Favorite Tunes #215: That's a Big Duty

Insert Beavis and Butthead laughing sample here. Ahem, jokes aside, for this week, there's music from the recently released Celeste, Final Fight 2, Final Fantasy VI and an entry from the Dragon Quest series.

England - Final Fight 2 (SNES)

The SNES exclusive sequel to the 1989 arcade hit, Final Fight 2 introduced two new characters and featured co-op play, something the SNES port was lacking. If you're looking for anything in the way of innovation from the first game, you'll be disapointed but Final Fight 2 is still a competent beat 'em up.

Duty (Deep Blaze) - Fire Emblem Warriors (NS, 3DS)

So I finally picked up Fire Emblem Warriors on the Switch and I've been listening to more of the game's soundtrack. I'll give you the heads up now that you can expect this game to be feature quite often in Favorite Tunes because I love me some rock.  I've been familiar with Duty, a theme from Fire Emblem: Awakening since it's inclusion Super Smash Bros. on the Wii U. Like the rock arrangement of Conquest in Warriors, Duty sounds every bit as good here.

First Steps - Celeste (PC, XBO, PS4, NS)

I've had my eye on this game since the Ninidies Direct in early 2017. The game released in late January and yeah, it's pretty frickin' difficult. Thankfully, you can save at any time and the short levels takes some of the frustration off. There's also some story here and I'm surprised at how much of a kick I'm getting out of Madeline's interactions with NPCs.

Boss Theme - Street Fighter X Mega Man (PC)

Say what you will about Street Fighter IV, but man, that game's soundtrack was straight up fire. A_Rival fused Street Fighter and Mega Man music into some stellar chiptune pieces for 2012's Street Fighter X Mega Man. Volcanic Rim is no less of a great beat in 8-bit form.

Phantom Forest - Final Fantasy VI (SNES)

Ask me which Final Fantasy game is my favorite and I will tell you without hesitation, VI. The game has a wonderfully diverse cast of characters, an intriguing story and some of the best music in the medium. Nobou Uematsu really outdid himself with this score.

Battle Theme - Dragon Quest IV (NES)

Originally known as Dragon Warrior in the states and the Final Fantasy series biggest competition in Japan, the NES version of Dragon Quest IV is a very hard to find title having released late into the console's life. It was remade and re-released first on the PS in Japan and later on DS, which is the version most are probably familiar with. Even after hearing the DS music first, Koichi Sugiyama's 8-bit soundtrack is still incredible stuff.

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Favorite Tunes #212: Space Cuba, Here We Come!

I hope you're ready to rock because this week we've got a health does of that genre. I've also thrown in some chiptunes for good measure.

Dancing Mad -arrange- - Dissidia Final Fantasy Arcade (ARC)

What is there to say about Kefka that hasn't already been said? He's arguably the greatest villain in the history of the Final Fantasy franchise. His final battle them, Dancing Mad is a four movement piece. While having all of it arranged for the arcade version of Dissidia Final Fantasy would have been nice, if they were going to take one movement and turn it into a metal track, I can't argue with them using the fourth movement. It is so head bangingly awesome.

Stage 2- Metal Storm (NES)

Reverse gravity mechanics. One minute you're on the floor, the next, you're on the ceiling. Lots of games uses this for a level or two, then never go back to it. If you're looking for a retro game that further explores this, Metal Storm has you covered. The entirety of the game revolves around shifting gravity. Metal Storm was also one of those very rare cases of having North American box art that was just as rad as the Japanese version.

Password - Bionic Commando (GB)

Capcom's Bionic Commando series is more known for on the NES release and later HD incarnations a la Rearmed, but there were two entries on the old GB. Despite sharing the same name as the NES version, Bionic Commando is not the same title. Man, this sure is some cheery password music. Along with themes created just for this version of Bionic Commando, you'll also hear GB arrangements of NES pieces.

Steam Gardens (Wood Kingdom) - Super Mario Odyssey (NS) 

I know I've placed music from Super Mario Odyssey in Favorite Tunes a lot but that's because in spite of the game's faults (I'll be touching on that in an upcoming editorial) I really do love this game and its soundtrack. I have always been a fan of Koji Kondo's compositions. He doesn't compose music for games nearly as much as he used to but every once in a while, he'll write a few songs for a Mario game. This fan favorite just happens to be one of the few tracks he wrote for Odyssey

Whoa I'm in Space Cuba - Mighty Switch Force! (3DS, Wii U)

Mighty Switch Force! allows you to control when blocks are transparent or solid, creating platforms, pathways over otherwise impossible walkways, and of course, splatting enemies like a bug on windshield. Just look at the title of this track. You haven't even clicked on it yet and you know it is gonna be awesome.

Conquest (Flames) - Fire Emblem Warriors (NS, 3DS)

I'm still playing catch up when it comes to buying games for the Switch. As such, I've yet to get Fire Emblem Warriors. You could probably argue that the crew from this franchise is a better fit for the Dynasty Warriors treatment that Link and company. I just started listening to this game's soundtrack. I had a strong feeling it was gonna be good, I just didn't know how good. I don't know who had the brilliant idea it was to give Conquest a rock arrange, but whatever they are being payed, it is not enough.

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