A man has played GoldenEye on the N64 using the keys on his digital piano

Users of a certain age and sensibility will remember the sadistic pleasure of GoldenEye on the N64, particularly its peerless multiplayer mode.

It’s a game for which the standard Nintendo controller was perfectly suited, but that hasn’t stopped YouTuber Jackson Parodi from coming up with a different, rather more musical input method for this seminal ‘90s Bond-based blaster.

Thanks to the wonders of MIDI, he’s managed to map the notes on his digital piano to the buttons and analogue stick on the game controller, enabling him to play GoldenEye from a musical keyboard.

It doesn’t look like the most elegant of control systems - and playing the game doesn’t always translate to the most easy-on-the-ear music - but at least Jackson has given himself the opportunity to riff on some classic 007 tunes during the cut scenes as he completes the first level.

We’d still fancy our chances against him in a multiplayer battle, though. We’ll see you in The Facility.

Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

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