For those who asked for an arcade-styled demake of the NES title theme, someone made their own so I wouldn't have to: th-cam.com/video/dc4PkJG-uY0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=BWZClueTH_Onc1SX
I played both the arcade original and NES ports of Donkey Kong, and this VRC6 project definitely puts them to shame. This is the ULTIMATE Donkey Kong soundtrack. Now I am imaging a remake of Donkey Kong for the Famicom Disk System, with a graphic overhaul, fully original intro and intermissions, an arrangement mode like the Game Boy remake had and a high score recording system like the arcade original. This soundtrack would be the icing on top of a triple-layered-red-velvet birthday cake! (Get it?)
I've always had a soft spot for this game's dinky little ditties, and the way you've managed to flesh them out while still keeping their original charm and feel is seriously impressive, couldn't imagine it being done better. And the new stuff is wonderful; I love Scott Joplin, so hearing your rendition of The Entertainer was a delight, and the demakes could very well pass for authentic unused tracks. Really enjoying the other arrangements on the channel too, keep up the good work! =)
@@levir.starsmusic I'd be happy to make a hacked version of DK using your music. Let me know if it's ok to do so. I did a similar remaster using acapella sounds by Japanese Chorus, see th-cam.com/video/nYCNioYWcO4/w-d-xo.html
Dk Jr and Balloon fight I can definitely concur on. Don't know ice climber too well. Balloon fight still has the same arcade style magic for today's young generation as it did when I was growing up. IDK if you're of similar age though, I grew up in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. Some of the kids who play the old games appreciate it for the "fun yet simple" formula many arcade and console games relied upon.
This is amazing! It's amazing hearing these simple (fairly annoying) themes get so much life while maintaining their integrity and radiating classic Nintendo whimsy. The melodies are catchy and fitting, and the arrangements are so carefully crafted and dynamic. The new melodies feel right at home here. Who knew that 75m could feel like a nice place to be?! Hearing both Pauline Rescued fanfares warmed me heart...and hearing the Mario Bros. Advance-styled cover of the title theme brought a grin to my face. You've made this nostalgic music man very happy. Thrilled that I stumbled upon this! Hope this gets the views it deserves very soon. Will definitely be sharing it! Favorite track: 75m
You are so kind, thank you for this very thorough comment! Everything you've described here is exactly what I aspired to achieve with this project, and I'm honored to hear that 75m, an original of mine, ended up being your favorite. I'm also glad you appreciated the SMA-styled Title arrangement, as it was a late addition and I was unsure about including it at all. Again, thank you so much!
@@levir.starsmusic Actually, I'm surprised you didn't take the chance to give the NES Title screen the "Arcade Demake" route, given how you gave a few other tracks that treatment.
Hugely underrated! I love how much energy is projected into each track, it really feels like I'm watching an old cartoon. In fact the Title Screen song sounds like an old Cartoon intro where it fades between the name of the show, then to the episode, and then the writers. The only "issue" I see would be that DK Arcade levels are far too short for the full length of the tracks to ever work in something like a Hack or Remake, never the less incredible work!
Thank you for your very kind words! I appreciate your thoughtful feedback. As for the length of the stage themes, I timed some of the longplay footage to determine how long each loop should be. I wanted to take into account how long an experienced player's run would take, and also how long a person aiming for a higher score would take to clear each stage, then I tried to shoot for somewhere in the middle. It's one thing to have a loop that never gets to finish, but I for sure didn't want the loops to get too repetitive. Hope this makes sense!
@@scrubsandwich1050unfortunately, there was no special tracker or resources available to accurately recreate the arcade sound, so I had to sample the original music in order to assemble the demade versions in my DAW
7:08: If timer will expires, the assassins will pops up to after you once you almost reaching Pauline for finishes the stages. They utterly runs faster and dodges several hazards than you do!
This rendition is so charming and wonderful! To me, it adds a nice bit of gravitas to this being Mario's first post-infancy heroic outing and the beginning of he and his gang's many adventures (the little interpolation of Jump Up Super Star is SO clever). 75m fits right in with the songs from the original game! Awesome work :D
So glad you like it! I'm happy that you appreciate my "Jump Up, Super Star!" nod and think that 75m is fitting enough to sit among the originals. Thank you, and have a great week!
If they added Donkey Kong/Mario to Shovel Knight for Nintendo like they did with Kratos and The Battletoads, this is easily the kind of music you could hear. Great job, I love the Scott Joplin ragtime intermissions, great aesthetic call.
Aw man, it would've been sick to fight a Nintendo-themed boss on the Wii U port of Shovel Knight. Thank you for your kind words! Glad you appreciate the Joplin ;)
@@levir.starsmusic Haha, it for sure doesn't undermine how amazing and influential the game is. Shovel Knight not only elevated awareness of Indie Games to the general public, but VRC6 itself.
I love the idea of the stage melodies being the background to the new instruments. Keeps the original themes alive while putting a new spin on them. Also the intermission song being The Entertainer work so well! I just love everything about this!
@@levir.starsmusicWas the 75m song inspired by something or was it completely original? It reminded me of some of the background sounds from Radar Scope.
@@DearDeerRyone the bassline for 75m was just my attempt to capture Kaneoka's music from Popeye and Donkey Kong Jr. I could see how it sounds like Tanaka's work on Radar Scope but that was not my intention
That remix of 100m (Stage 4) reminds me of the one game I've played as a kid, Banana Prince on NES which was Japanese exclusive game. There is a level called Carrot Tower but as OST it's just called Stage 5 and they're pretty similar in terms of sound
@@levir.starsmusic In my opinion, it's one of my favorite soundtracks from the NES era, even though it wasn't localized. If you wanna take a listen, I recommend this playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLEOQ0YA_1DWkzb278y_v9et28VhY975Nj.html&si=Xj2CaHQC10TxkmHk
@@TopFloorByrne Kaneoka's Famicom-original compositions made good use of the 3 channels, I feel as though demaking the DK title theme even further would cause it to lose a lot of its charm
I'm sure glad you think they do! It was difficult coming up with new material that would have sounded like a different composer wrote it in almost 2 decades before I was born
Wow, that means a lot coming from you! I've been listening to your 8-bit covers for a long time, it's truly an honor. Thank you so much for dropping in, glad you enjoyed the contents of my project!
These remixes go so unbelievably hard, it's always a treat to listen back to this, it's such an amazing piece of art, every track is amazing! I can't wait to hear what else you have in store for us in the future!
Also, if you’re playing on Easy/Very Easy Mode, all 100m levels are Boss Fights. Instead of removing the ledges, you have to throw barrels at Donkey Kong. To make things difficult, in 50m and 100m levels will involve Donkey Kong shaking the ground and random objects will fall from the sky, trying to kill you(in Very Easy Mode you have 2 HP, so even if you get hit once you’ll survive!). 6:59 Could be a Boss Fight Intro.
this is incredibly cool!!! i love the new melodies and drum lines you gave to kaneoka's simple basslines, and the new (presumably original?) tracks fit right in and are my favorite parts of the project. i love your use of the triangle channel as well, really really good!
Super happy to hear you like it! Yes, the new tracks are not lifted from any other source, they are originals of mine, and the fact that they're your favorite parts of the project means so much to me! And while it's not uncommon for VRC6 covers to leave out the Triangle channel, I had a really fun time finding different ways to implement it. Thank you so much for your comment, it made my day!
Listening to this soundtrack got me thinking... What if NES Donkey Kong gets an enhanced re-release for the NES with improved features and audio (like this one) released 10 years after the Famicom port? Imagine visual improvements and additional content. Before anyone says, yes we got the Gameboy remake but it would be cool if we have a version that's closer, if not, surpassed the arcade version given the enhancement chips the cartridges have. In theory, it's possible nowadays in a way. Anyway, these soundtracks are fantastic overall! Thank you for sharing your creativity of this enhanced remixes of Donkey Kong! :)
This is so good :O If i'd could make a suggestion, it would be demaking the Donkey Kong boss theme from Mario vs. Donkey Kong GBA World 1 (Also used in M vs. DK 2 boss fights) which I personally see as the definitive boss theme for Mario against DK into the DK '94 style (any maybe even NES)
you know? this is such an amazing work, seriously! it has such a great feeling that's on point with the game and it's sequels, this is just wonderful and i love it!
All of this is so brilliantly true to the arcade, modern Mario, and the unused arcade jingles. I can't stop listening to it and wishing Nintendo would have commissioned your work instead of their in-house "Smooth Jazz" soundtrack of the Mario Vs. Donkey Kong series. You fully captured the sense of fun and lighthearted cartoon-iness of the arcade game, with so many little musical references to games past and present. It must be an astronomical amount of work, but how I would love to hear your takes on other arcade classics of the era. Thanks so much for making this, it always brightens my day to listen to a bunch of times on loop!
Thank you! I'm glad you appreciated the inclusion of The Entertainer as the intermission theme. I figured that, if Donkey Kong Jr. could include Offenbach's Galop infernal, then the first Donkey Kong could have this, right? 😉
It always amazes me how fluent you are in this style. The amount of natural expression you eke out of these originally simple voices really puts the source material to shame, and it blows my mind how you're able to pull it off with the tools available. I can't believe this project is already done, but your work is always incredible and I really hope you'll keep making more!
Gav, your extremely thoughtful praise means the world to me. I'm so happy you enjoy my work to this level, and am very thankful that you left this comment. You're the best!
everyone has praised this the same i would (tho i can't help but hear a castlevania song in 50m lol, nbd). this is all just super cohesive and catchy. great sound design :)
Think the changes will be like this: Game starts from 3-5 lives. You can get extra lives at 10000 points as usual, but additional Extra Lives can be awarded by getting 40000 or 50000 points. If you want to the game can be set to adding "And Bonus every 50000 points". Timer will be slightly longer so the music can be played. It starts at 6000 points that goes down by 100 every 4 seconds. Subsequent levels will add 1000 points to the timer, but they decrease by 100 points 0.5 seconds sooner. You can grab an Hourglass on some levels to get you 2000 more Bonus Time. The Timer bonus can go as high as 10000 points but they decrease 100 points in 2 seconds.
...wow also, interesting note about DK's sound hardware, if a note is already playing in one channel and a new note starts in the other, the note that is currently playing in the other channel gets cut off, though this is not affected by two notes playing in different channels at the same time. I suspect this is because there can only be one volume level for both channels, the Commdore VIC-20 has a similar limitation
@@levir.starsmusic There isn't really anything documenting that limitation, it's just something I observed myself when analyzing recordings of the game's sound / emulation
What if Nintendo made a Super Mario Bros. almost-sequel in arcades and there was a set of levels themed with Donkey Kong... It would sound like this. These extensions/compositions over the basic themes sounds like someone in Nintendo would make, probably Koji Kondo and someone else like Hirokazu Tanaka
The 4 difficulties represent different settings from the DK game history: Very Easy: You can Double Jump to jump higher. You can pick up items and throw them and handstand along with Handstand Jump is available. Also, it takes two hits to die. The first hit stuns you only. Falling from a high place counts as getting hit once. Easy: Any hit and you die but the rest is just the same as Very Easy Difficulty. Donkey Kong may move a bit and punch though. Intermediate: You can’t pick up items or Handstand(using Handstand Jump is off, too), but you can still Double Jump and the rest is the same as Easy difficulty. Hard: You can’t Double Jump anymore and the rest is the same as Intermediate difficulty, just like the normal Donkey Kong Arcade Game!
THIS IS AMAZING!!! also idk what the vrc6 is so can someone tell me lol (Edit) 25m literally sounds like something that would be in new Donk city from Mario odyssey
Thank you! VRC6 is just an expansion of the Famicom's sound hardware; NESdev Wiki has some great info on it. All I know is how to make music with it, I'm not familiar with the tech side of things
@@joysticks105 no, this was just a fun little project, I have no further plans with it. And yes, the connection between Super Mario Odyssey and my 25m track was intentional, I included those bits from "Jump Up, Super Star!" on purpose
@@berdinaction you can always pitch it up in an audio editing software. These arrangements were made to match the key signature of the arcade version's music
No idea, there's not much information regarding the specifics of Donkey Kong's development for the arcade. If I had to guess, it was probably just someone the staff knew personally that they had record the lines quickly, rather than go out of their way to hire a professional VA. They were by no means a large scale game developer up to that point, having such limited resources that they resorted to converting unsold Radar Scope cabinets into Donkey Kong ones
Great question, I had troubles finding the resources myself. I reached out to a SiivaGunner ripper who provided me with the isolated samples, then I produced the demakes using a DAW. If you're interested, I can link you to a download that contains the samples.
![Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack [VRC6 Arrangements]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/41PiAd6HZHU/mqdefault.jpg)
![Super Mario Bros. Soundtrack [VRC6 Arrangements]](/img/tr.png)
For those who asked for an arcade-styled demake of the NES title theme, someone made their own so I wouldn't have to: th-cam.com/video/dc4PkJG-uY0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=BWZClueTH_Onc1SX
0:49 OH MY GOD I JUST REALIZED THE JUMP UP SUPER STAR MOTIF
It brings the Mario games full-circle!
Man I loved when DK said "It's konging time" and kong'd all over the place
truly the game of all time
how dare you use this joke before i had the chance to comment
Bravo Miyamoto
Really makes me want to Donkey my Konga
Especially considering the fact that he did it in a Donkey-like manner. Truly the donkiest kong moments.
9:24 I’m getting Mario bros classic vibes from this
That's the idea!
If this was the soundtrack to the original NES version, Nintendo would've made a donkey kongillion dollars
Donkey Kong sweep 🦍💃🛢️🛢️
2:09 What in the Gang-Plank Galleon is this?! ❤
I played both the arcade original and NES ports of Donkey Kong, and this VRC6 project definitely puts them to shame. This is the ULTIMATE Donkey Kong soundtrack.
Now I am imaging a remake of Donkey Kong for the Famicom Disk System, with a graphic overhaul, fully original intro and intermissions, an arrangement mode like the Game Boy remake had and a high score recording system like the arcade original. This soundtrack would be the icing on top of a triple-layered-red-velvet birthday cake! (Get it?)
I saw this and I couldn't be the only one thought of this idea. :D
Dunno why fact: The VRC6's sawtooth wave is limited to counting steps from 0 to 7. This is why that "sawtooth" looks like starstep.
actually, the pulses of vrc6 has 0 to 7 dutys, the sawtooth has only 0 to 1
Basically because memory & hardware limitations.
Do i know anything about DK other than Chunky being dead? No. Does this slap harder than a razor scooter to your ankle in 2008? Yes.
I've always had a soft spot for this game's dinky little ditties, and the way you've managed to flesh them out while still keeping their original charm and feel is seriously impressive, couldn't imagine it being done better. And the new stuff is wonderful; I love Scott Joplin, so hearing your rendition of The Entertainer was a delight, and the demakes could very well pass for authentic unused tracks. Really enjoying the other arrangements on the channel too, keep up the good work! =)
@@MisterSeen thank you for the very thoughtful comment! I'm glad you enjoyed my project and my other stuff
someone should make an entire remaster out of this!
I'd play that in a heartbeat
@@levir.starsmusic I'd be happy to make a hacked version of DK using your music. Let me know if it's ok to do so. I did a similar remaster using acapella sounds by Japanese Chorus, see th-cam.com/video/nYCNioYWcO4/w-d-xo.html
Yeah, imagine if Donkey Kong for the Famicom Disk System used this remaster instead of being a remake of the NES.
Is everyone just gonna ignore how much of a banger 75m is?
9:06 I love how the music and sfx are in sync
Can you please make the same VRC6 Style with games like:
- DK Jr.
- Balloon Fight
- Ice Climber
Dk Jr and Balloon fight I can definitely concur on. Don't know ice climber too well.
Balloon fight still has the same arcade style magic for today's young generation as it did when I was growing up. IDK if you're of similar age though, I grew up in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.
Some of the kids who play the old games appreciate it for the "fun yet simple" formula many arcade and console games relied upon.
What a way to build on the classic themes!
This is way too awesome!!
Eyyyy thanks man! Your support is always greatly appreciated, I'm glad you like it
This is amazing! It's amazing hearing these simple (fairly annoying) themes get so much life while maintaining their integrity and radiating classic Nintendo whimsy. The melodies are catchy and fitting, and the arrangements are so carefully crafted and dynamic. The new melodies feel right at home here. Who knew that 75m could feel like a nice place to be?!
Hearing both Pauline Rescued fanfares warmed me heart...and hearing the Mario Bros. Advance-styled cover of the title theme brought a grin to my face. You've made this nostalgic music man very happy. Thrilled that I stumbled upon this! Hope this gets the views it deserves very soon. Will definitely be sharing it!
Favorite track: 75m
You are so kind, thank you for this very thorough comment! Everything you've described here is exactly what I aspired to achieve with this project, and I'm honored to hear that 75m, an original of mine, ended up being your favorite. I'm also glad you appreciated the SMA-styled Title arrangement, as it was a late addition and I was unsure about including it at all. Again, thank you so much!
@@levir.starsmusic Actually, I'm surprised you didn't take the chance to give the NES Title screen the "Arcade Demake" route, given how you gave a few other tracks that treatment.
@@robbiewalker2831 What can I say, I just didn't think it would sound very good 🤷
@@levir.starsmusic I bet it would, given how you pulled it off with the Intermission and Initial Entry themes.
Hugely underrated! I love how much energy is projected into each track, it really feels like I'm watching an old cartoon. In fact the Title Screen song sounds like an old Cartoon intro where it fades between the name of the show, then to the episode, and then the writers. The only "issue" I see would be that DK Arcade levels are far too short for the full length of the tracks to ever work in something like a Hack or Remake, never the less incredible work!
Thank you for your very kind words! I appreciate your thoughtful feedback. As for the length of the stage themes, I timed some of the longplay footage to determine how long each loop should be. I wanted to take into account how long an experienced player's run would take, and also how long a person aiming for a higher score would take to clear each stage, then I tried to shoot for somewhere in the middle. It's one thing to have a loop that never gets to finish, but I for sure didn't want the loops to get too repetitive. Hope this makes sense!
I do have to ask, how did you do the Demake tracks? Is there a soundfont somewhere @@levir.starsmusic
@@scrubsandwich1050unfortunately, there was no special tracker or resources available to accurately recreate the arcade sound, so I had to sample the original music in order to assemble the demade versions in my DAW
7:08: If timer will expires, the assassins will pops up to after you once you almost reaching Pauline for finishes the stages. They utterly runs faster and dodges several hazards than you do!
That’s a nice change, compared to dying 5 seconds after the timer reaches 000!
3:28 underrated y’all this is a hidden gem lol what a jam
Thank you! Wasn't sure about it myself before this was released, but I'm glad it's being received well
This is like if Pac-Man Arrangement existed for Donkey Kong. Really good job on this! Sounds great
Thanks! Man, now that you mention it, I'd kill for an Arrangement-style remake of Donkey Kong...
This rendition is so charming and wonderful! To me, it adds a nice bit of gravitas to this being Mario's first post-infancy heroic outing and the beginning of he and his gang's many adventures (the little interpolation of Jump Up Super Star is SO clever). 75m fits right in with the songs from the original game! Awesome work :D
So glad you like it! I'm happy that you appreciate my "Jump Up, Super Star!" nod and think that 75m is fitting enough to sit among the originals. Thank you, and have a great week!
The hammer theme now sounds like the starman theme's lost cousin, really good.
If they added Donkey Kong/Mario to Shovel Knight for Nintendo like they did with Kratos and The Battletoads, this is easily the kind of music you could hear.
Great job, I love the Scott Joplin ragtime intermissions, great aesthetic call.
Aw man, it would've been sick to fight a Nintendo-themed boss on the Wii U port of Shovel Knight. Thank you for your kind words! Glad you appreciate the Joplin ;)
@@levir.starsmusic Haha, it for sure doesn't undermine how amazing and influential the game is. Shovel Knight not only elevated awareness of Indie Games to the general public, but VRC6 itself.
I love the idea of the stage melodies being the background to the new instruments. Keeps the original themes alive while putting a new spin on them.
Also the intermission song being The Entertainer work so well!
I just love everything about this!
Thank you so much!
@@levir.starsmusicWas the 75m song inspired by something or was it completely original? It reminded me of some of the background sounds from Radar Scope.
@@DearDeerRyone the bassline for 75m was just my attempt to capture Kaneoka's music from Popeye and Donkey Kong Jr. I could see how it sounds like Tanaka's work on Radar Scope but that was not my intention
@@levir.starsmusicGotcha. You captured the style of those songs very well. The demakes were also appreciated.
@@DearDeerRyone thank you, I'm happy you appreciate their inclusion
That remix of 100m (Stage 4) reminds me of the one game I've played as a kid, Banana Prince on NES which was Japanese exclusive game. There is a level called Carrot Tower but as OST it's just called Stage 5 and they're pretty similar in terms of sound
That's a pretty cool connection! I had not listened to this Famicom soundtrack before but I will definitely add it to my list!
@@levir.starsmusic In my opinion, it's one of my favorite soundtracks from the NES era, even though it wasn't localized. If you wanna take a listen, I recommend this playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLEOQ0YA_1DWkzb278y_v9et28VhY975Nj.html&si=Xj2CaHQC10TxkmHk
@@TopFloorByrne Kaneoka's Famicom-original compositions made good use of the 3 channels, I feel as though demaking the DK title theme even further would cause it to lose a lot of its charm
@@TopFloorByrne I do not take requests, please stop editing your comment to ping me again
It amazes me how much the demade new tracks feel like they came right out of the original game! I love it.
I'm sure glad you think they do! It was difficult coming up with new material that would have sounded like a different composer wrote it in almost 2 decades before I was born
Absolutely excellent! I particularly love the adapted rescue themes, really makes me appreciate them in a new light
Wow, that means a lot coming from you! I've been listening to your 8-bit covers for a long time, it's truly an honor. Thank you so much for dropping in, glad you enjoyed the contents of my project!
I would play this game.
it was a blast to follow along with this project! congrats, man!
Your support is what helped make it happen! Thanks, Meeow!
These remixes go so unbelievably hard, it's always a treat to listen back to this, it's such an amazing piece of art, every track is amazing! I can't wait to hear what else you have in store for us in the future!
You're awesome! Thank you so much for your support, and welcome to the channel!
Also, if you’re playing on Easy/Very Easy Mode, all 100m levels are Boss Fights. Instead of removing the ledges, you have to throw barrels at Donkey Kong. To make things difficult, in 50m and 100m levels will involve Donkey Kong shaking the ground and random objects will fall from the sky, trying to kill you(in Very Easy Mode you have 2 HP, so even if you get hit once you’ll survive!).
6:59 Could be a Boss Fight Intro.
I love this soundtrack! The new tracks sound great too, almost like they could have been in the original!
Thanks, glad you think so!
9:23 MARIO BROS ARCADE REFERENCE ⁉⁉
Mario Bros. Classic on the GBA, yep!
this is incredibly cool!!! i love the new melodies and drum lines you gave to kaneoka's simple basslines, and the new (presumably original?) tracks fit right in and are my favorite parts of the project. i love your use of the triangle channel as well, really really good!
Super happy to hear you like it! Yes, the new tracks are not lifted from any other source, they are originals of mine, and the fact that they're your favorite parts of the project means so much to me! And while it's not uncommon for VRC6 covers to leave out the Triangle channel, I had a really fun time finding different ways to implement it. Thank you so much for your comment, it made my day!
Listening to this soundtrack got me thinking...
What if NES Donkey Kong gets an enhanced re-release for the NES with improved features and audio (like this one) released 10 years after the Famicom port? Imagine visual improvements and additional content.
Before anyone says, yes we got the Gameboy remake but it would be cool if we have a version that's closer, if not, surpassed the arcade version given the enhancement chips the cartridges have. In theory, it's possible nowadays in a way.
Anyway, these soundtracks are fantastic overall! Thank you for sharing your creativity of this enhanced remixes of Donkey Kong! :)
Thank you very much! Glad you took the time to listen :)
Oh my goodness! This VRC6 arrangement of Donkey Kong is amazing!
Thank you, glad you like it!
This is so good :O If i'd could make a suggestion, it would be demaking the Donkey Kong boss theme from Mario vs. Donkey Kong GBA World 1 (Also used in M vs. DK 2 boss fights) which I personally see as the definitive boss theme for Mario against DK into the DK '94 style (any maybe even NES)
you know? this is such an amazing work, seriously! it has such a great feeling that's on point with the game and it's sequels, this is just wonderful and i love it!
Hey, thanks so much! Glad you like it, and hope you'll enjoy my other content :)
The demakes impress me a lot, I've rarely heard such convincing impressions of how the arcade music sounds
That makes me happy to hear, because I worked hard to make sure the samples sounded accurate. Thank you!
this is actually so amazing and i love this so much
@@LotsaSpaget thank you!
This looks like the kind of music that could be used for a remake of the arcade
1000/10
All of this is so brilliantly true to the arcade, modern Mario, and the unused arcade jingles. I can't stop listening to it and wishing Nintendo would have commissioned your work instead of their in-house "Smooth Jazz" soundtrack of the Mario Vs. Donkey Kong series. You fully captured the sense of fun and lighthearted cartoon-iness of the arcade game, with so many little musical references to games past and present. It must be an astronomical amount of work, but how I would love to hear your takes on other arcade classics of the era. Thanks so much for making this, it always brightens my day to listen to a bunch of times on loop!
Honestly the best remake of the DK ost so much, just has that charm about it.
My favorite has to be Intermission, the Entertainer fits so much
Thank you! I'm glad you appreciated the inclusion of The Entertainer as the intermission theme. I figured that, if Donkey Kong Jr. could include Offenbach's Galop infernal, then the first Donkey Kong could have this, right? 😉
Yea! I'm all for including classical music/ragtime into Nintendo OSTs. It just feels right ya know?
@@spacedoutmar oh absolutely, ya gotta give call-outs to the classics once in a while
I love these so much
this feels like it would have been in a gba remake of donkey kong in the style of the mario bros remake in every gba mario game
These sound way too smooth and well-developed to fit with the exceptionally clunky original Donkey Kong, but they sound great on their own!
I'll take that as a compliment 😉
Happy 42th Anniversary, Mario! (And Donkey Kong. And Pauline.)
this is baller as hell dude, definitely needs more views
You're too kind, thank you!
Sick.
It always amazes me how fluent you are in this style. The amount of natural expression you eke out of these originally simple voices really puts the source material to shame, and it blows my mind how you're able to pull it off with the tools available. I can't believe this project is already done, but your work is always incredible and I really hope you'll keep making more!
Gav, your extremely thoughtful praise means the world to me. I'm so happy you enjoy my work to this level, and am very thankful that you left this comment. You're the best!
@@levir.starsmusic NO U ❤😭
Hey Levi, this is Austin. Just here to say congrats man this is sick!
Austin!! Dude, it's so good to hear from you, thanks for taking a listen to my music! Take care 👋
100m sounds like something straight out of captain toad
@@katefeider funny you should say that, I was thinking of the Captain Toad music vibe when I wrote it!
everyone has praised this the same i would (tho i can't help but hear a castlevania song in 50m lol, nbd). this is all just super cohesive and catchy. great sound design :)
That wouldn't surprise me, I quite like Castlevania music.
And thank you :)
A pretty underrated set of darn-good arrangements!
Very good to listen to, well done LeviR!
You're very kind, thank you for your support!
Excellent!
This absolutely slaps man, keep it up! Any chance you gonna do DK94? That'd be sweet
I love it!
Think the changes will be like this:
Game starts from 3-5 lives. You can get extra lives at 10000 points as usual, but additional Extra Lives can be awarded by getting 40000 or 50000 points. If you want to the game can be set to adding "And Bonus every 50000 points".
Timer will be slightly longer so the music can be played. It starts at 6000 points that goes down by 100 every 4 seconds. Subsequent levels will add 1000 points to the timer, but they decrease by 100 points 0.5 seconds sooner. You can grab an Hourglass on some levels to get you 2000 more Bonus Time. The Timer bonus can go as high as 10000 points but they decrease 100 points in 2 seconds.
That hammer theme! I want an extended version to use as my ringtone, hahahaha!
I would like to see a port of the NES Donky Kong using these songs and adding in level 50
I don't know how hacking music into NES games works, but that'd be cool to see
Also, you would have to use a Famicom since the NES is unable to utilize the music expansion chips.
This is s awesome, be cool to see these in a fan recreation!
Many congratulations on finishing this project, Levi! This is super fun to listen to :D
Hey, thank you very much, Latios! Glad you got the chance to listen to my stuff 😁
Wow, this is excellent! Amazing work!!
Thank you for your kind words!
...wow
also, interesting note about DK's sound hardware, if a note is already playing in one channel and a new note starts in the other, the note that is currently playing in the other channel gets cut off, though this is not affected by two notes playing in different channels at the same time. I suspect this is because there can only be one volume level for both channels, the Commdore VIC-20 has a similar limitation
That is interesting. Wish I had found more information about the sound hardware before I released this, but oh well
@@levir.starsmusic There isn't really anything documenting that limitation, it's just something I observed myself when analyzing recordings of the game's sound / emulation
Anyone gonna remake the NES title screen in the style of the Arcade game?
Love the way you enhanced these tracks in such an engaging, authentic way!
Thank you, Therater! And thank you for taking time to listen :)
amazing
Love this!!
this is awesome!!!
Very cool
What if Nintendo made a Super Mario Bros. almost-sequel in arcades and there was a set of levels themed with Donkey Kong... It would sound like this.
These extensions/compositions over the basic themes sounds like someone in Nintendo would make, probably Koji Kondo and someone else like Hirokazu Tanaka
The 4 difficulties represent different settings from the DK game history:
Very Easy: You can Double Jump to jump higher. You can pick up items and throw them and handstand along with Handstand Jump is available. Also, it takes two hits to die. The first hit stuns you only. Falling from a high place counts as getting hit once.
Easy: Any hit and you die but the rest is just the same as Very Easy Difficulty. Donkey Kong may move a bit and punch though.
Intermediate: You can’t pick up items or Handstand(using Handstand Jump is off, too), but you can still Double Jump and the rest is the same as Easy difficulty.
Hard: You can’t Double Jump anymore and the rest is the same as Intermediate difficulty, just like the normal Donkey Kong Arcade Game!
Remarkable work! 😄
Thank you!
@@levir.starsmusic You're welcome! ^w^
BTW do you have the FTMs available to download?
@@AndrewAmbrose would the NSF file be fine?
@@levir.starsmusic Sure!
75m could be used for a Pie Factory stage.
50m is the Pie Factory stage in the arcade version 🙂
This is so wonderfull. Good Job!
Thank you!
Is there a way me and one of my friends can use this for one of our future animations? These slap.
Absolutely! Be sure to share it with me once it's done 👍
The "???" is a actually a NES title theme, but transformed into Mario Bros. GBA Title
Yes, I labeled it as "???" in the description so that it would be a surprise for anyone who listened that far into the video
Donkey Kong VRC6 I think
Donkey Kong DX OST?
This sounds like a gba remake for some reason
THIS IS AMAZING!!! also idk what the vrc6 is so can someone tell me lol
(Edit) 25m literally sounds like something that would be in new Donk city from Mario odyssey
Thank you!
VRC6 is just an expansion of the Famicom's sound hardware; NESdev Wiki has some great info on it. All I know is how to make music with it, I'm not familiar with the tech side of things
ok! are you gonna use this for something?@@levir.starsmusic
@@joysticks105 no, this was just a fun little project, I have no further plans with it. And yes, the connection between Super Mario Odyssey and my 25m track was intentional, I included those bits from "Jump Up, Super Star!" on purpose
I wish the pitch was *exactly* like the NES version and then I'd like it more.
@@berdinaction you can always pitch it up in an audio editing software. These arrangements were made to match the key signature of the arcade version's music
@@levir.starsmusic I know, but the only issue is that Audacity makes these sound more wet than dry.
@@berdinaction well, thanks anyway for your input
@@levir.starsmusic np, you did a very GREAT job anyway
Can I use this music for a vrchat donkey kong world im making????
Sure. If you ever make a video with that, be sure to let me know
@@levir.starsmusic I will....thats if I remember because I have trouble remembering things
does anyone know who voiced the original unused pauline lines?
No idea, there's not much information regarding the specifics of Donkey Kong's development for the arcade. If I had to guess, it was probably just someone the staff knew personally that they had record the lines quickly, rather than go out of their way to hire a professional VA. They were by no means a large scale game developer up to that point, having such limited resources that they resorted to converting unsold Radar Scope cabinets into Donkey Kong ones
What exactly did you use to make those demake tracks? I've been trying to find the sound for it everywhere, with no luck.
Great question, I had troubles finding the resources myself. I reached out to a SiivaGunner ripper who provided me with the isolated samples, then I produced the demakes using a DAW.
If you're interested, I can link you to a download that contains the samples.
Oh really? That'd be sweet! Thanks a lot!
@@dinothebetatt6733 No problem, here you go: bit.ly/3uH8u7x
These sound so legit! Again, thanks a lot! This will go great with some of my music!
@@dinothebetatt6733 happy to help!
Any chance you could put these up for download?
You can sign up for my $1-a-month Patreon to access the downloads, or you can always use a TH-cam to MP3 converter if you'd prefer
...I base some of my work offa ya.
Oh is that right?
@@levir.starsmusic Yeh. In fact, i might upload a song from the unreleased Jumpman Paradox project that uses a little bit of 25m (Stars Version)
Are you aware of Donkey Kong (1994)?
Yeah, I beat it last year, really awesome game