#4 | Title Screen Part II (Motif) — Mega Man II (NES, 1988)

Kicking it off with picardy!

Composer: Takashi Tateishi
Developer: Capcom
Track Type: 1-Shot (with loopable sections)
Placement: Title screen
Key: Cm (+Picardy third)
Chord progression:
ǁ:Csus|Bbsus/C|Absus/C Bb/C|C CmǁCsus|Bbsus/C|Absus/C Bbsus/C|Csus:ǁ
Functional map:
ǁ:isus|VIIsus⁷|VIsus⁶ VII⁷|I iǁisus|VIIsus⁷|VIsus⁶ VIIsus⁷|isus:ǁ
Time Signature: 4/4
Tempo: 180BPM (Presto)
Scale: C minor (+Picardy third, chromaticism)
Instrumentation: Chiptune (Rock band)
Lenght (Motif): 0:10 (8 bars)
Structure: Motif, Motif'

¹The excerpt analysed here is the motif. Both the "ad-lib" solo and "back to motif coda" were left out 'cause those aren't relevant for the subject we'll be covering on this issue.

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Picking up from where Mega Man (the very first entry in the series) left couldn't have been harder for any composer to follow: Manami Matsumae had crafted a stellar and referential body of work there--to the point it got her a promotion to Capcom's more prestigious Arcade department--and almost as a parting gift of sorts wrapped the game up with one the most beautiful "credits" themes to ever grace any 8-bit machine. Well, the newcomer Takashi Tateishi (alongside the whole dev team working as a single unit) managed to nail it in spectacular fashion by actually taking advantage of the issue: unrolling a transitioning cutscene into the brand new bombastic Title Theme (something missing in the awkwardly silent original instalment's equivalent screen) sets the game off with a memorable bang right off the bat.

Tateishi-san came from a rock band background, and it shows here in spades: the motif could easily pass for an Iron Maiden riff, gallop picking included (which was "cleaned up" for this issue's piano arrangement since it was unfit for the instrument, but can still be applied at the musician/arranger's will, of course). Even before touching the main technique behind this composition (which we're going to do soon) there are some interesting features already spicing up the metal framework chosen here: alternating syncopated and regular time chords changes, shifting the usual "power chord" approach (5ths intervals) duets to 3rds that reveal the harmony's real qualities when due, grounding the theme with a solid pedal bass line and the interesting way of closing loops inside the final bar instead of waiting for it to resolve by the next one--which cleverly ensures being able to use a particular section wherever it's needed regardless of what comes next without a hassle.

Resolving both hands in the root by bar 8, the loop end.

But the real meat in "Title Screen "Part II" is a technique lifted from the baroque era that can be traced as the origins of parallel borrowing (discussed in the last issue on Final Fantasy): the picardy third. The practice consisted in always resolving progressions "on a high note"--subjectively, in a "mood" sense--even when a piece's narrative was sad all the way through; the musical equivalent to a "happy ending" (in practice carried over by a Major chord substitution in the root position of the tonal key). It fell out of use for sounding "cheesy" or "dated"--while also becoming easily replaceble by modern (and more flexible) techniques--but it worked it's magic here with no hint of such side effects for fitting the genre well. In fact this one could almost be taken for anoter parallel borrowing example... if it wasn't for moments when the original minor C scale show up--and the way some chords are veiled by their sus voicings, as if keeping the composer's real intentions a secret until the final motif bar.

Take a listen to the original theme in its full version. Pro users will be able to access sheet music for this theme plus a link for its interactive sheet at Soundslice. See ya next week!