Favorite Tunes #181: Angry Gravekeepers

This week's Favorite Tunes features music from 1990s era Sonic, the underappreciated Street Fighter EX series and music from a Zelda title that is not Breath of the Wild. All this and Deathsmiles, too!

File Select - Sonic 3 & Knuckles (GEN)

Though Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles were originally released as two separate games, the original intent was for them to be a stand alone title. I've always refereed to the duo of games as one, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, my favorite Sonic game. Among the game's outstanding tracks, the cool File Select theme is often overlooked.

Flash Train - Street Fighter EX 2 Plus (PS)

Everyone sings to high heaven about the classic Street Fighter II themes but what about the glorious music from the EX games? Music from EX2 and EX2 plus is so good that it can be tough for me to decide which version I prefer. But as spectacular as Flash Train is in EX2 it is a thousand times better in EX2 Plus. The saxophones kill it through most of the course but at the 2:19 mark, they get a sweet, sweet solo.

Stage 4 - Contra Force (NES)

The plan was to release this game under the title Arc Hound but the Japanese release was canned. The American release, however was still on and to give the game more exposure, it was released under the Contra name. But in 1992, the SNES and Genesis was what all the cool kids were raging over so Contra Force went on to become one of those rare NES titles. The music is friggin' killer.

SNES Rainbow Road - Mario Kart 8 (Wii U, NS)

Mario Kart 8 was one of my favorite entries in the long running series. But with the Wii U selling so poorly that means a lot of players missed out on it. The Switch is already faring much better than the Wii U so I'm pleased to see that Mario Kart 8 won't die off. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will feature new playable characters such as King Boo, the Inklings from Splatoon and a battle mode much in line with the traditional battle modes of previous titles. Get ready to get your balloons busted on April 28th.

Ganon's Message - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)

What would go on to become  the theme of Ganondorf/Ganon was first used in A Link to the Past, a game that is highly praised as being the best in the series. Like the king of darkness, Ganon's theme is sinister and dark.

Fury of the Gravekeepers - Deathsmiles (ARC)

Another of Cave's bullet hell shooters, Deathsmiles has been given a new lease on life thanks to Steam. The soundtrack is a form of spooky rock from none other than Manabu Namiki, a man that works wonders on SHMUP soundtracks.

Favorite Tunes Database