As a young lad who spent as much time as he could in arcades - hell, I'd even take a greasy pizza place if it had two or three decent cabinets in it - I was always drawn to the music of Sega games. Shinobi, After Burner, Space Harrier; these games not only had iconic visuals and gameplay, their soundtracks were evocative and memorable as well.
Out Run was never one of my favorite Sega titles because I was (and still am) terrible at it, but I did rather enjoy its soundtrack. I was fascinated by the fact that you could choose the background music by "changing the radio station" at the beginning of the game, and I distinctly remember standing back and silently judging the folks who didn't pick my preferred track, "Passing Breeze".
The smoothed out Latin jazz vibe just fits so well with the visual motif of the game, and the quality of the arrangement was remarkable for the era.
In researching this song, I came to find out that its composer, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, also played keyboards in Sega's official in-house band, S.S.T. Band, which was active during the late 80's/early 90's. S.S.T Band specialized in creating full-band versions of songs from classic Sega games and THEY WERE AWESOME! Seriously, I can't believe that I'm just finding out about these guys. You MUST hear their ultra-funky version of "Passing Breeze".
I also came upon this short documentary about Kawaguchi and fellow Sega musical heavyweight Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage, Shenmue) produced by the folks at Red Bull Music. There's an interview with Kawaguchi around the 5-minute mark where he gives some insight into his inspiration for the Out Run soundtrack. Apparently, the sound design team for that game travelled from Japan to Florida so that they could drive around and feel the vibe of the area. In an amusing twist, Kawaguchi didn't accompany the group himself, instead using photos and relying on the impressions of his team to help him set the tone. Have a look..
Hi all! Been away for just a bit. Sorry to have kept you waiting... -_-
This selection in the Sound Test series (which again, is just songs from video games that I like in no particular order and with no real connection to anything) is from the recently released Bayonetta 2 for the WiiU. "Tomorrow is Mine" is the game's main theme song: a jaunty J-pop number that feels just perfect nestled in amidst the surreal strangeness and over-the top action that is this game. I confess that I have only played the demo version, though I do plan on springing for the disc soon.
What do you think? Sassy little number, right? Lyrical highlights for me include the lines:
You won't know what hit you When I spin around leave you In my dustthen Bang bang! Down down! Points too for the snarky kiss-off, "Don't miss me too much!"; a cute reference to the game's emphasis on dodging attacks during combat. I gotta get this game.
Hey, people! GameTracks is a new feature here on Console Glory! For this series, I'm going to highlight songs from video games that were influenced by music from outside of the gaming world. Behold our first installment!
The Goonies II for NES holds a special place in my heart. It's not a perfect game by any stretch, but it's fairly well made for an early adventure/platformer. The music in this game was particularly good, with each track being a solid fit for the mood and vibe of the area being explored. My favorite track, however, has to be the 8-bit version of The Goonies' theme song, "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough" by Cyndi Lauper. It's a lovely de-make of the original track, and it fits well as the game's opening number. Check it out:
And for reference, here's the original:
I really dig all of the music from this game. Konami really had some of the best soundtracks during the NES era. Here's a link to a playlist of all the songs.
Truth is, I'm not much of an Animal Crossing guy. I played the Gamecube original for a little while, and though I thought it had a charming presentation, the gameplay just didn't grab me. Still, I did get a kick out of the songs played by KK Slider, the floppy eared white dog who appears as a wandering musician. Nintendo recently released the latest installment in the franchise on 3DS, and sometime after that THIS came through my feed...
It's nice, but Mesmonuim's remix takes it to another level, and the Ice Cube rhymes are just perfect!
As I continued to dig, I found out that there are a fair number of other cover versions of this song on YouTube. My favorite has to be this live version...
Final Fantasy IX isn't my favorite game in Square's ubiquitous RPG series, yet I still feel that it is somewhat underrated. Among its highlights was its extremely charming soundtrack. Longtime series composer Nobuo Uematsu has stated that it is his favorite Final Fantasy soundtrack, and while I wouldn't quite go that far in my praise, I would have to agree that it's among his best. I particularly like this overworld track "Over the Hills". This breezy little melody combines electronic bloops and traditional instrumentation to great effect, building over time and looping with a satisfying and somewhat wistful release. Enjoy!
Hello again, music fans! Here is a fantastic track called "Last City" from the somewhat underrated (or at least underrecognized) Sega Genesis RPG, Sword of Vermilion. This jaunty little number is a standout among a number of other great themes found on the game's high quality soundtrack. The word "epic" gets thrown around a lot these days, but I believe it applies here because I think that's just the mood that the composer was going for. What I like is that it almost goes too far. It's almost a little too bombastic, but in the end it's just so effective that you have to respect it. Excellent stuff. If you enjoy this be sure to check a few other songs from Sword of Vermilion.
For this edition of Sound Test I present one of my favorite songs from the brilliant soundtrack to Katamari Damacy, "The Moon and the Prince" by Kenji Ninuma. Anyone who has played the Katamari games knows that they're just as famous for their eclectic soundtracks as they are for their entertaining gameplay. With that in mind, it was a challenge picking just one track to represent such a high quality collection of songs with such varied musical styles. I chose this one because I think that it gives the listener a good sense of the game's quirky style and it offers a little taste of nearly everything you can hear on the rest of the soundtrack. From glitch pop to jazz, disco to classical, this fun little number has a bit of everything!
I did a bit of research on Kenji Ninuma (the song's composer/performer) and I was a bit surprised to learn that he was born in 1956 and that he's had a music/acting career that has spanned nearly four decades! He was about 50 years old when this song was released and this is what he looks like:
He's a bit like a Japanese Paul McCartney, no? Something about the way he sounds and the doubling technique used on his voice made me think that this song was performed by a pair of 20-something Japanese b-boys! At any rate, I still love this song and I highly recommend playing any of the Katamari games if you haven't already. As a bonus I'm going to include the English translation of the lyrics to this song. Those who know the Katamari series will get a kick out of the many references to its gameplay, but the lyrics are enjoyable on their own as a look at the trappings of modern life and the pressure to soldier on in the face of adversity.
THE MOON AND THE PRINCE by Kenji Ninuma
I sprinted, I twisted,
I tried to run about everywhere
I spun, I was spun,
I rolled into anything I could find
I was attached, I felt included,
hey! I just picked up so much stuff!
I tried to avoid it, I tried to flee,
But the power was too much, came crashing down on me
I tried to push it, I tried to pull it,
At the end of my rope, I tried to cast it away
I crashed, I snapped,
A huge thrill ran through my body
The goal was endlessly far, but I couldn't stop pressing on
Forever rolling on, I grew a lot, as a person
I noticed many things, and everyone became as one
While smiling faces flooded the town, a petty evil lay hidden in the shadows
Chorus:
Check it up, I funk it up
Everybody shut up, come and follow me, yeah
Check it up, I funk it up
Everyone follow me like your life depends on it, come on
(Check it up, I funk it up
Minna damatte, ore ni, tsuite koi, yeah
Check it up, I funk it up
Minna hisshi de ore ni tsuite koi, come on)
Repeat x 4
I pounded on, but I lost heart
No energy left, I fell into despair
I tried to sulk, I was down,
With a heart full of regret, tried to make the tears tumble down
I thought about it, rolled down on the ground
Looked at the sky and it brought back my calm
I stared and stared, kept it always in my eyes
And the moon that floated there, it was so bright
Got bigger and bigger, hoisted up step by step
Till it was under the great big stars
I kept on going, got some cooperation
And put in every ounce of all that lovely strength
I felt the beginnings of an impending crisis, stood up,
blew the walls off of my heart
A free mind and an overflowing soul,
I gave my spirit a heart to live in
(Jiyuu na mind to afureru soul, spirit ni kokoro ni yadoshita)
Combine our power, and we can do it,
everyone comes to accomplish one great thing
Now we're equal, we understand and admire each other
more than any time before, the people around me have grown larger
I don't wanna hear any negative talk coming from your mouths!
It may be tough, but we can't stop now!
We'll draw a peaceful vibration in an arc across the sky!
We'll create an object that won't fail to compete with this planet!
(Negative na wadai wo kuchi ni suru na
Tsurakutemo, susumu koto wo yamerun jaanai
Peace na vibration de arc wo egaki
Kono earth ni makenai object wo tsukure)"
Hey, people! Here's my Sound Test for the month of March. This time it's a tune called "Sweet Relief" from the soundtrack to Killer 7. I have talked before about my love/hate relationship with Killer 7lead designer Suda 51, but be assured that this is one of the games that makes me not hate him quite so much. Truth be told, I think I've finally figured out my whole deal with this guy. I think that Suda 51 has good instincts when it comes to choosing aesthetic things like music and visual design. Without question, the guy knows how to make a cool looking game and lay down an interesting vibe. When it comes to things like gameplay and story however, he tends to serve up loads of clunky, hackneyed tropes in game after game. In many ways Killer 7fits the same mold. The art and music direction in this game are both top notch, but the action itself is often rather dull. In fact, were it not for the unique visuals and incredible soundtrack this game wouldn't really be worth playing. But I digress... Let me not draw too much attention away from this lovely song with my ranting. "Sweet Relief" is a dark, heady little piece that perfectly captures the futuristic noir motif of the game. Really, the entirety of Masafumi Takada's ecclectic Killer 7 soundtrack is worth a listen, but this track is particularly good.
Time for another edition of Sound Test! This time I bring you one of my favorite tracks from the amazing action puzzler, Catherine. This jazzy piano number is known as "Thus Spoke Brooks" in the U.S. version of the game, and as "Also Sprach Brooks" in the Japanese version.
It's the first post of 2013 and I thought I'd start us off with a little music! I told you guys that I wanted to introduce some new recurring features this year and 'Sound Test' is the first of them. In 'Sound Test' posts I'll be sharing some of my favorite game music tracks old and new. This first entry seems fitting considering the season. Here's a latter day classic from the band Anamanaguchi. It's "Another Winter" from the soundtrack to Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game.
