The Silver Surfer Soundtrack Is Classic NES Music at Its Best

One of the worst NES games has one of the best NES soundtracks.

1990’s Silver Surfer (developed by Software Creations) is widely regarded as one of the worst NES games of all time, due in large part to its exceptionally high level of difficulty (which you can see in this playthrough). Its soundtrack, on the other hand, is considered one of the best NES soundtracks of all time.

Composed by Tim Follin, who also composed the soundtracks for Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future, Ghouls’n Ghosts, and Bionic Commando, the Silver Surfer soundtrack really pushed the limits of what the NES could do, music-wise.

Just listen to the title screen music or “BGM 1,” both of which transcend typical ideas of what 8-bit video game music ought to sound like. Their musicality, complexity, and overall funkiness could easily stand toe-to-toe with modern chiptune artists like C-jeff. But I’d expect nothing less for the Sentinel of the Spaceways.

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