The NSM Guess-That-Melody Quiz!

[Dudeman]

I'm mastersuperfan's friend irl and he's been showing these to me as they come up to see how well I do on them and I figured I might as well make an account at this point

I SAW THAT XENOBLADE PART

MSF YOU GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO

[mastersuperfan]

Lol actually he never actually told me one (he hasn't actually looked at most of them), but I did get some because of some playlists he made for me...

I kinda suck at the guessing part

Can confirm

[E. Gadd Industries]

>:/ I knew it was from Sooper Sanic.

Also, welcome, Kenniky! I occasionally drop by and observe and almost never participate in the guessing! (Or quizmaking, although the one I did was purposefully overly difficult )

[kenniky]

Can confirm

I can usually get at least one per quiz....

[mastersuperfan]

A question for you all that I've been thinking on for a bit:

So one of my favorite YouTubers often overlays music from other video games on gameplay footage (namely, Mario Kart Wii... ha). Normally he lists the names of the music in the description, but there's this one awesome track in one of his older videos that for some reason he didn't name. I've been dying to figure out what it is for a while now, but I've never been able to find it, which has led me to consider this: would you all be okay with me putting the track on my next melody quiz as a bonus even if I don't know what it is? I'd like to hope that someone can recognize and perhaps tell me what it is. I don't see any harm in putting it on myself, but since I don't know the source I'm erring a bit on the side of caution.

[Dudeman]

Hey, that's an interesting idea. As long as it's a bonus, I don't see why not.

[Latios212]

I'd like to make some quizzes, how do I sign up?

Message me. You familiar with Finale?

[mastersuperfan]

Out of curiosity... does anyone else know #10 on Dekka's?

[WaluigiTime64]

Not me. I only have like, 7 of them lol.

[mikey]

msf says I have a quiz to post today is that accurate

[mastersuperfan]

Well you can check the schedule yourself here

[mikey]

I see

well then here it is

PDF
MUS
MID

I apologize in advance for like #6 I think it is, it's only one measure, but if you've heard the song before it could be enough

this quiz is called "Noc's Childhood"

edit: it's #4

[mastersuperfan]

this quiz is called "Noc's Childhood"

*hears last one*

you had a good childhood

[mikey]

there's actually a picture in a photo album somewhere of yung me standing in front of the tv with a controller playing where that song appears

[Dekkadeci]

Here are the answers to my latest quiz:

~~~~~Main Section~~~~~

#1

"Corneria", from Star Fox, used as a level theme
Timestamp: 0:22

I wanted to start off this quiz with an easy melody, just like last time. Turns out it was so easy that mastersuperfan took the first 4 bars in a previous quiz. You all got stuck with the last 5 bars I transcribed instead.

4 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, mastersuperfan, WaluigiTime64, Yug_Guy

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#2

"Vs. Ridley"/"Big Boss Confrontation BGM (Ridley, Draygon)"/"Ridley's Theme", from Super Metroid, used as Ridley and Draygon's boss theme in that game
Timestamp: 0:09

This theme ends up being used as Ridley's theme in subsequent Metroid games. ...And Meta Ridley's theme. And Omega Ridley's theme. And Ridley's clone son's theme. And Ridley's X Parasite imitator's theme. Nobody pays attention to Draygon.

This is the first melody in this quiz that, while it sounds like it's in a different key from the original, actually isn't--it's just that the original song is in multiple keys, including the key of the melody itself.

4 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, mastersuperfan, Static, Yug_Guy

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#3

"Loonboon"/"Loon Boon", from Plants vs. Zombies, used as the minigame theme
Timestamp: 0:00

Ahhh, Wall-nut Bowling...my favourite Plants vs. Zombies minigame! It's pretty good for farming in-game cash, but it's also darn fun and requires at least a little bit of strategy, IMO.

Maybe this isn't the most well-known Plants vs. Zombies song, but it's darn near the only one I remember, which is why I picked this as the Plants vs. Zombies test song.

Based on how many of you got this right, maybe I should learn more Plants vs. Zombies songs.

2 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

ThatHiddenCharacter, WaluigiTime64

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#4

"Healing Sound"/"PokeCenter Healing Sound", from pretty much every Pokemon main series game (starting with Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue), used right when your Pokemon get healed in a PokeCenter
Timestamp: 0:00

It's likely not on any OST, but if you've ever played a Pokemon main series game with the sound on, chances are this jingle is ingrained in your head.

I accepted pretty much any name that indicated that you at least sorta knew where that melody was from, including names not listed above.

6 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, Latios212, mastersuperfan, ThatHiddenCharacter, WaluigiTime64, Yug_Guy

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#5

"Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom ~ Nuclear Fusion"/"Nuclear Fusion", from Touhou Chireiden ~ Subterranean Animism, used as Utsuho Reiuji's boss theme
Timestamp: 0:00

This was one of my backups for my second quiz--like a few of the melodies in that quiz, it's so highly repetitive that it repeats the same two-bar riff 4 times. The next 8 bars of that song actually repeat the same riff 3 more times (and slightly modify it the 4th time), this time in different octaves and tempos.

(I actually find the rest of the song sorta dull in comparison, but at least it has a more intricate structure than most other Touhou songs. Oh well, that riff is killer!)

2 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Static, WaluigiTime64

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#6

"Soviet March", from Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, used as the title theme
Timestamp: 0:24

This song is so famous that it has a special mention on its composer's Wikipedia page (and I've never edited a Wikipedia page, ever, so that's saying something). Tens of millions of views across all YouTube videos, seven million views in the one above alone, gets into streaming services...at least one of you has to recognize a song this popular, right?

...Luckily, one of you did.

1 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Yug_Guy

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#7

"Battle with Gruntilda"/"Final Battle", from Banjo-Kazooie, used as Gruntilda's final boss theme
Timestamp: 2:40

This was placed far away from #2 so you wouldn't notice that melodies that sound like they're not in the same key as the obvious answer but actually are still from the obvious answer are a sub-theme of this quiz.

...Maybe Gruntilda's final boss theme wasn't the obvious answer for you, though. I rejected "Gruntilda's Lair" because it never plays in D minor, unlike this melody.

This song has a lot of sections, and I encourage you to use other portions in your future quizzes! Some of its chord progressions are pretty unorthodox, for starters...

3 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, WaluigiTime64, Yug_Guy

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#8

"Simple Sight", from Castle Crashers, used as the Necromancer's boss theme
Timestamp: 0:43

As one of the most prominent songs in Castle Crashers and a beloved boss theme, I picked this as the test song for Castle Crashers.

This is the first song in this quiz that isn't originally from a video game--check it out on Newgrounds! Yes, songs not originally for video games are a sub-theme of this quiz.

And yes, this song optionally comes with lyrics! Hear how well its composer sings here. (OK, it's a bit caveat emptor...)

Perhaps Castle Crashers's soundtrack is more obscure than I thought...or maybe picking the chorus wasn't the best idea, but that starting melody actually always sounded a bit ambiguous to me...

0 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

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#9

"Electroman Adventures", from Geometry Dash, used as a rhythm game stage theme
Timestamp: 0:28

This is the second song in this quiz that isn't originally from a video game--check it out on Newgrounds! Heck, Geometry Dash shortened this song.

Since you can create a level out of any Newgrounds song in Geometry Dash, only songs in the original version of Geometry Dash count as being from that game, IMO. Luckily, this song is one of them.

A funny story: I was introduced to Waterflame's music through his works in Castle Crashers. I listened to a lot more Waterflame songs on his YouTube channel, and I figured out that this is my favourite! ...And then I found out that it's in Geometry Dash. Yup, that's why I picked it as the Geometry Dash test song.

Based on how few of you got this correct, sounds like I'm not trying out any more Geometry Dash songs.

0 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

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#10

"Menu", from Mario Power Tennis
Timestamp: 0:25

Believe it or not, this is composed by Motoi Sakuraba. Y'know, Motoi Sakuraba, progressive rock composer, composer of the Dark Souls and Golden Sun soundtracks, arranger of that heavy metal version of "Gourmet Race" in Super Smash Bros. Brawl? That Motoi Sakuraba.

1 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

mastersuperfan

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#11

"J-E-N-O-V-A", from Final Fantasy VII, used as Jenova∙BIRTH and Jenova∙DEATH's boss theme (and, more awkwardly, Hojo's boss theme)
Timestamp: 0:59

It's one of the most famous songs in Final Fantasy VII--that's why I picked it. Given how few people got "To Zanarkand" (another famous Final Fantasy song) correct across two quizzes, and given how poorly this melody performed, this may be the last time I pick a Final Fantasy song for a quiz.

1 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman

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#12

"Elite Four Battle"/"Vs. Elite Four"/"Battle! Elite Four", from Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon
Timestamp: 0:52

This is among my favourite songs in Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon, so I picked it. I thought that perhaps the first 8 bars might be too hard to get, so I added the next 4 bars--the start of the loop. I personally think this song has one of the best transitions back to the start of the loop of any VGM theme I've ever heard--hearing the start of the loop in that different a context really pumps it up.

3 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, Latios212, mastersuperfan

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#13

"The Battle of Lil' Slugger", from Super Meat Boy, used as that game's Chapter 1 Boss theme
Timestamp: 0:38

Unlucky #13 is a melody so fast that its notes blur together, likely ensuring that any transcriptions of it are hard to trust. I'd much rather use this melody in a quiz than that dang section of Galacta Knight's theme with the solo in it (which I used in my previous quiz). At least I can trust I transcribed this melody accurately...

As it's somewhat popular, I thought this would be a decent barometer of the popularity of Super Meat Boy's music, which is why I picked it as the test song for that game. Seeing as the only person who got this right used a Super Meat Boy song in one of his previous quizzes, sounds like we collectively don't know this soundtrack.

1 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Yug_Guy

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#14

"The Long Distance of Murder", from F-Zero X, used as the theme for the Red Canyon racetrack
Timestamp: 0:01

"Mute City" is very popular. "Big Blue" is very popular. I wanted a more obscure F-Zero song, as I thought that F-Zero is a series that's under-represented in these quizzes.

I hoped this wasn't too obscure--there's got to be a reason why there's so many requests for a GaMetal cover of this song. There's also got to be reasons why Jonny Atma of GaMetal keeps apologizing for not covering this song next...

...But I guess it was too obscure.

0 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

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#15

"Flowers of Antimony (The Explodatorium)", from Shovel Knight, used as the Explodatorium's stage theme
Timestamp: 0:38

I marked Plague Knight's boss theme, "The Vital Vitriol", as wrong because it modifies this melody.

Any song using the whole tone scale is probably going to be unintuitively harmonized, which is why I picked this melody.

This melody is 7 bars long because there's no way I'm transcribing those runs in the next bar--not even with the .nsf.

3 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, mastersuperfan, Yug_Guy

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#16

"Spaceport Alpha", from Diddy Kong Racing, used as the theme for the racetrack of the same name
Timestamp: 0:23

I accepted "Spacedust Alley" from Diddy Kong Racing DS because it contains this melody...and "Spaceport Alpha" from Diddy Kong Racing DS doesn't, so I marked that as incorrect.

I haven't heard much Diddy Kong Racing music in these quizzes, so I decided to put this song in because it's one of the most well-known...despite being in the final set of racetracks unlocked in that game.

...Welp, maybe this is why I don't see Diddy Kong Racing melodies in these quizzes...nobody guessed this song...

0 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

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#17

"Giratina Battle"/"Vs. Giratina"/"Battle! Giratina", from Pokemon Platinum
Timestamp: 1:36

I have to admit that the melody I picked, that fanfare, was one of the first portions of Giratina's theme I actually remembered. The polytonal beginning came later. I'm still trying to remember a lot of this piece...

2 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Latios212, WaluigiTime64

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#18

"Baby Park", from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, used as the theme for the racetrack of the same name
Timestamp: 0:46

This is yet another "melody that only sounds like it's in a different key from the original song"--turns out that this theme keeps going up a semitone until it hits this melody. It makes sense that this is one of the only songs in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! that doesn't go up only one semitone during the final lap.

6 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, Latios212, mastersuperfan, ThatHiddenCharacter, WaluigiTime64, Yug_Guy

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~~~~~Kirby Bonus Section~~~~~

#1k

"Under My Control", from Kirby's Return to Dream Land, used as Magolor's first final boss theme (and Magolor EX's only boss theme)
Timestamp: 1:55

I purposefully picked this song because it was already used in a previous quiz...but this melody is in different time signatures from the rest of the piece. Metrically, this section goes crazy, and I'm not 100% sure I'd actually use that combination of time signatures in a full transcription.

Nevertheless, I thought the previous quiz's melody was harder to get than this one, so I expected several of you to get this right. ...Sounds like it was a lot fewer than last time.

1 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

mastersuperfan

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#2k

"Battle with Meta Knight"/"Meta Knight's Theme"/"Vs. Meta Knight", from Kirby Super Star
Timestamp: 0:00

I also accepted Meta Knight's boss theme from Kirby Super Star Ultra (which adds in some accompaniment lines and messes around with the pitch bending) and Mecha Knight's boss theme from Kirby: Planet Robobot. I did not accept Meta Knight's boss theme from Kirby's Epic Yarn, as it modifies this melody.

This song is significantly harder to figure out once I remove the harmonies of its fifth to eighth bars, right?

The good news is that I finally recovered my earlier transcriptions of this piece, so I can try to transcribe its solo for the third time and check how consistent I am...

...how the heck has Kirby music been by far the hardest to transcribe completely rhythmically accurately so far for me?

Whether it's coincidence that this sounds like Ridley's theme, who knows...

1 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

mastersuperfan

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#3k

"Checker Knights", from Kirby Air Ride, used as the theme for the racetrack of the same name
Timestamp: 0:48

This is the last song in this quiz that isn't originally from a video game: this was originally composed for the Kirby anime, Kirby: Right Back at Ya! I guess it fits its original scene fine.

This melody also starts off with a pretty unintuitive tune--four perfect fifths, each a minor third apart. Because it therefore sounds like a diminished seventh, it fits uneasily into any key, which is partially why I picked it.

2 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, mastersuperfan

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#4k

"Grand Doomer", from Kirby's Return to Dream Land, used as Grand Doomer and Grand Doomer EX's boss theme
Timestamp: 0:06

I used a 16th-note tremolo to attempt to emulate the weirdly fluctuating synth of the melody. It's probably not 100% accurate. The accents are just to separate the tremolo'd notes from each other.

I picked this song because it has a fairly unintuitive harmonization. ...Yet again. The rest of the song gets even worse, though.

...Which might be why none of you remembered it, despite several of you remembering Kirby's Return to Dream Land music.

As for where else this theme is found? Let's just say that the Kirby series has a history of putting its boss themes on the wrong bosses.

0 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

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#5k

"Squeak Boss Battle"/"Boss (Doc's Machines And Daroach)"/"Troubling Situation", from Kirby: Squeak Squad, used as the Squeak Squad's boss theme
Timestamp: 0:25

Gotta love it when the first loop of the song extends the first note of the melody slightly, eh?

I figured this might be too hard with only the D minor excerpt, so I also put in the previous 4 bars (the C minor excerpt you all are likely more familiar with). This is the closest the Kirby bonus section gets to a "melody that only sounds like it's in a different key from the original song".

Also, there's no way I'm ever transcribing those mouse squeaks in Bars 4 and 8 for a Guess-The-Song Quiz.

3 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, mastersuperfan, Static

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#6k

"Claycia Battle"/"Decisive Battle (Claycia)", from Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, used as Claycia's boss theme
Timestamp: 0:06

I put this theme last because, as far as I can tell, it's the least well-known and the most hated of the Kirby melodies I picked. I personally think the final boss theme of that game is far too relaxing to be appropriate for any boss fight, but YMMV...

0 out of 7 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

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~~~~~Results~~~~~

Main Section Results

Dudeman and Yug_Guy tie for 1st with 8 melodies apiece!

# of Melodies Participants Got Correct:

• Dudeman: 8
• Yug_Guy: 8
• mastersuperfan: 7
• WaluigiTime64: 7
• Latios212: 4
• ThatHiddenCharacter: 3
• Static: 2

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Kirby Bonus Section Results

Looks like mastersuperfan knows his Kirby music with a 1st-place 4 melodies!

I suspected LeviR.star would clean up this bonus section given the melodies I put in it, which I tried hard to make not too obscure.

# of Melodies Participants Got Correct:

• mastersuperfan: 4
• Dudeman: 2
• Static: 1
• Latios212: 0
• ThatHiddenCharacter: 0
• WaluigiTime64: 0
• Yug_Guy: 0

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Both Combined Results

mastersuperfan gets 1st place overall with 11 melodies in total!

Latios212 did PM me that he's in a time crunch lately, which would explain his lower-than-average performance this round.

# of Melodies Participants Got Correct:

• mastersuperfan: 11 (= 7 + 4)
• Dudeman: 10 (= 8 + 2)
• Yug_Guy: 8 (= 8 + 0)
• WaluigiTime64: 7 (= 7 + 0)
• Latios212: 4 (= 4 + 0)
• ThatHiddenCharacter: 3 (= 3 + 0)
• Static: 3 (= 2 + 1)

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