Solstice - Title Menu Theme | Reacting To Video Game Music! 

5:02 you mention that the song should have taken up the entire cartridge: that would not have stopped Tim Follin, because he had previously worked on games for the ZX Spectrum, and the code he wrote the music in was self-modifying. he got 5 channel audio out of a single 1-bit speaker. it's like if your computer played "Roundabout" every time it POSTed

Composed by Tim Follin, depicted here on the cover art

Tim Follin's NES music work is "you didn't have to go THAT hard" personified.

Ah yes.. the first few seconds when you think this is going to be a normal NES 8-bit theme

This isn't a chip tune, this is the entire opening track of a 90s prog rock concept album 😳😳

1:36 its so easy to read his face with what hes thinking. "THIS is a song someone made for a TITLE SCREEN???"

Bro wait untill you hear the rest of Tim Follins work he pushed consoles to their absolute limits and beyond. I will use the best quote possible to describe it. "TIM IT WAS JUST PICTIONARY"

"Reminded me of ghouls and goblins" So, funny thing about that...

First time hearing this. Damn,that transition at the beginning,the composer was sending a message to the world

When only 4-5 channels were available, the introduction was the only time the composer knew the music wouldn’t have to fight for resources with the sound effects AND every player would hear it. It was the best place to go all out.

Tim Follin is the OG, highly influential to many game composers that came after him including none other than David Wise, composer of Donkey Kong Country and many other games! Also to add, a lot of Tim's own influences comes from his love of progressive rock since he grew up in the 70's which is reflected in his own musical style!

I heard that the composer for this was really into prog rock and that this particular track was heavily inspired by "Awaken" by Yes.

Tim Follin was a God amongst men in the NES chip tunes era (as he is depicted on the cover art).

RU-vid knows me so well. They know I love watching people encounter Tim Follin’s music for the first time.

I know this is an older reaction but I gotta say this, when I first listened to Tim Follin I felt like I ascended

Tim is the musical genius that you probably never heard of, and once you do, you need to tell everyone about.

The begginning is stunning. It starts with few normal 8bit notes, to proceed to obliterate the sound chip in the following seconds.

I've shared this tune with several people. The look on their faces after the quaint little ditty in the beginning closely mirrored how you reacted to it. Confusion, then vibing.

Pretty much everything I've ever heard composed by Tim Follin has been mind-blowing. Such a shame that most of the games he composed music for were either duds or just didn't get any attention.

I've never heard of this song, this game, or this composer before this but holy crap my jaw dropped. It's for hidden gems like these that I love watching your videos. It really broadens my horizons on game music.

Tim Folin made PICTIONARY have kick ass music. The man is a god.

I feel like a lot of people who heard this song for the first time all had the same reaction when the big hit came on. When the world heard it when it came out, their collective face that was most likely made was 🤯

Tim Follin absolutely rules. That's an artists depiction of him on the cover.

Imagine being the developers who hired Tim Follin and hearing this for the first time, and then your game STILL isn't very popular

Tim Follin is a digital music wizard. the things he could do on soundchips of the 80s and 90s are seemingly impossible, I genuinely can't think of other composers who worked those chips the way he did. I didn't see any other tim follin stuff in your videos, so hopefully you check some more out or get patreon requests for them. if you pick only one other of his to try, I recommend the Pictionary Title Theme. Yes I am serious.

I've still never figured out how Tim made the NES sound like it has a SID...

I simp for Tim Follin. Have some random fun facts! He started working on composing VGM with buzzers and beepers for machines like the ZX-Spectrum at 17 when his older brother was basically like "hey check out muh sweet programming, you should learn it too" - three years later they eventually both moved to SoftWare Creations (who made Solstice) a couple years later! He usually did not play the game or get anything other than a game title and MAYBE a genre before he started composing, which was not that uncommon at the time. He also didn't use a keyboard or instruments to write, he composed using the hardware he was writing for, obviously with HEAVY influence from prog rock. Full-time employment composing was also not super common in the West at the time, and ultimately left the industry because of the unreliable work and income, and moved onto graphic design, commercials, and other types of music creation!

Hi there Uncle Jesse, long time. Like many have mentioned, Tim Folin was an artist that just experimented with different sounds to create the music that he wanted. And because most of the music he made was in games that not most people have played, he just wasn´t known that much. But you better believe many people, not only know his name, but also apreciate very much his work. Speaking of wich, here are some Tim Folin sugestions: - Silver Surfer Music (NES) - Background Game Music I [Level 1]; - Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge Music- Briefing; - Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge Music- Spider-Man - Plok! SNES Music - Beach: - Plok! SNES Music - Boss. Some awesome pieces of music right there, all for you to enjoy listening. Cheers, stay safe and keep on keeping on

This song the epitome of a master craftsman being able to perform in spite of their tools.

it's crazy how even now, it's immediately evident how impressive his music is. I can't imagine how boundary-pushing and amazing it must have felt to hear these songs in their time, coming straight out of your CRT television.

I got this when I was 6, I am 37 now and I still listen to the Solstice OST. Its so damn tasty! Honestly, some of these tunes are the reason I picked up guitar in the first place.

The Follin brothers these two pushed chipsets to their limits. Pulling not so great games into a legendary status on their music alone, I was always a fan of their work.

I remember the intro music from when I was a child. I didn't know why, but the impression it made was big. Always loved the song.

Sometimes I just turn ON the NES with this cartridge in and listening it for hours.

I've heard this before. Many times. First time when playing Solstice on the NES back in the day. I still have the same reaction every time

After listening to this I just found out this guy made a 1-bit song and its good. wtf. ZX Spectrum 1-bit music: Agent X (Tim Follin, 1985)

Quoting a great comment on this tune "Muscle Wizard casts FIST!"

There's a metal cover that I found on OCRemix of this that was absolutely amazing.

I was 5 in 1990. We found a copy of Solstice in a Blockbuster bargain bin for $9.99 in 91. That game was way to hard for me, but I loved the intro and trying to beat it with Game Genie. The main theme of the game is still pretty good, but it plays for the entire game.

TFW a song goes way harder than it has any right to. As a reminder, back when this came out, cartridges could only hold enough notes to basically do one chord. There's no symphonies, no orchestras, not even real harmonization. Except guys like this still managed to pull some crazy stuff off.

I was about to request this 😂. I love your /confused headbang. Tim is built different 💪

Got this game for only $20 from Kay Bee Toys. Played this game a lot and eventually beat it. Would sometime just listen to the title music.

Wow now I know where shovel knight gets it

Great video! I was 9 when this one came out and I’ve always loved it. It reminds me of the title track to a SNES game called Lagoon. The title music just goes OFF after a few loops into this metal epic

Solstice game cover featuring Tim follin creating this track

I remember as a kid turning this game on just to listen to this lol

Oh Tim Follin! He's one of those very few composers (not from Japan) in the early 90s that manage to made a name for himself (David Wise being another I can think of), I first heard about him early this year and since then I start to become more and more a fan, I personally really like his work on the Amiga. Today with so many games I feel he among many others got a little forgotten. Don't know if someone ever going to request, but I hope one day you listen to one of my fav composer(on the more unknown side) Ryu Umemoto, he composed mostly on the PC-98, sadly he passed away in 2011

Dude, great choice! I remember the first time I played this game on my NES (dating myself here, I know 😛) but after that initial little jingle finished, I was blown away by what came next lol. I was like, "Is this really coming from my NES?"

OMG I'm so happy you reacted to this. I just now remembered to check if you have-and to recommend it if not. I stumbled upon this song completely randomly, as a friend said some other VGM reminded her of this, and holy fuck, I was in _love_

This is why despite loving all other game composers in the industry, I love the Follin brothers the most. NOBODY can do this except them. Not Uematsu, not Kondo, not even his peers like Huelsbeck, Tel, or Hubbard. You'd have to ask the trio ELP for this, and you'd have to make them learn how to do this first. People here told you about Pictionary, but if it's possible just check all of the brothers' works, from the ZX to PSP. A channel by the name of GST Channel made an excellent documentary about Tim Follin. A must check for those who are interested about the man behind the music.

Tim Follen was a master nes music programmer. This and the silver surfer OST ROCKED!

I first heard this song in a playlist that was just a mix of vgm and had the same 'wait what' reaction lol. I've never even seen the game itself played--it was a little before my time as I was only born 1990. Then I found out he was the same composer for Plok and had the 'yeah that tracks' moment. And speaking of Plok music would be great to see here too such as Akrillic

I love how it starts with such a cheesy tune, as if winking to the player. Then it just erupts into a masterpiece

I loved this song from the first moment I put the cartridge in. Great game - and I only bought it because it was $9.99 at Caldor ! :D

I never gave this theme a chance, but after re-listening to this i realize that this is VERY good to the point where it’s kind of addicting! I like how this music changes a lot! Though, I like the rock version better xD

Solstice was one of the most complex 8 bit scores out there. I want to hear a full philharmonic take a crack at it.

And the fact it didn't loop was nuts

Solstice onboarded you right away. Saw most of its time on the market coexisting with SNES games and Sega Genesis games and between the entire ost and the gameplay it made a lot of game experiences (for me at least) come across as weak by comparison. I mean there are plenty more games I absolutely love that don't hold a candle to the synergy Solstice had between the gameplay loop and the sound design and it's ALL on an 8 bit NES cartridge... For me this is right up there on a par with Koji Kondo's compositions on Super Mario World, cause just like those Solstice's sound design and composition was so fn good and still feels fresh to me even today, Somebody tell Tim Follin congratulations, cause dude definitely won making this and it shows.

Tim Follin, the Jesper Kyd of the 80s

Follin's music always makes me want to listen to some Yes, Gentle Giant or The Flower Kings! :D

One of the hardest games on nes too. Only able to beat it with GameShark with infinite lives. Lost count of how many times I died

Also, and this is something people often forget, there's a game behind this title theme which is the only thing people ever remember about Solstice! And it was pretty good, it was an isometric puzzle-platformer-adventure game, you died in one hit, and it was PUNISHINGLY CRUEL. I only managed to beat it once as a kid. Nothing in the game is anywhere as impressive as the title screen, but the rest of the game and its music is still pretty solid all things considered!

I wasn't expecting to be bobbing my head along with this kind of low-bit... 8bit? Music? Not sure what this classifies as. But I do like.

Pictionary- Main Theme, just trust me

This song is one of my earliest memories, playing my sister's NES got me into gaming in general and this just happened to be one of the random games she picked up. This and the droning dungeon theme that played throughout the rest of the game has such a weird haunting tone that I've never been able to forget and inspired a lifelong love of that nostalgic chiptuney instrumentation. To punctuate that, I'd like to recommend Resurrections from Celeste, composed by Lena Raine, one of the best indie musicians in the business right now. It's not entirely chiptune, but has that lo-fi nostalgic goodness to it. If you dig it, I'd also say to check out First Steps and Confronting Myself back to back, also from the Celeste OST; The former is the opening level's track while the latter is the closest the game has to a final boss theme, and they play off each other beautifully. Love your videos, best of luck with this now being a full time endeavor!

I was 1 in 1990 as well. feb 89. :D Tim Follin's work is insane

When I was a kid I would start the game and leave it running just to hear this over and over

Music designer and box art cover model Tim Follin

Tim Follin is awesome. He never had to go so hard, but he always did. If you ever get the time, even just for yourself, go listen to the Gambit theme from Arcade's Revenge on the SNES.

interesting, because it may be that case, most people just jumping into the gameplay right in the first 5s... which mean is just the intro tones.... most of the epic rifs and so, may be never be heard even back in the days of the game selling.

Allrite! Now go check out Plok for the SNES, especially the tracks "Beach" and "Akryllic". Plok is an often overlooked little gem and one of my personal favorites on that console. The music here is also made by the great Tim Follin, and it's unbelievable to hear those sounds coming from that console.

Tim Follin also composed Ghouls and Ghosts.

Oh baby Soltstice! Some of the old retro video game songs really are outstanding, especially anything composed by tim follin. Great work man

It had a movie playing too, clips of the game, plus lore, and the kidnapping scene through the score.

I had this game. It as hard for me as a kid lol

Oh man we're going pretty far back for this one. Solstice and its sequel Equinox are extremely overlooked, both musically and as games in general!

I remember renting and playing Soltice!!! Great music! Check the background music for GAUNTLET IV on the Genesis!!!! (if you haven't already)

In 1990 i was -18 years old

i asume the cover of that game is just the representation of tim follin making music

I think Steve Howe and Jon Anderson wrote this under the pen name Tim Follin.

I think Tim mistook the word “Theme” for “Opus”

Symphonic metal before its time. Rhapsody and Epics would approve.

Just think about how this song is on the NES, the same console that original mario brothers is on, and just compare the music. Tim Follin has some amazing tracks, especially given early technical limitations. check out the Plok! soundtrack if you have the chance, Akrillic and the title theme are my favorite, also his 1-bit songs are so technically impressive

music from a Genius Composer

i love this 16 bit or 8 bits music

Oh boy Tim freaking Follin

I was gonna say the guitarist from archspire dean lamb did a cover of an awesome RPG dungeon crawler that had some wonderful music put into it as well, check him out look up dean lamb nintendo or simply look up wizardry main theme nintendo

Tim Follin in a nutshell, you pick up a simple game like pictonary or silver surfer for the NES and don't expect much then it's an entire progressive rock album and you're left in shock. There's something called the Tim Follin's curse which is he's an amazing composer, but every single game he composes music for is bad.

Get hip to Maniac Mansion. I'd put its music easily in the top 5 of the gen.

WTF was that?! (in the best possible way)

"IT'S A TITLE THEME, DAMMIT"

Tim Follin the GOAT.

what's the song that plays in the background of the review?

"This is the MENU theme..." "It's not even in game..."

This theme slaps and Tim Follin fucks.

Dude I was 6 in 1990. I only played this game once and it was so hard I put it down immediately and decided it was a bad game. I never bothered to listen to the menu theme because this would have completely changed my mind.

Wow, you're a year older than me.

Hey, if you want another case of "how did you do that with this tiny sound chip", try 'Mysterious Planet' from the Smurfs Gameboy game! Its so good ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0N7AmdksQe8.html

if you want another tim follin song to listen to... pictionary NES title theme. no, seriously.

I've got something for you.