Overview

One of the biggest memes of 2011, Nyan Cat has been watched by nearly 100 million people and has inspired numerous remixes and other versions (including a delightful 100 hour remix). In fact, it became so notorious that it inspired — not just one, but four — officially licensed video games. Nyan Cat Adventure is the highest-profile of these, an endless, kaleidoscopic platformer filled with anti-gravity effects, toaster transporters, and, of course, rainbow turbulence. Ryan Salchert, in-house audio designer at developer 21st Street Games, created a handful of feline chiptune tracks for the title and eventually released the results commercially through iTunes.

Body

Some bad news? There isn't a single 'nyan' cat on this release. In fact, there isn't a single vocaloid to be heard. However, listeners do get a new version of the Nyan Cat theme song. Called "Nyanbit", it integrates sections from the theme with some suitably jittery new phrases. Given the game is a homage-of-sorts to retro platformers, Kevin Salchert decided to render the entire theme in 8-bit. The samples, courtesy of Logic's in-built libraries, aren't the most colourful or interesting in the chiptune scene. But when combined with the iconic theme song, the end result is bold and fun.

Salchert also created several all-new compositions that fit well with the meme. "Main Nyanu Theme" gets players pumped-up on the title screen with its upbeat jerky melodies and chip-pop stylings. The melody isn't quite as bizarre as that of the original YouTube video, but it's still fairly amusing. "Afternyan Delight" and "Nyantense" also feature strong synth melodies, this time of the pensive and nostalgic sort. The latter, in particular, evokes bittersweet feelings in conjunction with its thrusting bass lines.

The soundtrack cycles through several tracks in conjunction with the ever-shifting visuals. "Meganyan" and "Nyantendo Approved" blend the Nyan character with dashes of Rockman and Zelda. The former is filled with driving chiptune bass lines, while the melody of the latter is dreamy and innocent. The last of the seven tracks "Taking Over the Nyaniverse" also makes quite an impact and should appeal to all chiptune enthusiasts — rainbow cat lovers or not. All this variety ensures that, while the gameplay is essentially endless, it rarely gets boring.

Summary

The Nyan Cat Adventure soundtrack is surprisingly enjoyable. While Salchert does incorporate influences from the original theme song, a lot of this soundtrack is enjoyable as melodic chiptune music in its own right. It isn't a deep or detailed experience, but generally a fun and memorable one. But there is one major problem with this release: its pricetag. 7 USD is far too much for seven quirky pieces, all composed in just two weeks. Nyan Cat enthusiasts are better off checking out the game, which is available at the far more reasonable price of 1 USD through Apple's App Store.