Originally this post was supposed to be a live blog detailing my quest to write our title screen theme. But after staring at a blank manuscript pad for a few hours without producing anything I figured to instead talk about my musical influences from the gaming world. Hey, it might even inspire some new music out of me once I finish!

I will admit, I’ve always been a fan of 8bit, 16bit and first generation 3D console music the most. To me the limitations in the hardware forced the composers to find creative ways to write good music. Put simply “Limitations breed creativity”. What I mean is, that with the file size limitations, lack of instrumental sounds and other confines, composers were not giving many options in which the modern composer or sound designer has access to today. The music needed a strong catchy melody, great but simple orchestrations and clarity in form and harmony. The composer could not rely on high production values to save mediocre music. Some of my favorite music is a result of those limitations. Let’s start from the beginning shall we?

Where would we be without this theme? Think about it. At most Nintendo games had 4 tracks to work with, two melody tracks, a mid/low track to serve as accompaniment and what sounds like a combination between a toy gun shot and a guy poorly beat boxing for percussion sounds. The result is one of the most memorable melodies in video game history. Stripped down to its most basic level, the source material – the tune if you will – is superb. The use of syncopation and multiple sections (four in total) displays a lot of creativity in finding ways to create variation without relying on different sounds. Remember composer Koji Kondo had few options with the technology at the time.

Moving to the next console, Super Mario World delivered on some exceptional music. The limitations were lifted a bit allowing Koji Kondo a few more sounds to use for different colors. Still, the composition itself is very simple but strong. The clear delineation of elements (melody, harmony, accompaniment, bass line) really give the composition clarity. Another thing worth pointing is this game’s strong use of themes. The theme found is this piece is found elsewhere:

You can hear it reintroduced as a more waltzing three feel. It gives the game a bit of cohesiveness. From wikipedia:

“Koji Kondo composed the music used in Super Mario World, using only an electronic keyboard. The entirety of the music heard in the game, with the exception of the music played in the title screen, credits, maps, and fighting Bowser, is a variation on the same melody. The melody, played in F major is heard normally on the standard overworld levels. It is slowed down and made to echo in caverns, whereas it moves in a slow, wave-like fashion, a slow (in 3/4 or waltz time) in underwater levels (a recurring musical tradition in underwater levels played in Super Mario games); in the athletic theme, it is played quickly and energetically to suit the more risky and lively nature of a level taking place in the air. The castle theme is a symphonic variation of the melody in F minor, then C minor, giving the song an overall ominous tone.”

This is also employed in lots of jRPG such as:

Ah good ol’ Nobou Uematsu! While Final Fantasy V was not a crowd favorite I always thought the music was a stand out. The use of simple orchestration and strong melodies really made this sound track great. And that bridge! I’m pretty sure those harp arpeggios are impossible to play by real humans, but Mr. 16-bit synth didn’t know the difference. I was heavily infleunced by this game’s style when I wrote our airship theme.

Similar to the Super Mario World example, Uematsu uses this theme in several pieces in the game:

The overworld theme utilizes the main theme of the game. Hey I think I know another game that does that!

Even the epic escape theme incorporates the melody as well! This could very well be a pragmatic approach taken by Uematsu (and Kondo) to reduce the amount of new material he would have to generate, but it does add a nice cohesiveness to the game.

Video Game composers also utilize the 19th century compositional technique of leitmotif. This is used everywhere from opera, video games, and even movies like “Star Wars.” One game that stands out as really using this well is Final Fantasy VI. Uematsu assigned each character his or her own leitmotif. Locke’s is probably the most recognizable:

This leitmotif tells you everything you need to know about Locke. He is brave, upbeat and cunning with a spirit for adventure. Another memorable leitmotif from that same game was the one that represented Celes. While it was tied into a specific story event, the nuanced theme does well to represent the complex character that she is:

My favorite musical moment of the game (or any game) comes in the ending. Spoiler Alert: When the party is escaping Kefka’s tower there is a scene showing Locke diving to save Celes from falling to her doom. While the scene itself is emotional what really gets me is the use of both Locke and Celes’ leitmotifs used in counter point. Holy crap! Just incredible. You can hear Locke’s leitmotif start around :24.

Well that wraps it up for this installment. Hopefully this post was a nice glimpse into some of the earlier video game music that influenced me. By no means is this list comprehensive, but a look back at some of the games that still resonant with me today. What do you think? What video game music do you like and why? Reach out to us on our facebook page or our twitter account.

-Tyler