Mega Man 3 Soundtrack Remade in VRC6

Mega Man games have always had highly memorable music and Mega Man 3 is certainly no exception. Composers Yasuaki "Bun Bun" Fujita and Harumi Fujita (she was't credited but she wrote Gemini Man, Needle Man and part of the Staff Roll theme) worked magic on the 8-bit NES sound chip and crafted some of the finest Mega Man music ever. Nine months in the works, chiptune artist RushJet1 has remade the soundtrack of Mega Man 3 using Konmai's VRC6 Mememory Management Controller chip, giving a classic soundtrack a unique arrangement.

Some of you might be thinking "VRC6 what now?" and looking befuddled. The VRC6 was a special chip developed by Konami that, among other things, gave the NES three additional sound channels for enhanced sound capabilities but this was limited to a select few Japanese Famicom games. On it's own, the NES had five sound channels and in spite of that, many games on the system had fantastic music. Those that have heard the music or played the Japanese version of Akumajou Densetsu, AKA, Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, usually sight it as the better version largely because of the audio from the VRC6 chip.

Using the three extra channels that the VRC6 chip offers, RushJet1's Mega Man 3 Remade isn't just a simple cover album. Spark Man sounds like it has even more life in it while Magnet Man is slowed down a bit, but still retains it's upbeat feel. In the original Mega Man 3 when you went through the remixed Doc Robot stages, the music from Spark Man, Gemini Man, Needle Man and Shadow Man's altered levels remained the same. RushJet1 went the extra mile, and giving us Needle Doc, Shadow Doc, Gemini Doc and Spark Doc, arranged versions of the Doc Robot stages and the results are spectacular. There's even more extensive arrangement work with Doc Boss, Wily 2, which arranges the often overlooked final stage from Mega Man III on the Game Boy. RushJet1 even played through Mega Man 3 and with the original music off and his Mega Man 3 Remade soundtrack in place of it. You can check out his entire play through below. Not only does he make sweet chiptunes arrangements, he's quite the accomplished Mega Man player.

Nothing will ever replace my love for Mega Man 3's original soundtrack, but RushJet1 has worked hard to put out one of the most unique Mega Man arrange albums. I honestly don't think he was trying to make a "better" soundtrack as some might think after hearing this. Regardless, his take on Mega Man 3's music should not be missed. Besides, are you really gonna turn down free Mega Man music? I didn't think so. Mega Man 3 Remade is pleasant on the ears and a great way to celebrate the Blue Bomber's 25th anniversary this month.

Mega Man 3 Remade

Source: ProtoDude