SNES
Let's start with the SNES. I have lots of complaints about the sound chip in the SNES, and despite that, some of the stickiest chiptunes ever to bounce around in my head are on the SNES, so I guess my nitpicks are indeed just that. You'll notice all of these are relatively early tracks. I think the early SNES stuff is in some ways more experimental, hewing closer to the arcades in some places and striking out in bold new directions in others. Most of the SNES stuff I love is very melodic, but some are really enhanced by the rhythm sections underpinning them.
- Actraiser: Filmore (Filmoa) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2ZP9ang6zU&t=266s
My favorite SNES soundtrack, hands down, and Filmore is the hook that grabs me and never lets go. - Super Castlevania IV: Theme of Simon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sySkD2Nfwok&t=29s
All the music in the game is great, but this one is the one that sticks every time. - Super R-Type: Solo Sortie - https://youtu.be/uRYQWjU-mqk
Gotta hang in there for the fantastic solo you'd never hear in the actual stage because that track is longer than the gameplay by quite a bit. - Joe and Mac: Stone Age Skirmish (boss track) - https://youtu.be/dxUhu2PvRrs
This is totally intense boss music with a catchy melody and a fantastic sense of rhythm. In-game it's even more insane, with deep, loud roars from the bosses. - Hyperzone: Blast Furnace - https://youtu.be/oesI9KGqK1I
The soundtrack to this game is intensely industrial yet melodic, but also has little discordant notes, like one of the instruments is just a tiny bit out of tune (and it probably is).
I didn't come to the Sega Genesis until much later. At the time it was SNES and TG16. But while the Genesis is definitely not my favorite platform, it has a lot going for it, and to downplay its audio capabilities is folly. These tracks aren't nearly so nostalgia-induced as the SNES ones. But it also means my experience with these titles is more piecemeal, so I'm probably missing some great tracks just because I didn't spend enough time with the library. There's a lot of good melodic material here and that's thanks very much to Hitoshi Sakimoto. Most of the Genesis music I enjoy is less melodic and more rhythmic and eclectic, but you might not be able to tell from this list.
- Gunstar Heroes: Military on the Max-Power - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMtCyENNEgA&t=307s
This track starts SO strong. It peters out a bit as it goes along, but as tracks go, this starts stronger than just about anything else on the Genesis. - Castlevania Bloodlines: Theme of Simon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxb7Zfay0dY&t=1378s
This is a remix of the SNES tune, and it does a great job showing off how a Genesis FM synth take can be just as rocking as the original in a very different way. - Gauntlet IV: Sortie - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnkXMZk_4_4&t=664s
I could easily have filled this list with Hitoshi Sakimoto tracks, but I do like some variety in my earworms. This is not an arcade track but an original Sakimoto/Iwata composition (not sure who actually is responsible for this, but it sounds very Sakimoto-esque). - Verytex: The Void of Space - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqxUe27KFyk&t=35s
This Sakimoto track bumped another from the list, and I'm glad it did, because this track is just so much fun. Three composers worked on this soundtrack, but this track is the standout and has that Sakimoto synth sound I love so much. - Streets of Rage 2: Go Straight - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGJGOv8HS5c&t=0s
OK, so I rarely find myself humming this under my breath, but it's catchy and gets me super pumped in the game. It's such a perfect representation of club music in a game. Koshiro seems to know atmospheric like the back of his hand.
The NES is my first video game music love. No, that's only mostly true. I think I did encounter some catchy tunes in the arcade, but the simple stuff on the Atari 2600 and Apple II never did it for me The NES is the first system I encountered capable of producing game music that really inspired an emotional response in me. And the library is so vast that it can be a minefield to pick a favorite 5. But I'm going to lean into my susceptibility to earworms and let that guide me. The NES also had some audio expansion chips, but I'm going to avoid those because I have never heard those tunes on actual hardware from my TV and I really want to stick to the basics.
- Shadow of the Ninja/Blue Shadow/Kage: Stage 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbv16UPb4yU&t=48s
The intro tune is actually just as good as this one, but this one gets stuck in my head just a tad more often. It is glorious and up there with the best Konami and Sunsoft have to offer. - Castlevania III: Beginning - https://youtu.be/78706bv98S8
So many Castlevania tunes deserve love, but this one, while perhaps not the most moody or oppressive, is just a great tune. This is possibly my favorite Castlevania NES track. Perhaps it's heresy to say, but despite the extra sound channels in the Japanese release, I love the stripped-down US versions. They're more stark and really are forced to pull out the meat of each tune. I think they're compositionally excellent. - Mega Man 2: Wiley Stage 1 - https://youtu.be/UzVwG4sfwS8
Capcom's NES output relied really heavily on musicality because their sound driver wasn't nearly as advanced as Nintendo's, Konami's, or Sunsoft's. This is a perfect example of how good composition keeps keeps things moving along. - Contra: Base - https://youtu.be/s3gKFXPPR_U
Even more than the iconic first stage tune and the rocking Super C tunes, this one is the one most likely to get stuck in my head. - Faxanadu: The Kingdom - https://youtu.be/SWRhzNYIiZw
Jun Chikuma is an amazing composer who has a lot of middle eastern influences in her compositions. I love most of her stuff. You'll be hearing from her again.
This is my favorite 8- or 16-bit platform. Not because I think it's the best, but because I think it speaks to what I wanted out of my games at that point in my life. I bucked the popular and stuck with the underdog and I didn't regret it, because I got to play a bunch of fun stuff other people missed out on. A lot of people underestimate what the sound chip in this little engine could do, but we won't make that same mistake. I didn't manage to include any of the great chiptunes found in many CD titles to accompany their Redbook tracks. I just don't have as much listening time with those.
- Magical Chase: Variations on a Ra Melody - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YozebT8JIXA&t=1624s
SAKIMOTOOOOOO!!!!!!! His only TG16 soundtrack, and it's great. This track in particularly sounds ethereal, but also rocks the bass on a system that sometimes has trouble with bassy notes. - Devil's Crush: Main Stage Theme - https://youtu.be/nHCCoNyNFtY
The Genesis has a version of this game and it's pretty good there, too, but I think the Turbo rocks it better. Seems to use the same sound engine as Blazing Lazers (Compile loves to reuse code, which is a smart move) but does more with it. - Air Zonk: Aqua Base - https://youtu.be/9IJcqceH3CM
This Hudson shooter take the Coryoon engine, including the fantastic sound engine, and runs with it. I think the audio code has something like 20% CPU overhead, but with what it can do there's no question why. - Bomberman '93: Quarry Planet - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R245tvNfQEM&t=212s
Jun Chikuma does such interesting things with the elements of the Bomberman theme across all her tracks, and this one incorporates clearly middle eastern sections. - Parasol Stars: Rainbow World - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQII7lfTZX4&t=295s
Most of Taito's TG-16 soundtracks were strange adaptations that sounded a little harsh. Perhaps they were trying too hard to adapt the stridency of the FM synth hardware from the arcade. But this was a console original, and it shows. The music is much better suited to the hardware and the tunes are catch as all getout. And this track is one of my favorites. Quite an upbeat tune.
