SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs - TKO Edition

This installment of SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs must have watched too much Rocky. It's perfected the rope-a-dope and has built up its upper body to a point of unbridled magnificence. This week on the VGMs we have music from Punch-Out!!, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, and Final Fantasy IX, the last of which does not have two exclamation points after it for those keeping score at home.

v151. Punch-Out!! (Wii) - Minor Circuit

Minor Circuit is the original Punch-Out!! theme from the NES in remixed form with better sounding instruments. How about that guitar and brass? Playing as Little Mac you box your way from beating up a jobber like Glass Joe to duking it out with the likes of Disco Kid and King Hippo. It's all about that gold belt and prize money, and the Wii iteration of the game delivers punch after punch of boxing goodness.

v152. LocoRoco (PSP) - Green's Theme (Bucho mio)

Cameron Strother lends his vocal talents to LocoRoco Green's theme. It's a punk rock flavored ditty that is sensationally catchy. Each LocoRoco type has its own personality. However, they all play the same in this overlooked PSP game. The sequel would add LocoRoco Pink into the mix with her own theme song as well. If you have a hankering for a platformer that strays off the beaten path, LocoRoco and its sequel are more than capable titles.

v153. Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (GCN) - Rainbow Road

The greatest Rainbow Road theme comes from the GameCube iteration of Mario Kart. It is a full brass synth love affair with motifs from the Nintendo 64 version. The actual race for the Double Dash!! Rainbow Road has plenty of twists, turns, hills, rail-free sections, and places to fall off, costing an unfortunate duo of racers valuable time. As you're speeding along Rainbow Road - at least in the single-player version - you can view a colorful city resting below. A truly gorgeous Rainbow Road.

v154. Mega Man 4 (NES) - Ring Man Stage (Complete Works)

Part of the series of eight Robot Masters of Mega Man 4, Ring Man may look silly on the outside, but don't underestimate him for a second. He can put an unassuming Mega Man in quite the nasty predicament if he wishes to. Mega Man 4 introduced the world to the flip-top helper Eddie who would give Mega Man a random helpful power-up like health or weapon energy at specific points in each level. The plot surrounded a newcomer named Dr. Cossack, but as you probably could have guessed, Dr. Wily was once again behind the whole charade.

v155. Final Fantasy IX (PS1) - Freija's Theme

A very medieval theme for a game set in a world where kingdoms are prominent all across the land. Even though this song is the character theme of party member Freya, it plays throughout the Gizamulke's Grotto dungeon. Final Fantasy IX was like a breath of fresh air after the more modern worlds of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII. It was a welcomed return to form for the series, and it sports my second favorite mainline Final Fantasy soundtrack.

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The conclusion of yet another edition of my favorite VGMs has been reached. I hope you enjoyed the music this week, and I hope you will tune in for next week's lineup as well. It will be a special all Donkey Kong edition of the VGMs, so please look forward to that.