Carl05's blog: chiptune

Showing posts with label chiptune. Show all posts

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Castlevania music: chiptune on vinyl 2

This post has been the making for a long while, because I didn't want to write before having all the announced Castlevania titles in my hands (sorry, no Kid Dracula) and having a back to back listening experience. With the final release of Symphony of the Night, now is the time. All these releases come from Mondo.

Castlevania

Once you get over the stunning artwork on the front cover and the level layout gatefold (I don't care about the Medusa), the most noticeable aspect of this release is its shortness, it's awkward 10 inch size and its relative high price. Being generous, it feels like Mondo had to compromise here in some way for us to have the soundtrack at all. I appreciate having it, but it still an uncomfortable purchase even more than a year on. The music sounds fuller, coming out of a nice system than from the old TV speakers back then and from all the releases here, this one is the closest to the original intention of re-creating a monster movie vibe. I like the inclusion of the sound effects in Walking on Edge, but I believe that they overstay their welcome. I got the plain old black vinyl variant and despite all the color schemes of the rest I think it the most handsome looking.

Listen for: Poison Mind. My complaint is that it is too short. They could have added another extra loop for this one. Everything else sounds lovely as well.

Castlevania II

Simon's Quest presents us with the differing NES and famicom versions. The music from this game is the scariest-sounding from the whole series (not on Silent Hill level but still) and the famicom version enhances the experience with a richer texture. This title shares with Castlevania I both the great artwork and short running time/high price combo. When I ordered I had the opportunity of getting the night and day split and I still kick myself for not doing so. The center labels are also the best for the titles here.

Listen for: the famicom version.

Castlevania III

Dracula's Curse feels the most balanced of the Castlevania soundtracks with each song consistently keeping the momentum going and with no obvious throwaway tracks. If you put aside Simon's Quest for a moment, it is the first one that offers alternate routes and the track selection reflects that with alternating songs from the lower and upper routes which finally meet at the famous Castlevania hallway.

Unlike Simon's Quest, the NES version is way better than the famicom one, so I would recommend to play the latter first.

The orange splatter variant I got for this one is the second-best looking of the bunch. However, is noticeably crackly at parts. This is no problem for me because the music is so good. The inside of the gatefold could have been better, maybe like the one from Super Castlevania IV if they wanted to keep the level layout idea.

Listen for: Evergreen (probably the sweetest song from all the Castlevania canon) and the underground level, Nightmare on NES side (blown by the sound effects).

Super Castlevania IV

Super Castlevania IV represents a vibrant evolutionary path not taken both in game design and music. As such, the score is way out of the usual Castlevania fare, but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. Most of the music has been described already as weird jazz by others and it certainly fits that description. The instrumentation is appealing and the bass is smooth all throughout.

Unlike Dracula's Curse, the included sound effects are spot-on. If there's is anything lacking, that is the reprise of Simon's theme on the last battle which made the scene exciting in the first place. Oh, well. The grey vinyl is the least exciting of the group too.

Listen for: The Waterfall & the Sunken City. I hated this last one when I played the game, but now I've been won over by it as it really represents the soundtrack as a whole. I hear a clear connection between the tribalism of the Dungeon music to the Tower of Execution and main theme from Castlevania 64.

Rondo of Blood/ Dracula X

One of the best games I never played is Rondo of Blood. A friend lent me the Dracula X SNES version and it was such a letdown. The music, notwithstanding, was on par with the already impressive Castlevania track record. Mondo could have gotten away with just releasing Rondo, but the double album was an unexpected gift. With the benefit of side-to-side comparison I will hand preference to Rondo. The SNES version does make mighty efforts and comes real close in many of the songs, but Rondo is still better sounding and the better soundtrack. The added bonus of Haunted Castle decisively tilts the balance and ushers the whole package to the 5-star club. Oh, can't wait for a release of the Gameboy/DS games if that ever happens.

The inverted gatefold art covering both games, MCs & bosses is the best of the bunch.

Listen for: Den (for the mini-medley), Mary Samba (way to end the game! Not like the dour Richter end theme), & Cross Your Heart. I would throw in Cross a Fear as well from the PC Engine as a good theme that has been forgotten. The best remixes of Vampire Killer and Bloody Tears are the ones found here IMO.

Symphony of the Night

SOTN was certain to be a 5-star no matter what. However, the artwork, though reminiscent of the original, wastes all the available space in just 4 portraits. Mondo had released a poster with better artwork some months prior. What happened? Why the change? A waste in my opinion.

Now too, the infamous side D is a treat that isn't. In the flurry of good news surrounding the release of Rondo and Symphony one extra bit was the inclusion of tracks from the Saturn version of SOTN. My elation soured immediately when I checked the track listings and found my hopes weren't realized with the absence of the Cursed Prison Saturn-exclusive theme Chaconne c moll. This one is not as immediately catchy as the rest of the soundtrack and its obscurity makes it fall between the cracks, but, in my opinion, it is the most accomplished composition of the game series. It follows closely the example set by Bach's passacaglia BWV 582 which is breathtaking. As far as I know it has never been recorded and it is a shame that it didn't make it into this release. Did we really need more versions of Bloody Tears, Vampire Killer & Beginning? If you have listened up to this point, they are already tired and do not add anything worthwhile (well, the last version of Beginning does get a passing mark on my book).

Finally, I've got to say that I Am the Wind is missing. I am happy for its absence, but it is an integral part of SOTN nevertheless.

Listen for: all the little things going on the background on much of the music. I'd like to point out the obscure and tender Nocturne and Abandoned Pit, which sounds very spooky isolated now from gameplay sounds. Also check out the Librarian theme for its Arabian Nights feel.

There are no obvious drawbacks with the pressings presented here except the aforementioned CV III.

Recommendations

So, what to aim for? It's surprising, but all releases get high marks and maybe one's budget can't be stretched to cover them all. Here's what I recommend:

If you're a fan: get Symphony of the Night no question about it.

If you're a non-fan: get Super Castlevania IV. I too, didn't expect this, but I think it very interesting musically speaking and more apt to reach to a wider audience. It is far-out, but stems from a familiar base.

If you want to keep finding stuff on repeated listenings (replay value if you will): SOTN & SC IV.

If you are going after value: Rondo + Dracula X or Dracula's Curse. If you played only one of these, go for the nostalgia.

If you want cover art for display, get Simon's Quest.

If you want gatefold art, get Rondo of Blood.

If you don't care about the music at all and just want something to collect and maybe show around, get the original Castlevania.

What's in for the future? The standout absence is Bloodlines. There are three or four themes, foremost Iron Blue Intention and Requiem for the Nameless Victims (probably the best Castlevania ending after Evergreen/Flashback), that are interesting, but I'm on the fence on this one if it ever comes to light.

Now, the gameboy/DS titles from Circle of the Moon on, are another matter. These were given for the most part great themes and are an obvious way forward. I'm all on in on these and if it were up to me, I'd see for there release first.

There's also the parallel project Resurrection of the Night (Materia Collective) which is a funded Kickstarter release. This one is special because it uses real instruments and choir. Once It ships and I add it up to my collection (I backed for its realization and for the vinyl reward), I'll include it here.

Updates:

04/08/20

Got the Materia Collective backer vinyl last year. Still have not listened to it.

There's another recent release that deserves mentioning because it exists, it is a kind of an oddity, and might interest those are not completionists and this is Castlevania the Adventure Rebirth released by Ship to Shore and distributed by various. Judging by the selection of the tracks, this one could also serve as a representative selection from the pre-3-D era in remix form. I myself didn't get it at release time because I had most of the music already, but may do so in the future. This release's rendition of Riddle, which is used for the final battle, is the best I've heard, so there is something to look forward to, especially if one also adds the medley on side B.

Saturday, April 7, 2018

We Love Wizardry LP review

The first time I learned about Wizardry was from a review on Game Pro magazine for the NES version. I was fascinated by the secrets and the winding corridors shown in the maps. I begged to have this game for Christmas and enjoyed it fully. My friend Gabriel, who was the only other person that I knew that played RPGs, hated it immediately however when he tried it and bumped into walls. He thought that the "ouch!" messages were silly. Even though I have completed it many times (I still have my cartridge) my interest has shifted from the gameplay itself to its peculiar art and music. When I tried the primitive original version from the Interplay collection I didn't get the same magic and immersion present in the Nintendo incarnations. The custom-made Baroque music fitted like a glove and it was exciting and charming. My favorites were the title theme, the battle theme that never became old and the very soothing camp music. For many years I had to make do with MIDI versions to listen, but on the Napster era I came across some few seconds, a partial download, from the title theme majestically orchestrated. At the time I did not know where this came from, but now I know it is from the official version released by the composer for retail sale on LP, CD and cassette. Its title: We Love Wizardry.

And of course we do. So much so, that it is a very hard soundtrack to find. Not only was a Japan-only release, making it hard to come across it for starters, but it is also an expensive one. CDs, from what I have seen, start at $100 (used) and could comfortably go for $200 (still used). LPs go even higher, but I have seen a recent tendency to ask more for the CD version. As one would expect a better sleeve + media condition notches even higher prices. My guess is that people do not want to let go off their copies.

In the last couple of years I spent my time waiting for publications on eBay and Discogs or that someone might inadvertently ask for a lower price. I was willing to go for it regardless of the format. Or maybe, with the vinyl revival and the very recent interest in videogame music, a re-release. The master had to exist somewhere, didn't it? For all the We Love Wizardry proclamations, the affection paradoxically doesn't seem to be widespread enough to merit. Even more popular titles, namely Dragon Quest, have not seen their existing soundtracks re-released, so what chance was there? When I felt I had waited long enough and that any change to the status quo was not forthcoming, I decided to bite the bullet.

Now, I'm interested in the music itself and the physical experience of an LP if it came to that. I try to avoid being an actual collector because I really don't want anything and everything, it is too much of a distraction and an expensive one. A very few, well-chosen titles, as I have said before, suffice for me. We Love Wizardry happens to be one of those. I had been eyeing a long published vinyl offer on Discogs for $150. When one day it vanished, I vowed that I would take the next opportunity and it came back last January at just that price. By this time I had the resources, but it didn't make it any easier forking so much dough on just one LP. Went for it. This itch had to be scratched and it seems this will be the most expensive record I will ever buy.

What I bought what described as NM in both media and sleeve. The seller was efficient in processing my order and I made sure to ask him to put, if possible, the record outside of the sleeve and in a double box for better protection. He said no problem. Then came the scary wait. I opted for the most expensive, registered airmail, but it didn't seem to have an impact on shipping time. It came from Japan in around five weeks and by this time I was expecting the package to be partly torn, crushed and generally mangled for all that transit and handling. I should have asked for FedEx.

However, when I finally got the package I was surprised that the contents had not been damaged in the least. The cardboard had some few bumps and scuffs and looked as if it had been run over by a motorcycle tire on one side, but held. No double box, but the record was indeed packaged separately and held firmly. Both record and sleeve combo were in a sealed plastic (Mylar?) outer sleeve. The record sleeve itself was a sight to behold. Despite its 30 years of existence, it looked as if it had been printed last week all smooth and shiny. Who knows how many persons owned and lovingly cared for it all these years.

My copy also came with its original obi sash and insert. The insert was described as having a few stains and I believe that this helped me pricewise. I knew from a Japan trip episode from Nate Goyer's "The Vinyl Guide" podcast that record dealers over there generally are very conservative with their gradings and that any minute imperfection impacts the price. Once more, I believe that with my copy this was the case. The scores for all the tracks are included. I cannot read music but it's nice to have it for archival purposes (yeah). There appears to be an official sticker (hype? separate?) but I knew that this one wasn't included. In a way I'm glad it didn't because its inclusion would have meant an even greater expenditure and I wasn't about to stick it somewhere. It would have been nice, for completion's sake, but that's still an extra. Would I buy it if I saw it sold separately? How much would I be willing to pay for it? I don't know, maybe $20 or up to $40. I'm very happy with what I already got. Music, record condition and, if possible, sleeve condition was what I going for.

Originally I intended to listen to it right away but since Lent was coming I thought to defer the first listening for after Easter. I thought that it would be a good thing, in addition to others, to offer God for the season. As you can see, I was melting for it, but God takes the top spot. It was a shame to finally unpack such beauty. Would I be able to take as good care for my record as others had done? My. At the very least I could make a digital copy for the ages, pack everything in a Groove Vinyl oversized protective sleeve and keep it out of the sun. For a brief moment I considered not playing it at all and having it for display-only, but discarded the idea as extravagant as I didn't have the wall space anyway. Using gloves to handle my $150 was not that far-fetched however.

The music for this title lives in a weird limbo between chiptune and real-life performance as it is generated by high-end synthesizers. I wish we would have gotten some real instruments playing (a very unlikely occurrence for any soundtrack of the era other than Dragon Quest), but I am very thankful that they didn't just record the raw chiptune output. Had this been the case, I would have certainly not bothered at all. Another big plus is that the composer takes the opportunity to explore more in each track than just giving us the same old pieces we have already heard a million times. These two factors, along with the catchy underlying melodies, are what makes this one a standout musically speaking. There is now more power, there is more ebb and flow.

Is this Dungeon Synth before DS? The elements are clearly there, but the composer is decidedly going for Baroque and furthermore, it doesn't appear to have had an influence on later artists to the best of my knowledge.

The sound quality of the vinyl is clear but a bit clicky which is something to be expected for its age, but not distracting. No loud pops.

Almost all the tracks are extended with 1 or 2 minutes of new material beyond the point where you expect each to loop.

Here are some brief impressions for some of the tracks:

The title theme is grander, more solemn and darker than the original and now reminds me of Handel's sarabande.

The castle theme is merry and makes a picture a cobbled medieval town on market day.

The adventurer's inn feels just what a place of relaxation and restoration should sound like. WLW has its own aesthetic, but the extra material here is what comes closest in the album to the Dragon Quest Sugiyama sound.

Boltac's is the closest to the NES version.

In Gilgamesh's tavern there is a surprising entrance of a clavichord followed right away by a passage that reminds me of West Side Story.

The Temple theme sounds like a church hymn and is very effective in giving the sense of sacredness. The organ for this one however feels saturated. Maybe because it's the last track from side A.

The town outskirts music doesn't resist quoting a well-known circus theme.

If there is a theme that I like best in its original NES version, it is the Dungeon. As with many of the rest, it is now darker and foreboding. However, for this one, this makes it lose focus on the already effective minimalist melody. There is a shift from mystery to the feeling of walking on the edge of a chasm.

The Camp theme still remains sweetness.

The very small jingle that signals an encounter isn't included. The battle theme for its part is transformed from the intimate dungeon fight to what feels a very expansive and cinematic pitched battle where vast numbers of opponents are dealing and receiving death all around the listener. It is my belief that this is one of the very few baroque battle themes in gaming and whatever its rivals, it is a fine example.

The LP finishes with that victory theme which, of all the music from Wizardry, is the one one gets to listen the least. In addition it is, if I may, not that great. As a result, it doesn't quite on par with the rest of the music in terms of familiarity and enjoyment which makes the soundtrack as a whole end a bit on the downside.

The Wizardry series doesn't stop with the first title We Love Wizardry/Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord. There were other releases and soundtracks to match by the same composer. Is it the future for me to get those as well? By the looks of it, all these other soundtrack releases were published as CD only and while still rare and expensive, appear as more affordable and a bit easier to find than We Love Wizardry. There was a box-set release a long while ago and I seriously thought about getting everything in one fell swoop through a reseller at Amazon, but it turned out existing offers were (and still are) outrageously expensive as this one has the aggravating characteristic of being a limited release. Individual titles might work for me: Legacy is the highest rated; owned and loved Heart of the Maelstrom for the SNES; I may eventually buy a used Nintendo copy of Knight of Diamonds which I never had. So, individual CD purchases may be in the horizon. (It happened!)

For yourself, under which conditions would I recommend you get We Love Wizardry? As I see it, get it if you fit under any of the following: a) you are a hard-core collector and have the wherewithal; b) you love Wizardry/its music and can cut other outlays to make up for the expenditure; c) have some special interest such as taking samples or you tell me. For the rest, I would suggest that you first go out and buy the albums of the games that really interest you and still hold on for the possibility of a re-release, however tenuous. I'm inclined to believe that it will never happen, but who knows? Copies from the 80s can still be bought, some way or other, the problem is their price. In the end, if you ever get hold of of one, whatever the format, I believe you will not regret it due to its musical merits.

Actually 4.5

Saturday, May 13, 2017

Chiptune on vinyl: a preview

So here you have me after deciding to buy a new record player, the AT-LP3, browsing through Amazon's vinyl offerings for new records to try out, when, at the soundtracks section, I came face to face with my first videogame chiptune vinyl. This was Castlevania released by Mondo and my first reaction was that of excitement. Just imagine the wonderful tunes from Castlevania re-created and on vinyl no less. However, my excitement soon turned to puzzlement as I dug deeper. This was no enhancement, or orchestration, but the music almost straight from the NES to the vinyl. Why?

Backside of Castlevania III

You may know all about it, but this is not just a one-time event. Several record producing companies have released over the last 3 to 4 years videogame music on vinyl. Immediately after Castlevania I came across Mega Man, Zelda, Street Fighter 2 and many many more totaling about something at least two dozen titles. All these belong to a category named "chiptune" which is a subgenre of electronic music and mostly refers to music from the 8-bit and 16-bit era and new original music composed in the same style.

Why the sudden surge of interest from the labels? The vinyl revival has been going on for close to a decade now and that adds the underlying push to any musical enterprise on the format and that, granted, is a factor. I have not zeroed in on the reason (my guess is demographic trends, our desire to own and nostalgia), but I can identify some common aspects revolving around this surge of video game music on vinyl:

Most of the music appears to be without any enhancement.

The releases are expensive. Plain and simple with no qualifications. In comparison with regular soundtrack releases one is paying more per LP and some titles can go quite high even while still in stock. Street Fighter II retails for $75 for instance; Persona 5, a recent RPG, for $100 and that's just the standard version. Shorter soundtracks go around $20-$35.

The availability is not that great. From what I've seen each release is typically limited to 1000 copies, though there are some that go up to 2000 and not much beyond but that's including all variants. Represses of sold-out titles do happen, but this is chancy as even popular titles have it dim. I entirely missed the Mother/ Earthbound series.

Some releases (Persona 5, Undertale, SF2) include what appears to be every sound which I feel is overkill. Does one really need to listen to (and pay for) everything only to get to the good parts? I'd rather have a carefully selected album than every bit of incidental sound, but that's just me.

Out of stock releases seem to fetch high prices at Discogs.

Acoustically speaking, I can understand on some level why it would make sense for something recorded digitally on good equipment, say, from the CD-ROM era onwards be transferred to the vinyl format. However, I find no reason why chiptune would sound better on vinyl. Without rehashing all the analog versus digital controversy, I do find that magic does happen when the needle strikes the wax. For that to happen, the medium and the needle have to have something to work with and it is my belief that chiptune doesn't cut it. The beeps and boops do not seem rich enough. I am yet to experience an actual chiptune recording, so I'll withhold verdict for now.

There are complaints online about some releases in respect of quality control. Surface noise and off-center holes do happen with some frequency.

Artwork is the third factor of the composition-wax-looks triad. In the wider encompassing soundtracks category, as well as in our current niche discussion, care, artistry and ingenuity have been poured into the releases of our current generation. The visual designs are generally all-new for all labels recovering the essential elements of the seminal works. This ramps up the visual enjoyment of owning physical media and firmly establishes many of the releases into the collectible sphere. While some labels do slack a bit going for minimalist designs on some albums, there are others that appear to bring out consistent eye candy (Wax Work Records comes to mind). I am somewhat against collecting as a hobby, as it distracts from religious duties for one, but I just cannot help drooling over some releases. It's hard to keep myself in check.

Returning to video game vinyl some releases include obi strips. The vinyls themselves for the most part are anything but black. There are your standard colored, but also transparent, with splatters, swirls and half-and-half.

I find that I am not that interested in most of the releases. The ones that I would really pay for are re-issues or re-recordings of the Dragonquest series (orchestral!). And maybe the release of The 7th Saga.

So what did I do? I, of course, despite my misgivings, bought the three available Castlevanias at once because Symphony of the Night is expected to be released later this year and and that's a must get for its musical merits. I thought that it would be best to assemble my whole Castlevania set now that I had the chance and not regret missed opportunities later. Later, if I decide to stick with just a few, I can resell the extra ones. And I was lucky when I ordered, because I got the flat-rate shipping from Mondo and about a week later Castlevania III did go out of stock. For now, I'm skeptical of the musical value of chiptune on vinyl, but I'll wait until I have the complete set and write you a review on them.

I'll leave you now with some resources you can click on: