What are the most musically ambitious 8-bit game songs?

[J T]

What do you think are the most musically ambitious video game songs of the 8-bit era? I'm looking for things with crazy melodies, changing time signatures, complex rhythms, etc.

The first name that jumps to mind for me is Tim Follin and I immediately think of the title screen music to Solstice, which I used to leave running all the time on my NES when I was a kid:

Solstice Title Theme:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_gObHt ... 6EAF867283

I think this song was one of my first tastes of prog rock, though I didn't know it at the time, and is probably why I would later fall in love with bands like Emerson Lake & Palmer, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, King Crimson, etc.

[J T]

I'm going to add the first response to my question because I just found this excellent be-bop jazz cover of the alien lair theme from Contra for the NES. One of the great things about this track is that it has incredibly unusual time signature changes in the structure. It's surprising how the song lends itself so well to be-bop. You might not have noticed how musically ambitious the song is in the context of a great alien shootout, but there is some serious musicianship going on here!

From the video description:

For those interested, here is the time signatures of the form:

|| : 5/4 | 6/4 | 5/4 | 6/4 | 3 bars of 5/4 | 8 bars of 6/4 | 2 bars of 7/4 : ||

(Given the tempo, I think the time signatures are probably better classified as */8 rather than */4 but we're splitting hairs at that point)

Alien Lair Theme (jazz version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdvg7_OzOTo

Alien Lair Theme (original version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64wMFoV ... D1804DCBFD

[ElkinFencer10]

It's perhaps not as complex as your suggestions (you're absolutely right about Contra, btw), but the battle theme from Final Fantasy always struck me with how well balanced it is and how well it fits the mood of the average FF battle - definitely serious, but not excruciatingly tense. Not only that but how well it's held up over time and how recognizable it still is lends credit to Nobuo Uematsu's skill as a composer and this particular work's quality.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fIKWrG0Gv0

[Hiki]

Mostly for technical reasons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-D24A_N4d4

[Tanooki]

Maybe obvious or not, but the one thing that immediately popped into my head for bulk and quality of being just downright ambitious (and even for our market was stripped) but the Castlevania III soundtrack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJynBxT ... ED90E41A23

The music on that put much of anything else for the NES to shame in the quality of the audio output, variety, and mood setting tones across the board. Castlevania II did this as well but only with around 5-6 pieces of music too and almost all those memorable.

[Ack]

Personally when I think of ambitions 8-bit soundtracks, I think of the later Mega Man titles. In fact, I think of the Mega Man 6 soundtrack:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8-zA2XgFGA&index=1&list=PL2E2A41D6EB4D64F6

You can pretty much pick any track at random and be impressed by it.

Knight Man's Stage
Plant Man's Stage
Tomahawk Man's Stage

[Sarge]

I always think of Silver Surfer when this comes up. Always.

Silver Surfer - BGM1
Silver Surfer - BGM2

[Tanooki]

I was debating throwing Mega Man II in my post, can't think of a more amazing set of scores in a MM game that really sticks with you. You can look at a static image of the game on some stage and that tune will just pop into your head.

[Erik_Twice]

I think Sunsoft made some of the best and more technically acomplished on the NES. I particularly like the music of Super Spy Hunter, which has a fantastic bass line, colorful Peter Gunn-like melodies and lots of hardware tricks.

Stage 1 Theme:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7dz8O52ZjI

Those jazzy hold notes are a marvel; they are incredibly difficult to produce on the hardware.

[ExedExes]

I always think of Silver Surfer when this comes up. Always.

Silver Surfer - BGM1
Silver Surfer - BGM2

Tim Follin again there in Silver Surfer! Check out any NES game by Software Creations, Sky Shark is a good example.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeDyzAjex6I

and while we're talking about Mega Man, I found the Proto Man Castle stage awesome from MM5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rd_s-jnnFY

Finally, how about something from Shatterhand?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVCQ-kau7gs