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Chiptune Friday: Bionic Commando - A New Breed of Hero

Posted by Derrick Sanskrit


I have to admit, I kind of got used to John's daily posts about the majesty of Bionic Commando, and while Rearmed has been keeping my DualShock3 rumbling with delight since then, I still feel something missing when I'm away from the game for too long. Thankfully, this little gem from the 1988 NES version was around to keep my headphones warm with hot lead.



This tune only plays in one stage of the game, Area 8, and that's a shame because it so perfectly captures the black ops action mood of the entire game with its cool jazz-like square waves, intensified by the rat-a-tat of the noise channel's marching snare. To top it off, Area 8 is one of the coolest looking levels of Rearmed as many of the rooms are backlit, producing beautiful silhouettes in monochromatic blue hallways. Replace the bazooka with a tenor saxophone and it's jazz personified...almost...

Changing gears a bit, it seems there has been so much positive buzz since last week about the Reformat the Planet chiptune documentary streaming on Pitchfork.tv that the network's producers and the film's director Paul Owens have agreed to grant the doc a bonus life with one more week of free broadcasting. If you missed out last week, now's your chance to experience the magic. If you enjoyed it already, another go might just be what it takes to inspire you to dust off your old Game Boy (I know it did for me).

Related articles:
Bionic Commando Rearmed Is Out. It Matters.
Top Ten Bionic Arm Uses
Chiptune Friday: Watch Reformat The Planet RIGHT NOW!!!
Chiptune Friday: Little Nemo The Dream Master PLUS Bonus Music Video


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  • about the blogger

    John Constantine, our superhero, was raised by birds and then attended Penn State University. He is currently working on a novel about a fictional city that exists only in his mind. John has an astonishingly extensive knowledge of Scientology. Ultimately he would like to learn how to effectively use his brain. He continues to keep Wu-Tang's secret to himself.

    Derrick Sanskrit is a self-professed geek in a variety of fields including typography, graphic design, comic books, music and cartoons. As a professional hipster graphic designer, his recent clients have included Nerve, Pitchfork and MoCCA, among others.

    Amber Ahlborn - artist, writer, gamer and DigiPen survivor, she maintains a day job as a graphic artist. By night Amber moonlights as a professional Metroid Fanatic and keeps a metal suit in the closet just in case. Has lived in the state of Washington and insists that it really doesn't rain as much as everyone says it does.

    Nadia Oxford is a housekeeping robot who was refurbished into a warrior when the world's need for justice was great. Now that the galaxy is at peace (give or take a conflict here or there), she works as a freelance writer for various sites and magazines. Based in Toronto, Nadia prizes the certificate from the Ministry of Health declaring her tick and rabies-free.

    Bob Mackey is a grad student, writer, and cyborg, who uses the powerful girl-repelling nanomachines mad science grafted onto his body to allocate time towards interests of the nerd persuasion. He believes that complaining about things on the Internet is akin to the fine art of wine tasting, but with more spitting into buckets.

    Joe Keiser has a programming degree from Johns Hopkins University, a tiny apartment in Brooklyn, and a fake toy guitar built in the hollowed-out shell of a real guitar. He writes about games and technology for a variety of outlets. One day he will stop doing this. The day after that, police will find his body under a collapsed pile of (formerly neatly alphabetized) collector's edition tchotchkes.

    Cole Stryker is an American freelance writer living in York, England, where he resides with his archeologist wife. He writes for a travel company by day and argues about pop culture on the internet by night. Find him writing regularly here and here.

    Peter Smith is like the lead character of Irwin Shaw's The 80-Yard Run, except less athletic. He considers himself very lucky to have this job. But it's a little premature to take "jack-off of all trades" off his resume. Besides writing, travelling, and painting houses, Pete plays guitar in a rock trio called The Aye-Ayes. He calls them a 'power pop' band, but they generally sound more like Motorhead on a drinking binge.


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