Favorite Tunes #278: Opa-Opa Goes Shopping

It is colder than cold outside so I'm staying in doors. Which, I usually do anyway but  even being outside for a little bit is too much cold when the temp is this low. And that's my intro. Enjoy the music.

We're the River City Girls - River City Girls (Multi)

Not ever awesome game experience in 2019 cost $60 to enjoy. For the low price of $30, you could thrown down with River City Girls, a fantastic follow up to the cult loved NES classic, River City Ransom, which is the English version in a long line of Kunio games. Even if beat 'em ups aren't your thing, at least check out the soundtrack. I'm certain you'll love what you hear.

Under Her Control - Final Fantasy VIII (PS)

Recently, Final Fantasy VIII recieved a digital remastered re-release for modern gaming system. Considering all the love VII has gotten over the years, it was nice to see this 1999 game resurface with a slightly new coat of paint. I remember loving the game 20 years ago so I'd like to go back and play it again to see how well it holds up. The music has not aged a day.

Opening (Donkey Kong) - Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

The soundtrack to Super Smash Bros. Brawl is amazing. Thankfully, much of it  not only made it into the fourth game but Ultimate as well. I don't think I ever unlocked all of Brawl's music so I was exposed to more it in the sequels.

StreetSmash - Super Smash Bros. for 3DS (3DS)

Depending on how you look at it, the 3DS/Wii U iterations of Super Smash Bros. are the fourth and fifth games in the series. I can't possible fathom what was going through Masahiro Sakurai's head when it came down to name these two titles, but he's the genius game designer and I'm some dude with a blog. Thankfully, this chiptune rendition of the 3DS/Wii U game's main theme came back in Ultimate.

Shop - Fantasy Zone (ARC)

One of the next upcoming releases in the painfully slow moving line-up of SEGA AGES titles is Fantasy Zone. Unlike most shoot 'em ups that were released in the 1980s, Fantasy Zone was bright and colorful and the soundtrack mirrored this. Fun fact: A Genesis version of this theme was used in the home port of Super Hang-On.

Victory is Near - Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GCN)

We're closing out this week with a track from one of the many Fire Emblem games. Yeah, I know this is a touchy subject with Byleth being the 5th character for the first Fighter Pass, but the salty folks will get over it and some of them may even main the chartacter. Anyway, I never got the chance to play the GCN or Wii Fire Emblem games. This was a ime when the series wasn't doing so well outside of Japan. Obviously, it is a different story today, so I'm hoping we can get some HD re-releases on the Switch

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Favorite Tunes #257: Put a Little Love in Your Heart

Valentine's Day is over. And yet, we've got a love focused Favorite Tunes because you can celebrate a day with that special someone any day of the week/year.

Love Theme (Mother 3) - Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

Insert line about how Nintendo won't release Mother 3 here. Despite having never been released outside of Japan (official, anyways) Mother 3 is still known rather well outside of it's home country. The game's main star, Lucas has appeared in the past three Super Smash Bros. game along with several arrangements from his game of origin.

Theme of Love - Final Fantasy IV Celtic Moon

The shift from the NES to the SNES brought some big changes to the Final Fantasy series. Nobou Ueamatsu's compositions for Final Fantasy IV sound nothing short of outstanding. You know you're doing something right when one of your songs becomes part of Japan's school curriculum. Since I posted the original Theme of Love years ago, here's an arranged version from the album Final Fantasy IV Celtic Moon.

Eyes on Me - Final Fantasy VIII (PS)

I remember liking FFVIII quite a bit when I played through it nearly 20 years ago. I'd have to play it again to give a current opinion on it. I do think the music sounds just as great as it down two decades ago. There are actually a few arranged versions of Eyes on Me throughout the game included such as My Mind. The vocals were performed by Faye Wong.

Fallin' Love - EarthBound Beginnings (NES)

More than two decades later, the first EarthBound game was released outside of Japan as EarthBound Beginnings. Being a retro RPG, it is very difficult with a high random encounter rate and without a guide, completing this game can be impossible.

Mipha's Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U, NS)

All hail, our fish waifu! Paya was my first choice for best Breath of the Wild waifu, but then I meat Mipha. One of the four champions and she was clearly crushing on Link. Alas, each of the champions was met with death, which killed her chances of being with Link. From the grave, she assists Link with Mipha's Grace, an auto restore ability that will activate whenever Link is slain.

To the Future - Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (SNES)

The name of the game may be Lufia II, but the events of this one actually sets up the plot for the first game, making this a prequel. I played the first game, then played this one so if you've never played the Lufia series, start with this one, then move on to Fortress of Doom. If the music doesn't make it too apparent, the ending to this game is quite the tear jerker.

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Favorite Tunes #255: Ring a Ding

Perhaps it is because I've been working on blog posts late in the morning hours and I'm tired, but I've been noticing that a few of my posts have gone up without being finished, including this one. So if you happen to come across any unfinished posts, my apologies.

Ahem, this week, there's music from an old soda mascot and some music you can here in that one crossover fighter I've been playing like crazy, but no new arrangements from said game. That makes two weeks in a row I've gone without including a new remix from it. Can we go for three? Eh, I have no idea.

Shell Shock - Cool Spot (SNES)

In 1993, by some chance, I happened to rent Cool Spot. Without reading any reviews. Miraculously the game did not suck, which was major bragging rights back then (still is to some degree). The game had very fluid animation and a top notch soundtrack by Tommy Tallarico. Fun fact, the man cannot read music but that has never stopped him from composing it.

E. Honda Stage (CPSI) - Street Fighter II (ARC)

You wanna hear one of the greatest, classic gaming soundtracks of all-time, Street Fighter II is a good pick. With the CPSI and CPSII, it comes int two versions if we're strictly speaking about coin-op version. Between the two, I have my preferred versions but you really can't go wrong with either. Near as I can tell, every stage theme from both versions of the coin-op soundtrack is in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

You Call This a Utopia?! (Mother 3) - Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

Remember when New Pork City was the biggest stage in Smash? Now we have Great Cave Offensive and Paultina's Temple to put it to shame. I've actually been playing a few matches on New Pork City in Ultimate in the battlefield form and those Mother 3 arrangements are really growing on me. Tough call on whether I think this or Porky's Theme is the best, but both are really, really good I catch myself picking them on other EarthBound stages.

Sunset Heights - Sonic Forces (PC, PS4, NS, XBO)

A game that has been put on blast by both fans and critics, I still say that Sonic Forces is not atrocious game it is often made out to be. There is not only Forces representation via Spirits in Ultimate but music as well. Of course, Fist Bump is part of Sonic's music selection but also Sunset Heights. I would have loved to see Space Port and other tracks but Sunset Heights is still a good choice.

Moon Over the Castle - Gran Turismo 2 (PS)

For all of the licensed music in Gran Turismo 2, my favorite tracks are the original music, which has a fair amount of relaxing, jazz pieces. Oh and then you've got this Moon Over the Castle theme that fakes you out with that gentle piano intro before kicking things into high gear.

Ring a Ding - Style Savvy: Styling Star (3DS)

I know I've been talking about Smash a lot the past few Favorite Tunes, but with the series crossover nature, it is also a gateway to other franchises. Case in point, Smash 4 put the Style Savvy games on my radar through the inclusion of a remix and an original song. Both of those songs were I played highly in Smash 4 and the same is being done with Ring a Ding in Ultimate, a super lively track from the latest entry in the Style Savvy series.

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Favorite Tunes #252: That's an Interesting Name for a Track Title

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