VG Soundtrack of the Day 019: Night Striker

Been a while since we had a ZUNTATA soundtrack. This is from another game I have never played but have heard the soundtrack sooo many times that I want to play it. With ARCADE ARCHIVES being all the rage, I'm hoping Taito gives HAMSTER the go ahead and Night Striker can get re-released. Anyhoo, Night Striker's music, as if you hadn't guessed by the cover above, is very cyberpunk/futuristic and with the ZUNTATA Midas touch, it sounds otherworldly. If you are not head bopping when Urban Trail starts playing, something is wrong with you.

Night Striker (YouTube)

VG Soundtrack of the Day Database

Favorite Tunes #235: Ebb & Flow

The arcade and Switch platforms are getting a lot of love this week and we close things out with one of my favorite arrangements from the best remixers around, the Pixel Mixers.


Decisive Battle II - Octopath Traveler (NS)

The game that has taken Square Enix by surprise and sold out, Octopath Traveler is a game I've been wanting to check out since it was revealed back in 2017. The visual style takes me back to when I was heavily invested into RPGS back on the SNES. I've stayed away from a lot of RPGs over the years due to the games really eating up time, but if I'm gonna dump 250 hours and counting into Splatoon 2, I really have no excuse to avoid the genre any longer. If just one of the battle themes is this sick, I cannot wait to play this game and hear more of what is sounding like a glorious soundtrack.

Ebb & Flow (Off the Hook) Splatoon 2 (NS)

And speaking of Splatoon 2, here it is showing up in Favorite Tunes. Again. I don't just love Splatoon 2 but I love it as a whole franchise. I've got some plushies and I've got the first three volumes of the manga. Some material from Splatoon 2 has inked its way into volume 3 of the manga so when I get to that book (my manga backlog is insane), I think I'll listen to some beats from this game while I read.

Game Start ~ BGM 1 - Aqua Jack (AC)

And here we have a another track with "BGM 1" as part of the title. Sometimes I wonder what could be going through a composer's head when they write music. Well, uninspired name aside, the track itself is pretty friggin' good, but this a Taito game (published by Romstar), so that's a given.

Boss 1 - Night Striker (AC)

I've been listening to my ZUNTATA playlist as of late (you aren't a VGM lover unless you have one) so I've had a lot of Night Striker beats playing in my head. I didn't know it was possible to love a soundtrack this much to a game you haven't even played, but Night Striker's soundtrack is just that amazing. This track has a little eerie buildup before exploding into the main boss theme.

A Resident of Terrible (Round 2) - Rolling Thunder 2 (AC)

Ayako Saso is a wonderfully tallented video game song writter, having her hand in all of the Street Fighter EX series, as well as the Fighter Layer titles. It was a pleasant surprise to see her named attached to Rolling Thunder 2.I thought it would be nice to tone things down a bit and relax before we rock out with the send off.

Edgar & Sabin - Final Fantasy VI: World's Requiem 

The Pixel Mixers are some of the best out there when it comes to video game arrangements. This year alone they've manged to put out several impressive albums with the king of the crop being Final Fantasy VI: World's Requiem. The entire three disc digital album is nothing short of outstanding but if I had to pick one track to rule them all, it would have to be Edgar & Sabin. Having listened to this track countless times, it has become my favorite arrangement of this theme.

Favorite Tunes Database

Favorite Tunes #223: ZUNTATA

ZUNTATA! Not the name of a single person but a unit of a plethora of composers similar to Konami Kukeiha Club. They are also known as the Taito Sound Team so if you see the name ZUNTATA or Taito, you can usually expect your ears to be treated to some outstanding music.

Urban Trail - Night Striker (ARC)

The first time I'd ever heard of any music from Night Striker was some ten years ago. I was blown away. I think this game's soundtrack along with music from various Darius titles is what cemented my love for ZUNTAT's music. Now if only Taito would release more collections so I could play this game.

Fire! Fire! Fire! - Syvalion (ARC)

Fukio Mitsuji is mostly know for creating Bubble Bobble. He's also the brains behind Syvalion and if you're wondering why this title doesn't ring a bell, it's because this one didn't fare anywhere near as well as the game with the two cute dragons. Once again, I gotta hand it ZUNTATA, or in this case, Yasushia Watanabe for turning in an amazing soundtrck.

Planet Course "The Nature of Art" - Vertexer (ARC)

When I went hunting for some screen shots or an arcade flyer to use for this entry, I was surprised to find that Vertexer was never officially released. However, the soundtrack to the game, was released in 2015. As one would expect from ZUNTATA (Tamayo Kawamoto), the music is really friggin' good.

Jamming - Darius II (GEN)

Did you think every entry on this list was going to be from the arcade? I mean, sure, Darius II originated in the arcades but it also saw a few home ports, one of which was on the Genesis, titled Sagaia outside of Japan. The music isn't exactly the same as the co-op version but it still turned out pretty well.

Geometric City - RayStorm (ARC)

Released in Japanese arcades in 1996 when 3D and polygonal graphics were really up and coming, RayStorm is one of the few games on this list I've actually played. I picked up the PS port years ago and it has been years since I've played it. I do, however, remember this music as it played on the first stage and upon rediscovering it, I've been listening to it on repeat for days.

Metal Black - Space Invaders Anniversary (PS2)

In 2003, Space Invaders turned 25 years old. To commorate the occasion, Space Indavers Anniversary was released, containing nine versions of Space Invaders. One version contained music from various games in Tatio's library such as tunes from Bubble Bobble, Darius and Metal Black. The music sounds very close to the original pieces, but anyone that's heard these themes enough can tell you that there are some slight differences but not enough to be detrimental. The track from Metal Black happens to be my favorite from that game, Dual Moon. Space Invaders fans living in the west had no choice but to import this one.

Favorite Tunes Database