“Pretty bad”, I will have to disagree greatly with you there. Yes, there is plenty of awful music composed for the NES sound chip, but the same goes for the SID, YM2612, etc. As with any instrument, you need talent.
For heaven’s sake, what about Takashi Tateishi’s amazing soundtrack for Mega Man 2? As an example, here is the Woodman stage theme [1].
Admittedly the Japanese release of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse was helped by the addition of the VRC6 chip when it comes to sound, but the depth of the notes is astonishing [2].
Let us head west then, what about Jeroen Tel’s Overlord theme for the NES? [3] Or what many consider some of the best sound ever extracted from the NES: Tim Follin’s work for Silver Surfer [4].
Heck, the NES sound chip brings us great tunes to this day. Listen for example to Rainbowdragoneyes’s first half of the soundtrack for The Messenger (2018) [5]. Track 8, “Bamboo Boogaloo (Bamboo Creek)”, never fails to put a smile on my face.
Yes, the Mega Drive sound is great (despite some finding it having a bit too much “twang”). Personally, I really like the Battletoads soundtrack on the Mega Drive [6]. However, using the word “bad” anywhere in a sentence with the NES sound chip is not something I can stand hearing without speaking up – it is objectively wrong.
Fair enough. I really wanted to say that even with a tiny amount of instruments, it's still possible to great music but couldn't figure out how to put it nicely. Mega Man did have some impressive tunes, that's true.
“Pretty bad”, I will have to disagree greatly with you there. Yes, there is plenty of awful music composed for the NES sound chip, but the same goes for the SID, YM2612, etc. As with any instrument, you need talent.
For heaven’s sake, what about Takashi Tateishi’s amazing soundtrack for Mega Man 2? As an example, here is the Woodman stage theme [1].
[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDC4X8Dgxr4&t=477s
Admittedly the Japanese release of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse was helped by the addition of the VRC6 chip when it comes to sound, but the depth of the notes is astonishing [2].
[2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqyoTvZ5cOE&t=2050s
Let us head west then, what about Jeroen Tel’s Overlord theme for the NES? [3] Or what many consider some of the best sound ever extracted from the NES: Tim Follin’s work for Silver Surfer [4].
[3]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5vccpl9hd8
[4]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQlLl2j5THQ&t=231s
Heck, the NES sound chip brings us great tunes to this day. Listen for example to Rainbowdragoneyes’s first half of the soundtrack for The Messenger (2018) [5]. Track 8, “Bamboo Boogaloo (Bamboo Creek)”, never fails to put a smile on my face.
[5]: https://rainbowdragoneyes.bandcamp.com/album/the-messenger-o...
Yes, the Mega Drive sound is great (despite some finding it having a bit too much “twang”). Personally, I really like the Battletoads soundtrack on the Mega Drive [6]. However, using the word “bad” anywhere in a sentence with the NES sound chip is not something I can stand hearing without speaking up – it is objectively wrong.
[6]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdHsKEv87rY