F-ZERO: Boost Power!

If ever there was a franchise that was in serious need of love, it is Nintendo's futuristic, anti-gravity racer, F-ZERO. There has't been a new F-ZERO game in well over a decade and while I feel that there is no better time for the series to make its comeback with the Switch being a huge success, we'll just have to wait and see if Nintendo brings it out of retirement or not. F-ZERO being gone thankfully hasn't stopped fans from appreciating the series. Take for example, one of my favorite bands, the Pixel Mixers. They've crafted a wonderful tribute album in the form of F-ZERO: Boost Power.

There are only a handful of F-ZERO games and Boost Power! covers four of them. Represented in this album is F-ZERO (SNES), F-ZERO X (N64), F-ZERO: Maximum Velocity (GBA), and F-ZERO GX (GCN). One might expect for rock to be the dominate genre on this album. Rock was certainly present in the original F-ZERO and F-ZERO X fully embraced that style of music along with heavy metal. F-ZERO GX was loaded with it as well along with a dose of electronica. Even the final GBA entry to be released outside of Japan, F-ZERO: GP Legend was bursting with sweet MIDI rock. Rock is certainly present in Boost Power! but there's a surprising amount of variety here.

The Mute City arrangement is an 8-bit chiptune medley that also covers the original F-ZERO's Fire Field theme. They've transformed White Field into a smooth, jazzy, lounge piece. Dream Chaser consists heavily of Genesis synth, something I actually didn't take notice of until my second time listening to this album. Dream Chaser's signature guitar riffs sound really good in this format. Big Blue is some good old fashioned hard rock, though it sounds like they went with the F-ZERO X version of the song, but according to the MP3 files, it is an arrangement from the original F-ZERO. Just something I thought I'd mention. Regardless, the Big Blue cover is another outstanding track.

Some unusual suspects, or rather, less appreciated tracks have also been arranged in Boost Power! I would have killed for the Pixel Mixers to do an Empyrean Colony cover but I'm just happy they arranged Maximum Velocity's awesome Title Theme and that Synobazz remix isn't bad at all. The Ending Theme from the original F-ZERO is a fine way to close out this amazing album.

My only real gripe with F-ZERO: Boost Power! is the album length. There are only 12 tracks here, clocking in for a total of 35 minutes and eleven seconds. However, the quality of this album is undeniably strong. There isn't a single track on here that I dislike. The fact that it is little over a half hour long makes it great for easy, repeated listening. If you're a fan of F-ZERO, game music and need some new beats to jam out to, you cannot go wrong with F-ZERO: Boost Power! This freebie joins the ranks of F-ZERO X-Style Arrangements as one of the best F-ZERO arranged albums. I do hope the Pixel Mixers return to F-ZERO music again some day.

F-ZERO: Boost Power