The Greatest Game Music

Reviews of truly outstanding game music

Blast Corps Soundtrack

Blast Corps Soundtrack

Blast Corps Soundtrack, Graeme Norgate, 1997

Developer Rare arguably rose to fame and world-wide success with its Donkey Kong Country trilogy. However, it’s usually the Nintendo 64 era that is considered Rare’s golden age – no surprise, as the company seemed incapable of not churning out classic after classic for a while. That winning streak began with Blast Corps, released just in time for the console’s launch in Europe. The title was based on an idea by Rare founder Chris Stamper, who for years had wanted to make a game about destroying building – simple as that. Beginning production in 1996, a team of just four developers (sometimes expanded to seven) fitted a gameplay concept around this idea: a nuclear missile carrier was out of control and steamrolling ahead on autopilot. The player controls an array of sometimes bizarre vehicles (including a giant one-armed robot with a rolling attack) to clear the way.

The result was met with almost universal acclaim. Blast Corps was a beautifully idiosyncratic game, combining puzzle, racing and all-out-action elements into a wholly original package. Sales – around one million copies – ended up lower than the development team had expected. However, Blast Corps remains one of the most fondly remembered N64 games, thanks to its flawless level design and tough-as-nails yet always fair difficulty curve.

Scoring duties for Rare’s second N64 game fell to Graeme Norgate, who had recently joined the company and written the Donkey Kong Land soundtrack (adapting some of David Wise’s Donkey Kong Country material). Norgate’s fondness for game music originated in the 1980s, when he tried his hand at writing music for the C64 and Amiga (while also playing in various bands). Norgate had to break new ground at Rare, being their first composer to work with the N64, which ultimately didn’t have quite as many sound channels as manufacturer Silicon Graphics had implied early on. He was helped by one of Rare’s staff members, who wrote some code that allowed Norgate to feed his MIDI-based compositions into a machine and hear exactly what they would sound like on the N64.

Blast Corps Soundtrack

For the Blast Corps soundtrack, Norgate drew upon various sources of inspiration. Befitting the title’s unusual gameplay, they were wildly divergent. Firstly, Norgate approached the game from the angle of writing about the various construction vehicles that the gamer controlled to tear down buildings, settling on an industrial soundtrack. And indeed, parts of Blast Corps sound like a jolly construction site on the move. It’s here that Norgate establishes some stylistic traits that make Blast Corps such a joyously creative score. Far more often than not, industrial music is a relentlessly pounding, exceedingly sombre affair. What Norgate creates feels like a fresh take on industrial music that – contrary to the genre’s reputation – is light and poppy.

That kind of approach is mixed with other influences, making the Blast Corps soundtrack an even more diverse and surprising affair. Opening track “Blast Corps” establishes a bit of a template (as much as the score has one). Electronic, rock, pop and orchestral elements join together in colourful, lushly arranged layers that prove Norgate already had full control of the new console’s capabilities. He also sets the urgent mood necessary for a game about impending nuclear meltdown.

But Norgate’s unorthodox musical mix also establishes the soundtrack’s playful streak that refuses to take things too seriously. There’s too much fun to be had with all those catchy, clanging rhythms and brief snippets of melody, and additions like those heroic horn figures add cinematic flourishes rather than drama. Throughout the Blast Corps soundtrack, Norgate strikes a delightful balance between these two poles – crafting a sound that creates a world of immense scale, but never turns remotely ponderous.

Blast Corps Soundtrack

Interestingly enough, in interviews Norgate sounded somewhat regretful about the approach he took on Blast Corps, choosing the score’s industrial style “whether it [the game] needed it or not”, adding that “I’m a bit more sensible these days, and I do things to suit the project first, rather than my own little personal agenda.” Indeed, the Blast Corps soundtrack might be unusual and maybe suited Norgate’s own interests more than the game’s needs – but then again, what exactly were the musical needs of a game as quirky as Blast Corps? Ultimately, Norgate’s music organically became simply another facet of the game’s eccentric character.

And there’s no better cue to showcase that character than “Destruction Hoedown”, Blast Corps’s piece de resistance and likely the track fans of the game remember best – and Norgate nominated it as his favourite cue from the score as well. In a demonstration of inspired madness, Norgate combines wild country fiddle, banjo and mouth harp with borderline cheesy, but oh so catchy mid-90s techno rhythms. The result is an instant classic, the sort of composition that’s utterly unique and executed to perfection, with melody hooks that are impossible to get out of your head the second you’ve heard them – and ultimately a beautiful example of the kind of music one only encounters in video games.

Norgate’s innovation doesn’t end here either. “Bombs Away” plays like the exact opposite of the kind of music one would expect to hear in a game about constantly demolishing and blowing up stuff. A patient, calm mood builder with not a hint of propulsive rhythms or melodies, “Bombs Away” combines gentle percussion and arpeggios with wistful, expansive synth melodies and French horn lines. It’s as if the world of Blast Corps had stood still for a moment and the gamer is left to contemplate its scope. “Upbeat Mood” is equally laid-back, but uses 70s funk, wah-wah guitars and hammond organ to reach that state of mind. No, Blast Corps doesn’t make for a stylistically very coherent soundtrack, but that’s part of the fun.

And let’s not forget that Norgate executes the more expected styles just as well – the sort of compositions that communicate in straightforward fashion that things might get really bad. “Impending Disaster”, “The Alarm Sounds” and “Major Trouble” all see Norgate turning up the guitar amplifiers and going from rock to metal, aided by the intensity and scale that the familiar industrial and orchestral sounds already bring with them. The brief choral vocals on “The Alarm Sounds” are a particularly nice, ever so slightly tongue-in-cheek touch – not all sense of fun is lost here. Ultimately, what Norgate does on the Blast Corps soundtrack is to welcome the arrival of a new console generation with an outburst of creativity, made possible by the new technology and heralding a bright future ahead.

  1. 01 - Blast Corps (Title / Glory Crossing) Norgate, Graeme 5:28
  2. 02 - Plan of Action (Mission Description (General), Magma Peak, Moon, Mercury, Mars) Norgate, Graeme 4:57
  3. 03 - Destruction Hoedown (Simian Acres, Beeton Tracks, Crystal Rift, Diamond Sands) Norgate, Graeme 5:45
  4. 04 - Rolling Thunder (Thunderfist, Cromlech Court, Venus, Neptune) Norgate, Graeme 5:44
  5. 05 - Bombs Away! (J-Bomb, Havoc District, Lizard Island, Saline Watch, Dagger Pass) Norgate, Graeme 4:01
  6. 06 - Impending Disaster (Mica Park, Ironstone Mine, Outland Farm, Glander's Ranch) Norgate, Graeme 5:08
  7. 07 - Upbeat Mood (Blackridge Works, Ember Hamlet, Obsidian Mile) Norgate, Graeme 5:49
  8. 08 - Ocean Breeze (Carrick Point, Ebony Coast, Oyster Harbor) Norgate, Graeme 6:15
  9. 09 - The Alarm Sounds (Kipling Plant, Geode Square, Shuttle Clear) Norgate, Graeme 2:19
  10. 10 - Major Trouble (Tempest City, Beeton Tracks, Shuttle Clear (Intro) Norgate, Graeme 5:41
  11. 11 - Tension (Shuttle Gully, Morgan Hall, Sylver Junction) Norgate, Graeme 3:56
  12. 12 - Staff Roll Norgate, Graeme 1:50
  13. 13 - Mission Replay Norgate, Graeme 5:15

GoldenEye 007 Soundtrack (Nintendo 64)

GoldenEye 007 Soundtrack

GoldenEye 007 Soundtrack (Nintendo 64), Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate, 1997

It’s no exaggeration to say that GoldenEye 007 was a game changer. By the mid-1990s, games based on movies had (justly) developed a disastrous reputation, and the fact that GoldenEye 007 was released a full 18 months after the movie didn’t help matters. And of course, this was a first-person shooter designed for a console, rather than for a PC – back then the natural home for FPS titles. But in the end, none of this mattered. GoldenEye 007 went on to sell more than eight million copies, becoming one of the most successful games of its console generation. Its reception among reviewers was just as enthusiastic and there’s no doubt GoldenEye 007 has left a lasting legacy – who could forget its legendary multiplayer mode? Not bad for a title developed by an inexperienced team that spent a full three years completing the game.

Like the game as a whole, creating the GoldenEye 007 soundtrack was no easy feat – after all, this was one of Rare’s first Nintendo 64 titles. Initially, Graeme Norgate was tasked with writing the score, having previously worked on Rare’s Killer Instinct and Donkey Kong Land. However, Norgate was also working on Blast Corps at the same time and it became obvious that additional resources were needed. Thus Grant Kirkhope – while still working on Donkey Kong Land 2 – was drafted to join Norgate on GoldenEye 007 (he left before completion of that project to work on Dream). The challenge for both composers was to write music for a console that for the first one and a half years of the game’s development didn’t exist yet.

What’s more, information on the new console’s sound capabilities were conflicting. Silicon Graphics promised up to 100 channels of sound, but ultimately, 12-16 channels (and a mere 700k for music data and instrument samples) turned out to be more realistic. But these challenges were arguably offset by the fact that Norgate and Kirkhope had the license to use one of movie history’s most famous tunes – the immortal Bond theme.

GoldenEye 007 Soundtrack

And of course, both young composers made the most of the opportunity to play with the legendary theme. Crucially, the GoldenEye 007 soundtrack avoids a mistake other Bond games make – overusing the theme and stating it in full over and over again, until the melody becomes merely obnoxious. Norgate and Kirkhope, on the other hand, do an outstanding job at reprising the theme in a myriad of different disguises, constantly changing the structure, tempo and orchestration of the melody (partially inspired by Eric Serra’s idiosyncratic GoldenEye 007 movie score). Some of their standout takes on the theme include a guitar-driven hard rock version on “James Bond Theme”; subtly referenced as brass counterpoint on “Dam”; a more classical, full-bodied rendition on solo brass on “Runway”; two versions of the theme played in counterpoint in time for the game’s finale on “Cradle” – one couldn’t hope for more creativity and thematic cohesion.

While its reliance on the Bond theme clearly marks the GoldenEye 007 soundtrack as part of the Bond canon, it is anything but a classic Bond score – at least when comparing it to pre-1995 Bond movie soundtracks. Like Eric Serra’s movie score, Norgate and Kirkhope’s work breaks with tradition, but arguably more successfully so. On GoldenEye 007, there’s little of the elegant, sometimes jazzy allure that traditional Bond scores have brought to the character. Instead, much of this soundtrack plays like a modern update of the Bond sound within the parameters of a stealth shooter. That’s not necessarily surprising, considering how much GoldenEye 007’s gameplay favours the careful elimination of enemies over all-out shooting sprees. On much of GoldenEye 007, being a secret agent is a less than showy job, undertaken in the shadows, constantly on edge and filled with a quiet, unrelenting intensity.

This translates to a string of surprisingly quiet compositions – at least in the first half of the score – that one might not typically expect to hear on a first-person shooter album. Rhythms are usually persistent and driving but given to softer instruments like xylophone and light electronics. On top of this foundation, Norgate and Kirkhope skillfully mix orchestral, rock and electronic elements (of a strong mid-90s vintage), creating spellbinding, subtly emotional music. Melodies are used sparingly, but with masterful judgement as to where they make the biggest impact. While the music might sometimes feel like it’s drawing characters and locations in subdued shades of grey, the score’s carefully sculpted, brooding atmospherics, flawless pacing and memorable melodies develop an almost hypnotic pull.

GoldenEye 007 Soundtrack

Take “Surface”, one of the soundtrack’s longest and sparsest compositions. Its enticingly cinematic opening – deep male choir vocals over circular drum patterns – expertly builds tension, before pounding timpani drive forward a lonely, heavy-hearted melody that’s perfect for the level’s barren surroundings. Norgate and Kirkhope are clearly patient enough to let each musical building block make its full impact before they add more – but equally, their music doesn’t turn monotonous either. And within its potentially limiting, hushed template of simple melodies, synth drones and constant tension, Norgate and Kirkhope achieve an impressive amount of tonal variety. Their palette ranges from the quiet menace of “Facility” and the raised stakes of the string-heavy “Bunker 2” to a reminder of Bond’s suave character on “Runway”, via more expansive string and brass overlays that bring a quantum of elegance to the soundtrack’s grittiness.

As the GoldenEye 007 soundtrack moves into its second half, it doesn’t drop its deliberate pacing and mix of traditional and modern musical elements, but still becomes more outwardly dramatic. And once more, the composers prove themselves more than capable of coming up with fresh ideas and approaches for each level. “Silo”’s harder-hitting rock rhythms carry a stuttering, nervous synth pulse which is repeated almost obsessively and successfully plays with the unnerving effects of its repetition. “Statue” and “Depot” are the soundtrack’s most traditionally orchestral efforts, displaying the composers’ abilities in this register with their classically-minded bombast and full-bodied brass declarations. “Train” is the soundtrack’s definitive statement of its hard rock tendencies, which Norgate and Kirkhope mix with a breathless percussion jam organised in complex stereo layers, mimicking the moving train in creative ways.

During its extended running time, the soundtrack gets ever more eclectic while still maintaining its focus on bringing the Bond franchise into the modern age (well, into the 1990s). Its most original concoction is “Control”, which uses suitably understated trip hop rhythms to support the album’s most unexpected, twisted renditions of the Bond theme. The best score ever to grace a Bond video game, GoldenEye 007 manages something near miraculous – it successfully reimagines an iconic franchise’s music decades into its existence.

  1. 01 - James Bond Theme Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 2:56
  2. 02 - Dam Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:39
  3. 03 - Facility Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:11
  4. 04 - Runway Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:16
  5. 05 - Surface 1 Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 7:02
  6. 06 - Bunker 1 Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 5:15
  7. 07 - Silo Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:26
  8. 08 - Surface 2 Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 5:18
  9. 09 - Bunker 2 Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:27
  10. 10 - Statue Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 3:31
  11. 11 - Statue X Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 1:55
  12. 12 - Depot Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:33
  13. 13 - Depot X Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 1:52
  14. 14 - Train Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 5:09
  15. 15 - Control Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:35
  16. 16 - Caverns Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 8:31
  17. 17 - Cradle Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:13
  18. 18 - The Basement Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 5:06
  19. 19 - Ending Theme Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 2:10

Mickey’s Speedway USA Soundtrack (N64)

Mickey's Speedway USA Soundtrack

Mickey’s Speedway USA Soundtrack (N64), Ben Cullum, 2000

For a few years, it felt like Rare just couldn’t help producing outstanding games for the Nintendo 64, titles that were bound to be classics – Blast Corps, GoldenEye 007, Diddy Kong Racing, Banjo-Kazooie, Jet Force Gemini, Perfect Dark… it seemed that Rare couldn’t go wrong. That winning streak came to an end in late 2000 with Mickey’s Speedway USA. The verdict from reviewers was almost universally that yes, this was a decent enough game, with the usual depth and amount of content one had come to expect from a Rare title. But compared to its spiritual predecessor Diddy Kong Racing, Mickey’s Speedway USA fell decidedly short – unlike GoldenEye 007, this was not a game that transcended its origins as a licensed title.

In other words, this wasn’t the kind of game one would expect to produce outstanding music to rival Rare’s best scores. To make the Mickey’s Speedway USA soundtrack an even less likely success, it was the first – and so far only – game score written entirely by Ben Cullum. Outside of Mickey’s Speedway USA, Cullum mainly provided character voices for several Rare titles (including Falco in Star Fox Adventures, for which he also wrote additional music). His career continued outside of the game industry, writing his own songs and some for his brother Jamie Cullum, as well as creating TV show themes and producing records. As such, Mickey’s Speedway USA remains a one-off in Cullum’s body of work – but he no doubt makes the most of this opportunity.

There’s an intriguing parallel between the Mickey’s Speedway USA soundtrack and an earlier Rare classic – David Wise’s Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll. Both scores have no other ambition but to please and entertain listeners. There are no hidden depths to be explored on either work – all they want to do is provide breezy fun, and that’s what they’re delivering. Of course, Mickey’s Speedway USA needs to maintain its upbeat facade for much longer than Snake Rattle ‘n’ Roll had to. Far too often, game soundtracks that are required to sound cheery throughout their run time use this as an excuse to churn out superficial, flimsy compositions. What’s so impressive about Cullum’s work here is just how much musical substance he pours into his relentlessly playful template – surpassing even Wise’s work on Diddy Kong Racing. Cullum’s mission is simple, but his music is anything but.

Mickey's Speedway USA Soundtrack

Given the cartoony license, there was no way for Mickey’s Speedway USA to not sound cute, but in Cullum’s capable hands, that consistently adorable character never turns cloying. The meat of the Mickey’s Speedway USA soundtrack are its racing cues and here Cullum uses a mix of jazz and 70s funk to energise the music, give it a nice touch of class and create a constantly swinging, celebratory mood that doesn’t grate.

First racing track “Indianapolis” establishes the soundtrack’s stylistic hallmarks. For its melody leads, the track swings back and forth between catchy brass fanfares and ebullient solo flute (on other tracks, hammond organ or xylophone fill this role). Cullum’s intricate arrangement of the piece turns it into a fully developed short instrumental that rarely stands still, continuously developing new quality material while never outstaying its welcome either. Rare’s technical prowess is evident in the quality of the instrument samples, providing the crucial warmth and immediacy that this music needs to make its full impact.

With 22 racing tracks, one might expect Cullum having to stretch his smooth formula beyond breaking point, but that’s not the case. Almost each cue delivers an impressive amount of inspired new melodies and rhythms, so that the never-changing mood of the score doesn’t matter much. And while Cullum doesn’t find an individual approach for each circuit (how do you identify characteristic underscoring for cart racing in Seattle or Washington, DC?), he varies his template sufficiently, imbuing it with local colours where possible.

Mickey's Speedway USA Soundtrack

For example, “San Francisco” mixes in disco strings that give the music a lovely swoon backing its dance energy, while its funkier than usual rhythms feature cowbell and a more pronounced bass line. “Las Vegas” goes for lush big band jazz amidst some of the soundtrack’s most detailed arrangements, while “New York” switches to more uptempo jazz to underscore racing in this bustling metropolis. “Malibu”’s smooth jazz is of course the opposite to “New York”’s urgency. Cullum even accomplishes the minor miracle of making the Christmas music leanings of “Alaska” (sleigh bells and all) digestible and less than cloying. Yes, all of this is scoring by stereotypes, but Cullum manages to elegantly integrate these clichés into his template, rather than letting them dominate his music. Only occasionally does he strain for effect – see the intrusive water sound effects that mar the otherwise charming “Chicago”.

The most obvious stylistic divide within the Mickey’s Speedway USA soundtrack is that between tracks for city races and cues that underscore rural locations. Again, Cullum colours in within with the lines, but he does so with his usual panache and dependable penchant for quality compositions. “Grand Canyon” has a subtle but effective synth backing whose sustained chords suggest the location’s wide-open spaces and majesty – without neglecting the need to still score the cart racing action. “Dakota” throws a steel guitar into the mix, backed by warm strings that add some welcome touches of idyllic Americana. Fiddle, harmonica and banjo bring wiry energy to “Everglades”, which further benefits from a spirited piano lead. Metal percussion and mouth harp make their debut on the lean, propulsive “Oregon”.

While these instruments might appear far removed from the urban sophistication of the jazzier tracks, Cullum bridges the divide with ease. No matter what stereotypes his instruments and arrangements draw upon, they all contribute to the Mickey’s Speedway USA soundtrack’s ceaselessly fun and buoyant nature. It’s an unlikely contender for the title of Rare’s last great N64 score, but Cullum’s work has far too much charm to deny it this honour.

Conversion notes

If anything, the Mickey’s Speedway USA port for the Game Boy Colour received a warmer welcome from reviewers – arguably, there was less genre competition on the handheld than on the N64. Eveline Fischer was responsible for the substantial GBC soundtrack, using some of Cullum’s material and doing a credible job at maintaining the density of his arrangements. Unfortunately, Cullum’s compositions rely on their jazzy, colourful timbres for much of their impact – a quality that is inevitably lost on the Game Boy Colour score, which turns a bit tedious during its extended running time.

  1. 01 - Indianopolis Cullum, Ben 2:53
  2. 02 - San Francisco Cullum, Ben 3:14
  3. 03 - New Mexico Cullum, Ben 3:04
  4. 04 - Grand Canyon Cullum, Ben 2:18
  5. 05 - Alaska Cullum, Ben 2:55
  6. 06 - Las Vegas Cullum, Ben 3:12
  7. 07 - Philadelphia Cullum, Ben 2:58
  8. 08 - Dakota Cullum, Ben 3:08
  9. 09 - Seattle Cullum, Ben 2:40
  10. 10 - New York Cullum, Ben 3:11
  11. 11 - Yellowstone Cullum, Ben 3:05
  12. 12 - Washington, D.C. Cullum, Ben 3:28
  13. 13 - Everglades Cullum, Ben 2:57
  14. 14 - Malibu Cullum, Ben 2:19
  15. 15 - Oregon Cullum, Ben 2:27
  16. 16 - Texas Cullum, Ben 3:08
  17. 17 - New Orleans Cullum, Ben 2:37
  18. 18 - Results Cullum, Ben 3:04

Perfect Dark Soundtrack (Nintendo 64)

Perfect Dark Soundtrack

Perfect Dark Soundtrack (Nintendo 64), David Clynick / Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate, 2000

If you want to kick off a debate amongst seasoned console gamers, try “Is Perfect Dark better than GoldenEye 007?” According to reviewers, the answer is usually ‘yes’. After all, this is the game that gave Rare the opportunity to finetune their approach to developing a first-person shooter, after they had created a genre classic with GoldenEye 007. Arguably pushing the Nintendo 64 to its limits, Perfect Dark provided such a wealth of content and degree of polish that it was hard to see how a console shooter in 2000 could be any better. Then again, GoldenEye 007 had arguably been the more groundbreaking title, popularising console FPS games. As a result, Perfect Dark didn’t have quite the same impact, as it was ultimately an immense refinement rather than another quantum leap.

Naturally, for the Perfect Dark soundtrack, Rare would call upon the same talents that had created the music for GoldenEye 007 – easily the best score for any Bond game. Complications were afoot though. Initially, the task of writing the Perfect Dark score fell to Graeme Norgate, who was working on Jet Force Gemini at the same time. Norgate began to lay the groundwork for the music, choosing a palette of instruments and completing a number of compositions. However, mid-way through the three-year development process, Norgate and half of the development team left Rare to form Free Radical Design (best known for their TimeSplitters trilogy).

As a result, fellow GoldenEye 007 composer Grant Kirkhope was called in to complete the Perfect Dark soundtrack – while also working on Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo-Tooie – with support from David Clynick. Given the game’s sci-fi scenario, it was no surprise that Kirkhope “wanted to create a mostly electronic soundtrack”, with The X-Files and Blade Runner serving as inspirations, according to interviews with the composer. Kirkhope’s other stylistic choice was “to make it [the Perfect Dark score] moody and dark but still with some strong thematic elements.” In that regard, Kirkhope arguably followed in the footsteps of his work on GoldenEye 007, which had balanced languid mood-building with carefully deployed melodic elements. Interestingly, Kirkhope kept Norgate’s samples, even though they weren’t always the ones he would have chosen – according to Kirkhope, “they sounded so great and made me think outside of my usual comfort zone”.

Perfect Dark Soundtrack

Of course, like the game itself, it’s hard to look at the Perfect Dark soundtrack without comparing it to its spiritual predecessor. By and large, Perfect Dark fits the same mould as Golden Eye 007 – this is mostly subdued, brooding music for a stealth game, rather than a pulse-pounding score for an all-guns-blazing shooting spree. And as on GoldenEye 007, Kirkhope and his co-composers accomplish the impressive task of holding listeners’ attention during their extended cues with what’s ultimately fairly understated, yet no less involving music.

What is different here is how the Perfect Dark soundtrack achieves this effect, audible from the start of Norgate’s “dataDyne Central: Defection”. GoldenEye007’s compositions often achieved a nearly hypnotic effect through their juxtaposition of sparse textures and repetitive, memorable melodies on a single solo instrument. Kirkhope’s flawless judgement of pacing and how to write effective melodies remains intact on Perfect Dark, but his orchestrations are lusher and more intricate, intriguing listeners through their careful layering and sculpting. It no doubt helps that Perfect Dark – unlike GoldenEye007 – is not an N64 first-generation title. As a result, the more realistic samples Kirkhope works with allow him to often let the intricately combined rhythms carry a track, rather than relying on the melody to do this job (as was often the case on GoldenEye 007).

Another substantial difference that comes with Perfect Dark’s futuristic backdrop is a distinct lack of GoldenEye007’s grittiness. Instead, from the very first track, Perfect Dark’s neo-noir elegance fittingly underscores the architecture of the game’s locations – all shiny metal surfaces gleaming in the night and massive structures cast in imposing angles. The fact that Perfect Dark’s locations are more spectacular than those in GoldenEye007 also highlights what’s ultimately the biggest difference between the two games: Perfect Dark’s far larger scale. Not that GoldenEye007 was thinking small – after all, few Bond adventures do. But Perfect Dark arguably goes a few steps further, involving two warring alien races, a conspiracy to replace the US president and the impending destruction of planet Earth itself.

Perfect Dark Soundtrack

How do Kirkhope and his team bring this awe-inspiring scenario across, without breaking the soundtrack’s mould, which – like GoldenEye 007 – largely eschews theatrics? As before, they manage with the help of a few inspired artistic choices that have a surprisingly large impact. Kirkhope makes ample use of synth choir (“one of the samples that Graeme left behind — I think it’s called Tron Choir”). Predictably, he sometimes deploys the choir to give the music more gravitas – take “dataDyne Central: Extraction”, which juxtaposes the choir with immense, resonant percussion strikes. As effective as these episodes are, Kirkhope mostly uses the choir to a different end: creating an eerie, at times quietly unsettling atmosphere. Listen to “G5 Building: Reconnaissance” and its dissonant choral chord progressions, or the majestic-yet-spooky “Deep Sea: Nullify Threat” for proof of Kirkhope’s assured handling of vocal elements.

Thus, Kirkhope chooses to underscore Perfect Dark’s otherworldly protagonists and awe-inspiring events by highlighting their unearthly nature – a smart choice that allows him to preserve and subtly alter the music’s relatively low-key nature. Kirkhope amplifies the effect through his use of a theremin-like whistling melody lead on several tracks. Again, these high-pitched, elusive sounds ingeniously accentuate the music’s alien qualities – obviously a perfect match for the game’s narrative. However, these melody leads can also evoke much more earthbound emotions. Kirkhope lists “Chicago: Stealth” as one of this favourite tracks from Perfect Dark and for good reason. The cue is arguably his most striking melange of haunting atmospherics and outright melodicism, with the whistled lead melody suddenly sounding far more lonely than unsettling.

Like GoldenEye 007, the Perfect Dark soundtrack – despite the static nature of many of its compositions – knows how to ramp things up to underscore the game’s increasingly escalating stakes. “Airbase 51: Infiltration” and “Airbase: Espionage” begin to smoothly mix orchestral bombast and rock energy into the score’s electronic foundation. “Crash Site: Confrontation”’s steely determination under fire yields the soundtrack’s most soaring melody, while “Pelagic 2: Exploration” builds upon this momentum with dramatic secret agent-style swagger. The flawlessly executed climax of this build up is the suitably epic final boss track “Skedar Leader”. The composition showcases Kirkhope’s ability to also write extended action tracks, thanks to an abundance of perfectly developed material.

Does all this mean that Perfect Dark is a better soundtrack than GoldenEye007? Not necessarily – but what Perfect Dark does is demonstrate how to write a brilliant sequel score that smartly tweaks its predecessors’ musical approach, creating something both familiar and excitingly fresh.

Conversion notes

The music for Perfect Dark’s Game Boy Colour port is a curious case – a soundtrack that’s enticing and frustrating in equal measure. Composers Kirkhope and Eveline Novakovic achieve the hugely impressive feat of convincingly replicating some of the N64 compositions on a far more limited platform – an even greater achievement maybe than Kirkhope’s Donkey Kong Island 2. Unfortunately, only three pieces from the original score find space on the GBC cartridge, equaling just about 10 minutes of music. A shame – with more converted material, this could have been a classic handheld score.

  1. 01 - Institute Menu Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 2:07
  2. 02 - dataDyne Central: Defection Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 7:38
  3. 03 - dataDyne Central: Investigation Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:30
  4. 04 - dataDyne Central: Extraction Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 4:29
  5. 05 - Carrington Villa: Hostage One Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 5:31
  6. 06 - Chicago: Stealth Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 5:26
  7. 07 - G5 Building: Reconnaissance Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:42
  8. 08 - Area 51: Infiltration Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 4:38
  9. 09 - Airbase: Espionage Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:54
  10. 10 - Air Force One: Anti Terrorism Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 5:55
  11. 11 - Crash Site: Confrontation Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 4:49
  12. 12 - Pelagic 2: Extraction Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 5:52
  13. 13 - Deep Sea: Nullify Threat Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:43
  14. 14 - Carrington Institute Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 5:37
  15. 15 - Attack Ship: Covert Assault Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:20
  16. 16 - Skedar Ruins: Battle Shrine Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:58
  17. 17 - Skedar Leader Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 5:51
  18. 18 - Credits Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 4:06
  19. 19 - Dark Combat Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 4:55
  20. 20 - CI Operative Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 5:38
  21. 21 - dataDyne Action Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:17
  22. 22 - Maian Tears Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:47

Top Gear Rally Soundtrack (N64)

Top Gear Rally Soundtrack

Top Gear Rally Soundtrack (N64), Barry Leitch, 1997

After two generally well-received entries in the Top Gear franchise, developer Gremlin Interactive must have felt that the series needed a bit of a shakeup. That was probably correct, given Top Gear 2 had felt like an expansion pack of Top Gear – and considering that these two games didn’t look very different from Gremlin’s earlier Lotus trilogy of racing games. The result was Top Gear 3000 – the original trilogy’s black sheep, with its sci-fi trappings and weapons system. While swiftly forgotten, Top Gear 3000 kicked off the Top Gear franchise’s experimental phase. The results of this attempt to reinvent the series and keep it relevant hit the Nintendo 64 in quick succession: Top Gear Rally, Top Gear: Overdrive, Top Gear Rally 2 and Top Gear Hyper-Bike. Reviews for all these titles were reasonably strong, with critics commending Top Gear Rally for its realistic gameplay and accurate physics.

The Top Gear Rally soundtrack saw the return of a familiar name: Barry Leitch, who had scored the first two Lotus games and Top Gear in the early 1990s. The second half of the decade saw him returning to racing games with a vengeance. After Top Gear Rally, Leitch wrote two (!) unreleased soundtracks for Twisted Edge Snowboarding before penning music for Rush 2: Extreme Racing USA, California Speed and San Francisco Rush 2049. For Top Gear Rally, Leitch took an unusual approach. Rather than emulating CD-quality sound, he used 8-bit samples (“[…] probably the only N64 game ever to use [them]”, Leitch mused in an interview). Like on a 16-bit machine, the samples were produced live off the hardware. This made Top Gear Rally one of the most advanced examples of this production technique due to the N64’s comparatively advanced audio capacities and the number of samples available.

And indeed, Leitch’s approach bears fruit throughout the Top Gear Rally soundtrack – it’s one of the best-sounding scores on the Nintendo 64, with samples that are spacious, vivid and crisp. As such, they perfectly realise the music’s ambitions. These are lavishly arranged compositions that can best thrive on their dense electronic rhythm layers when rendered with clarity and power. The exception to this rule are the sometimes almost painfully distorted rock guitars – a common occurrence on the N64. However, this score’s guitar sounds are way ahead of most other soundtracks on the console that sample this instrument.

Top Gear Rally Soundtrack

The strength of Leitch’s samples allows him to pull off his significantly less melody-focused approach, at least compared to other Top Gear scores. On a cue like “Title Screen (PAL)”, Leitch is able to let his syncopated beats carry the music for sustained periods without having to use much in the way of melodic elements to hold interest. “Mountain”, the score’s most driven and abstract cue, grabs listeners’ attention with its build-up of polyrhythmic, sometimes harsh synth lines. On this occasion, the score’s borderline grating, industrial guitar sound plays in the music’s favour – at times, it’s hard to tell whether the rough chords are synths or guitars. The added grittiness is one of the main features that sets the Top Gear Rally soundtrack apart from its franchise predecessors – fittingly so, given the grimier surroundings these cars have to race through.

While “Mountain” sees Leitch at his most rhythmically playful and adventurous, his work is never less than meticulously constructed. Just witness how he adapts his trademark staccato melody figures into something more skittish and high-strung to suit the track’s twitchy nature. He then carefully and subtly weaves the result – a nervous pulse that suddenly peaks and trails off – into the composition’s fabric.

This attention to detail is just as apparent in how Leitch structures his lengthy track, which all clock in at 6-7 minutes looped. Take “Title Screen (PAL)” – aka “Strip Mine” on the NTSC release before Leitch was asked to create a more aggressive title screen cue for the Japan and Europe versions of the game and simply recycled one of the racing cues. He develops the composition with consummate ease – first, he focuses on melodic development during the track’s first two sections. After the breakdown, the trance beats alone carry the music, contrasting with what’s come before. And once growling guitars back these beats, the music turns more and more urgent, arriving at a spectacularly powerful conclusion – before heading into the loop.

Top Gear Rally Soundtrack

So yes, while the Top Gear Rally soundtrack is far beat-heavier than previous franchise scores and derives a fantastic amount of excitement from its dramatic rhythms, Leitch doesn’t forsake the melodicism that characterised his Lotus works and Top Gear. Instead, he finds a way to organically adapt his melodies to the faster-moving, more rugged musical environment of this score. “Jungle”’s sleek, 80s pop-inspired synth leads are a throwback to Leitch’s previous racing scores, shining like polished chrome. They soar above a rhythmic undergrowth that is very different from his earlier racing soundtracks – several layers of coarse guitars that deliver both melody leads and sludgy riffing. Leitch plays up the contrast between his gliding melodies and the monster riffs underneath to full effect. Synth choral voices add to the melody’s majestic feel, while the simple yet wonderfully effective rock drumming effortlessly propels the cue along and underlines its anthemic tendencies.

“Coastline” also uses rock drums to complement its electronic beats, but in a more creative way. Here, the drums take on a huge, pounding sound that contrasts with the complex electronics and another catchy staccato melody that once more isn’t far removed from what Leitch had written for Top Gear. However, “Coastline” ’s main melodic idea interestingly sounds like something out of Graeme Norgate’s Blast Corps, backed here by intriguingly fidgety electronics. However, Leitch’s best-developed melody arrives on final track “Desert”. As you would expect, the cue is arider and less densely arranged than other pieces, giving a ringing, steely guitar sample sufficient space to evoke the underscored location elegantly.

And then the score serves up its least Top Gear-esque melody – an introspective, tentative creation, progressing almost entirely in two- or three-note steps that usually move downwards. First, Leitch develops the melody for over a minute by splitting it across the two stereo channels and playing with call-and-response patterns. Then he actually manages to twist the initially downcast melody into a surprising statement of determination as it climbs the scale and reaches its defiant yet still passing conclusion, the notes fading away almost as soon as they’ve taken the melody to its peak. On a score that is never short of ideas, it’s the most unexpected moment and further proof that the Top Gear Rally soundtrack is capable of marrying a full-on electronic adrenaline rush with compositional elegance. Like the game itself, the Top Gear franchise’s music successfully enters a new era.

  1. 01 - Title (PAL) Leitch, Barry 6:20
  2. 02 - Coastline Leitch, Barry 6:47
  3. 03 - Jungle Leitch, Barry 6:50
  4. 04 - Mountain Leitch, Barry 6:54
  5. 05 - Desert Leitch, Barry 7:02

Wonder Project J2 Soundtrack

Wonder Project J2 Soundtrack

Wonder Project J2 Soundtrack, Akihiko Mori, 1996

Wonder Project J was an entirely delightful SNES adventure game, but its relatively unusual storyline and gameplay mechanics – teaching a robot boy to behave like a proper human being – meant it would never be released in the West. However, the game was successful enough in Japan to warrant an N64 sequel – one of developer Almanic’s final titles (they had renamed to Givro in 1995). Interestingly enough, this time Western gaming publications took note – mainly because they had to somehow fill their pages during the continuous drought of new N64 games. Wonder Project J2 maintained its predecessor’s gameplay, gorgeous 2D graphics and main story idea – the robot that wants to become human, requiring tuition from the player, be it about small daily tasks or philosophical questions like the meaning and permanence of death.

After scoring Wonder Project J like the world’s most lavish children’s movie, Akihiko Mori returned for Wonder Project J2 – writing his last major score before he would pass away in 1998, at the age of 31, from stomach cancer. Drawing parallels between a composer’s life circumstances and the music they produce is often a fraught undertaking, but it’s hard not to take note of the Wonder Project J2 soundtrack’s wistful mood without thinking of what was ahead for Mori.

Up to this point, Mori had made a name for himself with orchestral SNES soundtracks of rare sophistication, density and melodic beauty. With the N64’s more powerful sound capacities at his fingertips, where would Mori take his music – would it become more elaborate and lush yet? Actually, Wonder Project J2 sees Mori moving in the opposite direction, both responding to and shaping the game’s more reflective mood.

Wonder Project J2 Soundtrack

Rather than with the sunny boisterousness that made Wonder Project J such a pleasure, the Wonder Project J2 soundtrack opens in a distinctly pastoral mood, with the first game’s main theme returning on solo ocarina. The game’s initial, idyllic forest setting comes to life vividly through the intertwining flute leads and harp arpeggios of “Island of Meetings and Partings”, reminiscent of Star Ocean’s similar orchestrations two years later. Compared to any of his major SNES soundtracks, Mori relies less on contrapuntal structures here – on many occasions, he is happy to have one melody, backed by unobtrusive orchestrations, carry a composition.

Of course, for a gifted melodicist like Mori, that’s not a problem – “Goodbye Dr. Gepetto”’s solo piano says farewell without any theatrics and is all the more moving for it. Whereas Wonder Project J was all about the excitement of embarking on an adventure, its successor is generally more concerned with establishing and preserving a sense of home and belonging – reassuring stasis instead of reaching out for new horizons.

Soon enough though, the panache of Mori’s earlier works returns as the Wonder Project J2 soundtrack discovers – for a while – its sense of optimism and adventure. At the centre of the score’s rising spirits are “Bon Voyage!” and “Now, Then! To the Skies!” Another one of Mori’s seamless orchestra/pop mixes and clocking in at more than five minutes when looped, “Bon Voyage!”’s melodies find the perfect middle ground between catchiness and expansive lyricism. “Now, Then! To the Skies!” is more exuberant still and proves that Mori hasn’t lost his knack for complex, colourful orchestrations.

Wonder Project J2 Soundtrack

Soon after these relative outbursts, tracks like “Loneliness” or “Theme of Colro Forest (Ocarina)” pull back the exuberance though and showcase how the Wonder Project J2 soundtrack builds upon its predecessor by taking its undercurrent of melancholia and yearning, and bringing it to the fore. There’s no doubt that Wonder Project J was an emotionally rich score, but this soundtrack – aided by a longer running time – arguably has the more complex arch. Whereas the first score was a colourful tapestry, Wonder Project J2 has a narrative drive that underscores not just the characters and their world, but also the transformation that they undergo.

This approach befits the game’s greater focus on its storyline, which actually sees the player relinquishing control for the game’s final, 45-minute cut scene. In tune with the larger scope of the game’s narrative, the Wonder Project J2 soundtrack turns significantly more tense and militaristic in its second half, evoking a level of conflict that was all but absent from its predecessor. It’s hard to deny that the score’s terser tracks are not always as melodically interesting as the mellifluous compositions that have come before, and the soundtrack’s quality is spottier than Mori’s other major works, requiring some curating to make for a smooth listening experience.

However, the narrative’s rising stakes also allow Mori to write rousing orchestral tracks like “Emergency” and “Escape”. The latter is a beautiful example of how to write an effective crisis cue that doesn’t grow stale, moving back and forth between staccato episodes and more melodically flowing sections. “Messala’s Scheme” leaves aside the Baroque sensibilities of the antagonist’s theme from Wonder Project J and trades them in for something more sinister and aggressive – happy to spell out danger rather than hinting at it while hiding behind a pompous facade. Another new addition to the score’s emotional palette is the use of choir on several tracks, again befitting the game’s larger scope and adding haunting musical colours.

The Wonder Project J2 soundtrack’s RPG-like narrative arc is completed when – after the mood turns downright desolate on “Vanished Greenery” – hope returns on the final handful of tracks. Mori returns to his large-scale orchestral sounds to bring back the score’s main theme – which shapes the soundtrack far more than on Wonder Project J – in sufficiently forceful and triumphant fashion. Ultimately though, the Wonder Project J2 soundtrack ends as it confidently yet cautiously looks towards the future (rather than rushing forth with buoyancy like Wonder Project J did). Closing the soundtrack with the same wistfulness that opens it – but mixing in more optimism – “I Believe in Tomorrow….” is a calm orchestral ballad and one final showcase of Mori’s orchestral prowess, as he carries the four-minute piece almost solely through moving woodwind variations of the main theme. It’s farewell towards an unknown future, but hope persists.

  1. 01 - Theme of Colro Forest (Opening - Josette in Colro Forest) Akihiko Mori 1:11
  2. 02 - Goodbye Dr. Gepetto (Dr. Gepetto Dies) Akihiko Mori 1:11
  3. 03 - Josette of Colro Forest (Main Theme) Akihiko Mori 2:26
  4. 04 - Island of Meetings and Partings (Blueland Island) Akihiko Mori 3:38
  5. 05 - "Let's Have a Chat!" (Inside Dolphin) Akihiko Mori 1:52
  6. 06 - Friendly Folks (Meeting People) Akihiko Mori 2:16
  7. 07 - Karen's Pub Akihiko Mori 2:43
  8. 08 - Master Chef Gourmet (Gourmet's Theme) Akihiko Mori 2:40
  9. 09 - Pleasant Days Akihiko Mori 1:20
  10. 10 - The Serious Worker (Proton Mines) Akihiko Mori 1:32
  11. 11 - Bon Voyage! (Submarine Mode) Akihiko Mori 5:35
  12. 12 - Now, Then! To the Skies! (Seaba Mode) Akihiko Mori 2:52
  13. 13 - Racing Pokko Akihiko Mori 2:05
  14. 14 - Affection (Josette with Arnold at Nighttime) Akihiko Mori 3:12
  15. 15 - Loneliness (Sapphire at the Docks) Akihiko Mori 3:32
  16. 16 - Theme of Colro Forest (Ocarina) (Memories Of Gepetto And Colro) Akihiko Mori 2:20
  17. 17 - Love (Josette's Audition at the Movie Studio) Akihiko Mori 2:07
  18. 18 - Oh Forest, Answer Me... (Blueland Forest) Akihiko Mori 1:26
  19. 19 - My Little Friend (Josette Meets Klara) Akihiko Mori 2:04
  20. 20 - Emergency (Battle Scene) Akihiko Mori 2:38
  21. 21 - Messala's Scheme (Sea Battle) Akihiko Mori 2:58
  22. 22 - Lost Memories (Lost Memory Maze) Akihiko Mori 4:10
  23. 23 - Escape! (Escape from Siliconian Empire Stage) Akihiko Mori 3:15
  24. 24 - Welcome, People of Blueland! Akihiko Mori 2:28
  25. 25 - Medusa Siliconian (Siliconian Empress Reveals Herself) Akihiko Mori 3:16
  26. 26 - Strike!! (Siliconian Empress Attacks / Josette's Ocarina Responds) Akihiko Mori 1:10
  27. 27 - Into the Blue Sky (Ending) (Outtake) Akihiko Mori 1:29
  28. 28 - Island of Vanished Greenery (Desolate Colro Island) Akihiko Mori 3:01
  29. 29 - An Entreaty to "J"... (Josette Makes Her Wish to "J") Akihiko Mori 2:21
  30. 30 - Meet Again (Part 1) Akihiko Mori 3:40
  31. 31 - Meet Again (Part 2) Akihiko Mori 0:29
  32. 32 - I Believe in Tomorrow... (Staff Roll) Akihiko Mori 4:29