MIDI Week Singles: "Filmoa" - ActRaiser (SNES)

First off, how the hell have we not done any music from ActRaiser!?  That is now changing!

"Filmoa" from ActRaiser on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (1991)

Composer: Yuzo Koshiro

Released By: G.M.O. Records ALCA-105

Developer: Quintet (Now part of Square Enix)

There are so many amazing tracks from the ActRaiser soundtrack that I should probably just do a Game Scores article. . . I will do a Game Scores article about the music from ActRaiser.  But today, I am going to highlight the music from the first action sequence in the game, the forest stage in Filmoa.  I remember thinking when I first played this stage the the music reminded me of music that I was like to find in a Castlevania game, which is never a bad thing when it come to comparisons.  Even just listening to the music makes me wonder why I'm not playing the game right now.

What's interesting to me about "Filmoa," is that it doesn't scream "YOU'RE IN A FOREST OF DEMONS!"  All the music tells me is that this game is going to be exciting and there will be some amazing music the accompany you along the way.  "Filmoa" is like the opening track on an album, put there up front to hook the audience, meanwhile wondering if this song is going to be the only good thing on the whole album.  Then you remember the title track (to be covered in the upcoming Games Scores article) and you feel reassured.  Or maybe you don't.  The point is, I love this song which is why I'm sharing it with y'all today.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

Schlaflos , rastlos, such ich. . .

MIDI Week Singles: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Ending (SNES)

So I decided to combine the first weeks popular-cliched choice with last weeks semi-random and go with the "Ending" theme from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

"Ending" from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Super Nintendo Entertainment System - 1991

The Legend of Zelda : Sound & Drama.  Disc 2, Track #40

Record Label: Sony (June 22, 1994)

Music Composed by: Koji Kondo

I have no data to back up my assumption, but I feel that when most people think of the music from the Legend of Zelda franchise, that the "Overworld" theme or "Zelda's Theme" are what come to mind.  That is the case for myself as well, but the "Ending" from A Link to the Past is one of my favorite themes from these games.  It makes me a little sad that this theme has not been reused since 1994, or if it has then I apologize for not knowing about it.  I admit that I have not played every Legend of Zelda game (specifically Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, Minish Cap, Skyward Sword, A Link Between Worlds and I have yet to finish Twilight Princess).

My love for the song could also have to do with the fact that I figured out how to play it on my trumpet back in high school and it was one of the songs that I would warm up with before band practice, even while in the Cal Aggie Marching Band-uh!, it was a staple warm up song for me.  I find it to be a great fanfare-type piece that fits with the rest of the music from the game surprisingly well considering that this is the one and only time in A Link to the Past that this particular theme is heard.

Really, it is a great song from a game that has a great soundtrack.  You cannot really go wrong with 23 year old music from Koji Kondo.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

Instrumental

Game Scores: Final Fantasy USA - Mystic Quest (SNES)

If you're like me, then you might have been one of the many people who initially scoffed at Final Fantasy Mystic Quest.  I mean the cover of the game touted that it was an "Entry-Level Role Playing Adventure."  Entry-Level?  I'd been playing RPGs since Dragon Warrior.  I didn't need to have my hand held while fighting off monsters on my way to save the world.  I only played it because the game belonged to The Kid, although I can't remember if I bought it for her or she bought it herself.  Well, as it turned out, it was a pretty decent game and what surprised me the most was the music, which is why we are all here today.

I acquired this soundtrack over 10 years ago while buying something on eBay and this came as a "bonus gift."  It was one of five video game CDs to choose from and the only one that I had played, so I figured why not?  After listening through the whole CD, I discovered that I recalled the music more than I thought I would and that I actually enjoyed the music as well.

The music composed for Final Fantasy Mystic Quest was not written by then Squaresoft mainstay Nobuo Uematsu, but instead by Ryuji Sasai and Yasuhiro Kawakami.  To give you an idea of where this soundtrack is coming from, previous works from these two composers include Final Fantasy Legend III (Gameboy 1993) and Tetris (Arcade 1988).

So what makes this soundtrack surprisingly good?  We'll get there later, but first, let's start off with the main theme for the game which is played during the opening titles and is used for the overworld theme.

It's poppy.  It's bouncy.  It's upbeat.  Not really what you would expect from not only a Final Fantasy game, but from a game in a series where the threat of global destruction or evil overlordship is just on the horizon.  In almost any other J-Pop RPG, this theme might work, but upon first listen, Final Fantasy doesn't come to mind.  Is the song bad then?  Not really, just not something you would at first expect.

Now onto another theme heard throughout a large portion of the game.  This track is titled "Beautiful Forest."  Upon listening, I tend to find all the elements in the song needed to drum up the idea of a serene forest.  There might be enemies here, there might not.  Not too much to worry about.  There's probably also beams of light streaming through breaks in the trees.  Most likely a fair amount of moss.  You get the picture.

Ready for an adventure that sounds a lot cheesier than it actually is (kind of like that sentence)?  The track "Fossil Labyrinth" exemplifies this sense of adventuring in a questionable place then picks up the pace a bit as you get to the magnificence and awe portion of your exploration and finally, like any good RPG loop, you're dropped off again at the beginning of the track.  All of this occurs within 41 seconds.  You can't even microwave a Hot Pocket in that time without it catching on fire.

By now I hope that you're able to see where I'm coming from when I say that the music in Final Fantasy Mystic Quest is actually quite good, considering it's self label as an introductory RPG for beginners.  The final track is an arranged track that is found on the OST (Original SoundTrack), although the song itself is final dungeon music (Last Castle), this specific arrangement is not.  And, while I usually don't go for remixes of music from video games (not including orchestral arrangements), as this song is officially sanctioned and because of the song's quality, I am perfectly secure in my liking of this next song:

So, if any of today's tracks have intrigued you, I highly encourage you to give the whole soundtrack a listen to and if you feel additionally inclined, give the game a play.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
Instrumental

Game Scores: Robin Hood Prince of Thieves (NES)

When you think of the NES game Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, the first thing you might think of is the "debacle" between the Nintendo Power cover and coverage and the actual release of the game four months later.  Okay, maybe it wasn't that much of a debacle that I seem to remember, and that's not even one of the first things that comes to my mind.  I never even received that issue as I had forgotten to renew my NP subscription and this was the issue I missed.  (I recall this happening again and didn't get the Rescue Rangers issue either).  

Back to RH:PoT which was developed by Bits Studio and Sculpted Software and released by Virgin Games back in November of 1991.  The game itself was a lot of fun as it incorporated multiple modes of play.  There was the Legend of Zelda top down exploration mode, there was the side view mode for story specific duals (John Little being a god damn pain in the proverbial ass) and a massive melee mode where all the members in your party engaged in an overhead combat area against a lot of enemies.  It was quite, I think, revolutionary for an NES game near the end of the NES era.

But the reason I bring up this game, is because of the music, composed by English musician Paul Webb.  His credits are somewhat extensive and honestly, his score for PoT is all that I have that he has written, partly because I didn't have access to the soundtrack until a couple of years ago (downloaded from FF Shrine) as there was never an official release of the soundtrack.  So as you can imagine, the audio is just ripped from a port of the game, but it's still 1991 NES quality music, which might be a turn off to some of you reading this, or maybe not, because you are reading this.

Being a huge fan of the Kevin Reynolds' adaptation of the Robin Hood story, I wanted to play the game, and for Christmas in 1991, that dream became a reality.  But again, the music, which you will notice bares no resemblance to the music that Michael Kamen (What is dead may never die) composed for the feature film.  That doesn't mean that the music isn't any good as his music most likely wouldn't translate well for this kind of a game.  Paul Webb's music however, fits the world of 12th century England portrayed in a 1991 NES game as evidenced by the opening title music:

Great stuff.  The music for the melee battles I also really enjoy.  To me, it sounds like a mix between music that you would find in the first Gauntlet game and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  So basically a lot of enemies coming at you all at once that you have to fight off with your friends/companions.

Another short piece that you would often hear is the overworld music once you make your way back to merry olde England.  As with most overworld tunes, they have to be catchy, memorable and able to be repeated indefinitely.  So if you find yourself in 8 bit 12th England, and wandering from one screen to the next, we've got the music for you!

All-in-all, Paul Webb's score for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is not very extensive.   Comprising only 6 minutes 16 seconds of non-repeating music, not including 42 seconds comprising three tracks (one song and two jingles) of unused music, you certainly wouldn't know it by playing the game.  It doesn't span the length of an Nobuo Uematsu or Howard Shore score, but it does fit the setting of the game and it works.  And in the end, that's all I ask for when thinking about video game music.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
Instrumental