Another week and another two major MSU-1 Audio projects released by Super Nintendo fans. Considering both these classic soundtracks come in at nearly one hundred tracks each this is no small feat. Two epic quests featuring brand new audio possibilities await you.
Caught between the brilliance of both Soulblazer and Terranigma, Quintet's Illusion of Gaia (Illusion of Time for us in the old continent) sees the young Will take on a journey across a somewhat fictional Earth (with several real life landmarks) attempting to prevent destruction via an impending comet strike. The unique twist in gameplay allows Will to morph into other shapes, including the dark knight Freedan, who is needed when puzzle solving turns to hardcore combat.
The game's phenomenal soundtrack by Yasuhiro Kawasaki can now be replaced by high quality re-orchestrations of the originals thanks to the efforts of Conn and daniloroxette, who compiled the MSU-1 replacement audio from several artists.
Next up is the legendary Mystical Ninja. It's a shame Konami only released the first of several Goemon games in the West. The unique blend of exploration and platforming antics for one or two players set to the colourful and zany antics of the titular Gomeon and Ebisumaru quickly gained the hearts of SNES owners everywhere.
The game's memorable soundtrack by Kazuhiko Uehara and Harumi Ueko featured a mix of feudal Japan tunes mixed with upbeat and goofy melodies that perfectly convey Goemon's insane onscreen antics. Thanks to Kurrono and Conn's efforts you can now play the game along with some high quality music. However, for now only regular MIDI versions of the themes are available to download; the SNES sound chip is so good that you may even find that you prefer the originals. Hopefully remixers will take on the task in the future to bring these tracks to new audio heights.
Two quality games to add to the ever-growing list of supported Super Nintendo classics that you can now play with digital audio soundtracks. Any good memories from these two titles among our beloved readers? Share them with the world in the comments sections below.
Comments 14
Tight! I loved the Mystical Ninja soundtrack!
No thanks, I honestly prefer the original music. The one for Legend of mystical ninja is horrible and I love that game to dead
Damn... I thought that headline was going to read "...receive Switch ports."
I'm probably one of the few who really asked for these High-Fi music patches. SNES music always seemed caught in limbo between Orchestra and chiptunes, and it never sat well with me. Keep 'em coming, boys. I'll be making a lot of use outta these with me Retron 5.
@CanisWolfred That is a no go. MSU-1 is only supported by the SD2SNES flash cartridge because that thing has the actual chip inside!
@Shiryu Doh! I didn't know that! I hadn't tried any yet, but I'll have to keep that in mind. Seems a bit niche, then, actually...
@CanisWolfred Nowadays, what isn't niche regarding retro stuff anyway?
@Ooyah yeah, I was in the mood to knock someone down to grab a place in line for that. Oh well, maybe next year.
I adore illusion of time. But as impressive as it is I am more than happy with the original
I usually don't stop in for these articles, but when I saw Mystical Ninja and Illusion of Gaia, I HAD to come here. I now HAVE to listen to this music while I work. Thanks NL!
@Shiryu OOF, $200 for an SD2SNES... Yeah, that's pretty steep just to mess with music output...
Illusion of Gaia is still one of my all time favorites. Still have the t-shirt I got with a special edition (or was it just a preorder bonus? I forget) of the game.
Very cool, Illusion of Gaia was always a favorite of mine on SNES. In fact, one of the music levels I made in Mario Maker was my favorite track from the game.
Illusion of Gaia was a fantastic game.
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