AverageOliver98

No lives were lost during these tests... probably.

Probably should have done a shout out a day or two ago: @Gaia Gensouki@AstralSoul@koifish@ookii_risu @TriHart@acromite53@Sumez@tigerwolf@nesmaster14 @Jeevan(its probably a no, but just in case)

Let us begin...

AO98's 31-Day VGMC 3 Challenge List Hard Difficulty Day 1 (Intro/Title Screen): Title Screen - Cyber Shadow (Various, 2021)* Day 1 and I'm already using a game from my last list. Regardless, the game is great and the entire soundtrack matches it and then some. Day 2 (Opening Stage/Grass Lands): The Flatlands - Octopath Traveler (Switch/PC, 2018) All the music for the overworld sections are pretty great with Flatlands being one of the better themes... the Sunlands theme is still top though. Day 3 (Simulation Game): Birth of a People - ActRaiser (SNES, 1990) I haven't played many simulation games, with the only ones being SimCity 3000, SimCity 4, and my Day 7 Selection. Yeah, never even played ActRaiser. But this song's good so here it is. Day 4 (Impressive/Mind-Blowing): Gust Planet Zone Act 1 - Sonic The Next Level (Mega Drive, 2015) Take a listen to the Original Song as well. And if you're really interested, visit the Sonic-Retro/Download Page. Day 5 (PlayStation Exclusive): Girl Who Stole the Stars - Chrono Cross (PlayStation, 1999) Not a big PlayStation person, so this was another tricky day. I only remembered it after thinking about potentially including the Radical Dreamers version on some other day. Day 6 (Strange/Weird): Orn Mantra - Thunder Force VI (PlayStation 2, 2008) On its own, this is great. But its baffling as to why its in a Thunder Force game. Being used as the theme of the last stage. Day 7 (Computer Games): The Machine - 3D Ultra Lionel Traintown Deluxe (PC, 2000) Up until a few days ago, I wasn't aware this game had a soundtrack. Or how good this track was. If I had to guess, we didn't have headphones and someone older then me turned off the music and I never bothered turning it back on. Day 8 (Mini/Bonus Game): Bonus Room Blitz - Donkey Kong Country (GBC, 2000) If you didn't care for Donkey Kong Land's OST, this is just the same, BUT. ITS. IN. COLOR. I think most of the level designs are the same compared to the SNES game, with a new level tossed in too. Day 9 (Same Game, Different Song/Region): Opening - Mega Man 6 (NES, 1993) US and JPN Both intros are great, with the Famicom theme edging out the NES counterpart IMO. There might have been a chance the US version would have never seen the light of day had Nintendo not published the game for NA (the JPN theme was used for the version on the Anniversary Collection). Day 10 (Nostalgic): Vegetable Valley - Kirby's Adventure (NES, 1993) I think this was the first NES game I ever completed. And I still prefer this (music and all) over the remake for the GBA. Day 11 (Rom-Hack/Fan-Game): Dive Man - Rockman 4 Minus Infinity (NES, 20XX) I must confess that I've never beaten this without cheats. But even with them, it truly is a fantastic, creative hack, which is loaded with stellar arrangements from a wide variety of games. Pharaoh Man was supposed to be the original pick, but Day 3 botched that up so we have Dive Man instead (presumably @ZeldaFreak's soon to be "favorite theme") Day 12 (Wild West): GBA Sunset Wilds - Mario Kart Tour (Android/iOS, 2019) I really do hope that Sunset Wilds makes it way into Mario Kart 9, if not for this wonderful (then fully orchestrated) arrangement, to at least add more Super Circuit courses(they were some of my favorites from Mario Kart 8). Day 13 (Remakes/Remasters): Lava Reef Zone Act 1 - Sonic Mania (Various, 2017) I think its safe to say that Tee Lopes' remixes for the returning Mania stages are the definitive versions. (S&K Version) Day 14 (Dungeon): Flow with the Wind - Blaster Master Zero 2 (Various, 2019) Probably not the first thing you'd expect when someone said dungeon music, but its a damn fine composition regardless. Also, BMZ 2 is a great game. Easily my favorite of the trilogy(this and Montoj's 'overworld' music help). Day 15 (Boss Battles): Major Boss Battle - Freedom Planet (Various, 2014) Captures the energy of the games' bosses perfectly, especially the runner bosses. Day 16 (Retro Day) A: Wily Battleship Stage - Mega Man IV (Gameboy, 1993) B: Walk the Invisible - Mega Man 7 (SNES, 1995) C: Tengu Man - Mega Man 8 (Saturn, 1997) D: Freeze! - Paper Mario (N64, 2000) I checked to see if I was compensating now for a lack of Mega Man games from the previous months. That doesn't appear to be the case though. Just criminally underappreciated by almost everyone else, IMO. As for Paper Mario... its cool. Day 17 (Racing/Driving Games): Rainbow Road - Mario Kart 7 (3DS, 2011) Its been at least 7 years since I last played this course on my 3DS and pretty much forgot how beautiful this piece was (not the typical sounding Mario Kart song). Day 18 (Short and Sweet): Stage Clear - Hyper Duel (Arcade, 1993) Its short... and its pretty sweet... yeah. Day 19 (Name Entry/High-Score Screen): Name Entry - Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth (N64, 1998) It took a lot of willpower to put a new game here rather then use Thunder Force IV/V or Gleylancer again. For what its used for, it sounds good. Day 20 (Homebrew/Indie Game): Vitality - Helltaker (PC, 2020) Nice little puzzle game with great music. FYI, the game is FREE. Day 21 (Casino/Carnival): Casino Night Zone Act 2 - Sonic Generations (3DS, 2011) One of the last days I had figured out. Most of the games I played/remember playing don't have these areas in them, with Sonic being the exception. Also, just a really nice arrangement. Day 22 (Saturday Morning Cartoons) A: Zone J - Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (NES, 1990) B: Super Fighting Robot - Mega Man (1994) Unlike the Ducktales soundtrack, I hadn't looked into CnD's soundtrack before attempting to beat it. And because of that, it feels even more special to me. Also, I think Zone J is better is then any of the Ducktales songs. As for the choice of Mega Man... I really liked the intro animation (yeah, songs good too). Day 23 (Free Day or... I Want 3 More Song Slots) A: Fortress of Philosophy - Raiden V (Various, 2016) B: Carry Away - Psychic Force (Arcade, 1995) (X68000 Arrangement) C: Planet Timbertree - Super Bomberman R (Various, 2017) At some point, I told myself that I would include each of these songs. Unfortunately, they either didn't fit somewhere else or something else was better then them so here they are: One of six songs put on the Mini-CD included with the Switch release, a song that I ended up reverse searching from a 10-hour mix of X68000 remixes, and a song that I'm not sure how I found, but I've been loving for the past 4 years. Day 24 (Pinball): OMAKE 4 (Shin Kyuugyokuden-Etude of Wind) - Dragon's Fury (Mega Drive, 1991) Better known to non-NA audiences as Devil's Crush MD. This, along with 3 other tunes from Technosoft's library, were hidden alternates for the Main Table theme. From what I've heard, most of the MD music sounds better then the original PC-Engine version. Day 25 (Acapella): Bergentrückung + ASGORE - Undertale (Smooth McGroove, Various, 2015) Ah Undertale. Such an amazing soundtrack. Kinda surprised that it took me this long to finally include a song for one of these challenges. Day 26 (Shmup): Dezant - Lords of Thunder (TurboDuo, 1993) Pretty metal stuff here. Something that I wasn't that aware of until recently was that the lead programmer for Thunder Force III left Technosoft in 1991(along with other employees) and went to work at Red Company, developing this and Gate of Thunder. Day 27 (Unsettling/Foreboding): Maridia Drifting Sand Underwater Area - Super Metroid (SNES, 1994) To my memory, no other song has managed to instill a feeling that something off screen is stalking me and is readying to attack/kill me, even though I KNOW its not possible. Day 28 (Final Boss): G Free~Final Dream - Touhou Mutsuigeki~Concealed the Conclusion (PC, 2006) ... I just really like this song. Day 29 (Secret/Super Boss): THE WORLD REVOLVING - Deltarune (Various, 2018) I knew I had to include this since the first challenge, I just love this song to death, the energy, instrumentation, the feeling of CHAOS!!!! The big problem was finding a great place to put it. This category was perfect, but the name generator skipped it for challenges 2 and 3. But now, for the 2nd to final day, it truly is the perfect spot for this. Day 30 (Ending/Credits + Favorite 31-Day VGMC Song) A: Run to the Future - Broken Thunder (PC, 2007) B: Supremacy (nesmaster14, C64, 1991) This makes it three times in a row that I ended one of these with a Thunder Force game. Although it is a fan game, Hyakutaro Tsukumo (Hyper Duel, Blast Wind, Thunder Force V) is responsible for this soundtrack and while some of the other arrangements for BT sound... off, this one is rather nice, if a bit short. At some point, he arranged a version of RttF for a FM-Synth album called "Spirit of Stone" which is an amazing arrangement on an already fantastic album (other personal favs include "HELL HOUND" and "Extreme Fighter"). As for my favorite VGMC-song: Supremacy was a song that I just kept going back to listen to over and over again. I really hadn't had that happen with any other song. Bollywood from Scott Pilgrim and No Way Out from Rolling Thunder 3 did that to me too, but for some reason, they didn't stick. Supremacy just stuck.

DAY EXPLANATION, SERIES/FRANCHISE DIFFERENTIATION, AND Q&A Transcribed Day Chart and Explanations/Clarification If Needed Day 1 - Intro/Title Screen Day 2 - Opening Stage/Grass Lands Day 3 - Simulation Games - Including games like Animal Crossing and Harvest Moon. Day 4 - Impressive/Mind-Blowing - Either a marvel for the respective hardware or just blew your mind. Day 5- PlayStation Exclusives - Game must have first released on and been exclusive to a PlayStation console for at least one year. Day 6 - Strange/Weird - Up to participant what they consider weird. Day 7 - Computer Games - Including hardware like Commodore 64, MSX-2, Sharp x68000, etc. Games from 2000 onward must not have console ports. Day 8 - Mini/Bonus Games Day 9 - Same Game, Different Region and Song Day 10 - Nostalgic Day 11 - Rom Hacks/Fan-Games - Made from pre-existing games or using pre-existing IPs. Day 12 - Wild West - Deserts, but with Cacti, Buttes, and Gunslingers. Lets throw Country/Western Music into this too. Day 13 - Remakes/Remasters - Games like SNES Mario All-Stars, Ninja Gaiden Trilogy, Sonic Generations, Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX, etc. Day 14 - Dungeon Day 15 - Boss Battles Day 16 - Retro Day - Choose up to 4 Songs for this Category: A:8-Bit, B:16-Bit, C:32-Bit and D:64-Bit (Neo-Geo and 32X could fit under B or C). Day 17 - Racing/Driving Games Day 18 - Short and Sweet - Songs that are 15-20 seconds in length or less, Sound Effects are also welcome. Day 19 - Name Entry/High Score Screen Day 20 - Homebrew/Indie Games Day 21 - Gambling/Casino/Carnival Areas Day 22 - Saturday Morning Cartoons - A: Music from a (Cartoon/Kids) Show/Movie Licensed Game, B: Music from a Cartoon or Movie based on a Video Game. Day 23 - Free Space - Make your own category. As long as the music is from a game, its good. Feel free to include multiple songs. Day 24 - Pinball Games Day 25 - Acapella/Vocals Day 26 - Shmups/Shooters - Including games like Metal Slug and Contra Day 27 - Unsettling/Foreboding - Not guaranteed Horror, but makes you feel uneasy or gives you goosebumps. Day 28 - Final Boss Day 29 - Secret/Super Boss - A boss fight that is hidden until some requirement is met or is not normally encountered(Sonic 3&K Doomsday Zone, Zero Two from Kirby, Culex from Mario RPG). Or one that's insanely difficult. (Sans, Culex from Mario RPG) Day 30 - Ending/Credits + Favorite VGMC Song(Optional) - A song you heard for the first time because of the VGMC and you fell in love with it (Re-Use Rule won't apply here). Day 31 - Best of 31-Day VGMC IV Lists - Create a New List Using Songs from the Other Participants . SERIES VS FRANCHISE Affects Custom, Maniac, and Lunatic Difficulty Participants So any game and its sequels(if there are any) can be considered both a series and a franchise. In order for a 'spin off' to be considered its own series, there should be at least 3 titles to make up that series. Or if there are 3 games unrelated to the 'main series', but are not similar to each other, that can warrant a 'Spin Off' series. The Final Fantasy Franchise Main Series(1, 4, 7, 12, 14) Tactics Series(PS1, Advance, A2) Crystal Chronicles Series(Original, Ring of Fates, The Crystal Bearers) Chocobo Series(Chocobo's Dungeon 2, Chocobo Racing, FFF: Chocobo Tales) Dissidia Series(Original, 012, NT) Spin Offs(Mystic Quest(SNES), 4 Heroes of Light, World of Final Fantasy) The SaGa Series/Franchise(Final Fantasy Legend 1, 2, and 3 are part of this series despite the name change for the US). The Kirby Franchise Main Series(Adventure, Squeak Squad, Triple Deluxe) Spin Offs(Pinball Land, Star Stacker, Tilt 'n' Tumble) The Metroid Franchise Main Series(Original, Super, Fusion) Prime(1, 2, 3) Prime Spin Offs(Pinball, Hunters, Federation Force) And to potentially help someone out: the Donkey Kong (Country, Jungle Beat, Barrel Blast), Yoshi (Island, Story, Touch & Go), and Wario (Land, World, WarioWare) games would be considered their own franchises, not part of the Mario franchise. Hopefully, this helps with the differentiation of what is considered a series and/or a franchise. From this point on, I'll leave it up to judgement's of "The Brave Few" to make the best call of whats what. Q&A Nothing yet. PARTICIPANTS AND THE ORDER THEY APPEAR IN Page 1 AverageOliver98 Aguy fox 0xDEAFC0DE ZeldaFreak rdrunner PII sp1nz nesmaster14 Page 2 tigerwolf

What is this? Could it be?! THE 31-DAY VIDEO GAME CHALLENGE 4!!! Guidelines/Rules The current day in January corresponds with the day listed above (ie: January 5th is Day 5) When making your list (Day 1 through 30), please confine it to a single post and edit it as the days go on. And when linking the song videos, make sure they are text links, not in-thread videos. Day 31 will be an exception as it will be an entirely separate list. If you would like to participate, but are worried that you might not be able remember to keep updating your list, you can just post it ahead of time(On or After January 1st). Please mention which Difficulty you want to try and use for your list. The choices available are: Free Play/Custom Make Your Own Rules Easy Multiple Tracks from the Same Game Returning Participants: 5 Tracks from Previous List Allowed 15 Games from Previous List Allowed Normal 2 Tracks from the Same Game at Most Returning Participants: 1 Track from the Previous List Allowed 10 Games from Previous List Allowed Hard 1 Track Per Game Returning Participants: No Tracks from the Previous List Allowed 5 Games from Previous List Allowed Maniac 1 Track Per Series Returning Participants: No Tracks from the Previous List Allowed 1 Game from Previous List Allowed Lunatic 1 Track Per Franchise Returning Participants: No Tracks or Games from Previous List Allowed(DOES NOT INCLUDE SERIES/FRANCHISES) IN REGARDS TO 3RD OR 4TH TIME PARTICIPANTS: Any games from your 1st/2nd lists (October 2020) or earlier are no longer restricted UNLESS you used a game from there on your 2nd/3rd lists (March 2021), then it would fall under the rules above. And to make it easier to check back on what you used (thanks for pointing it out @Aguy), June 2020, October 2020, and March 2021. Even though this won't start until the 1st, feel free to reserve your post spot ahead of time(if you would like to do so). If you have any questions about anything, just ask. Any questions will be answered in the post below this one, along with some clarifications for some days. Sorry for the delay, I hope everyone participating will get some enjoyment out of this. Lets kick off the New Year with some rockin' music! Also, if anyone would like to try and make a daily bumper, I'm not planning on making one for Day 23.

A great big THANK YOU to my Secret Santa, @LutherDestroysTheGond, for the wonderful selection of goodies! Star Soldier VE was something I became aware of after purchasing it for the Secret Santa a few years ago and enjoyed the little I played of it then so its great to be able to play it again. Being able to play Mario World on original hardware again speaks for itself. And while I'm not too familiar with it (or rhythm games in general), Theatrhythm looks like it'll be a good time. I'll also be sure to give Ice Hockey and Slalom a shot too. Also, love the Epic Yarn patches.(I never managed to save up enough points to get them back then) Once again, thank you both to my Secret Santa, and the Santa(s) who ran everything behind the scenes. Merry Christmas!

Flame Man, Plant Man, Tomahawk Man, Yamato Man, Knight Man, Centaur Man, Wind Man, Blizzard Man

The i-frames come into play on the bosses. You can continuously shoot lemons into a boss in MM4 (or any MM with the charge shot), but not every single one will damage it (fire 5 shots in 1-2 seconds, bosses only take 1 point of damage). In the time you get about 2-3 damage hits on a boss normally, you could have simply just charged and fired a shot. Normal enemies/mid-bosses i-frames aren't the same though so button-mash away on them (some enemies do take 4-5 normal shots over 1 charged shot).

IMO, Mega Man 6 is the best when it comes to NES style graphics (5 comes close though), enemy-robot master/ level aesthetic (really like how each stage is a different country), weapons usefulness (everything has a use, nothing is really garbage), level design (the least amount "you wouldn't know on your first time" sort of stuff), and most of the music (fortress stage themes are a little weak). The only thing worth complaining about is you can't jump when you're mid-slide (MM4's issue of eating weapon charge inputs and MM5's issue of not being able to charge while sliding are more annoying for me).

It was only after Nightmare arrived that I realized I had no where to display him. So for the time being, his home is in the back of a portfolio book. Thank you so much Casual for doing this.

Sorry about the delay, but it will start in January.

Shouldn't there be a banner on the forum home page saying that Secret Santa sign up has started?

I'll give Nightmare a home.

OOOOOOHHHHHHH BOI!!!!! I would very much like to participate again.

Kirby's Adventure Mega Man 6 Mega Man 3 Mega Man 5 Chip n' Dale: Rescue Rangers Super Mario Bros. 3 Hebereke/U-Fouria Fire and Ice Gimmick Recca

He looks... honestly pretty horrifying (in the best possible way). I'm trying to remember what I thought of his appearance when I first saw him. Unfortunately, all that comes to mind is lots and lots of deaths against him and his orb form (I was bad at games then). His death "scream" was pretty cool though.

I'm assuming you're talking about 'multiple endings' like the ones in the original and Super. If so, then no.