By Joseph Walter
The Super Nintendo was graced with three "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers" games. Shockingly, they are all of decent quality and are still fun to play. That said, "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie" is the worst of the trio, despite its co-op pseudo-brawler status.
But the music. My God the music.
At first, many of the tracks seem like typical faire for 16-bit action-platformers, but upon closer inspection, it seems that the composer put in an extra amount of thought for each piece.
I can't imagine why, but my guess is that he was on a creative streak and just loved what he was coming up with, so he decided to go the extra mile and put in tons of extra details. Nearly every track is structured more complexly than others of the genre in the same era, with build-ups, motifs, and balls-to-the-wall bridges that come outta nowhere.
So for this edition of the so-called "Weekly Soundcheck," I wanted to discuss some of the stand-out tracks of "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie!"
But the music. My God the music.
At first, many of the tracks seem like typical faire for 16-bit action-platformers, but upon closer inspection, it seems that the composer put in an extra amount of thought for each piece.
I can't imagine why, but my guess is that he was on a creative streak and just loved what he was coming up with, so he decided to go the extra mile and put in tons of extra details. Nearly every track is structured more complexly than others of the genre in the same era, with build-ups, motifs, and balls-to-the-wall bridges that come outta nowhere.
So for this edition of the so-called "Weekly Soundcheck," I wanted to discuss some of the stand-out tracks of "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie!"
Player Select
I'm going to be frank: This is probably the most bad-ass piece of 16-bit music I've ever heard. And it's all for the Player Select screen (although "Gauntlet Legends" and "Jet Force Gemini" both have absurdly awesome Character Select screen music as well.)
I can only imagine that the composer, Yasumasa Yamada, came up with the sweet background loop and then just played the solo improvisations live.
This is certainly exciting and head-bobbing, but the element of "we've got some ass to kick" is the selling point for this particular track. You can practically see the Rangers in the Command Center getting ready to suit up and deciding who is going where.
A short, sweet and awesome piece.
I can only imagine that the composer, Yasumasa Yamada, came up with the sweet background loop and then just played the solo improvisations live.
This is certainly exciting and head-bobbing, but the element of "we've got some ass to kick" is the selling point for this particular track. You can practically see the Rangers in the Command Center getting ready to suit up and deciding who is going where.
A short, sweet and awesome piece.
Shopping Center
The first stage of the blase' game, "Shopping Center" delivers another round-house kick of 16-bit glory.
The desperate buil-up in the beginning sets the scene for the under-siege shopping center, but it's the insanely sweet guitar blast at :15 that sells the track, while conveniently showing off the power of the SNES soundchip.
Overall, this is typical action-fare with a memorable tune that certainly sounds like you should be punishing putties to it. It's not really fast paced, but the beat is captivating.
As the mentioned before, the bridge of this tune, with its variations on the main beats and then its 1:13 insert of the main motif shows that a lot of kick-ass thoughts went into this piece.
The desperate buil-up in the beginning sets the scene for the under-siege shopping center, but it's the insanely sweet guitar blast at :15 that sells the track, while conveniently showing off the power of the SNES soundchip.
Overall, this is typical action-fare with a memorable tune that certainly sounds like you should be punishing putties to it. It's not really fast paced, but the beat is captivating.
As the mentioned before, the bridge of this tune, with its variations on the main beats and then its 1:13 insert of the main motif shows that a lot of kick-ass thoughts went into this piece.
Frozen Mountains
"Frozen Mountains" is the most basic SNES "action track" on this list, which is definitely not a bad thing. Calling to mind "Whirlwind" from the Genesis' "Shinobi III," it's a driving piece that's good accompaniment to the level's gimmick of riding down a snow-covered peak on a snowboard while beating the hell out of things.
There's a big focus on percussion and guitar strumming, but the main synth takes center stage.
However, :53 to 1:01 escalates what is a fairly straightforward track to something that is just purely cool. I wish I could describe it better. On the surface, it's really just a simple shake-up, but in context it just absolutely sells a particular feeling. That feeling is, of course, being infintely bad-ass.
After this sequence, the track seems to loop, but that's a lie. Instead, the center-stage synth now starts to amp itself and go off on some increasingly-frantic tangents before the actual loop.
Not as good as the bridge, but it still manages to be more complex than it rightfully should have been.
There's a big focus on percussion and guitar strumming, but the main synth takes center stage.
However, :53 to 1:01 escalates what is a fairly straightforward track to something that is just purely cool. I wish I could describe it better. On the surface, it's really just a simple shake-up, but in context it just absolutely sells a particular feeling. That feeling is, of course, being infintely bad-ass.
After this sequence, the track seems to loop, but that's a lie. Instead, the center-stage synth now starts to amp itself and go off on some increasingly-frantic tangents before the actual loop.
Not as good as the bridge, but it still manages to be more complex than it rightfully should have been.
Ivan Ooze
Starting ominously, as most final boss themes do, the track quickly transitions to a loud declaration of omnipotent power and intimidation before continuing into its pulse-pumping main sequence.
More than the others we've discussed on this list, this track almost exclusively features intense and full synthetic sounds, letting the still-present guitar take a backseat. The sounds are wavy, spacey and eerily electronic. Starting at L40, the main lick take on a hopeful atmosphere, but the sounds used for this sequence make it simulatenously make it feel hopeless.
But then there's the bridge.
1:03 to 1:30 is... it's just something else. It's beautiful. You can practically fully visualize the White Ranger facing off against the ultimate foe, Ivan Ooze, in a fateful stand-off with the galaxy in the balance. The full forces of good pushed to their limit against an overwhelming force.
It's outstanding work for such a meh gameplay experience.
More than the others we've discussed on this list, this track almost exclusively features intense and full synthetic sounds, letting the still-present guitar take a backseat. The sounds are wavy, spacey and eerily electronic. Starting at L40, the main lick take on a hopeful atmosphere, but the sounds used for this sequence make it simulatenously make it feel hopeless.
But then there's the bridge.
1:03 to 1:30 is... it's just something else. It's beautiful. You can practically fully visualize the White Ranger facing off against the ultimate foe, Ivan Ooze, in a fateful stand-off with the galaxy in the balance. The full forces of good pushed to their limit against an overwhelming force.
It's outstanding work for such a meh gameplay experience.
Game Over and Stage Clear
Game Over and Stage Clear both feature interpretations of the "Go! Go! Power Rangers" theme song, which is one of the few times that any familiar "Power Rangers" music is referenced all.
The "Game Over" theme, while not as outstanding as the minor-mode rendition symbolizing utter defeat in the first SNES game, is still a serviceable, arcade-styled "Game Over" motif, but the "Stage Clear" version meshes much better with the style of this game, taking the main theme and morphing (lol) it to fit the musical trappings that Yamada graced the rest of the soundtrack with.
The "Game Over" theme, while not as outstanding as the minor-mode rendition symbolizing utter defeat in the first SNES game, is still a serviceable, arcade-styled "Game Over" motif, but the "Stage Clear" version meshes much better with the style of this game, taking the main theme and morphing (lol) it to fit the musical trappings that Yamada graced the rest of the soundtrack with.
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