Favorite Tunes #278: Opa-Opa Goes Shopping

It is colder than cold outside so I'm staying in doors. Which, I usually do anyway but  even being outside for a little bit is too much cold when the temp is this low. And that's my intro. Enjoy the music.

We're the River City Girls - River City Girls (Multi)

Not ever awesome game experience in 2019 cost $60 to enjoy. For the low price of $30, you could thrown down with River City Girls, a fantastic follow up to the cult loved NES classic, River City Ransom, which is the English version in a long line of Kunio games. Even if beat 'em ups aren't your thing, at least check out the soundtrack. I'm certain you'll love what you hear.

Under Her Control - Final Fantasy VIII (PS)

Recently, Final Fantasy VIII recieved a digital remastered re-release for modern gaming system. Considering all the love VII has gotten over the years, it was nice to see this 1999 game resurface with a slightly new coat of paint. I remember loving the game 20 years ago so I'd like to go back and play it again to see how well it holds up. The music has not aged a day.

Opening (Donkey Kong) - Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

The soundtrack to Super Smash Bros. Brawl is amazing. Thankfully, much of it  not only made it into the fourth game but Ultimate as well. I don't think I ever unlocked all of Brawl's music so I was exposed to more it in the sequels.

StreetSmash - Super Smash Bros. for 3DS (3DS)

Depending on how you look at it, the 3DS/Wii U iterations of Super Smash Bros. are the fourth and fifth games in the series. I can't possible fathom what was going through Masahiro Sakurai's head when it came down to name these two titles, but he's the genius game designer and I'm some dude with a blog. Thankfully, this chiptune rendition of the 3DS/Wii U game's main theme came back in Ultimate.

Shop - Fantasy Zone (ARC)

One of the next upcoming releases in the painfully slow moving line-up of SEGA AGES titles is Fantasy Zone. Unlike most shoot 'em ups that were released in the 1980s, Fantasy Zone was bright and colorful and the soundtrack mirrored this. Fun fact: A Genesis version of this theme was used in the home port of Super Hang-On.

Victory is Near - Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (GCN)

We're closing out this week with a track from one of the many Fire Emblem games. Yeah, I know this is a touchy subject with Byleth being the 5th character for the first Fighter Pass, but the salty folks will get over it and some of them may even main the chartacter. Anyway, I never got the chance to play the GCN or Wii Fire Emblem games. This was a ime when the series wasn't doing so well outside of Japan. Obviously, it is a different story today, so I'm hoping we can get some HD re-releases on the Switch

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Favorite Tunes #268: The Hero, the Bear and the Bird

So in case you haven't heard, the Hero from Dragon Quest XI is gonna be in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. His alts? Heroes from other DQ games such as VIII and IV. Oh and Banjo-Kazooie are also joining the battle. It is a GREAT time to be alive.

Battle - Dragon Quest III (NES)

Originally known as Dragon Warrior in the west, with the eight installment, the series would at long last use the original Japanese name in all territories. It has been years since I've played a DQ game. The last one I played, sinking tons of hours into was DQIV on the DS. The next one will be the Switch version of DQXI. If you're curious as to what game "Goku" comes from, it would be DQIII.

Spiral Mountain - Banjo-Kazooie (N64)

A dream was at long last made reality when a Jiggy bounced across the screen during Nintendo's E3 Direct. Donkey Kong, Diddy and King K. Rool going nuts over the sight of Banjo-Kazooie? It perfectly mirrored fan reactions. I am stoked to play as this magnificent duo and the Spiral Mountain stage looks like oodles of fun. Speaking of which, I cannot believe I haven't posted more music from such an iconic N64 game. Way past time we fixed that.

Stardust Speedway G Mix US - Sonic CD (SCD)

Replaying Sonic CD over the past few years had made me come to realize that that game is not great. It suffers from some pretty bad level design that doesn't really work in the game's exploratory nature. That said, it certainly isn't terrible and the game has two awesome soundtracks. The US version tends to get a bad rap but there are a lot of songs that I really like from it. When it comes to the Future Mixes from both the JP and US scores, I tend to lean towards the B Mixes but Man, the G Mix for Stardust Speedway is a big exception.

Twinkle Snow Zone Act 1 - Sonic Advance 3 (GBA)

When people talk about the best Sonic soundtracks, you always hear about the consoles games. And the console outings (for the most part) deliver amazing Sonic jams. But let's not forgot those portable games, in this case, Sonic Advance 3, easily the best soundtrack of the Advance trilogy and really, one of the best Sonic soundtracks. The music team behind this game knocked it out of the park with this one.

Bonus Stage - Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi (GEN)

I would feel sorry for anyone that had to come in and write music after Yuzo Koshiro. That man is one serious tough act to follow. Shadow Dancer: The secret of Shinobi is kinda treated like the second Shinobi game, releasing after The Revenge of Shinobi when in actuality, it is a different game from the arcade title of the same name (Shadow Dancer, that is). Obviously The Revenge has the better soundtrack of the two, but The Secret of Shinobi still has some fine beats going on. I plan on giving this soundtrack the due it deserves on this blog in future Favorite Tunes posts. Until then, enjoy this sick beat.

Don't Be Afraid - Final Fantasy VIII (PS)

Finally. FINALY Final Fantasy VIII is getting a remaster and it is coming to everything. We are long overdue for this game getting the remaster treatment it deserves. It has been years since I've played this game but I'm excited to go through it again on the Switch. That reminds me, FFVII is on sale on the Switch and I need to snag that sucker.

Favorite Tunes #257: Put a Little Love in Your Heart

Valentine's Day is over. And yet, we've got a love focused Favorite Tunes because you can celebrate a day with that special someone any day of the week/year.

Love Theme (Mother 3) - Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

Insert line about how Nintendo won't release Mother 3 here. Despite having never been released outside of Japan (official, anyways) Mother 3 is still known rather well outside of it's home country. The game's main star, Lucas has appeared in the past three Super Smash Bros. game along with several arrangements from his game of origin.

Theme of Love - Final Fantasy IV Celtic Moon

The shift from the NES to the SNES brought some big changes to the Final Fantasy series. Nobou Ueamatsu's compositions for Final Fantasy IV sound nothing short of outstanding. You know you're doing something right when one of your songs becomes part of Japan's school curriculum. Since I posted the original Theme of Love years ago, here's an arranged version from the album Final Fantasy IV Celtic Moon.

Eyes on Me - Final Fantasy VIII (PS)

I remember liking FFVIII quite a bit when I played through it nearly 20 years ago. I'd have to play it again to give a current opinion on it. I do think the music sounds just as great as it down two decades ago. There are actually a few arranged versions of Eyes on Me throughout the game included such as My Mind. The vocals were performed by Faye Wong.

Fallin' Love - EarthBound Beginnings (NES)

More than two decades later, the first EarthBound game was released outside of Japan as EarthBound Beginnings. Being a retro RPG, it is very difficult with a high random encounter rate and without a guide, completing this game can be impossible.

Mipha's Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii U, NS)

All hail, our fish waifu! Paya was my first choice for best Breath of the Wild waifu, but then I meat Mipha. One of the four champions and she was clearly crushing on Link. Alas, each of the champions was met with death, which killed her chances of being with Link. From the grave, she assists Link with Mipha's Grace, an auto restore ability that will activate whenever Link is slain.

To the Future - Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (SNES)

The name of the game may be Lufia II, but the events of this one actually sets up the plot for the first game, making this a prequel. I played the first game, then played this one so if you've never played the Lufia series, start with this one, then move on to Fortress of Doom. If the music doesn't make it too apparent, the ending to this game is quite the tear jerker.

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