SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs - Mr. 200 Edition

We restarted SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs, a smorgasbord of the best video game music in history, at the start of the year, and now we have reached the edition where we crown the 200th VGM volume. What will it be? Will you like it? Will I care if you don't? Probably not. Regardless, on today's edition of the VGMs we have music from Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, and Super Mario 3D Land. Enjoy!

v196. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (3DS) - All For One

Perhaps you missed last month's Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance review. If that is the case, no worries. You can check the relatively glowing review here. All For One is the string-heavy battle theme for The Country of Musketeers, the world that The Three Musketeers - Mickey, Donald, and Goofy - inhabit. The song is one of the best battle themes in the the ten year history of Kingdom Hearts. There's nothing like putting Dream Eaters to sleep to this fast-paced, uptempo track.

v197. RPG Maker (PS1) - Home 1

Here's a history lesson for you about yours truly. My first sight of an RPG Maker game was in a 1995 issue of Nintendo Power. It was a title that never made it over the Pacific, much to my chagrin, so when the simple-titled RPG Maker for the original PlayStation hit North America courtesy of Agetec, I was on it like adventurers on an airship. The title was very limited, but I would make my own small RPG with the tools provided. I would then take the groundwork of that RPG and start a new project on RPG Maker 2003 called SuperPhillip: The Crystal Quest. Unlike what some ignorant people think, the game is not about me; it is based off a childhood character I created.

v198. Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (Wii, PS2) - Catch Me If You Can (Zero Gravity Mix)

Before Sonic and friends entered the kart-racing genre against fellow Sega all-stars, but after Sonic and friends raced on foot in Sonic R, they did two racing excursions on boards in Sonic Riders and its sequel, Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity. The latter is the subject of this volume of the VGMs. Catch Me If You Can was in the original Sonic Riders, but the only thing that it shares in common with that track are the lyrics. The beat, the melody, and everything else are entirely different, and it is a change for the much better. For the Sonic Riders version of Catch Me If You Can, check it out here.

v199. Dragon Ball Origins (DS) - Forest

Dragon Ball Origins was listed one the final grouping of ten of the 50 Best Nintendo DS Games. It deserves to be on the list, too, as it is a stunning action-adventure game, regardless of whether you care for the actual anime and manga source material it is based off of (which I don't). The first levels of Dragon Ball Origins has this charming theme playing throughout it as Goku and Bulma venture through monster-filled forests in search of an old hermit (and proud pervert) named Master Roshi. If you have any hesitation in trying out Origins, cast them aside as you're missing out on not only a great game but a graphical showcase of the Nintendo DS's 3D tech.

v200. Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) - Main Theme

We have finally reached VGM volume 200! Super Mario 3D Land was nominated and won the Best Nintendo 3DS Game category at last year's SPC Best of 2011 Awards. The game successfully combined the 2D and 3D gameplay of titles like Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario 64 into one cohesive package. The game continues to sell well, making it one of the better selling 3D Mario titles in existence (if it hasn't already taken the crown of the best). While Nintendo fans do what they do best (besides being obnoxious) and argue amongst themselves while no one else cares about whether or not the New Super Mario Bros. series has good music, everyone can almost certainly agree that Super Mario 3D Land's score is quite wonderfully done. The main theme of the game, heard in many of the levels of the game, is a jazzy little ditty worthy of the Mario name, and stands tall among such memorable tracks of the series.

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Next week starts a brand-new chapter in Favorite VGMs history. Instead of devoting five volumes to five different games, I'm trying something new for ten straight weeks. I'll be showcasing one specific game's soundtrack each week starting with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. I hope you will look forward to what tracks I pick. Until then, we'll see you around!