The Adventures of Duane and BrandO

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I don't usually like rap, but this is AWESOME!

The Adventures of Duane & BrandO is was is was a Michigan based videogame rap cover band, consisting of members Duane Zuwala and Brandon Lackey, under the not-really-pseudonyms 8Bit Duane and The Amazing BrandO. This description, while accurate, fails to convey the mindblowingly clever rhymes the duo spits. Every song of theirs is easily Crowning Music of Awesome, and they have to stick with a very fun and bouncy style rather than the more serious workings of The Megas.

Their trope-worthiness, and general notoriety, comes from their music videos using in-game footage, with these two videos in particular being most well-known:

Final Fantasy and Mega Man 2

There exists one CD consisting of remastered versions of their entire discography, available for free on their website, as well as multiple solo albums for the two of them.

They separated due to Creative Differences for 6 months, but reunited from April 1 to July 30th, 2010, after their American-wide tour with The Protomen and The Super 8-Bit Bros.

PS: For now, let's keep all three bands together. It makes things a little easier.

Tropes used in The Adventures of Duane and BrandO include:

• Action 52: Arguably the finest lyrical interpretation of Cheetahmen II created by man or machine.
  • Lampshade Hanging:
    • "Walkin' down the road to the invisible dude"
    • "Can't duck down, I'm jumpin' over your ass! Coins poppin' up, but I don't know for what, next stage I make a motherfucking noise when I jump!"
    • "My moves are pitiful but this robe is gloris..."
    • "I shall run, 'cuz I'm Doctor Morbis, reappear 'cuz I teleportis..."
    • "Cheetahmen, you are my failed expirement!"
  • No Ending: Just like the original game.
• Are We There Yet?: "It's already been five minutes since we started this song! That's four Ninja Gaiden songs way too long!"
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: In Zelda II, as shown below:

This game is so confusing When the hell does it take place? (I don't know!) Which Zelda did I rescue? Where the hell's my boomerang? (I don't know!)

• Averted later:

Link's Shadow: Same moves, same tights, same fuckin' drive!

• Averted Trope: The Final Fantasy I rap dodges all the popular Light Warrior personalities popularized by Eight Bit Theater. The Fighter is smart and the leader, the Red Mage flaunts his powers by using them, the Black Mage is slick and effective, and there's a Black Belt on the team.
  • Although the Eight Bit Theater lineup is referenced: Garland says to the Black Belt "I'll make you wish you would have chosen Thief." But it's probably said for the fact that the Thief is a master at running.
• A Worldwide Punomenon: "I'm the illest fuckin' cracker that you've ever met! Get it? *whip cracks* That shit is funny!"
  • I'm the two tailed fox with the fly-ass moves!
• Banned in Germany: The Amazing Brando's "Magical Mustache" video.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Played straight when "songs" are mentioned, downplayed when "games" are mentioned.
• Brick Joke: The DEAD running gag in the Mega Man 2 rap was used again in the Castlevania 2 rap.
  • And again in the Double Dragon rap.
  • And again in the Final Fantasy rap.
  • "I AM ERROR, I GOT NOTHING TO SAY." DEAD
    • Speaking of which, "Good knight turned bad knight? Good knight for you!"
• Butt Monkey: "The name's Bubble Man and I got somethin' ta say-"* DEAD*
  • Tails as well. He's always either left behind or totally abhorred while he's around.

Tails: Tails is the name / Sonic's right hand G / You'll go no no, nono, no! Sonic: Shut the fuck up.

• Call Back: While any sequel songs (Zelda/Mario/Castlevania 2 etc.) all contain references to their respective predecessors. Of special note is Duane's rendition of the title theme from Mega Man 6 borrows its first four measures of lyrics from Mega Man 2 by Duane & BrandO.
  • Dragon Warrior also reuses a couple of the Sonic rap's lines. Tails (played by Duane, who also did the vocals for Dragon Warrior) lampshades this.
  • Zelda III makes a subtle reference to the last line of the previous song, in which Link asks "We're brother and sister in the next game, right?". This version of Link is a Chivalrous Pervert who constantly hits on a reluctant Zelda, who is constantly hinted to be a relative. (But only in this song: see Did Not Do the Research below.)
• Cluster F-Bomb: "I'mmah fuckin' kick you in your stupid fuckin' face" is one of MANY. Oh, and can't forget the song TITLED "Fuck You".
  • Seriously, everyone swears in these raps. Except for, amusingly, Bikke from Final Fantasy I. You know, the pirate?
  • Wood Man also has an amusing aversion to the word "fuck". He opts for "freakin'". He does say "ass", though. Roll and Dr. Wily don't swear either, and Proto Man's only swear is cut off.

Proto Man: Choose carefully you motherfu--. Mega Man: NO.

• Darker and Edgier: Zelda II is much more serious than most of the band's other songs. There are a few jokes here and there, and the Running Gag with Duane popping up to comment on what's happening, but they're mostly at the beginning and during the middle, while the temple, final boss and especially the Great Temple segments are surprisingly poetic.

Link: You know that I will save you, I'm made to, I'm breaking through Zelda: You know that I have faith, Link, I'll wait, Link, I'll wait for you Link: You have no choice, love, Zelda: I know that you'll rescue me, this is our destiny Both: I hear your voice, love, Link: I've only just met you but something inside of me drives me on, so I battle, who are you? Shadow Link: I'm your shadow.

• Did Not Do the Research: Well, actually, they did. Despite some lines (Simon Belmont armed with a stake?) it's clear they've played the games they rap about and are just taking artistic liberties. In fact, during the Mega Man 2 rap, they talk about Proto Man and Rush, despite them both appearing in Mega Man 3, and in one scene, they're playing the game, and have apparently superimposed the Rush Jet over Item 2, just to follow the song. That's dedication.
  • Duane's Super Mario Land is a better example. That game took place in Sarasaland, NOT the Mushroom Kingdom.
  • In Duane's Castlevania II video, one of the final lines is "I'll be back in Super Castlevania, bitch, don't lie!" Accompanying this line is a video from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood/Dracula X.
    • In their Castlevania song, Simon Belmont says: "It’s a disgrace; and you know that I’m comin’, even though in the next game I’ll be replaced. Uhh, whoops! I don’t know that yet." Simon is still the playable character in Castlevania II. He is replaced in Castlevania III by Trevor Belmont, but chronologically, he is Trevor's successor.
  • Brand0 ends Zelda II with the line "We're brother and sister in the next game, right?" He actually remains convinced that Link's uncle meant to say "Zelda is your sister", in A Link to the Past, despite both retcons and the original Japanese that came before it declaring otherwise, simply because that's how he grew up hearing it. He explains his belief in a Freeze-Frame Bonus at the end of the Zelda II video.
    • Continuity Nod That is mentioned in the Zelda 3 song when Zelda says "Link I think there's a chance we might be--" but Link interrupts with "DESTINED? It's true, so just accept it!" which uses information from both the original and the GBA remake.
• Dissimile: In Toejam and Earl:

I'm like a genie/alien but the opposite...

• Domestic Abuse: Played for laughs a few times.

Mega Man: "And that's how we roll" Roll: "Need my help?" Mega Man: "Nawww. / Get back in the kitchen, / shit is under control / It's a man's world, baby / don't be flashin' ya vag / here's my back hand bitch/ ya got a problem wit' that? * punch*

• • And of course, "The Carpet Is Lava", which they actually lost a few YouTube subscribers over.
  • From Battletoads:

Dark Queen: You can't hit me, I'm a woman! Rash: I realize you're a woman, but I really don't care You're gonna have to tell the doctor you fell down on the stairs You're gonna need them sunglasses for them black eyes, whore I've been drinking since breakfast, I don't care anymore!

• • The Great Abyss has a ton of this:

There is no... relationships. Only men, and others. Women will no longer be referred to as women, but "Dishes Do-ers". We will also refer to them as... Bitch! ...You are the birth giver, or the abortion haver. I shall crap in your hand and you shall run it to the toilet! ...You shall have your own special room, it will be called the storage closet.

• Double Entendre: King Koopa claims in the Super Mario Bros.. rap that he'll "Eat the fucking Princess with cherries and whipped cream".
  • Matoya got her some HERB.
  • From the Zelda rap:

Link: When I master the Master Sword, I'm goin' to town on Zelda's upside-down Triforce, with one in the brown. You can't stop me from comin', I am the Hero of Time! You better run for your fuckin' life, I'm comin' inside!

• • One was noted with less innuendo: "That was a critical hit? Critics are thumbing in awe!"
• Dude, She's Like, in a Coma: "Besides, she's in a coma in the next game, G. For real."
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: How Billy defeats his evil brother.

Billy: I am tellin' Mom. Jimmy: You wouldn't!

• Exposition Break: Played for laughs in the EarthBound song Title Buzz Buzz:

Buzz Buzz: One last thing before I finally die… Take this thing, it’s called a Sound Stone, guy. There are eight different melodies that you have to record To prevent the Cosmic Destroyer from sending all to the horror of eternal darkness. I’m dead… ...Do you wanna hear my story again? Ness: Yes. Buzz Buzz: One last thing before I finally die...

• Fan Vid: Remarkably well made ones at that.
• Final Fantasy I: For many fans, this was their first exposure to the band.
• Final Fantasy VII: Recently announced, a full-length LP with a number of guest artists is being worked on as we speak from The Amazing BrandO.
  • This has been put on hold due to the reunion show among other things.
  • Word of God says this was ultimately cancelled. It has been Uncancelled, as said on BrandO's new site.
• Hannibal Lecture: In Zelda 2, Dark Link attempts one:

"No I know all your moves, and I feel all you pain! / You're a slave to the princess, a fuckin' shame. / Hyrule could be ours, take my hand! / We could rule the kingdom, devour the land! / You'll never defeat me, you know that I'm right! / You're a servant, a pawn, and you're living a lie!

• • Shut UP, Hannibal: From Link:

"Gonna live and let you die, bitch! 'Cause I don't need you! / I think I'll just crouch down over here and stab your knees, dude! / Stabby stab stab, how you like that shit? / I'm gonna call you Error 'cause you're fuckin' useless!

• Heroic Mime: Referenced in Zelda:

Link: Aw, shit! (I thought to myself) What am I going to do?

• In-Joke: It's impossible to catch all of them, since they are worked surprisingly well in to the flow of the song. One of the funniest jokes in their discography is in the Sonic song with the line "Did I do that?". For those of you not in the know, this is a reference to actor Jaleel White's role as the voice actor for Sonic in Sonic Sat AM and The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.
  • Not to mention that in both the Zelda 2 and Castlevania 3 raps, there's that woman holding up the sign. In Zelda 2, it says "4 out of 5 ladies prefer this model" and in Castlevania 3, it says "TREVOR'S GOT BALLZ".
• Insult Backfire: Well, more like Snappy Comment Backfire, from Episode 2 of the Zelda 3 rap:

Zelda: Lick my royal heinie! Link: ...gonna!

• • This is also a Brick Joke calling back to the end of Episode 1.
• Mood Whiplash: The ending of Duane's Super Mario Land is quite touching... aside from the fact that it's punctuated with a rather epic belch.
  • The Dragon Warrior rap ends "dramatically", or at least that's how Duane intended to end it.
• My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels: From Kung Fu:

So door igamo set say llamo Tamagotchi Ali I dunno what exactly that means I don’t speak no Chinese

• No Pronunciation Guide: Although the subtitles say "Bikke", his actual name is replaced with a cough instead of being spoken. In a YouTube comment DnB claimed that none among them could agree on how to pronounce it.
• Overly Long Gag: The end of the "Saturn Valley" portion of Earthbound is the Grapefruit Falls password. Which happens to be doing nothing for three full minutes.
• This Is for Emphasis, Bitch: Aplenty. Just look at the page for two examples.
• Punk in the Trunk: In The Carpet is Lava, after they kill Mike Christensen with a baseball bat.

Michael Crane: Let's put his ass in the trunk. Take him to the river, then dump this punk.

• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Their last show was a perfect example of this. Duane simply couldn't stand still, while BrandO seemed a lot less energetic than he does in the recorded songs. Check it out here.
• Rhyming with Itself: In the Super Mario Bros. 2 song, Birdo rhymes "face" with itself, and lampshades it.

Birdo: I am a motherfuckin' Birdo, look at my face! I spit eggs motherfucker, straight into your face! I'm so hardcore, I rhyme face with face! I rhymed face four times, now get outta my face!

• Running Gag:
  • In Mega Man 2, the word "Dead!" is shouted after each boss is defeated.
  • Duane's face appears quite often in both of the music videos for the Legend of Zelda songs.
  • Trevor and other characters keep dying throughout Castlevania III, interrupting the music.
  • In the Zelda 3 videos, Link constantly saying that he has a REALLY LARGE PENIS.
• Shout-Out: To Dungeons & Dragons in their Pac-Man song, Faith No More, and a good many to Christopher Walken to name a few.
  • In some of the video-game songs, they get into some pretty obscure in-jokes with the games. Chaos referencing Erdrick's gravestone, for example.
  • One to Flash Gordon in the Mega Man 2 rap.
  • Here's a good one from the Sonic rap

Sonic (to Robotnik): I’ll fuckin’ roll you down the stairs like your name was “Log”!

• • There's also a pretty amusing reference in Metal Sonic's verse of the Sonic rap.

Metal Sonic: Error. Does not compute. Shoot, my system froze. Reboot. Scanning. Loading converter. I am Sonic, insert girder.

• • The Final Fantasy rap has one to Princess of the Universe.

Chaos: I am immortal, I have inside me blood of kings!

• • A part of their Mario song is "Do The Mario".
    • Also in their Mario II rap.
  • From Double Dragon:

Billy: Just give me my girl and get your ass home Zoey's on in 5 minutes, you never miss that show! Jimmy: What you know about the 101 Leave Zoey alone, Nickelodeon's fun!

• • • Also, Jimmy Lee references MC Hammer and more:

Jimmy: Stop! ...Nail time. Can't touch this motha fucking gangsta rhyme. ... My, my, my, fist will hit you - so hard! Make you look like Charizard! I'm too legitimate to handle, bro. Like Mario put it best, "Let's a-go!"

• Shown Their Work: In their Mario 2 song, they got every detail right to the fact that the game was All Just a Dream.
• Sophisticated As Hell: From Zelda 3:

Link: I'll face the darkness, The angels hearken, Your face I'll fart in...

• Spiritual Successor: Action Adventure World and The Amazing Brand O's solo work with VGM, though stylistically Action Adventure World is closer to the majority of Duane and BrandO's work.
• Start Helping Me: In A Boy and His Blob, the Blob keeps running away from the Boy.
• Stealth Pun: In the Final Fantasy song, there's a short section with Mega Man characters playing as a band. Bass is on Bass.
• Straw Misogynist: The moral of The Carpet Is Lava.
• Subverted Rhyme Every Occasion: From Duane's Ice Climber:

"Dodge the icicles falling up high, If they hit me then I'll probably get mad or something!"

• • Castlevania 3 has a DOUBLE subverted rhyme:

Trevor: "Are you a chick, 'Cause you look like you might have a scro-" Sypha: "I'm a female, you asshole!"

• Take That: Brand0 was asked repeatedly to make a song based on Pokémon and released this. Ray William Johnson must be so proud of that trolling.
• The Bad Guy Wins: The Sonic the Hedgehog rap ends with Sonic losing the final battle. Played for Laughs in that he lost BY SHARTING. (It's a combination of shitting and farting.)
  • In Castlevania III, Trevor Belmont loses when fighting Dracula and Brandon quits playing out of frustration.
  • In Dragon Warrior, Duane loses on purpose because he thought it was a better idea to end the song dramatically.
• Trunk Shot: Near the end of the video for The Carpet is Lava, where they put Mike Christensen in the trunk.
• Turn Your Head and Cough: Something similar used in Duane's rendition of the Doogie Howser, M.D. theme song.
• Video Game Cruelty Potential: Tails is abused in their Sonic the Hedgehog song, taking advantage of his infinite lives as Player 2 to kill him over and over and over again.

Tails: "Hey Sonic, tell Player 2 to stop jumpin' in spikes / That shit hurts, even with these infinite lifes!"

• Villain Song: Chaos gets his own segment in the Final Fantasy song using a tune that wasn't actually in the game. (at least, not the NES version) It's surprisingly good.

Chaos: Those fools are on their way / They'll rue the day they came this way / I'm CHAOS! ...in the flesh. The Fiends compare to fleas / compared to me / It's great to be pure CHAOS! ...I laid Erdrick to rest. And one by one you'll die by my hand! / Oh look what I've become! This fantasy is far from final / The worst is yet to come...

• Voice of the Legion: Again, Chaos during his own segment in Final Fantasy. One deep demonic voice, one higher-pitched normal voice.
• We Can Rule Together: From Zelda II:

Dark Link: Hyrule could be ours, take my hand! We can rule the kingdom, devour the land!

• • In Double Dragon, during the fight between Billy and Jimmy

Jimmy Lee: Join us! Don't be so stupid! / Teach all of my warriors Sosetsuken / If ya don't, I'll put you in a headlock, G. / By the way, I think yer girl really likes me...

• With Lyrics: Almost the entirety of their discography, though they do have a few original songs.
  • Though many songs merely use the original game tunes as a backdrop to the added in lyrics rather than adding lyrics directly to the song melodies.
• What Could Have Been: EarthBound by Duane and BrandO, which is instead being completed by BrandO without Duane's participation.
  • Mike Christensen, the voice of Spud in Final Fantasy, was to be Hornet Man in the upcoming Mega Man 9 song by BrandO. Due to differences in between the two, this is supposedly to be axed.
  • And episode 2 of the actual cartoon. Probably from the fans' denial that it was used in Windows Movie Maker and MS Paint.
  • A part for the stairs was written for Castlevania III by BrandO, to be voiced by a forum member of the Duane and BrandO forums. The part was highly received by the fans of whom heard it, but axed right before the very end due to differences between the forum member and BrandO.

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The Action Adventure World game provides examples of:

• Down the Drain - One of the levels in Episode 2 takes place in the sewer.
• Video Game Cruelty Potential - You can kill 8bitduane all you want.
  • Video Game Cruelty Punishment - But hurting Mitch causes him to hit you back.

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...DEAD