05 September 2018

Episode 204: David Wise

Paralleling last month’s episode, The Legacy Music Hour finally does a focus on the music of David Wise (known for popular franchises such as Donkey Kong Country, Battletoads, RC Pro Am, and Wizards & Warriors), and more importantly, finally does an interview with David Wise himself.  The interview was originally set to happen back in 2012, but for one reason or another, it didn’t happen until now.  Unrelated to the episode topic, the boizz also talk quite a bit about McDonald’s.  Thank you to David Wise for taking the time to speak to Brent and Rob and providing insight regarding his work.  Track listing below.



Game - Composer - Song - Company - Console - Year (North American release unless otherwise indicated)

WWF WrestleMania Challenge - David Wise - Title Screen - Rare/LJN - NES - 1990

Super Glove Ball - David Wise - Title Theme - Rare/Mattel - NES - 1990

IronSword: Wizards & Warriors II - David Wise - Store/Game Over - Rare/Acclaim - NES -1989

Who Framed Roger Rabbit - David Wise - Los Angeles Sidewalk View - Rare/LJN - NES - 1989

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest - David Wise - Flight of the Zinger - Rare - SNES - 1995

Solar Jetman: Hunt for the Golden Warship - David Wise - Planet Theme 6 - Rare/Tradewest - NES - 1990

Monster Max - David Wise - Stage BGM 3 - Rare/Titus - NES (Europe) - 1994

Battletoads in Ragnarok's World - David Wise - Stage 5: Wurm's Brain - Rare/Tradewest - Game Boy - 1993

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest - David Wise - In a Snow-Bound Land - Rare - SNES - 1995

15 comments:

  1. Mark Mothersbaugh did not do the music to McDonald’s Treasureland Adventure. It was composed by Katsuhiko Suzuki and Aki Hata.

    More importantly, the game was made by Treasure! It was their first big game(I think it was actually their first game period)and they used the finances and renown it generated to spin right into Gunstar Heroes.

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    1. No no, Trevor was talking about Mark Mothersbaugh doing the music to the cartoon/video series, which was pretty clear.

      Obviously, it's a Treasure game and the game music has been played on the podcast before, so there's no confusion about who the composers are. In fact, lately, Brent has been in contact with Katsuhiko Suzuki.

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    2. This is the show Trevor was referring to:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wacky_Adventures_of_Ronald_McDonald

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    3. Oh yeah, listening to it again, it’s totally obvious that Trevor is talking about the show. That’s what I get for listening while driving! It is strange that nobody mentioned it as a Treasure game though.

      And not totally related, but I always thought it interesting that the company is named Treasure. The Japanese word for treasure is Takara, which of course made the toys that eventually became Transformers and GI Joe.

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  2. What an episode! It was a blast to hear the Wiseman himself talk about so many of these classics. When Brent asked about whether or not Wise composed particular tracks, it sounded like he wasn’t prepared to answer the questions. I am guessing that he didn’t actually compose Championship Pro-Am for the Genesis. It sounded like he started answering positively before Brent said “Genesis”. If he did compose for the Genesis, I’d have loved to hear what he had to say about it!

    In any case, it was a really cool interview. There were so many questions answered here, and the questions you guys asked really helped paint a vivid picture of what it was like for him to be composing back in the day.

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  3. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see if you guys would bring up how Time Lord has become something of a joke in the LMH-verse. It could definitely come off as disrespectful, though. I could hear you guys perk up whenever it was mentioned haha

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  4. Great episode, I like these interview episodes. I saw someone wearing this shirt https://goo.gl/images/sqJsw2 and had no idea what it meant, but thought it was really funny. I wanted to ask them what it meant but thought it couldn't be "THE" Timelord. Anyway super interesting to hear the difference in approach between Tim Follin and David Wise. Thanks guys!

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  5. "In a Snow-Bound Land" may have been a better track to use as evidence of direct new age influence on David Wise; Vangelis's theme from the 1983 film "Antarctica" sounds an awful lot like it!

    I did an a cappella cover of another track from DKC2, "Disco Train," several years ago.

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    1. You're right! And that the Vangelis piece is for a cold/ice-related film. Good find.

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  6. Unrelated to this episode:

    What constitutes the legal status for arcade games? Is there a cutoff year or something? I texted you guys some slammin' arcade songs the other day. Armed Police Batrider from 1998 and Cadillacs & Dinosaurs from 1993. The C&D song is SLAMMIN', my gosh!

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    1. Editor's Note:

      can substitute one or both uses of slammin' with "Mm poppin' "

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    2. It's kind of tricky because in the early 90's, it depends more on the hardware of the machine. It seems as though Taito arcade games from 1992 and on are not legal. It seems like, most of the time, anything before 1993 is legal, but again, it depends on the game. 1998 would be definitely too late, except for a beyond episode, of course. Cadillacs & Dinosaurs is possibly legal.

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    3. Cadillacs & Dinosaurs is probably legal since it's Capcom and came out in 1992.

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    4. Fun fact: the comic/TV series only had 3 protagonists, so they just made one up for the game. He's a RIPPED man in a SMALL red t-shirt and a bowl cut. His name is "Mess O'Bradovich". I hope to name my son Mess, too!

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