Favorite Tunes #126: Critical Hit

We've got a trio of RPGs from the first PS era, a sweet tune from one of my favorite Mega Man X games and we cap things off with a theme from one of the world's most beloved dinosaurs.

Critical Hit! - Wild Arms (PS)

One of the first RPGs I played on the original PlayStation, Wild Arms wild west setting helped set it apart from the futuristic and mid evil setting of most titles in the genre. Sure it may not stack up to the Final Fantasies and other RPGs on the console but Wild Arms is still a pretty fun ride with plenty of memorable tracks  by Michiko Naruke.

Hunter's Chance - Final Fantasy IX (PS)

The last of the three PS Final Fantasy titles, Final Fantasy IX returned to the series swords and sorcery roots. It was also the return of four character party members and character classes were far more prominent. Nobou Uematsu has said that the music of Final Fantasy IX is his favorite of the series that he's worked on and while it isn't my personal favorite FF score, it is overflowing with great music. Pity Hunter's Chance is a theme you don't get to hear often.

FATES ~God of Destiny~ - Chrono Cross (PS)

Remember when Square made RPGs besides Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts? Good times, good times. Joking (mostly) aside, Chrono Cross, a game that is near and dear to many RPG fan's heart, just isn't my cup of tea. It has way too many characters, which isn't a bad thing but when they are devoid of personality in of all games, an RPG, it tends to be a problem. I also wasn't a fan of the combat system but Yasunori Matsuda delivered another stellar soundtrack, so I can't complain about that.

Web Spider Stage - Mega Man X4 (PS, SAT)

My second favorite Mega Man X game, X4 features some of the best 2D action platforming around. X and Zero with their respective long and close range fighting abilities are different enough that playing the game through as both characters is definitely warranted. I didn't think the soundtracks of Mega Man X2 and X3 were bad by any means but X4's music was a vast improvement. That 32-bit hardware was put to excellent use both visually and audio-ably.

Final Boss - Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (GEN)

Four games from the PS era. I think its time we switched things up, so let's return to the 16-bit era of gaming. When Robotnik jumps into his giant mecha cockpit and the machine rises from the ground, towering over Sonic, you know a serious throw down is about to begin. Provided you've got some patience, this final conflict actually isn't too difficult.

Ending Story - Yoshi's Story (N64)

So Yoshi's Story is on the easy side. And it doesn't take long to finish. And Kazumi Totaka's score isn't on the same level of Koji Kondo's from Yoshi's Island. These are all reasons Yoshi's Story is often viewed as an inferior follow up. Even so, Yoshi's Story isn't a bad game. Yes, the main theme can get repetitive but that ending theme is out of this world soothing.

Favorite Tunes Database