VGM Saturdays #289: Does it Really Feel Like Christmas?

With 2020 being the year it has been, a lot of annual holidays have felt strange. I've wrapped a ton of presents, heard the songs and it still does not feel like Christmas. Even so, I'm still excited to see my family open their gifts and I do hope it feels like Christmas for you. We have some reappearing songs for this week's VGM Saturdays. Christmas-like music has become a reoccurring theme over the years of this feature and I don't intend to break that tradition. 

Stage 3-1 - Super Turrican (SNES)

The first Turrican game I ever played. Naturally the first thing I noticed was the soundtrack. Perhaps it was due to Super Turrican being my first game but this soundtrack is also really dang good! It is full of themes that scream adventure, action and urgency. The bells give this one an especially Christmasy feel.

Diamond Dust Act 1 - Sonic 3D Blast (SS)

The superior version of Sonic 3D Blast music. IMO of course. This is pure winter, Christmas music at it's finest. 

Freeze Man Stage - Mega Man 7 (SNES)

This one leans more towards winter than Christmas but I LOVE this track and I will jump at any chance to plug it. Despite the game's faults, Mega Man 7 remains  huge favorite of mine. The game is filled with secrets and in many cases, you have to use the special weapons from defeated Robot Masters to find them.

Cozy Cabin - Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)

This game is so freaking adorable. If you're looking for a chill game with a highly unique visual style that still holds up, Kirby's Epic Yarn is a wonderful jam.

White Ice (White Glacier) - Bomberman 64 (N64)

This little banger almost didn't make it into this week's VGM Saturday. I'm pretty sure I've posted this one before but those bells give it some added Christmas flavor and I'm going for more seasons greetings than anything else, so here we are.

Frozen Factory Zone 1 - Sonic Lost World (Wii U)

If not for Ice Cap Zone Act 1, this might be my favorite ice themed Sonic tune. I wouldn't end up playing Sonic Lost World until years after it released but I heard this song long before I played it. It was close to Christmas time, so for me, this song is one that I heavily associate with the holiday.

VGM Saturdays Database

The Green (Greens) Album

I really should have had this write up done back in February because I've listened to this album several times since it was released (February 19th). However, the more I blog, the more I realize that being late isn't always a bad thing. Besides, we're not that far off into March to where this is super late.

The Pixel Mixers are at it again. They already blew me away with their F-ZERO: Boost Power! album back in January, and now they are taking a shot at Kirby and company with The Green (Greens) Album. 

Look at that album at work. You've got Sword Kirby (a big favorite of mine), Meta Knight looking like a boss, Waddle Doo and of course, a spear wielding Waddle Dee. He's not the best that is Bandanna Waddle Dee, but you can't have everything you want in life.

This album covers a hefty bit of games from the tough cream puff's history. No doubt one would expect titles like Kibry's Adventure, Kirby Super Star, and the game that kick off the entire series, Kirby's Dream Land to be accounted for and they are. However, titles such as Kirby: Canvas Curse, Kirby's Epic Yarn, Kirby Air Ride and Kirby Mass Attack are also represented here. Across the span of 19 tracks, eight Kirby games are covered over an hours worth of music.

City Trial was a much loved mode in Kirby Air Ride, so it is no surprise that that mode's track was arranged. I personally would have killed for a Machine Passage arrange, but the City Trial remix does suffice. The metal arranges of Gourmet Race and Marx's Theme from Kirby Super Star are baller and hearing another Marshmallow Castle remix is starting to make me think that more people love that song than I originally thought. One may not think of Forest Trail when they think of music from Kirby's Adventure, but I've always loved that tune and it has been give a vocal rock arrangement. Enjoy the Zero Two arrangement from Kirby 64, now with more A Capella. Kirby Collecting (Kirby Mass Attack) is a sweet jazz session piece, Grassland sounds like it could have been a bonus arranged track in Kirby's Epic Yarn and I never would have imagined that an acoustic guitar version of Grape Garden could sound so dang good.

The Pixel Mixers are truly something else. Whether I'm listening to a new album or one of their older projects, they continue to impress. Go and download this album right now. It is free and if you want some great gaming arrangements or that Kirby itch is getting hard to hold off scratching with the upcoming release of Kirby: Star Allies, grab The Green (Greens) Album.

The (Green Greens) Album

Favorite Tunes #188: Summer Time Calls for Summer Jams

So far, summer has been treating us pretty well here in Virginia Beach. Yeah, there are some pretty hot days, but it has been surprisingly cool as well and we've had some breeze to boot. Let the obligatory summer, beach inspired video game music commence.

Sandy Beach - Wave Race 64 (N64)

Man, forget about your stinking Metroid games, can we get Wave Race back up in here? In all seriousness, the franchise has been dead for more 16 years now and while it isn't as highly coveted as F-ZERO, I'd love to ride the waves again. If you're listening to this theme and thinking "Hey, that's not Sandy Beach!" well, you're not right and you're not wrong. This is the Japanese version of the tune.

Bloo Bay Beach - Paper Mario: Color Splash (Wii U)

Color Splash was hated before it was even released. Fans saw that it looked similar to Sticker Star and already labeled it as a bad game. Then the game came out and turned out to be pretty good. If you haven't played Color Splash because you still feel the sting of Sticker Star, you're doing yourself a great disservice. I can see the water crashing onto the shore whenever I hear this.

Turtle Woods - Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (PS)

The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy just dropped and I've no doubt many of you are playing and loving it. It is currently in my list of currently playing games as well as I have not played these games in years. It has been quite the fun trip down memory lane.

Secret Island/Boom Boatyard - Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)

One frequent complaint of Kirby's Epic Yarn is that you cannot die. The game is quite easy but if you want to give yourself more of a challenge, you should go for collecting everything in every level and getting a gold medal. One of the most difficult levels to do this for is Boom Boatyard. You're constantly under fire from bombs and to make matters worse, the level is on auto scroll. That super happy music is there to keep you from snapping you Wii Remote in half.

Mermaid Falls - Shantae: Half Genie Gero (PS4, Wii U, PC)

Half-Genie Hero was the first Shantae game I invested serious amount of time into. While it may be very easy and not represent the best of the series, I still had a lot of fun with this. Jake Kaufman delivered another fantastic soundtrack with lots of head bopping tunes.

Back 2 Back (Blazy Mix) - Sonic Rush (DS)

In a series filled with tons of characters that often make fans groan, Blaze the Cat was very well received among the Sonic community. Her debut game was Sonic Rush and all of her Zone tracks were remixed versions of the original Zone BGM. Sonic Rush is one of the (many) games critics overlook when they love to claim that Sonic games haven't been good since the Genesis days.

Favorite Tunes Database