Tim Follins appreciation thread

[TheChosen]

This thread is about Tim Follins, one of the best composers when it comes to western video game music. Also the brother of sometime collaborator Geoff Follin. He made awesome video game music on various platforms.

I'd class him as some sort of miracle maker too. For example, how can you get music this good out of a ZX Spectrum?



It sounds even better on Amiga



His theme for Ghouls 'n Ghosts is vastly different from the memorable Capcom version, but its quite jamming. The rest of the soundtrack is very moody.



He also made music for the C64 version, which is different, yet still quite jamming and moody



He also did music for the Bionic Commando home computer port. While the soundtrack is more or less remix of the arcade one, second level tune notably has parts from the Heat Wave of NES Bionic Commando, which is odd.



Not to mention he did the music for the Solstice



And his sountrack was the best thing on Silver Surfer.



He and his brother did the music for Plok. They got a pretty jamming soundtrack out of the SNES.



But probably his best feat is somehow making this happen



This is the total opposite of the awful rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody on Wayne's World game. Probably the only SNES game to have licensed music as a valid selling point on its box cover.

(Whew! Posted in right section this time...)

[Deleted]

Oooooh, thanks---now I know who to thank for Rock 'n Roll Racing's soundtrack.

[Weasel]

I think my favorite Follin song is one from a game that technically never got released:

[toadofsky]

This one has been one of my favorites from a more, let's say modern format of game music...

[xeogred]

I can't help but laugh at how amazing the music is for something like this.

[Neo Rasa]

No sound chip, this is literally 1-bit music, just done with distortion, incredible:

[Deleted]

Treasure Master is a fascinating time capsule of the radical '90s (the player character's walk animation is a thing of beauty). At least one track is a rehash of one his prior works (obviously Solstice), but it's Follin gold all the same.

[zerker]

I'm really rather fond of his NES Sky Shark soundtrack. Here's stage 2:

[Neo Rasa]

Oh yeah I remember I'd let it sit on the title screen as a kid (because it played the music from stage two on the title). I love the music in stage four also:



I could never beat this game as a kid, the last level was too much for me.

The arrangements are roughly the same on the C64 version but sooo much better on the NES and faster too.

[benjammin]

I love Tim Follin, he is a great inspiration, but if there is one criticism I may have is that he relied a LOT on going up and down different scales for effect, I kind of wish he tried to make more interesting melodies instead with his talent.

However, despite this he has some of the greatest arrangement skills of all time. He really knew how to make retro game music shake your speakers and make you want to dance or rock out or whatever.

[Elvin Atombender]

More one-bit goodness from Follin: