VGM Saturdays #288: Music to Warm You Up

I'm coming up on my second winter since returning home and it feels colder than the last one. One thing about living in Virginia is that fall wasn't as cold. I suppose I'm still getting used to the fall and winters back in my home state. With that in mind, this Saturday's music is a bit nostalgic and heat-based. 

Lankus - Darius Twin (SNES)

Not included as part of the mainline Darius games, Darius Twin is one of the two SNES Darius titles to come to the system, the other being Super Nova. Despite Darius Twin not being a stand out title, I have a soft spot for it since it was my introduction to the series. I can easily recall much of this game's soundtrack and while most might say it doesn't hold a candle to the mainline Darius games, I can jam to this stuff.

Fire Field - F-ZERO GP Legend (GBA)

This 2004 released would be the last time an F-ZERO game was released outside of Japan, making it 16 years since players outside the Land of the Rising Sun saw an F-ZERO game. I don't mean to harp on about the series absence but Nintendo really does not need some new, revolutionary way for us to play F-ZERO. At this point, we would take an HD remaster of GX and be happy.

Round 3-2: Under Magma ~Planet Scorch~ - Ristar (GEN)

If you missed out on Ristar when it originally released, have no fear. Thanks to SEGA's love for pumping out the same old retro games over and over, Ristar is easy to find on current platforms and PC. It is a solid platformer that really pushed the limits of what the Genesis was capable.

Heat Man Stage - Mega Man 2 (NES)

The game that put the Blue Bomber on the map, Mega Man 2, while not without fault, is a NES classic. This isn't my favorite version of Heat Man's theme, but over the years, I've warmed up to it. *Ahem* An arranged version of it is a part of Quick Man's theme in among the selection of songs in Super Smash Bros. Wii U, which also returned in Ultimate.

Tifa's Theme - FINAL FANTASY VII (PS)

I've had FFVII on the brain as of late with the remake, playing through the original months ago and watching some analysis videos on YouTube. When you got FFVII on your mind, you got FFVII music. As much as I love Tifa, I don't think I've ever posted her theme in all the years I've been doing this weekly feature.

Flame Gate ~Flame Stage Medley~ - ROCKMAN Dystopia

ROCKMAN Dystopia is the sister album to ROCKMAN Utopia. While Utopia focuses on the Classic series and featured lighthearted, upbeat arrangements, Dystopia is centered on the X series and houses more edgier music. I know the term "edgy" carries negative connotations these days, mostly due to overuse of YouTubers and bloggers but trust, ROCKMAN Dystopia is good egdy. My favorite part of this medley is 3:20 mark where Blaze Heatnix's theme kicks in. 

VGM Saturdays Database

VG Soundtrack of the Day 013: FINAL FANTASY VII

With FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE (officially) releasing today, this is the perfect time to feature the original game's music in VG Soundtrack of the Day. FINAL FANTASY VII's soundtrack is good. Really good. There are a ton of songs I like such as Let the Battles Begin!, Hurry! Turks Theme and the absolutely beautiful Main Theme. It isn't my favorite FF soundtrack but I fine effort, nonetheless. It'll be interesting to see how more songs in FFVII REMAKE turn out compared to these original tracks.

FINAL FANTASY VII Original Sound Track (Spotify)

FINAL FANTASY VII (YouTube)

VG Soundtrack of the Day Database

Favorite Tunes #244: Time for Spooky

Tirck or treat, smell my feet, you know the rest. It is that spooky time of the year again and in the spirit of the season, here are some ghastly tunes to make you go bump in the night or some other Halloween jargon.

Battle for the Holy - Castlevania the Adventure ReBirth (Wii)

Three of Konami's top franchises were given ReBirth titles exclusively on the Wii via Wii Ware. Nintendo has since closed up the Wii Shop Channel so unless Konami re-releases the three ReBirth titles, they are more victims lost to the digital age. Castlevania the Adventure Rebirth was essentially a remake of Castlevania Adventure for the Game Boy, staring Christopher Belmont. This theme originally played on the game's opening stage but was nowhere to be heard in the ReBirth remake.

Cockatrice - Super Ghouls'n Ghosts (SNES)

The Ghosts'n Goblins games are known for their insane difficulty and Super Ghouls'n Ghosts is no exception. Hard as this game is, though, it is still easier than the two titles that came before it. Super gives you a double jump and you can power up your weapons. The game has the familiar level 1 Ghosts'n Goblins music as well as a slew of new songs that sound magnificent on the SNES hardware, making Super Ghouls'n Ghosts quite possibly my favorite soundtrack of the entire series.

Those Chosen by the Planet - Final Fantasy VII (PS)

A theme heavily associated with the main protagonist of Final Fantasy VII, Sepiroth, this theme is first heard during a flashback when he goes mad after finding out what he (assumes) are his true origins and makes orphans of Cloud and Tifa along with burning the town to the ground. At the time, the scene of Sephy walking away in those flames looked pretty badawesome. Now? Looks pretty dang dated.

Ceremony - Secret of Mana (SNES)

I imagine this track unsettled anyone that played Secret if Mana as  a kid. Heck, I was 15 when I first played the game and this tune still gave me the creeps. If you're looking for some horror inspired game music for something, you can't go wrong with this one.

Haunted House - Super Mario 64 (N64)

Since the introduction of Ghost Houses in Super Mario World, I have never liked the haunted house themes in Super Mario games. The nightmare fuel was cranked up to eleven in Big Boo's Haunt, the sole ghost house level in Super Mario 64. Going after some of the stars here was a pain and the less said about that freaking piano, the better.

Lavos' Theme - Chrono Trigger (SNES)

I sure have shown Square Enix a lot of love in Favorite Tunes this week. Lavos is unlike the big bad if most Square Enix RPGs. He doesn't boast about how powerful he is, nor is he the mirror counterpart to any of the heroes. Not a lot of detail is divulged about him. And yet, hundreds of years into the future he turns the world into a wasteland where what remains of the human population is starving, just barely clinging to life.

Favorite Tunes Database