Favorite Tunes #158: The Rain Has Come

We've been getting a lot of rain here in Virginia Beach. A bit of the music featured in this week's favorite tunes reflects the dreary weather as of late. We can't always have sunshine. There's some upbeat music mixed with the downtrodden music as well.

It's Raining Somewhere Else - Undertale (PC) 

I've made mention of Undertale's outstanding soundtrack multiple times in Favorite Tunes. The game's main theme has so many arrangements, consisting of different genres that you never get tired of hearing it. Of course, when the music isn't a new spin on the main theme, it still manages to stay on your mind. A jazzed up version of Sans' theme? Why, yes, please.

Dark Groove - Jazz Jackrabbit 2 (PC)

When I think of rabbits, two spring to mind, the wise cracking, carrot eating Bugs Bunny, and the gun touting Jazz Jackrabbit. Outside of the 2002 GBA game, titled Jazz Jackrabbit (which was a completely original game from the the 1994 title of the same name), everyone's favorite green rabbit that isn't named Bucky, hasn't had a new game in years. At least, the music to the first two Jazz games are easily obtained on Loudr even if his first two games haven't been given a Steam release.

Cute Mafia - Street Fighter EX3 (PS2)

The Street Fighter EX games have never gained the fame that the 2D Street Fighter entries have enjoyed. That kinda sucks because they really aren't bad games. I'd love to see the original characters Arika created for these games return to current Street Fighter titles, but since Arika owns those characters, that will probably never happen. Along with some cool looking characters, the EX games are also known for their extremely high quality soundtracks.

Bonus Game - Pilotwings (SNES)

Despite the series long history, there have only been a total of three Pilotwings games. Nintendo doesn't usually open the doors and late the planes, gliders, jet packs and all other forms of air travel out unless they have some new hardware to show off and even then, sometimes Pilotwings is still grounded. The first game has some delightfully catchy music composed by Soyo Oka, who also wrote the score for Super Mario Kart.

Pipe Island - Yoshi's Safari (SNES)

You say you've never played this game? Well that's not too surprising. You did need the Super Scope 6 to play it and that thing only worked for so many SNES titles. With the Wii U's motion controls, you'd think they would re-release more games from their light gun library. I always loved the western feel of this track.

Rolento Battle - Final Fight (ARC)

Originally meant to be a follow up to the 1987 Street Fighter called Street Fighter '89, this beat 'em up became it's own game taking on the title of Final Fight, but still being part of the Street Fighter Universe. Rolento isn't the toughest boss in the game, but he loves his grenades and he's quick on his feet.

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Favorite Tunes #145: Pokemon Walk into a Club

Four more entries and we'll hit Favorite Tunes #150. I'm still in the process of making my music selections for that one, but I've already got some choices in mind. This week's edition has music from one of gaming's most adorable robots, a jackrabbit, ninja turtles and some heroes from DC's rival. Enjoy!

Boss Theme 1 - Mega Bomberman (GEN)

While we may never get the chance to blow up our friends in a new Bomberman title, at least can reflect on the good times. Mega Bomberman was release in 1994 on the Genesis and is a port of the TG-16 game, Bomberman '94. Jun Chikuma worked wonders composing music for this series over the years and this boss theme translated quite well on the Genesis sound font.

Colonius - Jazz Jackrabbit 2 (PC)

One of the first games I was exposed to when my family got our first PC was Jazz Jackrabbit 2 via demo. It felt a lot like someone gave Sonic the Hedgehog a gun, but the levels were so much fun to run through and the music immediately stood out to me. Why Epic Games hasn't brought this rabbit back is a mystery to me.

Boss Battle - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (ARC)

The Turtles latest game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan releases on May 24, so this seems as good a time as any to show some Turtle love. One of Konami's most popular arcade beat 'em ups, TMNT was based of the 1987 cartoon, even using some of the voices from said TV series. The music took cues from the famous opening theme sound and the original music was fantastic.

Wrestler Boss - The Simpsons (ARC)

What do The Simpsons have in common with Konami, both were once pretty good. In all seriousness, The 1991 Simspons arcade game is often regarded as the family's best video game outing. Using the engine of the 1989 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, players embark on a beat 'em up journey to rescue Maggie. The voices actors from the show lent their talent to this game and as usual, Konami's sound division was on point.

Neos City - Pokken Tournament (Wii U)

Pokemon battles in real time? Now that's different. The idea of Pokemon in a fighting game was enough to catchy my interest but when I found out that the developer behind Pokken Tournament was Bandai Namco, I knew I had to give this game a serious look. Being developed by the same makers of the Tekken series not only ensures that the fighting is fast and fun, but we also get some sick beats to go with it. It's like Pikachu and company just stepped into a club.

Gambit - Spider-Man and the X-Men: Arcade's Revenge (SNES)

Released during the era where the wall-crawler and everyone's favorite mutants were still getting crappy licensed video games, this one was no different from the rest. It suffered from jarring level design and lots of cheap hits from enemies. Tim and Geoff Folin's music was the only thing the game got right with long, funky, rock inspired themes.

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Favorite Tunes #137: Like the Wind

Console variety is the name of the game in this week's Favorite Tunes. There's tunes from Jazz Jackrabbit (remember him) to Capcom's controversial Street Fighter V.

Let's Dance Boys! - Bayonetta (360, PS3, Wii U)

I missed out on Bayonetta when it first released in 2010. Fortunately, the 2014 release of Bayonetta 2 on the Wii U came bundled with a copy of the first game. Now I just need to get around to playing it. The first and second Bayonetta have a ton of great tracks with some of the best ones making into into the Umbra Clock Tower stage. She was certainly given better treatment than Cloud in that regard.

Lost in Thoughts All Alone - Fire Emblem Fates (3DS)

Fire Emblem Fates was recently released and even with Corrin being added to the Super Smash Bros. 3DS/Wii U roster, I had completely forgotten that the game was due out this month. I haven't decided which version of the game I'm going to pick up, but Corrin is a really fun character to use in Smash. Corrin also brought with him/her an outstanding vocal track from Fates.

Jazz Jackrabbit - Medivo (PC)

In the late 1990s, my family and I were joining the PC race and I was all about the video games. I played a demo of Jazz Jackrabbit, becoming really engrossed with the few levels the demo offered. The platforming was solid and the music was really freaking good. I feel like I'm dancing in the club when I hear this. Well, actually, I don't go to clubs, but still!

Theme of Vega - Street Fighter V (PS4, PC)

The release of the long awaited Street Fighter V has been met with mixed reactions. On the one hand, it has a really solid fighting engine with some excellent controls. But on the other hand, a good chunk of content that should be in the game is not. How does a company launch a fighting game with no arcade mode? Another plus is the game brings some incredible remixes. This may very will be the greatest version of Vega's theme. It's not enough to make me forget that Vega is a total d-bag, but still a sexy theme, nonetheless.

Kiss Me Sunlights - Zone of the Enders (PS2, PS3)

Often called ZOE for short, this game is another of Hideo Kojima's babies. When the game initially released on the PS2 in 2001, it came bundled with a demo for the yet to be released Metal Gear Solid 2, which was the main reason the first ZOE sold so many copies. ZOE and it's sequel, 2nd Runner would receive an HD re-release on the PS3. Like so many of Konami's other franchises, ZOE has been tossed into the gutter.

Like the Wind - Power Drift (ARC)

SEGA missed a perfectly good opportunity to include some of the musical tracks and characters from Power Drift in the Sonic & All-Stars racing games. Since Power Drift is a racing game, they would have felt right at home. If you never got a chance to play Power Drift, the game is being included in the compilation release Sega 3D Classics Collection on the 3DS due out in April.

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