Game music of the (holi)day: Ducktales

Game: Ducktales

Song: The Himalayas

Composer: Yoshihiro Sakaguchi

Above: The Himalayas from Ducktales

Good lord, Ducktales. Disney's carefully calculated return to television animation ensnared an entire generation of kids, instantly endearing Scrooge McDuck and his entire gaggle of feathered friends to us for life. Beyond the cartoon, there was the Capcom-developed tie-in game which, as hard as it is to believe in today's environment, was one of the best titles on the NES. The gameplay, the graphics, and yes, even the music, were all outstanding and hold up today. Hard to believe the AAA dev team used to be assigned to kiddie stuff, huh?

Scrooge's journey for riches takes him across the globe, which, as you can tell, includes the Himalaya mountain range. I can't say this song is particularly wintry or evocative of snow , but it sure is catchy as hell. The level itself is covered in snow and ice, often so thick you can fall waist-deep into the stuff, so it doeshave that angle covered.But uh, let's not kid around about Ducktales' music - the real star of the game is undoubtedly The Moon:

Above: Holy crap, best game song ever

Above: Norg's "Harden the Duck Up" remix, which WILL rock your goddamn face off

If I had any type of superhumanpowers, I would usethem to fly through time and see the look on all our faces the first time we heard The Moon music. The expression must be akin to seeing the face of god, or becoming at one with all existence. There may not be a better game song in our lifetimes... or ever. If you don't like The Moon, I daresay we can never be friends.

So yeah, The Moon kinda hijacked a GMOTD post that was supposed to be about the snow level, but it's The Moon, so it can do whatever it wants. As for the rest of the Ducktales soundtrack... it's all good. All of it, everything. Not a single bad note in the game. If you haven't experience the pure joy of Ducktales, it's high time you caught the hell up.

Rink Rink by Tomoko Sasaki

Walrus Cove by David Wise

Ice Cap Zone by Bobby Brooks, Brad Buxer, Jun Senoue and Michael Jackson (?)