Absolutely awful arcade game music

[Illyrian]

Hey guys.

So what is some of the worst arcade game music you have ever heard?

The first one that comes to mind for me is the final boss theme from Rail Chase 2. It has all the right elements: 20 seconds long and looped over and over, awful cheesy midi quality, all the good stuff basically.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhZmN_uFpGY

[BrianC]

1942. I like the game itself, but that *beeping* music!

[TransatlanticFoe]

I'd post a link to a couple of the randomised stage tracks from Sengoku Ace but no-one (rightly so) seems to have uploaded them in their "2 seconds of noise on a loop" glory. Silence would honestly be preferable to a couple of them.

[Sumez]

The first one that comes to mind for me is the final boss theme from Rail Chase 2. It has all the right elements: 20 seconds long and looped over and over, awful cheesy midi quality, all the good stuff basically.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhZmN_uFpGY

I can hear that this is bad... but I kinda dig it.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Eight Forces. The music and sound quality are both generally atrocious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyPiJJLqez4

[DMC]

Xevious https://youtu.be/VpyFHvPizYM?t=1m56s

[gameoverDude]

Rave Rush (San Francisco Rush & Rush the Rock) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm0Mg0T2Sl0
So awful it's got me dying laughing as I listen to it. Kinda like it for that reason.

Boss BGM #1 (Sky Target) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dTps97yik8&t=114s
This song would make 007 ask "Who's strangling the cat?".

[null1024]

Boss BGM #1 (Sky Target) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dTps97yik8&t=114s
This song would make 007 ask "Who's strangling the cat?".

It's so bad, but I love this one.
and I have absolutely no idea how it managed to make it into the final game sounding like that, especially since the rest of the soundtrack is pretty okay

[Skykid]

I really like the game, but Nostradamus has pretty terrible tunes.

[qmish]

I'd post a link to a couple of the randomised stage tracks from Sengoku Ace but no-one (rightly so) seems to have uploaded them in their "2 seconds of noise on a loop" glory. Silence would honestly be preferable to a couple of them.

i disagree (?) i pretty much like some tracks. and they have lovely rhythms

especially lake stage one
https://youtu.be/5Xjnr1cHBqY (as its first here)

unless i misunderstood ya

[TransatlanticFoe]

The one that ends with a giant red plane is the worst, it is just a couple of seconds looped. The castle stage and the one that ends with the turtle boss aren't much better - just short, unpleasant clips on repeat.

[BulletMagnet]

So ludicrous I had to put it on my iPod.

[emphatic]

1944.

[Obscura]

That hideous ship select theme in DFKBL.

[FinalBaton]

So ludicrous I had to put it on my iPod.

Oh my lord I'm dying at this
Now I wanna save Sheena too!

THIS WORLD IS VERY DIFFICULT

The music is legit crackin' though! I love it. I've got no other word to describe this than "rad". For better or for worse

[llaoyllakcuf]

Semicom's Wyvern Wings. Really grating and awful sounding music that is an imitation of some classic heavy metal tunes. Game is a Psikyo rip-off too.

1944.

The opening attract demo is pretty cool, at least.

[M.Knight]

I love this thread!

So ludicrous I had to put it on my iPod.

At first I wondered why you mentionned this track because it sounded really "rad" indeed...until I heard the guy singing.
Wish there was a version without him.

That hideous ship select theme in DFKBL.

You mean Sally? I like it a lot. I suppose it is mostly personal preferences in this case because there isn't anything in there that sounds as obviously off as 1942 or Xevious

[BulletMagnet]

At first I wondered why you mentionned this track because it sounded really "rad" indeed...until I heard the guy singing.

It's gonna get you e-ven-chu-a-lee! Everybody wanna knock M. Knight down!

[M.Knight]

Now I spend my time fighting all-around, I am a tough guy! You think you can beat us?
Just wait, I'll get even with you!

Actually, the lyrics are starting to grow on me, but it is still kinda difficult to take them seriously.

[Specineff]

Not bad per se, but terribly unfitting. Halley's Comet by Taito:

https://youtu.be/s7atimkypz8?t=1m49s

Someone please tell me Ogura or Kawamoto are NOT responsible for this... dish soap jingle.

[gameoverDude]

1944.

I actually like this one's BGM.

Not bad per se, but terribly unfitting. Halley's Comet by Taito:

https://youtu.be/s7atimkypz8?t=1m49s

Someone please tell me Ogura or Kawamoto are NOT responsible for this... dish soap jingle.

I hate to say it, but Ogura is. Not his best work. Looks decent for the time, sorta like Halley Wars on the Game Gear (also developed by Taito) which I'd guess is a sequel.

[emphatic]

I'm a big fan of Halley's Comet, including the music actually.

[SuperDeadite]

Rezon

[gameoverDude]

Rezon

That has to be one of the top three worst of all time. The first stage BGM loops maybe every 7 seconds, & Stage 5's is rock bottom. Perikles said it sounds like a broken medical monitor. Yeah, that's right.

[Obscura]

That hideous ship select theme in DFKBL.

You mean Sally? I like it a lot. I suppose it is mostly personal preferences in this case because there isn't anything in there that sounds as obviously off as 1942 or Xevious

Yep, that's the one. Such hideously tuneless dissonant grating nonsense.

[Eaglet]

That hideous ship select theme in DFKBL.

You mean Sally? I like it a lot. I suppose it is mostly personal preferences in this case because there isn't anything in there that sounds as obviously off as 1942 or Xevious

Yep, that's the one. Such hideously tuneless dissonant grating nonsense.

WHAT
Every tiny little note of that melody is in the correct harmony. Maybe you're just referring to the sound or have too bad an ear to discern what's actually going on.

Sally's dank.

[M.Knight]

I can understand him not liking the track, but I can't hear the dissonance myself. There doesn't seem to be anything that's technically wrong with that music.

Rezon

Oh maaaaaan, could that be our thread winner?
They are all bad but this track in particular really takes the cake. That's just what, four notes repeated over and over again?
I would be curious to see under what circumstances this game's soundtrack was created. I get the feeling it's due to the usual tight time constraints or maybe technical constraints related to the PCB, but I feel like there is an interesting story behind those terrible 2-second loops.

Not bad per se, but terribly unfitting. Halley's Comet by Taito

I agree that it doesn't fit too well. I don't mind the track but I would have put it as a credits/ending theme instead.

Actually, the lyrics are starting to grow on me, but it is still kinda difficult to take them seriously.

Aaaaaannnnd now it is also on my playlist.

[FinalBaton]

I've just listened to that "Sally" track for the first time and I don't hear dissonance in the composition but I find that lead instrument to sound very harsh. It's definitely grating on my ears.

Other than that, I do find the song very cool

[Obscura]

Rezon

Oh maaaaaan, could that be our thread winner?
They are all bad but this track in particular really takes the cake. That's just what, four notes repeated over and over again?
I would be curious to see under what circumstances this game's soundtrack was created. I get the feeling it's due to the usual tight time constraints or maybe technical constraints related to the PCB, but I feel like there is an interesting story behind those terrible 2-second loops.

Holy god, what the fuck was that?!?! I thought it was just going to be an industrial intro for a real song, until it looped, and looped, and looped, and looped, and looped... god damn, that was bad.

WHAT
Every tiny little note of that melody is in the correct harmony. Maybe you're just referring to the sound or have too bad an ear to discern what's actually going on.

Sally's dank.

Are you sure? Those vibrattos almost sound like quarter-steps or something.

Also, those huge long slides are technically going over a ton of chromatic notes between the start and stop note.

[FinalBaton]

Are you sure? Those vibrattos almost sound like quarter-steps or something.

That's a very valid point I think

Vibrato sounds off to me as well. Definitely goes at least a quarter tone both above and below the base tone, which screws up the harmony some during said vibrato