The following is an essay I wrote for my assignment on a chosen music topic. Enjoy!

When discussing the success of a video game one would outline the obvious aspects such
the gameplay and visuals. However music is equally as important as it helps create the
atmosphere and mood of a game. As in film and television, music in video games also
helps identify the game and the characters within it. In recent times music in video games
has drastically changed due to technological advances. Therefore, it is questionable if
‘Video Game’ can still be defined as a genre of music.

The change in technology in video games is reflected in its music. An example of change in
music from a series of games on different systems is Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda. Nintendo
Entertainment System (NES) featured the first in the franchise called ‘The Legend of Zelda’
(1986). The classic 8-bit soundtrack created the epic feel well known in Legend of Zelda
games. At the time of release, no other game’s world was this large in scale and the music
helped emphasise the size of the adventure. The game’s main theme tune is something
every video gamer would be familiar with. Composer Koji Kondo has ‘re-used’ this theme
tune in other Legend of Zelda games in order to maintain the identity of the series.

Nintendo’s second console, Super NES (SNES), featured ‘The Legend of Zelda: A Link To
The Past’ (1991). This game featured a 16-bit audio soundtrack with 8 channels of sound.
Although this game’s music sounded very different from the previous, it followed the same
role of setting the epic feel to the game. The technological advances in this system allowed
the game to have more areas and worlds to explore, which in turn expanded the
opportunity for the quantity and variety of music used. The different music in each area
would help create a distinct atmosphere from the rest. An example of this is the forest
area. When entering the forest, the music would change which helps to ensure that the
player will know they are in a different area. Another example is when entering the dark
world where evil has spread across the land. The music in the dark world helps add to the
wickedness in the atmosphere. The change in music from the normal world to the dark
world tells the player that things have changed in the game’s story.

The Nintendo 64 (N64) took video game music to the next level delivering 16-bit audio with
64 channels of sound. ‘The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time’ (1998) revolutionised music
in games. Not only did it feature an amazing soundtrack but also it involved ‘music-making’
in the gameplay. Link, the game’s protagonist, uses a magical ocarina to play songs to aid
his quest. The player would need to play the songs themselves by learning a sequence of
buttons on the controller. Different songs would create different happenings depending on
where they were in the game and what song they had played. This feature blended
gameplay and music together revolutionising gaming. In the ‘Lost Woods’ of this game, the
music is used to aid the player in a maze. The music’s melody fades away when you are
heading in the wrong direction, and fades in when you are going on the right path. This is
another example of blending music with gameplay.

The file size of a video game cartridge always limited what could be contained in a video
game. Musically, this meant that the theme tunes and background music was programmed.
However this changed with the use of compact discs (CD), digital versatile discs (DVD) and
Blu-ray discs. Most current releases of video games feature pre-recorded music. This now
means that video game audio has no limitations. Any type of song can be used for a video
game, using different genre of music rather than sounding alike.

An example of a pre-recorded soundtrack is ‘Super Mario Galaxy’ (2007) for Nintendo Wii.
An orchestra had recorded most of the soundtrack. A large quantity of the soundtrack falls
into the genre of classical music. Comparing this soundtrack to the original ‘Super Mario
Bros.’ (1985) for NES shows how far music for games have come. Composer Koji Kondo
uses the same techniques in delivering both games’ soundtracks. He created ‘catchy’ tunes
that everyone will associate with the Mario character.

Konami’s future release of ‘Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots’ (2008) will feature
uncompressed audio. Sony’s Playstation 3 (PS3) uses Blu-ray disks for its video games.
The file size of a Blu-ray disk is substantial compared to older formats. This allows games
like ‘Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of The Patriots’ to contain big file types for content as well as
audio.

Video games systems such as PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 feature digital audio. These
systems are capable of outputting 5.1 digital surround sound, adding more to the
atmosphere when playing video games. Most video games of today contain dialogue, lyrics
and sound effects similar to those in film and television.

In the early days of video gaming, the soundtracks of games sounded similar. If you
compare two different NES games their soundtracks will sound very similar. With the
technology of big storage, soundtracks of games can sound entirely different. If you
compare two different PS3 games, their soundtracks will most likely sound different (unless
similar games, i.e. ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘Medal of Honour’ will have similar soundtracks due to
the fact they both are set during World War II). Most games now use pre-recorded
soundtracks and therefore falling into the genre of the type of game rather than ‘Video
Game.’ Video game soundtracks can be from genres in popular culture like rock, hip-hop,
classical and techno.

Nevertheless, in cases such as ‘Super Mario Galaxy,’ Koji Kondo decided to keep his work
the same as before, creating a soundtrack that would identify a character or game.
Although sounding different by ear, the structures of the songs in the soundtrack are similar
to that of his older work on the NES, SNES and N64. Although the ‘Super Mario Galaxy’
soundtrack falls into the classical genre this type of soundtrack can still be classed as ‘Video
Game.’

1. Super Mario World (SNES)
2. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
3. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (SNES)
4. Perfect Dark (N64)
5. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (MD)
6. Super Smash Bros. Melee (GC)
7. Super Metroid (SNES)
8. The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past (SNES)
9. Pokemon Red/Blue (GB)
10. Lylat Wars (N64)

I guarantee Smash Bros. Brawl will replace Melee and could climb a few places. Super
Mario Galaxy could make it there but I have yet to complete the game 100%. Other games
worth mentioning that didn't make the 10 are:

Goldeneye 007 (N64)
Super Mario 64 (N64)
Super Mario Bros. (NES)
Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 (MD)
Metroid Prime (GC)
WWF No Mercy (N64)
Tekken 3 (PS)
Street Fighter II (any version really) (Multi-Platform)
Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Multi-Platform)
Resident Evil (GC)
Resident Evil 4 (GC)

Another 2D fighter hits the Virtual Console and it's the first of SNK's King of Fighters series.
As a somewhat loyal fan of SNK, I downloaded the game early friday morning.

The game is more or less like the arcade version. You are given 4 credits and can either
play as a team or single. This was one of the earliest games to do team battles and it does
it quite good, only the teams are selected as one (you don't choose 3 characters, you
choose 1 team). Not the best option in my opinion but you could say it keeps the game
balanced. Each team is assigned to a country, and I think it relates to the story (i.e, Terry,
Andy and Joe were on a vacation in Italy when joining the tournament, therefore they are
Italy).

The gameplay is very good, what you'd expect from a 2D fighter. Every KOF game has
something different in it's gameplay. '94 lets your character 'side-step' moves. Think
Zangief spinning and dodging a fireball. You do this by pressing both strong attacks
simultaneously. It doesn't beat parrying or just defended but it's not too bad.

The game looks nice on my Widescreen HDTV, using a component cable supporting
Interlace, and doesn't look very dated (as a fan of 2D games and pixelation, this game
looks quite promising). The sound is what you'd expect from a 90's neo geo / arcade game,
not excellent but decent for it's time.

The controls are the downside to the game. As most are used to Capcom's control set-up
for it's Street Fighter series, it's really hard to understand why SNK decided to completely
mess this up. On the classic controller, you get this configuration:

(X)-strong kick
(Y)-strong punch
(A)-weak kick
(B)-weak punch

A mess. I hope they update this at least in the next release of a KOF on VC. You have the
option of using the Gamecube controller (although it's the same mess of configuration) or
the Wii Remote sideways. Now, why support that and have a screwed up button config? And
yes, you do use (A) and (B) on the Wii Remote (strong attacks) as well as
(1) and (2) (weak attacks). How uncomfortable...

Apart from the messed up button config, the game is a worthy Virtual Console download.
KOF games don't really appeal to everyone, especially if you are big on Street Fighter
games. I'd say if you've played it before and liked it, then it's definitely worth the 900
points. If you can hold out for the future releases of say, KOF '98, then you should wait.

SuperDel's VC Rating: 6/10

Wii Points: 900
Developer: SNK
Controller Support: Wii Remote, Classic Controller, Gamecube Controller