Silver Surfer (NES)
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Silver Surfer is a shooting game developed by Software Creations and published by Virgin Games (under their Arcadia Systems moniker). In this game, the Silver Surfer (controlled by the player) is summoned by Galactus to collect pieces for a powerful device. To do this, the Silver Surfer must traverse through six worlds, collecting a piece each world is completed. Each of these levels features an enemy from the comic series such as Reptyl, Mephisto, Possessor, Fire Lord, and Kylor. Each stage features a few sub-levels. The game has two modes; a side-scrolling shooting mode similar to Gradius, as well as a top-down vertical shooting mode similar to Galaga. Starship Hector also has these two modes of play.
The game was highly criticized for its high difficulty; one hit kills you, and there are no kinds of health powerups or temporary invincibility. Pair this with obstacles all over the screen trying to kill you at all times, and you've got a game that's near impossible to complete. If you're one of the few to have bested this game without any cheats or help, you deserve a medal! However, the game was highly praised for its outstanding graphics and music.
Contents
Screenshots
Music
The game's soundtrack has been highly praised, some of which calling it one of the best video game soundtracks of all time. The soundtrack consists of fast-paced rock tunes that give the player the high energy needed for a game of this caliber and difficulty. Also, even though there's only 2 in-game tunes, they're both pretty lengthy and catchy, so the listener is unlikely to get bored or annoyed of the music.
To create the music, Tim and Geoff had to painstakingly write the music in 6502 assembly machine code, using a sound driver by Software Creations programmer Stephen Ruddy.
Though both Tim and Geoff are credited with music, Geoff said in an interview that Tim did all of the music, and he himself probably only helped out a bit. As a result, Tim is only listed as the composer. [1]
Atwiki.jp says of the first stage theme:
Recording
| # | Title | Composer | Programmer | Length | Listen | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Title Screen | Tim Follin | Stephen Ruddy | 3:11 | Download | |
| 02 | Summoned by Galactus | Tim Follin | Stephen Ruddy | 0:32 | Download | |
| 03 | World Selected | Tim Follin | Stephen Ruddy | 0:08 | Download | |
| 04 | BGM 1 | Tim Follin | Stephen Ruddy | 3:03 | Download | |
| 05 | BGM 2 | Tim Follin | Stephen Ruddy | 3:28 | Download | |
| 06 | Section Complete | Tim Follin | Stephen Ruddy | 0:06 | Download | |
| 07 | Device Completed | Tim Follin | Stephen Ruddy | 1:08 | Download | |
| 08 | Game Over | Tim Follin | Stephen Ruddy | 0:09 | Download | |
| 09 | Hi Score | Tim Follin | Stephen Ruddy | 2:35 | Download |
Credits
- Ripper: MrNorbert1994
- Recorder: Doommaster1994
- Game Credits:
- MUSIC: Tim Follin
- MUSIC: Geoff Follin
- Uncredited Programmer: Stephen Ruddy
(Source)
The game's credits only appear after the ending after the start button is pressed. Stephen Ruddy has confirmed programming Software Creations' NES sound driver.
Though Geoff Follin is listed along with his brother for music, he said in an interview that he doesn't think he did any music for the game, and probably just did a little assistance with Tim. The game's programmer, Kevin Edwards, confirmed that Geoff was in fact involved with the game's audio, as it is the reason he listed Geoff in the game's credits.
Game Rip
Audio Devices
The game uses the 2A03. The game uses Stephen Ruddy's sound driver. The DPCM channel is never used, and as typical with Stephen's driver, the noise channel works in conjunction with the triangle channel to produce more realistic-sounding drums.
Releases
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Links
- mobygames.com/game/silver-surfer - MobyGames.
- gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/587618-silver-surfer - GameFAQs.
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Surfer_(video_game) - Wikipedia.
- w.atwiki.jp/gamemusicbest100/pages/1525.html - Atwiki.jp (Japanese).
