Alright, this has weighed on my mind for too long, now...

[WTFantastico]

Why do Ys and Metroid have the same "item get" jingle? Who made it first? Why hasn't there been some sort of legal action taken by one against another? Were they made by the same guy who ended up working for both companies? I have so many questions.

[Doomlord]

Metroid did it first. Ys was composed by Yuzo Koshiro and if you've heard his Streets of Rage music before you don't really need any more explanation than this.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

The only complete similarity between the two is that the melody has the same rhythm for a 13-note sequence -- but it's merely playing the first twelve notes evenly, which isn't particularly distinctive by itself. Well, that, and they're both item jingles, I guess.

Aside from that, the "item get" jingles are quite different:
* Ys's item jingle uses two or three chords; Metroid's has four chords. The chords respectively are Db (for two bars - or Db/F for the first bar then Db for the second bar), C (for two bars) vs. Bb, Am, Gm7 (or Eb), D.
* Ys's item jingle is in F minor/C major (it could be best described as C phrygian with a Picardy third); Metroid's is in D minor (with a Picardy third). (Except for Metroid 2's version, which is harmonized very differently.)
* The melodic contour is different. Ys's item jingle gradually rises for two bars then falls. Metroid's item jingle rises for the first bar, falls and rises in the second bar, and falls in the third bar. They do both peak at the beginning of the third bar though.
* Ys's item jingle has retained the same melody line throughout the series. Metroid's item jingle has a second melody line that was actually the primary melody line in the NES game; this melody line had very different rhythm and even a trill at the end. In fact the thirteen-note version was only codified in Metroid 2.
* Furthermore, Metroid has had distinct sub-jingles for minor item collection in Metroid 2 (if I recall correctly), Prime, Prime Hunters (I think?), Fusion, and Other M; Ys gives you the same item jingle even if you're just collecting some Raval Ore.

The two jingles do give off similar feels, yeah, but they're distinct enough that I don't see how this is a problem unless either party feels excessively litigious.

Originally posted by DOOMLORD:

Metroid did it first. Ys was composed by Yuzo Koshiro and if you've heard his Streets of Rage music before you don't really need any more explanation than this.

For specifically the thirteen-note jingle, Ys probably went first, but then again Metroid buried that thirteen-note jingle in middle texture of the original version of the jingle. Subsequent Metroid games all went with the thirteen-note item jingle, though, starting with Metroid 2, except for Zero Mission, which only used the thirteen-note version for one specific grand instance of the fanfare.

Also, for reference, Metroid's music was written by Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka.

[Berahlen]

Ys's item jingle has retained the same melody line throughout the series. Metroid's item jingle has a second melody line that was actually the primary melody line in the NES game; this melody line had very different rhythm and even a trill at the end. In fact the thirteen-note version was only codified in Metroid 2.

Yep, the NES Metroid jingle was very slightly different from the ones that came after.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpAB3kkIXg4

It wasn't until Metroid II about 4 years after Ys I came out that they sounded much more similar.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

For more reference:

Both Metroid II fanfares can be heard at the beginning of this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsNMUSERMx4

Ys I - NES version - three-chord version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g81LfyY7CcI

Ys I&II - PC engine version - two-chord version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmZFhK1zUWI

Ys III - three-chord version
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ4YccfcmTs

"modern" Ys item jingle - two-chord version (from I&II Chronicles, Origin, and Oath)
also Super Metroid and Metroid 1's item jingles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD1zZSddOFk

a bunch of Metroid item fanfares (sorta disorganized)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewQ6fRYfHvg