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?

Favorite Tunes Database

Favorite Tunes #133: Winter is Upon Us

The new year is well underway, and man, is it getting colder and colder outside. This Favorite Tunes is light on the winter themes, but not light on quality.

Ruins - Undertale (PC)

Odds are good that you've heard about Undertale whether you wanted to or not. This indie game has taken the gaming world by storm and it was all the work of one lone man, Toby Fox. He created the game, wrote the story, composed the music, the whole nine yards. Undertale's soundtrack is highly diverse and you can bet the farm this won't be the last time you hear me gush about it.

Instructions - Mega Man Zero 2 (GBA) 

After years of stealing the spotlight from the central character in the X series, Zero was finally given his own line of games in Mega Man Zero. Playing very much like the X games, Zero can dash and cling to walls. Also true to the heart of Mega Man, the Zero titles are ball bustingly difficult. Don't let the fact that the series is on the GBA lead you to believe these games have sub par music. Each entry has music that will stay with you long after the credits roll.

Mizzter Blizzard - Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS)

This is another one of those games I own, but have yet to play, but I'm well aware that Sticker Star is often regarded as the worst Paper Mario game. Combat relies heavily on stickers and if you run out, well, you're screwed. Even the game's detractors will still praise the game's soundtrack. Mario games could use even more jazz during boss fights.

Volcano Valley Act 1 - Sonic 3D Blast (SAT ver.)

Fans of the older Sonic games from the 1990s that think Sonic could do no wrong suffer from selective memory. The classic Sonic era had quiet a few clunkers, with the cream of the crap being Sonic 3D Blast. The isometric gameplay didn't do Sonic any favors but at least we got some awesome music out of this one. The Genesis and Saturn versions have entirely different soundtracks. Both are quiet good but if I had to choose one over the other, the Saturn/PC version wins hands down. The sense of urgency in Volcano Valley Act 1 always gets me pumped.

Password - Mega Man X (SNES)

Much of Mega Man X is on the edgy side of things when compared to its Classic series counterpart. From the story, the characters, even the music has a much more hardcore flair to it. So its a little surprising to hear the game's Password music sound like something out of the Classic games. This is the most upbeat piece of music in the whole game. Not that this is a bad, thing, mind you. Quite the contrary. Passwords were only used for the first three X games and the first one is the best of the bunch.

Frost Dragon - Brave Fencer Musashi (PS)

There was actually a time where Square was known for more than just Final Fantasy. During their PS1 era, Sony's 32-bit machine was home to numerous releases such as Parasite Eve, Xenogears, Vagrant Story and Brave Fencer Musashi, a delightful action RPG that is in serious need of a digital re-release.

Favorite Tunes Database

Favorite Tunes #27: Square Enix Edition

Once two separate companies, Square and Enix merged to form Square Enix in 2003. This company is widely known for the Final Fantasy series, but I'm not going to feature any music from that series in this installment of Favorite Tunes (I'll be doing that later). Other RPGs are gonna get their chance to shine.

NOTE: Games before the merger have also been included.

War in China - Live-A-Live (SFC)

Released only in Japan, Live-A-Live let's players choose from seven different characters each with their own story. The game's soundtrack was handled by the very talented Yoko Shimomura. This splendid track that was used for Wood Man's background music in the Mega Man ROM hack Rockman Deus Ex Machina. I've never played Live-A-Live, but if you're interested, there is a fan translated version on the net.

Unknown World - Dragon Quest I & II (SFC)

The first two Dragon Quest games were released on a compilation cartridge on the Super Famicom in Japan during the console's head day. In 2000, these two games were once again bundled together as Dragon Quest I & II for the Game Boy. Unknown World is the World Map theme that plays on your journey. In the very first Dragon Quest game, you are all alone, no party members to assist you. This theme is the perfect representation of a lonely warrior's quest. I quite like the extras melodies that were added to the SFC version of this tune.

Feldschlacht I - SaGa Frontier 2 (PS)

Kenji Ito wrote the music for the first SaGa Frontier, but for SaGa Frontier 2, the composing duties were handed to Masahi Hamauzu, a man that is closely associated with the Final Fantasy series these days. I can't recall too much about SaGa 2, but Hamaizu's work on the score was sensational. Feldschlacht I is the first of numerous battle themes and it gets arranged through numerous tracks. All of the soundtrack titles are in German. Feldschlacht roughly translates to Field Battle.

Pure Night - Secret of Mana (SNES)

This game is actually the sequel to Final Fantasy Adventure on the Game Boy, which is actually called Seiken Densetsu. While that does make Secret of Man Seiken Densetsu 2, most of us that don't live in Japan just call it Secret of Mana. There's a ton of breath taking music in Secret of Mana, but Pure Night is one of the few tracks that leaves you awe-struck. It's so hauntingly beautiful.

Bike Race - Chrono Trigger (SNES)

Most of Chrono Trigger's music was written by Yasunori Matsuda, but when he got sick, famed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu stepped in to finish up. Matsuda tends to have the stronger tracks in Chrono Trigger, but Uematsu composed a very lively song in the form of Bike Race. This song plays in the year 3000 AD in the race against Johnny C. Bad, but you can hear it much sooner in the year 1000 A.D. by just exploring some houses and talking to people.

Field of Exper - Star Ocean: The Second Story (PS, PSP)

Beginning life on the Super Famicom, the Star Ocean series made it's way to the PlayStation and eventually the PlayStation 2 and then the PS3 and Xbox 360. Unfortunately, it looks like Star Ocean 4 will be the last Star Ocean game. Star Ocean music is generally handled by Motoi Sakuraba and he is to the Star Ocean series what Nobuo Uematsu is to the Final Fantasy series. Field of Exper plays on the world map and does a great job of making the world set before you seem endlessly vast. Second Story was ported over to the PSP under the name Star Ocean: Second Evolution.

Influence of Deep - Parasite Eve (PS)

Nobuo Uematsu gave me a reason to stop dissing opera in Final Fantasy VI and a few years later, Yoko Shimomura gave me even more reasons to stop mocking it. The beginning of the course has a lady belting out a few notes, which might lead you to believe that's all you're in for, but the song quickly shifts gears into a fast paced battle theme while the opera singing continues throughout. The first of many great battle themes in Parasite Eve.

Twin Mountains - Brave Fencer Musashi (PS)

Released in 1998, Brave Fencer Musashi, was one of Square's better attempts at doing something different. This action RPG had day and night cycles and if Musashi went too long without rest, he'd get tired and performer poorly in battle. This game really was a gem and to this day, I kick myself for trading it in.

Night of Fate - Kingdom Hearts (PS2)

Final Fantasy meets Disney could describe Kingdom Hearts in a nutshell. OK, so there's probably much more to it than that, but the only game in this series that I've finished is Chain of Memories of the GBA. This action RPG series takes original characters and has the meet up with Final Fantasy cast members and classic Disney characters. With music by Yoko Shimomura, you know your ears will be pleased.

Attack - Front Mission 3 (PS)

Front Mission 3 was the first Front Mission game to see a release outside of Japan and rather than just call it Front Mission and go the route they went with earlier Final Fantasy titles, Square kept the original numbering. When all was said and done, I invested over 70 hours into this mech turn based RPG and that was only playing one out of the two scenarios. How you answer a simple question at the start of the game will determine the path you follow. It's been more than ten years since I played Front Mission 3. Maybe I'm due for a visit.