TRACK FIVE: The Oracle (Dark Lich) – Secret of Mana (SNES)
Composer: Hiroki Kikuta
Secret of Mana has a truly magnificent score, one that used the SNES’ sound chip to its fullest potential. It has the warm and fluffy forest theme, the magical water palace music and the hilarious dwarf village cheer.
Then it has this.
A raving, dissonant burst of fear and fight. It jumps from ear to ear, chanting quickly, incoherently. The drum pounds fast, the background screams. It dances around you malevolent, your heart pounding, your mind spinning.
Unlike the prior tracks this gets you ready to kick ass because it’s all about your survival. You’re not the powerful badass taking out the weak henchmen, you’re up against the evil itself and it’s going to tear you limb from limb unless you fight with the same ferocity the music displays. You’re not choosing to kick ass, you have to kick ass.
TRACK SIX: BRAVE OR GRAVE – Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Arcade)
Composer: Anarchy Takapon
Only slightly removed from The Oracle we have this roaring Street Fighter Bison number. Not quite so fearful, not quite so warped, but still possessing the driven (psycho) power that suggests this is a fight for your life.
What works so well in BRAVE OR GRAVE, which I believe should always be capitalised, is the vast amount of layering. There are so many sounds going at once, competing for your attention, just take a moment to listen to and identify them all. It’s a fantastic feat of balancing that takes all the disparate elements and melds them into a cohesive explosion of sound.
TRACK SEVEN: Wilderness – Golden Axe (Commodore 64)
Composer: Jeroen Tel
To know the SID chip is to love the SID chip. It was the technology that powered the sound of the C64 and it brought, and continues to bring, a huge amount of creativity out of people working with it. It’s a long story and it’s worth having a read over the wikipedia entry to see just how important it is. Suffice to say I felt compelled, by its importance and my love of its sound, to give it a representation here.
It may seem unusual to pick a SEGA game that was more at home in the arcades or on the Mega Drive, to represent the machine, but this version of the main theme of Golden Axe is truly the best there is. The warm, round sound of the opening waves of the song are incredible, stronger than you would imagine, and they lead to an adventurous epic tune, befitting of this game of sword and sorcery. It’s a song to quest to, to fight fantasy foes to, to win the day to!
TRACK EIGHT: The Final Fight – Turrican II (Amiga)
Composer: Chris Hülsbeck
Sadly my own experience with the Amiga platform was limited in its heyday, but I have since grown to love the unique sound that defines it. Listening to some of the scores of past classics on the platform feels like delving into the history of dance music, there’s a joy in the synthesis and an appreciation for the inimitable sounds that can be achieved through it.
This particular track is a sweeping electronic epic, a cyborg symphony that bids the eighties adieu and welcomes in the strange new world of the nineties. It’s the sound of sci-fi’s recent past, writ large across your speakers, and it’s got the hopeful, questing kick that hypes you up for a journey you’ll never forget.
TRACK NINE: Final Boss – Sonic 3 (Mega Drive/Genesis)
Composer: Hard to say exactly
The final two tracks on this list I’ve taken from the largest, yet not so normally kick-ass associated franchises; first up is the final boss music from Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
This track is immense. The musical themes of the ‘original trilogy’ Sonic games are all great, with a serious level of funk and power, but it’s this track that is the standout. This is the music of the resolute hero, the warrior in the final battle, unrelenting in the bringing of swift, well-earned justice.
Its foreboding opening morphs into high-speed drums and drama that somehow fits, despite the series’ more cheerful nature. It’s hard to take a giant blue hedgehog with any seriousness even with SEGA’s appalling (and sometimes disturbing) attempts to do so, but this is the closest we’ll get. Listen to it and, for a brief moment, remember why Sonic was once cool.
TRACK TEN: Koopa’s Road – Super Mario 64 (N64)
Composer: Koji Kondo
Maybe it's just me, but I find this to be one of the best pieces of music in the entire Mario franchise. Perhaps that's sacrilege, because there are so many classic, unforgettable tracks throughout the franchise, but none have the same evocative power of Koopa’s Road.
Much like the Sonic track, this comes from such a usually cheery world, where even the darker days are usually scored with a smile in their heart. To hear something so dark, so simple and yet militaristic in sound, is quite jarring, but perfectly used.
The levels scored by this are harder, more perilous than the regular worlds. They’re the road to Bowser, the boss, the bad guy, your nemesis. The music reflects this raising of the stakes, these narrative climaxes, with a constant build that is only broken when you finally emerge into his lava lair. When you finally do arrive, the road behind you, this music has prepared you for the challenge, and you stand ready kick his ass, and take his stars.
What do you find the most motivating track in video game history?
