It still amazes me how many people still play, and love, the original Nintendo Entertainment System. The NES is great because it’s so simple - there are two buttons on the controller and you never have to think too hard. The games are fun and innovative - have you ever tried out the Power Pad?
Another great element to this 8-Bit Icon, the element we are exploring today, is the music. Some of the music and sound effects you hear while playing your favorite Nintendo games is simply mind blowing. Come on an adventure with us friend and grab your favorite beverage. Traveling back in time to your childhood is as easy as turning up your speakers and listening up. Now, TheDailyContributor.com takes a look at what we consider to be the best NES in-game songs:
25) Kirby’s Adventure - Orange Ocean
Wikipedia: After Kirby wakes up from his after-lunch nap without having any dreams, he goes to the Fountain of Dreams to investigate. In doing so, he discovers that King Dedede has stolen the Star Rod, the source of power to the Fountain of Dreams, and broken it into seven pieces, giving six fragments to his allies and keeping one himself. Without the Star Rod, all of the inhabitants of Dream Land are becoming restless and unable to dream. Kirby decides to track down the fragments of the Star Rod and bring them back to the Fountain of Dreams in order to restore everyones’ dreams.
Click To Listen: Kirby’s Adventure - Orange Ocean
24) Maniac Mansion - Michael’s Theme
Wikipedia: It has been twenty years, to the day, since a mysterious purple meteor came hurtling out of the sky and made a large crater in the front lawn of a huge Victorian-era mansion belonging to the Edison family. Dr. Fred, his wife Nurse Edna, and their son Edward “Weird Ed” Edison were reclusive people who left the house very rarely, but the meteor’s arrival brought about a strange change in Dr. Fred and the family were seen even less, and even their mansion has fallen into disrepair. Lately, patients from the local hospital have begun to disappear without trace.
Click To Listen:Maniac Mansion - Michael’s Theme
23) Skate or Die - Title
Wikipedia: The game featured two ramp events - the freestyle ramp and the high jump, two downhill events - the downhill race (in a park setting) and the downhill jam (in a street setting), and the pool joust. The pool joust, downhill jam, and the downhill race (in two player mode only) were all head to head, while the ramp events were single player. Except for the joust, which was a hand-to-hand knockout competition (literally and figuratively), all of the event winners were decided by a point system.
Click To Listen: Skate or Die - Title
22) River City Ransom - Main
Wikipedia: The plot follows high school students Alex and Ryan (Kunio and Riki in the Japanese version) as they cross River City in an attempt to rescue River City High and Ryan’s girlfriend Cyndi from the clutches of a villain called “Slick”. Along the way, they battle with gangs of students (with names such as “The Generic Dudes” or “The Frat Guys”) and several bosses and sub-bosses. Enemies will warrant a yell and drop money signifying their defeat, including the well known phrase “BARF!”
Click To Listen: River City Ransom - Main
21) Tetris - Music B
Wikipedia: Tetris (Russian: Те́трис) is a puzzle video game originally designed and programmed by Alexey Pajitnov. It was created on June 6, 1984, while he was working for the Dorodnicyn Computing Centre of the Academy of Science of the USSR in Moscow. He derived its name from the Greek numerical prefix “tetra- (all of the game’s pieces, known as Tetrominoes, contain four segments) and tennis, Pajitnov’s favorite sport
Click To Listen: Tetris - Music B
20) Tecmo Super Bowl - Kick Off
Wikipedia: Tecmo Super Bowl is an American football video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) that was released in 1991. Developed by Japanese video game company Tecmo, it was one of the first sports video games that had licensing privileges with both the league it sought to emulate (National Football League) and the player’s association (National Football League Players Association), thus allowing the game to use both the names and attributes of real NFL teams and real NFL players. (Prior games used the real teams or the real players, but not both.) Player rosters are based on the 1991 NFL preseason, and attributes are based on those of the 1990 NFL season. Although the game is in some ways considered outdated, it was very successful in the final years of the NES and enjoys an extensive cult following.
Click To Listen: Tecmo Super Bowl - Kick Off
19) Double Dragon - Mission 2
Wikipedia: The player takes control of martial artist Billy Lee, or his twin brother Jimmy (also known as Hammer and Spike in the supplementary materials for the American arcade release), as they fight their way into the turf of the Black Warriors gang in order to rescue their common love interest Marian. The player character has a repertoire of martial art techniques which they can perform by using the joystick and three action buttons (kick, jump, and punch) individually or in combination. Techniques ranges from basic punches and kicks, to more elaborate maneuvers like hair grabbing moves or elbow punches. When playing with another player, one can assist the other by grabbing their partner’s opponent from behind.
Click To Listen: Double Dragon - Mission 2
18) Excitebike - Main Theme
Wikipedia: Whether the player chooses to race solo or against computer-assisted riders, he/she races against a certain time limit. The goal is to qualify for the Excitebike (the championship) race by coming in at third place or above in the challenge race (preliminary race). The times to beat are located on the stadium walls (for first place) and in the lower left corner (for third place). In any race, the best time is 8 seconds ahead of third place. When the player places first, then they get a message: “It’s a new record!” Additional points are earned by beating the previously-set record time.
Click To Listen: Excitebike - Main Theme
17) Final Fantasy 1 - Title Screen
Wikipedia: Final Fantasy is a console role-playing game created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, developed and published in Japan by Square (now Square Enix) in 1987, and published in North America by Nintendo of America in 1990. It is the first game in Square’s Final Fantasy series. Originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Final Fantasy was remade for several video game consoles and is frequently packaged with Final Fantasy II in video game collections. The story follows four youths called the Light Warriors, who each carry one of their world’s four elemental orbs which have been darkened by the four Elemental Fiends. Together, they quest to defeat these evil forces, restore light to the orbs, and save their world.
Click To Listen: Final Fantasy 1 - Title Screen
16) Kung Fu - Level Music
The player takes the role of Keiji Thomas, a man in a Keikogi and slippers. Thomas’s girlfriend, Sylvia, has been kidnapped by “Mr. X”, and Thomas must fight through five side-scrolling floors full of enemies to rescue her. The game was an early beat ‘em up. It is cited as one of the inspirations for subsequent successes like Double Dragon, Final Fight, Captain Commando, Streets of Rage, P.O.W.: Prisoners of War and Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja. Thomas can punch with the A button and kick with the B button. Either move can be done from a crouching or jumping position. Punches are worth twice as much as kicks and do twice as much damage, but their range is shorter.
Click To Listen: Kung Fu - Level Music
15) Mega Man II - Metalman’s Stage
Wikipedia: Mega Man 2 takes place after the original Mega Man, which is set in an unspecified year during the 21st century (the year 200X). Dr. Wily, the series’ main antagonist, builds a new fortress and army of robotic henchmen, led by eight new Robot Masters of his design. Mega Man is sent by his creator, Dr. Light, to defeat Dr. Wily and his Robot Masters. Mega Man crushes the eight new Robot Masters and then challenges Wily himself. In the final fight, Mega Man defeats Dr. Wily’s holographic projection device. After the scientist begs for mercy, Mega Man spares Wily and returns home.
Click To Listen: Mega Man II - Metalman’s Stage
14) Metroid- Title Screen
Wikipedia: Space Pirates attack a Galactic Federation-owned space research vessel and seize samples of Metroid creatures. Dangerous floating organisms, Metroids can latch on to any organism and drain its life energy to kill it. The Space Pirates plan to replicate Metroids by exposing them to beta rays and then using them as biological weapons to destroy all living beings that oppose them.
Click To Listen: Metroid- Title Screen
13) Ninja Gaiden - Act 2 Stage 2
Wikipedia: The first Ninja Gaiden for NES was released in Japan on December 9, 1988, in the United States in March 1989, and in Europe on August 15, 1991. A ninja named Ryu Hayabusa finds a letter by his recently missing father, Ken, telling him to go to America and meet with an archaeologist Dr. Smith. Dr. Smith tells Ryu that two statues hidden by Ryu’s father and the doctor have the power to end the world - if united. Ryu ends up in South America and battles Jaquio, an evil cult leader bent on reviving the ancient demon called “Jashin” and the one responsible for the attack on Ken Hayabusa.
Click To Listen: Ninja Gaiden - Act 2 Stage 2
12) Ice Climber - Title Screen
Wikipedia: The game revolves around the characters Popo and Nana , collectively known as the Ice Climbers, venturing up 32 ice-covered mountains to recover stolen vegetables from a giant condor. The first player controls Popo, a boy wearing a blue Eskimo parka, while the second player controls Nana, a girl wearing a pink Eskimo parka. The only tool they carry is a wooden mallet to carve openings in the ice above and to club enemies. Each mountain level consists of eight layers of colorful ice and a bonus stage.
Click To Listen: Ice Climber - Title Screen
11) Ice Hockey - Team Select
Wikipedia: The play and mechanics of Ice Hockey are mostly similar to that of ice hockey in real life. The objective for both team is to hit a black puck with a hockey stick that each player carries into the opponent’s goal. Players wear ice skates, which are used to skate across the icy arena. Each game is made up of three periods, with the victory going to the player who has the most points at the end of the game. At the beginning, two opposing players from each team face off in the middle of the rink.[2] There are three kinds of players - the first is fast, weak, and feeble, but is good at the face-off; the second is average in all qualities, and the third is slow and poor at the face-off, but very powerful, both in body checking and shooting strength.
Click To Listen: Ice Hockey - Team Select
10) Super Mario Bros. 3 - Airship
Wikipedia: Super Mario Bros. 3 is a two-dimensional platform game in which the player controls the on-screen protagonist (either Mario or Luigi) from a third-person perspective. The game shares similar gameplay mechanics with previous titles in the series—Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, and Super Mario Bros. 2—but introduces several new elements. In addition to the running and jumping moves found in past games, the player can fly and float with the aid of special items, slide down slopes, and execute new types of jumps. Super Mario Bros. 3 is set after the events of previous games. Mario and Luigi embark on a mission on behalf of Princess Toadstool to stop Bowser and his children (called “Koopalings”) from terrorizing the kings of seven regions in the Mushroom World; the Koopalings stole the kings’ magic wands and transformed them into animals.
Click To Listen: Super Mario Bros. 3 - Airship
9) Bubble Bobble - Main Theme
Wikipedia: Bubble Bobble is an arcade game by Taito, first released in 1986 and later ported to numerous home computers and game consoles. The game, starring the twin Bubble Dragons Bub and Bob, is an action-platformer game in which players travel through one hundred different stages, busting and pushing bubbles, avoiding enemies and collecting a variety of items. The game became very popular and led to a long series of sequels and spinoffs.
Click To Listen: Bubble Bobble - Main Theme
8) Contra - Stage 2
Wikipedia: In Contra, the player controls one of two armed military commandos named Bill and Lance who are sent on a mission to neutralize a terrorist organization called Red Falcon that is secretly planning an alien invasion on Earth. Details of the game’s setting varies between supplementary materials: the Japanese version establishes the game to be set in the fictional Oceania archipielago of Galuga in the futuristic year of 2633, whereas the manual for the American NES version sets the game during the present in an unnamed South American island
Click To Listen:Contra - Stage 2
7) The Legend of Zelda - Title Screen
Wikipedia: The Legend of Zelda games feature a mixture of puzzles, action, adventure/battle gameplay, and exploration. These elements have remained constant throughout the series, but with refinements and additions featured in each new game. The player is frequently rewarded for solving puzzles or exploring areas. Most Zelda games involve locating and exploring dungeons, in which puzzles are solved and enemies fought, then defeating the dungeon’s boss. Each dungeon usually has one major item inside, which is usually essential for solving many of the puzzles in that dungeon and often plays a crucial role in defeating that dungeon’s boss. Some items are consistent and appear many times throughout the series, while others are unique to a single game. The series also consists of stealth gameplay, where the player must avoid enemies while proceeding through a level, as well as racing elements.
Click To Listen: The Legend of Zelda - Title Screen
6) Super Mario Bros. - Stage 2 “Underground”
The player takes on the role of the main protagonist of the series, Mario. The objective is to race through the Mushroom Kingdom, survive the main antagonist Bowser’s forces and save Princess Toadstool. If the player gains a red and yellow mushroom, Mario’s size increases and he can take one extra hit from most enemies and obstacles. Players are given a certain number of lives (and may gain additional lives by picking up green and orange ‘1-Up’ mushrooms), which are lost when Mario takes too much damage, falls in a pit, or runs out of time; the game ends when all lives are lost.
Click To Listen: Super Mario Bros. - Stage 2 “Underground”
Wikipedia:
5) Contra - Stage 1
Wikipedia: In Contra, the player controls one of two armed military commandos named Bill and Lance who are sent on a mission to neutralize a terrorist organization called Red Falcon that is secretly planning an alien invasion on Earth. Details of the game’s setting varies between supplementary materials: the Japanese version establishes the game to be set in the fictional Oceania archipielago of Galuga in the futuristic year of 2633, whereas the manual for the American NES version sets the game during the present in an unnamed South American island.
Click To Listen: Contra - Stage 1
4) Castlevania - Stage 2
Wikipedia: The very first console title, Castlevania, released in 1986 by Konami, was a typical platform game in which the player takes the role of Simon Belmont, a descendant of the Belmont clan, a family of vampire hunters. He travels to Dracula’s demonic castle, Castlevania, and fights his way through, eventually destroying Dracula himself. Belmont’s main weapon is the Vampire Killer whip, while the secondary weapons are powered by Hearts, found by whipping candles. Common secondary weapons include a dagger, holy water or an axe.
Click To Listen: Castlevania - Stage 2
3) Mega Man - Stage Select
Wikipedia: Mega Man appeared in six platformers originally for the Nintendo Entertainment System/Family Computer, two for the Super Famicom/Super NES (one of which, Mega Man & Bass, was released only in Japan, but later released on the Game Boy Advance in all regions), one for the Sega Game Gear, one on the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation, two as PC games, five for the Game Boy, and one for the Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 designed to look and sound like an NES game. (Capcom also released a compilation game for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, titled Mega Man: The Wily Wars. This game was released only in Europe and Japan, but was later offered to Sega Channel users as an exclusive game.) During the releases of the first six Mega Man games on the NES, they were never released for the Sega Master System as Nintendo held exclusive rights to third party companies such as Capcom.
Click To Listen: Mega Man - Stage Select
2) Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! - Fight Music
Wikipedia: Punch-Out!! features a boxer named Little Mac working his way up the professional boxing circuits, facing a series of colorful, fictional boxers, leading to a final fight with real-life boxer, the then-World Heavyweight Champion, which is Mike Tyson in the original version and Mr. Dream in the later version. The game requires good reflexes in reaction to the computer-controlled boxers’ moves, as the more advanced boxers give very little indication of their coming moves. However, Punch-Out!! can be mastered by learning the computer-controlled boxers’ consistent patterns.
Click To Listen: Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! - Fight Music
1) Goonies 2 - “Good Enough”
Wikipedia: The Goonies II features two modes of play: platform and first-person. Most of the game is played as the former as the player works through a non-linear map. The player moves Mikey to new areas of the map by ladders or doors that may act as warp zones. Several different types of zones are found in the game, each with distinct enemies, graphics and music.
Click To Listen: Goonies 2 - “Good Enough”
February 28th, 2010 at 11:41 pm
Where the heck is DuckTales Moon, the most popular NES song ever?