Let's Discuss: The 50 SNK Tracks for Terry's Stage

What had to be one of the biggest jaw dropping moments during Masahiro Sakurai's 45 minute presentation of Terry was the divulging of his stage coming with 50 music tracks. Sakurai and his team went beyond the bounds of FATAL FURY and THE KING OF FIGHTERS games and much like Pac-Man's stage does with the music, the King of Fighters arena's music list serves as a representation of SNK as a whole and I couldn't be happier for that. Bravo to SNK for allowing Sakurai and his team to use all 50 of the tracks they submitted to them. Because of that list (and the cool wall mechanics) Terry's stage is one of my favorite places to smash on. There are a lot of original songs and tons upon tons of new remixes and I thought it would be fun to go over all 50 tracks. If you're an SNK fan, you've gotta be hyped to see so many of these awesome songs make it in to Ultimate. For those of you that aren't familair with Terry or haven't heard much or any SNK music, these are some of the best bangers in the history of video game music.

01. Kurikinton - FATAL FURY 2 [New Remix]

You can't have Terry in the game and not give him his stage theme. That would be like having Ryu without his music from Street Fighter II, it just isn't done. Like Ryu, Terry gets multiple versions of his famous FATAL FURY 2 theme in Ultimate. Its a very lively, upbeat theme, that perfectly matches Terry's high energy personality. It is impossible to hear this theme and not wanna get up and move.

02. Soy Sauce for Geese - FATAL FURY SPECIAL

Geese Howard, murderer of Terry's father. Taker of countless quarters. Falls off buildings a lot. Once it was revealed Terry was coming to Ultimate, everyone and their dog knew this theme was gonna be in the game. I wouldn't be surprised if this one among the first of the 50 tracks Sakurai and his team placed on their list. Even without context, I think anyone that hears this theme can guess the intent behind it: evil, sinister, villainous. Without a doubt one of the greatest bad guy themes in video games. I would have been perfectly fine with the version from the first FATAL FURY but this one from SPECIAL is all kinds of killer.

03. Haremar Faith Capoeria School - Song of the Fight (Believers Will Be Saved) - FATAL FURY [New Remix]

Oh, man, that is one mouthful of a song title. A few days before Terry dropped, I was listening to the soundtracks to the fist two FATAL FURY titles (along with SPECIAL). I'd assume Sakurai and co were going to go the route they went for Ryu's stage in Ultimate and have all of the original music from the first FATAL FURY, which would mean we would get the original version of this theme. We all know how Terry's music selection turned out and this theme winded up getting a really good remix.

04. The Sea Knows - FATAL FURY

This right here is one of my favorite tracks from the original FATAL FURY and I was so happy to see it appear in the song selection.

05. Kurikinton -FATAL FURY 2

A FATAL FURY 2 original. That Ultimate remix is fire, sure, but make sure you pay some respect to the tune that made that remix possible.

06. Kuri Kinto Flavor - KOF XIV

The third and final version of Terry's theme to be included in Ultimate comes from the latest entry in SNK's long running THE KING OF FIGHTERS series. It has been so long since I heard the KOF XIV score that I'd completely forgotten about this song was in there. Glad it made its way to Ultimate.

07. Pasta - FATAL FURY 2 [New Remix]

We could gave gotten the original Pasta theme and I would not complain. What we got, however, was a Pasta remix by none other than Yoko Shimomura. She must have been a huge fan of the original theme because this remix sounds sooooooo dang awesome.

08. A Poem That the South Thailand Wants to Tell - FATAL FURY 2

Joe Higashi's theme. I don't normally go for this style of music but I really like this theme.

09. Tarkun and Kitapy - FATAL FURY 2 [New Remix]

If you wanna fight to some whaling guitars, you've picked the right theme. This is a track that sticks really close to the original tune and while that may make it sound like a more souped up version of the original, it is no worse for doing so.

10. Let's Go to Seoul! - FATAL FURY 2[New Remix]

This is the fourth FATAL FURY 2 remix. Starting to think composers for Ultimate really dig that game's soundtrack and for good reason. Just like Kim's baggy pants, this theme is filled with great justice. Sorry not sorry.

11. The London March - FATAL FURY 2 [New Remix]

Billy Kane is one of the coolest characters in the FATAL FURY and THE KING OF FIGHTERS series. Ditching that overalls getup was probably one of the best things he ever did. This is another one of those themes that is so good I would have been fine with original but this remix slaps really hard.

12. The Working Matador - FATAL FURY 2

Again, this usually isn't my type of music, but I can't hate it on. I can and will however, hate on the fighter this theme belongs to, Lawrence Blood. See, I just played some of the REAL BOUT FATAL FURY titles and Blood is so stupidly OP. I will hate on Blood whenever I get the chance.

13. Duck Dub Dub (Duck, You Too) - FATAL FURY SPECIAL

Duck King screams 90s character design even more than Terry. Dude looks like he jumped right out of an episode of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This guy gets some of the most happening beats in the FATAL FURY series. As much as I love his music in the REAL BOUT titles, I can easily see why Sakurai and company went with this one. A shinning example of early awesome NEO-GEO music.

14. Soy Sauce for Geese - KOF XIV

It isn't the Tekken 7 arrangement but man, is it fire. A rocked out version of Geese Howard's famous theme. Whining fools be gone.

15. Big Shot! - FATAL FURY 3

The only track from FATAL FURY 3 in all of Ultimate. Like Terry's theme from FATAL FURY 2, Big Shot! has a lot of positive energy behind it. In certain THE KING OF FIGHTERS games, an arrangement of this theme is used for Team Fatal Fury, which often consists of Terry, Andy and Joe.

16. 11th Street - FATAL FURY WILD AMBITION [New Remix]

If you need a break from all that rock, turn this sucker up. WILD AMBITION may not be fondly remembered but the soundtrack is where its at.

17. 176th Street - KOF '99

Fun fact, THE KING OF FIGHTERS '99 was released the same year WILD AMBITION released. This track is an arranged version of 11th Street from that game, which served as Terry's stage BGM.

18. Ne! - KOF '94

If I'm being honest, there are a number of songs I would have picked for THE KING OF FIGHTERS '94 song. ESAKA, JUNGLE BOUNCER, or SLUM No.5. Having said that, Ne! is still a good song choice.

19. DESERT REQUIEM ~Operation02UM~ - KOF 2002 UM

UNLIMITED MATCH is one of the KOF games I never played and as such, I'm not too familiar with the music. If you want to have some rock blasting as you knock fools out of the ring, this is a good pick.

20. ESAKA!! - KOF 2002 UM

Another track from UNLIMITED MATCH, but it does ring a bell since it is an arrangement of KOF '96's ESAKA theme. My favorite ESAKA track will always be from KOF '94, and while I really, really wish that track could have made it, this is a perfectly good ESAKA remix.

21. Stormy Saxophone 2 - KOF '96 [New Remix]

Rival of Kyo Kusanagi, Iori Yamgami may have been the first edge lord many a gamer laid eyes on. I don't think anyone gets an evil laugh that chilling without tons of practice. Stormy Saxophone 2 is a big fan favorite, so no surprise to see it get arranged.

22. KD-0079+ - KOF 2002 UM

The third track from UNLIMITED MATCH. The Ultimate team must really love the music from that game. of the songs in Ultimate from UNLIMITED MATCH, I find myself selecting this one the most.

23. W.W.III - KOF XIV

I was recently listening to the soundtrack from KOF '99 again and there are quite a few tracks on that one that I really like. A number of tracks from KOF XIV made it into Ultimate and this just happens to be an arrange of the Ikari Team from KOF '99.

24. Terry115 - KOF 2000

I'm guessing the composers at SNK really loved giving Terry more mellow themes in WILD AMBITION and KOF '99. When KOF '00 rolled around, our boy was once again give some mellow jazz. This one just barely beats out his KOF '99 theme for me.

25. Street Dancer - KOF XI

Turn it up and get down.

26. New Order - KOF XIV

You might look at this track and think some imperialistic music is going to assault your ears. Instead, you're treated to whaling guitars and a killer saxophone.

27. Undercover - KOF 2002 UM

I hope you're not sick of music from UNLIMITED MATCH because there's another track from that game after this one. Yeah, KD-0079+ is my favorite  of the UM tracks in Ultimate, but this is a very close second.

28. Cutting Edge - KOF 2002 UM

The fifth and final track from UM. I like to think that at one point the Ultimate team  had someone speak up and say "OK, that's five tracks from one game. We gotta move on." The quality and number of tracks they included in Ultimate has stirred up interest for me to check out KOF 2002 UM's soundtrack.

29. The Second Joker - KOF XIII

KOF XIII is a game and soundtrack I am not familiar with. I must have been too busy with other games because before I knew it, KOF XIV was out. Of the KOF XIII track included, this is my least favorite.

30. Esaka Continues... - KOF XIII

This is no ESAKA from KOF '94. I mean, what is? You should still be jamming out to this one, though. Another freaking good Esaka theme.

31. Wild Street - KOF XIII

I'm gonna have to check out the rest of that KOF XIII soundtrack. This one is a real finger snapper. Yes, I realize saying that may make me sound like a boomer, but I'm almost 40, so deal with.

32. Tame a Bad Boy - KOF XIII

With a track title like this one, you'd think it belonged to a character like Iori. I looked it up and it turns out this is the theme that belongs to Kim's team. Makes sense. I mean, last I checked, he was still rehabilitating those two dimwits.

33. KDD-0063 - KOF XIII

Some of these titles come off as just strange to me. I looked this one up and it belongs to K' and his team so now it sorta makes sense. Despite the "tude" vibe his appearance may give off, his design still rocks. Ditto for this theme.

34. Yappari ESAKA - KOF XIV

This is another Esaka theme, what more do I need to say? You already know this one is a major banger.

35. Departure from South Town - KOF XIV

The way that guitar leads up to the main course and further riffs throughout the course reminds me of Trigun's soundtrack.

36. Theme of SYD - Alpha Mission [New Remix]

I did not expect to get an arrangement from Alpha Mission but as they say, we take those. I recommend looking up the original version sometime. As Sakurai said, SNK music has always been great, even before the NEO-GEO came along.

37. IKARI - KOF XIV

A rocked out version of the Ikari Warriors theme? I'll take twelve!

38. Forest World - Athena [New Remix]

I played Athena via SNK 40th Anniversary Collection. I was not impressed and can say that this is one o those games that has not aged well. Still, it was nice to see the Ultimate composer's recognize the game and remix this theme.

39. Psycho Soldier Theme - Psycho Soldier [New Remix]

If the views on YouTube are an indicator, this songs is getting a lot of love and for good reason. The Psycho Soldier Theme was the very first video game track to feature vocals. Athena's team has often had arrangements of the Psycho Soldier music in the KOF games but Ultimate marks the first time in over 20 years the song has had the lyrics return. The song was composed by Yuzo Koshiro and purposely made to evoke a 1980s anime opening. Lyrics were sung by the very talented Kanako Kotera, known for her work on the Falcom game soundtracks. This is the Japanese version of the track and if you think the only difference between it and the English version is only language, you are wonderfully mistaken.

40. Psycho Soldier Theme - Psycho Soldier [New Remix] (Overseas Version)

The English version of the loved Psycho Solider Theme. When Psycho Soldier was brought to the states, the song was given an English translation. A very cheesy English translation. The English lyrics are quite different from the Japanese version. Actually, the English version doesn't have as many lyrics as the Japanese version and while it has been over 20 years since the Japanese version had its lyrics restored, the English lyrics for the Psycho Soldier Theme have not been used in over 30 years. For those that did hear the original English version of Psycho Soldier, the cheesy lyrics have been kept, word for word in this remix. Kanako Kotera also sung this English version. What's more, the way she pronounces the words "Fire" and "Psycho Solder" is different between the two versions. Since the English track doesn't have as many lyrics as the Japanese one, this version gets a killer sax solo at the one minute mark.

41. ART of FIGHT - Art of Fighting [New Remix]

This track got me to check out Art of Fighting soundtracks and now I'm a huge fan of them. Makes me wish more tracks from that series made it in, especially the ones from Art of Fighting 3.

42. Art of Fighting Ver.230000000.0 - FATAL FURY SPECIAL

Did this track really have to have 8 zeros in it? Terry can have a special fight against Ryo from Art of Fighting in FATAL FURY SPECIAL. The requirement for unlocking this fight? As Terry, fight your way through arcade mode without losing a single round. Not an easy task since the AI in SPECIAL is on some serious BS. I imagine most probably didn't get to hear this tune because of those conditions.  Not a problem in the current year.

43. Tuna - SAMURAI SHODOWN

That heavy percussion and flute work make this song for me.

44. Banquet of Nature - SAMURAI SHODOWN [New Remix]

Nakoruru easily has one of the best stage themes from the original SAMURAI SHODOWN. This arrangement of her theme was done by Masami Ueda, who made the song soound even more Japanese than the original. Ueda has written music for games such as Bayonetta, Resident Evil 2 and a little game called Okami.

45 Gaia - SAMURAI SHODOWN [New Remix]

One original track and two arrangements, all from the first SAMURAI SHODOWN. I think that soundtrack has a special place in the hearts of the Ultimate team.

46. Main Theme from Metal Slug - METAL SLUG [New Remix]

I thought it would be crazy to expect songs outside of FATAL FURY and THE KING OF FIGHTERS to be used on Terry's stage but Sakurai and the gang made room for one of the best run 'n gun series on their song list. I would have loved to see some song from METAL SLUG 5 but I can't fault the team for remixing this theme. Such an iconic song.

47. Assault Theme - METAL SLUG 1-3 [New Remix]

One remix for the METAL SLUG series would have been fine but me, but they went and gave us two.

48. Final Attack - METAL SLUG 1-6

I've got this tune playing as I finish this feature up. Why have I not had this sucker blasting more often on Terry's stage, I had no idea.

49. Judgement - METAL SLUG 2

Awww, why couldn't this be Livin' on the Deck? Yeah, Judgement is a really cool theme and awesome for a first level song, but Livin' on the Deck is the GOAT of METAL SLUG 2/X.

50. Blue Water Fangs (The Island of Dr. Moreau) - METAL SLUG 3

The more I let this song play, the more I find myself nodding my head to it. The Ultimate team did a bang up job on their song picks.

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And we all thought Dracula's Castle had the biggest selection of songs from a third party rep at 34. Terry rolls up with 50 tracks, further reminding everyone that Cloud got crapped on with his measly two songs. Sakurai said that this was more than likely a one time thing, so unless whatever company that owns the next character is feeling more generous than SNK with their music, I don't think we'll ever get it this good. If your appetite for SNK music has been wet with this song list, I recommend heading over to Spotify. There's way more SNK music where this came from.

And with that, I'm off to enjoy Thanks Giving with my family. I hope you're doing the same and staying fed as well as safe.

Favorite Tunes #273: Keep Yourself Alive

You ready for Thanks Giving? Man, I can already taste the turkey and other delicious eats. It ain't much but here's six tracks to tied you over until next Thursday arrives.

Shower of Blossoms - Star Ocean: The Second Story (PS)

The second title in the Star Ocean series and the first to be released outside of Japan. It was also the first (and as of right now, the only) Star Ocean game I've played. The gorgeous soundtrack comes from series vet, Motoi Sakuraba. Whether you want some battle themes that rip or some nice, calming music, this soundtrack has you covered.

Keep Yourself Alive (Sol's Theme) - Guilty Gear (PS)

With Guilty Gear news popping up all over, this is as good a time as any to bring the series hard rocking beats back to Favorite Tunes. The PS often lagged behind when it came to the Saturn on 2D fighters, yet the original Guilty Gear is fondly remember for its sick, stylish visuals and head banging soundtrack. If you're a Guilty Gear head, you're probably already doing air guitar after reading the name of this track.

Long-Horned Beetle (Art of Fighting Team) - THE KING OF FIGHTERS '96

I've been making a KOF playlist and its given me time to once again list to the KOF soundtracks. Still not sure which game has my favorite score, but '96 definitely has some of my fav SNK jams. I seldom mess with the Art of Fighting team in KOF, but dang, if this theme isn't the bees knee. I expect nothing less from SNK and from the fight team that has a whole series of amazing soundtracks.

Ending/Staff Roll - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (NS)

I finished the Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening back in mid October but the game is still stuck in my head. I got the best ending and that ending really hit me hard in the feels. I loved hearing new takes on these old tracks and the final music piece, which is one of my favorite ending/staff roll themes for Nintendo music, did not disappoint.

Boss - Batman: The Video Game (NES)

Sunsoft games on the NES usually had killer soundtracks. Batman :The Video Game not only had fantastic music but the game itself, while being extremely difficult, was actually quite good. Everyone remembers the theme from Stage 1 but what about this boss track? This is the very definition of a banger.

Time To Make History - Persona 4 Golden (PS3)

I still have not played Persona 4 yet (or 5, 2 and 3 for that matter). Thanks to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, I have been exposed to more of the series music. Now I can hum more songs than Last Surprise when I'm out in public.

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DRAGON QUEST II: That Grind Though!

Finishing DRAGON QUEST on the Switch filled with me with far more excitement than I had expected. In truth, I did not even think I would be thrilled to finish that game. I figured I'd be like "Huh. I beat DRAGON QUEST. Neat." No, I was freaking jazzed that I completed that game! So pumped was I, that I went into DRAGON QUEST II with gusto a-plenty.

Even though I was more familiar with the first DRAGON QUEST, DRAGON QUEST II wasn't completely uncharted territory for me. Back in 2000 my family and I took a road trip andof course I brought my Game Boy Pocket with me along with my copy of DRAGON QUEST I & II. I didn't get very far in DRAGON QUEST II, only a few hours in, but I remember really enjoying those few hours I spent with it. The new overworld music, the battle theme, traveling with party members, a first for the series, a fun time was had by teenage me. Naturally, I couldn't wait to get some of those warm and fuzzy feelings again with DRAGON QUEST II on the Switch. I think I got to relive some of the magic I did as a teen for about an hour, but it felt like even less than that.

Do you remember the beginning of FINAL FANTASY II? For those of you that are not aware, the game begins with your party being thrust into an unwinnable battle, which results in them being annihilated. Now of course the party is resurrected/saved by the rebel army but the game's very first fight has been cited on more than one occasion as setting the tone for FINAL FANTASY II both story wise and gameplay wise. I'm in the minority of folks that likes FINAL FANTASY II in spite of its faults, however, The first 10 or so hours of DRAGON QUEST II very much reminded me of FINAL FANTASY II's beginning.

I am no stranger to grinding in RPGs. I actually think it is one of the reasons I can handle old school games in the genre. After playing the first DRAGON QUEST on the NES years ago, I knew grinding was going to be a huge part of these games and I knew that combing back to the series after having not played one of these games a decade later. That being said I was not prepared for the initial grindfest that DRAGON QUEST II heaps upon the player. Read or watch any review of the first 5 or so games in an RPG series that has random encounters. The reviewer will make it a point to mention the frequent occurrence of random battles more than once and usually cite it is a negative. I've played numerous games with high encounter rates, but they have nada on DRAGON QUEST II. FINAL FANTASY I-V's random encounter rate? Ha! Bush league! Armature hour! In DRAGON QUEST II it is not uncommon to get into a fight, win, walk one or two more steps and then, boom! Another random battle! It puts such a damper or progression through most dungeons that the first 10 hours or more of the game can feel like a chore. The encounter rate in DRAGON QUEST II is so astronomically high that I questioned whether or not I was going to finish the game. You need to grind in this game or you will be slaughtered by the more powerful foes. For this reason alone, I can see why quite a few people would not want to finish or even play DRAGON QUEST II. Well, that  and the dungeon layouts.

Yes, along with an absurd random encounter rate, DRAGON QUEST II has, how shall we say, unfriendly dungeon layouts. Many of the dungeons have paths that lead to dead ends, something FINAL FANTASY II's dungeons are hated for (side note, FINAL FANTASY II was released nearly a year after DRAGON QUEST II, so perhaps it borrowed some elements from its then rival game) Dungeons also have multiple floors and staircases often leading to the same floor, which can make navigation quite confusing. Combine this with the game's high random encounter rate and it isn't hard to see why DRAGON QUEST II is often lumped in with "the terrible twos" of gaming. Still, as maddening as the game's earlier dungeons were, I don't think anything was as aggravating as the second to last dungeon. On top of being huge, have multiple floors, one floor in particular was booby trapped with numerous invisible holes that sent you back a room. And in case you forgot, DRAGON QUEST II's random encounter rate is stupid high.

Did I end up hating DRAGON QUEST II? Despite being able to clearly see why a lot of people would, no, I did not. Once my characters started learning powerful spells like Sizz, Thwack and Kaboom, a lot of the random battles became child's play. And then I got to the snowy mountains area and enemies started using Thwack and Kaboom and my jaw dropped. The game's final boss, Malroth (whom I knew was the true big bad thanks to some game music track spoiling that for me six years ago) had me sweating bullets since he killed one of my party members more than once. I thought I'd be on easy street with my party being in the lower 40s on levels, but Malroth and the enemies in the final area made sure I stayed alert. I actually think it was gratifying to know that even though my party had become a powerhouse, enemies at the end could still match me blow for blow.

With a few exceptions of direct sequels, FINAL FANTASY entries really don't acknowledge the world or events of previous games. DRAGON QUEST II is very different in this regard. Not only does it take place 100 years after the events of the first game, your party members are the descendants of the hero from the first game. One continent in DRAGON QUEST II is the world map fron the original DRAGON QUEST, Alefgard. You even get to hear the world map theme from that game when you're traveling over Alefgard! How cool is that?

DRAGON QUEST II is another one of those second games that I find myself like in spite of its faults. At over 40 hours clocked in, I certainly spent way more time on this one than I did the original DRAGON QUEST but I've always been a better safe than sorry sort in games. I guess I'm on a DRAGON QUEST binge because I've already rocked up over 8 hours in the third game, but we'll talk about that another time.

If Malroth was the guy behind Hargon, that means DRAGON QUEST pulled a Necron before FINAL FANTASY IV did. Huh.

Favorite Tunes #272: Gaming's First Vocal Track Returns!

Favorite Tunes is back again on Saturday? What is this madness?! About a year ago in Favorite Tunes, I posted gaming's very first vocal track. With Super Smash Bros. Ultimate bring Terrry to the roster, that means even more music and among the many, many tracks Mr. Bogard brought with him, a retro style arrangement of gaming's first vocal jam was included.

Psycho Soldier Theme (Psycho Soldier) - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (NS)

Gaming's very first vocal track can be traced back to the 1987 arcade game, Psycho Soldier, which was featured back in Favorite Tunes #246. The arrangement in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate  comes in English and Japaneses flavor and both sound so dang good and have their differences that isn't just confined to the language. I've used the Japanese version so I can save the overseas version for a later Favorite Tunes.

Boss: Hibari - River City Girls (PS4, XBO, NS, PC)

The third boss you'll face in River City Girls, Hibari has some SHMUP elements in her battle and as a huge fan of that genre, that makes her a fun boss to fight. She also has one banger of a chiptune boss theme.

Gym Leader Battle - Pokemon Sword/Shield (NS)

Another year, another controversial Pokemon release. I'm not a big Pokemon fan but even I have to admit that all the drama surrounding this game is tiresome. Ever freaking day I get a recommended video about it on YouTube. At least everyone will more than likely agree that this battle theme is rave-tastic.

GET HIGH [B-Mix] (TRAIN YARD Night Stage) - Art of Fighting 3: The Path of the Warrior (NG)

Having heard more music from the Art of Fighting games after listening to the tracks in Ultimate, I would have loved to see more tracks from those game used for Terry's stage. I think Art of Fighting 3 has my favorite music from the three games. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've replayed this jam.

Town - DRAGON QUEST III: The Seeds of Salvation (NES)

I have heard so many good things about DRAGON QUEST III. Having poured 25 plus hours into the game, I'm thinking that all the positive stuff I've heard is true. Party customization rocks and the soundtrack just might be the best of Erdrick trilogy. The music is updated for the Switch release but even in 8-bit, Koichi Sugiyama's tracks sound phenomenal.

Vambee Church Battle - Brave Fencer Musashi (PS)

The PlayStation era for Square was pretty interesting. Sure, there's FINAL FANTASY VII, VIII and IX, but we also saw a plethroa of other RPGs on the system like Vagrant Story, Parasite Eve and Brave Fencer Musashi, an action RPG often referred to as a Zelda-like game. With Square Enix doing remakes and remasters, what are the odds of us seeing a remaster of this on modern consoles?

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New LA Sonic the Hedgehog Trailer Looks GOOD

April 30th. A day that would have lived on in infamy. It was the day the LA Sonic the Hedgehog trailer dropped. Sonic looked like the result of human/hedgehog breeding. The internet was not pleased. Heck, SEGA was not pleased. Then, something extremely rare in Hollywood happened: the movie's director, Jeff Fowler listened to the feedback and although it cost the movie its November 2019 release, LA  Sonicis a go for February 14th, 2020 and he's looking soooo much better.

Now that is Sonic the freaking Hedgehog. This new trailer got me to smile and laugh several times throughout. Not just because we saw Green Hill, which looks gorgeous. There's a table that Sonic uses to play ping pong on that is a high way sign that reads "Hill Top", a nice nod to one of Sonic 2's zones. You've got some Green Hill arrangement music in there, too and all that's great stuff for long time Sonic fans. However, I genuinely like the way Sonic is portrayed in this trailer. In the first trailer, it looked like Dr. Robotnik/Jim Carry was gonna be carrying (heh) this whole movie. Now? Sonic could be quite the show stopper. And in his own film, no less. The scenes with Sonic playing alone, using his speed to act as other players is a common trope for speedsters but Sonic's dialogue makes it work for me. Yeah, you've got good old Jim being himself and I'm sure he's gonna serve up the good stuff but now the trailer has me wanting to see even more of Sonic. There are some new action scenes in this trailer and thanks to Sonic's improved design, they look even better.

Could the movie end up being just average? Yeah, that is possible but this redesign along with this trailer being overall better than what we saw back in April is a remarkable improvement. Before, I wanted to see the movie because it looked like it was going to be a train wreck. Now? It looks decent and will probably get a few laughs out of me. I'll be picking it up when it comes to Blu-ray (I don't do movie theaters) so, they've got me sold. Plus, I did say I'd throw money at this movie in some form or another because they listened to fan outcry. See, Hollywood, it pays not to treat the fans like jerks.

Oh, and I'm calling it right now, we are gonna get SO many memes from this little scene here.

The Real Reason Mai is Not in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Art by Mediamaster_127

Terry Bogard has landed and he's brought with him a plethora of stuff. That King of Fighters stadium is crazy awesome. Then you've got a killer selection of 50 tracks from SNK's to battle to or just jam out to. If that weren't enough, the some cast members from Fatal Fury, The King of Fighters, Ikari Warriors and Art of Fighting will appear in the King of Fighters stadium stage to watch the fight (excerpt Iori, who is far too edgy to be bothered watching). By far the series to get the most characters is Fatal Fury, understandable since that is the game Terry is originally from. Like the tag line for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate says, when it comes to the fighters from Fatal Fury, everyone is here. Well, everyone except Mai Shiranui.

Anyone that had no idea who Mai was probably did a Google search and was was like "Oh. Yeah, that's why she didn't make it." Of course others were quick to point out that Bayonetta is already in the game that is a character that drenched in body flaunting with her attacks in her own games. She was toned down for the Smash games, so why can't the same be done with Mai? Blue Mary also has a large bust but she isn't parading those suckers around like Mai. So what gives? It isn't just Mai's outfit other fact that she is quite buxom, though those are more than likely reasons for her exclusion. I think the main reason Mai didn't get to spectate in the stadium with the rest of the SNK gang can be addressed with two words: jiggle physics.

Play a Fatal Fury game, heck play any fighting game that features Mai. The first thing you're bound to notice are Mai's large, bouncing breasts. When she isn't attacking or being attacked, her idle animation shows her in a bent over stance, displaying those cans so openly that I'm pretty sure they can be viewed from space. That stance is a much a part of Mai as Terry throwing off his hat or shouting OK in broken English. If Terry did neither of those in Ultimate, fans would riot. "But she's not a playable character in Ultimate!" I hear some of you say. Neither are any of the spectators in Terry's stage, but they are all represented in a way that is true to their character. Geese has an intimidating stance with his arms folded, Joe is vibrant and energetic as he looks on, throwing out fist pumps, Athena is very happy go lucky with her V posing and so on. Each of these characters are also wearing their iconic outfits. For Masahiro Sakurai to have Mai in the game without her most recognizable outfit and signature stance would be a betrayal to the character for him. Apparently he butted heads with CERO, the Japanese equivalent to the ESRB over Bayonetta and Palutena in the previous Smash game. Not only Mai wearing less than those two, her assists are quite animated and there is no way she could be in the game without upping the rating.

Dead or Alive games are known for their busty females but long before that cast of female fighters came along, we had Mai and while Dead or Alive took bouncing boobs to the extreme, I'm pretty sure Mai invented jiggle physics, at least when it comes to melons, anyway. So as disappointed as some people are that Mai isn't in the background with the rest of the SNK crew, you gotta respect the man for wanting to do right by Mai.

Favorite Tunes #271: SNK Music Has Always Been Great, Really

I had a different set of music lined up for Favorite Tunes but I've decided to hold off on it. Why? Because Terry is here and his music selection in Smash Ultimate is full of absolute bangers! Trust, we will be talking about that music in Smash in an upcoming post. For now, enjoy this week's selection of SNK jams.

Terry wallpaper by Cat with Monocle.

ART of FIGHT - Art of Fighting (NG)

I've been listening to SNK music for years but never heard anything from the Art of Fighting games. After seeing the two Art of Fighting tracks for Terry's stage in Ultimate, I decided it was time to educate myself on those game's soundtracks. Spoilers, they are quite good.

Kurikinton (FATAL FURY 2) - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (NS)

What a funky, lively theme, perfectly suited for Terry. Being Terry's theme music and being so dang good, there are three versions of it in Smash Ultimate: An Ultimate arrangement, a KOF XIV version and of course, the original.

The Sea Knows - FATAL FURY: King of Fighters (NG)

The game that launched the FATAL FURY series and birthed Terry Bogard. It definitely shows its age today and I would recommend other entries over it. The music, however, sounds just as good in the current year as it did in 1991. This song is in Ultimate so head to My Music and crank it all the way up. You can thank me later.

How Can China Have 4000 Years of History - FATAL FURY SPECIAL Image Album Part 2

I was really hoping the original of this track or arrangement would be feature in Ultimate but its hard for me to be too down about it when the song list is 50 tracks. I know I've posted the original of this track way back when, so here is a beautiful arrangement.

Banquet of Nature - SAMURAI SHODOWN (NG)

There is an outstanding arrangement of this track in Ultimate. I just had to check out the original version and no surprise, it sounds awesome. Nakoruru may have missed that invite but she got a Mii costume, a spirit and one beautiful remix.

Flying the Dinosaur - Prehistoric Isle in 1930 (AC)

As Masahiro Sakurai said, SNK music was great even before the NEOGEO. So we're taking it back to the pre NG days to one of SNK's shooters. Prehistoric Isle in 1930 is available as one of the many games on the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection. If you did the original game, check out the sequel, Prehistoric Isle II via the Arcade Archives line.

Favorite Tunes Database

OKAY! Terry is Here!

Terry Bogard, main character of the Fatal Fury series and the poster boy for SNK is in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. That may sound unbelievable when one says it aloud but Ultimate is a title where Solid Snake, Ryu & Ken, Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man all occupy the same virtual space along with a copious amount of other video game icons. So as crazy as that may seem, it is getting to be the new normal for Smash and like that old McDonald's slogan, I'm lovin' it.

That King of Fighters stage (based off Fatal Fury and not The King of Fighters) has quickly become one of my favorite battle arenas. Initially, it seemed as if it was going to be a walk off stage but the invisible barriers make it very unique. I've always loved knocking my opponents against walls on levels like Hyrule Castle and Corneria. Having a huge football stadium with invisible walls that can be broken at high percents makes for all sorts of crazy fun. The level of detail that went into creating this stage is highly impressive. I especially love that multiple reps from Fatal Fury, The King of Fighters and Art of Fighting appear at different times on the stage. When we saw Ryo for that brief moment Terry was shown in action back in early September, I speculated that we'd see different SNK characters on that KOF stage. I didn't think the number would be up to twenty, though. Seeing the gang from these SNK games really took me back to the days of playing King of Fighters 2000-2003. Kinda like meeting up with old friends you haven't seen in a long time.

Having played Terry in the Fatal Fury, The King of Fighters and Capcom vs SNK games, I already knew I'd have good time using him. Heck, I dedicated a blog post to discuss my excitement for the character. What I was not prepared for is how insanely good Terry would be. I think Joker is OK (no pun intended). Like, I get that the character has huge appeal despite not playing Persona 5, but he's not a character I play often. I'm happy we got Banjo-Kazooie and Hero is a big favorite of mine. Piranha Plant is cool even outside of the dead memes. But Terry is a character I haven't been this jazzed about playing since I started playing Mega Man in the previous Smash game.

My play style when it comes to fighting games and Smash tends to be more aggressive. I love to spam Smash attacks and pressure my opponents. I suppose that could be why I greatly enjoy playing as Terry so much. Even though I'm a scrub at fighting games, I can still string together some decent combos with Terry and doing so is ultra satisfying. I've seen some comment that not all of his moves are that damaging. I'd like to point out that it isn't always about causing big damage. If even a  weaker attack can put your opponent in a position where they are vulnerable, then that is not a wasted move. That being said, Terry is certainly capable of causing big damage. Even without his GO meter activated, Terry is scary. It has only been a few days since Terry dropped and already people are coming up with crazy combos. As time passes, we're sure to see more of what Terry can do and I can't wait to see what players far more talented than myself can bring out of Mr. Bogard.

Everything that makes Terry a lovable character has been brought over with the utmost care in Smash Ultimate. Broken English? Check. I will never get tired of hearing Terry ask "Are you OK?" or hearing him shout "OK!" with such enthusiasm as he tosses his hat on the victory screen. It is so easy to see why he is the face of SNK. Sakurai and his team handled this character so well. I'm a big fan of the blue alt for Terry and the classic NEOGEO color, complete with "NEOGEO" on his hat. I'm a little bummed that the famous Mark of the Wolves Terry was not used as an alt, but you can't have everything. That would be more work on the development team and they've already given us so much with Terry and all those cameos in his stage.

I haven't checked my playtime with Terry yet but I'm sure it has already surpassed a good chunk of other characters. I've already poured a lot of hours into DRAGON QUEST III and my playtime with that game has taken a hit due to Mr. Bogard's arrival.

Best thing about Terry being in Smash? The outfit Kirby gets from him.

If your heart doesn't melt when Kirby says "Power Wave" you have no soul.

Blizzard's Garbage Apology is Garbage

So BlizzCon happened this past weekend. With the PR crap storm that was the Blitzchung banning in early October, I think many of us were eagerly anticipating this event, even those of us that weren't going to attend.

J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard took the stage and apologized for the poor, poor handling of the Blitzchung fiasco. And by "apology", I mean, the man did nothing of the sort.

That was not an apology. What that was was another display of corporate BS that is spewed out on a regular basis. Blitzchung's name was not mentioned at all, nor was his banning or the banning of the two casters. I'm going to put "apology" in quotation marks but just know that there is not a big enough font/number to properly display just how utterly gutter trash Blizzard's "apology" was.

Cripes, Blizzard, how tight of a grip does China have on your balls? This company cannot tell us that China does not own their souls. "Every voice matters"? Get outta here with that. Sure, every voice matters, except the voices that could cause our great and powerful China overlords to get angry and those voices could end up making us lose money. I guess money truly is more valued over having a dang spine or some integrity because Blizzard clearly dumped those things in the trash a long time ago.

And what was up with all the applause during Brack's "apology"? The people in the audience were either paid actors, the biggest sheep I've ever seen, or it was some stock applause. I don't think I heard a single boo during that entire "apology."

Keep effin' up, Blizz. I'm sure EA appreciates you taking some of the heat off of them.

DRAGON QUEST: The Return

DRAGON QUEST fever is running wild, thanks in no small part to the release of DRAGON QUEST XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition (did they even try to come up with a shorter title) and the release of the mobile versions of DRAGON QUEST I-III on the Switch. All four of these games dropped on the same day, September 27th, a month that was already packed with tons of quality game releases. It was almost too much for my poor wallet to handle but thanks to some extra cash, I managed to snag all four DRAGON QUEST titles. Rather than fire up DRAGON QUEST XI S (extremely tempting seeing as how I was drooling over this game when they showed off that 2D mode), I opted to play a quest that I was somewhat familiar with because I knew it would be less time consuming, the original game that started it all, DRAGON QUEST.

Even for the standards of retro RPGs, DRAGON QUEST is incredibly basic. The game is light on plot and has no character development whatsoever. Heck, you don't even travel in a party. You are a lone hero traveling the world to save it from the evil that has been unleashed by the Dragonlord. Also, there is a missing princess to find (should you bother to find her at all). Fighting monsters (lots of them in fact), gathering information on what you need to do to complete your mission, the usual old school RPG fare. Except with DRAGON QUEST, it is very bare bones. This game was originally released in 1986, after all (1989 in America) and is very much a product of its time. And yet for all of the slim trimmings, DRAGON QUEST somehow managed to hold my attention when I first played it at the age of 14 and playing the mobile port on the Switch felt like coming home again.

I did not expect to set aside Link's Awakening or Super Mario Maker 2 for DRAGON QUEST. I thought I would play a bit of the game and and resume my current day titles. But the best laid plans and all that. Before I knew it, I was looking to find Princess Gwaelin, seeking the Mark of Erdrick to prove to all these idiot doubters that I was his descendant, and combing parts of the world I had never reached in the NES release.

When I had time to game, DRAGON QUEST is what I played. I was leveling up LOTO (a name that gives your character better stats), getting more money for better weapons and armor and stomping monsters that used to give me trouble as a teenager. A few encounters even had me sweating bullets. The Green Dragon that guards Princess Gwaelin is one tough customer and I honestly cannot remember the last time I've been on pins and needles in a retro RPG boss fight.

The Dragonlord was a heavy hitter in his final form. I was at level 21 when I faced him so I wasn't sure if I could win unless I was at level 30. When he went down, a dropped my controller and thew my hands up in the air with a huge smile on my face. It has been quite some time since I had that kind of reaction from vanquishing a final boss. When the credits rolled and I checked my Switch for the amount of hours clocked in for DRAGON QUEST, it read "Played for 15 hours or more."

I enjoyed every hour I poured into DRAGON QUEST. True, there is a certain satisfaction that comes from finishing a game you didn't beat when you were a kid/teen but I think it says something about an old game if you can have a blast with it even when you can see its obvious flaws. Yeah, this version has things that make it superior to the original NES release, but even taking those things into account, DRAGON QUEST is still a super old game, even with the modern day conveniences this version offers. But like Super Mario Bros., DRAGON QUEST is a game I can see myself coming back to on multiple occasions. DRAGON QUEST was 15 hours well spent. One quest has ended but another Dragon Quest has already begun and more are sure to follow.