I'm the creator of the PilotWings 64 soundtrack. Love the posts here, blows me away. I'm wondering if any of you would be interested if I started a KickStarter Project to recreate the tracks, possibly more organically. If there is enough interest, I may start soon. Let me know!
+Dan Hess Yes by all means!! These tracks have been stuck on my mind forever!! The way they make you feel is something that no other game have achieved. Pleas let us know if you decide to start a Kickstarter. :D
Amazing to read all the posts. I'm Dan Hess, the composer for Pilot Wings 64, and it is so cool to see that the target audience got the music, unlike the 40 year old reviewers at the time. I posted a couple of the Pilot Wings demos on my channel if you're interested. Thanks so much for posting this.
It's a good feeling to be able to talk to the man behind the music. I recently made a comment on this video, describing the impact that this particular piece had on me as a child. By the way, some of these melodic lines give off strong Russell Ferrante vibes.
@@poopsintub I may have missed your last comment, sorry for that. I created my own RU-vid channel and a Patreon and I monitor that those much more closely, so feel free to post there. So cool to hear from all of you old time PilotWings 64 players! Cool reference on Russell Ferrante! By the way, I created my own remake of Birdman and some other tribute songs on my channel. Let me know what you think.
This song sounds like a theme of a detective in a movie down on his luck, drinking away his sorrows at a nearby bar. Later he steps out for a smoke while its raining then pulls out a picture of his ex wife.. blows the smoke away and tucks the picture back in his coat pocket then walks away down the street sidewalk with cars passing by.
And then he finds a good skyscraper, gets his hangglider and solemnly watches the city's neon lights pass under him😂 Jokes aside, love your description! :)
damn.. I hear this song, and I'm young again. 1996. Watching my dad flying around free roaming, landing and taking snap shots of the scenery. Sure we had MS Flight Sim, and Falcon etc on the PC, but there was something special about laying out on the couch listening to smooth jazz while exploring a then "state of the art" Nintendo game. Sharing a moment without saying a word. RIP Dad.
When I was a lad, my friend and I would take the gyro-copter on the map of the US. We'd land on a highway in California and tap the throttle, never taking off, all the way across the US to the east coast. This game was awesome.
Me too! Getting this game before I could drive a car was awesome. Especially since we never knew 3D graphics like this could be possible before that generation.
I don't know why, but no game has ever felt as open world as the maps of Pilotwings 64. There are plenty of games that are technically bigger and more open than it, but they just lack the feeling that exploring Little States gave.
Awesome story bro. My dad and I used to play this in our basement on our unfoldable couch into a bed. I still play it to this very day! Much respect to your dad! He'll be flying forever now in Heaven with the Birdman as his wingman if you know what I mean ;)
If I EVER think of my N64 days, this is the first game to come to mind. My Father was a pilot, and when this game first came out, I showed it to him cause I KNEW he'd just go nuts over it. He ended up buying his own N64 just to play this. Sigh... Rest in Peace, Pop. This song is for you. :'-]
Thanks again to everyone over the years for responding to this. It’s a shame that the comments were made back in the day when RU-vid didn’t stack comment threads. Ha ha. Lots of love.
Man, this music almost makes me cry. I got my N64 with Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64 for Christmas 1996 (I was almost 8 at the time). I loved exploring 3D environments as Mario, sure, but flying around in Pilotwings 64 was a freedom in a videogame I'd never experienced before. I love this game so much.
I have so many found memories of playing this game/tune on a rainy, Sunday afternoon--just chilling with no rhyme or reason. Laid back, enjoying the game, care-free--life was good. Thank you Nintendo for the damn fine memories: my childhood was great! Fuck games today with their sneaking, incomplete, charge you up the ass for everything. R.I.P interactive storytelling.
Its a great piece that perfectly represents the mood, environment and vibe of a bygone era. Things before the 2000s were just so much more chill. People actually lived in the moment instead of being inundated by technology and propaganda. I feel blessed almost everyday i got to experience the very last decade before the internet.
Years and years ago, when I was in college, away from home, stressed about work and everything, I would play this game to help me relax. Specifically, I would just go to a freeform flight, birdman suit, at night and just casually fly around, chilling out while this song played. Always helped.
I had always liked this because it reminded me of Earth, Wind, and Fire's "After the Love is Gone" and "I Can't tell you why" by the Eagles, two songs I listened to alot when I was a kid.
I must have been about about 6 or 7 when I first heard this. The warm synth pad, the dissonance of that first chord, the slow tempo, all in conjunction with the visual atmosphere of the game, instantly set a memorable mood. I can remember the orange glow of sunset reflecting off the walls while the aroma of my mom's cooking filled the room. It definitely hit me hard. I do a lot of synth programming, and even now when I create a nice warm pad, it puts me in that same mood. That sound has been permanently mapped to that mood.
Oh yeah, those warm pads are so important. I created one especially for this track in the game. It really sets the mood. What synths do you like to use?
Man, I typed in Pilot Wings music to search for this very song, and sure enough it's the very first link. So much nostalgia from this while flying around that island at night, exploring all the hidden areas and taking nice pictures. It's good to know that so many other people share the same memory :)
I LOVED this soundtrack when I was a kid, and I listen to it to this day! This song in particular is super awesome, you hit this soft jazz feeling that I just can't get enough of. Thank you!
I played a lot of this as a kid…..chilling…flying around and for some reason always stuck with me. I knew I always wanted to be a pilot, now I am ATP flying corporate in a jet flying high and fast, and in my headset I still listen to this…flying at 45,000 feet with a sweet smile on my face 😎
dude...just.....wow....amen brother...of course i always say that my golden days of gaming were in the clinton years, such as crash bandicoot and mario 64 and tekken 2. orcarina of time, mario kart 64, kirby 64, banjo kazooie, pilotwings 64, sigh...growing up really sucks. i still have my 64 but i when i play i just don't feel the same joy as i did when i was a kid....waking up on a sat. morning, with the thought of switching on your 64 first thing. the glory days have come and gone my friends
such an amazing tune! i love it and almost brings a tear to my eye thinking about my childhood days. me and my dad like most of the comments. thats what i remember as well. thanks for posting
Friend of mine mentioned a recent P4K article discussing a few of "Gaming's Best Ambient Tracks". Of course, Pilotwings 64 was referenced, with "Hang Glider" being singled out for demonstration. My favorite track, however, was always the "Birdman" tune, but I was still happy to be reminded of just how good this shit is. Like a lot of folks here, I've probably spent several days' time simply floating around in that wing-suit, with no small credit going to the music for feeding my habit. According to an interview on NintendoLife, Hess said this track was the one that gave him the most difficulty to create. Perhaps it's all of the sublimated anguish that makes the track so endlessly, almost oppressively appealing; the carefree blues which spellbinds the listener even as it dismisses him. (edit: spelling.)
Great comments here. To be clear, it was difficult to create mostly because of the language barrier between me and the Game Director, Wada-san. I loved working with him, he and the Nintendo team that worked with us at Paradigm were excellent! But he kept telling me that he wanted "floaty-fluffy" for the Birdman. I wrote dozens of tracks that I felt were that but he didn't feel the same. He walked into the studio one day when I was playing around with this track and immediately started flapping his arms. Birdman!!!
It's beautiful. Fucking beautiful. The game, the relaxed atmosphere, the incredibly cool music. This game and this music shaped a big part of my childhood. Sounds sad and nerdy, but it's the opposite, it was a small thing back then that instantly made me smile and feel relaxed. I'm buying an N64 tomorrow.
Long before experiencing the drugs equivalent to this music, I’d spend hours playing this Birdman game in Pilot Wings, just flying around aimlessly, which wouldn’t have happened if not for the lull of this song, and of which planted the seed for my gravitation to this genre music as an adult.
its been an amazing journey through the evolution of video games and i for one will be proud to say i grew up with the likes of pilot wings and mario cart as stated. When my grandchildren down the track show me the latest game with lifelike graphics, i will look back to these and think how far they have come, and that we were the pioneers in the gaming world. Games nowadays are not original, only taken from the 1980s and 90s and remade. There will never be quality like this again.
till this day every now and then i hook up the old n64 and play pilot wings lol. I used to spend hours on birdman in the first stage just taking photo's and flying. I even used to sleep to this music sometimes, its relaxing. I dun know how u were able to get it, but great job. The memories are priceless...I wouldn't mind getting a copy if possible
Thanks to you, my friend. I think I know what you are trying to say. Each generation of video games have had their share of crappy titles, but the ones that were good were superb. You could somehow feel the heart and passion put into them by those who worked so hard to create it. The titles that are good now are still good, but they feel like what they are; a TRIPLE-A TITLE A money-maker, enjoyable as it may be.
This level was a great reward for unlocking levels, a sense of freedom, a taste of what it's like to be a bird, going wherever your wings take you, also I'm high af right now. ♥️
This was always my favorite music from Pilot Wings. I would go out of my way with the rocket belt sometimes just to find the star so I could fly around as Birdman. I don't know if I like the states better or the island (cannot remember the name!) at sunset. This track is arguably the best 64 track, and there are literally hundreds of songs that I love from the 64. Great job Mr. Hess! You have a loyal following of fans!
I totally agree with you. The 1990's was the pinnacle of videogames. 1990-2000 had the best and most innovative 2d and 3d games of all time. After 2000, only the 3d graphics got better and 2d is pretty much dead. They just rehashed everything from the 90's. Also a much smaller selection of game systems... I was entranced by this game in 1996. The musis is so relaxing. It fits the game perfectly.
One of my all time favorites, played this game alot in my childhood together with friends it was a great game and with this track it found a place in my heart!
So many memories of endless hours exploring Little States. Used to love flying at low altitude all the way from New York over the mid-west plains and down into the Grand Canyon. *sigh....*
some of the best game music ever,awesome game i played this to death,still do,reminds me of the good old days as a teenager-nowt to worry about but where the next N64 or Saturn game was coming from-i used to play birdman just to chill out thank you Nintendo
Amen to that! I remember I had an N64 for Christmas 1997, I think. Pilotwings 64 was the first game I ever had for it, so it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Damn I used to love playing this at my grandma's. the game made me drift off into my own world, especially the birdman stage with this song. I have a ps3 and a few other recent systems but none of their games ever make me feel like I did when I played N64 back in the day, I miss that era.
Hey Dan...I loved this game as a kid, and not because of the game play but because of the music...this is pure nostalgia. Reminds me of my first...ah, forget it...
So I am collecting a playlist of chill game music and I remember this game back in the day. I search for it and find the song. Imagine my surprise when I saw who's channel it is lol.
My cousin and I played this game over a weekend Blockbuster rental and could never really do much more than fly around and crash spectacularly, but I do remember that this was far and away my favorite track
