Action Vacation IV took the much ballyhooed series in an even more technologically refined direction, sporting an additional chip that doubled the graphical power of the Nintendo Entertainment System. This time the Bullet Twins (Zip and Flip) vacation on Shuriken Island, a brutal destination in the ninja nation filled with soldiers and armored salamanders of a madman’s creation.
This particular track is the well known theme music, which plays from 1-1 too 1-3, as the wind in the field blows kite-flying ninjas in a whip of leaves and bits of branches.
Action Vacation on Shuriken Island
Created by Moldilox using Milky Tracker (OSX)
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Veteran space pilot Smash Disaster may have been a popular and enduring action game character, but he sure as hell wasn’t a lucky one. Take his eighth game, Smash Disaster in the 88th Nebula, for instance. First stage, BAM, Smash’s boosters go kaput, sending him crashing down to an unexplored planet.
That’s precisely where this particular track comes from. The song takes us on a journey, from a jubilant flight to Smash’s ship hitting the rocky surface to his triumphant escape. Note the musical uncertainty as he rises from the wreckage, and the swift tonal shift as aliens take over the crash site. He battles through them valiantly, and despite all odds he is able to take off once more and continue his exploration of this strange nebula!
All thanks… TO YOU!
Smash Disaster’s Brave Escape
Created by Moldilox using Milky Tracker (OSX)
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Some of the most dastardly platforming ever conceived was present in Tengen’s gore-infused hell-romp Splatter Train. Aptly titled, Satan’s Pit is the first of many blood soaked stages awaiting our hero. Henry battles reanimated corpses, horrid fiends borne of pure evil and ghastly apparitions that attempt to suck his soul dry. Players had to not only face these pixilated horrors but also a slew of labyrinthine side-scrolling levels in a race against the in-game timer, lest Henry miss his stop and forever be trapped. Slaughter power-ups throughout the stage allow Henry to sacrifice an innocent soul on the surface in order to stop the timer and provide himself more time to reach the train. This caused a massive negative impact on the player’s score and, conceptually, did not sit well with many parents.
The steady “CHUG-a-chug-a-CHUG-a-chug-a” of Charon’s locomotive (replacing his long-standing boat) is ever present throughout the stage, occasionally accompanied by the whistle of the damned. A driving melody leads the charge into a foray of time changes, bone-smashing metal blastbeats and crushing leads.
Satan’s Pit
Created by Daemon9623
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Gore ruled gaming well before Mortal Kombat came on the scene. Sure, we’ve all played classics like Namco’s Splatterhouse series, but none were more obscene than competitor Tengen’s answer, Splatter Train. The first in the series shocked many with over the top cutscenes that transitioned into a non-stop 2D bloodbath. Parents shrieked as the titular train took their gleeful children from level to level, from Satan’s Pit to the stage in question, the infamous Demon Foundry.
A horrid swirl of metalworks and rust-blasted gore-fighting, by the time protagonist Henry Harrison was done with the foundry, he was literally oozing with the blood of his enemies. It all culminates in a boss that vomits so much bile that the slowdown becomes nearly unbearable. The 8-bit metal soundtrack drove everything home in a brutally unconventional way, eschewing standard loops for bizarre solos and powerful digital drumming.
Demon Foundry
Created by Moldilox using Milky Tracker (OSX)
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The Revivification series—part action, part role-playing (but always billed as the former due to uninspiring RPG sales at the time)—was never quite the downer its boxart (by famed cart designer/photographer Gus van D’nan) depicted. The third in the series was especially uplifting, due in no small part to the sequence to which this song provides accompaniment.
Following the theme of the series closely, protagonist Terrence Knight once again finds himself waking up in the middle of his own funeral, buried deep beneath the earth. Thrust into action, he battles his way to the surface as rain pounds and thunder krakows, engaging ghouls along the way. Note the burst of triumphant music as he emerges from the rain-soaked surface and deals the final blow, sealing his rise from death!
Funeral Storm
Created by Moldilox using Milky Tracker (OSX)
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Tecmo was really rolling with a goldmine as far as Ninja Gaiden was concerned, so why stop at the series proper? In the early ’90s they rolled out a very strange prequel known as Hayabusa Mission. This time around, the true “demon lords” were drug dealers and petty thugs, so Ryu took on work as a freelancer, cleaning up the streets with his sword and budding expertise in ninjutsu.
This particular track comes from stage 3-1, the Secret Ninja Drug Dojo. Crack-cocaine was still a hot topic at the time, but Ryu made sure it became nothing more than dust in the wind at the tip of his blade. Drug barons beware!
Secret Ninja Drug Dojo
Created by Moldilox using Milky Tracker (OSX)
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Capcom’s CODENAME: W.O.L.F. took the successful formula of the Rock Man games in an exciting, and admittedly darker direction. War has ravaged planet earth and the only remaining hope lies in the paws of a lone K-9 Unit. From the family pet to the front lines – Help Lobo navigate the singed steel and crumbling concrete in a quest to avenge the family he lost. Join forces with Professor Quasar as you set out to defeat The Seven Blood-Thirsty Barons of The New Wasteland and assemble the coveted W.O.L.F. armor.
By Tooth & Nail
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Neon City came out at a time when gamers were especially hungry for mechanoid action titles. Specifically inspired by Europe’s take on Contra, Probotector, Bigwig Games moved forward with a new franchise, and forever changed the face of action on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
The most appreciated aspect of the game was that the entire affair was an effort to reach the titular city, which only comprised the final stage. One of the most memorable stops was the Mechanizer Metropolis, from which this track is taken. The player’s cyber-corvette zoomed across the highway, only to be destroyed, forcing on-foot action in one of the most heavily populated junkyard robot cities in the world.
Mechanizer Metropolis
Created by Moldilox using Milky Tracker (OSX)
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What fan of classic gaming could forget the inimitable Star Flipper, a shooter that put players in control of the Wild Space Patrol (W.A.S.P., the A. appearing intermittently and standing for nothing) in their efforts to vanquish all evildoers of the galaxy. Their primary weapon? Solid and lighthearted horizontal shooting that played like a mix of Stinger and Gradius.
Something always stood out about that exciting first stage, and a lot of it probably had to do with the music. It matched the exuberant feel provided by the ever-fading stratosphere, as our blue sky made way for deep space and a whole mess of nasty alien enemies. Relive those moments, brave spaceman!
Triumphant Takeoff
Created by Moldilox using Milky Tracker (OSX)
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Alex Wonder brought a lot of heart and innovation to the NES when he broke away from his employers at LJN to start his one-man outfit, Wondersoft Game Corp. His first release—which he designed from the ground up, from the art to the music and programming—took everyone by surprise, throwing the player in the shoes of a young boy named Billy, who gets trapped in the Dream Dimension and has to find his way out before the final grain of sand in the hourglass tumbles down. And then he has to fight the hourglass!
This particular track comes from the snowy forest stage, which fans fondly remember for its wispy visuals and melancholy tone. Perhaps one day we’ll see the return of Wondersoft, but for now we can all reminisce with this.
Snow-Steeped Forest (November)
Song by Moldilox. Created using Milky Tracker (OSX)
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