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

[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."





~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.

[fairyland]

I have always belived that this song:

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


ripped off this one too much:

Jethro Tull - Steel Monkey



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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

[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=Qz2k...e_gdata_player


Sounds like

Dokken
When lighting strikes again

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcjH...e_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.

[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.

[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.

[Lady Jaye]

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

[ColecoFan1981]

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

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