Favorite Tunes #216: Raging in the Streets

I'll bet you've never played a beat 'em up before and thus, you'll never guess what the subtitle refers to! Yeah, that is my pitiful attempt to add more to this intro. Some games from my favorite genre, shoot 'em ups, are getting some love this week as well as my main hedgehog, Sonic as well as another fellow that has Sonic in his name. And that and Dragon Ball, too!

Aqua Blue - Gunbird (ARC)

I'd heard of Gunbird but until recently, I'd never actually played it. This Psikyo arcade SHMUP was received a few home ports included a localized one under the title Mobile Light Force. Gunbird is also available on Steam and recently received a Switch port going by the name Gunbird for Nintendo Switch, which is my preferred method of playing this shooter. I love this game's art style and upbeat music.

Boss (Vs, Eggman) - Sonic Forces (PS4, XBO, NS, PC)

Sonic Forces is far from being a fantastic Sonic game but it isn't the crap fest so many people state it is. The music is actually pretty dang good. Granted Tee Lopes is a tough act to follow, but Naofumi Hayata worked his Genesis sound font magic and gave us some sick retro-style beats. Pity you only get to hear so little of this one as you'll damage Eggman so quickly that the theme shifts to a much more faster paced version of the boss theme.

Trunks - DRAGON BALL FighterZ (PS4, XBO, PC)

Kenji Yammamoto may not be writing the music for our DBZ fighting games anymore but we've still got plenty of good, energetic tunes to keep us hyped. DBFZ is packed with plenty of rock, some jazz and even hopeful tunes, the last one of which is very fitting for Trunks, who once again finds himself fighting to save his dystopian world in the future in Dragon Ball Super.

Dilapidated Town - Streets of Rage (GEN)

Yuzo Koshiro. The man is a music writing genius and a huge, huge fan of western music. While many will argue that the peak of Streets of Rage music is with the second entry, I kinda feel like that is a huge disservice to the first and third game. After the energy pumping first level theme that is Fighting in the Street, the second level tones it down a notch with Dilapidated Town.

Stage 2A - Zero Gunner 2 (DC)

Originally released on the Dreamcast, Zero Gunner 2 saw a remade re-release called Zero Gunner 2- for Nintendo Switch. Another Psikyo SHMUP, the source code was lost, hence why the Switch version was made from the ground up. The music may sound a bit flat or generic, but there's still some good jams to listen to outside of gameplay.

Space Station - Sonic Blast Man (SNES)

Originally an arcade game consisting of several target hitting stages, Sonic Blast Man was later ported to the SNES as a full fledged five stage beat 'em up. The target punching levels from the arcade version were included as bonus levels. Being a Taito game, Sonic Blast Man's soundtrack is of exceptional quality.

Favorite Tunes Database