Tag: video game

Top 10 Video Game Music Remixes

I guess I play a lot of video games, and yeah, they have had an influence on my life. One aspect in particular that has been influenced are my musical preferences – I like video game music.

Video game music used to be beeps, boops, and other strange machine sounds; now it is a big deal with high-quality versions of popular “traditional” radio music. Well, my preference is usually for the earlier stuff, I don’t mind when video games use popular music, but for me it has to be appropriate, like the use of “normal” music on the radio stations in Grand Theft Auto. In a similar vein with a weird twist, I also like when video games (or movies for that matter) don’t have music unless there is a reason, the scene takes place at a concert, a radio is playing, for instance – it’s a thing, btw.

Anyway, as part of liking video game music, I also like remixes of that music, which is likely something you already knew based on the title of this article. Moving on, here are my top ten video game music remixes, in no particular order.

DuClare Chateau (Wine for two mix)
Deus Ex (2000)
Auteur Theory

This is an amazing track.

Yeah dog, I don’t know what you know about music, but I do know that if you don’t like this, then you probably have terrible taste. This remix is of one of the best original pieces of music from the source game and is somehow an improvement in every way. The original song, due to the constraints of the game, was designed to be looped, but this version adds in a progression and pleasant conclusion. The somewhat sedate and depressed nature of the track is accented further by the fact that the group who made the remix are no longer producing music, which is authentically sad.

Little Mac’s Confession
Punch-Out!! (1987)
Game Over

An amazing evolution and development.

Wow, this track is an evolution, a quantum leap, if you will. The original track, while cool enough, really gets development with this remix and even features lyrics that match with the material and theme of the game. Like the above track from Deus Ex, the original was meant to be looped, so this song adds in a conclusion.

Luther Broad Motel
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006)
Yung Scrolls

This is perfect.

I could easily make a list of my ten favourite Yung Scrolls tracks (and I might) but for me, this is easily the best of them all. Wow, a smooth jazz with gangster movie influences for a usually sedate medieval-themed instrumental? This is objectively fantastic. I know this is about the music, but even the “track art” really nails the mood. I have listened to the track on repeat for up to an hour at times and I do not regret a single second of that.

Mercenary Boxing
Street Fighter II (1991)
Malcos

It’s Mike Bison.

This song is taken from a larger complete work known as Blood on the Asphalt which is a remix album of every song in the Streetfighter II franchise. This particular song impressed me because it is fairly sedate and understated, especially in comparison with the music in the game and in the genre in general.

Mute City
F-Zero (1990)
Mitch Murder

This is one of the best compilation videos ever made.

Okay, first of all, anything Mitch Murder makes could be mistaken as video game music, and the artist does a lot of video game covers/remixes, but man, this particular one caught me by surprise. It is light, springy, and upbeat in the most positive of ways. I will note that the one thing that made this particular song my choice ahead of other really great Mitch Murder video game covers is the above video. Deal with it.

Phantom Train
Final Fantasy III/VI
LZLS

Skip to 7:20 if to hear the specific song, or listen to the whole album, it’s good!

My dude, if you expected this entire list to go by without a v a p o r w a v e song, you are mistaken, sort of. I would consider this to be more of a chillwave rendition, but I mean, it is good either way. Also, there are not too many vapor songs that heavily draw melody or sample from video games that are, in my opinion, all that fantastic. Most of the good vaporwave music in connection with video games involves fictional games, make that make sense. Anyway, this track is sedate, and probably the best on the album, and while it explores new sensations, it remains true to the source.

I Want Love (Studio Mix)
Silent Hill 3 (2003)
Akira Yamaoka / Mary Elizabeth McGlynn

Wait a second…

Okay, you are going to tell me that this isn’t a “remix” because it is on the official soundtrack, but, I will argue that it is not the version that appears in the game, and is therefore a remix, even if it is made by the original creators. Whatever. This song is absolutely awesome, and aside from some weird lyrics at spots, it is a truly great piece of music, much better, in my opinion, than the original.

バラムガーデン
Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
Cinctulan

I always thought that the Balamb Garden music would make a great sample for a vaporwave song, but I guess I must be wrong, because I have never found one. This one is pretty good, and I think you may like it.

The Dragonborn Comes
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)
Malukah

The original and best.

If you have ever listened to the actual source song in the game, you will have to agree that this is better in every way, and if you don’t you are trying to be a contrarian and you are a bad person.

Ashes to Ashes
Super Metroid (1994)
Zircon

Remember dubstep?!

I guess I am one of the few people that still enjoy dubstep, so well, here is a dubstep remix of an iconic piece of music from Super Metroid. I never really got into playing this game, but I always enjoyed the way it sounded. Like a lot of earlier pieces, this remix breaks the loop of the original and gives it a much better progression, the dubstep influence is subtle, and I think an overall improvement.

There you go, my ten of my favourite video game music remixes! Be sure to let me know how wrong I am in the comments!

King of Dragons

I know I recently mentioned how much I am bothered by Nostalgia, but I think it is more or less just frustration with outdated systems of gameplay. Games with “eternal” gameplay don’t seem to bother me, so maybe I will slake my thirst on these for a while.

Anyway, this is going to be a small collection of screenshots from a recent playthrough of The King of Dragons. There is a lot of lore in the game, but the majority of the game is taken directly from Dungeons and Dragons (and I mean the first edition of the game). So the plot, is basically a group of adventurers start out by trying to get rich, then get suckered into a plot to stop an evil red dragon, which is what D&D was originally about (ransacking ruins, killing monsters, collecting loot, getting rich) and for me, is about as good a plot as any game needs. I think a lot of games and designers feel they need some complex story, but I mean, they don’t.

Here is your character selection screen, the five original classes from D&D, yes, “Dwarf” and “Elf” were classes.
The game starts out simple enough, just dudes trying to get rich. …and eat strawberries?
Orcs with morningstars, wolfmen with crossbows, and a cave-complex ripe for plundering. If that doesn’t get you going, well, fuck you.
The game has a tonne of fantasy tropes and they are all done very well.
I really liked that this random ancient tree (that I recently saved from a giant spider infestation) referred to me as “buddy” – pretty rad.
Evil wizard eh? You’re going to eat steel!
Dare you enter the dungeon?! Dare you eat the dungeon apple?!
Here is that evil red dragon, and man, what a classic threat!
One of my favourite parts of the game: when the dragon moves around on his giant pile of golden treasure, coins and other stuff are thrown around in one of the parallax layers, really awesome effect.

I liked the game, and it is worth a play, in my opinion. Just as a note, I in no way 1cc’d this!

Top 10 Final Fight Foods

Man, I hope you know about 1989’s best arcade game, Final Fight.

It is a beat ’em up style game, wherein the player (or two) controls a character who must fight, primarily in an unarmed fashion, through a series of stages each filled with several antagonists. Like the player-controlled character, the antagonists primarily fight in an unarmed fashion and usually have a sub-leader of sorts who is typically more powerful.

In this particular game, the plot concerns the kidnapped daughter of a city’s mayor, and rather than using legal means, the mayor decides to confront the kidnappers through a series of fisticuffs and brawls. The mayor, Haggar, has a pair of associates, Cody and Guy. There is a lot of backstory and relationship lore, but you can read about that elsewhere.

This is about food. The food. This is really going to redefine what “street food” really is.

The food that the player-controlled characters use to regain health. It doesn’t make a lot of “real-world” sense, but it is what it is. As a youth I really enjoyed the mechanic, and as an adult, I tend to just want burgers and steaks all the time, so I am still drawn to it.

So anyway, there are several food items that appear in the game and these are my favourites, each accompanied by a screenshot. Enjoy.

10. Grapes

Man, I hate grapes. I mean, they’re okay, I guess, but I usually prefer them mashed up and fermented. Those grapes in that screenshot though, they do look nice. Just ignore the sapphire ring, whole cooked chicken, pipe-wielding man, likely dead person, and the fact that they are on the carpet of a high-rise luxury condominium. Easy. Grapes.

9. Cola

Ignore the fact that Andre the Giant is piledriving a dude while on a subway. Also ignore the wooden barrel on the subway. I mean, let’s focus on the (definitely not a popular and famous brand) can of “cola” on the floor there. I like cola, but it doesn’t quite make a meal, but if you were just slammed into the ground by a legendary wrestler, it might just hit the spot.

8. Orange; 7. Hot Dog

Hey, are you just bunching these two together because they are in one convenient screenshot?! Yes. I mean, I guess I could have cropped out the individual foods, but I didn’t want to ruin the aesthetic of the screenshot. Whatever. Anyway, the orange would normally appear as number nine with the grapes, but well, happenstance. I normally really like hot dogs, but man, this one doesn’t really have too appealing of a look to me, so it languishes back here in the number seven spot. Just imagine what it would be like to eat that hot dog off of the ground in a public park where a group of people are fighting, bleeding, sweating, and dying. Tasty.

6. Whisky; 5. Burger

Another combined screenshot?! Well this one is actually pretty much where I want it to be. Normally I don’t consider beverages to be a food, but look at that seductress laying there on the ground, just begging to be opened and consumed… Ahem… Yeah, I mean whisky goes well with a brawl and it seems fitting to me to take a break from being kicked in the testicles to enjoy a fine sippin’ whisky. Oh man, to me, that burger is in strict contrast to the number seven hot dog. Just by looking at that burger can I imagine the soft, fresh bun; the juicy beef, crisp lettuce… Mmmmm…

4. Steak

Man, I am really fond of steak. Am I fond enough to eat a random plate of steak from the piss-soaked concrete of an alley behind a nightclub where an Asian man is puking his guts out after being drop-kicked? Yeah, I don’t know about that. I’ll give it a solid maybe. Anyway, this plate of steak somehow has a special appeal for me, the grill marks, the small garnish, the fact that there are no utensil with which to eat it, everything about it is perfect. Also, that bottle of whisky right next to it might make a great pair for it. Alley steak, anyone?

3. “Barbecue”

Man, here it is, an example of “meat” that seems to exist only in the realm of imagination. I don’t think there is any cut of meat that even resembles that, maybe like a weird slice of thigh on the femur, but yeah, I don’t know. Maybe because it looks like the “bait” from the original Legend of Zelda, or maybe it is just the mysterious origin of the meat, but man, I always wondered what it taste like. Also, it is a true barbaric severing, it must be at least ten solid pounds of meat on a tiny plate, and like the steak, this is a handheld meal. Dig in, just forget that it is on the ground in what looks like the worst ghetto neighbourhood in the world, maybe it comes with a free AIDS syringe.

2. Chicken

Ever get really hungry when you are cruising the dockside washroom? No? Oh, okay… Anyway, here is a whole roast chicken just waiting to sate your hunger?

1. Gum

See that blue dot? That’s gum. That’s gum that was recently spit out by that hairy-chested cop. That’s recently spit-out gum that you can eat. Think. About. That. THINK. I don’t know what I like more, that it exists, or that someone thought that it would be a good idea to have a cop spit out gum and then allow your character to eat the gum to regain health. As far as I am concerned that is a mental exercise that should be worth university credit. …maybe. Anyway, the gum’s there, free for the taking! Maybe it still has flavour?! Oh, extra credit: imagine chewing the gum, tasting the saliva, the grim from the street, the grittiness, yeah, imagine really good…

Well, there it is, my list. Honourary mention is can of beer, but in my playthrough I couldn’t get a decent screenshot, so it was relegated to non-existence. Anyway, feel free to vote i the poll and show the world how badly you want to eat that gum…

Feel free to leave a comment with suggestions for arcade game Top Tens, playthroughs, reviews, or other articles.

Illusion of Gaia Playthrough: V

What a waste of time. I guess I just forgot all the bad.

I bet that was boring.
What a fucking terrible inventory system. Honestly.
Yes, I know, slavery is bad or something, I don’t care.
This “Egyptian” broad has some pretty hefty knockers.
Here is your prize. You waste a tonne of time searching for these Red Jewels and you get a terrible “bonus” stage that reeks with lazy design, even more than the regular game. I am glad I didn’t find this as a youth.

I regret everything.

Illusion of Gaia Playthrough: III

I don’t know anymore. I can’t seem to enjoy anything. At this point I am progressing through the game, enjoying it at parts, but more and more I just don’t have fun. I don’t want that to be a criticism of the game, that would be unfair, more of a criticism of myself. Anyway.

There is a city that exists strictly on rafts. It is kind of fun.
I don’t know if some of my problems come from wanting to know more or not. Earlier I mention that I liked how the game let the player fill in some of the blanks, but as the game progresses, there are a lot of blanks. At some point it is not letting the player fill in the blanks, but the player writing their own story in their mind – I mean, neat and all, but is a video game supposed to be an imagination prompt?
Probably my favourite character in the game. Sombrero? In Asia?
I noticed this, but I don’t know if it is correct or not. I looked it up here & here, but as a filthy Canuck that uses a bastardization between American and British spelling and grammar, I have no fucking clue. If I were doing the translation or whatever, I would have used “the herb” or “herbs” to avoid the whole thing. Whatever. This, somehow, was the only screenshot I took at the Great Wall of China, which I consider a scathing review – not even worth a push of a button.
There is a subplot reason to go to the Wall, and it involves what is mentioned here…
…
I really wonder what the original text was – are the Japanese so critical of Chinese medicine?
There is sombrero. He is about to die, we were playing a Russian Roulette-like game and he knew the next move would be fatal, but decides to carry it out. Hardcore. I can truly appreciate someone that dies for their perception of dignity and belief in their trade or profession. In general, the game is fairly heavy-handed with its lessons and while it tries to show that not everything is black and white, it sometimes gives a weird message like this one above. Again, I played this as a youth and the game is designed for a younger audience, but as an adult, some of the ideas are a little questionable. Again, art should be free, and I believe that any message should at least be evaluated, but I wonder what kind of rating this game would merit nowadays.

I will press on.