Fighting Archives - The Greatest Game Music

Battletoads & Double Dragon Soundtrack (SNES)

Battletoads & Double Dragon Soundtrack (SNES), David Wise, 1993

In 1993, the Battletoads franchise was in a slightly curious spot. The 1991 NES original had been successful enough to spawn several ports. There was also Battletoads in Battlemaniacs, a SNES (and later Sega Master System) game that ultimately felt like a remix of the 1991 NES title. So where to next for the burgeoning, but not quite yet established franchise? Publisher Tradewest had released Battletoads on several platforms and held the home license for the venerable Double Dragon franchise. Why not combine two forces of nature in one amazing game? The match seemed to be an entirely natural one, given that Kevin Bayliss, co-designer of Battletoads, was a big Double Dragon fan.

However, things didn’t quite pan out as expected. For starters, with Rare developing the game, Battletoads & Double Dragon felt like it was shoehorning the world of Billy and Jimmy Lee into the more comic-like antics of a Battletoads game. It didn’t help that Double Dragon characters made appearances under the wrong names. Ultimately, Battletoads & Double Dragon garnered respectable but rarely enthusiastic reviews at the time of its release. That impression seems to continue with more recent assessments of the game: a decent enough brawler that doesn’t live up to the potential of the franchise crossover.

Once more, the game was first released on the NES, followed by Game Boy, Sega Genesis and SNES ports. And of course, David Wise was responsible for the scores. Out of the quartet of Battletoads & Double Dragon soundtracks, it’s the SNES one that takes the crown. Wise takes the hard rock influences from the SNES Battletoads in Battlemaniacs – where they awkwardly shared the limelight with orchestral sounds – and puts them front and centre. He’s helped by a guitar tone that is far punchier and more exciting than the thinly buzzing guitars on Battlemaniacs. On the Battletoads & Double Dragon soundtrack, the guitars (and the rest of the rock band ensemble) are sampled to a very impressive standard that makes these compositions truly come alive. It’s hard not to think of Wise’s work here as a precursor to the amazingly realistic sounds he coaxed out of the SNES for Donkey Kong Country.

What’s more, Wise’s writing for guitars is flawless, his riffs beautifully melodic yet powerful, varied and instantly memorable. Thanks to this strength, “Main Theme” successfully kicks off proceedings at a steam-rolling, mid-tempo pace that references Battletoads’ earthy rock intro, but updates it for the 16-bit era. Amidst the fist-raising hard rock, Wise tastefully sprinkles in a few synth leads that effectively underscore the game’s space location.

The rest of the Battletoads & Double Dragon soundtrack follows this stylistic lead, dishing up some of the best melodic hard rock written for the SNES. “Abobo” reprises material from “Main Theme” in a slightly faster rendition, before moving through a number of various new riffs. This sort of variety and flow shapes almost the entire soundtrack. As a result, most tracks do feel like fully-fledged (if abbreviated) hard rock songs, performed on the SNES. “Robo Manus” dials up the tempo a few notches and immediately jumps into the action with utter joy and abandon. Its head-banging fury is delivered with a big grin, capped off perfectly by a clean guitar solo with a catchy pop influence.

On a handful of other tracks, Wise indulges in some genre mixing that is as well executed as the Battletoads & Double Dragon soundtrack’s hard rock stylings. “Big Blag” and “Shadow Boss” bring to the table the new jack swing influences that the original Battletoads had avoided. The irony here is of course that Battletoads was so clearly modelled after the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NES games and their new jack swing-heavy soundtracks. Wise’s tracks live up to those outstanding role models, with all the necessary cool swing and energy in their rhythms and colourful orchestrations that the SNES makes possible. “Big Blag” focuses mostly on its grooving beats, complemented by brass and organ leads, while “Shadow Boss” seamlessly merges hard rock guitars and funk inspirations.

What “Abobo” and “Big Blag” make clear is that the SNES version of the Battletoads & Double Dragon soundtrack is less interested in the intriguing moodiness of the Genesis port and instead simply goes for succinct, entertaining rock and funk action. The SNES score isn’t as creative as the Genesis soundtrack, but ultimately more successful. It keeps up the momentum until the last track, while the Genesis score begins to fizzle out towards the end. That’s largely due to the proliferation of repetitive material on the Genesis soundtrack, which doesn’t have the palette of instrumental colours to draw upon that helps the SNES port to dress up its musical ideas in new disguises.

The advantage of having more instruments to work with becomes particularly obvious on “Roper”. On the Genesis, the track feels a bit too fragmented to make the most of its initially intriguing mood. On the SNES, Wise can fully indulge in the Battletoads & Double Dragon soundtrack’s most ambitious genre mix that brings together introspective yet catchy synth melodies, funk brass fanfares, tribal drumming and fiery guitar salvos and sludgy riffs. It’s particularly the crunchy guitars that help to connect the different song sections better than what the Genesis soundtrack accomplishes. It also doesn’t hurt that the SNES version achieves more impressive changes in dynamics, making the track’s changes in direction exciting rather than jarring. If someone questions the SNES’ rock credentials, point them in the direction of the Battletoads & Double Dragon soundtrack.

Conversion notes

The Genesis version of the soundtrack is discussed above at some length already. The NES original is surprisingly underwhelming and no match for the 1991 Battletoads NES score. Tracks are fairly short and repetitive, evidencing little inspiration or energy. In fact, this might be Wise’s least impressive Battletoads soundtrack. The Game Boy port has a bit more grit and power than the NES version, while excising some material and compressing other pieces. That being said, the end result still isn’t anything to write home about.

01 - Main Theme David Wise 2:03
02 - Abobo (Stage 1) David Wise 2:45
03 - Big Blag (Stage 2) David Wise 2:11
04 - Roper (Stage 3) David Wise 3:03
05 - Robo Manus (Stage 5) David Wise 2:16
06 - Shadow Boss (Stage 6) David Wise 1:55
07 - The Dark Queen (Stage 7) David Wise 1:29

Battletoads in Battlemaniacs Soundtrack (Sega Master System)

Battletoads in Battlemaniacs Soundtrack (Sega Master System), Matt Furniss / David Wise, 1994

There aren’t a lot of Sega Master System ports of SNES games. There are even fewer ports where the Master System soundtrack improves on the SNES original. And if that score emerges from what was an unfinished release, we might be dealing with a minor miracle. Or maybe such a lucky outcome wasn’t entirely unpredictable. After all, it was Matt Furniss (working with Shaun Hollingworth under the Krisalis moniker) who ported the Battletoads in Battlemaniacs SNES score.

The Master System port of Battletoads in Battlemaniacs has a chequered history. The game – ported by Syrox Developments – was scheduled for a European release in 1994 through Virgin Interactive. The game had progressed far enough that at least two reviews of it were published in UK gaming magazines. However, Virgin Interactive cancelled the release for unknown reasons. At a later stage, the game saw the light of day in Master System-loving Brazil through Tec Toy. However, it’s not clear whether that release took place in 1994 or 1996.

What’s obvious is that what ended up on store shelves was an unfinished product. Filled with glitches, stage tunes playing in the wrong spots or not at all, and a generally underwhelming presentation, Battletoads in Battlemaniacs was hardly a sparkling addition to the Master System’s library of games. What’s intriguing to ponder is whether what was released in Brazil was the same build of the game that was scheduled for release in Europe. The published reviews – while less than enthusiastic – don’t indicate a broken game. That being said, the Mean Machines article does mention “poor sprite detection” and “overall sloppy programming”.

That same review takes a rather dim view of the Battletoads in Battlemaniacs soundtrack. The author claimed that it was a rip off of the Master System’s Lemmings port. That’s an odd claim to make, given that Matt Furnier rather obviously ported David Wise’s Battletoads in Battlemaniacs SNES score. That soundtrack is one of Wise’s lesser works. Its attempt to fuse orchestral and rock elements resulted in overly long and repetitive tracks that felt melodically uninspired and lacked momentum (and the buzzing guitar sound didn’t help matters).

Furniss’ take on Wise’s material is the sort of smart distillation and tweaking that makes a score written for a far superior sound chip work on a more limited platform. There was little hope to translate the guitar focus of the SNES score to the Master System, given its generally bright timbres and lack of duty cycles to manipulate instrumental colours. Furniss navigates around this issue by putting less emphasis on the melody instruments. Instead, he writes fantastically tight, rock-solid rhythms, rendered on must be some of the Master System’s best-sounding rock drum imitations – their sound all the more impressive considering the platform’s infamously bright, light timbres.

Beautifully spacious, yet authoritative and hard-hitting, it’s really the drums that are the star on the Battletoads in Battlemaniacs soundtrack. They drive each piece forward with relentless energy. What’s more, their lo-fi, near-industrial nature (compared to the SNES samples) gives them a grit and energy that was missing on the original score. At the same time, Furniss is aware that a great drum beat will only carry a piece for so long. What he ensures then is that none (well, almost none) of his tracks here outstay their welcome. As a result, his cues are more succinct than Wise’s compositions, staying closer to action game music conventions.

All this is not to say that the melodies Furniss either adapts or writes himself are lacking. Not surprising given his background in the European computer music scene, most melodies on the Battletoads in Battlemaniacs soundtrack come in the shape of cleverly layered arpeggios. Both on “Title” and “Ragnarok Canyon”, these bubbly arpeggios trade places regularly with bass melodies, helping the music’s variety and sense of forward direction. Ultimately though, while Furniss’ melodies get the job done, their purpose really is to support the rhythms and their never-ceasing propulsive drive.

“Snake Pit” is the culmination of this approach. Turning the SNES’ soft, percolating percussion into fierce ostinato, Furniss’ Battletoads in Battlemaniacs soundtrack uses its breathless pace and anthemic melodies to deliver the soundtrack’s most adrenaline-driven, rock-like track. A nice touch is Furniss’ pronounced use of vibrato on the sustained, decaying notes that close several of his melodies. It’s as close an approximation of guitar tones as one could hope for on the Master System.

The only track that is less than enticing is “Last Battle”. It stays too close to the original’s uninspired melodic material and call and response pattern. What’s worse, for some reason the percussion now feels strangely muted and is somewhat buried in the mix. That leaves about 10 minutes of material that still ranks as some of the Master System’s best action music. Now if only the game was actually complete and featured music for every single level…

01 - Title Matt Furniss / David Wise 2:28
02 - Ragnarok Canyon (Stage 1 & 8) Matt Furniss / David Wise 2:10
03 - Hollow Tree (Stage 2 & 10) Matt Furniss / David Wise 1:43
04 - Snake Pit (Stage 6) Matt Furniss / David Wise 1:32

Battletoads Soundtrack (Arcade)

Battletoads Soundtrack (Arcade), David Wise, 1994

The final entry in the Battletoads franchise also happens to be one of its less well-known ones. Electronic Arts made a rare attempt at releasing an arcade game, publishing Battletoads as a coin-op, three-player beat’em up. It’s hard to say how successful or not the game was, but no console ports ever saw the light of day. And so, three years after the release of the original NES Battletoads game, the franchise was laid to rest – at least until E3 2018.

The fact that the arcade Battletoads didn’t seem to have made any waves is a bit of a shame. According to both reviewers of the arcade title and the 2015 Rare Replay re-release, this Battletoads game might well have been the strongest entry in the franchise. In a departure from previous Battletoads titles, this game skipped any genre-hopping (no more platforming and speed biking) and only focused on the brawling elements. This made for a less adventurous, but more focused game. Battletoads was also enhanced by great graphics that ramped up the cartoonish violence that had always been part of the franchise – but usually in fairly tame fashion. This time however, Rare was clearly happy to work outside of the limits set by Nintendo’s content policy. The result played like a test run for Conker’s Bad Fur Day, with plenty of blood, swearing and crude jokes.

Of course, David Wise’s soundtrack follows this over-the-top aesthetic. The result is music that’s almost the polar opposite of the NES original’s soundtrack. That earlier score effectively undermined action scoring stereotypes, full of jittery tension and frayed nerves. On the other hand, this Battletoads soundtrack is the most testosterone-driven score of the entire franchise. It makes for few stylistic surprises, but fittingly underscores the game’s cartoonish, exuberant mood.

First track “Vulture – Robotic Rabble – Bonus Round” wastes no time in setting the course that this Battletoads soundtrack will take. With its speed metal-inspired staccato riffing, “Vulture – Robotic Rabble – Bonus Round” is easily the heaviest Battletoads track so far. It takes the hard rock sound of the SNES Battletoads & Double Dragon soundtrack and cranks up the intensity to take this score into metal territory. The guitar tone is hollower than on the SNES game, but “Vulture – Robotic Rabble – Bonus Round” is sufficiently varied and filled with enough indomitable energy that its fairly muddy sound matters little. And between the sledgehammer riffing, Wise still weaves in a handful of rousing guitar leads.

“Big Blag’s Stronghold – Scores” is closer to the SNES Battletoads & Double Dragon’s melodic mid-tempo riffing. And indeed, Wise finds a memorable riff that he rides for all that it’s worth, right from the track’s beginning. Once the track’s rock-solid groove is firmly established, Wise finds the perfect moment to layer in anthemic synth fanfares. The synths bring flawlessly timed cinematic drama and raised-fists-to-the-sky defiance through their proud, catchy melody. “Boss 1” is a more straightforward metal track, setting a galloping rhythm section against howling guitar riffs. The drums’ constant push is merciless, but thankfully never turns monotonous (a sin “Boss 2” is unfortunately guilty of).

Like Battletoads & Double Dragon, this Battletoads soundtrack is built on heavy rock guitars, with some genre mixes and experiments thrown in for good measure. Their number is slightly larger than on Battletoads & Double Dragon, giving Battletoads are more colourful feel. “Arctic Caverns” is a less surprising affair than its NES counterpart of the same name, but the cue is still a playful and effective evocation of its location. Wise has great fun pitting hammering ten-ton riffs against chiming Christmas bells and the expected bouncy rhythms. Despite the jaunty synth melodies though, “Arctic Caverns” never turns into overt parody and remembers to simply keep rocking.

Other tracks that venture outside of the standard hard rock/metal template reprise parts of the Battletoads franchise’s musical heritage. “The Dark Queen’s Battleship” feels like a more focused take on the synth pop/rock/new jack swing melange that was Battletoads & Double Dragon’s “Roper”, with an insidiously catchy beat that despite little variation is strong enough to carry the entire track. “Hole” recalls the carefully paced mid-tempo orchestra/rock mix that the SNES Battletoads in Battlemaniacs soundtrack.

However, “Hole” pulls off this approach much more successfully. The composition – despite its length – never meanders, with a clear sense of progression and constant rhythms. The latter help the music to develop an impressive sweep in steady, calm fashion as the claustrophobic atmosphere builds and builds and heavy melodies push the music forward, but only under great duress. It’s arguably a repetitive track, but for good reason, as the cue keeps hammering home its defiant melodies against increasing odds.

To close the musical history of the Battletoads franchise – at least for now – Wise caps things off in a more celebratory mood than on previous Battletoads games. “Ending – Credits” opens with a beautifully layered brass fanfare, highlighting Wise’s impressive orchestral writing skills that would power several of Donkey Kong Country 2’s highlights. More intriguing still is the cue’s B section, an expansive violin melody with good amounts of light woodwind counterpoint. It’s a style of music that hasn’t been heard on any previous Battletoads score. It’s fun to see that while in some ways this Battletoads soundtrack plays more by the rules than previous franchise scores, it keeps an appetite for musical surprises – maintaining a proud tradition that started with the 1991 NES original.

01 - Vulture (Stage 1) ~ Robotic Rabble (Stage 6) ~ Bonus Round David Wise 2:16
02 - Arctic Caverns (Stage 2) David Wise 2:55
03 - The Dark Queen's Battleship (Stage 3) David Wise 2:50
04 - Hole (Stage 4) David Wise 4:05
05 - Big Blag's Stronghold (Stage 5) ~ Scores David Wise 3:55
06 - Boss 1 David Wise 2:09
07 - Korpse Kount David Wise 1:36
08 - Ending ~ Credits David Wise 1:12

Battletoads Soundtrack (NES)

Battletoads Soundtrack (NES), David Wise, 1991

The Battletoads soundtrack might be David Wise’s best and most creative NES score. That’s certainly no small feat – after all, Wise scored a whopping 46 NES games during his prolific career. Of course, a soundtrack release was all but impossible in 1991. It took until 2015 – when enterprising game music label iam8bit released a raft of Rare scores on vinyl – that the Battletoads soundtrack received its belated, but very much deserved album release.

Mind you, it wasn’t quite the deluxe product you would hope to see from a commemorative release like this. iam8bit’s album was missing the DMC samples Wise used, for example the drums on “Title Theme”. It does make you wonder what materials the album producers were working with. Thankfully, this can’t distract from the eccentric brilliance of Wise’s work. A comparison with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NES games and their music is not only apt, but also proves insightful. The Konami titles took the new jack swing genre popular around the late 1980s and early 1990s and harnessed its fusion of hip-hop, dance pop and R&B to generate the kind of hard-swinging urban cool that would fire up gamers. Battletoads, on the other hand, has something very different in mind.

Things start out fairly conventionally – if rockingly – with “Title Theme”. The theme in question is a three-note stomp from both square wave channels, answered by one of the NES’ better guitar imitations. Upbeat and with an earthy rock’n’roll groove, “Title Theme” feels like the perfect opener for an 8-bit beat’em up. These rock influences – previously heard in more purist fashion on Wise’s Snake Rattle ’n’ Roll – seep into other parts of the Battletoads soundtrack, but not as often as one would think. “Turbo Tunnel” is the game’s most action genre-typical composition, offering a chiptunes take on head-nodding mid-tempo rock. With its constant forward motion, steady yet varied drum work and motivating melodic phrases, this track feels – not unsurprisingly – like a racing game composition.

Later levels that also ask players to control some sort of vehicle reveal the Battletoads soundtrack’s true stylistic intentions. “Surf City / Terra Tubes” has no interest in straightforward underscoring of the level’s high speed action. With little melodic content to empower gamers, “Surf City / Terra Tubes” focuses much more on interlocking, surprisingly quiet rhythms whose twitchiness makes them enticingly slippery. The track’s initial melody line follows suit. It starts with a sustained decrescendoing note, as if fading out of view before it can actually get going.

“Volkmire’s Inferno” plays even less by the rules of 8-bit action game scoring. Staccato chords that would usually drive the piece refuse to play on the beat. The result is a breathless, jerky progression that hints at a melody, but never clearly spells it out. Wise teases listeners even more when the track’s B section suddenly delivers the soundtrack’s most uplifting, catchy melody. That is, if the major key tune didn’t feel so rushed, each note prematurely cut off by the next one. Underneath all this melodic playfulness, polymetric pulse wave and noise channel lines complicate the track’s layout further. If NES soundtracks ever managed to combine math rock and pop music, it’s on “Volkmire’s Inferno”.

On other tracks, Wise hews closer to action game-scoring conventions, but only to bend them to his idiosyncratic vision. The first stage theme, “Ragnarok Canyon”, is an almost entirely groove-based mood builder, with an air of cool swagger and superiority. At this stage, the mood is glum and enigmatic, but the player is still in control – even if the track keeps building towards a large reveal that never happens. “Wookie Hole” equally works primarily with layers of rhythms, more urgent and pushing this time. An explosion-like effect at 1:09 finally delivers some release, but the music quickly switches back into another convulsing episode.

And when the final level draws nearer and one would expect the music to ramp up, Wise does the opposite. “Intruder Excluder” perfectly highlights the Battletoads soundtrack’s minimalist, sometimes skeletal nature. Its constant rhythmic propulsion remains elusive rather than empowering, and at times feels willfully repetitive. What little melody there is appears in the form of snappy, effective short phrases. They refuse to deliver any melodic gratification, but instead simply push the music further on and on. Again, different to the TMNT Konami games, this isn’t a score that imbues players with confidence before the final showdown. “The Revolution”’s precariously rising arpeggios and anxious electronic pulses are merely the sound of a nervously clinched fist. Like the game itself, the Battletoads soundtrack lets players know that the odds are against them. Ultimately, the Battletoads soundtrack is an unexpected exercise in world building, creating an uncanny, hostile, but nevertheless intriguing environment.

Conversion notes

As it turned out, porting this somewhat unusual NES action score successfully to other platforms was a bit of a challenge. All ports present the same material as the NES soundtrack and adapt it for their respective platform.

The Game Boy port (confusingly titled “Battletoads in Ragnarok’s World”) sounds nearly identical to the NES soundtrack, but has some quirks. It adds a few stereo effects that don’t change the character of the music much. “Wookie Hole” plays faster than the original and feels more determined. Weirdest of all, this port botches the mischievous echo on the lead melody on “Arctic Caverns”, so that the tune is now out of sync with the rhythms.

The Game Gear conversion suffers from the system’s inherently limited, lighter timbres that struggle to bring across the soundtrack’s brooding yet agitated mood. Throughout its running time, the port lacks the atmospheric nuances that made the NES original tick. At least this version helps one appreciate Wise’s smart use of the NES’ duty cycles to evoke the soundtrack’s peculiar atmosphere.

The Amiga and identical Amiga CD32 port beef up the instrumentation, but that actually has a detrimental effect on the music, since the original made so much of its impact through its borderline skeletal sound that is now lost. Now the Battletoads soundtrack plays like a more traditional action score that is entertaining enough during its more energetic and melodic moments. However, the Amiga soundtracks lack the surprising changes of timbres that make the Sega Genesis conversion the best port.

01 - Title Theme - Opening David Wise 1:49
02 - Ragnarok's Canyon (Stage 1) David Wise 2:25
03 - Wookie Hole (Stage 2) David Wise 3:31
04 - Turbo Tunnel (Stage 3) David Wise 2:51
05 - Arctic Caverns (Stage 4) David Wise 1:51
06 - Surf City / Terra Tubes (Stages 5 & 9) David Wise 2:05
07 - Karnath's Lair (Stage 6) David Wise 2:17
08 - Volkmire's Inferno (Stage 7) David Wise 1:34
09 - Intruder Excluder (Stage 8) David Wise 1:30
10 - Rat Race (Stage 10) David Wise 1:39
11 - Clinger-Winger (Stage 11) David Wise 0:54
12 - The Revolution (Stage 12) David Wise 2:29

Battletoads Soundtrack (Sega Genesis)

Battletoads Soundtrack (Sega Genesis), Hikoshi Hashimoto / David Wise, 1993

Yes, it might have been a blatant attempt to ride the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ coattails. Still, Rare’s 1991 NES Battletoads game was successful enough to see it ported to a plethora of other platforms. Probably the highest-profile port was the Battletoads version released for the Sega Genesis in 1993. Reviews of the game were somewhat divided. More than a few critics pointed out that the developers could have done more to improve the game in the two years that had passed since the NES release, instead of releasing what was mostly a simple conversion that arguably didn’t push the Genesis graphics chip much. In fact, where the Genesis port of Battletoads probably shines the brightest is with its score.

Let’s start with a few disclaimers. Available information on who developed the Genesis port is conflicting. Some sources point to Rare, others list Japanese studio Arc System Works. Arc System Works did develop the Battletoads Game Gear port, so it’s reasonably likely they handled the Genesis conversion too. The Game Gear soundtrack was ported by Hikoshi Hashimoto, not original composer David Wise himself and since it was practically unheard of in the mid-90s for a Western composer to work on a Japanese game, it is reasonably safe to assume Hashimoto handled the Genesis port as well. That theory is supported by the fact that the Genesis version of Battletoads uses the SMPS Z80 sound driver, commonly used by Japanese composers. This would also account for the fact that this version of Battletoads sounds quite different from Wise’s Genesis port of Battletoads & Double Dragon.

Thankfully, once we move to the music itself, these considerations matter little. The Genesis port of the Battletoads soundtrack is easily the most successful adaptation of the idiosyncratic NES original. The score’s Amiga and Amiga CD32 ports had proven that simply taking the NES compositions and beefing them up using better synths didn’t work particularly well. This approach turned the score into a decent-to-middling action game soundtrack that was missing the original’s nervously pulsing, twitchy intensity. On the Genesis, Hashimoto manages to avoid this issue, retaining the NES soundtrack’s character while subtly tweaking it.

Firstly, there are those more straightforward compositions that would have always been easier to port to other systems. Take “Turbo Tunnel Race”, which on the NES had already been a flawless, beautifully head-banging hard rock track. Transferring it to the superior Genesis sound chip only means that the rhythm section’s single-minded focus on breathless racing action comes across all the more powerfully. Similarly, “Theme” doesn’t need much tweaking to rock harder than its NES equivalent, while preserving its strident, catchy nature.

On other tracks, Hashimoto straightens out the NES compositions’ peculiarities to emphasise the tracks’ melodic strengths. Take the Genesis version of “Volkmire’s Inferno Race” – the off-kilter rhythms and complexities of the NES cue are gone. However, they are replaced by laser-sharp pop instincts and a killer of a sing-along melody in the cue’s B section. That melody was of course already there on the NES original, but here it absolutely soars with unrestrained euphoria, thanks to an uncluttered arrangement and more powerful, clearer synths. Arranging this kind of track might have come naturally to Hashimoto, considering his similarly-styled work on Racing Hero.

Final level track “Revolution” takes a similar approach. It doesn’t undermine action game scoring conventions as much as the NES score did, but still registers as a creative and effective piece of game music. If the NES cue was full of anxiously jittering anticipation, the Genesis port sets the scene for the final showdown in more conventionally spectacular fashion. “Revolution”’s opening descending arpeggios are hiding a vaguely hopeful melody that is more strongly emphasised on the Genesis. At the same time, the Genesis-exclusive hammering snare drums doubling the arpeggiated notes only increase the drama and tension. “Rat Race” even improves on the NES original, with the Genesis’ more powerful tones deployed most effectively. With every instrument right in the listener’s face, the fast rhythms feel more panicked and breathless than on the NES.

Still, much of the original Battletoads soundtrack was surprisingly moody and jagged. It also steadfastly refused to deliver much in terms of empowering melodies or rhythms. Porting the score to a 16-bit platform inevitably removes much of the original chiptunes’ haziness and their elusive nature that Wise had made the most of. However, Hashimoto finds a suitable replacement on the Genesis port to keep the music unpredictable.

Again, the effect is not as strong as what the NES original achieved, but it’s still sufficient to keep listeners intrigued. Rather than simply relying on the Genesis’ more forceful synths, Hashimoto uses the platform’s wider range of timbres to maintain the pieces’ unstable mood and uneven forward drive. First level track “Ragnarok’s Canyon” establishes this trait right away and “Wookie Hole” continues to fragment its momentum by switching back and forth between instrumental colours. As a result, the larger instrumentation isn’t in the way of the music’s originally intended mood, but instead creatively twists it.

Tracks like “Surf City”, “Karnath’s Lair” and “Intruder Excluder & Terra Tubes” might stick closer to racing action scoring than the NES originals, but they maintain the NES tracks’ erratic, yet effective stop/start dynamics. “Surf City” makes the most pronounced use of contrasting timbres to break up its own flow. From 0:35 onwards, its lead melody suddenly shifts back and forth between a bell-like instrument and bass synths – never sacrificing its thrust yet keeping the track’s progression a surprise. And thanks to the Genesis’ more robust synths, sudden changes of pace and rhythm register with more force than previously. So while the NES original remains the more creative score, the Battletoads soundtrack for the Genesis is still an excellent, sometimes intriguingly eccentric piece of action game scoring.

01 - Title Screen / Opening David Wise 1:38
02 - Ragnarok's Canyon (Stage 1) David Wise 2:26
03 - Wookie Hole (Stage 2) David Wise 3:43
04 - Turbo Tunnel Race (Stage 3) David Wise 2:51
05 - Arctic Caverns (Stage 4) David Wise 2:01
06 - Surf City (Stage 5) David Wise 2:07
07 - Karnath's Lair (Stage 6) David Wise 2:19
08 - Volkmire's Inferno Race (Stage 7) David Wise 1:47
09 - Intruder Excluder & Terra Tubes (Stage 8 & 9) David Wise 1:38
10 - Rat Race (Stage 10) David Wise 2:03
11 - The Revolution (Stage 12) David Wise 2:19

TowerFall Ascension Soundtrack

TowerFall Ascension Soundtrack, Alec Holowka, 2014

Created by Alec Holowka’s friend Matt Thorson, multi-player brawler TowerFall proved to be a hit with gamers and critics. In 2014, Thorson ported TowerFall as TowerFall Ascension over to the PlayStation 4 and other systems. Essentially, Ascension is an upgraded version of TowerFall, and this time the music received a dedicated soundtrack release on Bandcamp.

What luck, because TowerFall Ascension delivers some of the most creative Western game music ever written. The game’s visual retro stylings and simple yet addictive gameplay would have suggested a chiptune soundtrack. On the other hand, Ascension’s fantasy trappings could have easily resulted in yet another late-romantic orchestral score. Holowka eschews both these options. What he comes up with instead is a head-spinning concoction that combines rock, orchestral and electronic elements with such virtuosity that the TowerFall Ascension soundtrack rivals the best works of Falcom, Gust and CAVE – or a classic fantasy-themed genre merger like Matt Uelmen’s Torchlight II.

There’s so much happening in Holowka’s spirited compositions that easy categorisations or definitive genre descriptions are bound to fail. Constantly adventurous and sprightly, Ascension’s pieces never stay in one place for very long. That’s partially due to the caleidoscopic instrumentations which challenge listeners to unpack the compositions’ luscious, unusual layers. There’s a wintry feel to Ascension, with its spacious acoustics and wealth of tinkling melody leads and light metal percussion. Ultimately, listening to TowerFall Ascension feels like looking into a crystal that refracts light into constantly fascinating arrays of colours.

The fact that the TowerFall Ascension soundtrack recalls an impressionistic glimpse into a stunning fantasy world isn’t just due to its imaginative orchestrations. The busyness of its instrumental colours matches the restlessly moving musical material. The driving force of most compositions is a never-ending variety of short, snappy rhythms and melodic phrases. They imbue the compositions with an at times frenetic, but always playful energy. Importantly though, the music never feels frantic or rushed. No matter how many dramatic ensemble hits, staccato figures and light-footed crescendi Holowka packs into every corner of his tracks, the TowerFall Ascension soundtrack flows with perfectly planned purpose – animated, grooving and often perfectly danceable. TowerFall Ascension is a masterclass on how you can write action game music that doesn’t have to rely on big melody arcs or build ups, and instead dazzles because of its endless parade of rhythmic and timbral ideas.

The resonant acoustics and stunningly creative musical colours are part of Holowka’s recasting of the fantasy score mould. Yes, this is music that is vastly quirkier than your standard orchestral fantasy score. It also doesn’t overwhelm listeners with grand melodies, choral outbursts or similar bombast. But listen to the album’s more classically-minded compositions and you’ll discover music that seems to evoke a winter wonderland of magic and heroes battling each other under starry skies. Take “Frostfang Footslip”, its exquisite dual violin leads mixed with familiar action devices like string ostinati and pressing electronic beats. Try “Flight”, the album’s lightest composition – poppy yet delicate – or “Bloodline”. Its folksier roots subtly make themselves heard in the track’s stomping rhythms and near-singalong melodies.

It’s on the less conventional compositions which bookend the TowerFall Ascension soundtrack though that this score stuns. These ceaselessly eclectic compositions are an absolute riot, with few peers in the game music canon. Just listen to “Den of Thieves”, which opens with a wooden percussion groove and funky synth bass, both backing a head-bopping bassoon melody. These relatively quiet passages alternate with anthemic 1980s synth staccati that recall classic game music of that era. The enthusiastic final chorus manages to drag fantasy score music onto the dance floor.

“Beastly Boogie”’s heavy, trotting funk swagger is no big surprise, given the sleek electric bass work on many other compositions. But the way Holowka once more seamlessly mixes contemporary elements like funk and grungy guitars with orchestral elements to craft another fantastically fun piece doesn’t cease to impress. The most mind-boggling invention of all might be “Dance of the Sun Gods”. Through what must be a particularly odd kind of magic, solo violin, sitar, Casio keyboards, consciously fake vocals and Latin brass fanfares mix with salsa rhythms to create what sounds like a Caribbean cruise through a psychedelic version of the Twilight Zone.

In many ways, the TowerFall Ascension soundtrack is a creative triumph. Maybe its most striking achievement is how it stakes its claim for game music as a genre all of its own, with a unique musical identity – an identity that at the same time can be hugely eclectic, with boundaries that are only waiting to be redrafted and expanded. It can be easy to get nostalgic about the time when chiptunes gave game music its own, unmistakable sound. But as TowerFall Ascension demonstrates so impressively, there are still myriads of ways to explore and define what ‘game music’ sounds like.

01 - Legends Alec Holowka 1:02
02 - Backfire Alec Holowka 4:24
03 - Dark Destiny Alec Holowka 3:30
04 - Den of Thieves Alec Holowka 3:33
05 - Dance of the Sun God Alec Holowka 4:24
06 - Frostfang Footslip Alec Holowka 4:17
07 - Flight Alec Holowka 4:09
08 - Bloodline Alec Holowka 3:10
09 - True Form Alec Holowka 2:19
10 - Fallen Fade Alec Holowka 2:33
11 - TowerFall Alec Holowka 2:49
12 - Omens Alec Holowka 3:44
13 - Serpent Hymn Alec Holowka 4:44
14 - Creation Myth Alec Holowka 3:23
15 - Beastly Boogie Alec Holowka 3:44
16 - Rapture Alec Holowka 3:25
17 - The Archives Alec Holowka 2:04