Taito PCE chiptunes suck

spenoza · 10/31/2017, 11:29 AM

Subject says it all. Arkhan got me thinking about this in the Namco thread. I am pretty sure that Parasol Stars is the only Taito PC Engine game with chiptunes that I actually like. All their other stuff sounds super harsh and is a bad translation of Taito's characteristically harsh arcade tunes. When Taito's arcade stuff is good it's great, but when it's not good, it's kind of awful, and their PCE chiptune stuff is, for the most part, pretty awful.

Arkhan Asylum · 10/31/2017, 11:31 AM

EXCUSE ME.

PARASOL STARS IS A WORKING DESIGNS GAME, TYVM.

lolol.

and yea.... Taito's PCE music mostly is kind of garbagey. Too many harsh instrument choices. It's like they wanted to be Irem, and succeeded.

turboswimbz · 10/31/2017, 11:46 AM

Tatsujin isn't that bad . . . I like some of it.

Having a hard time thinking of others. . .

Arkhan Asylum · 10/31/2017, 11:48 AM

Quote from: turboswimbz on 10/31/2017, 11:46 AMTatsujin isn't that bad . . . I like some of it.

Having a hard time thinking of others. . .

Tatsujin's got that farty blare noise going on though that makes it sucky.

Like, the games soundtrack starts out strong and then just goes BRZZRNZRZR

it turns into Jim Carey in dumb and dumber.

turboswimbz · 10/31/2017, 12:18 PM

Quote from: Psycho Arkhan on 10/31/2017, 11:48 AM
Quote from: turboswimbz on 10/31/2017, 11:46 AMTatsujin isn't that bad . . . I like some of it.

Having a hard time thinking of others. . .
Tatsujin's got that farty blare noise going on though that makes it sucky.

Like, the games soundtrack starts out strong and then just goes BRZZRNZRZR

it turns into Jim Carey in dumb and dumber.

Yeah that's about right, it's the beginning I like. I mean it's okay though because it's so damn hard you die before the farty BRTZTZTZTS start. they figured no one is dumb enough to make this far let's just stop fixing the music.

Digi.k · 10/31/2017, 12:24 PM

Strangely I quite like Cadash it's just moody and takes a while to get into it's groove.

KyuKyoku Tiger
Hana taka Daka ?!
Hit the Ice
Tatsujin
Jigoku Meguri

All these say "Hi ! Check us out"

New Zealand Story ~~can go in the trash can~~ It's just shit!

EDIT

Arkhan Asylum · 10/31/2017, 12:25 PM

Those grngrngrngrnbzrbzrbzr noises are great if they're used carefully, but when the whole soundtrack is like that it's like JFC guys, can you not.

look at how goony Chase HQ and SCI are. Those games sound kind of awful. Some of that is because the sound effects basically overtake the music and all you hear is a little bit of weak leads ontop of OK *BLAM BLAM BLAM * SCREEEECH SCREEEECH* *BLAM* WEWEWEOWOOOOWEOEOEEOOO*

but the music isn't so great once you can hear it.

Arkhan Asylum · 10/31/2017, 12:26 PM

Quote from: Digi.k on 10/31/2017, 12:24 PMKyuKyoku Tiger

I always forget this is a Taito thing.

This is good music.

Digi.k · 10/31/2017, 01:02 PM

Quote from: Psycho Arkhan on 10/31/2017, 12:25 PMThose grngrngrngrnbzrbzrbzr noises are great if they're used carefully, but when the whole soundtrack is like that it's like JFC guys, can you not.

look at how goony Chase HQ and SCI are. Those games sound kind of awful. Some of that is because the sound effects basically overtake the music and all you hear is a little bit of weak leads ontop of OK *BLAM BLAM BLAM * SCREEEECH SCREEEECH* *BLAM* WEWEWEOWOOOOWEOEOEEOOO*

but the music isn't so great once you can hear it.

The onomatopoeia is off the chart!

crazy Dada / Futurist

EmperorIng · 10/31/2017, 08:38 PM

Quote from: Psycho Arkhan on 10/31/2017, 12:26 PM
Quote from: Digi.k on 10/31/2017, 12:24 PMKyuKyoku Tiger
I always forget this is a Taito thing.

This is good music.

Kyuukyoku Tiger is actually a Toaplan game. Taito only published it. The PCE port was developed by AI, who also developed the PCE ports of Raiden and Super Raiden.

Taito went from making the worst-sounding PCE music (TNZS) to the best (Liquid Kids, Parasol Stars).

Arkhan Asylum · 10/31/2017, 09:31 PM

If it says Taito on the screen, it counts for giving Taito bonus points for not shit soundtracks.

CrackTiger · 10/31/2017, 10:04 PM

Only Taito chiptunes I like are some/most of Cadash.

ccovell · 10/31/2017, 11:56 PM

Agreed. Besides ToaPlan conversions, Taito soundtracks are even a notch below the NES!

(Taito's great music on that system was usually thanks to Geoff Follin or Natsume.)

Arkhan Asylum · 10/31/2017, 11:59 PM

"Lets make it so bad Helen Keller's ears will hurt"

Digi.k · 11/01/2017, 12:12 AM

There are some elements to Rastan Saga I quite like but it's too high pitched and harsh sounding to get a comfortable listening

Arkhan Asylum · 11/01/2017, 12:19 AM

They were clearly trying to get that like exotic sounding atmosphere.

and they got it, while also causing everyone's ears to bleed.

Digi.k · 04/18/2018, 09:53 PM

coming back to this thread I honestly feel the pc engine sound chip benefits greatly when the audio is fed through a sound equaliser.

I just been trying my hand with DaVinci video editing and the sound equaliser in that while I'm getting to grips with it I am almost happy to get my captures to sound almost as it did when I hooked my pce to an old analogue amp I owned for 20 years. But sadly one of the audio channels is screwed up so I only get sound coming from 1 speaker...

Just like gamers today struggling to get their fancy consoles to display the correct brightness/tones and saturations on their high end 4k screens. Old systems like the pc engine should be hooked to audio systems and calibrated to sound great.

Now I wonder if I can make Rastan Saga 2 sing?

esteban · 04/18/2018, 11:10 PM

Quote from: Digi.k on 04/18/2018, 09:53 PMcoming back to this thread I honestly feel the pc engine sound chip benefits greatly when the audio is fed through a sound equaliser.

I just been trying my hand with DaVinci video editing and the sound equaliser in that while I'm getting to grips with it I am almost happy to get my captures to sound almost as it did when I hooked my pce to an old analogue amp I owned for 20 years. But sadly one of the audio channels is screwed up so I only get sound coming from 1 speaker...

Just like gamers today struggling to get their fancy consoles to display the correct brightness/tones and saturations on their high end 4k screens. Old systems like the pc engine should be hooked to audio systems and calibrated to sound great.
Now I wonder if I can make Rastan Saga 2 sing?

OK, so I still use an old receiver for sound for all my consoles... but I don't use an equalizer (beyond the basic bass/treble controls on the receiver itself).

Equalizers were all the rage when I was a kid in the 80's, but I never really thought they were necessary... however, when making LeDoodles, I have had a lot of fun isolating certain channels and manipulating them individually. Obviously I am limited in what I can do, but I have far greater options with PSG channel manipulation than Red Book audio final mix.

SO... I have really been wondering how I could "correct" for poor judgement in the final mix of all music, not just video game music.

I should point out that I tend to have different equalizer settings for headphones vs. standard stereo speakers...

...it's really crazy when I want to change settings for each song (OCD).

I just know I don't want to constantly tinker with an equalizer for every single game I play. Or for each damn stage.

Or maybe I do?

roflmao · 04/19/2018, 12:32 AM

Quote from: esteban on 04/18/2018, 11:10 PMOK, so I still use an old receiver for sound for all my consoles... but I don't use an equalizer (beyond the basic bass/treble controls on the receiver itself).

Equalizers were all the rage when I was a kid in the 80's, but I never really thought they were necessary... however, when making LeDoodles, I have had a lot of fun isolating certain channels and manipulating them individually. Obviously I am limited in what I can do, but I have far greater options with PSG channel manipulation than Red Book audio final mix.

SO... I have really been wondering how I could "correct" for poor judgement in the final mix of all music, not just video game music.

I should point out that I tend to have different equalizer settings for headphones vs. standard stereo speakers...

...it's really crazy when I want to change settings for each song (OCD).

I just know I don't want to constantly tinker with an equalizer for every single game I play. Or for each damn stage.

Or maybe I do?

I'm with ya! The spot where I play the most has a cheap little Lepai amp powering thrift-shop speakers. I've also connected a thrift-shop powered sub and I'm constantly tinkering with the few audio dials I have when I start a new game.

When I play in our main living room I don't feel compelled to mess with the settings.

Maybe it's because I'm in my own little space and I'm sitting within arms reach of all the dials and stuff, and it's usually just me.

soop · 04/19/2018, 06:03 AM

I feel like such a heathen compared to you guys. I barely care about RGB output, let alone all the sound stuff

spenoza · 04/19/2018, 12:05 PM

The ideal way to play a PC Engine is on a 13" tube TV with a tiny mono speaker. Because that's really the common play experience of the day.

Gypsy · 04/19/2018, 12:51 PM

Quote from: guest on 04/19/2018, 12:05 PMThe ideal way to play a PC Engine is on a 13" tube TV with a tiny mono speaker. Because that's really the common play experience of the day.

lol

Digi.k · 04/19/2018, 12:59 PM

Quote from: guest on 04/19/2018, 12:05 PMThe ideal way to play a PC Engine is on a 13" tube TV with a tiny mono speaker. Because that's really the common play experience of the day.

Reminds me of the nintendo dungeon...

soop · 04/20/2018, 11:44 AM

does it say "rape sux" on that wall?

And... I know this from Trailer Park boys I swear, but I expect those jugs are basically the bathroom.

That picture raises so many questions. I like to think the guy is actually enduring temporary inconvenience while he saves to buy his own place.

Digi.k · 04/20/2018, 02:50 PM

Quote from: soop on 04/20/2018, 11:44 AMdoes it say "rape sux" on that wall?

I always thought it said "Rare Sux" because they left Nintendo and went to Microsoft..

geise · 04/20/2018, 03:07 PM

what about Don Doko Don and New Zealand Story?

esteban · 04/20/2018, 05:23 PM

Quote from: soop on 04/19/2018, 06:03 AMI feel like such a heathen compared to you guys. I barely care about RGB output, let alone all the sound stuff

I'm not obsessed with the RGB, but I've always been into music/aural experience (hey, that sounds pornographic!)

Even my mono NES and my family's first mono VCR was hooked up to a nice receiver back in the 80's.

Courtesy me, of course, because nobody else cared. But I loved the way sound makes things a billion times more immersive.

Quote from: Digi.k on 04/20/2018, 02:50 PM
Quote from: soop on 04/20/2018, 11:44 AMdoes it say "rape sux" on that wall?
I always thought it said "Rare Sux" because they left Nintendo and went to Microsoft..

Hahahahahahhajaha. Brilliant.

esteban · 04/20/2018, 05:27 PM

Back in topic:

DADDY MULK and most of the songs from DAT NINJA WARIOWARES are quite nice and I was blasting them on PCE + speakers + subwoofer...

esteban · 04/20/2018, 05:28 PM

...

EmperorIng · 04/20/2018, 07:11 PM

Quote from: geise on 04/20/2018, 03:07 PMNew Zealand Story?

The sound design on this one is so bad I gave up on the game. Well that, and the totally wrong balloon controls which ruin the game imo.

Digi.k · 04/20/2018, 09:03 PM

maybe the Taito composers suck ? Well after hooking up the pc engine to laptop and recording and mixing the tracks...

DondokoDon
https://soundcloud.com/digiarchetype-ng/dondokodon

Cadash
https://soundcloud.com/digiarchetype-ng/cadash

KiKiKaiKai
https://soundcloud.com/digiarchetype-ng/kikikaikai

Mizubaku Daibouken
https://soundcloud.com/digiarchetype-ng/liquid-kids-03

Mizubaku Daibouken
https://soundcloud.com/digiarchetype-ng/liquid-kids-02

New Zealand Story - sounds like it has some distortion
https://soundcloud.com/digiarchetype-ng/newzealandstory

Chase HQ
https://soundcloud.com/digiarchetype-ng/chase-hq

soop · 04/23/2018, 07:03 AM

I have a question for you audio types: Is it possible to make rayxanber 3 not sound like shit somehow? The weapon noises are awful.

Digi.k · 04/23/2018, 07:31 AM

that's a problem with pc engine shooties. Even Download has horrible sound effects. It needs vol control for the sound effects.

geise · 04/24/2018, 12:43 PM

Rip your game. Take the sound files into a program and adjust the levels.