Music is relative. It effects us in such a personal way that we can't possibly hope to describe the extent of that effect to anyone. It's why we are so protective (and sometimes even snobby) about it. Your personal taste in music will always be better to you than anyone else. So it's best to probably just accept that.
Here I will weekly (heh...) choose a piece of game music that I love and share it! Then talk about it. Not too complex, but I hope it's something you'll enjoy!
Sound Test: StarFox-Corneria
Thanks to this segment that I've been doing, lately I've been paying more attention to video game music, hoping to uncover some fantastic underrated tunes to post. I've found great music in games that I simply didn't give enough attention to in the past like Pikmin, Suikoden 2, Pokemon Silver (where did THAT come from!?), among others, but what I've really been noticing is that there are tons of games on the SNES, (outside the obvious works of Kondo and Uematsu) that I never realized had such great music. Donkey Kong Country, Tetris Attack, Actraiser, and StarFox are some of the ones I can name off-hand, but there have been plenty of others as well. Since I wanted to post something a bit more upbeat this week, even though I tend to be a fan of more expressive melodies, I decided that the first stage of StarFox would serve as a great example.
Sadly, I didn't own a Super Nintendo until the late 90s. Because of this, StarFox 64 was actually the first StarFox game I played. I usually played it at friend's houses (or trailers, depending on how poor they were) and wasn't very good. However, one night I was sleeping over with a friend named Kyle and the only video game console that he owned was a Super Nintendo, with a massive collection of about 4 or 5 games. The ones I remember were Ken Griffey's Home Run Derby and StarFox. I had only played StarFox 64, so I wasn't able to appreciate the graphics or gameplay of StarFox like some were, let alone the music.
Still, my memory of playing StarFox and being somewhat disappointed by it somehow became a fond one. Probably since this was the last time I saw my friend Kyle before he moved to Chicago. Later, I bought the game for 5.00 when GameStop started clearing out their SNES games. I still wasn't a huge fan of the game and haven't come to love it until recently. Still though, the music was never anything special to me.
That is until I played Super Smash Bros. Brawl and a re-arranged version (probably one of the best VG remixes I've heard) of Corneria's theme sounded over the new Star Fox stage. I immediately recognized the opening "bloop"s and proceeded to geek out. Since then I've downloaded all 304 of the amazing songs that make up the Super Smash Bros. Brawl Soundtrack and this one is still my favorite by far. It gets me PUMPED! It also makes me want to violate a traffic law or two... Please enjoy both the original SNES theme and the amazing remixed SSBB version as well!
@Countingconflict- Yeah, I'm on Winter Break for a month, so I'll definitely be writing more. School just got out of hand for a while with finals and term papers so I didn't really have time to write. Hopefully I can start a new segment that I have an idea for as well.
@Scary Womanizing Pig Mask- Actually it's Azalea Town, but there are plenty of others too. I hadn't played it since I was in Jr. High so I was really surprised when I found it and my Game Boy Color over Thanksgiving.
@SWPM- Yeah, after replaying it I think that it's my favorite as well. I thought that it was Red/Blue, but G/S just have SO many improvements. I mean Day/Night? A freaking CELL PHONE!? Why that idea was done away with? I have no idea.
Also, D/P AND the Wii Pokemon game were discovered to be compatible with Johto region games which means that they probably are being remade.
ALSO! I like Goldenrod City's music, but I don't love it. I think that's because it's so catchy. I know that sounds weird... It's hard to explain. It's like I know it so well that it almost bores me, hahaha. I spent a lot of time in that town.
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about me
I'm mostly a retro gamer. I don't hate everything after the 90's, but I tend to prefer retro game design. I enjoy alot of indie and portable games, not to mention a blockbuster title every now and then. However, like I said, the majority of my gaming takes place on older consoles.
Game Run!- Check out the exciting life of a poor retro gamer!
11/19/08- Batman(NES) and Power Blade
10/11/08- Mystical Ninja and Clash at Demonhead
10/10/08- MASSIVE update! NES and loads of games.
8/12/2008- Killer Instinct, TMNT:TF, Super Tennis
7/20/2008- Inindo, Wonderboy, Crusader of Centy
7/9/2008- NBA Jam, Out of This World
My Favorites:
Keep in mind that these change SO much... I'm terrible at lists...
Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press living the dream since March 16, 2006
Star Fox 1, 2, and 64 have amazing music.
I suggest you track down the Star Fox 2 if you want a real surprise treat.
I have the rom, but I can't find an emulator to run it decently. It looks like it's pretty just like Star Fox Command for the DS.
Nice article man..
I really hope you do more of these.
@Countingconflict- Yeah, I'm on Winter Break for a month, so I'll definitely be writing more. School just got out of hand for a while with finals and term papers so I didn't really have time to write. Hopefully I can start a new segment that I have an idea for as well.
Wow, it never dawned on me that that was a remake of the SNES tune! Awesomesauce :)
Heh, this is gonna be stuck in my head all week XD Nice job!
Also, is the Pokemon Silver song you're talking about the Champion Battle? ;)
@Scary Womanizing Pig Mask- Actually it's Azalea Town, but there are plenty of others too. I hadn't played it since I was in Jr. High so I was really surprised when I found it and my Game Boy Color over Thanksgiving.
@Jackal
Another great one :) G/S/C is definitely my faovrite incarnation of Pokemon. Wish they would remake it like they did with Firered/Leafgreen
Also, Goldenrod City?
@SWPM- Yeah, after replaying it I think that it's my favorite as well. I thought that it was Red/Blue, but G/S just have SO many improvements. I mean Day/Night? A freaking CELL PHONE!? Why that idea was done away with? I have no idea.
Also, D/P AND the Wii Pokemon game were discovered to be compatible with Johto region games which means that they probably are being remade.
ALSO! I like Goldenrod City's music, but I don't love it. I think that's because it's so catchy. I know that sounds weird... It's hard to explain. It's like I know it so well that it almost bores me, hahaha. I spent a lot of time in that town.
@Jackal
Heh, I know what you mean.
And yeah, G/S was perfect. I kind of feel the games have gotten to complex now :( I'm just hoping the remake will do it justice ;)