The magic of top ten lists is that almost everyone is a sucker for them. Almost everyone has something to say about the list, whether it be words of praise and agreement, or cries of anger for an "obvious omission." I usually like to pass on these kinds of lists, but IGN's Top Ten Tuesday for this week was baited perfectly, so I couldn't resist.
Their top ten list of the best 8-bit soundtracks isn't necessarily bad, though it should've been called "Best 8-bit NES soundtracks," as no other console was mentioned. As a fellow game music fan, I'd say that they covered many of the "given" bases rather well. It was good to see classic soundtracks like Metroid and Castlevania, both of which had us humming along from the beginning. There's also some pretty classy nods to Wizards and Warriors and Shadowgate -- color me impressed. Additional props go to the inclusion of Dr. Mario, which is one of the few 8-bit games that could make gamers shake their asses, dance club style.
Now for the misses: I have no idea how Blades of Steel made the list. Where is Mega Man II? Where is Final Fantasy? Both Final Fantasy classics "Prelude" and "Victory Theme" were established in the 8-bit days. Also, how is there not the NES version of Tetris on this list? I'd say that they dump Blades of Steel and Punch-Out (good music, but not enough for the top ten) and get these two in there. Also, Koji Kondo's Doki Doki Panic/Super Mario Bros. 2 deserves to be near the top, and I don't care what other one needs to be bumped off to do so.
Hit the jump for the full list.
10. Metroid
9. Blades of Steel
8. Wizards and Warriors
7. Dr. Mario
6. Punch-Out!!
5. Shadowgate
4. Contra
3. Legend of Zelda
2. Castlevania
1. Super Mario Bros.
What are your top ten 8-bit soundtracks?
[Via IGN -- thanks, Mr. Donut]
Contest:
12:45 PM on 08.28.2007
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9. Wizards and Warriors
8. Dr. Mario
7. Contra
6. Mega-Man II
5. Ninja Gaiden
4. Metroid
3. Legend of Zelda
2. Castlevania
1. The Super Mario Bros. series
I do enjoy listening to original 8-bit & tracking music, more specificallly the band Anamanguchi
The rest of 8-bit peoples site is pretty sw33t as well.
It's a shame they butchered the soundtracks for the Super NES version of the trilogy.
9. Punch out
8. Final Fantasy Theme
7.Zelda
6. Mega Man 2
5. Mario Bros(all)
4.CastleVania
3.Tetris
2. Final Fantasy Victory music
1. Metal Gear Game Over theme
10. Tetris
9. Bubble Bobble
8. Ghosts N Goblins
7. Bionic Commando
6. Contra
5. Marble Madness
4. Balloon Fight
3. Castlevania
2. Mega Man II
1. Marios Bros 1 - 3
Of course, Mappy always gets stuck in my head sooo...
corneliuscack - "Okkusenman ftw btw."
Oh yes. Yes indeed.
Although there are a couple I don't agree with, your list is filled with way more win than IGN's.
Time to firebomb IGN.
I second the Phantasy Star nod... just didn't think of it. I wish Sega would pull there heads out of their asses and make a good Phantasy Star game again.
Mega Man II / III
Ufouria
Blaster Master
(Ufouria and Blaster Master are both made by Sunsoft. They use the same sort of composition and a lot of the same sound effects. I love the music in these games, it's great.)
Battletoads
Little Nemo - The Dream Master
Silver Surfer
Kid Icarus
Marble Madness
Solstice
I remember Snow Bros. had a particularly bad-ass song playing over the intro
9 - DuckTales
8 - DuckTales
7 - DuckTales
6 - DuckTales
5 - DuckTales
4 - DuckTales
3 - DuckTales
2 - DuckTales
1 - DuckTales