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

#9

Long before Dynasty Warriors cracked into the gaming mainstream, Romance of the Three Kingdoms (and, later, Destiny of an Emperor) sparked my fascination with the Three Kingdoms characters and history. I was just a kid and the Internet as we know it didn’t exist, so I didn’t know how to go about learning more. I remember asking my educated uncle if he knew anything about these Chinese generals like Liu Bei and Zhang Fei. (“I’ve heard of Zamfir,” he replied.)

This tune is the de facto main theme of the entire series. It started out as looping title & map music, and later entries revisit a snippet of the melody for their splash screens. I love every note.

Track: “Map Theme 2” (YouTube Link)
Game: Romance of the Three Kingdoms (NES, 1988)
Composer: Yoko Kanno

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

#16

This is the oldest song on the whole list, and probably the first piece of video game music with which I ever fell in love. It’s a cliche among kids of my generation that we constantly heard this song in our heads while adventuring in the woods around our neighbourhoods.

Track: “Title Theme” (YouTube Link)
Game: The Legend of Zelda (NES, 1986)
Composer: Koji Kondo

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

#19

Here’s “Bloody Tears” of course. This is an eminently coverable song, evidenced by the multitude of fan versions all over YouTube, not to mention the fact that Konami revisits it for numerous Castlevania titles. I think the key to this song’s memorability is the catchy melody combined with the totally sweet crescendo. It brings a great pace and energy to the song, not to mention the game itself.

Track: “Bloody Tears” (YouTube Link)
Game: Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (NES, 1987)
Composer: Kenichi Matsubara

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

#21

Back to Capcom. Back to Mega Man. This game is easily one of the highlights of Capcom’s days of chip tune dominance, and one of the highlights of the NES sound library as a whole. I could have used almost any tune from the game here, but I had to go with “Flash Man” for its snappy intro that segues seamlessly into this great chill melody.

Track: “Flash Man” (YouTube Link)
Game: Mega Man 2 (NES, 1988)
Composer: Takashi Tateishi

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

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

#36

Final Fantasy sets the pace for the rest of the series by having a bunch of great tunes on the soundtrack. This isn’t quite the best song in the batch, but it’s a memorable one, and a solid example of Uematsu’s approach on this whole game; it’s got a strong main melody supported by a bubbly rhythm track.

I’m going to have to make this a theme week and put up another Final Fantasy track to compare and contrast on Thursday. Happy winter holiday, everyone!

Track: “Matoya’s Cavern” (YouTube Link)
Game: Final Fantasy (NES, 1987)
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

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

#41

Zelda II is the weird one, especially in hindsight. But at the time, it was simply the next Zelda, and it was good. And hard! But most importantly awesome. Exploring creepy towns and talking to NPCs was fresh and exciting. And you could level up your stats and learn new moves!

My uncle gave me this game for my birthday, and he gave my little sister Adventure Island at the same time. I was able to trade Adventure Island for Mega Man 2, which I later flipped (plus $4) for a copy of Final Fantasy. Those were the days!

This tune has a jangly, dynamic, almost headlong flow to it that makes it perfect for exploring old castles and dungeons and resplendent palaces (they have hanging tapestries!).

Track: “Palace” (YouTube Link)
Game: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES, 1987)
Composer: Akito Nakatsuka

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

#45

Castlevania is the start of a huge, awesome series of games, and a big part of its legacy is its huge, awesome tunes. “Vampire Killer” was the first of many staple theme songs in this series, mirroring the perfect balance between the game’s fast-paced action and high adventure setting.

Track: “Vampire Killer” (YouTube Link)
Game: Castlevania (NES, 1986)
Composers: Kinuyo Yamashita, Satoe Terashima

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

#46

Here’s a perfect example of using a limited tool set effectively to accomplish a purpose. This is a really motivating song. It’s a tight enough loop that I think it might get repetitive after too long, which is probably why Doc Louis rides a bike during training (to keep his workouts short and sweet).

Track: “Training Theme” (YouTube Link)
Game: Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! (NES, 1987)
Composers: Kenji Yamamoto, Yukio Kaneoka, Akito Nakatsuka

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

#49

Both of my parents are professional Dr. Mario players, so I had to hone my skills to earn my supper. Chill is the closest thing we have to a household anthem.

This tune is impressive, especially for an NES puzzle game, because it’s a longer loop than it seems, running through several permutations before returning to the beginning. It’s really important to have good music that’s not too repetitive in a puzzle game—something that’s too interesting to be boring, but not so distractingly interesting that it can’t function as background music.

Track: “Chill” (YouTube Link)
Game: Dr. Mario (NES, 1990)
Composer: Hirokazu Tanaka