I had a student in Video Game Music class last fall who said to me: "please, can we look at anything Mega Man?" Thinking of you today! Today's post is on the last Mega Man game that I played, Mega Man III. I loved the Mega Man series, but it was extremely difficult and I left it behind when I moved past the NES. Somehow, this progression seems fitting, especially considering that the credits to this game list the original bosses. Loved this series as a kid. Tried to learn the best way to play through the stages, etc. In searching around for all this Mega Man info, I found some episodes of a Mega Man cartoon series. Want to waste a bit of time? Check out this retro 90s goodness.
One disappointment I have with this game is that there's no introductory movie. Mega Man II does such a great job of giving a brief story and panning up the building with a musical build starting with the end game music from the first Mega Man and then launching into the new Mega Man II theme that equates for an awesome intro. Nothing here, just a title screen. A bit disappointing to say the least.
Who composed the audio experience? Again, a change from either of the earlier Mega Man games. Composer: Yasuaki Fujita credited as "Bun Bun" in the game credits, and his wife Harumi, who is listed in the "special thanks" section of credits. VGMPF lists Harumi as having written two tracks before she gave birth and turned the project to her husband. However, VGMPF's list of game tracks only credits her as working on the staff roll track. My searches for more information led me to learn about a new blog, similar to my own, Classical Gaming: An academic study of video games, sound, and music. Here, Steve lists Needle Man and Gemini Man's themes as composed by Harumi. It's unclear to me where he gets this information, and it's at odds with VGMPF, so I'll simply leave this as unsettled. I'd love to know more specifics.
Want a bit of a time waster? BrentalFloss has created lyrics and sung to the end game music. His video has over a million views! This is interesting to me because I often made up lyrics to game music when I played. Not this particular track, but it's also something I did with other games.
Thinking across the NES Mega Man games...
I took a bit to read through my other entries on Mega Man I and Mega Man II to see how this game compares. Many of the sound effects are the same across all these games. Also, the function of the music is very much the same: music for various levels to create different atmospheres, boss selection music, boss music, victory music, Wiley stage music, end game music, etc. The purpose of music is virtually the same. However, there is quite a bit more music here than there is in earlier Mega Man games. Compare:
Mega Man: ~ 6 minutes of music. Average stage music length: 29.5 sec.
Mega Man II: ~ 13 minutes of music. Average stage music length: 44.5 sec.
Mega Man III ~ 15 minutes of music. Average stage music length: 50.25 sec.
In Mega Man III, tracks are generally longer, especially stage music. Needle Man's music is a 73 sec loop, quite a bit longer than any of the other tracks. Crash Man's music in Mega Man II is also quite a bit longer than any other music, but that seems to be because it's a series of variations. In Needle Man's case, the music continues into various sections. Really cool and interesting.
Boss battle is significantly longer here as is the music when you get a new weapon. I don't actually think I ever heard all of that track through until doing this project. End game music is also significantly longer in this game, over 3 minutes compared with about 2 minutes for Mega Man II and 1.5 minutes for the original Mega Man.
My detailed notes are below. They were made using this soundtrack.
-Select screen: 9.5 sec. G# minor. i-bVI-bVII motion.
-Proto Man whistle: 13 sec. G minor. Melody only. Blue notes. Fascinating to read his original name was "Blues"
-Gemini Man: 55 sec. C minor. A (10) B C. B section uses minor scale which sounds exotic, appropriate for the setting.
-Hard Man: 46. 5 sec. A minor--> D minor. A B C (4) D.
-Magnet Man: 40 sec. F# major. Intro (5) A B C (3). Intro doesn't repeat in the loop.
-Needle Man: 73 sec. Bb minor. Intro (10, Eb) A B C D Fascinating how much longer this loop is than other stages!
-Shadow Man: 58 sec. F# minor--> E major. Intro (2+4) A B B' (10) C. C section is in E major and uses bVI-bVII-I.
-Snake Man: 41 sec. F minor. Intro (2) A B C. Intro doesn't repeat as part of the loop.
-Spark Man: 38 sec. G minor. Intro A B. Intro doesn't repeat as part of the loop.
-Top Man: 50.5 sec. D minor. Intro (2) A (4) B C (4). Intro doesn't repeat in loop. Intro has irregular measure at the very top.
-Boss select: 6 sec. A minor--> E minor. Cool to consider how this music fits together in the game. First screen select, then this, then individual stage music...
-Boss battle: 32 sec. Eb minor--> Ab minor. Intro (4 + 2) A A'. Lots of tritones, at the beginning and in the melody. Last two bars of the intro repeats in the loop, but not the initial 4.
-Stage clear: 3.5 sec. F# major. bVI-bVII-I
-Get new weapon: 25.5 sec. F# minor. A B. Also uses bVI-bVII-I
-Password/ Game over: 12.5 sec. F# major. Short 8 bar loop.
-Wiley fortress intro: 18 sec. C minor. Intro (6) A. Compound meter. Starts with diminished arpeggios.
-Wiley fortress 1: 48 sec. Ab minor. Intro (1) A (6) A (6) B C. Very end of C section turns to E major. Intro doesn't repeat.
-Wiley fortress 2: 40 sec. B minor. Intro (1) A B B. Intro doesn't repeat.
-Wiley fortress 3: 44.5 sec. C minor. Intro (4) A A' B. Intro doesn't repeat in loop.
-Wiley battle: 22 sec. Ab minor. Intro (4) A (12).
-Wiley defeated: 5 sec. C major. bVI-bVII-I. Extended version of the stage clear music.
-Proto man theme: 1:52.5 plus 14 sec of Proto whistle at the beginning. G minor. A B C B' (4) C. Begins the Proto man whistle and then extends into a pop like song form. Doesn't loop whistle or A section, only B and beyond.
-Credits: 70 sec. D major--> G major? Very different feeling and sound from the rest of the game music. Somewhat tonally ambiguous. Intro (6) A A' B C.
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