Tag Archives: snes

Saturday Morning Cartoon NES Games

Due to the recent announcement of a remastered version of the classic Duck Tales NES Game, I thought we should take a look at some of the NES games that came out based on Saturday morning (or every morning) cartoons of the 80’s and 90’s. There are some quality games here, packed with nostalgia in more ways than one, and some surprisingly great music too. Check out some of Blind’s Remixes along the way and a final verdict of if you should bother with these games or not.

Duck Tales

Capcom 1989

Verdict: Worth playing, numerous times. Definitely on the top of the heap.

Here I am in Woodman's Stage..I mean, the Amazon...
Here I am in Woodman’s Stage..I mean, the Amazon…

DuckTales was one of the many games that Capcom put out in the 90’s that used Megaman II’s game engine. It was a genius move, since Megaman’s engine is a true masterpiece of 8-bit technology. DuckTales definitely feels like a Megaman game right away. However, there are a lot of nice changes in dynamics and controls to keep things interesting. The cane pogo-stick/golf swing move keeps things exciting and unique. The quality level of everything from music to level design is extremely high. I love how there are tons of mysteries and secrets hidden throughout the levels. It gives you a great replay value. The Moon level song is probably one of the most soothing songs ever written on the NES. However, it is totally inappropriate for the level, it’s just too calm!

This game definitely deserves to be remastered. It set the bar pretty high for the competition. As you’ll notice, some cartoon-based NES games didn’t even make my list.

 

 

 

Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers

Chip N Dale enter a strange world were nothing is proportioned as it should be...
Chip N Dale enter a strange world were nothing is proportioned as it should be…

Capcom 1990

Verdict: Worth Playing At Least Once or With a Freind

 

Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid. This game pretty much plays like any standard platformer from the time. You can pick up crates, throw them, stack them, but other than that, it’s your basic game play. There are some creative ideas like shutting off water faucets in order to reach different parts of the stage. The music is pretty good but not all that memorable. Still, it’s good for a trip down memory lane.

The 2 Player mode is also pretty cool. I don’t recall many games on the NES that had simultaneous play like this. It was much more common in the SNES days. This is the saving point for a game that’s pretty standard in other respects.

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Konami 1989

Verdict: Play it if you’re a sucker for punishment.

Real sewers are never this cool...
Real sewers are never this cool…

TMNT was arguably one of the biggest franchises in the 80’s and 90’s. There are tons of totally awesome TMNT video games out now for NES, Genesis, Arcade, SNES but this was the first. Was it great? Well, it was pretty cool at the time and the music was pretty rocking. However, this game was HARD. Not like, “challenge accepted” hard, but like, “this is not fair” hard. With no save point and the dreaded underwater level, many gamers just gave up. The Killer Seaweed tune from the underwater level is quite memorable.

 

 

Bucky Ohare

Konami 1992

Verdict: Play it or at least download the soundtrack!

His slogan: "Let's toast some toads!" (face palm)...
His slogan: “Let’s toast some toads!” (face palm)…

I always had a soft spot for Bucky O’Hare. Sure, it was sort of like Ninja Turtles ripoff in space, but there was something unique about it too. I remember having all the action figures. They were huge, detailed and colorful and just awesome. The game too is colorful, innovative and pretty fun. The music is my FAVORITE of all these cartoon based games. The only weak spot in this game is sometimes the quality level drops in certain levels. While most of the game is top notch backgrounds, innovative levels and awesome bosses, you’ll sometimes find yourself on a screen with about six unique tiles. I mean, come on, you couldn’t even make corners on the platforms? Check out the original theme song too, its like Joe Esposito (Karate Kid song) rapping. Just wow.

 

 

BeatScribeFaceBeatscribe is a full time indie composer, musician and writer. By day he creates soundtracks for various mobile gaming companies, by night creates megaman-inspired chiptunes, in the afternoons he drinks tea.  Check out his latest releases, tutorials and retro ruminations at www.beatscribe.com.

The Most Baffling Video Game Songs of All Time

Designing a video game requires hundreds of tiny creative and technical decisions that all amount to a finished product. You might think music was a no-brainer in the early days, with limited sound chips and minimal memory, but from the beginning their have been some totally baffling video game songs that make you wonder what the developer or composer were thinking. Here’s a few of those confusing moments that you may or may not have heard before. You might be surprised at how enjoyable some of these pieces are, they just don’t fit in their respective games.

Metroid – Norfair

Metroid has one of the best NES soundtracks out there. It’s memorable, heroic and creepy in all the right places..except for this one. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is a lovely piece of music. In fact I listen to it regularly, but after all this time and so many listens, I have no idea how this song makes me feel! Is it supposed to be scary? Relaxing? I find it rather relaxing until those weird unsettling pauses occur. It sort of makes me picture a lifeless puppet dangling in the wind. Wierdly, it reminds me of a 90’s math-rock/emo band called Ethel Meserve.

Continue reading The Most Baffling Video Game Songs of All Time

2Mello – Chrono Jigga ( Jay-Z vs. Chrono Trigger Mashup Album )

Chrono Jigga Cover

2 Mello, producer and DJ from Lexington Kentucky has just released Chrono Jigga, a mixtape of Jay-Z and Yasunori Mitsuda’s Chrono Trigger soundtrack. And the Internet rejoiced. Catapulting to the top of reddit’s r/music and being feautred on media outlets such as Polygon, Vice and The Verge.

Promoted by Scrub Club Records, this mixtape definitely pushes other VideoGameDJs to hustle harder. Jay-Z’s acapellas were released for free back in 2011, and while Jay may or may not have heard this album yet, we think he would agree it’s dope. 2 Mello produced this album with Acid Pro and Ableton Live, using samples from Native Instrument’s Kontakt to pad the Chrono Trigger samples. 2 Mello has been producing and MCing for over ten years, so youngin’s take notice! Hard work and determination pay off.

Download the album for free from ChronoJigga.com

OCRemix’s Tribute to Kirby: Milky Way Wishes

01 - Album Cover by PROTODOMEOverclocked Remix, the world’s largest video game remix community has just released an awesome 24 track tribute to Kirby’s Super Star for SNES! Directed by
Arek the Absolute with beautiful cover art by PROTODOME, this album doesn’t sparkle in cosmetics alone.

Remixers include some of GameChops own, halc and Benjamin Briggs teaming up as Insert Ruppee for some wondrous electronic chillout. My favorite track on the album has got to be Brandon Strader’s impressive arrangement of GREEN GREENS and Gourmet Race.

As with all OCRemix albums, these are fan arrangements offered for free download direct from their site! They offer MP3 downloads either direct from their server or via BitTorrent. I suggest using the torrent, as it’s super fast and helps OCR save on bandwidth!

Download Milky Way Wishes!