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Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Favorite Tunes #79: Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

Well, here it is, the end of of 2013. It's a time of reflection, but mostly celebrations and of course, good music! Don't overdo it on the booze, be safe and happy new year!

Stardust Speedway "B" Mix JP - Sonic CD (SCD) 

By GagaMan

When you first saw Metal Sonic, he kidnapped Amy Rose, or in this case Rosey the Rascal since we're talking about the Japanese version of Sonic CD. When you encounter him a second time, you battle it out to see who is truly the fastest thing alive. It's race of flesh against metal. Annnnnd they roll out this dance beat. Turn it up, get down!

Soft Collision - Mighty Switch Force! 2 (3DSW, Wii U)



The first Mighty Switch Force! was a splendid puzzle/platform game with a distinctively retro inspired soundtrack. The sequel is has you shooting water instead of ammo and the puzzle mechanics are slightly different but it's still more of the same goodness we fell in love with before. Like the original game, the soundtrack is also very dance-centric.

Growing Wings - NiGHTS Journey of Dreams (Wii)



After years of waiting and please from fans, Sonic Team delivered on sequel to the cult classic Saturn game NiGHTS into dreams with NiGHTS Journey of dreams. And there was much whining and complaining. Some said it was too long, other said there was too much dialogue and the voice acting wasn't needed. The game wasn't perfect but it's far from being the terrible game some fans make it out to be. The soundtrack had plenty of arrangements of familiar themes from the original as well as fresh music.

Zero Stage 2 - Mega Man X5 (PS)



What was originally intended to be the final game of the Mega Man X series. Rather than have a dark and ominous theme for the final level, the game assaults your ears with this kicking rave theme that is begging to be played at parties. It's an unexpected theme to be sure, but it's certainly a welcomed one.

Bitter Dance - Star Ocean: Till the End of Time (PS2)



What would you think if I told you this was actually a battle theme? Done picking your jaw up off the floor yet? This is one video game tune that probably isn't gonna win any sort of serious awards. It really feels out of place, but you know what? I love the left field nature of this tune. I guess this is one of my guilty pleasure songs.

Replay 2 - Rage Racer (PS)



The first game to truly shake up the Ridge Racer series, Rage Racer featured even more exotic cars than the previous games and a much longer grand prix mode where you earned cash and could upgrade your cars. Some fans may have bemoaned this new approach that meant far more time was needed in order to see everything the game had to offer, but I personally feel the gamble payed off and we were given one of the more standout entries in the series.

Buggie Running Beeps 01 - Rez (DC, PS2)



I don't mean to sound like "one of those types" but remember when SEGA was constantly innovating and putting out new IPs left and right? These days it seems as if Sonic is all that's left of the company since he's the only character that gets his own full fledged games. Anyway, Rez was first released on the Dreamcast and later ported to the PS2. The DC version was exclusive to Japan with the PS2 version seeing an American and European release. Rez also saw a digital release in the form of Rez HD for the Xbox Live Arcade. Rez is a very unique rail shooter with an incredible electronic soundtrack.

Degeneracy (Stage 4 - Plant) - Battle Garegga (SAT, Arranged Ver.)



A hard as nails old-school shooter that was released for arcades in the late 1990s, Battle Battle Garegga received a Saturn port in Japan and one of the most distinct features from the arcade version was the option to switch to an arranged soundtrack. Definitely worth adding to your collection of Saturn import titles if you can find a copy.

Expander - Streets of Rage 2 (GEN)



Yuzo Koshiro wowed Genesis owners with his brilliant work on the original Streets of Rage. His Streets of Rage 2 compositions are arguably his best work on the Genesis trilogy, pushing the Genesis sound chip to levels that were unheard of at the time. Expander in particular still amazes me to this day.

End Credits - Mighty Switch Force! (3DSW, Wii U)



When the Mighty series began, composer Jake Kaufman created a catchy reoccurring tune that I've dubbed "The Mighty Theme" it has since been used in every Mighty game, including both Mighty Switch Force! titles. I suppose it was arranged twice in the first game since you can hear it in Caught Red Handed and the End Credits theme, which is easily a contender for one of the best staff roll themes of all-time. It's perfect for parties that are winding down, relaxing after work or just plain chilling.

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