Gimmick! ギミック! Complete Soundtrack Famicom & AV Famicom

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Nerdly Pleasures

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Published on March 25, 2024 8:46:12 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8Uh1H7maok

Game:

Gimmick! (1992)

Duration: 31:51

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5

I have revisited the soundtrack of Gimmick!, this time with two Famicoms. Gimmick! uses the Sunsoft 5B mapper IC which includes an audio core which functions like a Yamaha YM2149. Gimmick! uses its three square wave channels of its YM2149 workalike to augment the music and generate certain sound effects. This video uses a cartridge with a genuine Sunsoft 5B IC in it and Gimmick's original mixing circuit.

Famicom expansion audio generated by a cartridge is mixed with the internal audio produced by the Audio Processing Unit inside the CPU IC. The output is sent to the RF Modulator on a Famicom or the audio outputs of an AV Famicom. All Famicom audio is mono. The mixing circuit changed over the lifespan of the Famicom, with older Famicoms outputting louder internal audio relative to expansion audio than later Famicoms and AV Famicoms. Most cartridge and Famicom Disk System games with expansion audio support were developed during the Famicom's best years from 1986-1988 or by its oldest developers. The revision in the mixing circuit on Famicoms came sometime in 1988. Expansion game audio levels were mostly designed for the louder internal audio Famicoms.

Gimmick! was released in 1992 and is one of the last games for the Famicom to include extra audio hardware in a cartridge. Being released so late, there is some debate whether the game was intended for an earlier Famicom or a later Famicom. (The AV Famicom was not released until 1993, so that would not have been a factor). What I have done is recorded the soundtrack for the game twice, first with an "older" Famicom and second with an AV Famicom. The older Famicom uses an HVC-CPU-07 mainboard, a rev. E CPU and has been AV modded. The AV Famicom uses an HVCN-CPU-02 mainboard and a rev. H CPU. You can judge for yourself which mix you believe best reflects the composer's intent.

Here are the tracks and their start times as named in the Music Sampler menu and in the order given in that menu. You access the Music Sampler by holding down Select as you press Start on the title screen. The recording line input used for each console was set to the same level and the recordings have not been normalized.

01 Good Morning Famicom - 00:00
01 Good Morning AV Famicom - 01:21
02 Happy Birthday Famicom - 02:41
02 Happy Birthday AV Famicom - 03:42
03 Good Weather Famicom - 04:42
03 Good Weather AV Famicom - 05:39
04 Slow Illusion Famicom - 06:34
04 Slow Illusion AV Famicom - 07:28
05 Paradigm Famicom - 08:22
05 Paradigm AV Famicom - 09:03
06 Lion Heart Famicom - 09:44
06 Lion Heart AV Famicom - 10:44
07 Cadbury Famicom - 11:45
07 Cadbury AV Famicom - 12:46
08 Strange Memories of Death Famicom - 13:46
08 Strange Memories of Death AV Famicom - 14:57
09 Aporia Famicom - 16:08
09 Aporia AV Famicom -16:56
10 Identity Believer Famicom - 17:44
10 Identity Believer AV Famicom - 18:18
11 Long Tommorrow Famicom - 18:53
11 Long Tommorrow AV Famicom - 19:26
12 Just Friends Famicom - 19:58
12 Just Friends AV Famicom - 20:55
13 Sophia (Take 2) Famicom - 21:51
13 Sophia (Take 2) AV Famicom - 22:56
14 Paradox Famicom - 24:01
14 Paradox AV Famicom - 24:31
15 Innocent Famicom - 25:01
15 Innocent AV Famicom - 25:28
16 No Limits Famicom - 25:55
16 No Limits AV Famicom - 26:28
17 Siesta Famicom - 27:01
17 Siesta AV Famicom - 27:46
18 Good Night (Take 2) Famicom - 28:30
18 Good Night (Take 2) AV Famicom - 30:11

While Gimmick! was released in PAL territories (mainly Sweden) as Mr. Gimmick!, the NES cannot mix cartridge audio with internal audio as a Famicom can, so the localization had to put the full musical and sound effect burden on the internal CPU/APU. There is an NTSC NES Prototype of Mr. Gimmick! and it has the same problem. The music without expansion audio often is less richer for it.

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