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- Written by: Grady Owens
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And now we're at Day 13. I've kind of been dreading this one, because it's definitely one of the more challenging items.
For those of you just joining us, this is Day 13 of a 30 Day Video Game Music Challenge; if you missed the first twelve 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 13's theme is "Music you like from a game you don't like". This is a huge challenge for me, because typically if I don't like a game, I don't play it. Thus, I rarely remember what music it might've had. Additionally, music often features into whether or not I like a given game; if it's got good music, it's rare I'll outright dislike it.
Ooh, you know what? I think I've got it. Pokemon Sword / Shield was so catastrophically bad overall; it had a crap story, terrible characters, awful new Pokemon designs, one of the worst Pokedexes ever, and categorically refused to allow Pokemon outside its base Pokedex to be present in the game. But, you gotta admit, the Gym Leader theme is pretty banging. This was the one element of the game I actually looked forward to, facing the gym leaders. Because then I got to listen to this amazing song.
For an honorable mention, you know it's gonna have to come from this game again; while I also didn't much care for Pokemon Sun / Moon, Pokemon Diamond / Pearl, or their relevant "special" versions, fact is, I don't believe any of their music was all that wonderful either. But, Sword / Shield at least had a few other hits: Case in point, Marnie's battle theme. Marnie is one of the only well-developed characters in the game, and her theme is definitely rocking. No wonder she's got her own hooligan squad! (And check out this animation! It's super-fun!)
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- Written by: Grady Owens
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And then there was Day 12. While my internet situation did work itself out, I still ultimately didn't have time to make this post on-time. I think I'm just going to have to accept Monday and Tuesday likely aren't going to happen, and Wednesday's pretty unlikely too.
For those of you just joining us, this is Day 12 of a 30 Day Video Game Music Challenge; if you missed the first eleven 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 12's item is "Music that makes you sad." Hoo boy, this is a toughie! While I do tend to like games that make me feel, it's rare that the song by itself makes me sad, and the few cases where the song's association with the scene would make me sad, I've already used those franchises. Dang!
I suppose the best I can come up with right now is the song "Offering", from ActRaiser: Renaissance. This song plays most times the townsfolk have something to say to you; it's a melancholy tune to begin with, but there are some situations when this song plays where the story of the world unfolding beneath you tugs at the heartstrings. In particular, I remember the loss of Teddy in Bloodpool (among other, much later spoilers). Honestly this entire soundtrack is amazing, and while I don't much care for many of the elements Renaissance added to the game, the original ActRaiser is one of my favorite games of all time. Definitely worth a look!
For our honorable mention, I'm going to go with "Overworld" from the original sequel, ActRaiser 2. This game made a stark departure from the original, eschewing the world-building simulator aspect for a more intense action game. Similar to ActRaiser, you, the Master, travel the world, defeating major adversaries in order to rescue your people from the clutches of Tanzra and his minions. While I don't have much experience with this game, the Overworld theme definitely reflects the world, at least at the beginning: in ruins, in desperate need of saving.
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- Written by: Grady Owens
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On to Day 11. Gosh, we're zipping through these now! Unfortunately, I may have to miss tomorrow's post due to ongoing internet issues, but we'll see.
For those of you just joining us, this is Day 11 of a 30 Day Video Game Music Challenge; if you missed the first ten 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 11's challenge is "Puzzle game music", and for that it's hard to go against the staple of Tetris. In this case, I went with the "B-Type" music included in the Game Boy version of the game. It was a toss-up between this and "C-Type", both here and any time I play the game, but "B-Type" won out this time. Its fast-paced tempo and minor key heighten the experience of one of the best puzzle games ever conceived, certainly a classic.
For an honorable mention, while I could easily go with "C-Type" as discussed above, I wanted to go with something a little different. The main theme of Tetris 99 is a remix of Game Boy Tetris' "A-Type", itself a rendition of the classic Russian folk-song Коробе́йники; this shows just how endearing the game has become, how thoroughly that particular rendition of this classic title has permeated the public consciousness.
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- Written by: Grady Owens
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Moving on to Day 10. Today's been kinda busy, almost missed it! (Like I missed a few days earlier this week. Whoops! Sorry!)
For those of you just joining us, this is Day 10 of a 30 Day Video Game Music Challenge; if you missed the first nine 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 10's theme is "RPG Battle Music", which is a huge and widely-varied field! There are tons of great battle songs out there, and I strongly considered giving this to some lesser-known entries, but in the end I had to come back to Final Fantasy VI's "Dancing Mad". This song plays during the final battle of the game, an iconic battle against the madman-turned-god Kefka. The song does such a good job of matching both the battle, in intensity and length, and the absolutely-brilliant character of Kefka himself.
Today's honorable mention goes to the general boss theme from the same game, "Decisive Battle". Final Fantasy has tons of great songs throughout its long and storied history, and I decided to choose two from Final Fantasy VI simply because I personally see that game as the title that defined the series. "Decisive Battle" is iconic, and lets you know you're in for a seriously-difficult fight.
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- Written by: Grady Owens
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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.