I haven't played Octopath Traveler yet, but listening through the soundtrack, I thought it would be a neat challenge to try to produce how the main theme might sound if it was released on the Game Boy! This cover exclusively uses the sound chip capabilities of the Game Boy, emulated in DefleMask. Audio cleanup and a pinch of reverb added in Reaper.
Huge thanks are due to 2bitcrook for the title graphics! He makes incredible mock-up images and animations of what games would look like if they were released on the Game Boy, over on Game Boy Demakes. If that sounds interesting to you, check out his work here:
If you've done any music work in tracker software before, you might wonder why I've got instrument changes happening on every line in some parts of my square waves. The Game Boy has a frustrating quirk which separates it from other 8-bit sound chips: you can't sustain a voice at a volume other than maximum, or zero. You have reasonable control over the starting attack envelope, but the sound has to finish at either maximum or zero, which can make balancing sustained parts impossible. I found a workaround though: if you quickly swap between instruments with a rising attack and a falling attack, you can trap the sound at a single volume of your choosing. I did this here in a few places to maintain balance between parts.
My donors on Patreon weren't charged for this track, as it's outside my usual cover work, but they still deserve a shout-out for their constant support; huge thanks to:
Philip Smith
Emily Donnelly
Paul Gerver
Josh Ng
Troy Thompson
Darkil
Adrien Fins
Lungkisser
John McKane
Aram Akhavan
Kawo
Scott Munro
Colum Wilson
Stephen Faust
Wade Filewich
Julia Henderson
Zach Miller
Mockingjay N7
Jason Snyder
Tilly Underwood
