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MEGA MAN
(NES)
Composers: Yuukichan's Papa & Manami Gotoh
I generally think that Mega Man 2 and 3 have the best soundtracks in the NES series, but here are my favorite songs from the first one.
"Bomb Man"
Time: 1:13
Size: 1.11 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: I like most of this one, except there's a small part before the ending of it that seems like it was just added in there as filler and the song would be better without it. But, eh, whatever.
"Cut Man"
Time: 1:31
Size: 1.40 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: This one is the same way. I like most of it except for the very last part that pushes it a little too close to "circus" music. But, whatever.
"Dr. Wily (First Half)"
Time: 1:12
Size: 1.10 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: This is my favorite song in this game. It's a little unusual for NES Mega Man music because it's usually not this melancholy.
"Fire Man"
Time: 1:04
Size: 0.98 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Fire Man's stage has a pretty good theme song, too. It's a little shorter than the others, but then again, there aren't any parts I don't like.
"Guts Man"
Time: 0:59
Size: 928 KB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: I like this one a lot, too, especially the little intro. Classic 8-bit sound.
MEGA MAN 2
(NES)
Composers: Ogeretsu Kun, Manami Ietel & Yuukichan's Papa
"Dr. Wily's Castle (First Half)" - Arguably the single greatest piece of music ever written for a Mega Man game. I think it would be very difficult to top this. I'm not lying when I say that I got through some difficult times in school by humming this song in my head.
"Ending Theme Part 1" - The first half of the ending sequence.
"Ending Theme Part 2" - The second half of the ending sequence (credits roll). I used to beat the game over and over again just so I could hear this.
MEGA MAN 3
(NES)
Composer: Bunbun
Mega Man 3 has one of the best overall soundtracks in the series. It's very close to Mega Man 2 in quality.
"Dr. Wily Part 1" - This one's close amongst my favorite songs in this soundtrack.
"Dr. Wily Part 2" - A little slower and more melancholy than most songs from this game, and it might be my least favorite of the Wily themes, but it's interesting anyway.
"Dr. Wily Part 3" - This one has always filled me to the brim with a deep sense of dread, particularly the last few notes of it. One of the darkest and most tension-filled pieces of Mega Man music in existence.
"Ending: Proto Man's Theme" - This is one of my all-time favorite game ending songs. Very emotional stuff! The mp3 here is a lot longer than the song actually is when you hear it in the game because, for some bizarre reason, the ending scene cuts it short before it's completely done playing.
"Gemini Man" - A catchy middle-eastern-style tune, intricately woven and exotic. In other words, this one's pretty cool.
"Hard Man" - Might be one of the weaker songs in the soundtrack, but still a good one for the stage with the most unintentionally-pornographically named Mega Man character.
"Magnet Man" - This one is a head-sticker.
"Needle Man" - One of the longer songs in the soundtrack.
"Shadow Man" - This cool jazz piano number is one of my top favorites from Mega Man 3.
"Snake Man" - A weird rather indescribable song...I guess it's appropriate for a stage made out of giant mechanical snakes.
"Spark Man" - I almost always do Spark Man's stage first, so this is a great tune to get your blood pumping early.
"Title Theme" - A sort of jazz/blues melancholy that segues into a hard-driving rock song. Truly one of the great ones!
"Top Man" - Woo-hoo! Heavy metal overdriven guitar rock!
"Weapon Powerup" - I don't know why I included this one. It's the intermediate music for when you receive a new weapon from a robot master. It's just kind of cool, that's all.
MEGA MAN 4
(NES)
Composer: Ojalin & Bunbun
I've noticed that some fans consider Mega Man 4 to have a soundtrack generally lower in quality than others in the series. It may not have quite as many good tunes as Mega Man 2 and 3 did, and they completely desecrated the Mega Man 2 title/ending theme in the ending of this one, but there are a few songs I REALLY do enjoy. And here they are...
"Bright Man" - This is the single most catchiest song in this game's soundtrack.
"Cossack Castle Part 2" - Another slow melancholy piece. They seem common in the Castle/Fortress levels of this series.
"Final Boss" - I don't normally care for the boss themes in the Mega Man games because they don't usually stack up too well against the rest of the soundtrack, but this one caught my attention and stuck with me for some reason.
"Pharoah Man" - This is the only other song from the Robot Master stages (along with Bright Man) that I remember in a good way.
"Title Theme" - Not my favorite song from this game, but it should be noted that the song is actually a few seconds longer in the ROM than what you hear in the game, due to the screen resetting to the opening story too soon.
"Train Ride" - The ending theme. This is my favorite song in Mega Man 4 and is one of my favorite NES songs, period. I really SHOULD have had this on my original Top 50 Endings.
MEGA MAN 5
(NES)
Composer: Mari Yamaguchi
"Charge Man" - None of the other music in this game ever sticks in my memory except for this one, which is by far and away the best one in Mega Man 5.
 
MEGA MAN X
(Super NES)
Composers: Setsuo Yamamoto, Makoto Tomozawa, Yuki Iwai, Yuko Takehara, & Toshihiko Horiyama
Overall, I may not have found this soundtrack quite as catchy or memorable as some of the earlier NES stuff, but it definitely has its highlights. Maybe my expectations were a little too high given that this was the first Super NES Mega Man game and the system was reknowned for its advanced sound processing capabilities.
Music also featured on:
Game Ending Songs Extravaganza
"Armored Armadillo"
Time: 1:59
Size: 1.82 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: This is my favorite stage music in Mega Man X. I love the fast tempo and electric guitar wailing at the end. On a side note, I always thought this music sounded vaguely similar to the Genie's Lamp theme in Capcom's SNES Aladdin game.
"Castings"
Time: 2:14
Size: 2.05 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: The ending music. This is another song that falls into the category of "songs I used to listen to in the sound test long before I beat the game".
"Flame Mammoth"
Time: 2:00
Size: 1.84 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Another hard-driving rock number.
"Spark Mandrill"
Time: 1:51
Size: 1.70 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Actually, it's kind of similar to the Flame Mammoth music, except without the overdriven guitar in the beginning.
"Stage Select"
Time: 0:57
Size: 898 KB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: It's short, but oh so cool! I normally don't take too much notice of the stage select music in the Mega Man games, but this one really grabs your attention.
MEGA MAN X3
(Super NES)
Composers: Toshihiko Horiyama, Syusaku Uchiyama, Yoshino Aoki, & Makoto Tomozawa
"Neon Tiger" - This is the only song I'm really familiar with from this game ever since it was submitted to the Cameos Database for being suspiciously similar to "My Michelle" by Guns n Roses. Whether or not the similarity was intentional, it is quite a rockin' tune.
MEGA MAN X6
(Sony Playstation)
"I-D-E-A" - I got this mp3 courtesy of site reader and forum moderator Codie Martin. A great J-pop song with lyrics and 70's-ish guitar work!
 
METROID
(NES)
Composer: Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka
Arguably Hirokazu Tanaka's best soundtrack, Metroid's music is perfectly suited to its wealth of atmosphere. The Kraid theme alone is one of the most well-recognized songs of the 8-bit era and deserves to be ranked among the greats like the Super Mario Bros. theme and the Dr. Wily theme from Mega Man 2.
Music also featured on:
Game Ending Songs Extravaganza
NES & SNES MIDI Conversions
"Brinstar"
Time: 1:46
Size: 1.62 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Right off the bat here's the heroic Brinstar theme, one of Hip Tanaka's most popular tunes. It's okay, but may not be my absolute favorite of the work he's done.
Rating: 
"Ending Credits"
Time: 2:14
Size: 2.05 MB
Automatic ending
Comment: This is one of my all-time favorite game ending songs and it was pretty close to the top of the list of my original Top 50 article. It's the perfect send-off for the game's finale, and it's interesting how the beginning parts of it are timed with the appearance of the on-screen text and the revelation of Samus Aran's true identity. This music holds such emotional significance with me that I often think of it if I have to say goodbye to someone.
Rating: 
"Kraid's Hideout"
Time: 1:35
Size: 1.46 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Kraid's theme is one of the most unusual and well-recognized songs from the NES era. Its undulating notes and haunting tonality are reminscent of a warped calliope, echoing the descent into the twisted depths of Kraid's Lair. There are literally dozens of fan midis and remixes available of this song. Here is the original that started it all.
Rating:
"Norfair"
Time: 1:20
Size: 1.84 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: This is one of the first videogame songs I can ever remember hearing that seemed really laid-back and seemed like it was trying to make you relax more than get pumped for fast action. Maybe that's appropriate for a game that emphasizes exploration.
Rating:
"Title Theme"
Time: 1:43
Size: 2.36 MB
1 loop with fadeout
Comment: The dark and eerie title theme of Metroid is one of my favorite game songs. The slow drumming bass is plods along like the endless void of space itself.
Rating:
 
MIGHT AND MAGIC
(NES)
Composer: Masaharu "REZON" Iwata
The NES version of Might & Magic is the only one that had a fantastic score composed by Masaharu Iwata of Ogre Battle and Final Fantasy Tactics fame, which is one of the many things that make it the definintive version to play. Seems like he really knew how to work the NES's synth to get the most out of it. An official soundtrack exists for this game which contains arranged versions of the songs, but I greatly prefer the NES originals.
Music also featured on:
Unused Game Music Oddities
NES & SNES MIDI Conversions
"Astral Plane & Soul Maze"
Time: 2:41
Size: 2.45 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Ethereal piece that echoes the more sci-fi-related elements of the game, which is mostly based on Dungeons & Dragons-style medieval fantasy.
"Overworld"
Time: 1:50
Size: 1.69 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: One of the most adventurous overworld themes known to RPGs. If this doesn't make you want to pack up a traveling bag and set off to forests and mountains unknown, I don't know what will.
"Sheltem's Theme"
Time: 1:25
Size: 1.96 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: This is an unused track that's buried in the game's ROM. The official soundtrack for the game calls it "Sheltem's Theme", so I'm guessing it was supposed to be used for something involving that character, but I don't know exactly what, or why it was cut.
"Underworld"
Time: 2:39
Size: 2.43 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Great, fast-paced melody with a mysterious quality for all of those caves and town basements that are just teeming with danger and puzzles. It would be really difficult for me to pick a favorite song from this game, but this one comes close.
MISCHIEF MAKERS
(Nintendo 64)
Composer: Norio Hanzawa
"Esperance" - I'm not real wild about this game's overall soundtrack, but I do like this theme, which begins in the very first level. In fact, when I first heard this, I wondered why some publications complained about this game's soundtrack...and then I realized nothing else was quite this good.
 
MOTHER
(NES)
Composer: Keiichi Suzuki
Note: This game is also known as Earthbound 0. Some of its music will be recognizable to those who have played the SNES sequel.
"Pollyanna (Overworld Theme)"
Time: 1:43
Size: 2.36 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: When I downloaded the NSF of this game's soundtrack, it was missing this song, which is the first overworld theme you hear upon leaving the house at the beginning of the game. Players of SNES Earthbound will recognize it as a faster version of the music from Ness's house. I actually like this version more than the SNES version.
Rating:
 
MYSTICAL NINJA STARRING GOEMON
(Nintendo 64)
Composers: Shigeru Arabi, Kato Yusuke, Saiko Miki, Yusumasa Kitagawa
When asked what N64 games I'd say have the best soundtracks, the three that spring to mind most quickly are Ocarina of Time, Ogre Battle 64, and Mystical Ninja. But only Mystical Ninja contains some really excellent electrical guitar work, and great bouncy rock tunes that get in your head and won't leave for months. There are even some songs with lyrics sung by Hironobu Kageyama from Dragon Ball Z.
"Goe Goe Spark"
Time: 2:23
Size: 2.18 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: A rock guitar version of the opening theme (without lyrics). This is the music for the final part of the game's last castle. I'm seriously beginning to think this is my favorite song on the N64.
"I am Impact!"
Time: 2:05
Size: 1.91 MB
Lyrics: Japanese
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: By popular demand, here is the song that is sung whenever you board the giant super fighting robot, Impact, complete with lyrics.
"Rescue the Feudal Lord!"
Time: 2:14
Size: 2.04 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Music for the second half of Oedo Castle. A good example of why I love this game's soundtrack.
"Sunset ~ Want You"
Time: 1:47
Size: 1.63 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Music in the Tosa area of the game. Love this beautiful melody, although I'm more fond of certain parts of it than others.
"The Journey Begins on Mt. Fuji Road"
Time: 2:09
Size: 1.97 MB
1 loop with fadeout
Comment: When I first got Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, I played a little bit of it (enough to complete this part of the game), and then had this song stuck in my head for the whole rest of the week! Now, I want everyone else to experience that, too.
"Theme of MYSTICAL NINJA"
Time: 1:12
Size: 1.10 MB
Lyrics: Japanese
Automatic ending
Comment: This one was put up by request. It's the song with lyrics that plays in the beginning of Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon for the N64. If you've heard it, you'll probably want to download it. If you've never heard it, and you like goofy J-Pop songs, give it a try!
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