16 Bit Stage Music Mix
This episode is about my favorite 16 bit stage music. A few of these loosely fit the definition of “stage,” but they are all awesome. When I began putting together outline for various episodes, awesome stage music was something that kept showing up in my notes. I think I picked a pretty cool group of tracks that I hope you will enjoy.
Rondo of Blood is my favorite video game soundtrack. The PC Engine outputs a beautiful soundtrack that has the best versions of old school Castlevania tracks and some new classics. This is another one I listen to all the time. I have a lot more to say, but I will save it for an upcoming episode about the game.
The first major dungeon you crawl through in Final Fantasy IV has a slow, dreary, soundtrack that evokes many memories of childhood for me. As we discussed in the episode about the game, I went through it over a few rental cycles, stunned by how quickly I got to the end. Every time I play through now or listen to the soundtrack I am reminded of that time in my adolescence.
I have been so happy in the last few years to read a lot of praise being bestowed upon Super Ghouls and Ghosts. This was one of the first batch of SNES games that I owned and, while imperfect, is one of the best games on the system. It is brutal and has to be finished twice, the second time in a fairly difficult manner, but is also fun, has fairly smooth play control, and plenty of replay value. The best part about the game is its absolutely epic soundtrack. A lot of my favorite music from video games is from the 16 bit era and this game is no exception. SGNG is a side scroller, but it has music that sounds like it came out of a Final Fantasy game. When it came out, I had never really engaged with a game with such a soundtrack. Although you won’t hear it now, the thunderclaps you hear in the background of this level at various intervals really add to the amazing atmosphere.
The music in Earthbound is incredible. Retronauts just did a great episode about the game and dove deep into the music. This track is one of my favorites. There is so much great music on this soundtrack.
I never beat Sword of Vermillion, but I love this track from its soundtrack. I remember, as it seems others do, this game being pretty hard to find. I got it from a rental store that was closing after a Blockbuster came to town. Generation 16 did a great feature on this game recently.
I love this remix of the classic Super Mario Brothers theme…Super Mario World has so many cool nooks and crannies that are fun to discover. Back then it was so fun to slow burn through all of it trying to get every level unlocked after very quickly finding the back entrance to fight Bowser. On our holiday episode this year we will discuss SMW more and hopefully do a full episode in 2017.
