My Gaming Audio History: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989)

When I bought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the NES, I was expecting to play something as awesome as what I'd been playing in the arcade.  Unfortunately, this game is completely different, way harder, and for my taste, less fun.  One of the hardest sections for me was the swimming area with all the poisonous seaweed!  While the people who make these playthroughs know exactly where to go and what to do, I got confused and lost in the wide variety of sewers and buildings.  And your Turtle's lives don't restore after major game battles.  I liked the Konami arcade style and once I'd heard those sounds and see those graphics, this was too far a cry from it.  There's also virtually no music from the TV show in this game, except for when you beat a boss, there's a tiny reference to the TV theme at the end of the music.

Years later, I can appreciate more what this game has to offer, particularly the music.  Considering the games I've examined in My Gaming Audio History, I think this is the first game that has used irregular meter, and it's used several times!  The variety of music is awesome as well, from the laid back grove of the Foot Clan music to the 4ths and 5ths in the Underwater music... it's all cool to hear again.  Jun Funahashi composed the music to this game as well as a few others I played.  Really enjoyed the variety and style of this music on a re-listen.  Definitely worth a revisit if you haven't heard it in several years either... and maybe I should download it for a quick playthrough...


Here's a link to the soundtrack with my notes and reactions:

-Introduction: E major.  37 sec.  7 sec intro doesn't repeat.  Intro (4)- A(4)- B- C.
-Overworld: Bb major.  16 sec.  1 sec percussion intro.  15 sec loop.
-Sewer 1: Ab major.  28 sec.  2 sec intro doesn't repeat.  Intro A-B-C(4) B'(4)  Ragtime piano feel melody.
-Miniboss: D minor.  20 sec. <1 sec intro doesn't repeat. 19 sec loop.   A-A-B.  First use of irregular meter of any game I've examined so far in this series.  The second A, 8th bar has only 3 beats before the B section.  Chromatic.
-Miniboss beaten: A major.  2 sec.  A octave gliss.
-Underwater: F minor.  33 sec.  Uses lots of 4ths and 5ths.  Also has several irregular metered bars.  Planing 4ths.  Irregular measure groupings.  I need to think more about this theme!
-Hurry up: F?  5 sec.  Diminished, chromatic movement.   Speeds up as well to 4 sec.
-Building: C minor.  23 sec.  <1 sec intro.  intro doesn't repeat.  A-B-C.  Sound choices, particularly in C remind me of Castlevania sounds.
-Boss: D minor.  15 sec.  2 sec intro doesn't repeat.  A(4)-B-C(4)
-Boss beaten: D minor. 8 sec.  Uses the "Hero's in a half shell" motive at the end.
-Sewer 2: B minor.  43 sec.  A-A-B.  Irregular bar right before loop.
-Foot Clan: D minor.  32 sec.  A-A'-B.  Cool groove!
-Death music: D major.  4 sec.
-End game: C major. 36 sec.  Very tonal and typical end game music.
-Game over: G minor. 3 sec.