For those who don't know...VRC7 is a FM Soundchip expansion created by Konami for the Famicom/NES. It's basically a cut down version of the Yamaha YM2413 (YM2413 was used on the Sega Master System & the MSX) where they pretty much completely changed the built-in Instruments & cut the channels down to 6 rather than 9 which YM2413 has. However, only 2 games used this Expansion. Lagrange Point & Tiny Toons Adventure 2. Right off the bat, it sounds a lot like those Sound Blaster or Sega Genesis games which both are also Yamaha soundchips. The VRC7 is a 2-Operating system same as the YM2413 however, you're only allowed to have 1 Custom Instrument at-a-time which may ruin some creativity for some people. Compared the Sega Genesis which uses a YM2612 which is a 6-channel 4-Operating system with no limited custom instruments so you're free to create what you want.
Ah nice, thanks for clarifying. I was just about to say that this does not sound at all what the soundchip in the Famicom is capable of. Sounds very much like an old soundcard playing MIDI. Great stuff!
abe Ochoa Nope. That used the YM2151, which is also what most arcade games used (as well as the Sharp X68000). There's a lot to discover with FM chips. FM was used almost all the time in mid 80s to early 90s arcade games, and many consoles around those times used said FM chips. The Mega Drive had the YM2612 (6 4-operator channels), the SoundBlaster had the YM3812 (9 2-Op channels), the Neo Geo had the YM2610 (Which not only has 4 4-op channels, but also had 6 PCM channels), and this, along with the Japanese Master Systems and MSX, had the YM2413 (Cut down YM3812, with 6 channels, like what the OP said).
There are 6 composers for this album and one more team. Aki Hata (畑亜貴), Akio Dobashi (土橋安騎夫), Shin Kawamoto (川本真), Noriyuki Takahashi (高橋教之), Tadashi Sawashita (澤下禎), Kenji Nakamura (中村憲司), Konami Kukeiha Club (Konami矩形波倶楽部)
You could've told me this sound came from the Sega Genesis and I'd believe you. It's honestly insane how much they could pull off on the NES during its dying years.
@Octophrator Thanks I forgot the VRC7 even existed lmao I don't work with the NES enough. I was sitting here the whole time worrying if I just made an invalid statement
@@Fry09294Yeah, kinda "cheating". Not too different from modern cartridges using an onboard FPGA basically running everything and leaving the console to deal with I/O.
@@Fry09294Listening casually, after working with a VRC6 OST, the Famicom APU may still be used for some backing rhythm, drums, percussion, etc. But VRC7 lead channels are all FM synth.
- Creates a mapper chip that can use full FM-synth audio in an NES - Uses it only for one game that only released in Japan I feel like there was some untapped potential here, Konami.
yeah, unfortunately it was too late, the game was released in 1991, but the famicom was nearly dying even in japan, even though its lifespan went to 2003. many consoles were already crushing the famicom in terms of graphics and sound, right at late-80's, so companies wanted to show off that they're able to make games to new consoles. if those companies showed off a huge potential like this on a console like the famicom, that'd honestly be much more impressive in my opinion.
@@ruby_R53In 1991 the Famicom was still in a ok position. Games like “Rockman 4: A New Evil Ambition!!", Lagrange Point, Dezaemon, Metal Max, Hebereke, Ninja Gaiden III, and Crisis Force came out that year to great reception, and the Famicom became more of a value console. The next year stand out titles like Moon Crystal and Fire Emblem Gaiden released. The system only really died around 1993 when games started becoming less common, with most of the “final Famicom/NES” games being released around this time.
Welp I'm pretty sure at that era Japanese gamers knew bc they have more FM synthesis in their systems like many arcade cabinets or home-based ones like their 8-bit PC-88, X1 and X68000 than western gamers with their OPL soundcards.
@@xyz39808 Welp nothing actually, I'm just sharing the info about Japan's early experiences in FM sound probably bc both systems are 8-bit and are capable of FM.
I discovered this from a friend and fellow programming student. I couldn't believe it wasn't from Sega Genesis but from Famicom. I think he will always remember my eyes when he made me listen to it. And the funny part is that I'm born in 88 and he is born after 2000. There's still hope for the younger generation.
If younger generations embrace things from before their time for their own merit and not because of nostalgia for the past, there absolutely is hope. I’ll never forget hearing this OST for the first time after doing a deep dive into chiptune and not knowing Famicom games used anything but the APU sound chip. And the potential of mixing these in true stereo. I got there despite never playing this game.
40:47 This song is fucking CRAZY. How the hell was this on Famicom? Not just in terms of instrument quality, but the composition itself. This just feels SO far ahead of its time...
Для пользователей смартфонов 00:01 / Theme of Isis - Opening 01:53 / Searching for Stolte - Start Town 03:56 / Wandering journey - LAND 1 Dungeon 05:54 / Awaken into Warriors - Battle 07:35 / Defeated - Defeated in Battle 08:15 / Music Box of Sadness - Gin Faints 09:21 / VESTA'S WALL - Vesta Outer Wall Dungeon 11:28 / Satellite Base - Vesta Town 13:35 / City of birthday - LAND 1 Town 15:47 / Searching for the Promise Land - LAND 1 MAP 17:30 / Good Night 17:36 / Relaxed atomosphere - Relaxation Room 18:32 / Machine City - Robot Factory, Ironworks 20:35 / TUM'S BOOGIE - Electric City 21:37 / Bubbles of Light - Tum's Death 22:50 / Bad Luck 22:55 / Warriors of Sorrow - Mid-Boss Battle 24:49 / Level Up 24:52 / Departure and arival - Port Tower, Point 26:00 / AQUEDUCT - LAND 2 MAP 27:27 / Physical energy - LAND 2 Town 29:29 / Fortified Zone - Bio Laboratory, Base, Fortress 30:22 / Within the Deep Darkness - LAND 2 Dungeon 32:42 / Silent Alarm - Metallic Dungeon 34:55 / Orange Party - Orange Camp Town 35:59 / Weightless - Colony Outer Wall 37:06 / Bio Paradise - Bio Paradise MAP 38:18 / Last Fortress - Bio Palace 40:47 / Broken Replicaizer - Fake Bio Caesar Battle 43:09 / Fight to the Death - Bio Caesar Battle 44:49 / THE RESURRECTION OF SABBATH - Ending 48:56 / S.E.
+chaseman94 well, this game IS the only NES title to use the VRC7 expansion chip (which is FM-based much like the Genesis/MD YM2612 chip, albeit with less oscillators per channel (YM2612 had four oscillators per channel that could be arranged in a variety of algorithms, while VRC7 only had one modulator and one carrier per channel)), so it makes sense that it would give that impression.
On trackers the NES's 2A03 chip plays quieter than the VRC7 but on an actual Famicom the VRC7 blasts itself way louder than the volume of normal 2A03 Also most people don't know that the VRC7 supported custom patches, which meant you could program in your own instrument to be used by the chip, like sawtooth, triangle, hell even drums if you want
+davidevgen Not really. As you may know, the chip generating most of the sound being played is not built into the Famicom. Heck, a Famicom game could probably use the more advanced SPC700 (the SNES soundchip)
If you noticed, at the end of the credits, there's a quote from Jim Ravell saying, "We do not realize what we have on Earth until we leave it." It's actually Jim Lovell, one of the astronauts who left Earth as part of the Apollo 13 crew. I kinda wondered why the name is slightly changed, or it may had to do with their language.
Grandpa Scout yeah they have a sound that is in-between a Spanish R and a Spanish L. You can hear it clearly in the Katamari Damacy theme song. They use it for the English L and the English R when used as a consonant.
The 3 boss tunes really kick ass, they all sound majestic, and the VRC 7 chip really helped to enhance the talent Konami had for a sound team at one time.
The North American 2A03 and European 2A07 chips had expansion chip support dummied out likely because Nintendo of America was like King George III over the NES and Euro TVs ran at 50Hz, which would make 60Hz games from Japan/North America sound like shit due to detuning That's why Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse had the soundtrack simplified for international versions, because international NES systems were incapable of supporting the VRC7
@@realimbored668The sound pins actually do exist, but they go to the expansion slot because Nintendo thought people would use it instead of putting the expansions in the cartridge.
"Lagrange Point has the distinction of being the only game ever released with Konami's Virtual ROM Controller VII (VRC7) sound generator integrated circuit, which allowed for a drastic improvement in the quality of the music and sound effects used in the game." -Wikipedia I wish there had been an official western release, I might have heard it before today. Amazing soundtrack! EDIT: I guess that even if there was a localized version, the sound would be nerfed. Unlike the Famicom, the NES did not allow expansion of sound channels so for example, Castelvania III had to have the soundtrack reworked for compatibility. They would have had to do the same for Lagrange Point.
Nerfed is an understatement. The soundtrack would have had to be recomposed entirely. Castlevania III is already a huge accomplishment in that most of the melody was taken from eight channels to five and it still sounds awesome. But Lagrange Point is a VRC7-only soundtrack. Adapting it on the 2A03 would have meant starting from scratch.
Uhm...no, you're off track. This game still uses a ROM mapper, like the western NES games. It's a custom mapper, right, but releasing the game in the west would totally be possible. Unfortunately, Nintendo only allowed the use of MMC...
@@mortenera2294 That's true about Nintendo only allowing proprietary enhancement chips outside of Japan. But the cartridge slot was also modified for the NES to not have the 2 pins allowing for expanded audio like the Famicom. Those pins did exist on the NES, but they were only routed to the expansion slot underneath the console. Modders have since produced hardware that plugs into the expansion slot enabling enhanced audio for those playing Famicom games on the NES using adapters, but it doesn't work out of the box. All of that said, I agree it's unfortunate that Nintendo wouldn't allow for the non-Nintendo enhancement chips to be present on export cartridges. The VRC6 (used by other Konami games) had pretty similar expanded audio to Nintendo's own MMC5, but the VRC7 used here, and other chips by Namco and Sunsoft produced some incredible music that everyone missed out on for decades.
the history of videogame music is so fascinating to me... I've been reading a lot on how the Beatles crafted some of their most innovative and unique music back in the 60's, and it reminds me about the tricks used to compose videogame music in the 80's
from tape-cutting to channel-switching-rapidly... wish there were channels that showcased some of these videogame music tricks, trying to replicate certain songs from scratch, that would be amazing content to watch
It's because the VRC7 contains a modded version of the Yamaha YM2413 FM chip in it (the Mastersystem's FM chip). While the YM2413 has meaningful differences from the YM2612 in the Genesis, they're both FM, so the family resemblance is quite strong. The 2413 was very locked down, the 2612 was much more open. However, the 2612 could only use sine wave operators for its FM, and I don't that's true of the 2413. So, they each have their plusses/minuses, but I think everyone would say 2612 is better.
It's just unbelievable... so good sounds and music itself, I wonder what it means for a man to be a composer for games like this or chrono trigger, pre-sotn castlevanias, gradius, old metal gear, sor 2. That's awesome, I mean, if you can compose music like this it means your life matters. It's redeems your existence.
@@albertnortononymous9020Mitsuda went through a professional ordeal composing for Chrono Trigger, that may have left a bad taste in his mouth. It literally made him too sick to finish on his own (and Uematsu has to fill in the last few tracks).
The power of FM Synthesis on the Famicom! Sounds like a Genesis game...or dare I say it...a DOS game which uses the AdLib or the Sound Blaster! I'm pretty sure only FM synths and DPCM samples are used in the music. (the 2A03 channels are used for SFX only)
Incredible soundtrack. Unfortunately the game itself is very hard to appreciate with one of the most disgusting random encounter rates ever seen in a RPG.
To offset that, confusing an enemy with a multi-hit attack will give your characters a chance to get a freaking TON of exp, not to mention the menu glitches which can net you a LOT of money as well.
@@TanukiKGA Proper timing in the item shops by pressing Up+A at the top of the menu of items that can be purchased will allow you to purchase certain items at certain locations. This is very notorious in the weapon shop aboard the Vesta Satellite where you can get Heat Sabers for 50 Coron a piece or for the Robo Freeze in one of the Land1 shops to defeat Oreki easily. For the EXP, you need to use the Daze ability on an enemy that uses multiple hit attacks, if lucky, they will attack someone not in either party, this nets a LOT of EXP for the party, even better if Gene is alone when he does this as he will get all of it. Ability to use weapons are based on Rank (Level), so low levels will not be able to wield the endgame equipment you can forge early on via method combining Heat Sabers (Rank 4) to make Rank 5-6 weapons far earlier than possible.
(continued) Also, there are also a few other significant differences between the 8-bit Sega and 16-bit Sega as it concerns FM and PSG: All regions of Mastersystem (SMS) have a Texas Instruments SN76489 PSG chip in it (NES is also PSG, only a little more advanced than the SMS). In Japan, the SMS also had the YM2413 in it. But it was Japan only, and it was a situation of either FM or PSG, not both. Genesis has both the YM2612 -and- the SN76489 in it in all regions, and they can be used together.
26:33 the only other soundtrack in history where I can hear what I can only describe as "Sonic 3 instruments" wow... this is mind-blowing, very cool \o/
Sonic 2 / Sonic 3 must be the most impressive FM sound chip soundtracks I ever heard, I would love to watch someone attempting to recreate the instruments used on that one... or maybe a Making Of kind of documentary, the developers didn't think so highly about their technical achievements
copied from another comment, songs composed by Aki Hara: codeman38 5 years ago +jose abreu Aki Hata did some of the music for both games. Probably not a coincidence. (Light Crusader - Sega Genesis) Edited to add: Tracks confirmed to have been composed by Hata, according to VGMdb: - Wandering Journey - Music Box of Sadness - City of Birthday - Searching for the Promise Land - Aqueduct - Fortified Zone - Bio Paradise - Last Fortress - Fight to the Death
It's a good soundtrack. Still there are amazing FM soundtracks from older games than this one, like Sorcerian or basically any Falcom game from mid 80's. Sure this is one of a kind because is the only one for the Famicom, but FM synth sound chips had been used on 8-bit systems before like the MSX, Master System, PC88-01, etc.
Not to mention it pales in comparison to what SFC, Mega Drive, PC98 and X68000 sound hardware was doing in 1991. There are some good tunes on this OST for sure, but technology-wise the VRC7 was actually less than impressive for its time. I guess when you graft new-ish technology onto an old console people get the impression that it's an amazing step forward like Super Real Mahjong PII or Out Run, instead of being a Famicom cart with a cut-down Mega Drive FM chip in it.
With the sound here and the graphics combined together, it kinda gives this game almost sort of a PC-98 vibe of sorts. The PC-98 also often used an FM based sound chip for games, including the Touhou series before the series was moved to Windows platforms.
If this thing were to come out overseas, one of several things would probably have needed to happen: The whole soundtrack would've needed to be redone for the 2A03 (most logical at the time choice), they'd have to invent a whole new cartridge type to allow a passthrough for the expansion audio (would've been unlikely), or they'd need to make an FM expansion unit which attaches to the bottom of the NES (if the expansion port at the bottom even supported audio - plus it'd be a bit costly). Nonetheless, this soundtrack sounds like it came straight out of the 16-bit era.
> Nonetheless, this soundtrack sounds like it came straight out of the 16-bit era. the late-80's were already the 16-bit era (this is a '91 game). amiga, macintosh, pc, they were all 16-bit computers already.
@@justanobody0 yeah sure they do, at the time they didn't care that much about PC audio, only the amiga had superior audio capabilities, getting close to the SNES
Favorites: 01:53 / Searching for Stolte - Start Town 08:15 / Music Box of Sadness - Gin Faints 17:36 / Relaxed atomosphere - Relaxation Room 21:37 / Bubbles of Light - Tum's Death 37:06 / Bio Paradise - Bio Paradise MAP 43:09 / Fight to the Death - Bio Caesar Battle 44:49 / THE RESURRECTION OF SABBATH - Ending
Yeah... The comment section is full of people who can't get over how amazing this music sounds, but it's actually just watered-down Mega Drive FM, lol. It's not bad, but I'd rather hear a less limited version of it.
@@Margatroid I don't know. Sometimes specifically limited hardware can also be beneficial for the composition. Knowing all the tricks people tend to use the mega drive's fm with, I don't think it would fit it well if they end up putting more of that sometimes obnoxious twang that comes with many mega drive compositions. I don't mind it in tracks that need to be upbeat and in your face but most composers didn't know how to handle the thing when it came to softer and more atmospheric tracks. I personally feel this ost doesn't go too far into that, I can hear some of the watered mega drive sounds but it feels just right for these tracks. Sometimes more isn't better.
***** I don't see how the VRC7 is on par or more powerful than the YM2612. The VRC7 is a 2-op synth, the YM2612 is a 4-op (which alone makes it better). The VRC7 lacks any kink of direct audio capabilities, whereas the YM2612 has a built-in DAC. The VRC7's channels have only 16 different volume levels, the YM2612 has 127 volume levels.
***** Yes, the execution was great, but that doesn't make the VRC7 a better chip. Also, what was that "buying new hardware every few months" part about? that was never the case, and it isn't today. It also has nothing to do with the VRC7 and YM2612.
***** No it doesn't. When you posted your first comment, you compared the chips, not the consoles they were used on. The VRC7 sounded good by 8-bit standards, but it raised the price of the one game it was used in massively and was only used very late in the NES' life span. But what it was used to achieve does not define how good the hardware itself is. That's like saying the Wii was a better piece of hardware than the 360 or PS3 because it outsold them. That's not what this comparison is about. You shouldn't be praising the VRC6, you should be praising Konami.
***** Fine, I'll correct myself on that point: it was used in TWO games, with only one using the actual sound hardware. Yes, you've been praising Konami, but you've also been saying the VRC7 is somehow on par or better than the YM2612.
***** Why is it so hard to understand that the VRC7 wasn't very powerful? The composers at Konami worked wonders with it, and I'll give them that. Also, why do you continuously resort to age superiority? At that, why even begin to argue if you never gave a fuck about what I thought to begin with? Why try to change my mind then? Oh, and you say that you can't change people's minds with specs and words, but specs are facts and words are easily the most powerful force in human society; they're moving, daring, and outlast those that say them. In addition, you know what the term for people that don't accept known facts is? _ignorant_
Thats for sure; it may not be the best Soundtrack from the Nes / Famicom. But at hearing this VCR7 sound chip, it really blowed me away; it almost sounds like a Sega Genesis, sometimes like a Snes. Even sometimes like Sega Master System or even an a MSX. Very interesting.
Sorry, it is never gonna happen. The game's tileset has been compressed, and without reverse engineering, it will not gonna work. Gideon Zhi tried numerous times, but it didn't worked, the game crashed a lot of times. I don't like advertise my stuff here, but the only playthrough what you will come by is some TAS videos, and my 7 part Longplay of it.
懐かしい。ガキの頃、このゲームの定価が8000円くらいして気になっていたが、中古で2980円だったから即買いしたのを思い出した。今思うと内容もサウンドも8000円の価値はあったと思うし、好きなゲームの一つです。
For those who don't know...VRC7 is a FM Soundchip expansion created by Konami for the Famicom/NES. It's basically a cut down version of the Yamaha YM2413 (YM2413 was used on the Sega Master System & the MSX) where they pretty much completely changed the built-in Instruments & cut the channels down to 6 rather than 9 which YM2413 has. However, only 2 games used this Expansion. Lagrange Point & Tiny Toons Adventure 2.
Right off the bat, it sounds a lot like those Sound Blaster or Sega Genesis games which both are also Yamaha soundchips. The VRC7 is a 2-Operating system same as the YM2413 however, you're only allowed to have 1 Custom Instrument at-a-time which may ruin some creativity for some people. Compared the Sega Genesis which uses a YM2612 which is a 6-channel 4-Operating system with no limited custom instruments so you're free to create what you want.
Ah nice, thanks for clarifying. I was just about to say that this does not sound at all what the soundchip in the Famicom is capable of. Sounds very much like an old soundcard playing MIDI. Great stuff!
It the same chip used for the Atari arcade games board road blaster marble madness rip Brad fuller if I'm correct and paper boy?-paz
abe Ochoa Nope. That used the YM2151, which is also what most arcade games used (as well as the Sharp X68000).
There's a lot to discover with FM chips. FM was used almost all the time in mid 80s to early 90s arcade games, and many consoles around those times used said FM chips. The Mega Drive had the YM2612 (6 4-operator channels), the SoundBlaster had the YM3812 (9 2-Op channels), the Neo Geo had the YM2610 (Which not only has 4 4-op channels, but also had 6 PCM channels), and this, along with the Japanese Master Systems and MSX, had the YM2413 (Cut down YM3812, with 6 channels, like what the OP said).
*Megadrive unless if your are referring to the Mastersystem FM chip
Not to mention, out of the two games that used the chip, Lagrange Point is the only one to make use of the extra sound channels.
There are 6 composers for this album and one more team. Aki Hata (畑亜貴), Akio Dobashi (土橋安騎夫), Shin Kawamoto (川本真), Noriyuki Takahashi (高橋教之), Tadashi Sawashita (澤下禎), Kenji Nakamura (中村憲司), Konami Kukeiha Club (Konami矩形波倶楽部)
You could've told me this sound came from the Sega Genesis and I'd believe you.
It's honestly insane how much they could pull off on the NES during its dying years.
The NES isn't doing anything though, this music was generated externally on the cart itself.
@Octophrator Hey buddy, the Famicom and the NES are just different regional versions of essentialy the same thing...
@Octophrator Thanks I forgot the VRC7 even existed lmao I don't work with the NES enough. I was sitting here the whole time worrying if I just made an invalid statement
@@Fry09294Yeah, kinda "cheating". Not too different from modern cartridges using an onboard FPGA basically running everything and leaving the console to deal with I/O.
@@Fry09294Listening casually, after working with a VRC6 OST, the Famicom APU may still be used for some backing rhythm, drums, percussion, etc. But VRC7 lead channels are all FM synth.
- Creates a mapper chip that can use full FM-synth audio in an NES
- Uses it only for one game that only released in Japan
I feel like there was some untapped potential here, Konami.
yeah, unfortunately it was too late, the game was released in 1991, but the famicom was nearly dying even in japan, even though its lifespan went to 2003. many consoles were already crushing the famicom in terms of graphics and sound, right at late-80's, so companies wanted to show off that they're able to make games to new consoles. if those companies showed off a huge potential like this on a console like the famicom, that'd honestly be much more impressive in my opinion.
@@ruby_R53In 1991 the Famicom was still in a ok position. Games like “Rockman 4: A New Evil Ambition!!", Lagrange Point, Dezaemon, Metal Max, Hebereke, Ninja Gaiden III, and Crisis Force came out that year to great reception, and the Famicom became more of a value console. The next year stand out titles like Moon Crystal and Fire Emblem Gaiden released. The system only really died around 1993 when games started becoming less common, with most of the “final Famicom/NES” games being released around this time.
@@theobserver4214 oh
> Creates banger technology
> Refuses to elaborate
> Drops it
Imagine being a Japanese kid in 1991 and booting this game up for the first time without knowing of its enhanced audio. Mind fucking blown.
They knew
@@MandoDaiOu but still the difference was huge, to a contemporary ear the difference won´t be that dramatic cause all the advance in sound
Welp I'm pretty sure at that era Japanese gamers knew bc they have more FM synthesis in their systems like many arcade cabinets or home-based ones like their 8-bit PC-88, X1 and X68000 than western gamers with their OPL soundcards.
@@JemZard what does an entirely different system have to do with literally the first and only famicom game with FM capabilites?
@@xyz39808 Welp nothing actually, I'm just sharing the info about Japan's early experiences in FM sound probably bc both systems are 8-bit and are capable of FM.
タムの最期。ゲームではこのイベントの後、
おじいさんは「タムをしらんかのう」というだけでした。
しかし、ゲーム雑誌に掲載された漫画版では
タムの棺がおじいさんの許に届いていました。
それまでのVRC6方式からさらに進化して、PCM音源かFM音源だかを搭載したファミコン史上最高峰の音質。
ファミコンを初期から知ってる身としては奇跡としか思えない。
FMだった
I discovered this from a friend and fellow programming student. I couldn't believe it wasn't from Sega Genesis but from Famicom. I think he will always remember my eyes when he made me listen to it.
And the funny part is that I'm born in 88 and he is born after 2000. There's still hope for the younger generation.
If younger generations embrace things from before their time for their own merit and not because of nostalgia for the past, there absolutely is hope.
I’ll never forget hearing this OST for the first time after doing a deep dive into chiptune and not knowing Famicom games used anything but the APU sound chip.
And the potential of mixing these in true stereo.
I got there despite never playing this game.
40:47 This song is fucking CRAZY. How the hell was this on Famicom? Not just in terms of instrument quality, but the composition itself. This just feels SO far ahead of its time...
That's fusion jazz.
its the VRC7 Soundchip its basicaly a cut version o sega genesis YM2612
@@PK-VictSega Genesis uses the YM2612 chip, not the YM2413 (Which is the FM sound chip available on some consoles like the Sega Master System)
@@JemZard o h
Thats right thanks
@@JemZard so EPSM and VRC7 are based on the same chip?
初めてこのゲームやった時音の奇麗さに感動したの今でも覚えてるわ
FC後期のゲームで言えばこれとジャストブリードが好きだった
Beautiful and weirdly ominous soundtrack.
懐かしい。キャラクターデザインが漫画家の細野不二彦さんでしたね。
かなり残酷で悲しい場面もありました。タムの最期とか。
This soundtrack blows my fucking mind
Для пользователей смартфонов
00:01 / Theme of Isis - Opening
01:53 / Searching for Stolte - Start Town
03:56 / Wandering journey - LAND 1 Dungeon
05:54 / Awaken into Warriors - Battle
07:35 / Defeated - Defeated in Battle
08:15 / Music Box of Sadness - Gin Faints
09:21 / VESTA'S WALL - Vesta Outer Wall Dungeon
11:28 / Satellite Base - Vesta Town
13:35 / City of birthday - LAND 1 Town
15:47 / Searching for the Promise Land - LAND 1 MAP
17:30 / Good Night
17:36 / Relaxed atomosphere - Relaxation Room
18:32 / Machine City - Robot Factory, Ironworks
20:35 / TUM'S BOOGIE - Electric City
21:37 / Bubbles of Light - Tum's Death
22:50 / Bad Luck
22:55 / Warriors of Sorrow - Mid-Boss Battle
24:49 / Level Up
24:52 / Departure and arival - Port Tower, Point
26:00 / AQUEDUCT - LAND 2 MAP
27:27 / Physical energy - LAND 2 Town
29:29 / Fortified Zone - Bio Laboratory, Base, Fortress
30:22 / Within the Deep Darkness - LAND 2 Dungeon
32:42 / Silent Alarm - Metallic Dungeon
34:55 / Orange Party - Orange Camp Town
35:59 / Weightless - Colony Outer Wall
37:06 / Bio Paradise - Bio Paradise MAP
38:18 / Last Fortress - Bio Palace
40:47 / Broken Replicaizer - Fake Bio Caesar Battle
43:09 / Fight to the Death - Bio Caesar Battle
44:49 / THE RESURRECTION OF SABBATH - Ending
48:56 / S.E.
Connor Scandone Sound Effects
Спасибо большое
Спасибо!!!
ファミコンのソフトの裏技（サウンドテスト）でこれを聴きまくった思い出。この音楽だけで十分元が取れる素晴らしさだったけど、
ストーリーもグラフィックも素晴しいという、まさに珠玉の作品。
ファミコンRPGの最高傑作だと思う。
一部のザコキャラやボスキャラは一般公募だったりといろいろと斬新なRPGだった。
本当だよ。
Music like this on the Famicom? Holy shit... o_O
Lagrange Point was the only game on the Famicom to use Konami's VRC7 sound chip, a piece of hardware not supported by the NES.
RiflemanIII
Thankfully, there is a way to mod your NES to support these expansions, however it is tricky as hell to do and requires some soldering.
Some other game cartridges had multi-channel PCM samples, although very-low quality.
I guess you are referring to the MMC5's PCM channel which was never used at all.
I'm beginning to think I watch to many youtube videos because I manage to find you all the goddamn time
The first time I heard "Satellite Base" I was blown away, one of my favorite songs of all time!
ファミコン史上最高の神ゲー＆神曲 ほんとに曲がいい！
ベースラインが神がかり！
いい曲
This soundtrack screws with my brain so badly. >_<
It amazes me that this soundtrack was all done on early 80's hardware.
REALLY early 80s hardware, came out the same year as the tandy 3000 and apple II e (in japan at least)
More like mid 80s, Shit like this was available for computers as early as 1985, and it was standard in keyboards a few years earlier
i see, i was only pointing out that the technology this is based off of did exist much earlier! just not the cards themselves.
Am I the only one that when hearing this you automatically think it came from a Sega Genesis/Mega Drive console not a Nintendo console.
+chaseman94 well, this game IS the only NES title to use the VRC7 expansion chip (which is FM-based much like the Genesis/MD YM2612 chip, albeit with less oscillators per channel (YM2612 had four oscillators per channel that could be arranged in a variety of algorithms, while VRC7 only had one modulator and one carrier per channel)), so it makes sense that it would give that impression.
24：52 Departure and arival - Port Tower, Point 最高
+kohichi kantoh I had this playing in the background and this is the song that made me stop and take note. Great track!
wholewurld さん
I cannot make light of the game music :)
+wholewurld Sounds like something out of Shin Megami Tensei I.
More like SMT1 or Majin Tensei 1 XD.
hard to believe this was on an 8 bit game.
***** well almost. its still older technology so its not like having a theater sound system in your nes lol
On trackers the NES's 2A03 chip plays quieter than the VRC7 but on an actual Famicom the VRC7 blasts itself way louder than the volume of normal 2A03
Also most people don't know that the VRC7 supported custom patches, which meant you could program in your own instrument to be used by the chip, like sawtooth, triangle, hell even drums if you want
yeah its an impressive chip. too bad it wasnt used more.*****
+davidevgen Not really. As you may know, the chip generating most of the sound being played is not built into the Famicom. Heck, a Famicom game could probably use the more advanced SPC700 (the SNES soundchip)
A lot of 8-bit systems had FM sound expansions, like the SMS and C64.
Cosmic Effect brought me here, but I've stayed for the groove!
Cheers from Brazil!
If you noticed, at the end of the credits, there's a quote from Jim Ravell saying, "We do not realize what we have on Earth until we leave it."
It's actually Jim Lovell, one of the astronauts who left Earth as part of the Apollo 13 crew. I kinda wondered why the name is slightly changed, or it may had to do with their language.
*****
Is that how they work? Interesting info Speedy =]
yup, ingrish at its best :)
Grandpa Scout The translator should've looked it up. :P
The translator misspelled the name.
Grandpa Scout yeah they have a sound that is in-between a Spanish R and a Spanish L. You can hear it clearly in the Katamari Damacy theme song. They use it for the English L and the English R when used as a consonant.
At the end of the OST, after you've relaxed and are at your most vulnerable, things go quiet, and then... the gun sounds mow you down!
The 3 boss tunes really kick ass, they all sound majestic, and the VRC 7 chip really helped to enhance the talent Konami had for a sound team at one time.
22:50 is breaking my brain, I just can't imagine that sound coming from my NES. I wish this thing had come to the US when I was a kid.
The North American 2A03 and European 2A07 chips had expansion chip support dummied out likely because Nintendo of America was like King George III over the NES and Euro TVs ran at 50Hz, which would make 60Hz games from Japan/North America sound like shit due to detuning
That's why Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse had the soundtrack simplified for international versions, because international NES systems were incapable of supporting the VRC7
*Castlevania 3 used VRC7
*VRC6 dammit
IT'S GETTING CLOSE TO MEGADRIVE SOUND
=)
@@realimbored668The sound pins actually do exist, but they go to the expansion slot because Nintendo thought people would use it instead of putting the expansions in the cartridge.
"Lagrange Point has the distinction of being the only game ever released with Konami's Virtual ROM Controller VII (VRC7) sound generator integrated circuit, which allowed for a drastic improvement in the quality of the music and sound effects used in the game." -Wikipedia
I wish there had been an official western release, I might have heard it before today. Amazing soundtrack!
EDIT: I guess that even if there was a localized version, the sound would be nerfed. Unlike the Famicom, the NES did not allow expansion of sound channels so for example, Castelvania III had to have the soundtrack reworked for compatibility. They would have had to do the same for Lagrange Point.
Nerfed is an understatement. The soundtrack would have had to be recomposed entirely. Castlevania III is already a huge accomplishment in that most of the melody was taken from eight channels to five and it still sounds awesome. But Lagrange Point is a VRC7-only soundtrack. Adapting it on the 2A03 would have meant starting from scratch.
Uhm...no, you're off track. This game still uses a ROM mapper, like the western NES games. It's a custom mapper, right, but releasing the game in the west would totally be possible. Unfortunately, Nintendo only allowed the use of MMC...
@@mortenera2294 That's true about Nintendo only allowing proprietary enhancement chips outside of Japan. But the cartridge slot was also modified for the NES to not have the 2 pins allowing for expanded audio like the Famicom. Those pins did exist on the NES, but they were only routed to the expansion slot underneath the console. Modders have since produced hardware that plugs into the expansion slot enabling enhanced audio for those playing Famicom games on the NES using adapters, but it doesn't work out of the box.
All of that said, I agree it's unfortunate that Nintendo wouldn't allow for the non-Nintendo enhancement chips to be present on export cartridges. The VRC6 (used by other Konami games) had pretty similar expanded audio to Nintendo's own MMC5, but the VRC7 used here, and other chips by Namco and Sunsoft produced some incredible music that everyone missed out on for decades.
the history of videogame music is so fascinating to me... I've been reading a lot on how the Beatles crafted some of their most innovative and unique music back in the 60's, and it reminds me about the tricks used to compose videogame music in the 80's
from tape-cutting to channel-switching-rapidly... wish there were channels that showcased some of these videogame music tricks, trying to replicate certain songs from scratch, that would be amazing content to watch
This musiiiiiiiiic! Love it.
It's because the VRC7 contains a modded version of the Yamaha YM2413 FM chip in it (the Mastersystem's FM chip). While the YM2413 has meaningful differences from the YM2612 in the Genesis, they're both FM, so the family resemblance is quite strong. The 2413 was very locked down, the 2612 was much more open. However, the 2612 could only use sine wave operators for its FM, and I don't that's true of the 2413. So, they each have their plusses/minuses, but I think everyone would say 2612 is better.
VRC7は正確には実は音源チップではなくFCを機能強化するチップとの事
主にバンク切り替えや他で使用されておりそれにプラスでYM2413音源を改修したものを積んでいた
その音源を使用しているのはラグランジュポイントだけだった
Best songs have to be "Awaken Into Warriors" and especially "Departure And Arrival" (24:52)
Thank you for posting this magnificent Famicom soundtrack masterpiece.
Satellite Base - Vesta Town - my favorite song!!!
It's just unbelievable... so good sounds and music itself, I wonder what it means for a man to be a composer for games like this or chrono trigger, pre-sotn castlevanias, gradius, old metal gear, sor 2. That's awesome, I mean, if you can compose music like this it means your life matters. It's redeems your existence.
The guy who composed Chrono Trigger considers it to be his worst piece.
@@albertnortononymous9020 hahaha, the irony!
@@albertnortononymous9020Mitsuda went through a professional ordeal composing for Chrono Trigger, that may have left a bad taste in his mouth. It literally made him too sick to finish on his own (and Uematsu has to fill in the last few tracks).
The power of FM Synthesis on the Famicom! Sounds like a Genesis game...or dare I say it...a DOS game which uses the AdLib or the Sound Blaster!
I'm pretty sure only FM synths and DPCM samples are used in the music.
(the 2A03 channels are used for SFX only)
This is absolutely amazing what having custom sound chips and drivers can accomplish on an otherwise standard Famicom/NES.
Thanks for those great quality uploads, best music in the world!
When I first heard this soundtrack, I was stunned that this can handle VRC7.
Incredible soundtrack. Unfortunately the game itself is very hard to appreciate with one of the most disgusting random encounter rates ever seen in a RPG.
To offset that, confusing an enemy with a multi-hit attack will give your characters a chance to get a freaking TON of exp, not to mention the menu glitches which can net you a LOT of money as well.
@@Ryan91487 Hm.. Might I ask you what those menu glitches are? Haven't heard anything about that earlier! :)
@@TanukiKGA Proper timing in the item shops by pressing Up+A at the top of the menu of items that can be purchased will allow you to purchase certain items at certain locations. This is very notorious in the weapon shop aboard the Vesta Satellite where you can get Heat Sabers for 50 Coron a piece or for the Robo Freeze in one of the Land1 shops to defeat Oreki easily. For the EXP, you need to use the Daze ability on an enemy that uses multiple hit attacks, if lucky, they will attack someone not in either party, this nets a LOT of EXP for the party, even better if Gene is alone when he does this as he will get all of it. Ability to use weapons are based on Rank (Level), so low levels will not be able to wield the endgame equipment you can forge early on via method combining Heat Sabers (Rank 4) to make Rank 5-6 weapons far earlier than possible.
@@Ryan91487 Thanks mate! Really appreciate it!
@@Ryan91487 that sounds fascinating dude... would you be willing to make a video showcasing these exploits? with commentary of course
Didn't expect such a bright tune for the song titled "THE RESURRECTION OF SABBATH" of all things.
(continued) Also, there are also a few other significant differences between the 8-bit Sega and 16-bit Sega as it concerns FM and PSG: All regions of Mastersystem (SMS) have a Texas Instruments SN76489 PSG chip in it (NES is also PSG, only a little more advanced than the SMS). In Japan, the SMS also had the YM2413 in it. But it was Japan only, and it was a situation of either FM or PSG, not both. Genesis has both the YM2612 -and- the SN76489 in it in all regions, and they can be used together.
Can't believe that this is coming out of a Famicom/NES
The soundtrack is so gorgeous...I really need to finish this game!
The bass lines in this remind me a lot of Snatcher. A lot of the later tracks sounds like Snatcher.
Just what I was going to write. It all seems to come out of snatcher!
really good jams in this ost.
GREATEST SOUND. I just cry :(
Still listening to this
The main four game characters in this game have been upgraded to level 99. Others are still slowly upgrading, no cheat codes
Diggin in the Carts documentary brought me here. Sounds like a Sega Megadrive !!!! Really good music by Akio Dobashi
00:01 best intro song ever
This sounds like the soundtrack of Military Madness, and somewhat like Sega Genesis music.
27:27 矩形波でアレンジした曲ですね。これがオリジナルですか。アップロードありがとうございます。
兄貴が買ってたハドソンmark３のイヤホン端子からヘッドホンで聴いた時は衝撃を受けた
クリアしてからもずっとサウンドテストで聴いてたな
お気に入りはプロミストランドを探してだったな
地下道から抜けてやたらと希望を持たしてくれた明るい曲
Those first few seconds from Relaxed atomosphere - Relaxation Room was not what I expected, have to admit.
26:33 the only other soundtrack in history where I can hear what I can only describe as "Sonic 3 instruments" wow... this is mind-blowing, very cool \o/
Sonic 2 / Sonic 3 must be the most impressive FM sound chip soundtracks I ever heard, I would love to watch someone attempting to recreate the instruments used on that one... or maybe a Making Of kind of documentary, the developers didn't think so highly about their technical achievements
copied from another comment, songs composed by Aki Hara:
codeman38
5 years ago
+jose abreu
Aki Hata did some of the music for both games. Probably not a coincidence. (Light Crusader - Sega Genesis)
Edited to add: Tracks confirmed to have been composed by Hata, according to VGMdb:
- Wandering Journey
- Music Box of Sadness
- City of Birthday
- Searching for the Promise Land
- Aqueduct
- Fortified Zone
- Bio Paradise
- Last Fortress
- Fight to the Death
Nunca, que o Master System, conseguira fazer um som assim. E não, não é o Mega Drive, é o, Nes 8 bits. Excelente.
オープニングかっこいい
The battle themes are the best tracks. Superb.
It's a good soundtrack. Still there are amazing FM soundtracks from older games than this one, like Sorcerian or basically any Falcom game from mid 80's. Sure this is one of a kind because is the only one for the Famicom, but FM synth sound chips had been used on 8-bit systems before like the MSX, Master System, PC88-01, etc.
Not to mention it pales in comparison to what SFC, Mega Drive, PC98 and X68000 sound hardware was doing in 1991. There are some good tunes on this OST for sure, but technology-wise the VRC7 was actually less than impressive for its time. I guess when you graft new-ish technology onto an old console people get the impression that it's an amazing step forward like Super Real Mahjong PII or Out Run, instead of being a Famicom cart with a cut-down Mega Drive FM chip in it.
Wish Falcom games were less grindy, because their soundtracks are amazing indeed!!
With the sound here and the graphics combined together, it kinda gives this game almost sort of a PC-98 vibe of sorts. The PC-98 also often used an FM based sound chip for games, including the Touhou series before the series was moved to Windows platforms.
This soundtrack is THUMPING
If this thing were to come out overseas, one of several things would probably have needed to happen: The whole soundtrack would've needed to be redone for the 2A03 (most logical at the time choice), they'd have to invent a whole new cartridge type to allow a passthrough for the expansion audio (would've been unlikely), or they'd need to make an FM expansion unit which attaches to the bottom of the NES (if the expansion port at the bottom even supported audio - plus it'd be a bit costly).
Nonetheless, this soundtrack sounds like it came straight out of the 16-bit era.
nah it sounds more like something of almost CD quality
> Nonetheless, this soundtrack sounds like it came straight out of the 16-bit era.
the late-80's were already the 16-bit era (this is a '91 game). amiga, macintosh, pc, they were all 16-bit computers already.
@@ruby_R53 commander keen 1 came out in 1990, and duke nukem 1 came out in 1991
they sound more like a NES game than a SNES game
@@justanobody0 yeah sure they do, at the time they didn't care that much about PC audio, only the amiga had superior audio capabilities, getting close to the SNES
This is as if the Genesis, super Nintendo, and TurboGrafx 16 had a baby that was older than them
Favorites:
01:53 / Searching for Stolte - Start Town
08:15 / Music Box of Sadness - Gin Faints
17:36 / Relaxed atomosphere - Relaxation Room
21:37 / Bubbles of Light - Tum's Death
37:06 / Bio Paradise - Bio Paradise MAP
43:09 / Fight to the Death - Bio Caesar Battle
44:49 / THE RESURRECTION OF SABBATH - Ending
I can't believe that this music is coming from a Famicom. The quality is incredible.
22:50 is also great
straight up prog
I just had to attempt Satelite Base!! Amazing Soundtrack!!!!
I'd love to hear what an improved version of this would sound like coming out of a SEGA Genesis with a proper YM2612 + SN76489.
Yeah... The comment section is full of people who can't get over how amazing this music sounds, but it's actually just watered-down Mega Drive FM, lol. It's not bad, but I'd rather hear a less limited version of it.
@@Margatroid I don't know. Sometimes specifically limited hardware can also be beneficial for the composition. Knowing all the tricks people tend to use the mega drive's fm with, I don't think it would fit it well if they end up putting more of that sometimes obnoxious twang that comes with many mega drive compositions. I don't mind it in tracks that need to be upbeat and in your face but most composers didn't know how to handle the thing when it came to softer and more atmospheric tracks. I personally feel this ost doesn't go too far into that, I can hear some of the watered mega drive sounds but it feels just right for these tracks. Sometimes more isn't better.
wowzers. huge undertale vibes.
this game's soundtrack is great, not only because of the VRC7 (even though it's awesome), it's just so well composed
09:21 / VESTA'S WALL - Vesta Outer Wall Dungeon 😍😍😍👍
so many ringtones for my phone
but which one is the best?
05:54
Satellite base is fucking amazing.
小4の時タカミツコウシのラグランジュポイント借りパクしてしまってごめん！こんな素晴らしい作品を😿
VRC7 Is The Best Famicom Soundchip Ever! :)
***** I don't see how the VRC7 is on par or more powerful than the YM2612. The VRC7 is a 2-op synth, the YM2612 is a 4-op (which alone makes it better). The VRC7 lacks any kink of direct audio capabilities, whereas the YM2612 has a built-in DAC. The VRC7's channels have only 16 different volume levels, the YM2612 has 127 volume levels.
***** Yes, the execution was great, but that doesn't make the VRC7 a better chip. Also, what was that "buying new hardware every few months" part about? that was never the case, and it isn't today. It also has nothing to do with the VRC7 and YM2612.
***** No it doesn't. When you posted your first comment, you compared the chips, not the consoles they were used on. The VRC7 sounded good by 8-bit standards, but it raised the price of the one game it was used in massively and was only used very late in the NES' life span. But what it was used to achieve does not define how good the hardware itself is. That's like saying the Wii was a better piece of hardware than the 360 or PS3 because it outsold them. That's not what this comparison is about. You shouldn't be praising the VRC6, you should be praising Konami.
***** Fine, I'll correct myself on that point: it was used in TWO games, with only one using the actual sound hardware. Yes, you've been praising Konami, but you've also been saying the VRC7 is somehow on par or better than the YM2612.
***** Why is it so hard to understand that the VRC7 wasn't very powerful? The composers at Konami worked wonders with it, and I'll give them that. Also, why do you continuously resort to age superiority? At that, why even begin to argue if you never gave a fuck about what I thought to begin with? Why try to change my mind then?
Oh, and you say that you can't change people's minds with specs and words, but specs are facts and words are easily the most powerful force in human society; they're moving, daring, and outlast those that say them. In addition, you know what the term for people that don't accept known facts is? _ignorant_
Pretty crazy what they pulled off with the later tech
It almost sounds like something off a Sega Master System in FM mode.
The original Japanese Master system had FM by default. Abroad this country we only had the PSG version, and FM add on
Very great sound quality! !
This needs to be released on all regions of the 3DS and WiiU eShop - Japan, North/South America, Europe, Australia, all of it, with translations too
***** agreed
Accidentally forgot to mention South Korea, they should get this too
***** true dat
+Ivan orozco On top of that, a VC release could unscrew over Konami from their pachinko machine mess
***** true
highest quality of this soundtrack I've heard
I cry every time I hear this soundtrack :,)
26:00 sounds straight up like a Genesis game. So unreal.
@konakonaa FM is FM. Regardless if operator count , this sounds very similar to a lot of Genesis tracks.
like the whole playlist
grad1u52, good old times, this one´s a little jazz-fusion based
Thats for sure; it may not be the best Soundtrack from the Nes / Famicom. But at hearing this VCR7 sound chip, it really blowed me away; it almost sounds like a Sega Genesis, sometimes like a Snes. Even sometimes like Sega Master System or even an a MSX. Very interesting.
It honestly kinda reminds me a bit of the PC-98 and even a lot of arcade games that were out in the mid 80s.
Amazing
11:28 best track!
32:42 The song of awkwardness.
Getting some serious Song of Healing vibes from the second track, especially around the 2:20 and 2:40 marks.
5:54
みんなが聴きたい曲はこれ
自分的には 22:55
I can't believe the track at 21:37 is from a famicom game
You expect me to believe this is an nes game?! This is incredible!
C'est fantastique musique. Incroyable!
Switchで配信でもいいから再販しないかな。アーカイブで出してくれ～。
4:40 this part goes hard
Absolutely brilliant OST. Sucks that they had to neuter the Yamaha chip to make it affordable; and even then the price got jacked up a bunch.
This and Megami Tensei 2 rival each other pretty hard when it comes to sound.
Nice!
17:30: Game Over
I hate to be so ungrateful towards these hard working people but COME ON FAN TRANSLATORS HOP TO IT I wanna play this D:
Sorry, it is never gonna happen. The game's tileset has been compressed, and without reverse engineering, it will not gonna work. Gideon Zhi tried numerous times, but it didn't worked, the game crashed a lot of times. I don't like advertise my stuff here, but the only playthrough what you will come by is some TAS videos, and my 7 part Longplay of it.
***** Gideon Zhi has most certainly not given up on this game. He still plans to fix it up and release it.
The fan translation was just released! :)
I HEARD!! AEON GENESIS YOU'RE A GOD!!
It will not gonna work? Non-believers be damned!
リメイクまだかな