Solstice (NES) - Title Theme (MSX AY-3-8910+Konami SCC Cover)
34Here's one last chiptune cover for 2024! I thought I'd end the year off with a truly epic song, which ended up being one of my largest undertakings in terms of music. It's the title theme to Software Creations' 1990 NES action puzzle game Solstice, composed by one of gaming's most beloved composers: Tim Follin. I'll admit that I haven't listened to a lot of Tim's work, especially compared to other lovers of chiptune and video game music, but I praise and respect the man just as much as everyone else for his incredible skill and technique with crafting power tunes with limited hardware (this praise extends to his brother Geoff Follin, who sadly passed away earlier this year from pancreatic cancer). So, it's about time that covered one of Tim's fine songs, and this one is easily one of his finest. Seriously, this is probably the only example of a Famicom/NES song akin to progressive rock music, like something Yes or Rush would make back in the '70s, all done on just the 2A03 and without taking advantage of its DPCM channel (beat that, Sunsoft). The repeated motifs with the changes in time signature give the song a truly adventurous quality that's elevated by the dynamics. And of course, the Follin brothers' signature sound is there front and center with arpeggiated chords and quick "up-and-down jumps" with notes to give them a "pluck" sound. I originally wanted to see what the song would be like on the Namco C30 WSG, but the noise generation of that chip was too weak for me to work with (at least in Furnace). So, I opted for the Konami SCC with MSX's AY-3-8910. I don't use that set often, so I didn't mind. Plus, I used exclusively Namco wavetables, mostly from Gaplus (two of them are from Mappy). This project took me a whole 3 days to work on, which isn't too surprising given that the song itself is unlooped and clocks in at just under 3 minutes. That's longer than most songs I've covered before. In fact, I stayed up until about 2:30 AM to finish this on December 13th before going to bed. It doesn't help that the song's changing time signature meant that it took extra time for me to adapt everything. Thankfully, the song itself is very even with its timing, so I didn't have too much trouble. Overall, this project was a rousing success, and I'm glad I finally gave this song the Namco/Konami treatment of sorts. I must apologize for not making as many original songs this year as I did in 2023, but I do wish to make up for it next year (hire me plz). I hope you all enjoy this cover, and I hope to continue making more chiptune covers in 2025! Fight the power. \n\nHere are the downloads for this song: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12H_JxLI51xkp1WSUuTWb-L5dZyIuejFq?usp=sharing \n\nComposed by: Tim Follin \nMSX Arrangement by: Andrew Ambrose \n\n\n\nPatreon Shout-outs: \nAustin Kaiser \nHolly \nEric M Ambrose \nKerokoid \n\nBe sure to share this cover if you enjoyed it, and consider supporting me on Patreon (100% optional): https://patreon.com/AndrewAmbrose