Part 33: Interlude 3: Jukebox

Interlude 3: Jukebox



Let's take a little break, shall we?



The Famicom/NES was a strange little machine, and had a tendency to erase save data on the cartridges if the system was unexpectedly shut off. A weird workaround was to press the Reset button first, then turn the Power off.

But we're not interested in shutting down, here. This game doesn't have a whole lot of cheat codes, but there is one. Once you reach this screen, enter the following button combination: Up, Down, Left, Right, Up, A.



I have no idea why this got left in here. I have even less idea why the translation patch bothered with it.



There's 80 entries here. Most of them are short sound effects, but the full soundtrack is here if you look for it, too. Up and down scrolls through them, 'A' plays the selected item, and 'B' stops playing. There's no way to leave this screen though, so either load a state or finish powering down/resetting.

The soundtrack of this game is a classic, like many NES/SNES games, and many have appeared throughout the series since. I've linked some of the tracks here and there throughout the LP, but without further ado, here's the track list for Fire Emblem 1.


Track 1: Title Screen

This piece plays when you first start up the game. It starts off with a slow introduction while the game's title is introduced, before launching into a more up-beat tempo as the game cycles through its classes with a brief description of each.


Track 2: Enemy Phase Map Music

You'll be hearing this one a lot while you watch the game play itself for awhile during the enemy phase. It also plays during the chapter preview (where the camera pans over the map at the start) and while selecting which units to bring to the chapter.


Track 3: Ending - Parade

Judging by the name, I assume this one will play at some point after beating the game.


Track 4: Chapter Victory

The victory track plays after the final conversation of the chapter, when you're selecting whether to save or continue.


Track 5: House/Armory/Storage

A simple track that plays in the shops and houses.


Track 6: Strong Enemy Combat

More commonly referred to as "A Powerful Foe", this track is a variation on the regular combat tune, that plays whenever the player initiates combat with a boss or other powerful (usually promoted) unit.


Track 7: Player Phase Map Music

This track is easy to recognize after playing the game. It plays each chapter on the player phase whenever controlling units on the map, until the chapter is nearly over.


Track 8: Enemy Phase Combat

Another combat track, this one plays on the combat screen whenever the enemy initiates the battle.


Track 9: Treasure Looting

More of an extended sound effect than a track, really, this piece plays on looting treasures and at the end of a promotion sequence.


Track 10: Village

Villages will play this track when you reach them rather than the regular house track.


Track 11: Chapter Start Conversation

One of several "conversation" tracks, this high-tempo piece plays for the conversation at the start of each chapter to kick things off.


Track 12: Important Conversation

The title says "important", but I've only ever heard it when Gato does his telepathy-from-afar conversation trick either at the end of a chapter or in the Chapter 22 village.


Track 13: Chapter End Conversation

The counterpart to Chapter 11, this track plays for the conversation at the end of each chapter (unless superceded by the previous track), and will probably be the one players will actually associate with 'victory'.


Track 14: Player Phase Combat

The last of the three combat tracks, this one plays for regular player-initiated combat.


Track 15: Game Over

This track is a bit more down-beat, and for good reason - it plays when Marth dies and you get the game over screen.


Track 16: Player Phase Final Map Music

You won't hear this one until the final chapter - it replaces Track 7 for Chapter 25.


Track 17: Enemy Phase Final Map Music

A more high-energy piece that replaces Track 2 for Chapter 25 with something to increase the tension.


Track 18: Final Victory

I don't think I've actually heard this one yet, I think it replaces Track 4 at the end of Chapter 25.


Track 19: Map Conversation

I believe this track plays whenever you have a conversation between units on the map, whether before an enemy attacks you or while recruiting an enemy unit.


Track 20: Player Phase Near Victory

The final map theme, this "happy" track replaces Track 7 when the game has decided you've nearly won the chapter, (I think) based on how many enemy units are remaining.


Track 21: Arena

A slow tune that sounds similar to the combat tracks, this one plays when in the Arena (the menus, not the combat itself).


Track 22: Secret Shop

This track is a variation on Track 5, and plays while in the Secret Shops. I heard this one a lot the last few chapters.


Track 23: Healing

Another "combat" track, though this one plays specifically when using a Wand on an ally unit.


Track 24: Special Effect

Another short one that's more like an extended sound effect. I haven't figured out what this one's for, it's not listed in the official sound track and I don't remember hearing it. Maybe it'll come up next chapter.


Track 25: Promotion

Another short track that plays on the combat screen when a unit is promoted - it's followed immediately by Track 9.


Track 26: Mediuth Combat

A special combat track that plays only when fighting Mediuth in the final chapter.


Track 27: Final Conversation

Another special track, this one plays during a conversation at the end of the game.


There's another tracklist posted at Serene's Forest that appears to be based on a Japan disc release for the first two Fire Emblem games. There's a few extra tracks here that aren't in the Youtube playlist for whatever reason.


Ally Falls

Short and simple, this one plays at the end of combat if you let an ally unit die in the battle.


Ending - Omnibus

This track contains a lot of the other tracks all rolled into one continuous piece, and appears to play at some point after beating the game.


And that's it! Some of the best music in the series started with the very first game, though from personal experience the map music in particular could've probably used a bit more variety in Chapters 1-24.

The last chapter and the ending will take some more work - hopefully the first part will be next weekend.