Game music of the day: The Minibosses

Welcome to GamesRadar's daily blast of all things pertaining to the ever-growing field of game music. Each post will introduce new sounds, games, composers and fan-made remixes of gaming's greatest aural achievements.

April 6, 2010

Game: Castlevania

Songs: Wicked Child, Stalker, Vampire Killer

Composer: The Minibosses (via Kinuyo Yamashita)

This week is all about real-life game bands, and without a doubt the first one that leaps to everyone's mind is the Arizona-based quartet known as The Minibosses. Active formore than 10 years(I bought their first CD in 2000, yikes), this team has become the default game band and, like yesterday's group, has fronted its share of massive conventions, PAX included. It's not outlandish to suggest that if these guys never bothered translating NES bleeps into guitar chords, the whole scene might not be as lively as it is today.

This particular song islikelythe first I ever heard from them - it's a medley of the first three levels of NES Castlevania, each of which contains some of the most famous and memorable game music of all time. Castlevania has one of the richest music histories in all of games, and The Minibosses do a fantastic job adopting these songs into shredding metal. If Final Fantasy songs are more your speed, check the pre-Minibosses groupJenova Project, but be aware those files are super raw (as in recorded live in a club).

Above you'll find their equally long Castlevania III blend. Actually, that's another thing they're known for - taking 50 second NES songs and stringing them together to make a senses-shattering wall of sound that lasts several minutes, all without sounding artificially elongated. They're not as smooth as The OneUps, but The Minibosses are unquestionably excellent, and possibly the most important game band out there. Decide for yourself: their whole first album istotally free!

A Metroid and Final Fantasy VI blend

"Time's Scar" by Yasunori Mitsuda

"Black Hole Power" by Yoshito Hirano

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.