Apparently, Kyouhei Sada (or Kiyohiro Sada, I honestly have no idea which name is "correct"), moonlighted at Natsume while still composing tunes for Konami, which is why this game's score sounds like something out of an NES Konami game.

ActRaiser's soundtrack was simply stunning when it was first heard back in 1990. It still holds up amazingly well, thanks to the fantastic work of composer, Yuzo Koshiro. The approach here seemingly was to create a game soundtrack that was more akin to an epic movie score than what was previously heard in videogames, therefore much of the music doesn't have distinct melodies so much as emotion and tension that underlines or emphasizes the action.

No one seems to like ActRaiser 2 anywhere near as much as the first one, and probably for good reason. Gone are the simulation stages as it is a pure action game, but whereas the first one was criticized for being too easy, Part 2 went way in the other direction, causing many people to feel it was too hard. While I always like a good challenge, the control scheme was slow and awkward. The soundtrack is also a notch down from the first one. While they do sound orchestrated, the songs aren't as memorable or distinct as the first game, and a lot of it sounds alike. But, there might still be something worth exploring here.

I never got into this game and most of what I've heard of the soundtrack didn't impress me, but I love these two songs. The composer for this music is unknown at this time.

Heroes of the Lance is a game with a very poor reputation and it's not entirely undeserved. While I could go on here about all of its problems, I'll choose instead to mention that the music is actually rather good in some areas. It's like more effort went into that than anything else.

Hillsfar , much like Heroes of the Lance , is not a very well-liked game, though I haven't played enough of it myself to judge it. Games that use orchestral soundtracks often do put a modern spin on them, such as adding percussion and bassline, but Hillsfar's music sounds intentionally like it's being played on archaic instruments only - lute, harpsichord, etc. At this point in time, the composer is unknown, but I highly suspect it is Kazuo Sawa due to the similarity of the Taverns & Temples music to the Bard's Lute Song that he composed for the SNES version of Ultima VI: The False Prophet .

I heard really good things about this game's soundtrack, and I have to say that I was initially impressed with the title screen music, but then underwhelmed by the rest of it. The composer is the same person who did Heroes of the Lance , but I don't think it's anywhere close in quality. Of course, that game had far fewer tracks. Pool of Radiance has over 3 times as many, and maybe things just got spread too thin.



Mood/Style: Soft Rock

Comment: Another song with a bluesy/jazz feel to it. It has a really good intro, but needed work on the second half.

Rating:





(NES - 1991)

Composer: Miyoshi Okuyama

Although I'm not a real huge fan of the Adventure Island game series, this being the only one I ever finished, but I still sometimes find these songs getting stuck in my head. I won't claim they're the greatest music to ever grace the NES, but if you're looking for some fun, bouncy calypso stuff in 8-bit, here you go! Caves

Mood/Style: Suspenseful

Comment: Music from the caves. Where else?

Rating: Credits

Mood/Style: Cheerful, Tropical

Comment: The ending music.

Rating: Desert

Mood/Style: Middle-Eastern

Comment: Another song to add to the long list of NES Egyptian music.

Rating: Island Boss

Mood/Style: Ominous, Suspenseful

Comment: The one and only boss theme.

Rating: Over the Clouds

Mood/Style: Cheerful, Soft Rock

Comment: Sky area music.

Rating: Overworld 1

Mood/Style: Cheerful, Tropical

Comment: One of the songs I most well remember from this game. It can really get stuck in your head.

Rating: Overworld 2

Mood/Style: Cheerful, Tropical

Comment: And this is the other one I remembered really well.

Rating: Overworld 3

Mood/Style: Cheerful, Tropical

Comment: Another similar song.

Rating: Underwater

Mood/Style: Cheerful, Tropical

Comment: This reminded me of the underwater music from Super Mario Bros. 3.

Rating: Underworld 1

Mood/Style: Ominous, Suspenseful

Comment: Another cave-type area. These typically sound darker and more mysterious than the other themes.

Rating: Underworld 2

Mood/Style: Ominous, Suspenseful

Comment: Probably another cave area, although honestly, I don't remember hearing this one.

Rating:





(NES - 1988)

Composers: Jun Funahashi, Kyouhei Sada, Hidenori Maezawa, Atsushi Fujio, & Tsutomu Ogura

I'm convinced Bayou Billy has a far worse reputation than it actually deserves. I saw Crawl beat it a long time ago and while it was challenging, it didn't look impossible and certainly not the soul-crushing experience it's often made out to be. I really dig the music, too. There's nothing quite like the picked guitar sound it has in any other NES game. Car Drivin'

Mood/Style: Rock

Comment: Music for the car driving stages. It's actually a little more happy-sounding than some of the other music in this game.

Rating: From the Swamp to Your Sweetheart

Mood/Style: Ballad, Soft Rock

Comment: The ending music. Bayou Billy is often cited as being a very difficult game to finish, so at least you're well-rewarded with this pleasing tune when you're done.

Rating: Gun Shootin' ~ Shootout

Mood/Style: Rock

Comment: The light gun stage boss fight music. I didn't include the regular light gun stage music because it was awfully repetitive.

Rating: Street & Swamp Fightin'

Mood/Style: Hard Rock, Rock

Comment: The main theme for some of the beat-em-up levels in Bayou Billy. This is one really catchy, rockin' tune. Crawl once described it as being the NES version of electric guitar.

Rating: Threateningly Yours, Gordon

Mood/Style: Rock

Comment: The boss music. I never beat this game, but I remembered this years later after seeing Crawl beat it because of how long it took to beat the final bosses.

Rating:



AKUMAJO DRACULA X: CHI NO RONDO

(NEC Turbo Duo)

Composers: Tomoya Tomita, Masanari Iwata, Harumi Ueko, Masahiko Kimura

I haven't actually played Akumajo Dracula X yet, but I was impressed with the music, which I could hear when Crawl was playing it. Castlevania games are almost always a good source of game music, and this one was no exception. I'm half-tempted to say Dracula X might be my favorite of the Castlevania soundtracks, but it's hard to etch that in stone since there are so many others that are great, too (especially Simon's Quest, Dracula's Curse, and Symphony of the Night). I decided to make some mp3s available of the Turbo Duo's version of Dracula X for two reasons: 1. I think they sound much better than the versions that were in the Super NES game, Castlevania: Dracula X, but since the TGCD version is so rare and expensive, it's likely many people have never even heard these versions. 2. The TGCD version contains a few songs that weren't in the SNES game. Beginning

Time: 2:28

Size: 2.26 MB

Automatic ending

Comment: "Beginning" is a remake of the first level theme from Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse.

Rating: Bloodlines

Time: 2:58

Size: 2.73 MB

Automatic ending

Comment: The first level music. I like the guitar riff in the beginning of this one.

Rating: Bloody Tears

Time: 1:42

Size: 1.56 MB

Automatic ending

Comment: The song that was made popular as the daytime music in Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest. I have to confess I like the version of this that's in Super Castlevania 4 more, but this one is still very good.

Rating: Cemetery

Time: 2:30

Size: 2.30 MB

Automatic ending

Comment: Uh, yeah, the cemetery level music. I don't know what else to say, so I'll use this space to make a general comment on this game's soundtrack: It strikes me as being what you'd get if you crossed Castlevania music with Ys music.

Rating: Cross a Fear

Time: 2:40

Size: 2.45 MB

Automatic ending

Comment: One of three songs that were not included in the Super NES Castlevania: Dracula X. This one is my personal favorite of these.

Rating: Den

Time: 3:16

Size: 3.00 MB

Automatic ending

Comment: This song is a remix of two different Castlevania songs, "Vampire Killer" and "Bloody Tears". One of the longer songs in this game's soundtrack.

Rating: Illusionary Dance

Time: 1:42

Size: 1.57 MB

Automatic ending

Comment: The final boss music. A shortened version of this was also used in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, so you might be familiar with it from there. I personally think this is the best version of this song.

Rating: Opus 13

Time: 3:39

Size: 3.35 MB

Automatic ending

Comment: The second of the three songs that did not exist in the SNES game.

Rating: Picture of the Ghost Ship

Time: 2:25

Size: 2.22 MB

Automatic ending

Comment: This is one of my favorites from this soundtrack.

Rating: Requiem

Time: 1:36

Size: 1.47 MB

Automatic ending

Comment: I accidentally uploaded this mp3 with all the others, but I figured, eh, what the heck. I'll make it available for download, too. A solemn little hymn that's also heard in Circle of the Moon. This is the last of the three songs that weren't in the SNES version.

Rating: Slash

Time: 1:24

Size: 1.29 MB

Automatic ending

Comment: This used to be my favorite song from Dracula X, but the novelty has worn off on me a bit and I now appreciate some of the others more. Even though it has kind of a "disco" style to it, it's just really fun to listen to.

Rating: Vampire Killer

Time: 1:43

Size: 1.58 MB

Automatic ending

Comment: A new version of the first level theme of the original Castlevania game.

Rating:



ALBERT ODYSSEY

(Super NES - 1993)

Composer: Naoki Kodaka



ALBERT ODYSSEY 2

(Super NES - 1994)

Composer: Naoki Kodaka



ALBERT ODYSSEY: LEGEND OF ELDEAN

(Sega Saturn - 1996)

Composer: Naoki Kodaka



(NES - 1993)

Composer: Jeroen Tel

Didn't seem like the NES version of Alien 3 was a very good game (sort of like the movie), but it has a decent soundtrack, courtesy of Jeroen Tel who was known for composing soundtracks for Commodore 64 games. Final Score

Style/Mood: Soft Rock

Comment: The music played during the score display screen shown at the end of the game. This is on the more laid-back end of this soundtrack's spectrum. The rest is more upbeat than this.

Rating: Guardian 1

Style/Mood: Rock

Comment: One of the boss themes. After every few stages, you'll fight an Alien Queen.

Rating: Guardian 2

Style/Mood: Rock, Techno

Comment: Another boss theme, though it's still against an Alien Queen. This one has a "Mortal Kombat" vibe to it.

Rating: Level 1 & 2

Style/Mood: Rock

Comment: The stage music is "where it's at" in this game's soundtrack. This is a very long song, clocking at about 2:30 before the first loop.

Rating: Level 3 & 4

Style/Mood: Rock

Comment: The music for the next set of levels also clocks at about 2:30 before the first loop. Amazingly long and complicated stuff.

Rating: Level 5 & 6

Style/Mood: Rock

Comment: The songs start to shorten up a bit for the last few sets of stages, but still have that hard-drivin' beat.

Rating: Level 7 & 8

Style/Mood: Rock

Comment: The shortest stage music yet.

Rating: Main Title

Style/Mood: Rock

Comment: The title theme is also very long and complicated. This is my favorite song in the game. It caught my attention right away when I first booted it up.

Rating: Mission Accomplished

Style/Mood: Cheerful, Rock

Comment: If you're wondering why the ending song sounds so upbeat, it's because the game has a much happier ending than the movie did. Spoiler Alert: Ripley actually lives.

Rating:



(Sega Genesis - 1992)

Composer: Fumihito Kasatani



ALUNDRA

(Sony Playstation - 1997)

Composer: Kohei Tanaka

ALUNDRA 2

(Sony Playstation - 1999)

Composer: Kohei Tanaka

ARC THE LAD: TWILIGHT OF THE SPIRITS

(Sony Playstation2)

Composers: Koji Sakurai, Takayuki Hattori, Yuko Fukushima, Masahiro Andoh, Takashi Harada



ARCANA

(Super NES)

Composers: Jun Ishikawa & Hirokazu Ando



(Sony Playstation 2 - 2004)

Composers: Ken Nakagawa & Daisuke Achiwa

AXELAY

(Super NES)

Composer: Sotaro Tojima

Level 1: Unkai - The first level theme of Axelay is hard-hitting, fast-paced, and really grabs your attention, jerking you right into the action. Level 3: Mother - This one's is more jazz-inspired and has some really crazy parts (just wish I knew what was up with those strange burping sounds). Level 4: Silence - This ambient piece is, imo, the best song in Axelay. If you only download one Axelay song, make it be this one. Level 5: Burning - The molten lava planet contains another fast-paced, suspense-ridden musical track. Return to Mother - Great ending song that remixes part of the Level 1 theme into a supercharged number that goes out with a bang. This made my original Top 50 endings.