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Castlevania VS Mega Man *NES OST*
- Thread starter 93xfan
- Start date
EightBit Man
Member
As much as I love the music of the Castlevania entries on NES, the Mega Man ones win easily. Mega Man II and III have some of the most consistent quality soundtracks ever. Again, not saying the Castlevania games have bad soundtracks, on the contrary. But I don't think they come close to these two games in particular.
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Stefan.North
Member
More cool songs - Megaman (too many to count)
Generally more excelent songs and unforgettable soundtrack - Castlevania (Vampire Killer, Wicked Child, Heart of Fire, Bloody Tears, Stage 1 CV3, Aquarius...)
Generally more excelent songs and unforgettable soundtrack - Castlevania (Vampire Killer, Wicked Child, Heart of Fire, Bloody Tears, Stage 1 CV3, Aquarius...)
Pejo
Gold Member
Two of the best 8bit franchises for music, easily. It's a hard decision, but I lean more towards Mega Man. Castlevania has some huge hits, but Mega Man had song after song that stayed in my head for years.
I used to be able to play Flash Man on recorder (kinda).
*edit* throwing this out there for the fun of it:
I used to be able to play Flash Man on recorder (kinda).
*edit* throwing this out there for the fun of it:
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Mitsuda Maniac
Member
MM2 Wily Stage 1 is one of the most banging 8 bit tracks ever created. Plus MM9 and MM10 tracks are almost as good as the classic ones and there are some amazing arranged versions out there too.
S0ULZB0URNE
Member
Castlevania by a landslide
D
Deleted member 1159
Unconfirmed Member
That's incredibly tough because I think there's more top tier Mega Man classics than CastleVania, but a number of forgettable Mega Man songs too due to sheer quantity. It's like picking a favorite child
Airola
Member
Mega Man has by far the better soundtracks.
There are a lot more unforgettable amazing melodies (well, it's six games against three so it might not be fair to compare them like that).
Anyway, I would go as far as say that even the Cut Man theme from MM1 is better than any song in any Castlevania. Castlevania has great tracks too but they just aren't as good as the tracks in Mega Man are.
There are a lot more unforgettable amazing melodies (well, it's six games against three so it might not be fair to compare them like that).
Anyway, I would go as far as say that even the Cut Man theme from MM1 is better than any song in any Castlevania. Castlevania has great tracks too but they just aren't as good as the tracks in Mega Man are.
NeoIkaruGAF
Gold Member
Castlevania is fantastic. But Megaman is legend.
MM2 and 3's OSTs are simply incredible. Ridiculously consistent throughout. How those OSTs make use of the NES's bass line is just too good, and those melodies are among the catchiest in game history.
MM2 and 3's OSTs are simply incredible. Ridiculously consistent throughout. How those OSTs make use of the NES's bass line is just too good, and those melodies are among the catchiest in game history.
Kagoshima_Luke
Gold Member
Mega Man has a few really fantastic songs, while Castlevania doesn't reach the same highs, but keeps the bar higher across all music, so I give it to Caslevania.
MacReady13
Member
Mega Man all the way (and I love the Castlevania games soundtracks). Mega Man 3 is one of my all time fav games and it has the greatest soundtrack, so it's an easy choice for me.
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EightBit Man
Member
Was my favorite back in the day. And I would play through that stage from time to time for the music alone. But man, that entire soundtrack is golden.
cartman414
Member
Mega Man had some great tunes, but Castlevania. The Konami sound engine was leaps and bounds above Capcom's, and that's not even accounting for the VRC6.
WindomURL
Member
I start getting guitar face just thinking about it
DunDunDunpachi
Banned
Tough choice. I went with MM.
EDIT: since there is a distinct lack of examples, I'll post favs from both sides of the aisle:
EDIT: since there is a distinct lack of examples, I'll post favs from both sides of the aisle:
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Old Retro
Member
Both games hold special places in my heart. If I flipped a coin to pick one, the coin would land on its edge every single time.
In fact I remember exactly where I was when I first played each game in 1987-88. Mega Man was the first game music I recorded on cassette in the summer of 88 though.
In fact I remember exactly where I was when I first played each game in 1987-88. Mega Man was the first game music I recorded on cassette in the summer of 88 though.
Knightime_X
Member
Mega man had more energy but castlevania felt more soul touching.
They're both good but in very different ways.
They're both good but in very different ways.
ZeroZeroQuatre
Member
Bloody Tears and Vampire Killer have appeared in way too many games (check the links, that's 15+ games for each). Even people who never played a Castlevania game in their entire life might have encountered some of them at one point or another.
We've grown very accustomed to them - thus biased too.
If we're comparing original NES chiptunes, then I'm going for Mega Man > Castlevania.
If we're allowing to compare remixes, then Super Castlevania IV's Bloody Tears > every other franchise.
We've grown very accustomed to them - thus biased too.
If we're comparing original NES chiptunes, then I'm going for Mega Man > Castlevania.
If we're allowing to compare remixes, then Super Castlevania IV's Bloody Tears > every other franchise.
D
Deleted member 1159
Unconfirmed Member
Hard pass. I'm a huge fan of the SNES soundchip and Super CV's soundtrack as a whole but this version really lacks punch
Drell
Member
I'm voting for Castlevania. Both were very catchy in their own way but the Castlevania series used the NES/Famicom soundchip more extensively.
Actually it's more Capcom vs Konami if we talk about this. In the early Famicom days, most games used 4 of the 5 channels of the sound chip (2 pulse + 1 triangle + 1 noise) with eventually the fifth (DPCM) to output some samples (the dog barking and the ducks in duck hunt for example). At this time, in term of music Capcom and Konami were equals. Konami was already using the DPCM for the voice of Simon getting hit in CV1 though. But then Konami quickly began utilising the fifth channel along with the noise channels to simulate drums. Castlevania 2 already makes use of it. Castlevania 3 even adds the VRC6 on the Famicom version of CV3 which add 3 more channels to the audio. It also has more DPCM samples (different drums, Dracula's laugh in the title screen, the different characters beign hit voice and even the whiping sound). Megaman on the other hand only used the basic 4 sound channels. But they used cool techniques too like drums being simulated by combining noise channel and triangle channel.
Actually it's more Capcom vs Konami if we talk about this. In the early Famicom days, most games used 4 of the 5 channels of the sound chip (2 pulse + 1 triangle + 1 noise) with eventually the fifth (DPCM) to output some samples (the dog barking and the ducks in duck hunt for example). At this time, in term of music Capcom and Konami were equals. Konami was already using the DPCM for the voice of Simon getting hit in CV1 though. But then Konami quickly began utilising the fifth channel along with the noise channels to simulate drums. Castlevania 2 already makes use of it. Castlevania 3 even adds the VRC6 on the Famicom version of CV3 which add 3 more channels to the audio. It also has more DPCM samples (different drums, Dracula's laugh in the title screen, the different characters beign hit voice and even the whiping sound). Megaman on the other hand only used the basic 4 sound channels. But they used cool techniques too like drums being simulated by combining noise channel and triangle channel.
Touch fuzZy. get BizZay
Member
Tough decision but I think Castlevania
93xfan
Banned
I eventually went with Mega Man. Such cool intro music in 2 and 3.
plus I love the Top Man, Snake Man, Wood Man and MM2 Wily's Castle music.
Stages 1-3 from Castlevania 1, Bloody Tears, The Beginning (both Japanese and American), and many more make it a very tough call.
If I'd added later entries after the NES, I'd have gone the other way.
plus I love the Top Man, Snake Man, Wood Man and MM2 Wily's Castle music.
Stages 1-3 from Castlevania 1, Bloody Tears, The Beginning (both Japanese and American), and many more make it a very tough call.
If I'd added later entries after the NES, I'd have gone the other way.
ProgenitorCastle
Banned
Megaman wins, even though Castlevania's great as well. I have an affinity for MM1's soundtrack, several things from MM2, MM3's intro is a major standout.
Thing on a Spring
Member
It's a difficult choice. Castlevania has some iconic classics but so does Megaman. And more of them due to the number of entries in the series. As much as I hate to say it, I think Megaman has the edge. Both are sublime though.
HotPocket69
Banned
Even the not as popular MM cuts are still godly, as much as I love Castlevania music
InfiniteCombo
Banned
Extremely tough choice. I'm a huge Capcom (including Mega Man) fan and in the end... I went with Castlevania. "Vampire Killer" alone is up there with the likes of the Super Mario Bros. theme music, the Zelda main theme, and other truly iconic tracks.
As you said OP, Smash is killing it with their versions of these classic songs. While I'm a fan of their Vampire Killer version, I've always been more of a "Divine Bloodlines" guy. (Richter Belmont's theme, the Stage 1 tune from Rondo of Blood).
As you said OP, Smash is killing it with their versions of these classic songs. While I'm a fan of their Vampire Killer version, I've always been more of a "Divine Bloodlines" guy. (Richter Belmont's theme, the Stage 1 tune from Rondo of Blood).
01011001
Banned
cheststrongwell
my cake, fuck off
Mega Man music isn't even in the same league as Castlevania music. Stop the vote!
ZoukGalaxy
Member
Had a hard time choosing and finally go for Castlevania, because Castlevania 3 has REALLY an incredible awesome OST, I just still don't believe how awesome it was until this day condering the "dark ages" of the release. I had even to import the game and use an adapter to play it.
However Megaman 2 is just close behind.
However Megaman 2 is just close behind.
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InfiniteCombo
Banned
this is about NES only tho
Right. The stuff about Divine Bloodlines is just extra commentary. The main statement is about "Vampire Killer" which is the Castlevania tune. And, like I said, iconic to almost Mario and Zelda levels.
I think almost the entirety of Castlevania III's soundtrack is a masterpiece.
EDIT: And I still voted Castlevania even though, since this is "about NES only," Mega Man is technically bringing a gun to a knife fight (
) : It's got 6 mainline games on the NES, whereas Castlevania only has 3. And I still prefer Castlevania's music...
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marquimvfs
Member
I think that Castlevania is better, and not even counting the VRC6 versions (that are better than most Mega Drive games). Not that Megaman is bad, it's not. But there's nothing better than this on any Megaman game (the first half is the enhanced VR6, but the second one it's still very good, and I'm considering the inferior US version when comparing to Megaman) :
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cartman414
Member
Konami on NES was based. They knew how to work that sample channel.
Capcom meanwhile... some great catchy songs, but I could always somehow tell they weren't using the NES sound chip to its fullest.
Capcom meanwhile... some great catchy songs, but I could always somehow tell they weren't using the NES sound chip to its fullest.
