Favorite Tunes #158: The Rain Has Come

We've been getting a lot of rain here in Virginia Beach. A bit of the music featured in this week's favorite tunes reflects the dreary weather as of late. We can't always have sunshine. There's some upbeat music mixed with the downtrodden music as well.

It's Raining Somewhere Else - Undertale (PC) 

I've made mention of Undertale's outstanding soundtrack multiple times in Favorite Tunes. The game's main theme has so many arrangements, consisting of different genres that you never get tired of hearing it. Of course, when the music isn't a new spin on the main theme, it still manages to stay on your mind. A jazzed up version of Sans' theme? Why, yes, please.

Dark Groove - Jazz Jackrabbit 2 (PC)

When I think of rabbits, two spring to mind, the wise cracking, carrot eating Bugs Bunny, and the gun touting Jazz Jackrabbit. Outside of the 2002 GBA game, titled Jazz Jackrabbit (which was a completely original game from the the 1994 title of the same name), everyone's favorite green rabbit that isn't named Bucky, hasn't had a new game in years. At least, the music to the first two Jazz games are easily obtained on Loudr even if his first two games haven't been given a Steam release.

Cute Mafia - Street Fighter EX3 (PS2)

The Street Fighter EX games have never gained the fame that the 2D Street Fighter entries have enjoyed. That kinda sucks because they really aren't bad games. I'd love to see the original characters Arika created for these games return to current Street Fighter titles, but since Arika owns those characters, that will probably never happen. Along with some cool looking characters, the EX games are also known for their extremely high quality soundtracks.

Bonus Game - Pilotwings (SNES)

Despite the series long history, there have only been a total of three Pilotwings games. Nintendo doesn't usually open the doors and late the planes, gliders, jet packs and all other forms of air travel out unless they have some new hardware to show off and even then, sometimes Pilotwings is still grounded. The first game has some delightfully catchy music composed by Soyo Oka, who also wrote the score for Super Mario Kart.

Pipe Island - Yoshi's Safari (SNES)

You say you've never played this game? Well that's not too surprising. You did need the Super Scope 6 to play it and that thing only worked for so many SNES titles. With the Wii U's motion controls, you'd think they would re-release more games from their light gun library. I always loved the western feel of this track.

Rolento Battle - Final Fight (ARC)

Originally meant to be a follow up to the 1987 Street Fighter called Street Fighter '89, this beat 'em up became it's own game taking on the title of Final Fight, but still being part of the Street Fighter Universe. Rolento isn't the toughest boss in the game, but he loves his grenades and he's quick on his feet.

Favorite Tunes Database

Pilotwings: Take Flight

Ah, Pilotwings. It's what has been known as the hardware showoff series for a number of Nintendo consoles. As if being an enjoyable arcade style flight simulator wasn't good enough, the Pilotwings games also have some excellent pieces of music that I feel get overlooked. We're long overdue for a Pilotwings arrange album so Pilotwings: Take Flight couldn't have come at a better time.

Released on April 25, 2012 Pilotwings: Take Flight is OverClocked Remix's 34th album release. Unlike the previous albums, this one is on the short side, spanning a mere seven tracks. But as Nintendo said in the days of the Nintendo 64, quality over quantity. This baby may not be lengthy (total run time is only 22 minutes and 40 seconds) but it is very high on quality. Taking songs from all three Pilotwings titles, the music is heavy on the chiptunes but still sounds faithful to the source material. The Birdman Cometh, a remix of Birdman from Pilotwings 64, sounds just as jazzy as the original track and I'm very pleased that my favorite song from that game got remix love here.

Its great to see this Nintendo franchise get some much needed audio appreciation. Pilotwings Take Flight is another fine effort from OverClocked Remix. Highly recommended.

Pilotwings: Take Flight