Favorite Tunes #205: Chillest Game Over Music Ever

I decided to hold off on all blog posts last week due to the Thanksgiving weekend. I hope it was full of good fun and lots of good eats for you all. Now that the holiday is over, regular posting has resumed.

Major Boss Battle - Freedom Planet (PC, Wii U, PS4)

Before Sonic Mania, you had Sonic fans championing Freedom Planet as the best Sonic game that Sonic Team didn't make. There are cues from Sonic games, but Freedom Planet is very much it's own animal. If you haven't done so, check this game out and get the soundtrack while you're at it.

Blossom Haze (Press Garden Act 2) - Sonic Mania (PC, PS4, XBO, NS)

I'm one of those strange fellows that loves the Act 1 version of Press Garden over Act 2. That being said, the Act 2 version is still pretty dang magnificent. Props to the  developers for making an ice level that isn't irksome to play.

Honeyluna Ridge (Caves) - Super Mario Odyssey (NS)

It just wouldn't feel right not having a lava themed level leading up to the confrontation to Bowser. Bowser's Kingdom was not what most were expecting but in a very, very good way. On the Moon, however, is a standard lava filled section, complete with one of the most annoying Super Mario enemies, Charin' Chuck. It also comes with one of my favorite music in the game. I often have this theme playing for intense sections during post-gameplays.

Chozo Laboratory - Metroid: Samus Returns (3DS)

It has been an outstandingly good year for Nintendo. The Switch is killing it, they launched a new IP in the form of ARMS, the Zelda and Super Mario series both had major entries and Samus Aran stepped into the spotlight once again. For a series so many say Nintendo doesn't care about, the Big N gave the girl five star treatment with Samus Returns, the reimagining of Metroid II: Return of Samus.

Area 5 - Bionic Commando (NES)

The most famous theme from Bionic Commando is Area 1, which actually comes from the arcade version of Bionic Commando, a game that is completely different from the NES releease. If you've never made it past the first few areas, you might not have heard the rest of the soundtrack which is to say, really freaking awesome stuff.

Game Over, Name Entry - Altered Beast (ARC)

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the chillest of all game over music. Call me crazy, but I don't always find it off-putting when a music track plays during a time that may not match the situation. One reason for Altered Beast's Game Over theme being so chill is because it also serves as Name Entry music.

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Favorite Tunes #184: Rave Your Racers

Don't let the title fool you. This is not a racer based Favorite Tunes. Only one racing game is featured here. The rest is from ninjas, platformers, rage inducing party games and a sweet remake.

Pangu Lagoon - Freedom Planet (Multi)

A game inspired by the Sonic the Hedgehog games, specifically the 2D titles, Freedom Planet was first released on PC but later made its way to consoles. The game plays great and has some outstanding visuals and music to match.

Ancient Zone - Street Fighter EX 3 (PS2)

The final game of the EX series, EX3 went out as it came: an oddball child that was underappreciated with a fantastic soundtrack. The likelyhood of the EX games getting some kind of re-release is low since Akira owns the original characters made for those games like Skullomania and D. Dark. As much as I love high energy music in fighting games, a calm theme doesn't hurt. Ancient Zone has a sweet guitar solo and that violin is out of this world.

Jungle Adventure - Mario Party (N64)

If you weren't ruining your friendships  in Mario Kart 64, GoldenEye 007 or Perfect Dark, you were doing it in Mario Party. It baffles me that Nintendo has yet to re-release the original Mario Party when Mario Party 2 has seen two re-releases now. Might have something to do with all the wild analog stick spinning mini games that wrecked a lot of people's hands.

Area 1 - Blaster Master Zero (NS, 3DS)

The year isn't even halfway done and we've already gotten some pretty stellar games. I know I've talked a lot about Breath of the Wild on this blog, but one of my favorite titles of 2017 is the remake of the original Blaster Master, Blaster Master Zero. Any game that lets you melt ice and give the middle finger to ice physics is good in my book. Plus the soundtrack is all kinds of killer.

Act 1 - Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (NES)

For some strange reason, Ninja Gaiden III was made harder when it was released for American audiences. Even with the new features like hanging on ceilings and being able to buff up your sword this game is too cruel and is widely regarded as the weakest of the NES trilogy. Thankfully, Ninja Gaiden III's music did not suffer a decline in quality.

Euphoria - Rave Racer (ARC)

Unlike Ridge Racer and Ridge Racer Revolution, Rave Racer never received a home release. The original race tracks for Rave Racer did make it into the PSP Ridge Racers titles as well as some remxies of said game's music. It was actually a bit difficult to pick a music track to use from this game because Rave Racer's music is incredibly lively and jazzy. In the end, I settled on Euphoria. It has shades of audio from the first two Ridge Racer titles as well as sounding a bit like something you'd heard from the last few Ridge Racer titles to come out.

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Favorite Tunes #136: Marionation Gear

I've discovered some new favorite jams in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, I've been enjoying Freedom Planet immensely, and the music to one of my favorite Mickey Mouse games has been on my mind as of late. Hope you enjoy the variety of this week's edition of Favorite Tunes.

Fortune Night 1 - Freedom Planet (PC, Wii U)

This indie platformer that was clearly inspired by gameplay elements from the Sonic the Hedgehog games was originally only available on Steam in 2014 but as of 2015, the game can now be purchased off the Wii U eShop. Its a pretty solid platformer with remarkable sprite work and a killer soundtrack.

Marionation Gear (Chosoju Mecha MG) - Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)

I cannot say how grateful I am that Super Smash Bros. for Wii U brings back a lot of songs from Brawl. As it turns out, despite all the time I spent playing that game, I missed a lot of stuff, espcially some sweet tracks. Marionation Gear comes from the game, Chosoju Mecha MG, a Japan only 3DS game. Dueling mechs set to electric guitars and pianos? Yes, please! But since the game was only released in Japan, I'll just have to battle to this track without mechs. Oh well. One out of two ain't bad.

Floodlight - Ridge Racer 6 (360)

The Ridge Racer series has sadly become a showpiece for new hardware. Usually when a new system is about to launch, you can count on a Ridge Racer title to accompany it. I've missed out on the PSP Ridge Racer titles as well as Ridge Racer 6 and 7 but, a few songs from that game did make it into Ridge Racer 3D, which was the last Ridge Racer game I played. Thankfully the game's still let you select the music you wish to race to and I cannot get enough of Floodlight.

Character Select - Dragon Ball Xenoverse (Multi)

Select themes are some of the truly underappreciated gems in the world of game music. While most character select themes for fighting games like to get you jazzed up for the coming battle (which is all well and good) Xenoverse's is warmly soothing.

Pete's Peak - The Magical Quest Staring Mickey Mouse (SNES)

The Genesis titles seem to get all the love when it comes to retro games staring the Mouse. No doubt Castle and World of Illusion are great games, but The Magical Quest is a Mickey Mouse that will always hold a special place in my heart. If the sound font sounds like that of Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, that's because not only was Magical Quest a Capcom game, but the game also shares the same composer as Super Ghouls 'n' Ghosts, Mari Yamaguchi.

Lava Scarves and Red-Hot Blarggs - Yoshi's Wooly World (Wii U)

Wooly World may very just be the best Yoshi platforming game. That may be heresy to fans of Yoshi's Island but the level design and sheer fun to be had in Yoshi's yarn-inspired adventures is just that grand. The soundtrack hits lots of different genres. One of the lava based levels brings the rock hard.

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