ccovell]

Magician!

By the way, I conducted an informal poll many years ago about people's favourite songs on the NES. The results are here: http://www.disgruntleddesigner.com/chrisc/poll.html

[Damaramu]

Gonna have to go with the music on the first stage of Metal Storm.

[ryborg]

I know it's absolutely cliche, but simply nothing beats Wily Stage 1&2 music from Mega Man II.

It's also an excuse to post the greatest youtube video of all time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmaltChJnV0

[k8track]

Probably a tie between Micro-Machines and Solstice--both are quite incredible.

[Apollo]

Gonna have to go with the music on the first stage of Metal Storm.

Damn, I completely forgot about Metal Storm...

[Sothy]

intro to maniac mansion is pretty catchy...

[The Great Dane]

I have always loved the music to Batman, especially Stage 1. I dunno, its just so dark and moody, just like the story and game are supposed to be.

Also, majinbuu, a great site for NES music is at this site: http://www.vgmusic.com/ A lot of people make remixes (still as a MIDI) of a lot of the music, which is really cool.

[boatofcar]

I know it's absolutely cliche, but simply nothing beats Wily Stage 1&2 music from Mega Man II.

It's also an excuse to post the greatest youtube video of all time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmaltChJnV0

Wow, I'd never seen that before, that was totally sweet.

I also like

Castlevania II
Skate or Die
Tecmo Super Bowl

[suppafly]

I love the music from River City Ransom and Double Dragon 1 & 2..

Long live American Technos


BTW how come nobody has mentioned Ninja gaiden 1 and 2? They had great music!

[fergojisan]

Some of my favorites:

Zelda & Zelda II
Wizards and Warriors
Super Mario 2 & 3
Deja Vu
Monopoly (yes, Monopoly)
Double Dragon
Contra
Punch Out

If I had to pick only one track, it would most likely be the Dungeon theme from Legend of Zelda.

[vgc]

Heres my 2 picks:

Guardian Legend
Zelda

Mike : )

[sniperCCJVQ]

Konami/Ultra did some good soundtrack for most of their games like Castlevania and Contra, even Bayou Billy music is good.

[Ruudos]

The intro from Solstice is superb.
I always like the music from Batman, TMNT, Faxanadu, The Battle of Olympus, Zelda, Zelda II, Probotector, StarTropics, Mega Man series. Just too much to mention.

[williewonka2k1]

Bucky O'Hare
Earthbound Zero

[smokehouse]

I'll go for the easy stuff that gets stuck in my head:

Castlevania titles (1, 2 or 3)
mario titles (mainly 1 but 2 and 3 have a few)
original Zelda overworld theme (I hum this one quite often)

[TheDomesticInstitution]

I love the theme in the forest in Double Dragon, it's really creepy. Oh and of course the Legend of Zelda theme.

[smokehouse]

I love the theme in the forest in Double Dragon, it's really creepy.

That's a good one but it's too complicated for my to remember on the fly.

[Graham Mitchell]

Just Remembered that Rare had a LOT of great soundtracks. Starting with Slalom (simple but badass little tune when you're zoomin' down the mountain. I particularly love how the music restarts when you crash).

Who could forget the faux electric guitars between each level of R.C. Pro Am?

I have a friend who recorded an entire cover record of the Wizards and Warriors soundtrack (although I think Ironsword has W&W beat, overall)

Solar Jetman has some of the most bizarre, and atmospheric tunes I can remember from a NES game--I actually thought the game was broken when I heard the music from stage 3.

And the Battletoads theme is undeniably awesome. Can't think of anymore right now, but I think all those are worth mentioning.

[Scream And Fly]

Castlevania II, especially Bloody Tears.

[Frica89]

I know it's absolutely cliche, but simply nothing beats Wily Stage 1&2 music from Mega Man II.

It's also an excuse to post the greatest youtube video of all time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmaltChJnV0

I completely agree with your post.

Mega Man II has, IMO, the best soundtrack for any game, ever.

[AMG]

CastleVania:
-Wicked Child
-Heart of Fire

CastleVania III:
-Rising
-Clock Tower
-Overture
-Riddle

Metroid:
-Norfair
-Tourain

Legend of Zelda:
-Dungeon theme


Those are some favorites.

[Artman40]

My favorite NES music would be like this:



6.Toxic crusaders
I didn't like the game at all, although I have to admit that tunes were kinda catchy.

5.Tengen Tetris

4.Trog main theme.

3. Some of the Megaman series music (From all 6 games in the series).
No wonder why it's called Rockman in Japan.

2. Gremlins 2
Very rich sound where all 5 sound channels were used.

1. Noah's Ark (Konami version)
Tunes were stuck in my head and I sometimes keep humming them.

Weird list, eh?

[Rob2600]

how come nobody has mentioned Ninja gaiden 1 and 2?

Are you being sarcastic? Several of us have listed Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden II, including me.

[kaedesdisciple]

Off the top of my head, I can think of:

Castlevania I-III (obvious)
Rygar (I know it's repetitive, but I still love it)
Clash at Demonhead (kind of annoying when the music restarts for every screen change, but a good theme if you let it run)
Jackal (Jeeps, guns, rockets, explosions and a rockin' soundtrack)
Rambo (the game may be horrible to many, but at least the music is good)

[Cambot]

I have always loved the music to Batman, especially Stage 1. I dunno, its just so dark and moody, just like the story and game are supposed to be.

I came here to mention the same game. I also like the continue screen music.

[Damaniel]

Lots of NES games had great music, and most of the ones I like have already been named. But there's at least one that hasn't been mentioned yet: Magic of Scheherazade! Especially the music at the title screen, but most of the soundtrack is pretty good. I still fire it up every couple of years, not just because the game is fun, but because that opening tune is so catchy! ;)

[Nescollector]

Great list of games already mentioned.

Xexyz (Hudson soft) has some catchy tunes.

Majinbuu...Here's an old collection of files.
http://home.comcast.net/~dwtjr3/collection.zip

[Graham Mitchell]

Great list of games already mentioned.

Xexyz (Hudson soft) has some catchy tunes.


Another game that was actually developed by Compile. Whoever did they're music was brilliant. I have not played MUSHA (I know, stop throwing things at me), but most Compile games I've played on other machines (Golvellius, Blazing Lazers) also has gorgeous music.

[CRV]

Another game that was actually developed by Compile.

If anything, Xexyz may have been developed by Atlus (it's listed on SIT Developer Table (http://review-site.net/developer/xa.html#アトラス) as such, but I'm not completely sold on it). The music was by Hirohiko Takayama (http://www.aonmusic.com/e/works.html), who did a lot of great stuff on the FC/NES (click link for a list of other games he worked on).

[Cinder6]

Nothing beats Vampire Killer for me, though Bloody Tears (CV2) and the Metal Gear alert music come close.

[majinbuu]

deleted

[majinbuu]

Great list of games already mentioned.

Xexyz (Hudson soft) has some catchy tunes.

Majinbuu...Here's an old collection of files.
http://home.comcast.net/~dwtjr3/collection.zip

Thanks alot, some great tunes there! :)

[Graham Mitchell]

Everybody's talking about Bloody Tears and I have no idea which song that is. Can somebody help me out?

[Oobgarm]

Must have missed this first time around.

In order:

Mega Man II
Castlevania II
Shadowgate
Contra
Cobra Triangle
Bad Dudes
Super Mario Bros. 3
Batman
Life Force
Mega Man III
Skate or Die
Adventures of Bayou Billy

Konami and Capcom were both very, very good at producing memorable tunes from the NES. Konami's tunes stand out thanks to their unique use of the noise channel, while Capcom always had great melodies.

[Oobgarm]

Everybody's talking about Bloody Tears and I have no idea which song that is. Can somebody help me out?

Castlevania II - Nighttime in the forest.

Kinda remixed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N82OmfGPDvU

A superb piano rendition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MM_Q0nfaG0

[Frica89]

For those looking for video game MP3s, check http://gh.ffshrine.org/ ...they have a SHITLOAD.

[shertz]

Hey people!! I am a DJ on a real radio station at KSPC 88.7FM Claremont, CA and I have a show called The Retro Videogame Music Show. My DJ name is 'Sysop' and the show is on Tuesdays 2 - 4pm. I play video game music from the 8-bit and 16-bit era. Check out my page at...

http://www.myspace.com/retrovideogamemusicshow

And you can listen live on the internet at...

http://www.kspc.org/

I have played a lot of music that many of you have listed in this thread. Hope everyone tunes in =-)

[-^Cro§Bow^-]

Only a few titles come to mind. But my favorites are:

Batman
Contra
Castlevania 1 and 3.

[Kevincal]

That's really cool shertz, I'll have to check that out sometime. Where in Cali is Claremont?

*Yes, I could just take 10 seconds to look it up... :P*

[tritium]

A lot of NES games had great soundtracks. Many many years later there are two that stand out for me. Zelda, and Megaman 2. I can still hum those tunes 10 years since actually playing any nes game.

[Damaramu]

Here's a link to a site called VGMusic.com. It's a shitton of NES midis: Click Me (http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/nintendo/nes/index-classic.html).

[Streetball 21]

I have a few-

Castlevania 1-3
Wizards and Warriors
The Legend of Zelda
Double Dragon 1 and 2

[Barbarianoutkast85]

I dont know if its my favorite but whenever I play SMB I have that music stuck in my head.