It’s the last few weeks. It’s seriously driving me mad, this school business. D:
But I’m almost done! Plus, there are some exciting things happening music-wise.
Expect a new UTTV video to come up in the next few days, and hopefully a new ‘Sound in Games’ too.
(It’s pretty exciting – I got my girlfriend into Monster Hunter. X3; )
I’m also excited to pick up Luigi’s Mansion this weekend, so expect a soundtrack review of that pretty soon.
What I’m most excited about for this week, though, is the fact that my girlfriend made an 8-bit cover of a video game song! It’s incredibly cute. Check it out:
As a game worth $1.99 on the Nintendo eShop, I figured it’d be a pretty cheap and mindless experience with nothing to write home about. And to be honest, at first I thought so too – it’s a simple run-and-gun platformer in the same vein as Megaman, albeit simpler and less demanding. However, once I gave it a few more run-throughs, I realized that it was a great textbook game to teach aspiring game developers on how to create a satisfying challenge while keeping things interesting.
Plus, the music itself is really cool too! Let’s check it out.
As I said, it’s a really simple game. It’s got a simple plot too – Ms. Johnson, your girlfriend, is kidnapped, and you gotta go save her. Brush off hands, we’re done here. It’s all about the gameplay and music from now on.
And the music is quite interesting, for a game that encourages shooting up everything in sight – this includes other cowboys, robots, rabbits, cowboys on horses, and ducks. You’d think the music is going to feature something that will boost your adrenaline, much like Megaman’s soundtrack.
…Nope.
You get a pretty cool and laid back cowboy tune instead. I love the little introduction that the guitar makes – it makes for an instant audio cue to be associated with the game. I will admit, I did not find myself humming along to this song, mainly because the main tune on the synth flute isn’t particularly memorable or interesting. However, this tune does establish a great character and atmosphere for the game – yes, the action on screen is a run and gun, but you’re playing as a cool cowboy. He’s not going to charge head long into battle – he’ll take his damn time.
There are times, though, when the game acknowledges its Megaman roots. Check this one out:
Classic 8-bit stuff, with a bit of the old cowboy guitar playing in the background. It’s a great way for the game to pay tribute to its classic roots in many other run and gun games. Plus, it’s really well put together, much like a Classical period – it has an antecedent and consequent, which leads to a concluding section. It’s simple, but it knows that simple is often the best thing since sliced bread.
Now I will proceed to something I never usually do in Sound in Games – encourage you to buy the soundtrack! This game is being sold for $1.99 at the eShop, and you know how much the soundtrack is being sold for? A single dollar. A DOLLAR!! There should be no excuse. Pick up the music – these guys definitely deserve it.
Plus, the last track on the album is probably my favourite track in the entire game – it’s an 8-bit rendition of the first song I showed on this blog. It is really, really cool.
If you’re a 3DS owner, you probably have this game. If you don’t, you’re missing out on one of the most simple yet fun experiences to come in a long time. If you’re not a 3DS owner, then BE JEALOUS.
Pushmo is a rather simple puzzle game. But with its simplicity comes a cute, yet rather clever soundtrack.
In this game, you basically push around giant 8-bit figures, moving the pixels about so that you can get to the top. It is deceptively simple, but really opens up once you get to use gadgets and get to the more complicated levels. As such, the game features a lot of 8-bit music to help accentuate the cuteness and the core aspect of the game.
It would have been easy to just feature a purely 8-bit soundtrack, but the composers used some rather brilliant touches of creativity with the music. There are tracks that are purely 8-bit in nature, but other tracks use some gentle brushes of orchestral instruments to help both intensify the cuteness and, at the same time, help smooth the brightness of the 8-bit synths. For instance:
You hear this track when you have to listen to your teacher teach you about the ways of the Pushmo. The tutorials really aren’t anything special to run home to, but the music is. You hear an arpeggiated run by the bassoon and oboe before leading up to the 8-bit melody. Afterwards, it’s mainly 8-bit for a little bit, though touches of triangle and wood blocks help make you feel that time’s passing by slowly and leisurely. Can I also say that the chordal progression is brilliant?
Woodwinds and some gentle brass help accenting the climax of the melody, which are a great choice for the 8-bit synths. With such a sharp attack, woodwinds and brass are best suited to match the 8-bit sounds. Percussion also help in keeping that sharp sound consistent.
Here, we have the inverse of what happened in the previous track. The woodwinds take center stage with this song, while the 8-bit sounds take the role of providing percussion accompaniment and ‘counterpoint’, if you will. Eventually, they again switch roles with who plays the main melody and who provides the accompaniment. Things are kept rather simple – if 8-bits are doing melody, then synths do accompanying, and vice versa. But the way in which these two instrument groups move back and forth from the roles is really cute and effective, for the type of atmosphere they were trying to convey.
This game is all about simplicity, and how sometimes it can be the hardest thing to achieve. The levels in these games might be made out of blocks, but the way you traverse the blocks and the way you solve the problems in front of you are sometimes rather ingenious. The same thing can be said about the music – it might sound simple and cute, but there’s a lot of surprising depth to be found. Give the game a go! It’s really fun, and you’re bound to get the music stuck in your head after a while.
Fins Of Air 