The Scheme (PC-88) - Opening Theme (Famicom Disk System 2A03+2C33 Cover)
14The PC-88 action RPG The Scheme, developed by Onion Soft and published in Japan by Bothtec in 1988, is a very important game. Well, very important if you're a fan of Yuzo Koshiro's music like me. The Scheme was the first game Yuzo and his sister Ayano did after they finished working on Ys 2 and parting ways with Nihon Falcom to do freelance work (they would eventually form Ancient in 1990). Not to mention, it would mark a major change in Yuzo's FM music, for it would be his first project utilizing the YM2608 (AKA the OPNA). Newer PC-88 models featured the YM2608 in addition to the YM2203 (AKA the OPN), which the YM2608 was an upgraded version of (it has all the same accolades with the added bonus of stereo sound, three extra FM channels, 5 channels dedicated to sampled drums, and an ADPCM channel). To accommodate for older PC-88 models that only had the YM2203, Yuzo was given free range to make whatever music he wanted for each chip, and Onion Soft put in the option to choose from 2 whole soundtracks when you boot up the game. The YM2203 soundtrack (known as Normal Music Mode) was reminiscent of Yuzo's Falcom music such as songs for Ys and Sorcerian while the YM2608 soundtrack (known as Special Music Mode) had a wider variety of genres, even delving into the groovier dance music that serves as a sort-of predecessor to what he would eventually compose for The Revenge of Shinobi and the Streets of Rage trilogy. Both soundtracks are phenomenal (and well worth playing through the game twice to hear each of them), as to be expected from Yuzo, so much so that Yuzo has been working on a brand new version of the YM2608 soundtrack with authentic 80s synthesizers and drum machines to be released in a new album this November known as The Scheme: 21st Century Revival. In light of this upcoming release (plus the recent episode of PC-88 Paradise about The Scheme), I finally decided to check out the game with the YM2203 soundtrack, and it's really good so far (it's very reminiscent of Metroid, though you can only shoot left and right either while standing or crouching). I also felt it would be a fitting time to cover the opening theme from the YM2203 soundtrack, which I chose the Famicom Disk System chipset for since it would accommodate all the notes well. Not to mention, it's been a long time since I last used the 2C33 for the lead melody since I've been mainly using it for bass this past year, so this is a nice return to that (not to mention I got to finally try out 25% pulse wave bass akin to Kirby, and I think I did a good job with it). Outside of trying to find the right FDS wavetables to use for the lead, this was a pretty straightforward and easy project to do since the song itself is a fairly short loop. Not to mention, this song was quite an appropriate choice since it's very much a callback to the first ever title screen theme Yuzo composed, the one from Dragon Slayer Jr.: Romancia, which I did a Sega Master System FM cover of just a few months ago. Hopefully you guys enjoy this, and be sure to check out The Scheme if you can (or at the very least listen to both soundtracks). ^w^ \n\nHere are the downloads for this song: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1V7NTwxll33JSdBDSyfwUkfnyKe89ZzHm?usp=drive_link \n\nComposed by: Yuzo Koshiro (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe_lUL6kLzZLS49SIdHly5A) \nFamicom Disk System Arrangement by: Andrew Ambrose \n\n\n\nPatreon Shout-outs: \nAustin Kaiser \nHolly \nAndyana \nEric M Ambrose \nBantBeOdd \n\nBe sure to share this cover if you enjoyed it, and consider supporting me on Patreon (100% optional): https://www.patreon.com/AndrewAmbrose