Monday, August 13, 2012

SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs - Extinguishing the Torch Edition

The Summer Olympics XXX (to my disappointment had no nudity to speak of) are officially over, but the festivities on SuperPhillip Central are nowhere near complete. We party 24/7/365. On this edition of the VGMs we have music from Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Dead Rising, and Super Mario World. Let's get to the superb sounds!

v171. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (PS3) - Nate's Theme 3.0


Truly heroic, Nate's Theme 3.0 is the third version of the Uncharted series' main theme. When you hear this song and the drums beat and the brass blares, you know that you are about to enter an epic adventure full of treasure, tombs, clever dialogue, memorable characters, plot twists, double-crosses, firefights, and inhuman platforming capabilities. Nathan Drake is a likeable and charismatic guy. He's also a serial killer, but that's a story for another day. In the distant future, will the Uncharted theme be considered on the same level as the Super Mario Bros, theme or the Final Fantasy theme? 

v172. Metroid II: Return of Samus (GB) - SR388


One of the only songs from what some would call a black sheep of the Metroid franchise, Metroid II: Return of Samus, that I can actually stand and more so enjoy, SR388 is a peppy jaunt through the upper levels of the Metroid-infested planet Samus Aran's mission takes her on. The rest of the soundtrack features beeps and boops that do nothing for me. They can actually grow quite grating through extended play. The picture of Samus Aran having a showdown with the final boss of the game, the Queen Metroid, comes from the artist billysan291 of Deviantart. I hesitate to link to Deviantart profiles as some of the artists really get off on sexual art for video game and anime characters. Yeah...

v173. Dead Rising (360) - Mall Music 3


One of the best third-party games on the Xbox 360, I didn't originally like Dead Rising. I didn't know what I was doing and being timed so strictly didn't help matters. Rescuing civilians, defeating psychopaths, and staying alive to tell the story were all tough objectives. When I finally mastered the game and realized the perfect strategy for survival and the dos and don'ts of the game, I enjoyed the experience a lot more. The gentle music that plays during Williamette Mall's various sections are a contrast to the violent zombie destruction and blood that covers the entirety of Dead Rising's world.

v174. Ristar (GEN) - Shooting Ristar (1-1)


Ristar, like Toe Jam & Earl and Vectorman after him, is a forgotten character of Sega. Ristar plays dissimilar to other platformers. The star-shaped Ristar has arms that can extend out, grabbing onto poles and other objects, swinging from them and crossing over chasms and other dangerous hazards. The game was indeed an innovative one, and it is a shame that Sega hasn't gone back to the character in ages. Shooting Ristar plays throughout the first level of the game, and it is an uptempo affair perfect for introducing players into the whimsical world of Ristar. deebznutz of Deviantart is the maker of the art seen above.

v175. Super Mario World (SNES) - Mario! Stay Alert!


This piece comes from a special arranged Super Mario World album whose compositions were arranged by veterans Koji Kondo and Sadao Watanabe. This piece starts out with the cavern theme of Mario World, quickly given a jazzy and rockin' kick to it. What follows is a sensational version of the Ghost House theme, filled with uncertainty and electric guitar wonder. Are we in a Ghost House or a rock concert here? Regardless of where we are, hearing the 16-bit songs of Super Mario World turned into authentic real world sounds makes SuperPhillip very happy.

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Have you visited my favorite VGMs database yet? There's a veritable cornucopia of VGM goodness dating back to volume one of my most cherished video game themes. If not, you have something to do until next week's installment of my VGMs.

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