WEEK 2: Castlevania Bloodlines / Flashback / Gimmick! / Zelda no Densetsu
CV BLOODLINES (Sega Genesis)
30 tracks, 35:12. Samples-
Reincarnated Soul, Part 2
Iron-Blue Intention
Calling From Heaven
Released in 1994, Bloodlines is the first Castlevania game to feature the work of Michiru Yamane, who has since been established as the leading composer of the series. Labeled as “classic tunes”, Bloodlines also includes 5 arrangements of songs from previous Castlevania titles.
Wikipedia entry on Castlevania Bloodlines.
FLASHBACK (SNES)
13 tracks, 11:44. Samples-
Cited in Guinness World Records as the best selling French videogame of all time, Flashback is an action/puzzle platformer with gameplay elements similar to the classic Prince of Persia. Blending cyberpunk and distopian themes, the music of Flashback matches the concept. Minimal, incidental, and repetitive for the better part of the game, it’s not far off from something you might expect from a John Carpenter soundtrack.
Initially released for the Amiga, the Super Nintendo version is one of many ports. For an ‘inbetween week’ project coming up, I’ll share several alternate versions of the soundtrack.
GIMMICK! (NES)
19 tracks, 29:40. Samples-
Released only in Japan and Europe, Gimmick! (alternately known as Mr. Gimmick!) is a Sunsoft title that has been met with some obscurity over the years. It is also regarded with distinction, however, as it was the only Nintendo game to use the Sunsoft FME-07 expansion chip for additional sound. Gimmick! boasts 3 additional square wavs on top of the NES’s built-in 2A03 chip, allowing for 8 total channels instead of 5.
For more information on memory mappers that allowed sound expansion for Famicom games, click here.
ZELDA NO DENSETSU (NES)
13 tracks, 9:57. Samples-
The first incarnation of The Legend of Zelda came out in Japan in 1986. Although most of the music is exactly the same, Zelda no Densetsu was released for the Famicom’s floppy disk system, which allowed for the use of an extra channel (as heard in last week’s posting of Almana no Kiseki). Only a couple of tunes used the additional sound, but it is interesting to hear alternate and original versions of such nostalgic selections.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a wholly complete rip of Zelda no Densetsu, as the game over music and a couple jingles were left out. To complete the soundtrack I finished off the handful of missing tunes with the American versions, labeled as “(LoZ)”.
Thanks for checking out week 2!
4 years ago
