Continuing on to Day 9. These are starting to get tough!
For those of you just joining us, this is Day 9 of a 30 Day Video Game Music Challenge; if you missed the first eight days, they're all grouped together in the same category, at the top of the article. Each day consists of a different category of music, and I respond with a song that I feel fits it well, in terms of being one of my favorites of that category. Hard mode: I can't repeat games. Challenge mode: I can't repeat franchises either. (Repeat characters appearing in other franchises are fine.) In each entry, I've also been providing an honorable mention, a song that fits the bill quite well; in order to avoid removing other franchises from the running, I've been keeping these honorable mentions within the same franchise as the original item. Got it? Good!
Day 9's theme is "Music from a licensed game"; this is a toughie, as licensed games aren't exactly known for their stellar music choices. More often than not you end up with a five-second loop of music that relates to the original title, continued ad nauseum throughout the entirety of the game. Occasionally though, you'll find some good pieces.
I'd argue Rareware's GoldenEye for the N64 was one of those instances. The song "Frigate" is probably my favorite from this game; as Grant Kirkhope, its composer, has stated, it draws inspiration from Duran Duran's "A View To A Kill", arguably one of the best Bond themes. The game's graphics may not have aged well, but its soundtrack is still pretty great.
For today's honorable mention, we're going with "Severnaya Surface". If ever there was a song that instilled a sense of needful stealth and bated breath, this is it. Exploring the snowy surface of Severnaya, trying to avoid detection in the wide-open fields, the level is marvelous, and this song truly exemplifies it.