Seven UNUSED MUSIC tracks in retro videogames (EarthBound, Chrono Trigger, Mega Man III...)
129Sometimes a videogame's data contains hidden or unused sound or music files that don't actually appear anywhere in the final game. Here are (at least) seven examples of music files that are contained within the game's memory, but don't show up anywhere in gameplay.
1. Battletoads (NES) Unused Track (listen at 0:58)
The consensus seems to be that this music was supposed to be used for Level 5 Surf City or Level 9 Terra Tubes, since these two levels share the same music in game. And like why do they have the same music? Maybe it was a mistake, or maybe someone decided to scrap this hidden track at the last moment.
2. Blades of Steel (NES) Unused Track (listen at 2:19)
This is sometimes referred to as "Song A." This track resembles the Bonus Round music from the arcade version of Blades of Steel! But this bonus mini game doesn't appear in the NES port, and therefore the song does not appear either. Woulda been cool tho.
3. EarthBound (SNES) Unused Track (listen at 2:56)
Dang, this one is SUPER SPOOKY. This track literally gave me a nightmare once. It never appears in EarthBound, but a very similar track is used in its predecessor Mother aka EarthBound Beginnings or EarthBound Zero if you're old school. Many of the songs from the prequel are reused in EarthBound, in fact.
4. Tetris (NES) Unused Track (listen at 5:00)
This track was most likely supposed to be used for the title screen, since there isn't any music there. I'm just guessing. But you can hear this track if you use a Game Genie! Simply enter the code PEIAZI and when you start the game, Music 1 will be replaced with this hidden track!
5. Chrono Trigger "Battle 2" Unused Song (listen at 5:53)
This awesome battle music can be found in the data for the original SNES version, although it was never used anywhere UNTIL the Nintendo DS remaster used this song for the Arena of Ages!
6. Mega Man III (NES) Partially Hidden Track (listen at 7:40)
The "Proto Man" song that plays after you beat the game is a beautiful melancholy melody that makes me sad in a cool way. But the absolute best parts of the song don't appear in the game, because the song cuts to the credits after about a 1 minute and 12.341 seconds. There's still about a minute left of the song that never gets heard!
BUT you can actually hear this song in game if you use the debug features that involve the second controller! In the scene where Mega Man and Dr. Light are talking about Proto Man (right after the screen says EPILOGUE) press and hold UP and A on the second controller just as Mega Man begins to teleport away. If you keep those buttons held, the music will continue to loop, meaning you can actually hear this hidden portion of the music in game!
7. Another Mega Man III (NES) Partially Hidden Track! (listen at 9:36)
Before each Dr. Wily stage, you'll see a map with dots that represent the level locations, and a white line gets drawn from these locations to represent Mega Man's path. During this map sequence, there's an ominous and foreboding song that plays for a few seconds, and then the level starts.
Well it turns out this song is actually a lot longer than the game allows you to hear, and the first time I heard the full track, my mind was blown!
Huge thank you to the immortal Zophar's Domain for hosting these music tracks - https://www.zophar.net/music
ALSO big thanks to this Destructoid article from 2008 for the Chrono Trigger DS screen shot - https://www.destructoid.com/more-details-on-chrono-triggers-monster-arena-emerge/
Special thanks to The Cutting Room Floor for additional information - https://tcrf.net/
Some other music used:
Opus 13 - Castlevania: Rondo of Blood Stage 5 (0:01)
Boss Battle 3 - The Legend of Dragoon (2:13)
Invitation of a Crazed Moon - Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (2:50)
The Map Theme from M.C. Kids on NES (4:57)
BGM 2 from Lock 'N Chase on Game Boy (6:39)
Under Logic - Streets of Rage 2 (9:22)
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