Weeks 20-21: Castlevania I, II, & III (Famicom + NES)
CASTLEVANIA (Akumajo Dracula)
14 tracks, 14:08. Samples-
Underground (name entry, FDS only)
Vampire Killer
Wicked Child
Black Night
Originally released in 1986 for the Famicom Disk System as Akumajo Dracula, this is the soundtrack to the very first Castlevania game. The Japanese version included a name entry screen with a short tune titled “Underground”, which was unused in subsequent ports. That track of music is hidden within the ROM data of the American Castlevania, but you’d never get to hear it by playing the game.
While the FDS had support for an additional channel of sound, it was unused for this game, making the Japanese and American soundtracks identical.
Composed by Kinuyo Yamashita.
Wikipedia entry on Castlevania.
9 tracks, 8:28.
9 tracks, 8:07. Comparisons-
Message of Darkness: Dracula II | Castlevania II
Bloody Tears: Dracula II | Castlevania II
Dwelling of Doom: Dracula II | Castlevania II
Within These Castle Walls: Dracula II | Castlevania II
First released in Japan as Dracula II: Noroi no Fuin in 1987, and later ported to the NES as Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest, there are two different versions of the same score. This time around, the original floppy disk version made use of the additional sound channel.
There are more differences between the two than the cartridge version simply lacking an extra voice, however. Sometime during the 15 month gap that separated the two releases, Konami decided to tweak the soundtrack.
For their second attempt they added new (and more driving) percussion parts, and all sorts of reverb/ delay effects that weren’t there before. Other differences can be heard as well, including a different length for A Requiem and a different bass part for Within These Castle Walls.
It’s neat hearing how the original version sounds, but I much prefer the changes they made for the American release. Despite having less channels to work with, they managed to make the music more complex and interesting by manipulating the soundchip with more care.
Composed by Kenichi Matsubara and S. Terishima.
Wikipedia entry on Castlevania 2.
26 tracks, 32:45.
26 tracks, 32:14. Comparisons-
Prelude: Akumajou Densetsu | Castlevania III
Beginning: Akumajou Densetsu | Castlevania III
Mad Forest: Akumajou Densetsu | Castlevania III
Riddle: Akumajou Densetsu | Castlevania III
Just like the previous title in the series, this game had two different versions of the same score. Akumajou Densetsu was released in 1989, and Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse was released in 1990. The Japanese version had an interesting source of sound expansion, making use of the VRC6 MMC chip developed by Konami.
The Famicom supported room for sound expansion if a game came with an additional chip that added new sounds on top of the Famicom/ NES’s internal 2A03 chip. In other words, despite being more or less the “same” system, the NES was always limited to the sound of the 2A03, while the Famicom was not.
Games with sound expansion were a considerable minority compared to the entire catalogue of Famicom games, however, with only two games making use of the VRC6 specifically.
I dig the ripping sawtooth wave which is pretty alien sounding for the system, and there’s just more going on in the Japanese soundtrack overall. I’d say I prefer it, but even without the extra stuff in there the Castlevania III soundtrack is excellent anyways. It is amongst the best the 8-bit Nintendo system had to offer.
Composed by Y. Sasaki, J. Funamashi, and Y. Morimoto.
Wikipedia entry on Castlevania 3.
2 months ago