Rico Harbor - Super Mario Sunshine (GCN)
Super Mario Sunshine certainly isn't my favorite 3D Mario game. Heck, it isn't even one of my favorite Mario games. But a game game? No, not at all. I actually had a lot of fun with this game. In fact, Super Mario Sunshine is one of the most challenging Mario games you'll encounter and has what is quit possibly my favorite setting in the whole Mario universe, Delfino Isle. The tropical setting was a much needed breath of fresh air for the series, even if all of Sunshine's gameplay mechanics with FLUDD didn't pay off. We were even treated to a terrific soundtrack from Koji Kondo and Shinobu Tanaka. Delfino Plaza's main theme was remixed numerous times but I found the arranged version of Rico Harbor to be my favorite.
Pull Back the Bass - Jazz the Jackrabbit 2 (PC)
Jazz never gained the recognition that Mario or Sonic enjoy, but he still has devoted fans. When I looked up Jazz the Jackrabbit on TVtropes, I was surprised to hear that the company behind him was Epic Games, makers of the Gears of War series. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing Jazz brought back. And more awesome music by Alexander Brandon, please.
Use Your Head - Earthworm Jim Special Edition (PC, SCD)
Do you remember Earthworm Jim? He was everywhere in the mid to late 1990s. A hit on the Genesis and SNES, he even had his own short lived cartoon series where he was voiced by Dan Castela (Homer Simspon). There was a special edition of Earthworm Jim released for the PC and Sega CD complete with CD quality music. The SNES and Genesis soundtracks are great but I'm very partial to the Special Edition's version of Use Your Head, which gets a dose of electric guitar goodness.
Fight, X! - Mega Man X Command Mission (GCN, PS2)
Command Mission may not have been the ideal spin off for the X series, but from what I hear, it wasn't a shabby RPG. I like that X gets a cool scarf and the there's also some faces that do not appear in any other X game. Being a Mega Man game, the music rocks. Dig that battle theme for X.
Sand Ocean - F-Zero GP Legend (GBA)
Sand Ocean was given a whole new theme for F-Zero GX on the GameCube and it rocked my ears off. For F-Zero's second Game Boy Advance outing, Sand Ocean's SNES theme was given the arrangement treatment and despite the GBA's limitations, the rock elements of the song was felt in full. I particularly like the heavy drums that were used.
The Decisive Battle - Final Fantasy Tactics (PS, PSP)
A work of art. Beautiful. Simply amazing. These are just a few of the phrases I can use to describe Final Fantasy Tactics musical score. It's impossible for mean to mention Tactics not touch on the music. You hear this track on one of the earliest scripted battles in the game. The enemies in this battle do not pull any punches. This battle can actually be a brick wall to a lot of first time players because if you are not prepared or you don't know what you're doing, you will die. It's that simple.
The Moon - DuckTales (NES)
Any child of the 1980s has the DuckTales theme song memorized word for word. They also have The Moon theme from the NES game engraved into the brain. This was one of those licensed games that was done right. There were even slightly altered endings depending on how much money you collected before you finished the game. DuckTales on the NES deserves to be in every gamer's library.
Sky to the Ocean - Contra: Shattered Soldier (PS2)
After two failed Contra games on the PSone, Konami went back to the drawing board. The result was Contra: Shattered Soldier, the Contra game fans had been waiting for but one they were not ready for. Contra games have a tendency to smack the player across the face until they learn the ropes and Shattered Soldier was no exception, but the difficulty was nearly on par of that of Contra: Hard Corps. The game's soundtrack was an overdose of heavy metal that included a remix of the classic Jungle theme as well as new tracks like this one.
Tal Tal Heights - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (GBC)
Link's first portable adventure is still one of my favorites. Yoshi dolls, a Wart cameo and other weirdness may make it the oddball in the series, but I love it for those very reasons. I can still remember climbing Tal Tal Heights as this theme played. I'm tempted to say Link's Awakening doesn't get enough love but this theme had a glorious remix in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the game can be downloaded on the 3DS eShop so Nintendo shows it more appreciation than it does other games in the company's catalog.
Investigation ~ Cornered - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS, WW)
The game that launched countless internet memes and made it cool to point, the first Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is an enhanced port of the GBA game with touch controls and a brand new case. In fact, the first three Phoenix Wright titles were originally developed and published on the GBA but were updated and released on the DS for the first time outside of Japan. Cornered is the theme that plays when Phoenix Wright is scaring a criminal out of their wits and looking all around awesome. If you missed it on the DS, you can download Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney on WiiWare.
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