Video Game Melodies That Rip Off Songs We Know - Coincidence Within Reason?

[ColecoFan1981]

When programmers of video games compose a melody and part of it sounds like a song we've all heard before, I'm wondering whether or not that is "coincidence within reason" which means did the programmers actually like the song(s) that the melody(ies) had allegedly ripped off?

Example 1:
The title screen music in (not Super) Mario Brothers (Nintendo NES, Atari 7800, Atari XE-GS) is a coincidental Jimmy Hart version of Petula Clark's 1964 #1 hit "Downtown" for the first two bars of the song. On the Game Boy Advance version packaged within Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World, Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 and Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, a different version of the NES version's title tune is heard, with extra notes preceding the main body of the song (all five titles have varying degrees of arrangement).

"Downtown" is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUSYb3igXzI

Which got into this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toZH-2kw-DY

Example 2:
The U.K. race music in Road Rash 3: Tour de Force is snippets of several songs: Black Sabbath's "Paranoid," Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker," Billy Joel's "Sometimes a Fantasy," and the title theme from the TV show Home Improvement.

~Ben

[FrankSerpico]

I recall one of Yuzo Koshiro's tracks on Street of Rage 2 sounding a helluva lot like Rebel Without a Pause, which wouldn't be surprising since a ton of electronic musicians of the era were heavily influenced by Public Enemy's production.

[ColecoFan1981]

I recall one of Yuzo Koshiro's tracks on Street of Rage 2 sounding a helluva lot like Rebel Without a Pause, which wouldn't be surprising since a ton of electronic musicians of the era were heavily influenced by Public Enemy's production.
Speaking of him, there are two different songs of his that are both influenced by the Full House theme in places: "Meyna's Theme" from Legacy of the Wizard, and "Bridge Zone" from Sonic the Hedgehog (Master System and Game Gear versions).

~Ben

[Gameguy]

I present Hydlide for the NES, showing us what the Indiana Jones theme would sound like from an ice cream truck.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZDXUT3nPtE

[o.pwuaioc]

The temple music from Battle of Olympus is Bach's Toccato and Fugue in D Minor.

[CelticJobber]

One of the songs on Wave Race for N64 sounds like the theme song to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show".

[BricatSegaFan]

Thunder force IV title

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz2kcsY5nkY&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Sounds like

Dokken
When lighting strikes again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcjHqDN1Is0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[goldenband]

The Supremes - You Keep Me Hangin' On:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3bjMtqpGBw#t=0m7s

Arrow Flash - intro music/opening theme:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31HhJGD8xCM#t=0m6s

[ccovell]

The title screen music in (not Super) Mario Brothers

Not to mention the stage start tune in Mario Bros. is classic Mozart.

[Crocket]

Surprise You're Dead by Faith No More

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCdUfAE5Rz8

The Brazil stage from King of Fighters 94

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOHrwcT-3Hs

I actually wouldn't be surprised if that was intentional since the game also uses samples from Digital Underground in various places in the soundtrack.

[ColecoFan1981]

One of the songs on Wave Race for N64 sounds like the theme song to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show".
That also means it would sound like Electric Light Orchestra's "Last Train to London" (if you're talking about the chorus: "And I really want tonight to last forever...")

~Ben

[ColecoFan1981]

I'm wondering: are there any video game melodies out there that sound like the classic 1980s Wrigley's Juicy Fruit jingle ("The Taste Is Gonna Move You!")?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivFNO7qorvI&lc=FIMsAhUAUR9e4If1Q_15cSkUd_3IQhn9lwPLbD9nYbA

~Ben

[Thrillo]

The stage 4 music in Whip Rush for the Megadrive sounds like it was inspired by "Go West" by The Village People.
Oh, and if we're counting PC games, well Doom & Doom 2 had no shame in ripping off a bunch of songs to the legal limit. I can't listen to "Them Bones" by Alice in Chains without thinking about Doom 2 level 23!

[goldenband]

I'm 99% sure there's an NES/Famicom game that shares a melody with this song from Toto le Héros (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G8jZKqrwyk) (starting at about 0:09). The main melody of the movie song is the end of the NES game's tune -- C Bb Ab G F Bb. I've been trying to remember which one it is for years, but...

[ColecoFan1981]

The stage 4 music in Whip Rush for the Megadrive sounds like it was inspired by "Go West" by The Village People.
Oh, and if we're counting PC games, well Doom & Doom 2 had no shame in ripping off a bunch of songs to the legal limit. I can't listen to "Them Bones" by Alice in Chains without thinking about Doom 2 level 23!
I think the same might be said with EarthBound, since the Japanese version (called Mother there) was heavily reliant on Beatles songs.

More examples:
Journey's "Faithfully" provides the opening strains for Elec Man's stage in Mega Man (1987).

On another Mega Man-related note, in Mega Man II (1989), part of Flash Man's melody sounds like "I'm a Man" by Spencer Davis Group.

In Double Dragon II: The Revenge the Mission 2 theme (NES version; it's Mission 1 if you play the arcade version) sounds like snippets of both "Easy Lover" by Philip Bailey and Phil Collins, and "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits. Elsewhere in the same game, Collins' "Sussudio" provides some inspiration to the Mission 5 theme (NES version; Mission 3 in the arcade version).

Another snippet of "Easy Lover" was heard during the Rainbow Road stage in Super Mario Kart for the Super NES.

Part of the melody for the final boss theme in McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure (1993) sounds like the opening strains of Styx's "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)."

Here's more tough questions: which video game melodies resembled the melodies from the following songs?
1. Alberto Ginastera's "Toccata: Piano Concerto #1" (which was famously re-recorded by Emerson, Lake & Palmer in 1973)
2. "Bittersweet Symphony" by The Verve (which itself took the melody from the Andrew Oldham Orchestra version of The Rolling Stones' "The Last Time")
3. "You're No Good" as recorded in 1974 by Linda Ronstadt

~Ben

[ccovell]

Here's more tough questions: which video game melodies resembled the melodies from the following songs?
1. Alberto Ginastera's "Toccata: Piano Concerto #1"

Closest I can think of are the various tunes played during Contra III's final stage.

[ColecoFan1981]

I wonder too if the Mario Bros. title screen music vs. Petula Clark's "Downtown" is really a case of "Ice Ice Baby" vs. "Under Pressure"? Same melody but with some notes in different places.

~Ben

[JSoup]

No one mentioned Sonic 3 having Michael Jackson songs?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F706lyoo_f0

[ColecoFan1981]

No one mentioned Sonic 3 having Michael Jackson songs?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F706lyoo_f0
That's been talked about to death I think...

~Ben

[recorderdude]

No one mentioned Sonic 3 having Michael Jackson songs?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F706lyoo_f0

Probably because Jacko himself worked on it. One of the most valid comparisons (sonic 3 ending credits and stranger in moscow) had the game version out FIRST.

[ColecoFan1981]

California Games: the title screen music is a virtual re-recording of "Louie Louie" by Richard Berry.

Other observations within (the gameplay):
The Half Pipe stage music sounds like "I Can't Explain" by The Who.

The Foot Bag stage: sounds like "I'm a Man" by Spencer Davis Group.

Surfing: sounds like a re-write of "Wipeout" by the Surfaris.

Skating: sounds like both "Cars" by Gary Numan and "We're an American Band" by Grand Funk Railroad and, perhaps, "Sunshine Superman" by Donovan as well.

BMX: sounds like "Theme from Batman" by Neal Hefti

~Ben

[CelticJobber]

The "Fever" song from Dr. Mario is basically a sped-up version of the Beatles song "Lady Madonna".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW6mnh0xx_M

The 25m Level song in Donkey Kong (arcade/NES) sounds like "The Ballad of John and Yoko" by The Beatles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6afoXRPojPs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxx-dOHias8

[lkermel]

Ah ah! Excellent thread !!!!

It sorts of always bothered me that the boss theme for Parasol Stars (PC Engine/Turbografx) sounded so much like the Lambada...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOG3iTHcvk8

[ColecoFan1981]

The "Fever" song from Dr. Mario is basically a sped-up version of the Beatles song "Lady Madonna".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cW6mnh0xx_M

The 25m Level song in Donkey Kong (arcade/NES) sounds like "The Ballad of John and Yoko" by The Beatles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6afoXRPojPs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxx-dOHias8
The second one... for that reason, in that case the song could be renamed "The Ballad of Mario and Pauline."

Anyway, let's talk about:

"Aquarius" (Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse) - intro too much like the intro to Styx's "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)."

~Ben

[VACRMH]

I remember talking about something like this before on here. I posted that there's a Kraftwerk song that sounds a lot like a track from Final Fantasy 7.

This might be the other way around, but still interesting...the track "Sorgens kammer" by Dimmu Borgir was actually taken from some Amiga game called "Agony". When the album was re-recorded they dropped it.

[ColecoFan1981]

If you listen to the Super Mario Bros. title music (from Super Mario All-Stars), the very beginning of it is somewhat reminiscent to Billy Joel's first big hit "Piano Man."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U6holGZVic


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxEPV4kolz0

~Ben

[Crocket]

There's a tune that resembles Iron Man in Ninja Gaiden. This was apparently intentional since it plays when you fight two guys who look like the Road Warriors who used the actual song in wrestling matches.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIC6TsRKnGQ

[fairyland]

I have always belived that this song:

It Came from the Desert (TurboGrafx-16) - Sea of Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYwrIDKxLjQ

ripped off this one too much:

Jethro Tull - Steel Monkey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOzDsYPNWQU


--------

I'm still having a hard time trying to remember what song this one is ripping off on. Something from the 80s. I know I've heard it before. Anyone have any ideas?

F-Zero GX / AX - James McCloud

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM5JXONf5PM

[ColecoFan1981]

Two songs from R.C. Pro-Am (NES, 1988) seem to be JHVs of the following:

Title screen - like "Don't Rush Me" by Taylor Dayne (1988)

Race win/lose - like "Major Tom" by Peter Schilling (1983)

~Ben

[MetalFRO]

Thunder force IV title

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz2kcsY5nkY&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Sounds like

Dokken
When lighting strikes again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcjHqDN1Is0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

TFIV is one of my fav games of all time, and I never noticed this! I'll have to pull that Dokken vinyl out and spin it again - the riff isn't carbon copy, but it's awful close.


Surprise You're Dead by Faith No More

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCdUfAE5Rz8

The Brazil stage from King of Fighters 94

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOHrwcT-3Hs

I actually wouldn't be surprised if that was intentional since the game also uses samples from Digital Underground in various places in the soundtrack.

Good catch! I've never played KOF '94, but that's pretty obvious from the videos.

[CastlevaniaDude]

Earthbound. The whole game, basically. (http://earthboundcentral.com/2009/02/earthbound-legal-issues/)

[Neb6]

[QUOTE=ColecoFan1981;1965915]When programmers of video games compose a melody and part of it sounds like a song we've all heard before, I'm wondering whether or not that is "coincidence within reason" which means did the programmers actually like the song(s) that the melody(ies) had allegedly ripped off?

How about how Vanguard uses exact versions of music from Star Trek the motion picture and Flash Gordon...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEFqe-5YcIk

[ColecoFan1981]

Also...

The second movement of the "Athletic Theme" from Super Mario Bros. 3 (heard in Worlds 1-2, 1-4, 2-2, and 3-2 to name but a few) sounds suspiciously like the intro from the Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star." However, the main intro of the same theme is also lifted from the stage start intro for Dig Dug.

The Buggles snippet is also heard during "Snowman's Land" from Super Mario 64. "Bob-Omb Battlefield" and "Slide Theme" again use the same middle eight, and all also seem to lift off a portion of the (second) middle eight from "Kid Charlemagne" by Steely Dan.

~Ben

[Emperor Megas]

It's the other way around, but Fun's 'Carry On'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyKFTI9Y2XA

...sounds just like the HALO battle theme to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7yCLn-O-Y0

[CelticJobber]

The first level song from Sonic Spinball on Sega Genesis sounds like it was heavily inspired by "Things That Make You Go Hmm" by C+C Music Factory.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkWUJfIotfU


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF2ayWcJfxo

[klausien]

The menu screen music in Light Crusader on the Genesis is Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats from the album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis.

[Lady Jaye]

The theme to Moon Patrol is quite similar to the bass groove in 54-40's Since When.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBOKWCpwGfM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH0FoTf8Qhs

[Lady Jaye]

And for Canucks, the chime for Telus' Koodo is just like the Sega chime:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9JS3OaG9Ow

[ColecoFan1981]

The theme to Moon Patrol is quite similar to the bass groove in 54-40's Since When.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBOKWCpwGfM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH0FoTf8Qhs
Heck... it's just a basic 12-bar blues...

~Ben

[ColecoFan1981]

Super Mario Bros. "Final Clear" (Peach Saved):
"The Other Day I Met a Bear" (first four notes; also the opening theme for the Pooyan arcade game) and "O Christmas Tree"

~Ben

[MidnightRider]

The first 11 seconds of this...(quiet compared to the other one, just so you know):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjEv2WPmP0Y

...and all of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPkoNICjQFI

[ColecoFan1981]

The first 11 seconds of this...(quiet compared to the other one, just so you know):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjEv2WPmP0Y

...and all of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPkoNICjQFI
It should be known Nobuo Uematsu was/is a huge fan of old classic rock acts and songs, no real surprise there... even though the song that the "Prelude" song jacks is not quite as popular as Pete Townshend's work with The Who.

~Ben

[TunaPhish]

The best part of this whole thread has been just listening to all the VGM people have provided links to. Kept me humming the whole afternoon! :P

[goldenband]

I discovered a pretty blatant one recently: Supercross 3D for Jaguar rips off the signature guitar/bass line from Nirvana's "Come As You Are":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AQC2Gb76-0#t=0m48s

Also, this music from Todd's Adventures in Slime World on the Genesis bears more than a passing resemblance to the "We want the funk" chorus of Parliament's "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5NBV5YhhsE#t=1m13s

BTW the Final Fantasy theme also strikes me as a descendant of this famous Chopin etude:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXS5c6TXhKo

[Koa Zo]

The menu screen music in Light Crusader on the Genesis is Silent Sorrow in Empty Boats from the album The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway by Genesis.
I'm looking forward to confirming this! :) though I just watched some youtube videos with clips of the menu screen and the music I heard didn't match a direct comparison to the Genesis song.


Yellow Magic Orchestra gets gets paid homage to in more than a couple 8-bit era tunes. Sorry I don't have examples, just every now and then I hear a melody in a famicom game and just can't help but think "YMO!"


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OOLxGjb3dY

[MidnightRider]

It should be known Nobuo Uematsu was/is a huge fan of old classic rock acts and songs, no real surprise there... even though the song that the "Prelude" song jacks is not quite as popular as Pete Townshend's work with The Who.

~Ben

I'm not trying to discredit anyone, for all I know it's sheer coincidence, but it always stood out to me as something that sounded similar.

[Az]

The BGM for the first level (the harbor one?) of Contra: Shattered Soldier for PS2 is a straight ripoff of the main riff behind Rob Zombie's "Demonoid Phenomena".

Common knowledge (and completely intentional) but it's worth mentioning Innovation's Dooley the Dinosaur for NES.

[devilman]

Speaking of him, there are two different songs of his that are both influenced by the Full House theme in places: "Meyna's Theme" from Legacy of the Wizard, and "Bridge Zone" from Sonic the Hedgehog (Master System and Game Gear versions).

~Ben

Also.. Under Logic from Streets of Rage 2-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTHX8UD6KDI

has some similarities with The Shamen's 'Move Any Mountain'...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpjnzxtZ6Qg

[funksoulfather]

I always thought at least part of the palace theme from Zelda 2 sounded very similar to "looks that kill" by motley crue

http://youtu.be/7a7Sh82Mzdc?t=3s
http://youtu.be/JUtWHPZk7Es?t=44s

[goldenband]

As a commenter on this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWQ0nVryES4) notes, one of the stage tunes in No Escape bears some resemblance to the chorus of "I Ran" by A Flock of Seagulls. (Check around 1:00.)

[Jorpho]

I knew this thread was around here somewhere.
http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?156923-Game-music-that-resembles-other-music

See also http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?73045-Dr-Mario-Hip-Tanaka-amp-Sonny-Rollins .