Favorite Tunes #76: Girls, Girls, Girls, Girls

In case you haven't guessed, this one is all about the ladies. Enjoy!

A Simple Rating (Theme of Karin) - Street Fighter Alpha 3 (ARC, PS, SAT)

Of all the games in the Alpha series, Alpha 3 is by far the one I've invested the most time in, specifically the PlayStation port. With so many characters and modes to choose from, this game kept me busy long after the shrink wrap came off the CD case. Karin is Sakura's rival and despite this being her only appearance in a Street Fighter title, she has a huge fanbase.

File Selection - Super Princess Peach (DS)

In one of his more brilliant moves, Bowser kidnaps Mario and Luigi, the usual rescuers of Princess Peach. This leaves the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom being the only one capable of going off to rescue the duo. With a magical umbrella and the power of mood swings, Peach stared in an easy, but still fun platformer.

World 4 (Alta NET) - Mighty Flip Champs (DSi)

The first game in WayForward's Mighty series, Mighty Flip champs was a unique take on the puzzle genre. Using both screens, you could flip the level around to access portions of the area you wouldn't be able to reach otherwise. This theme plays in one of the toughest areas of the game.

Heart of Icegrave - Monster World IV (GEN)

'Twas truly a good day when Monster World IV was officially released via digital download. And in English! This absolutely charming action/RPG has some of the finest visual and sounds to come from the Genesis as well as one of my favorite duos in gaming, Asha and Pepe. Much of the music consists of a single them that gets used over and over, but the arrangements are done so well that it never grates on you.

Datadyne Central Defection - Perfect Dark (N64)

The Carrington Institute has a wealth of good soldiers but few of them are as skillful as Joanna Dark, the only agent to get a perfect rating, hence her code name, Perfect Dark. A lot of the themes used in Perfect Dark come in two flavors, the normal theme and the X version, which is more frantic than the standard tune.

Jody Summer - F-Zero GX (GCN)

Out of the 30 racers in F-Zero GX only a handful of them are female and Jody has one of the better vehicles to choose from. Unlike a lot of other character themes, Jody's is gentle like a nice summer breeze.

Nobody Catch Me - Tekken 2 (PS)

I know I've said it before but really good things need to be repeated. Namco has a habit of going the extra mile on their ports. The PS version of Tekken 2 got an incredibly arranged soundtrack and I actually prefer it over the arcade score. This is Michelle Chang's theme.

Stone Forest (PAI) - Virtua Fighter 5 (ARC, PS2, 360)

This year marks the 20th anniversary of SEGA's Virtua Fighter series, gaming's first 3D fighter. Unfortunately SEGA didn't really roll out the red carpet for this franchise like they did with Sonic. Oh well. Of all the female brawlers this series is known for, Pai will always be my lady of choice.

Main Theme - The Legend of Valkyrie (ARC)

Later ported to the PC Engine, The Legend of Valkyrie is actually a sequel to the Famicom game Valkyrie no Boken. This obscure Namco character has gotten a bit more love as of late. She was one of the many playable characters in the 3DS game Project X Zone.

Terra - Final Fantasy VI (SNES)

With so many characters and many of them getting ample screen time, Terra is probably the closest Final Fantasy VI has to a main character. This half human/half esper undergoes a lot of character development before she's comfortable with who she is. Terra's theme functions as the world map theme for the World of Balance, the first half of the game.

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