Emulator Hour: Faxanadu (NES)

Why do I love Faxanadu so much?  It's one of my favorite games for the NES that I never owned.  I've spent some time thinking about this game, and I think that the graphics are one of my favorite parts of Faxanadu.  They may not seem like much at first glance, but I think they contribute strongly to my reason for carrying a torch for this game.  In addition, the soundtrack is one of the most interesting from the NES era.  

Below I show a progression of some of the different pallets and musical themes from Faxanadu.  The game's action starts at the base of the World Tree, travels up the tree a bit, goes inside the tree, comes back out, then ends up in the branches.  I love the idea of fighting through a giant tree.  This is a game that warrants a good remake.  Emphasis on good.

Muddy brown brick and a sky with a greenish hue characterize the town Eolis, cut off from their source of water and life.  
Eolis theme.  

The contrast is kicked up at the trunk; bright orange and green dominate, with a deep blue sky. The music picks up a bit.  

Overworld Theme. 

Purple foggy good times.  This was the furthest I ever made it on a rental. Delightfully spooky musical accompaniment.  
Mist Theme

Here we are in a branch of the great world tree. The music gets a bit more serious in tone. 
World of Branch Theme

Somehow there's a stone dungeon in the branches of this tree.  Another new pallet.  The music is a variation on the previous dungeon theme.  
Labrynth Theme

Another thing I'd like to mention is that the music is pretty darn good.  Wikipedia gives composition credits to June Chikuma who also maintains a site called arab-music.com.  Perhaps her studies of Arabic Nay and Tunisian music have influenced her compositions on Faxanadu for the better.  

WiiGuy has kindly put the entire Faxanadu soundtrack on youtube, in stereo.  Myself, I'm a big fan of the overworld theme.  But I think you should also try this creepy track on for size.  Oh, and check out this guy who arranged/recorded the Faxanadu town theme for classical guitar.  And then why not listen to this orchestral arrangement of the overworld theme? And then there's this Piano cover of the mist theme.  Alright, it turns out there is no end to cool arrangements of themes from this game!

The first minute of this jazz arrangement is worth the price of admission (which is free, by the way).  

I guess what I'd like to conclude is that the sense of atmosphere in Faxanadu sets it apart from 2d platformers of that era.  The music and the graphics are both distinctive and synchronous.  And these elements contribute heavily to my continued appreciation of this game.  

-D


P.S. Here are some passwords I saved from my last play of the NES game Faxanadu.  They're in chronological order, though I don't remember where any of them will put you.  Have fun. 

a2EIAAkgAAMA

VXIoAQsgQAGeBg

Y2KIABsiYhQA

8pKYAHsjAhQHMe8I

Qe

gIqcANsgQoDmPB8Ip

F408A3tOiEIEfA5g

w3zMI3tOiIiAzwS

Cp3cMn21EKEhLpKU

xyw

jabscn21ELHRoxKm

PCEA

Zq7ucn20yowOjUTJ

PCEHg

zbfvcn?9XwSYyJGO

k5YQhA