"Ahead of its time"
Feb 23, 2019 13:55:14 GMT -5
Post by ommadawnyawn2 on Feb 23, 2019 13:55:14 GMT -5
And even then (vgm format) there are a bunch of exceptions where a shorter track is bigger than a longer one in the same OST without samples being used in either, and also where a more complex track is smaller than a simpler one of around the same length. In that list it was pretty easy for me to find examples where a larger OST had fewer songs and less overall complexity; Alien 3 vs American Gladiators is a good one.
Although there is likely an aspect of added complexity there, longer tracks tend to have mostly repeating patterns/bars with one more varied melodic or harmonic pattern to go along with them, or in some genres like techno just be more drawn out in general. There are many cases where a 30-60 sec loop has so much squeezed into it to the point where it's equally complex, and/or it can have more complex sound design, therefore also becoming bigger. I think one should also probably consider the whole OST rather than comparing one track with another here, where several shorter songs can compare to the length and complexity of one or two longer ones and be more effectively used throughout the actual game it's supposed to accompany to convey certain moods. Besides games like Lazy Jones and its seamlessly changing track depending on where you go (though not really in a context sensitive way), a 20-30+ min track isn't necessarily more ahead of its time.
---
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hJzI-oBOrM
vgmrips.net/packs/pack/cosmo-police-galivan-cosmo-police-galivan
For an early and obscure chiptune example we can have a look at Cosmo Police Galivan (ARC, 1985). Considering the limited OPL1 chip used here (besides a few sampled sfx played on a separate chip), there's a pretty dynamic sound design with strong, relatively deep and varied percussion, echo effects on some leads, subtle or non-existing cutoff of harmonies during non-sampled sfx than in earlier and most (?) contemporary games, as well as longer and more varied than average songs. Stylistically there are traits now associated with chiptunes such as slow arpeggios sometimes replacing chords, and odd slides and scales used here and there. It's also at least sort of in sync with the times, having some late 70s/early 80s hard rock-like tracks.
The whole thing suits the game well although some subtleties are lost in the mess of sfx going on while playing. The overall instrumentation is a bit harsh, metallic and twangy besides the bass but it's kind of unfair to compare it to the more advanced YM2151 chip also in use at the time with its 4-op voices and various effects, or even the more similar OPL2/Adlib chip which had three additional waveforms built in. I think it compares well to a lot of the OPL2 output though, even from 5+ years later. There possibly could've been more modulation and detuning effects going on, which was now more or less standard in C64 games. There's also not many songs here, so there's some repetition even though the game is very short with repeating loops (short development time maybe?).
Looking at some specs and a channel breakdown in winamp we can see that the chip has a percussion mode with 5 dedicated (and I believe with pre-defined envelopes) percussion channels which is used here, and that 2 of the other 6 channels available when this percussion mode is used aren't used for the music, so there appears to be some missed potential in fleshing out the sound and making it more unique to the game. Being an early use of the chip, this and some other shortcomings are pretty forgivable though.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf29ShkoAiA
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qzy6oS1EL8&t=7m30s
Comic Bakery (C64, 1986 probably) - The main attraction here is the title theme (the loader tune was used in several other games so I don't count it). The chorused saw bass and arpeggiated chords became iconic for chiptunes and aspects like the rhythm of the chords and how the bridge and breakdown are done have possibly even inspired some non-game electronic music that came much later. On top of that there's a varied melody with some subtle effects to give it more character and it's pretty easy to forget that there's just three channels and no drums when it's all playing. I've actually had a remix of the track with basically just an added 4/4 beat go over alright at a party once back in the 00s when I first heard it, lol. Of course, it doesn't play during the game nor would it have fit well, but it's almost negligible in this case.
The in-game tracks are few, old fashioned and with somewhat annoying lead instruments. There's also no drums, despite there being no sfx, but they're still solid for the time and fit pretty well.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TbM1U8KKLA&list=PLB2DAB473D14DDA6C
Great Giana Sisters (C64, 1987) - Notable for having in-game sfx with mostly subtle cutoff of instruments, good use of various effects like the filter sweeps and the use of (relatively) great samples for percussion in the loader tune, which arguably sounds better than the later Amiga version of it. This was a few months before sampled percussion in NES games (Metal Gear AFAIK), but not used in-game. The title track lends itself well to dance remixes and the loader tune sounds like an iconic alternate universe cartoon theme from the time - it's just a shame the best tracks don't play in-game here either. One nitpick is that the chip drums are kind of weak and odd sounding.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dcedYf4sLM
Mutants (C64, 1987) would be my next C64 pick for similar reasons, though there are fewer tracks here and no samples. The main track is rather long and varied synth prog with great sound design, and IIRC two harmonies in one channel on the arpeggio. More complex drums might've been nice though. On a side note, watching gameplay footage there's an sfx in there which could've served as a pretty good techno-style kick if edited. Mildly interesting!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvA-0JfbHOQ&t=1m31s
Metal Gear (NES, 1987) - So besides proper mixing of sfx (see Nintendo's 1985-1986 games), here we get a nice bass drum sample during gameplay, fitting in like the chip came with and giving it an edge over many other NES games of the time. Furthermore there are fade outs on the enemy encounter tracks (which is a minor feat when you can't change the volume of the triangle wave and the volume resolution of the other channels is low), some neat single channel echo effects and some chorused leads. Stylistically it's an appropriate mix of tension, drama and adventure, which had been done before but not with this theme AFAIK.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-koQLue6RE
Amegas (AMI, 1987) shows off the potential for great contemporary synth pop/electro tracks on the Amiga in its one title track, which would've been a nice surprise if you had only heard previous Amiga games at the time of its release. The sfx are also pretty solid, but alas there's no music playing at the same time in-game.
vgmrips.net/packs/pack/ys-ancient-ys-vanished-omen-nec-pc-8801
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDKd1_Ch-mw&t=4m30s
Ys: Vanished Omen (PC-88, 1987, OPN) set a new standard for OPN music outside of arcades by having the SSG/PSG part of the chip handle most percussion and backing harmonies so that the FM could be more fleshed out, and it had sparse but punchy sfx making it more of a console/arcade-level experience (technically Romancia (PC-88, 1986) was first here but the in-game music and sfx are much simpler). This is a pretty long and varied soundtrack as well.
My next pick would be Sorcerian from the same year and system, which had a few more sfx and a longer OST but was released about half a year later. Then maybe Zeliard (PC-88, OPN/OPNA), which even has some basic synthesized speech in shops (though not while music is playing), and good but simpler OPN music. The OPNA ver. only uses that chip properly for a couple of tracks for some reason.
There's also Shinra Bansho for PC-88VA which seems to be the first proper use of the OPNA chip in a game and the music is pretty great overall, but I can't find good footage of it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL242fddaug
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqDNFOrsbzA
Victory Run (PCE, 1987) is a good early showcase for the PC Engine's 6 channel wavetable synth, with a variety of nice timbres, chorus, echo, full stereo and decent-ish noise drums. JJ & Jeff from the same year has a bit of an edge when comparing the drums I suppose, but sounds more dry and twangy otherwise.
Sega's Outrun, After Burner, etc. (YM2151+Sega PCM) from the mid-late 80s deserve a mention too so here it is, although I think it's more a case of skilled use of great hardware than pushing limited tech to surprising new limits, and stylistically they're more "of their time" soundtracks. Power Drift from 1988 is the best example of these to me, with musical samples and FM synth blending really well, long tracks with nice solos, pretty much all channels being used, stereo, chorus, DT2 for more unique timbres, echo, etc.
Namco's arcade games using YM2151+C140 are worth mentioning for similar reasons, but the music is generally more sample heavy and sometimes sounds pretty much on-par with CD soundtracks of the late 80s-early 90s. The orchestral style of Valkyrie no Densetsu's (1989) and Starblade's (1991) OSTs and the ambient electro/techno music in Solvalou (1991) also turned out to be more indicative of where game music would go later on, so honestly they had an edge over Sega here for a while.
For a pure YM2151 sound the best early example is probably Bullet (ARC, 1987) by Sega, as it features stereo mixing, some creative FM percussion (using LFO or perhaps DT2 effects) and smoother leads than in their previous FM-only games all at once. Thunder Force II (X68K, 1988), Star Cruiser (X68K, 1988), Ninja Spirit (ARC, 1988) and Splatterhouse (ARC, 1988) are also up there but sneak a few samples into the sfx.
Namco's Dragon Spirit (ARC, 1987) sounds better than all of these in some ways but it uses separate chips for the sfx.
I should also mention some of the various audio expansion games popping up around this time here like Metroid and Kid Icarus (FDS), Falsion (FDS), Salamander and Nemesis 2 (MSX), Arumana no Kiseki (FDS), Fire Hawk (MSX), etc. Another case of an investment in better tech that paid off when used well.
I'll post my take on the rest of 1988-1989 too if there's any interest.
Although there is likely an aspect of added complexity there, longer tracks tend to have mostly repeating patterns/bars with one more varied melodic or harmonic pattern to go along with them, or in some genres like techno just be more drawn out in general. There are many cases where a 30-60 sec loop has so much squeezed into it to the point where it's equally complex, and/or it can have more complex sound design, therefore also becoming bigger. I think one should also probably consider the whole OST rather than comparing one track with another here, where several shorter songs can compare to the length and complexity of one or two longer ones and be more effectively used throughout the actual game it's supposed to accompany to convey certain moods. Besides games like Lazy Jones and its seamlessly changing track depending on where you go (though not really in a context sensitive way), a 20-30+ min track isn't necessarily more ahead of its time.
---
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hJzI-oBOrM
vgmrips.net/packs/pack/cosmo-police-galivan-cosmo-police-galivan
For an early and obscure chiptune example we can have a look at Cosmo Police Galivan (ARC, 1985). Considering the limited OPL1 chip used here (besides a few sampled sfx played on a separate chip), there's a pretty dynamic sound design with strong, relatively deep and varied percussion, echo effects on some leads, subtle or non-existing cutoff of harmonies during non-sampled sfx than in earlier and most (?) contemporary games, as well as longer and more varied than average songs. Stylistically there are traits now associated with chiptunes such as slow arpeggios sometimes replacing chords, and odd slides and scales used here and there. It's also at least sort of in sync with the times, having some late 70s/early 80s hard rock-like tracks.
The whole thing suits the game well although some subtleties are lost in the mess of sfx going on while playing. The overall instrumentation is a bit harsh, metallic and twangy besides the bass but it's kind of unfair to compare it to the more advanced YM2151 chip also in use at the time with its 4-op voices and various effects, or even the more similar OPL2/Adlib chip which had three additional waveforms built in. I think it compares well to a lot of the OPL2 output though, even from 5+ years later. There possibly could've been more modulation and detuning effects going on, which was now more or less standard in C64 games. There's also not many songs here, so there's some repetition even though the game is very short with repeating loops (short development time maybe?).
Looking at some specs and a channel breakdown in winamp we can see that the chip has a percussion mode with 5 dedicated (and I believe with pre-defined envelopes) percussion channels which is used here, and that 2 of the other 6 channels available when this percussion mode is used aren't used for the music, so there appears to be some missed potential in fleshing out the sound and making it more unique to the game. Being an early use of the chip, this and some other shortcomings are pretty forgivable though.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf29ShkoAiA
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Qzy6oS1EL8&t=7m30s
Comic Bakery (C64, 1986 probably) - The main attraction here is the title theme (the loader tune was used in several other games so I don't count it). The chorused saw bass and arpeggiated chords became iconic for chiptunes and aspects like the rhythm of the chords and how the bridge and breakdown are done have possibly even inspired some non-game electronic music that came much later. On top of that there's a varied melody with some subtle effects to give it more character and it's pretty easy to forget that there's just three channels and no drums when it's all playing. I've actually had a remix of the track with basically just an added 4/4 beat go over alright at a party once back in the 00s when I first heard it, lol. Of course, it doesn't play during the game nor would it have fit well, but it's almost negligible in this case.
The in-game tracks are few, old fashioned and with somewhat annoying lead instruments. There's also no drums, despite there being no sfx, but they're still solid for the time and fit pretty well.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TbM1U8KKLA&list=PLB2DAB473D14DDA6C
Great Giana Sisters (C64, 1987) - Notable for having in-game sfx with mostly subtle cutoff of instruments, good use of various effects like the filter sweeps and the use of (relatively) great samples for percussion in the loader tune, which arguably sounds better than the later Amiga version of it. This was a few months before sampled percussion in NES games (Metal Gear AFAIK), but not used in-game. The title track lends itself well to dance remixes and the loader tune sounds like an iconic alternate universe cartoon theme from the time - it's just a shame the best tracks don't play in-game here either. One nitpick is that the chip drums are kind of weak and odd sounding.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dcedYf4sLM
Mutants (C64, 1987) would be my next C64 pick for similar reasons, though there are fewer tracks here and no samples. The main track is rather long and varied synth prog with great sound design, and IIRC two harmonies in one channel on the arpeggio. More complex drums might've been nice though. On a side note, watching gameplay footage there's an sfx in there which could've served as a pretty good techno-style kick if edited. Mildly interesting!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvA-0JfbHOQ&t=1m31s
Metal Gear (NES, 1987) - So besides proper mixing of sfx (see Nintendo's 1985-1986 games), here we get a nice bass drum sample during gameplay, fitting in like the chip came with and giving it an edge over many other NES games of the time. Furthermore there are fade outs on the enemy encounter tracks (which is a minor feat when you can't change the volume of the triangle wave and the volume resolution of the other channels is low), some neat single channel echo effects and some chorused leads. Stylistically it's an appropriate mix of tension, drama and adventure, which had been done before but not with this theme AFAIK.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-koQLue6RE
Amegas (AMI, 1987) shows off the potential for great contemporary synth pop/electro tracks on the Amiga in its one title track, which would've been a nice surprise if you had only heard previous Amiga games at the time of its release. The sfx are also pretty solid, but alas there's no music playing at the same time in-game.
vgmrips.net/packs/pack/ys-ancient-ys-vanished-omen-nec-pc-8801
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDKd1_Ch-mw&t=4m30s
Ys: Vanished Omen (PC-88, 1987, OPN) set a new standard for OPN music outside of arcades by having the SSG/PSG part of the chip handle most percussion and backing harmonies so that the FM could be more fleshed out, and it had sparse but punchy sfx making it more of a console/arcade-level experience (technically Romancia (PC-88, 1986) was first here but the in-game music and sfx are much simpler). This is a pretty long and varied soundtrack as well.
My next pick would be Sorcerian from the same year and system, which had a few more sfx and a longer OST but was released about half a year later. Then maybe Zeliard (PC-88, OPN/OPNA), which even has some basic synthesized speech in shops (though not while music is playing), and good but simpler OPN music. The OPNA ver. only uses that chip properly for a couple of tracks for some reason.
There's also Shinra Bansho for PC-88VA which seems to be the first proper use of the OPNA chip in a game and the music is pretty great overall, but I can't find good footage of it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL242fddaug
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqDNFOrsbzA
Victory Run (PCE, 1987) is a good early showcase for the PC Engine's 6 channel wavetable synth, with a variety of nice timbres, chorus, echo, full stereo and decent-ish noise drums. JJ & Jeff from the same year has a bit of an edge when comparing the drums I suppose, but sounds more dry and twangy otherwise.
Sega's Outrun, After Burner, etc. (YM2151+Sega PCM) from the mid-late 80s deserve a mention too so here it is, although I think it's more a case of skilled use of great hardware than pushing limited tech to surprising new limits, and stylistically they're more "of their time" soundtracks. Power Drift from 1988 is the best example of these to me, with musical samples and FM synth blending really well, long tracks with nice solos, pretty much all channels being used, stereo, chorus, DT2 for more unique timbres, echo, etc.
Namco's arcade games using YM2151+C140 are worth mentioning for similar reasons, but the music is generally more sample heavy and sometimes sounds pretty much on-par with CD soundtracks of the late 80s-early 90s. The orchestral style of Valkyrie no Densetsu's (1989) and Starblade's (1991) OSTs and the ambient electro/techno music in Solvalou (1991) also turned out to be more indicative of where game music would go later on, so honestly they had an edge over Sega here for a while.
For a pure YM2151 sound the best early example is probably Bullet (ARC, 1987) by Sega, as it features stereo mixing, some creative FM percussion (using LFO or perhaps DT2 effects) and smoother leads than in their previous FM-only games all at once. Thunder Force II (X68K, 1988), Star Cruiser (X68K, 1988), Ninja Spirit (ARC, 1988) and Splatterhouse (ARC, 1988) are also up there but sneak a few samples into the sfx.
Namco's Dragon Spirit (ARC, 1987) sounds better than all of these in some ways but it uses separate chips for the sfx.
I should also mention some of the various audio expansion games popping up around this time here like Metroid and Kid Icarus (FDS), Falsion (FDS), Salamander and Nemesis 2 (MSX), Arumana no Kiseki (FDS), Fire Hawk (MSX), etc. Another case of an investment in better tech that paid off when used well.
I'll post my take on the rest of 1988-1989 too if there's any interest.