Old Video Game Music That Still Slaps Today

Brought to you by the 8 and 16-bit Councils of Quality Bangers

Music Sounds Better With You is an occasional article series discussing notable video game tracks of yore.

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STREETS OF RAGE 2 – “GO STRAIGHT” by YUZO KOSHIRO

Full disclosure: this article will be full of obvious brilliant choices, like this one.

Excellent video game music is everywhere, you don’t have to look that hard for it. But it’s rare for a composer within any medium to completely break the limits of possibility. Hans Zimmer is one for sure. The greats, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven. Philip Glass. Prince. Aphex Twin. Shattering what most of us think is achievable via sheer genius and gifting.

Yuzo Koshiro can join that esteemed list, as far as I’m concerned. His work is varied and extensive, spanning decades and multiple systems, but it’s his ambitious soundtracks on the Genesis that define him.

The Sega Genesis’ Yamaha YM2612 sound chip ordinarily has a synthetic, grimy, metallic sound that suggests getting mugged down a side alley in New York City circa 1983. Sounds like a perfect fit for a beat-em-up series called Streets of Rage. But maestro Koshiro doesn’t lean into the chip’s strengths, save for the thumpin’ beats. With Streets of Rage 2 and “Go Straight” in particular, Koshiro ushers in a dance party, one filled with heat, lights, and vitality. The electro twang is here, but it doesn’t sound mechanical, it sounds like swaying bodies in unison. Somehow, Koshiro makes the robotic YM2612 sound human. It’s a wonder.

For many young men, including myself, the Streets of Rage 2 soundtrack was their introduction to house, two-step, and all manner of up-and-coming electronic sub-genres.

Koshiro made other great soundtracks and I suggest you look into his work at large. Streets of Rage 2 remains his magnum opus.

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DONKEY KONG COUNTRY – “AQUATIC AMBIANCE” by DAVID WISE

Nintendo’s 1994 resurrection of their original mascot, Donkey Kong Country, had no right to be as atmospheric and enveloping as it was. Donkey Kong and his pal Diddy Kong didn’t just feel like characters in a silly game. They felt like real apes in a fully lived-in world, complete with lizard-men aggressors and dynamic, varied environments.

Everyone hates water levels. Your character’s slower than normal, while water enemies are always faster and more aggressive than you are. David Wise must have known this when he composed “Aquatic Ambiance,” one of the best and most relaxing water level themes in any game, ever. The track lowers your blood pressure in an otherwise anxiety-filled location. It’s serene, somber, full of possibility. Twinkling piano and a subdued synth harmonica sound like an ode to water itself.

In the water levels like “Coral Capers” and “Poison Pond,” there are, of course, villains lurking everywhere. Rolling octopi and passing fish threaten to slay the Kong duo with so much as a touch. If you’re riding Enguarde the swordfish, you have greater mobility, faster movement, and his sword nose to stab sea vermin, but sometimes you move too fast, you can’t see what’s ahead. Enguarde gets hit, scared and swims off, leaving two apes in a large body of water with no way to defend themselves.

But as “Aquatic Ambiance” plays repeatedly in the background, fear dissipates. This track lets you know everything’s gonna be ok. “Croctopus Chase” might be dangerous, but there’s peace in the journey. Just keep paddling and you’ll make it through.

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MEGA MAN 3 – “INTRO” by YASUAKI FUJITA

Before we get into the music, let’s settle something here.

Do we use “roman numerals” or “everyday numbers” (the latter is a totally scientific name) to number Mega Man sequels? I know this is silly, but let’s discuss for exactly one paragraph. On the box art for the Mega Man sequels, everyday numbers are used, Mega Man 3, 4, etc. But on the games’ title screens, roman numerals are used all the way up through Mega Man 7 (VII). Personally, I think roman numerals lend the series a gravitas that it lacks with the everyday. That said, the original Japanese releases all use everyday numbers on both the box art and title screen, so you know what that means! That’s right, it doesn’t matter in the slightest. (Also, the term “everyday numbers” bothers me, but using “decimal numerals” didn’t seem right either? But maybe it is? Please help my brain in the comments)

Anyways! Onward and upward to Mega Man 3’s melancholic intro, the first piece of video game music that burrowed its way into my soul.

The first 20 seconds of the track is Mega Man wrestling with himself. He’s already stopped Wily and his robots twice before, and now he’s supposed to go stop them all again. Wily begged for mercy and ran away the last two times, but he didn’t learn his lesson. What’s the point of it all? 25 seconds in, however, Mega Man resolves to bring Wily down yet again. Wily’s continuous misbehavior may be his destiny, but Mega Man’s destiny (or “programming”) is to put an end to Wily’s world-conquering ways. And yet, determined though he may be, the sadness remains, as best exemplified in the 42-52 second range. I don’t know what that haunting background sound is supposed to be, but it hits like a mournful vocoder solo. Mega Man’s Lament. A Robot of Many Sorrows. He’ll do what’s required of him because he has to, because it’s right, but the weight of his calling is occasionally too much to bear.

All this angst for a game about a robot man fighting other ridiculous-looking robot men. Mega Man III’s music is so compelling, so rewarding, that it elevates a generic premise into solemn contemplation. Sounds like art to me, folks.