Awful Music in Video Games

[geoflcl]

I can't get over the music in this Yoshi's New Island trailer:



The song is ruined by those awful kazoos (?), so what would ordinarily be a cheerful, upbeat song ends up sounding downright cynical and sarcastic. That's my opinion, anyway!

Anyway, here are some other nasty bits of game music to set the mood:

Austin Powers: Welcome to My Underground Lair!

Spoiler

Resident Evil Dualshock Edition: Mansion Basement
(Proof that Mamoru Samuragochi might actually be deaf after all!)

Spoiler

And everyone's favorite!

Spoiler

Gimme more bad game music! The worst you can find!

 

[nando]

almost everything in a sonic game.

 

[Rydian]

That music clip that's 5 seconds long and repeats endlessly while you're trying to make or block a super goal in Mario Strikers Charged.

Ugh it's so repetitive.

 

[osirisjem]

I like the tunes for Trackmania (Wii)
The kazooos in that YI are bad :/

 

[AceWarhead]

Bubble Bobble

 

[Gahars]

It's like they're playing the song through someone's armpit.

 

[dxplay2128]

my vote is for sonic spinball's menu music

god it was awful

 

[DSoryu]

The worst dungeon theme of the whole Zelda videogames. I was like "holly shit I want to finish this dungeon rite nao"

 

[Hop2089]

The reason I never played or never will play the classic Strike games on SNES.



It's proof that not all SNES versions of multiplats had better sound.

The tinny twangy Genesis music from the 3 Strike games are superior as they have the most impact, emotion, and soul. The music on the SNES version has none of the impact, emotion, soul, and spirit.

 

[Chocolina]

 

[Motobug]

I say Sonic Chronicles. It has some of the worst music on the DS.
Just think, this:

is supposed to be THIS:

 

[geoflcl]

Aaah, I'm relishing in the ear-piercing wonder of your responses, folks! I love it! More, more!

Gahars and dxplay2128 are on to something with the Genesis/MegaDrive soundchip. It takes a certain finesse to get things sounding good on that thing, so it's garnered a nasty stigma for its screechy, often "farty" synthesis. Genesis music can sound splendid in the right hands, but for every memorable tune, there's twenty flatulent messes like this:



To be fair, Sega's competitor certainly isn't without its fair share of stinkers, too, as Hop2089 demonstrated. While the SNES' sound chip is notable for its versatility (*see Notes), it can sound a bass-less, tinny MIDI sequencer with a bad case of the jitters at its worst!




Oh! And here's another icky little morsel from Sonic Chronicles. I can't believe this junk was actually released!


And here's the source material, for comparison:


*Notes:

Spoiler

Unlike the Genesis' tricky synthesis, the SNES uses a more straightforward sample-based approach. Let's say you want a guitar lick in your game's music. Whereas a Genesis composer would have to experiment with the synthesizer settings to make sound that resembles a guitar, SNES composers could actually record a selection of real guitar sounds and import them into the game to be used. Because of this, the SNES could mimic a lot of real-life instruments more convincingly and more easily than the Genesis.

That said, the Genesis sound chip could really shine as well, and had an advantage when it came to certain genres. The Toejam and Earl games provided a surprisingly authentic funk vibe, and the Streets of Rage games are heralded for their techno/electronic soundtrack. The Genesis chip also seems to have no trouble establishing prominent bass, something that SNES' samples could have trouble with on occasion. On the whole, though, the Genesis seems to have required a fair bit more time and experimentation to reach its full potential (Though I suppose that's true of anything! )

When it comes down to it, the SNES and the Genesis were VERY different beasts in regard to music in sound. It's pretty interesting to a chump like me!

 

[Gahars]

Oh! And here's another icky little morsel from Sonic Chronicles. I can't believe this junk was actually released!

That soundtrack was their first mistake. Not calling it "Sonicles" was their second.

 

[Chary]

Continuing the Sonic trend is this piece.

 

[dxplay2128]

To geoflcl
totally agree with you. The genesis's soundchip can be awesome on the right hands.

 

[the_randomizer]

Speaking of the YM2612, it could do some absolutely insane things on the Genesis/Megadrive, like the game Vapor Trail, it used the GEMS soundfont, a rarely used font in games. It almost sounds like the CPS1.

But for the most part, it had that grinding, raspiness that gave the chip its notoriety.

 

[dxplay2128]

here's another example on the SNES

it was repetitive and dull

 

[PolloDiablo]

Isn't that the most beautiful, radiant sound that has ever been blessed upon your soul? Its exuberant tonality harmoniously blends the dying squeals of electronic goats, with the melodic rapture of diarrhea bubbling from a coyote's craphole

 

[nine0nine]

i always remember this for its unmemorable and almost random music.

 

[Snailface]

[/media]

i always remember this for its unmemorable and almost random music.

Did somebody say random?