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Impossible Mission (1984)
6.9/10on IGDB
Released
The voice of Elvin Atombender greets you before you have worked out what the rooms want from you. After that, the elevator noise or the scream on falling into a shaft can tell you more than music would. Try the C64 original if you want to hear how much personality a game can give a few spoken lines.
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Ghostbusters
The title screen plays the film's theme and adds a bouncing ball to lead a sing-along. It makes the opening something you can join in with before you start looking for ghosts. Let that screen run for a bit when you try David Crane's original game.
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Skate or Die (1988)
Released
Rob Hubbard mixed sampled guitars with the sounds from the C64's SID chip. The rough edges of the guitar make the opening stand out next to the brighter chip sounds. If you're going straight to a skate event, spend a moment with the title screen first.
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Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance (1988)
8.0/10on IGDB
Released
Central Park has both a loading theme and a tune for when you start moving through the level. Matt Gray wrote the Central Park pieces first. Hearing the pair in the order the game uses them gives the change from waiting to exploring a momentum of its own.
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Cybernoid II: The Revenge (1988)
7.5/10on IGDB
Released
Jeroen Tel's tune gives the game a beat that can outlast several tense screens. Give it long enough for the changes in the bass and the little electronic effects to come through. The music keeps its own momentum while you stop to work out what the next room is asking of you.
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The Last Ninja (1990)
Released
Ben Daglish's in-game music for the Wastelands and Anthony Lees's in-game music for the Dungeons give two parts of the adventure their own identities. Try hearing each as you cross the first few screens of its stage. A change in where you are also becomes a change in what you're listening to.
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Commando (2006)
Released
Rob Hubbard's music for the home version grew away from the arcade game's sound. The C64 action theme and the high-score music give you two different moods from the same short play session. Let the score screen sit for a moment instead of jumping straight back into the action.
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Delta (1987)
Released
Rob Hubbard built the in-game music from short phrases and cited Pink Floyd and Philip Glass as inspirations. Listen for what changes inside those repeating patterns as the ship keeps moving. It's a slower kind of musical development than you might expect from a game that scrolls so quickly.
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Sanxion (1986)
Released
The cassette loader plays Rob Hubbard's “Thalamusik.” The music has room to develop because it plays while you wait for the game. If you try a version that skips the loader, you'll miss the part of the original C64 presentation that makes this entry worth seeking out.
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WizBall
Martin Galway gives the title screen and high-score table different themes. Try hearing both on either side of a run. The sounds are part of what gives a game about bringing color back into the landscape a personality of its own, even on a screen where you're just putting in your initials.
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Parallax
Give Martin Galway's title music a listen before taking the ship out. The separate lines make the opening feel more expansive than the title screen alone suggests. It's a good choice if you want to hear how an extended C64 theme can hold your attention before you touch the controls.
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Deflektor (1987)
Released
The game asks you to turn mirrors to guide a beam around the screen. Ben Daglish's bright title melody gets you into a very different mood from the careful work that follows. Take a moment to hear the opening if you're trying a puzzle game for the music as well as the puzzles.
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The Great Giana Sisters (1987)
7.4/10on IGDB
Released
Chris Hülsbeck gives the opening and the stages music of their own. Listen to the change when you leave the title screen and start jumping through the level. The in-game tune has a different job, setting a pace you can keep hearing while your attention shifts to the next platform.
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Lazy Jones (1984)
9.0/10on IGDB
Released
Opening a door can take you from the hallway into a short game with its own tune. That makes wandering from room to room part of hearing David Whittaker's music. The little pieces suit a game where you keep dropping one activity and seeing what's behind the next door.
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Quedex (1987)
Released
Matt Gray's loading music began as a demo, then he wrote more tracks and sound effects for the game. Listen to the loader before you try guiding the ball through a course. It gives you a chance to hear what Gray brought from a piece made to be listened to on its own.
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Arkanoid (1987)
Released
Martin Galway drew the C64 title music from his own Spectrum work on Cobra. The tune is worth hearing on its own before you get into the sound of the ball and paddle. If you know the arcade game, the opening is an easy place to hear how the home version got a voice of its own.
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