| The Ultimate Challenge |
| Composer |
Bobby Prince |
| Released |
1992-05-05 |
| Title Origin |
Official |
| Loops |
Yes |
|
The Ultimate Challenge (titled Ultimate Conquest in the game's music test) is a song from the Wolfenstein 3D series. It was composed by Bobby Prince using Sequencer Plus Gold. The title comes from a music archive released by the composer, but there are numerous sources that list the title as "The Ultimate Conquest".
Composition
The song plays at 123 BPM and is in the key of B minor, though it flattens the 5th for a dimished chord. Though it might sound like the song is in a 12/8 time signature, it was actually written in 4/4 with many triplets thrown in. The song starts off with a trombone playing a series of B notes. Another trombone join after two measures playing a flattened fifth. After two more measures, the trombones repeat, but now with drums joining the mix. After four measures of this, the lead baritone synth starts to play, with a calliope ascending and descending chromatically in the background, giving a sort of circus-esque theme to it, while also adding suspense and horror to the song. The song stays in the key of B diminished, but plays around with other notes in the scale, and sometimes plays a major third.
The song is similar to Bobby Prince's earlier arrangement of Mars, the Bringer of War for Commander Keen V: The Armageddon Machine (DOS). Doom 2's Getting Too Tense also has a similar style, and is written in the same key with the flattened 5th.
Games
Wolfenstein 3D (DOS)
The Ultimate Challenge was composed for the final boss battle with Hitler in Wolfenstein 3D (DOS). It is also used as the level music for the final boss of game. E3M9 and E6M9 respectively.
The track number file number 20 in the AudioT.WL6 data file. The IMF meta tag title is "ULTIMATE".
Spear of Destiny (DOS)
The Ultimate Challenge is used for each of the boss levels in Spear of Destiny (5, 10, 16, and 18).
The track is the 16th file in the AudioT.SOD data file, though it is not included in the demo release. Like the DOS version, the meta tag title is "ULTIMATE".
Wolfenstein 3D (SNES)
The SNES version of the song is one of the better conversions of the game; it seems most (if not all) the instruments from the original are here, and nothing's missing. Even the chromatic-playing calliope makes a return. The lead synth was replaced with a trombone patch.
Bobby Prince arranged his music and converted it into Rebecca Heineman's sound driver.
Doom II: Hell On Earth (DOS)
The Ultimate Challenge plays in level 32, the second secret Wolfenstein 3D level in Doom II: Hell On Earth (DOS).
Bobby Prince originally composed The Ultimate Challenge as a MIDI file, but his song had to be downgraded to IMF for Wolfenstein 3D. However, when the developers of Doom II decided to add a secret Wolfenstein level to the game, the music was reused in its original quality.
In internal name for this track in the Doom2.WAD is "D_ULTIMA".
Wolfenstein 3D (JAG)
The song's internal name is "0ULTIMAF".
Wolfenstein 3D (GBA)
Doom II: Hell On Earth (GBA)
As with the PC original, the Game Boy Advance port uses this theme for the second secret level.
Wolfenstein 3D (WEB)
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