Hiroshige Tonomura – JC Cawley

Kong’s T’day Tune #31

J.C. Cawley — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 14:54:00 +0000

I’ve put together a list of 60 tunes that have stuck with me through the years, inspired by Jeffrey Canam (@GrahfMetal)’s Twitter rundown of his top 100 favourite video game tracks. I’ve attempted to limit myself to a couple songs per game, but there are exceptions.

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#31

When it comes to rocking video game tunes, it’s hard to beat Capcom during the NES years. Most people think of Mega Man, with some Duck Tales thrown in for good measure. I opened this list with Duck Tales mainly to foreshadow its composer’s better work: everything on the Destiny of an Emperor soundtrack.

After posting one battle tune on Tuesday, I couldn’t resist including another one today. This one has a fantastic contrapuntal line with a crazy reverb-like effect. Lots of different little elements working together brilliantly in this tune, and the simplicity of the NES sound channels makes the overall song sound huge without being confusing.

Track: “General Battle” (YouTube Link)
Game: Destiny of an Emperor (NES, 1989)
Composer: Hiroshige Tonomura

Kong’s T’day Tune #32

J.C. Cawley — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 14:14:13 +0000

I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

#32

Track: “Major Battle” (YouTube Link)
Game: Destiny of an Emperor (NES, 1989)
Composer: Hiroshige Tonomura

Kong’s T’day Tune #60

J.C. Cawley — Tue, 02 Oct 2018 17:53:14 +0000

Inspired by the mighty Jeffrey Canam (@GrahfMetal)’s excellent Twitter rundown of his top 100 favourite video game tracks, I’ve decided to put together a list of about 60 tunes that have stuck with me through the years. I’ll post them here and on Twitter every Tuesday and Thursday using the hashtag #KongsTdayTunes.

I’m leaving a lot of great music out of this series. The connection between music and memory is powerful, and nostalgia is the principal motivator for my selection. For that reason, the list as a whole tends to skew towards older games. In an effort to provide balance, I’ve attempted to limit myself to a couple songs per game, but there are exceptions.

#60

“The Moon” is the most famous track from DuckTales, published for the Nintendo Entertainment System during Capcom’s Mega Man-riddled musical heyday. I considered skipping it or using another song because it gets so much attention, but it really is the strongest track from the game. One thing that makes “The Moon” special is that it’s not a simple background loop like so much video game music of the time; instead, it has a robust musical progression (with an intro, melody, and bridge/transition).

Track: “The Moon” (YouTube Link)
Game: DuckTales (NES, 1989)
Composer: Hiroshige Tonomura