non NES musical inspiration?

non NES musical inspiration?
by GradualGames on 2010-04-13 (#60007)

I know for me, my first real love of music was Mega Man soundtracks, both on NES and SNES. Eventually I found my way to metal, like this and this.

I remember for years as a kid wanting to find an entire genre of music that sounded like mega man. Metal is just about the closest you can get, I think.

Now that I'm back into old school NES games, I find myself listening to NSFs as often as I listen to metal and classical (like this).

by tokumaru on 2010-04-13 (#60008)

The first music I really paid attention to was the Sonic the Hedgehog soundtrack. Only much later I realized that most of the video game music I loved was made in Japan. Because of them I fell in love with the japanese way of making melodies forever. Nowadays I like J-Rock bands that have more metal to them. I really like X Japan, Moi dix Mois, Versailles and Area51.

There are also some animes that have amazing soundtracks. Almost everything from Saint Seiya is awesome (it has 7 albums of BGMs I think) and has inspired me a lot. The soundtrack of Street Fighter II V is pretty amazing too.

I do like classical music a lot too.

EDIT: I don't know how I forgot to mention this. This has got to be one of the greatest melodies I've ever heard.

by GradualGames on 2010-04-13 (#60009)

Whoa, thanks for those links! There's some really awesome stuff there. I love that organ melody from Fatal Fury, wow.

by Bregalad on 2010-04-13 (#60011)

I guess I was interested in music before I was interested in games. Altough now i listen mostly ost music (which most people find nerdy/werid).
Quote:

I remember for years as a kid wanting to find an entire genre of music that sounded like mega man. Metal is just about the closest you can get, I think.

Huh I 100% disagree. Metal sounds to me like a big fuzz that inspires hate and I don't understand why so many people like listening to it when it makes my hear bleed. Doesn't sound any close to Mega Man music to me.

by Shiru on 2010-04-14 (#60013)

Mega Man is originally Rockman. Rock is the genre of the music, metal is one of it's sub-genres. It could be very different, from 'big fuzz' to very melodic and beautyful music.

1980s were the golden years of the metal, thus a LOT of videogames music of the time is heavily inspired by metal (especially on NES and SMD). The sound is different (no distortion etc), but the music structute is the same. You can also find musical quotes of popular rock/metal bands in NES/SMD music.

by mic_ on 2010-04-14 (#60016)

Quote:
Metal sounds to me like a big fuzz that inspires hate and I don't understand why so many people like listening to it when it makes my hear bleed.

That's certainly a strange point of view that you can't understand how other people can like something that you don't like. I also don't get what you're basing your assertion on that (all) metal inspires hate. What a certain piece of music will inspire in a listener - if anything - depends totally on that person.

Sometimes I feel like listening to calm music, and sometimes I feel like listening to something with a lot of energy. There's no genre of music that is superior to others, because it's such a subjective issue. One can discuss the technical aspects of pieces of music, but I find that largely irrelevant to whether the music is enjoyable or not.

by never-obsolete on 2010-04-14 (#60019)

I first noticed the music in the Castlevania games. Mega Man is up there though, since I also tend to like faster tempos. The intro track "Dialectic Chaos" has that Mega Man feel to me.

Quote:
I also don't get what you're basing your assertion on that (all) metal inspires hate.

I think he may be referring to a certain sub-genre of metal that advocates the burning of churches. I wouldn't base my opinion of metalheads on a small group of idiots, though.

by tokumaru on 2010-04-14 (#60020)

mic_ wrote:
What a certain piece of music will inspire in a listener - if anything - depends totally on that person.

I agree 100%. That's my criteria for liking music: if it doesn't make me feel anything, I don't like it. Having started with videogame and classic music, to me a rich melody is the most important thing. Fast pace comes second.

Quote:
Sometimes I feel like listening to calm music, and sometimes I feel like listening to something with a lot of energy.

I think that in videogames music with a lot of energy really helps to set up the mood, so I think that rock/metal is the best kind of music for action games.

I guess I do like metal in general, ("Dialectic Chaos" was pretty cool) but I like mostly the melodic parts, and don't like when they make noise just for the heck of it. I guess this is why I like the japanese take on metal, it seems like it has less noise.

I just remembered of another example of what I think is great music.

by mic_ on 2010-04-14 (#60021)

Quote:
I think he may be referring to a certain sub-genre of metal that advocates the burning of churches. I wouldn't base my opinion of metalheads on a small group of idiots, though.

Well, there are also NSBM bands, who probably have strong prejudices against groups of people for even less credible reasons. But being a hateful person and inspiring hate in others are two different things. Maybe there's a language barrier here - I don't know.

Anyway, I agree that there are some metalish songs in Megaman (2). Like the Heatman and Flashman themes. The drums are a bit weak though.
Games like Shadow of the Ninja and Shatterhand are two good examples of games with music that at least sounds like it was inspired by metal.

by tepples on 2010-04-14 (#60022)

You forgot Klax, whose soundtrack was supposed to sound like thrash metal (one track aside).

by Bregalad on 2010-04-14 (#60023)

never-obsolete wrote:
I think he may be referring to a certain sub-genre of metal that advocates the burning of churches. I wouldn't base my opinion of metalheads on a small group of idiots, though.

No I wasn't refering to anything. I don't care about lyrics or anything, it's just that I don't like hear music where there is so much distortion guitar it's hardly music anymore and when the guy who is supposed to sing is actually howling instead. This doesn't sound any close to music in any NES game to me - or are you refering to that a distorted electric guitar can sometimes sound like a square wave ?

Battletoads sounds like Rock/Hardrock, which I think is not metal, and I like that.

by Memblers on 2010-04-14 (#60035)

Here's some stuff in no particular order

Frank Zappa
The Sword
In Flames
Helstar
Gwar
Gojira (warning: heavy as shit)
Anthrax
Prong
Sepultura (this is a cover tho)
And of course, if you can't tell from my avatar pic, Iron Maiden

by bucky o'hare on 2010-04-14 (#60037)

Bregalad wrote:
I guess I was interested in music before I was interested in games. Altough now i listen mostly ost music (which most people find nerdy/werid).
Quote:

I remember for years as a kid wanting to find an entire genre of music that sounded like mega man. Metal is just about the closest you can get, I think.

Huh I 100% disagree. Metal sounds to me like a big fuzz that inspires hate and I don't understand why so many people like listening to it when it makes my hear bleed. Doesn't sound any close to Mega Man music to me.

Mega Man covers an odd spectrum of music if you try comparing it to existing genres with live instrumentation. I definitely wouldn't call it "metal" overall... I don't think you can call it being closest to any one thing really. However, the defining galloping sound of Mega Man 2, to be more specific (title screen, woodman, wily stage 1, etc), is very metal in a similar vein to Iron Maiden.

Not all metal is that distorted- some is very clearly melodic and 'anthemic', which is comparable to some video game music for sure. Perhaps you haven't heard the right stuff, I'm not sure.

In the case of Iron Maiden, you sometimes have really strong galloping rhythms. Additionally, there are lots of pitches from the vocals that go into vibrato when sustained (very capcomy). I would recommend checking out this track from :58 and on for a bit and see if it doesn't invoke some Mega Man 2-esque vibes for you. Not trying to prove you wrong or anything, just curious to see what you think!

Also, Castlevania II's Dwelling of Doom is often compared to Yngwie Malmsteen's Far Beyond the Sun. (listen to 0:35 in)

Anyways, I'm far from the biggest metal head out there but figured I'd drop my 2 cents.

by koitsu on 2010-04-14 (#60038)

Non-NES musical inspiration.

by miau on 2010-04-15 (#60042)

Genres don't mean much to me as long as something about a composition manages to pique my interest. These days I'm mostly a sucker for jazzy/synth/progressive/experimental stuff.

Some random picks
Hayato Matsuo - Chromatic Beast / A Planet's Death
Spastic Ink - Words for Nerds
Cowboy Bebop - Rush (best. anime. ever.)
Claude Debussy - Les collines d'Anacapri
Video game music
Ristar - Dancing Leaves
Contra 4 - Ocean
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles - Moon Fight
Kirby's Dreamland 3 - Hyper Zone 1
Glove on Fight - Blue Blue Bandana

Also,
Memblers wrote:
Frank Zappa

Hell yeah!

tokumaru wrote:
The first music I really paid attention to was the Sonic the Hedgehog soundtrack. Only much later I realized that most of the video game music I loved was made in Japan. Because of them I fell in love with the japanese way of making melodies forever. Nowadays I like J-Rock bands that have more metal to them.

I used to be into J-Rock as well. X Japan and Malice Mizer/Moi dix Mois were definitely among my favorites. Good times.

by Ian A on 2010-04-15 (#60044)

I'm a big fan of burning spirits stuff like Paintbox, deathside, backbone, chainsaw, etc. These bands remind of the feeling I get from a lot of old rockin' nintendo games, but it just might be wishful thinking.

Also, I like a lot of old folk and bluegrass such a The Stanley Brothers, and a lot of garage, like Teengenerate, Reigning Sound and such.

by bucky o'hare on 2010-04-15 (#60053)

some random stuffs I dig-

pop, rock, indie-
belle and sebastian
blonde redhead
air
depreciation guild
margo guryan
the clash

instrumental-
zombi
goblin
hella
the fucking champs
tangerine dream
wendy carlos
bernard fevre

metal-
iron maiden
death
emperor

Not at all comprehensive, just some first things coming to mind.
I have a band that does non-chiptuney stuff, check it out if you're interested-
http://www.myspace.com/brownreclusesings

by bucky o'hare on 2010-04-17 (#60120)

bucky o'hare wrote:
Also, Castlevania II's Dwelling of Doom is often compared to Yngwie Malmsteen's Far Beyond the Sun. (listen to 0:35 in)

Scratch that, I made a video for it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrUj_0bgZPw

by tepples on 2010-04-17 (#60121)

I found pieces of a Beatles song in the opening theme of the DS and Wii versions of Animal Crossing, and I found a piece of a Franz Ferdinand song in the DS version. Video proof

by Jedi QuestMaster on 2010-04-17 (#60134)

Journey to Silius & Metroid stood out from me from the very beginning:

Metroid, because it was creepy at time - it sticks to this day. Not too long ago I played through most of Metroid II, unfazed until I reached the very end, where I supposed composer Ryoji Yoshitomi finds inspiration from Hip Tanaka's music.

And Journey to Silius - just because it's Journey to Silius - it's '80s digitalized rock.

I still like '80s rock music!

And is it just me or does Ninja Gaiden's music seem inspired from the classic Romeo & Juliet film?

by Memblers on 2010-04-17 (#60138)

Wow, it's all great stuff in this thread. Holy shit @ Spastic Ink, that's wild.

Maybe some of you guys are familiar with YMO? I've really been enjoying their stuff.
Cool to have Wendy Carlos mentioned too, that's some amazing stuff, going back to when synthesizers were monstrous monophonic machines. I had kept most of Switched on Bach on my mp3 player pretty much permanently.

I have to mention Dream Theater as well, I have to admit I'm not familliar with much of their stuff, but IMO Pull Me Under is one of the most epic metal songs of all time. I used to rock out to this song all over the place when I was driving deliveries at my previous job (2001 Isuzu NPR had an awesome sound system if you take care with the stereo's DSP settings).

Also I like the sound of big band music, stuff like Police Squad/Naked Gun theme is great. I wish I had my grandpa's old reel-to-reel tapes and albums, probably some great stuff in there that was harder for me to appreciate when I was 5 years old or whatever.

Can't forget Henry Mancini as well! this too

by miau on 2010-04-18 (#60152)

Memblers wrote:
Maybe some of you guys are familiar with YMO? I've really been enjoying their stuff.

I remember my parents used to have some YMO tapes lying around that I've always wanted to listen to, but did not. Should have done so, seems to be pretty good stuff.

Quote:
Wendy Carlos

In this context I'd like to mention Isao Tomita. His arrangement of Gustav Holst's "The Planets" blows my mind. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find any of the other tracks from this album on Youtube.

Memblers wrote:
Also I like the sound of big band music, stuff like Police Squad/Naked Gun theme is great. I wish I had my grandpa's old reel-to-reel tapes and albums, probably some great stuff in there that was harder for me to appreciate when I was 5 years old or whatever.

Can't forget Henry Mancini as well! this too

Heh, classy. Love how the last one gets all funky when the solo starts, although that's probably not in the original song.

by bucky o'hare on 2010-04-18 (#60157)

Memblers wrote:
Maybe some of you guys are familiar with YMO? I've really been enjoying their stuff.

I love Rydeen so much!

by tokumaru on 2010-04-21 (#60219)

You can say anything you want about the way they look (I don't care about looks), but this has to be one of the greatest instrumental songs ever!

by Banshaku on 2010-04-21 (#60225)

@Tokumaru:

Yeah, they call that "Visual rock" in Japan.

I'm surprised I didn't post anything earlier in this thread. I like all kind of music. I can go from classical to metal as long as I like what I hear so usually I don't stick to one style only. I could be listening to some game music then switch to Slipknot, go back to some techno and end up on some japanese pop etc.

But I could say that I tend to like music with guitar since I was playing some in the past (don't have time these days, it's kind of rotting in it's case.. a shame).

Since there was many video with Japanese band, I will had my share of it.

Mucc was not mentioned yet. here's Mucc - Boku to kimi e. It may be too fuzzy for Bregalad taste. It goes from softer distotion to harder darker sound (from my vision), guitar and vocal too. I like the change from one to the other.

I found that group with this song. They don't seem to have a video out of it. Maybe it was a cover song or something, don't remember. The live version contains subtitles by fan but the sound is less clear but the live vocal is good actually. The singer is not fake! laugh! This song for sure will not be ones of Bregalad favorite because it's too metal

by Bregalad on 2010-04-23 (#60285)

When I was a little guy the first time I remember my scool mates playing tetris on their gameboy with chiptune port of Tcheakovsky music on it and I said it sucked. I was far to imagine I would become a fan of 8-bit music half-a dozen years later.
Anyway the first time I was impressed by a video game song it was this one : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rViYSp88r3g&feature=related&fmt=18
My sister was a fan of that titanic game and I was surprised how much scary just a piano could be, I had never hear that in any other type of music. Of course now I think this song sucks and I know video games with WAY better music, but I have to remember it as the first that "impressed" me and that made me figure out that video game actually had music in them.

Then I don't remember exactly, but I guess I was impressed by the music in "Myst" and "Command & Conquer" PC games, which made me want to compose video game music. But it's only when we god a Playstation with FF7 that I was really stunned by how good the music in the game way, and that really made me want to make my own games and game music.