OST of the Day #31: DKC2: Diddy's Kong Quest - Disco Train 🎢

taco.cat (67)in #game • 5 years ago (edited)

Hey Steemit!

OSTs make up the majority of the music I listen to, and they're so underrated I just had to share them! Feel free to listen while reading. 😊

Today I chose a song from a game that is probably as old as myself by now; Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest!

Source: rare.fandom.com

So if you've never seen/played this game before, or you weren't fortunate enough to own a SNES back in the day like me, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest is a 2D adventure platformer game developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released in November 1995 in North America and in Japan, where it was called Super Donkey Kong 2: Dixie & Diddy. It is the second installment of the Donkey Kong Country series and serves as a direct sequel to Donkey Kong Country. It was later re-released for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) in 2004.

Source: pinterest

The story revolves around Diddy Kong and his girlfriend, Dixie Kong, who try to rescue Donkey Kong after he is abducted by King K. Rool. The game is set on Crocodile Isle, with eight worlds of varying environments, totaling 52 levels. Diddy's Kong Quest received critical acclaim, being widely regarded as one of the greatest 2D platformers ever made. Praise was directed at its graphics, gameplay, and soundtrack, and it became the highest selling SNES title to not be packaged with the system.

Source: tcrf.net

I've never actually played this myself, but I have watched a few playthroughs of it on YouTube and it actually looks pretty difficult; which is kinda expected of platformers from that era. The graphics aren't the best compared to what we have now obviously, but those pre-rendered 3D sprites were top of the line back in those days. Man, how far we've come huh. This is probably what it would look like now in HD graphics:

Source: kotaku

Anyway, the song I chose for today is called Disco Train! Have a listen:

I believe this song is only found in 2 levels in the game, and the first time you'll hear it is in level 4-2, called Target Terror in Krazy Kremland; which is supposed to be a run-down amusement park, built around a swamp. This level involves Diddy and Dixie Kong riding in a roller coaster, with ✔ and ✖ barrels which open and close gates that block the path on the track. As such, the heroes should hit every ✔ Barrel they come across and avoid all ✖ Barrels, for if an ✖ Barrel is hit, the next gate closes and blocks their path, which will take out either Kong.

Source: Super Mario Wiki

This game has an absolutely amazing soundtrack, and the reason why I chose this song in particular is definitely because of that funky bass. I recently learned that I often lean towards electronic/techno sounding songs and Disco Train undoubtedly fits that description.

The song starts off with that airy synth harmony, accompanied by electronic and drum beats in the background. I believe the sound increasing and decreasing in pitch that sounds like a siren is supposed to simulate the roller coaster going up and down. The funky bass at 0:28 and the higher electronic notes later at 1:10 that form the main harmony of the song are definitely my favourite parts. I also like that they added in the "screaming" sound effects to really add to the ambience of being on a roller coaster. I read that those sounds are actually supposed to be fireworks going off in the background because they sync up perfectly with the in-game graphics but they always sounded like screams to me.

Source: mariowiki

The game's soundtrack was composed by the amazing David Wise, who was a composer for Rare from 1985 to 2009, and did the soundtrack for the entire DKC series! I've listened to quite a few of them and they are all so awesome. I'd say his style is very atmospheric, often mixing in the environmental sounds you'd find in the level setting, like the screams in the theme park. He did a great job setting the scene with his songs.

I actually posted about a remake of another song from this game, called Bramble Blast quite a while ago! Check it out here!

Thanks for reading!