SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - A Wonderful Way to Begin Your Week Edition

I don't know about you, but SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs is my favorite way to start the week! There's nothing like a good dose of video game music to get one prepped and primed for the week ahead!

This week, we're kicking things off at the starting line with Mario Kart: Super Circuit. We then take on the role of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story 2 for the PS1. Moving on from there, we engage in battle with the Z fighters in Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden. Wrapping things up, we continue the trend of battle with a special arranged battle track from Sword of Mana and the battle theme of Xenoblade Chronicles X.

As always, past VGM volumes covered on this weekly segment can be found at the VGM Database, so be sure to give it a look!

v1056. Mario Kart: Super Circuit (GBA) - Circuit

The first VGM volume of this edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs comes from the first handheld entry in the Mario Kart franchise, the Game Boy Advance's Super Circuit. This theme plays during all three circuit tracks: Peach Circuit, Mario Circuit, and the rainy Luigi Circuit. While the sound quality of the Game Boy Advance hardware wasn't the best, you gotta really dig the bass on this theme.

v1057. Toy Story 2 (PS1) - Andy's House

A bright and bouncy theme for the level that takes place in Andy's House, Toy Story 2's PlayStation One soundtrack is an orchestrated delight, really showing the PS1's sound chip prowess over its competition, the Nintendo 64. The CD-based system allowed for a grander range of sounds, and with Toy Story 2, it really shows.

v1058. Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden (3DS) - Tenkaichi Budokai

The theme heard on the World Tournament stage of the underrated and overlooked Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden for the Nintendo 3DS (maybe it'll appear on an edition of Most Overlooked Nintendo 3DS games... maybe later this week?). The game itself is sprite-based, using really beautifully done and well animated spritework. The music in each stage, particularly this one, gets you prepped, energized, and ready for battle!

v1059. Sword of Mana (GBA) - Battle 2 ~ Touched by Courage and Pride (Arranged)

Let's double dip in Game Boy Advance soundtracks this edition, but this time around, let's listen to an orchestrated version of a Sword of Mana battle theme. Touched by Courage and Pride features a soothing violin leading the charge, backed by piano and percussion. It really sounds like something from an Ys game, and any song that sounds like something from Ys is a winner in my book.

v1060. Xenoblade Chronicles X (Wii U) - Black tar

Hiroyuki Sawano is a polarizing composer. His work on the anime Attack on Titan is loved and disliked by many, and his soundtrack to Xenoblade Chronicles X features music that also has split the fan base. I'm of the opinion that while the lyrics themselves are goofy, they don't hurt the actual songs, and dare I say, a lot of them sound really good. Black tar is the battle theme of Xenoblade Chronicles X, featuring some cheesy rap, but the rhythm and groove are quite nice.