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Monday, December 23, 2013

Favorite Tunes #78: A Wonderful Christmas Time

Ah, Christmas time. A time of family, giving gifts, eggnog and cold. Lots and lots of cold. I'm not a huge fan of frosty climates in real life or video games, but in the case of the later, they usually serve up some extremely good tunes. With it being the holiday season, enjoy a round of Christmas themed video game music.

Frozen Factory Zone 1 - Sonic Lost World (Wii U, 3DS)



Sonic games have a ridulously good track record of having great winter themed music to go along with the stages. Ice Cape Zone in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Robotnik Winter in Sonic Triple Trouble, Holoska in Sonic Unleashed and now Frozen Factory in Sonic Lost World. Opinions may be split on this particular entry in the Sonic series, but I think everyone will agree that the music still kicks in all the right places.

Frappe Snowland - Mario Kart 64 (N64)



The first Mario Kart to take the series into three dimensions, Mario Kart 64 has two winter themed race courses, one I adore and the other I despise. The track I love, Sherbert Island is home to some big penguins and has you driving across a huge sheet of ice through caves and across a fairly large sized lake. The track I hate, Frappe Snowland is a track that is (obviously) covered with the white stuff. What makes this track annoying is the plethora of snowman populated in a section of the track that bring your cart to a screetching halt if you collide into them. Both courses share the same musical theme, which is ironically named after lesser of the two tracks.

Christmas Eve - Animal Crossing (GCN) 



The original Animal Crossing consumed a huge chunk of my life and New Leaf on the 3DS is doing it all over again. But I can still remember sitting in my room in my early 20s on Christmas Eve, walking through  my snow-covered town, the trees decorated with Christmas lights, the town buzzing with Christmas cheer. I can't remember many holidays of the first game, but Christmas in Animal Crossing hit me so hard in the feel goods and this music had a lot to do with it. Since Christmas is all about giving, enjoy an extended version of this theme.

Jack Frost's Chime - Christmas NiGHTS into dreams... (SAT)



Released with select games in magazines in December of 1996, Christmas NiGHTS into dreams is a two stage Christmas theme version of NiGHTS. The Nightopeans are all decked out in their Christmas gear and the levels have a very holiday look to theme. The music is also fit for the occasion. Finding a physical copy of this game is not easy (I found one a few years back for chump change) but it's a wonderful unlockable bonus in the HD remake of NiGHTS into dreams when you complete the game once.

Diamond Dust Act 1 - Sonic 3D Blast (SAT)



The Saturn version of Sonic 3D Blast not only looked cleaner than the Genesis version, but it arguably sounded better depending on whom you ask. I think both versions got solid soundtracks, but the Saturn version of Diamond Dust Act 1 just overwhelms me with Christmas cheer.

Ice Cave Chant - Donkey Kong Country (SNES)

By Michi

After the nightmarish level that was Snowbarrel Blast, you get to take a breather. OK, so the ice cave wasn't a complete cakewalk but compare to what came before, passing this one was a breeze. Even today, the sparkling effects of the crystal ice levels continue to amaze me, just as the audio track does.

Snowy Fields - Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)



There sure are a lot of Nintendo and SEGA games dominating this thing. Eh, what can I say, both companies pimp out superb music. As I said in the opening above, snow levels are generally on the frustrating side, but the ice world of Kirby's Epic Yarn has got to be one of my favorite snow themed levels I've ever been to in a video game. I suppose it helps that said ice world comes from what is arguably the cutest game ever.

Cozy Cabin - Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)



What's this? Kirby and Prince Fluff? Again? The two are just that good. Cozy Cabin takes you through a quaint little cabin and by "little" I mean huge and by "quaint" I mean the ceiling tries to crush you as you move through the level. Even an advancing ceiling couldn't pull my thoughts away from Christmas, which was heavily on my mind since I was originally playing Kirby's Epic Yarn as the holiday was approaching back in 2011.

Dream Bells - Christmas NiGHTS into dreams... (SAT)



A few years ago, I started a tradition of listening to the music from Christmas NiGHTS during the holiday season and it has since been some of my favorite Christmas music to listen to. I don't know of anyone that will object to hearing hearing Jingle Bells and this version is as good as any other, even without lyrics.

Snowman - Mother 3 (GBA)



This piece of music is as much of a staple for the Mother/EarthBound series as Pollyanna, having been present since the original Mother game and appearing in each sequel as well as receiving an excellent Super Smash Bros. Brawl remix. So as you might imagine, it was quite difficult choosing which version to select for this Favorite Tunes. After much agonizing (because I'm dramatic that way) I decided to go with the GBA version from Mother 3.

Favorite Tunes Database

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