Thanks for the ask! It's not exactly in order. Buuut:
1)
A short yet effective theme, showcasing just how good the VRC6 chip is. Madara's soundtrack in general is really good, and it's one of the reasons why the game became a cult classic in a way.
2)
My favorite from DDS1! It adds a lot of atmosphere to the sewer dungeons, and the bass line is just catchy. DDS' soundtrack is kind of a mix between electronic and grunge which I enjoyed listening to a lot.
and i mean a lot specifically for this track, because you farm exp in the sewers.
3)
Putting both versions in the same place (to avoid confusion). But this theme alone is what elevated TDS from "I like it" to "I really like it." It just immediately puts you in the dungeon crawling mood, like it has that feeling of "it's not going to be easy, but you will succeed".
I also remixed this theme like three or four times by now, lol.
4)
A really cool theme for unfortunately a really short dungeon. The echo-y effect of Tasaki's works adds a lot to the atmosphere of the Persona 2 Duology (as well as Soul Hackers). It's why I prefer the PSX soundtracks over the PSP's.
5)
Recency bias at full display here, but DQ has honestly been nothing but great the second I got into the series. This one theme just adds that sense of tension and mystery to each dungeon.
And the longer the song plays, the more intense it becomes, as if telling you "it'll only get more dangerous from here on".
I'm actually writing while listening to this one in the background (lol).
Genre: Arrangement / Instrumental Metal, Rock, Synth
Disk Country: Japan
Disc release year: 1993-1995
Publisher (label): King Records
Country: Japan
(more…)
I like FM Synth chips in general, as there's just something very lovely and punchy about their sound. There's a lot of them I enjoy a lot such as the VRC7 on the Famicom or the Mega Drive's YM2612, but my favorite of them all is the Yamaha YM2151, the sound chip included in the Sharp X68000 line of computers.
Akumajou Dracula here has one of my favorite chiptune soundtracks, and it's in no small part thanks to its masterful use of the YM2151! It manages to be both very moody and very intense when it needs to, fitting the game like a glove. The game has 3 alternate soundtracks (a CD one made for its PS1 port, as well as 2 different MIDI Synth versions) but none of them quite manage to match the original's flavor
A special shoutout goes to Gradius II, on the same system. I'm normally not a big fan of MIDI Synths, growing up with early Windows XP stuff means I tend to associate their sound with cheap games and low-quality software in general, but Gradius II on the X68000 manages to make it work. This one allows you to play its music using a mix of both a MIDI Synth and the internal YM2151, which can result in some truly breathtaking audio!
Funnily enough one of my LEAST favorite sound chips is an FM Synth as well, the Master System/Sega Mark III's FM Sound Unit. I've seen very few games that sound good with it. Even weirder when considering it's based on the same YM2413 sound chip used by Lagrange Point's VRC7 which I love so much! I guess a chip is only ever as good as its users...