[Chemo]

Blaster Master, followed by Castlevania II.

[jett]

The Commodore 64's chip was revolutionary when it was released. The problem with these threads is that all the songs are just judged by nostalgia or popularity. I feel like it's pointless to post anything from the C64 since most haven't even heard of it on this forum.

Nuh uh. I didn't play Wizball or Parallax when I had a C64, although I guess there might be some nostalgia for the SID sound.

[ghibli99]

Castlevania II is awesome, although the loops are short. The basswork in those tracks is most excellent.

Having just played Mega Man II, it's hard to imagine a soundtrack in that series being better, especially that first Dr. Wily theme. Man, it's good. I just beat 1-3, and 2 is definitely my favorite so far, although gameplay-wise, 2 and 3 are close.

I never made it all the way through Blaster Master, but I remember really liking that first level's theme. Lots of those other Sunsoft soundtracks of that time were great, like Batman and Journey to Silius. I had no idea what JtS was until the HVGN video, which I'm quite thankful for.

Rush'n Attack is great, as is Gumshoe.

Golvellius, Kenseiden, and Phantasy Star on the SMS get my votes, too.

[Zekes!]

Mother - Twinkle Elementary School

[thomaser]

I wish today's games would sound like these... :(

Let's all start a kickstarter for getting back composers like Tim Follin, Chris Hüelsbeck and the early Capcom/Konami/Sunsoft people! And they HAVE to use the same tools as they used back then. No modern crap. I'm serious, let's do this.

[jett]

Ghouls N Ghosts on the C64 is another favorite of mine.

[OpinionatedCyborg]

Kirby

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N_Mp...feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ELrYpSwV7I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv0JvI4DpRU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-W51...feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6Awy...feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa-Hi...feature=relmfu

not a single weak song

[inner-G]

Mega Man 2 by several lightyears.

[Parallax Scroll]

megaman 2 da best

although yeah, the ducktales track linked in the OP is also stupid good.

[OpinionatedCyborg]

I also don't think MM2 clearly stands out among all MM games. All of those games have fantastic soundtracks, up to and including 6.

6 actually has a fantastic OST!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54jgnb5FMZ4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKHVU...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7mk55CdEk8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTKAGirfgks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4k_G50G70I0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtWtTaVIksk

plant man: lame, derivative boss. great music

[Ultratech]

Radia Senki

Obscure JRPG with a fan translation. Has a few interesting tracks, including that battle music (which got stuck in my head for a good month or so).

I still have TMNT 3, so I know it's good.

[lunchwithyuzo]

Falcom up in the NES, Legacy of the Wizard. http://youtu.be/2c3AQlZvM8Q http://youtu.be/ZTy7NVe--mc http://youtu.be/yVxpNjetynA

I LOVE Legacy of the Wizard's soundtrack. It was Yuzo right?

[Degen]

After clicking you guys' stuff and looking at related videos, I came across my new favorite: Alien 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLe2uGn6EnY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN4BgwmHiF4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYbqLoQldRI

the most dead-serious 8-bit soundtrack ever

"NO MARIO HERE KID"

[JumpingTheGun]

I wish today's games would sound like these... :( Let's all start a kickstarter for getting back composers like Tim Follin, Chris Hüelsbeck and the early Capcom/Konami/Sunsoft people! And they HAVE to use the same tools as they used back then. No modern crap. I'm serious, let's do this.

Add Yuzo Koshiro and Tommy Tallarico to that list as well please. Fuck the bits, kickstart getting all these guys back regardless.

[djSyndrome]

Add Yuzo Koshiro and Tommy Tallarico to that list as well please. Fuck the bits, kickstart getting all these guys back regardless.

Yuzo is still doing music for Etrian Odyssey.

And there is plenty of new blood creating fantastic tracks as well.

[Combichristoffersen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLe2uGn6EnY

With some heavy kick drum beats and distorted vocals this could almost have passed as a :Wumpscut: track from the Embryodead era.

[To Far Away Times]

Megaman 2?

One and done.

Honorable mention for the Castlevania series. Caslevania 2 Simon's Quest and the Japanese version of Castlevania 3 in particular.

[GooeyHeat]

Mega Man 2 isn't even the best 8-bit Mega Man soundtrack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuYG5qOsDGU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kizh0c7fFuQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPNaQEjgXyY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmQXi9WsrzQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXvyGNOqlZk

And, the one that puts it squarely at the top:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaXOuW0Nhvo

[bjork]

C64:

Platoon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXfkev09fHA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNfsY4CnJzA

Garfield
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwOr9NymldM

Great Giana Sisters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8teXm6723-g

Last Ninja
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaxJK2c9Onk

Master of Magic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm5Hjsm5NZ4

SMS
Wonder Boy III
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2YbwIuhv0E

Zillion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuQvHo6Pt8M

Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L7gAjwMu7g

[entrement]

Capcom killed during the 8 bit era, along with MM2, 3, 4, their Disney games had great music as well.

Duck Tales
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_80PQ543rMDuck Tales

Rescue Rangers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njoqMF6xebE

[MrCunningham]

Mega Man 2 isn't even the best 8-bit Mega Man soundtrack.

I almost forgot how awesome the Gemini Man and Snake Man stage music was... really underrated as far as Mega Man games go.


Also on the Subject of the Master System. The Japanese Master System was an interesting specimen because it had an additional FM
Synth module that could be plugged in to enhance some of the game soundtracks. The later Japanese SMS models came with this chip built in. But the FM Synth chip was never included with any models outside of Japan. Instead the western SMS used a PCM chip only.

Phantasy Star with FM Synth

Master System attract mode playing the main theme from Space Harrier

[Y2Kev]

Castlevania 3 JP is cheating.

Batman - Streets of Desolation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCA_msAEn8k

[Agent Unknown]

rockman 4 never gets any love :( skullman dustman cossack 2 final boss

Oh yeah, MM IV has awesome music too, good runner up to 2 and 3's soundtracks (and gameplay).

[cj_iwakura]

It'll always be Ninja Gaiden II for me.

Next Gate

Ninja Gaiden I also.

[Nemo]

rockman 4 never gets any love :( cossack 2

My man!! That intro for cossack 2 is heavy fire. Whole song is crazy

[nincompoop]

Lemmings 2, Game Boy version, Cavemen tribe music. I would post a link, except that there isn't any footage of the game boy version of the game anywhere on the internets! Just imagine an insanely rocking 8-bit version of this track.

[ZealousD]

Rob Hubbard - Monty on the Run theme

Monty on the Run is secretly the best chiptune song ever.

[HoodWinked]

MM3 had better music than MM2. (Snake man, Top man and Spark man incredible sounding fidelity on NES hardware)

MM2 wily stage is overrated.

Mega Man 2 isn't even the best 8-bit Mega Man soundtrack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuYG5qOsDGU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kizh0c7fFuQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPNaQEjgXyY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmQXi9WsrzQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXvyGNOqlZk And, the one that puts it squarely at the top: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaXOuW0Nhvo

gooeyheat 'GETS it'

[mt1200]

Wait, why hasn't anybody mentioned Ninja Gaiden's 4-2 stage OST yet?.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZLXcCe7GgA

Gaf I am very disappoint

[usea]

I'm really fond of Super C myself, as well as several others that have been mentioned already. I don't care for most C64 music at all, I don't like the style.

This isn't from a game, but I have a feeling many of you would love Norrin Radd's music. Check it out:
Four Lights
A Castle Under Siege

Also to whoever mentioned it above, VVVVVV totally counts. Awesome soundtrack.

[Broken Arrow]

Blaster Master kicked ass:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UknIyWcwAU

[HoodWinked]

Blaster Master kicked ass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UknIyWcwAU

the intro is just downright insulting to gamers.

[natedog4000]

We need more MM2 tracks up in here:

Flashman
Crashman
Quickman
Woodman
Airman

drink it in..

[Classic_Gs]

Mega Man 3 Oh yes

The king has returned!

[Anth0ny]

Megaman 2?

Yup.

Castlevania 3 and Megaman 3 are right up there, too.

And Zelda II. Fucking NES and its timeless soundtracks. I could listen to this stuff forever.

[strideramc]

Megaman 2?

Came in here to post this. Discovered I was beat by almost three full pages of the exact same post.

[Decker]

Enigma Force http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWY4pckvAJY

also the remix is pretty good http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPnM_w6tStE

[Kokonoe]

I know this is about soundtracks, but i'm going to pick some of the ones I like instead, as deciding the top soundtrack would take forever.

Mega Man Xtreme 2 OST, T03: Opening Stage (Reploid Factory)

Pokemon TCG - Club Leader Duel

FF1 NES Music - Opening Theme

Zelda II The Adventure of Link Music: Palace Theme

Mega Man 2 OST, T17: Dr. Wily Stage 1 (Wily's Castle)

Castlevania NES Music: Vampire Killer

Castlevania 3-Dracula's Curse: Aquarius

Castlevania II Music (NES) - Bloody Tears (Day Theme)

Legend of Zelda, The (NES) Music - Dungeon Theme

Robopon OST - Track 01

Robopon OST - Track 03

Best VGM 303 - Mega Man 3 - Snake Man Stage

Super Mario Bros 3 (NES) Music - Overworld Theme 2

[RoninChaos]

Megaman 2, Ninja Gaiden, and Duck Tales.

[WhyMe6]

I'd have to say Mother (Twinkle Elementary School, Polyanna & Title) & Famicom Tantei Club Part II (Title - I can't find the original NES version on Youtube anywhere, Staff Roll).

Getsu Fuuma Den / Legend of Getsu Fūma

Oh man I loved the Getsu Fuuma Den Track 4 remix in Castlevania: HoD!

Also: thank you PixyJunket for introducing me to Tim Follin. That Silver Surfer OST has left me speechless :O

EDIT: So glad to see more Mother mentions! Also Kirby's Adventure and Metroid have awesome soundtracks.

So does the Game Boy count? If so, the Pokémon games for sure (nostalgia <3): GSC New Bark Town, RBG Lavender Town, RBG Champion Battle, RBG Viridian Forest, GSC National Park, GSC Goldenrod City (playing at night at the end of a day in bed nostalgia overload), GSC Vs. Lance, GSC Places & People.

[01DragonFly]

Nintendo world cup has an awesome soundtrack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTc5d_isig4&feature=related#t=1m20sP

[Karkador]

Let's talk about Mega Man 5, the other Mega Man soundtrack that doesn't get enough love:


Gravity Man
Wave Man
Gyro Man
Star Man

[Why would you do that?]

The Commodore 64's chip was revolutionary when it was released. The problem with these threads is that all the songs are just judged by nostalgia or popularity. I feel like it's pointless to post anything from the C64 since most haven't even heard of it on this forum.

I don't generally enjoy C64 music because many of them use arpeggios too heavily for my tastes. They really get on my nerves. A good amount of Western NES and Game Boy pieces also use them.

Even if the SID chip is factually better and more revolutionary than the NES's PSG (I really don't know...), it doesn't make the music automatically better. It's subjective. Instead of assuming people on a gaming enthusiast forum haven't heard of one of the most popular computer systems, post the music anyway! I've been enjoying listening to the music posted in the thread.

[Mr_Appleby]

Wizball

fuck yes.

also parallax is magnificent.

for something lesser-known, I'm very fond of the soundtrack to Mutants

edit: and the c64's version of Commando

[A Black Falcon]

Best musical composition? That's just too hard... so many great choices, particularly on the NES and GB.

But best technical accomplishment on a 3rd gen console? That I can say: Journey to Silius. Other people have mentioned it, I see, and they're absolutely right -- it's just mind-blowing what they pulled off on the NES sound chip with that game. I know that Sunsoft made great soundtracks in many of their mid to later NES titles (Super Spy Hunter is another fantastic one, and Batman's pretty good), but this one's the best of them all. Just amazing, amazing work. It does things with the NES sound chip most other games couldn't have imagined.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb_pBN-xCZo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLyds36tRRA

And no added sound chips or anything, that's a US title.

Capcom and Konami made the top soundtracks of the late 80's and early 90's. What the fuck happened.

Them and Sunsoft were probably the top three, yeah. And Konami and Capcom stayed amazing in the 16-bit generation too... but what happened after that?

I'm sorry but this NES circlejerk is getting tired.

The SMS's audio is pretty bad compared to the NES, though, and the 7800's a horrific joke... unless you're talking about the Game Boy or C64? Those have good audio too, sure.

[Shaheed79]

Castlevania 3. There's like a couple of dozen hot trax on there, it's so huge

Japanese version. Only factual answer. Soundtrack so awesome that a custom cart had to be created to contain it's awesomeness.

[b3b0p]

Megaman 2?

came in to say just this.

[A Black Falcon]

Japanese version. Only factual answer. Soundtrack so awesome that a custom cart had to be created to contain it's awesomeness.

Castlevania III (Japan version especially, because of the added soundchip) does have great audio for sure, but Journey to Silius is even better, and doesn't use an added sound chip, either.

[Shaheed79]

Can you honestly listen to this and not agree that this was the pinnacle of 8-bit musical achievement? I don't care if they cheated. In the immortal words of Karl Rove "if you ain't cheating you ain't trying".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdlOdjd1DMo

[D.Lo]

Yeah it's gotta be Konami's stuff. Castlevania and Contra are untouched, Capcom stuff a close second.

Konami FDS soundtracks FTW, the extra channels were so amazing

Arumana No Kiseki (The Miracle of Arumana) - a great little 'Indiana Jones' games by Konami, could have been as big as Castlevania if brought to the west.

Ai Senshai Nicol (Love Warrior Nicol) So good.

God I love the Famicom/NES, best era of gaming for sure.

I don't generally enjoy C64 music because many of them use arpeggios too heavily for my tastes. They really get on my nerves. A good amount of Western NES and Game Boy pieces also use them. Even if the SID chip is factually better and more revolutionary than the NES's PSG (I really don't know...), it doesn't make the music automatically better. It's subjective. Instead of assuming people on a gaming enthusiast forum haven't heard of one of the most popular computer systems, post the music anyway! I've been enjoying listening to the music posted in the thread.

Yep I agree, there's great C64 stuff but western devs were simply behind Japanese devs in music and used a lot of ugly/crunchy sounds, and given the NES is way more Japanese overall it has better soundtracks overall. And it's not nostalgia foe me, I had equal access to both systems back in the day, actually more to C64 really as everyone pirated so they had heaps more games than NES owners (I didn't own either system myself until later).