Battle Theme I - Unlimited Saga (PS2)
The SaGa series has been running since 1989 in with the first three entries in the series hitting America under the Final Fantasy Legend label. The last SaGa game to hit the States was 2003's Unlimited Saga and the game was heavily panned by the gaming press. SaGa games are usually something of an acquired taste but pretty much everyone agrees that Unlimited Saga was not a good game. At all. The one saving grace was the absolutely splendid soundtrack from Masashi Hamauzu. The more I hear of his violin and piano compositions, the more I love them. This is just one of Unlimited Saga's many battle themes. If by chance you do play Unlimited Saga, I can guarantee that the music will not leave you cold.
Aboard the Sweet Stuff - Wario Land: Shake It! (Wii)
Going by the subtitle The Shake Dimension in Japan, Wario Land: Shake It! sends Wario off on another adventure to nab as much treasure as he can find. Saving some of world's captive citizens is merely a subplot as far as Wario is concerned. The Sweet Stuff is where Wario's quest to get rich(er) begins. It's basically a training stage, filling you in on how all of Wario's moves work. Wario Land: Shake It! was developed by Good Feel, the same developed of 2010's Kirby's Epic Yarn. This tune gives me a feeling of adventure on the high sees with the sun shining bright.
Locked 'n Loaded - Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (PS3, 360)
Metal Gear Solid 2 introduced us to Raiden. There much much gnashing of teeth because players didn't get to play as Snake throughout the whole game like they thought and that Raiden was nothing like snake. In Metal Gear Solid 4, Raiden returned as a cyborg ninja, slicing of robots with the greatest of ease. Everyone that ever mocked Raiden promptly shut their mouths and never gave him anymore flack. And just a few montsh ago, Raiden returned much more in what looks to be one of, if no the best action game of 2013, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.
The Forest of Hope - Pikmin (GCN)
This short, wildly different take on the RTS genre ended up becoming one of my favorite GameCube games and one of the best new IPs from Nintendo. Instead of realistic soldiers, your army consists of cute, diminuative creatures known as Pikmin and they are you only hope of finding all of your ship pieces and getting off of the mysterious planet before Captain Olimar's oxygen supply runs out. It along with Pikmin 2 was re-released on the Wii with enhanced motion controls.
Battle (VS Wild Pokémon) - Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (GB)
Gotta catch 'em all! Is that even possible? I remember when there was 151 Pokémon. Now there are... well, way too many to count but I'm sure there is a definitive number of Pokémon. Which will change with the release of a next generation Pokémon game. Back in the day, I, too was a part of the Pokémon phenomenon. I wouldn't mind getting back into the series again but seeing as how time consuming it can be, maybe I should hold off. I really liked how music from the game was adapted to the show and I could recognize a lot of the themes.
Cannonade - Unreal Tournament (PC, PS2)
While everyone was killing each other in Unreal Tournament on their PCS, I didn't get in on the UT experience until it was ported to the PS2. Yeah, it had a sluggish frame rate and there was no online play, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have fun killing my friends and family in split screen multiplayer. I was also quite taken by the game's soundtrack. Cannonade has always been one of the top favorite UT tracks.
Giza Plains - Final Fantasy XII (PS2)
Some throw in Final Fantasy XII as a game that's part of the dark age for the series, but as I wrote a while back, I believe that the series has done much to divide the fanbase long before the jump to 3D. For all the negative things I've heard about Final Fantasy XII, I still want to play the game and see what it's like for myself. One thing I known without a doubt is that the game's musical score is brilliant. Hitoshi Sakimoto, of Final Fantasy Tactics fame wrote most of XII's music and I was pleased with the soundtrack and the selection of songs that made it in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, especially Giza Plains.
Planet Wisp Act 2 - Sonic Colors (Wii)
The game that silenced a great deal of the haters and very unpleasable Sonic fanbase, Sonic Colors wasn't just a good Sonic 3D game, it was a good Sonic game period. Taking inspirations from the Super Mario Galaxy series, Sonic Colors sent the blue blur out in huge theme park in space. Sonic wasn't running around small planets, but he was getting down in some of the best 2D action he'd seen on the consoles since the Genesis days. While heavily billed as 3D Sonic, most of the gameplay in Sonic Colors takes place in 2D so precious platforming is key. And remixed themes of the first act of each world? I'll take those, thank you.
Thanatos I - Bomberna 64: The Second Attack (N64)
Of the three Bomberman games released on the N64, The Second Attack is by far the hardest one to come by. Bomberman Hero was given a release on the Virtual Console but no love for two games to have 64 in their titles. For all of you Chrono Trigger music lovers, one of the composers for The Second Attack was Yasunori Mitsuda.
Bar - Front Mission (SNES, PS, DS)
Some of my favorite video game tracks are those that slow things down and just let you mellow out. The Front Mission series has always excelled in these themes since the very first installment. Front Mission originally released on the SNES and later recieved an enhanced port on the PlayStation. Neither one of those versions made it to the West. The DS version is the first time the original Front Mission has been officially localized for American audiences. I was a big fan of Front Mission 3 (the first in the series to be released outside of Japan) so I plan to track down the DS game some time.
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