It may not have been the most sophisticated of sound chips, but in the right hands, the AY was capable of producing some fantastic 8-bit game music. Join me as I explore some classic tunes – as well as some oddities – from games released on systems as diverse as the ZX Spectrum 128K, MSX2, and the Intellivision!

Listen:

https://ia601500.us.archive.org/7/items/fsvep60/fsvep60.mp3

Crystal Kingdom Dizzy (1992, Sinclair ZX Spectrum) ‘Title’ by David Whittaker

Thunder Castle (1986, Intellivision) ‘Title’ by David Warhol

Thunder Castle (1986, Intellivision) ‘Gameplay’ by David Warhol

OutRun (1987, Amstrad CPC) ‘Splash Wave’ by Jas C. Brooke

Psycho World (1988, MSX2) ‘Stage 4’ by Kenji Yamazaki and Yuko Yamazaki

Psycho World (1988, MSX2) ‘Demo 1’ by Kenji Yamazaki and Yuko Yamazaki

Gyruss (1983, Arcade) ‘Main BGM 1’ by Masahiro Inoue

Gyruss (1983, Arcade) ‘Main BGM 2’ by Masahiro Inoue

Gyruss (1983, Arcade) ‘Main BGM 3’ by Masahiro Inoue

Zynaps (1988, Atari ST) ‘Title’ by Dave Rogers

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