88 MPH: I Fight Dragons Dust Off The Old NES

posted in: Features • Rock

For I Fight Dragons, all those years smashing buttons in mom’s basement may have finally paid off. Faced with the task of standing out in an increasingly crowded sea of pop rock acts, these Chicagoans channeled their childhood love of video games into a truly unique sound. Billing themselves as “Chicago’s finest (and quite possibly only) NES-Rock band,” the members of I Fight Dragons incorporate old Game Boy and Nintendo Entertainment System sounds into their catchy, impeccably written rock tunes. So far, it seems like their formula is working. I Fight Dragons have toured with national acts like 3OH!3, Cobra Starship and Travis McCoy, and are set to release their debut full-length album Kaboom! this fall. While the band is surely influenced by many different video game songs, it’s possible that the antics of a certain pixelated duck had a profound influence on how the group’s sound evolved.

Based on the popular animated TV show DuckTales, the 1989 DuckTales video game was a classic 8-bit, side-scrolling adventure for the Nintendo Entertainment System.  Though the game’s bright graphics and intuitive gameplay were its main selling points, the true star of the game was its music. Composer Yoshihiro Sakaguchi, who had already worked with Capcom on the first two Mega Man titles, made his most lasting mark on 8-bit music with the creation of DuckTales‘ “Moon Level” theme. While some video game themes were atmospheric (Metroid) or orchestral (The Legend of Zelda), Sakaguchi’s “Moon Level” theme was a straightforward pop rock gem. The song is so well-loved that fans created a Facebook group to honor it, and a YouTube search for “DuckTales The Moon” results in scores of instrumental covers of Sakaguchi’s composition.

“Heads Up, Hearts Down” – I Fight Dragons

Though I Fight Dragons don’t necessarily aim to imitate any particular video games in their songs, there is a clear similarity between the first ten seconds of “Heads Up, Hearts Down” and the DuckTales “Moon Level” theme. By taking the melody and chords from the chorus of “Heads Up¦” and crunching them down to a mere 8 bits, I Fight Dragons pay implicit homage to one of the most beloved video game songs to ever sound like a Top 40 rock tune. Both songs have an identical drum sound very characteristic of late ’80s games, and the synth tones in “Heads Up¦” could easily have come directly from Sakaguchi’s composition. Of course, the best part of I Fight Dragons’ sound is that it doesn’t stay 8-bit for long. After a brief intro, “Heads Up, Hearts Down” quickly explodes into an exuberant blast of catchy pop rock. With songs as good as this on their upcoming full-length album, I Fight Dragons just might have what it takes to push video game music out of the basement and onto the big stage.