More Reasons Why Being Deaf Sucks/Rocks

Over the years I’ve spent quite a few hours playing video games. In fact I think it’s a safe bet that I’ve spent more time playing video games than I spent studying in high school and college (and I mean actual “studying” not doing homework.)

That’s probably why I can remember the code that I used as a teaser, yet have no idea what “Future Perfect” means or “Avogadro’s Number” is. If pressed I could probably rattle off the bosses in the first Mega Man faster than I could give you the classification of animals.

You’d think that with all that time I spent playing video games, I’d have paid more attention to the music that they played. But I didn’t. I never really appreciated it. That is until I visited my cousins in Iowa this past summer.

West Burlington is about as thrilling as Mayberry, but I love the place because that’s where half of my family calls home. And as much as I complain about how much time my cousins play video games (their time is pretty equally balanced between video games, school and sleeping) I have to admit; there’s very little else to do in that burg.

Anyway they humored an old timer like myself and put in the anniversary edition of Mega Man (which contained like Mega Man I-VI). Now being old school, I really wanted to play Mega Man I. Thus they had to deal with primitive 8 Bit graphics.

While I was getting used to controls, I was really relishing the music. It was amazing. And since I’ve already covered this in a previous column, I’ll spare you the rehash. Let’s just say that I’ve been sonically reminiscing on my days as a gamer.

I want to say that I’m just waxing poetic, that the songs really sucked, and I’ve just been brainwashed into enjoying them because, well, I listened to them for hours on end. But the more I think about them, the more I marvel in their simplicity.

Take Super Mario Bros for instance. It didn’t have a lush sound. It’s soundtrack wasn’t fully orchestrated. But it did have some kick ass songs. Everybody knows the “Super Mario Theme.” It’s a classic. And what about the Subterranean Theme, when you fell out of a pipe? That song was a beast.

Sure the Aquatic Theme left something to be desired, and the Bowser’s Theme did get annoying, but that was due mostly to the frustration of dying because you failed to make a jump or were hit by an errant fireball than to any deficiency in the music.

And as a flagship title, all the Mario games had memorable soundtracks.

Super Mario Bros 2

This game had an equally solid soundtrack. The more diverse landscape needed different songs, thus it had a very unique sound.

Super Mario Bros 3

To me, this was the pinnacle of the Mario Franchise, in terms of gameplay and sonically speaking as well. How dope was it that different climates had different themes, not to mention the music on the Map screen. You also had the music for the ships and when you battled Bowser’s kids. And you could have yet another song for the throwback Mario/Luigi battle. This game was the tops, hands down.

Of course if you talk about Nintendo games, you’ve got to mention their other franchise player – Link.

Legend of Zelda

If every hero needs theme music, then Link’s music is the most becoming of a hero. Out of all the early games this one has the most evocative music. The main music in Zelda practically screams “valiant.” It motivates you to keep going and finish your quest, because it fills you with confidence and makes you believe that you can accomplish anything.

And when you actually get to the temples, the music there is menacing and kind of scary. It makes you uneasy and quite frankly intimidates you. But that just shows how powerful it is. It’s a marvel that they could create such a well-rounded sound with the tech at their disposal.

The sound evolved with Adventure of Link, but it really hit it’s blew me away with the next installment.

Link To The Past

When this was released on the Super Nintendo, I was done. With the tech upgrade they managed to really layer the music. The Zelda Theme was better than ever. Everything sounded crisp and clear. And the additions to the soundtrack were amazing. It was full of nuance and was like nothing I’d hear from a video game up that point.

If we could jump back to the original Nintendo, there was one game company that I could count of for consistent quality game music; Capcom. Here’s a list of some of my faves;

Mega Man I

This game is an underrated classic. Every level had it’s own music, plus boss music. Even the ending music was decent. And the songs weren’t short by any means. They were some of most fun to listen at that time. Dr. Wily’s theme is still memorable to this day.

Mega Man II

To me this game had the best end music of all time. It’s melancholy and somber. But it’s also poignant. I would beat this game, just to hear that song, it’s that good. The music throughout the game was solid as well.

Ducktales

Laugh if you want, but this game had a solid soundtrack. As usual, every level had it’s own music. Since this game had bonus levels they also had distinct music. It may have been a “kid game” but it had some of the best music at the time.

It’s time like this that I wish I could find that music again. I truly enjoyed these songs composed of little more than “bleeps” and “bloops.” It’s kind of sad that now that technology has advanced to a point where I could easily dub these songs, I no longer have access to the songs.

But right about now I could really go some old Nintendo music.

Ah, I’ve wasted your enough of you time read these folks;

Nintendo

Jeff due to some flaw in the space/time continuum posted before Aaron. He also covers 2004, in ridiculous fashion.

Aaron is taking this week off. Geez, you elect the guy and he goes on vacation. Hm, that sounds familiar.

Gordi has a theme similar to mine. Sort of.

Botter doesn’t dig NIN, but he’s still planning on attending Coachella.

Gloomchen quotes my all time favorite Everclear song. She goes way deeper and personal than I would ever dare. Suffice it to say; I despise my pop. But her column is therapeutic. Good business.

Sega

Tayo returns! (I’ll get you those answers this weekend.)

Jim, like myself, is a fan of Folds.

Ian doubts Ryan Adams. How dare you!

Five Instrumentals I Copped Today

1. The Roots – Star
2. Handsome Boy Modeling School – Breakdown
3. Handsome Boy Modeling School – Greatest Mistake
4. Mos Def – Sex, Love & Money
5. Mos Def – Ghetto Rock