Sky Kid, Commando, and Dragon Buster

Around this time, I started to really notice game background music, or rather, it started to feel natural to me.
It wasn't just a repetition of simple phrases anymore; more and more, I began to perceive them as actual "songs."

—

Sky Kid

♪ "Ten teke-teke-teke-teke-teke ten-teke-ten-ke-ten" ♪
One of the games I loved during the Famicom era was "Sky Kid."
The stage structure involves the protagonist in a propeller plane defeating enemy fighters and the like, with the goal of destroying a cruiser at the end.
Along the way, you can pick up bombs dropped (?) on the stage and destroy battleships or bases if you drop them accurately.

If you take enemy fire in this state, you drop the bomb, but the interesting thing about "Sky Kid" is the system where, if you get hit by enemy fire, you can sometimes recover by mashing the button while in a tailspin.
You have to fight while avoiding attacks coming from both the air and the ground in a narrow screen, and sometimes you can even evade with a loop-the-loop (?).

Two-player simultaneous play was also possible, and being able to play cooperatively was a huge appeal.

—

Commando

♪ "Ten-tele-tte ten-tele-tte ten-tele-tte-tte-ten ten-te ten-te ten-tele-te-tte-tte-ten" ♪
This is another game with memorable, upbeat BGM... even though it's about war.

In this one, you lose a life if you get hit by an enemy or a bullet, so it's crucial to figure out how to defeat enemies without getting hit.
It was also great that the character could move smoothly in 8 directions by this time.
My memory is a bit hazy, but I feel like there were drum-like sounds in the BGM as well.

—

Dragon Buster

♪ "Dubi dubi dubi"
"Ten-ten-teke-teke ten-ten-teke-teke ten-ten-teke-teke-ten" ♪

Like "Sky Kid," this is also a Namco title. I might have played the arcade version first.
The BGM was good, but I have the impression that the music really stood out even inside the arcade.

The "dubi dubi dubi" sound effect when moving on the world map, and the upbeat BGM that plays within the stages.
When you take damage, the character spins around, and you can perform double jumps.
I also remember that there were multiple ways to attack, such as vertical slashes, helmet splitters, and magic.
By the way, apparently there was a sequel, but I don't remember it. When I looked it up, it turned out to be a top-down game. Well, I guess it's no wonder I don't remember it.

Skilled players wouldn't finish the game for a long time, so 100-yen coins would be stacked on the cabinet due to its popularity (like a reservation system).
But I never saw anyone arguing over that reservation system, even though there were no names written on them.
It's a mystery...

—

I actually intended to connect this to "Kukeiha Club," but I couldn't.
Maybe next time.