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Saturday, February 4, 2023

VGM Saturdays Vol. 2. No. 005

Dranius, Tales of Symphonyia Remastered, Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, Octopath Travler II, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line. This month is packed with releases, so much that I don't know if I'll be able to afford them all. Heck, I didn't even list them all. Momentary distractions are one of life's treasures, so here's some music to take your mind off of this month's wallet apocalypse.  

Ordinary People - Trials of Mana (SNES)

In 2019, the sequel to Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2 in Japan) was at long last released officially outside of Japan in the Collection of Mana anthology under the name Trials of Mana. In 2020, the game got a full remake and from what I hear, it was received much better than 2018's Secret if Mana remake. I'm nowhere near as familiar with the soundtrack to Trials of Mana as I am Secret of Mana's score, but Hiroki Kikuta wrote the music for both games. If you haven't heard the music to Trials of Mana and need an invitation, there ya go. One of my favorite tracks from the game, Ordinary People is a jolly, jovial town track.

SS Anubis - Jet Force Gemini (N64)

The N64 was the subject of much criticism. Since Nintendo stuck with cartridges and Sony went with CDs, the 32-bit machine one uped the 64-bit machine in the sound department. This didn't stop talented composers from bringing out some incredible sound. Rare had some of the most skilled composers in the field and while Goldeneye and Banjo-Kazooie often steal the show for Rare N64 titles, Jet Force Gemini remains one of the company's best works. Just hearing this one makes me feel like a teenager again, N64 controller in hand, stealthily walking around the Anubis. Snag a copy of Rare Replay on the Xbox One to get a plethora of Rare goodness, which includes Jet Force Gemini.

Step Careful (Lexis Theme) - 2064: Read Only Memories (Multi)

Cyberpunk is a genre I really get a kick out of, so when I heard that an enhanced edition of 2064: Read Only memories was headed to the Switch in 2018, I downloaded that sucker. Like any good adventure/mystery game, this one is loaded with interesting, memorable characters (that are superbly voiced), stylish retro visuals and tons of choices which can lead to numerous endings. Futuristic cop music is a head boper. 

Clickbait - Lame Genie, LongestSoloEver - Splatoon 3 (NSW)

In what comes as a surprise to no one, the music in Splatoon 3 is freaking amazing. I'm not just talking about the jams in multiplayer. Well, I am today, but the music in Hero mode is also dance worthy stuff. Lame Genie came to my attention thanks to his metal covers of songs from Kirby and the Forgotten Land. For this metal version of Clickbait, he collaborated with LongestSoloEver. Here's hoping they do more projects together and more Splatoon 3 covers.

Get a Weapon - Neon X - Mega Man 3 (NES)

Mega Man 3 has THE GREATEST Get a Weapon theme from ANY Mega Man game. That is an indisputable fact. Even if Mega Man 3 isn't your fav Rock game, you cannot deny that this theme is 11 different kinds of awesome. Neon X knows this theme is a super banger so he gave this synth cover everything he had.

The Shinobi - The Revenge of Shinobi (Remastered) 

What more needs to be said about the music of The Revenge of Shinobi? It is often praised as one of the greatest gaming soundtracks of all-time and that praise is very much deserved. In 2021, a digital version of the remastered soundtrack was released. If you're used to the audio from the Genesis version, it might be a bit strange to hear it on the NEC-PC 88 files, where it sounds more clear and uncompressed. 

VGM Saturdays Vol. 2 Database

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