History AwesomeMusic / ThirdGenerationOrEarlier

This is the SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic page for NES, SMS, MSX, GB etc.

* Rob Hubbard was one of the masters of the SID (Sound Integration Device), the UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}}'s sound chip. The list of truly awesome tracks he composed for [=C64=] games is long and mind-boggling.
** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EcgruWlXnQ Monty On the Run]]'' was often described as "worth buying for the music alone". The music, the first half of which is a SuspiciouslySimilarSong to Charles Williams' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2eqX93umXo "Devil's Galop"]] (the theme tune of late 1940s radio adventure ''Dick Barton - Special Agent'') but the second half of which is EpicRocking, UsefulNotes/{{Commodore 64}} style (it takes nearly ''six minutes'' before the tune finally wraps around, an eternity by 1985 game music standards), regularly features near the top of lists of the greatest tracks from the [=C64=] library. If that's not enough, here's an [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAiigYSIE20 instrumental version]].

** On the UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum, there's the in game music from ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMrfaGbjeKI Fantasy World Dizzy]]'', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVIPCoqqbuQ Magic Land Dizzy]]'', and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX1vSMMby08 Spellbound Dizzy]]''.
** The UsefulNotes/Commodore64, meanwhile, has the in game music from ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kdBlRwG7kA Treasure Island Dizzy]]'', which conveys a real sense of mystery and adventure perfect for exploring an exotic yet deserted island; ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMoPaqGiaH0 Magicland Dizzy]]'', an upbeat track well suited to the fairy tale/legend pastiche that forms the game's premise; ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5VIpMpLuOc Spellbound Dizzy]]'', which runs the gamut from an upbeat section that practically shouts "Let's ''do'' this!" to an eerily atmospheric section that equally seems to say "What strange world is this?"; and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNIo6PoJYYA Prince of the Yolkfolk]]'', which may revolve around just two melodic phrases (apart from a haunting interlude about two-thirds of the way through) but varies the instrumentation to keep them sounding fresh.
** The UsefulNotes/{{Amiga}} versions mostly used the same music as the Spectrum and/or [=C64=] versions, benefitting from the Amiga's sound chips (examples include ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZGQ1bSqXaA Treasure Island Dizzy]]'', ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=405UwC4rMng Magicland Dizzy]]'', and ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIAxl5Fv_Vg Spellbound Dizzy]]''), but used a newly composed track for ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeU-r12Yz1Y Prince of the Yolkfolk]]'' which starts out as a synthesised trumpet-heavy processional march before segueing via a hard-rocking section into a sinister minor mode passage, changing tempo in the process. After an even heavier guitar section, the music backtracks to the hard-rocking section that preceded it, just in time to wrap around with the march.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHOPEjpMv1A The Stage Clear theme]]. So much than an ''[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic absolutely epic]]'' TriumphantReprise of the series' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOG9U3aEnlU#t=0m9s Stage Clear theme]] plays when you defeat [[BigBad Black]] [[FinalBoss Viper]] in ''Contra 4'' for the UsefulNotes/NintendoDS.

* Late in the Famicom's life, Konami came up with a mapper called the [=VRC7=] which among other things packs a derivative of the [=YM2413=] sound chip, in essence combining the sound capabilities of the Famicom and the UsefulNotes/SegaMasterSystem. Sadly, it was only ever used in one game which was released in 1991 [[NoExportForYou in Japan]], but it didn't go to waste. It should therefore come as no surprise that those who have played ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W015Wlpgy1E Lagrange Point]]'' all claim it has the most technically sophisticated music of any game on the system.
* The UsefulNotes/BBCMicro isn't the first platform that comes to mind in terms of awesome music, but [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w8ivhw9RZE Galaforce]] is one that Beeb fans don't forget easily.

* UsefulNotes/ZXSpectrum's ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S0bVF36r2Y Havoc]]'' theme. Some of the most intense bleeps and boops you'd hear on that machine.

* Ocean's 1986 ''Series/MiamiVice'' game falls headfirst into TheProblemWithLicensedGames thanks to its unresponsive driving controls and inscrutable gameplay, but the soundtrack by Martin Galway, especially for the UsefulNotes/Commodore64 version, is by far the best thing about it.

* ''VideoGame/SweetHome''. AKA the Famicom game that was the precursor to today's survival horror games such as ''Resident Evil'' and ''Silent Hill''. Here is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A8O5KA3m5o the]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiKUc0qv14U entire]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H11vSCVfDfs soundtrack]].