Wednesday, March 23, 2022

MIDI Week Singles: "Birdman" - Pilotwings 64 (N64)

 


"Birdman" from Pilotwings 64 on the Nintendo 64 (2006)
Composer: Dan Hess
Publisher: Nintendo


Along with the Jumble Hopper mode in Pilotwings 64, the Birdman mode was possibly one of the best ideas in the game.  Once you earn gold medals on the first three levels, you unlock Birdman mode, which allows you to fly through the primary island map using a flapping motion instead of a more traditional plane or the Rocket Belt.  The whole point of Birdman mode is more of a congratulatory mode where you can just chill.  There are no objectives, there is no scoring system, you just fly, take pictures to your heart's content and, if you want, land on a landing platform.

This music is the epitome of chill.  There is nothing here that takes the music in a dramatic turn.  There are no aggressive drum beats, no shrill chords from the organ, just lusciously held chords backing up jazzy riffs from whatever the MIDI version of the instruments used.  Anything more would have been counter to the whole point of Birdman mode.  Birdman mode is just chill.  Just relax, have fun out there.  No need to worry about hitting the right thermals to gain altitude, X number of rings to fly through, or really landing if you don't want to.  Just chill.

Just chill.



~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian
And Now We're On The Ride Again

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