8-Bit Symphony - Wastelands Suite (From "The Last Ninja")

The Wastelands Suite
B. Daglish, 1966-2018

Originally featuring in the game "The Last Ninja" on the Commodore 64 (with the theme appearing in cameo form in other releases), the suite of tunes in the game was composed both by Ben Daglish and by newcomer Anthony Lees. The tunes were named after levels in the game, with (mostly) each level having a loading tune and an in-game tune.

This suite is using the serene "Wastelands Loader" and the more upbeat "Wastelands" in medley form, and is presented here in abridged and unabridged forms (the abridged form is great for concert performance as part of a packed programme).

The musical highlight in "Wastelands Loader" is the ethnic flute part occurring throughout the piece. The main highlight in Wastelands is the iconic string riff, which challenges every orchestra.

Aside from this arrangement, it has also appeared in C64 medleys created by other franchises such as Play and Score, though this arrangement is way more ambitious.

When presented in concert in 2019 (a few months after Ben's passing from complications due to lung cancer) it was in conjunction with a special tribute video to Ben Daglish put together by Lee Bolton of Elerby Studios. Ben himself memorably performed this tune live with FastLoaders in 2016 in "The Underworld" in Camden. It was emotional.

One of Ben's other pieces from the game, "The Wilderness" was meant to be an insert into this suite between the two tunes, representing a Warrior's journey to a battle ("Wastelands Loader"), his brave fight in the battle ("Wilderness") and the journey home ("Wastelands"). Lack of time meant that the Wilderness tune was finished and recorded later in 2022 for "8-Bit Symphony Pro: Second Half".

8-Bit Symphony Arrangement
Composed by: Ben Daglish
Arranged by: Chris Abbott
Orchestrated by: Alisdair J. Pickering & Robin Tait
© High Technology Publishing Ltd.
"The Last Ninja" is a registered trademark of System 3 Software Limited