31-Day Video Game Music Challenge - June 2020

[rdrunner | 422]

Ok, I'm in!  (Hyperlinks now complete)

RdRunner's Picks (Maniac Difficulty)

Day 1 Title: Wizards and Warriors (NES) - Like many early Rare games, the music was the best part.

Day 2 Opening Level: Super Castlevania 4 (SNES) - Could have picked just about any first area from any Castlevania game.  This one gets the nod for my track meet days, where I would listen to this before a race.

Day 3 8-Bit: Air Fortress (NES), Title Screen - Hard to get more 8-Bit than this.  Had to fit it in somewhere!

Day 4 Console Exclusive: Plok (SNES), Title Screen - Game is worth owning for the soundtrack alone!

Day 5 Overworld: Willow (NES) - Lots of great stuff on this soundtrack as well. Title screen is actually favorite, but since Wizards and Warriors doesn't have an overworld map...yeah...

Day 6 Relaxing: Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC), Title Screen - Tops in a short list of "relaxing" songs that even come to my mind when it comes to video games. All my faves are too upbeat to be considered relaxing.

Day 7 Indie: Super Meat Boy, Chapter 1 - Obviously lots of awesome indie games to choose from.  Mostly just went upbeat as a pick-me-up from yesterday.  Shout outs to Shovel Knight, Splosion Man, Battle Kid, and I Made a Game With Zombies in It!

Day 8 Shooter: Gradius III (SNES), Fortress Stage (9) - Best song from one of my favorite video game tracks ever.  I need to be careful not to get too into the tune when playing this stage. Case in point, this is actually where my TG run ended on loop 4. Careless mistake really.

Day 9 Licensed: GoldenEye 007 (N64), Title Screen - Arguably the best licensed video game of all time (again, short list).  This is also my favorite rendition of the classic Bond theme song.

Day 10 RPG Battle: Dragon Warrior IV (NES) - Despite all the advances in RPG music, I keep finding my way back to this old favorite.  Obviously it helps that this is one of the few JRPGs I've played (can count them on two hands, I think). I suppose I could have gotten cute and snuck a Zelda game in this slot, but wanted to avoid the whole "is it an RPG?" debate.

Day 11 Puzzle: The Lost Vikings (SNES) Factory - I've only played through this game once, but the soundtrack immediately became a permanent fixture in my playlist. The music from the Factory stages is the cream of the crop. Time to jam!

Day 12 Sad: Mega Man X5 (PS1), Death of Zero - It's a robot, not a person.  Feelings shouldn't be present when it breaks. And yet, feelings I had.  Especially when he just finished fighting his best friend!

Day 13 Dislike: Stone Protectors (SNES), Title - TMNT with trolls, poor controls, and bosses with too much health. Rockin' good soundtrack though!

Day 14 Vocals: Double Dragon Neon, Credits - Portal may be the original (?) game with an end credits song sung by the main villian, but this one is way better. If you haven't heard this, try not to laugh during the first few seconds...

Day 15 Boss: TMNT Arcade - Easily my favorite boss battle music ever.  There's just something about it that makes even the earlier fights seem epic (side note: could watch Rocksteady and Bebop run into each other all day).  Man, how I wish I could get an affordable copy of the actual arcade game, complete with this exact music!

Day 16 16-Bit: Sunset Riders (SNES), Stage 1 - At the risk of getting into a rut with TMNT and they're "cousin" games, here's one more. I thought about waiting until later to post this one, but not sure when else it would fit.  Anyway, I love just about everything about Sunset Riders, in all its Western-themed run and gun glory.  This tune actually appears on 3 different stages, but it's okay because it's that awesome!

Day 17 Never Gets Old: Final Fantasy Legend 2 (Gameboy), The Legacy - You know that a song is good when you can hear it almost constantly during a long RPG and it doesn't matter.  Not a huge fan of the breakable weapon system or the weird ways that your characters level, but this is still one of my favorite adventures. One of the few RPGs I've played through more than once (4 times to be exact).

Day 18 Game Over: Tecmo Super Bowl (NES) - Sports loophole!  Not all Game Over songs involve losing.  Great game, with awesome overall soundtrack too!

Day 19 Cover: Guild Wars 2, Fear Not This Night (Embrace the Night, by Brandon Strader and Cheryl Norfair) - Seriously, if you only listen to one song from this list, pick this one!  It is probably the most epic video game song I've ever heard.  Thank you, OC Remix for the random find I would not have otherwise heard.  Gives me goosebumps every time (and sometimes tears).

Day 20 Racing: Diddy Kong Racing (N64), Title - Not a big racing game fan, but Diddy Kong is easily my favorite.  And to think the only reason I ever played what on the surface looked like a baby's game was because my friend had a little sister. Oh, and Mario Kart 64 sucks (had to say it).

Day 21 Frustration: Mario Kart Double Dash (GameCube), Baby Park - Just to prove I'm not a Mario Kart hater, I actually own 3 games in the series, including this one (original and 8 are the others).  I have a love/hate relationship with Baby Park though.  7 laps around a tiny track with 16 characters chucking items around is funny at first, until you try it on 150cc, with the cheating AI on full attack mode.  Makes for one big demolition derby.

Day 22 Town: ActRaiser (SNES) - Here's to a one-hit wonder.  Developing a new town after clearing away the monsters was one of the best parts of this game. Leaving this phase out of the sequel was a terrible decision that killed what could have been a great series.

Day 23 Underrated: WarioWare Inc. Mega Party Games (GameCube), Credits - This "sequel" to the original GBA game didn't do very well (bad idea to just reuse EVERY microgame). I was lucky enough to play this version first, so I never knew there was a problem. The time attack challenges were great and I still dream of hitting a perfect run on Master mode.  I also REALLY love the end credits track, which remixes three of the series' best songs.  My favorite part is the last two minutes, which is a great version of the main title theme.

Day 24 Stuck in Head: Track and Field 2 (NES), Opening Ceremony - For some reason I hear this and imagine some rock star on stage, firing up the crowd.  I never watch the opening ceremony during the real Olympics, but this song makes it worth spending a minute on it during this game.

Day 25 Pumped: DuckTales Remastered, Mount Vesuvius - If the Moon theme is the #1 song from this game, then for me this is #1B (with the whole rest of the soundtrack being no lower than tied for #2).  This whole final stage marks probably the biggest improvement from the original game.  Instead of the short, boring retread through Transylvania, we get this exciting stage that is actually somewhat challenging, complete with an unlikely team, and of course this killer tune!

Day 26 Haven't Played: Final Fight 3 (SNES), Stage 1 - I once watched someone play this game, back when I was doing referee work for TG.  The game itself wasn't all that interesting, but I really liked this song.

Day 27 Handheld: Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney (DS), Cornered - I never would have guessed that a game about being a lawyer would end up becoming one of my all-time favorite series, but go figure.  The music definitely has a lot to do with it, especially this song, which perfectly captures the excitement from the game's climatic scenes.

Day 28 Nostalgic: The Tail of Beta Lyrae (Atari 8-bit), Briefing - You know you're getting old when a gaming song this old is your brand of nostalgia.   Honestly what's amazing is that games from 1983 actually had legit songs!  This little Scramble clone basically IS my early childhood (pre-NES, of course).  The song has a slow start, but it give it time, as it picks up after the intro.

Day 29 Final Boss: Chrono Trigger (SNES), "World Revolution" - It had to happen sometime.  I would never make a list of gaming songs without including something from this soundtrack, which is pretty much ingrained in my bones at this point.  The song's title is quite fitting.  I actually heard it before playing the game.  At the time, I could picture an entire world rising up to repel its own destruction.  Okay, so in the end it was only 6 or 7 people with a time machine, but still...

Day 30 Credits: Super Metroid (SNES) - Man, this is a tough category.  I could probably fill a top 30 list with just my favorite endings, but if I can only pick one, it's gotta be Super Metroid.  This ending song is one of the main reasons I got into recording gaming videos with my old VCR back in the 90's.  Something in it just seemed to scream "make me into a movie" to anyone who would listen.

Edited July 1, 2020 by rdrunner

[rdrunner | 422]

I see Shovel Knight picked a bunch of times already. Good taste, good people!

[AverageOliver98 | 719]

[ookii_risu | 206]

On 6/5/2020 at 9:34 PM, rdrunner said:

 

Day 3 8-Bit: Air Fortress (NES), Title Screen - Hard to get more 8-Bit than this.  Had to fit it in somewhere!

Good music there but the game... yikes. I hate pressure situations, so I didn't get along well with it. 

[AverageOliver98 | 719]

And the tacky bumpers continue(Day 8 is looking to be the worst so far).

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

7 hours ago, AverageOliver98 said:

And the tacky bumpers continue(Day 8 is looking to be the worst so far).

Can't wait for that

[AverageOliver98 | 719]

 

[Sumez | 2,953]

Quote

shmups and run'n'guns considered third person

Good job  I love a lot of FPS games, but I couldn't in good conscience post music from a 3D game in a "shooter" category XD 

[ookii_risu | 206]

Oh, I didn't know shmups were included... ah well

[rdrunner | 422]

On 6/3/2020 at 2:07 AM, ookii_risu said:

Day 8: (Shooter) ... Okay here's a good shmup song: Gradius III - Sand Storm

Lol, I almost picked this song.  Nice landing after being stuck!

[rdrunner | 422]

14 hours ago, Sumez said:

Good job  I love a lot of FPS games, but I couldn't in good conscience post music from a 3D game in a "shooter" category XD 

Same.  I honestly didn't even consider FPS as a possibility.  It's just burned into my old brain: Shooter = SHMUP.

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

56 minutes ago, rdrunner said:

Same.  I honestly didn't even consider FPS as a possibility.  It's just burned into my old brain: Shooter = SHMUP.

I would've assumed the same, except in the original image it says "First or third person," so even though I don't usually refer to them as shooters, I just figured "Oh OK, that's what he meant by shooters" which is good for me, since I haven't played any shmups since I was a kid so I don't know any of the soundtracks to them

[AverageOliver98 | 719]

[ookii_risu | 206]

On 6/3/2020 at 1:27 AM, ZeldaFreak said:

 

Day 9: (Licensed) | Moon Theme - Ducktales Remastered
This is the only reason I didn't use the Moon Theme on the 8-bit day, because I knew I could use it today instead (And also because I wanted to use the remastered version since I personally prefer it over the original.)

The remastered version is amazing. I literally wept when I listened to it for the first time.

[ookii_risu | 206]

If anyone's awake and wants to listen to some Zelda stuff on piano, check out lara6683 on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lara6683

 

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

2 minutes ago, ookii_risu said:

The remastered version is amazing. I literally wept when I listened to it for the first time.

I was kind of expecting that to be an unpopular opinion given how much love there is for 8-bit stuff 'round these parts, but I'm glad you agree with me. I never even played Ducktales, but I also had a pretty emotional reaction when I first heard the remastered version a few years back. It's such an iconic song that I've been hearing it pretty much all my life despite the fact I never actually played the game.

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

2 minutes ago, ookii_risu said:

If anyone's awake and wants to listen to some Zelda stuff on piano, check out lara6683 on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lara6683

 

Oh yeah, I've tuned in to her stream a couple times, she's super talented.

[ookii_risu | 206]

6 minutes ago, ZeldaFreak said:

I was kind of expecting that to be an unpopular opinion given how much love there is for 8-bit stuff 'round these parts, but I'm glad you agree with me. I never even played Ducktales, but I also had a pretty emotional reaction when I first heard the remastered version a few years back. It's such an iconic song that I've been hearing it pretty much all my life despite the fact I never actually played the game.

I really recommend the remastered version. It's leaps and bounds better than the original; you wouldn't be missing anything. And it has voice acting by as much of the original cast as possible.

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

Just now, ookii_risu said:

I really recommend the remastered version. It's leaps and bounds better than the original; you wouldn't be missing anything. And it has voice acting by as much of the original cast as possible.

Oh wow, I didn't realize it had voice acting and everything. I'll have to check it out.

[0xDEAFC0DE | 1,277]

9 hours ago, ZeldaFreak said:

9 hours ago, ookii_risu said:

The remastered version is amazing. I literally wept when I listened to it for the first time.

I was kind of expecting that to be an unpopular opinion given how much love there is for 8-bit stuff 'round these parts, but I'm glad you agree with me. I never even played Ducktales, but I also had a pretty emotional reaction when I first heard the remastered version a few years back. It's such an iconic song that I've been hearing it pretty much all my life despite the fact I never actually played the game.

I do prefer the 8-bit version personally, however the remastered version is definitely good too. But as far as orchestral remixes of The Moon go, I like this one even better.

[ZeldaFreak | 3,600]

2 hours ago, 0xDEAFC0DE said:

I do prefer the 8-bit version personally, however the remastered version is definitely good too. But as far as orchestral remixes of The Moon go, I like this one even better.

That one's definitely really good too. The only reason I don't prefer it is because we have differing opinions on remixes and remasters. I personally prefer it when they stick closer to the original, whereas you like it when they try to do their own thing. So for that reason I prefer the Remastered version, although they are both really good for sure.

[Sumez | 2,953]

Someone made a MegaDrive style version of the track also, which is really amazing.

It also appears in that ugly (but supposedly really good) new DuckTales show, despite only appearing in the video game originally.

[rdrunner | 422]

Count me among those that love the Moon theme from DuckTales Remastered!  The original tune was great in its own right, but this version was something truly special.

As an aside, I love the improvements made in the game itself as well.  Voice acting, new levels, extra hidden treasures on harder modes, and less point racking for people (me) who care about high scores. The one gripe I always hear is we could have used an easier way to skip cutscenes, but otherwise the game was extremely well done!

Edited June 10, 2020 by rdrunner

[0xDEAFC0DE | 1,277]

On 6/3/2020 at 1:07 AM, ookii_risu said:

Day 9: (Licensed) - Little Nemo: The Dream Master - Nightmare Land - This game has one of the best OSTs ever.

Yesss!! I meant to look up if that game was licensed since I wasn't familiar with the source. My favorite track is the Mushroom Forest Stage (which I think is the games most well known song as well). I'm going to add that to my honorable mentions now, thanks.

[ookii_risu | 206]

3 minutes ago, 0xDEAFC0DE said:

Yesss!! I meant to look up if that game was licensed since I wasn't familiar with the source. My favorite track is the Mushroom Forest Stage (which I think is the games most well known song as well). I'm going to add that to my honorable mentions now, thanks.

I love Mushroom Forest! I was debating between that and Nightmare Land, but I decided to go with the latter.