Hello and welcome long time fans and newcomers alike to my ongoing series highlighting five random video game tracks! The concept is a simple one. I post embedded videos of a small handful of video game tracks that I found either particularly memorable or just happened to enjoy. So without further ado away we go!
Truxton is a fairly obscure space shooter game released in the arcades and ported over to the Sega Genesis in 1989. Typically the Genesis isn’t known for it’s music. A lot of Genesis games have themes that are colorfully described as “ear rape”. More often than not if a game was released multi platform the Genesis version had the worst sound available. Truxton is one of those rare games where the Genesis music is actually more catchy than the competing platforms. The first stage in particular is my favorite from the game.
Twisted Metal 2 was the first PlayStation game I owned. Back in the autumn of 1996 the 16 bit era was clearly dying and the war for the next generation consoles was in full swing. The Sega Saturn and PlayStation had already been on the market for over a year and the Nintendo 64 had just been released in September of 1996. As Christmas approached I was presented with a dilemma. My mom agreed to purchase a new next generation video game console for Christmas, I had only to choose which one I wanted. For a variety of reasons better left to it’s own feature I chose the PlayStation that winter and Twisted Metal 2 was the game I received with the console. At first I was confused. I thought it was a racing game in the vain of Destruction Derby and did not quite understand the premise. As I repeatedly got my ass handed to me on the LA level that first night of playing I began questioning the wisdom of my choice. Fortunately that next day I began to understand the game and became enamored by it. As I repeatedly played one theme and level in particular stood out to me above the rest. The Paris stage was my favorite and the Twisted Metal 2 rendition of Frère Jacques seemed to be on a continuous loop in my living room through 1997.
Konami was one of the elite NES developers. It seemed that their games always featured great graphics, gameplay, and music. Jackal was one of the games that I didn’t play until the 16 bit era was already in full swing but I was quickly enamored with it. Unfortunately at that point it was difficult to find any NES games at retail and thus I never owned a copy until the early 2000’s when I began buying up retro games on the secondary market. The first stage really sets the tone for the game with it’s fun fast paced action and upbeat tempo theme.
Wow! Two PlayStation themes on the same list! Ridge Racer was a pivotal launch title for the console. I first played Ridge Racer in a movie theatre arcade after seeing the newly released James Bond movie “Goldeneye” with my pal Travis. I was stunned by the visuals in the game and was equally shocked when a port of it was brought over to the Sony PlayStation. In fact, Ridge Racer was one of the reasons I decided to pick up the console. I still play the game a few times a year and as I fine tune my skills to beat it for the umpteenth time the track “Rare Hero” stands out to me as the most memorable in the game.
F-Zero was among the amazing launch titles for the Super Nintendo that really showcased the next generation graphics and sound of the new system. There are several well known and highly regarded compositions in the game but the track that plays during the “Big Blue” stage is considered the cream of the crop. In fact the theme is so popular that it has actually been remixed and played by several different bands over the years.
Super RetroMania 