shmups.system11.org

Since I've been doing so much turfin' lately—never realized how godly the Japan theme was:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87FL8LWE9sg

Goes down like butter on headphones in particular.

I'm going nuts trying to remember where/if I've heard that central melody before, might just be imagining things... Great song, indeed.

EDIT: aha - not quite the same but I think it's tripping my fondness for Gradius 2's stately OP tune "Above The Horizon," specifically the lovely little melancholy that first appears at 0:35.

I really really dig the Tandy rendition that Speedy did for David Murray/8-Bit Guy's newest game's OST.

I love putting this in the background while doing computer work and getting lost in it's atmospheric PSG haze

It's got a great espionnage feel for most part, but also some more heavy-action moments, and can get very moody and open too(the first two-thirds are VERY ATMOSPHERIC, with a thick air of desolation envelopping it). It can get a bit meandering every now and then but overall I feel like this is super strong.

Must-listen if you like PSG tunes(even more so if you have a sample-less PSG fetish, like with Pokey etc) IMO

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyVlPjJ ... MA&index=4

I always really liked the R-Type Leo boss theme. They really captured the atmosphere with this one - simultaneously extremely chill and threatening.

One thing that surprised me was how different the song seemed for the final boss. Talk about duality. That's some badass stuff right there.

The Ninja Warriors Triple OST (AC/Again/Once Again) is out now on Zuntata Records - I like that the ZTT label published this. TBH, I consider a lot of TNWA/OA's stage music a bit sedate, though with both games demanding keen concentration in their respective survival/style contests, a bit of zen is no bad thing. However its handful of peppier tracks always fire me up, and they are in killer form with radiant synths and gloriously beefed-up bass. NINJA ROOM BGM is AMAZING, the keys booming harder and the woodwinds smoothing smoother than ever. Banglar boss BGM boasts Death By Bassline RAPID FIRE VER - hawwwt!

Perhaps not unforeseeably, the SFC's most intense stage BGM by far, st7/"Train Tracks In The Snow" ends up a bit over-egged; I prefer the subtly muted opening bars of the original. Still, the successes far compensate; st7 boss Zelos's theme takes on an intensity to match the stunningly demolished new scenery, and the slight dialing-up of st8's BGM adds a perfect shade of urgency to the final trial without sacrificing its anticipatory simmer. The character select BGM isn't one you'll tend to hear for very long, but I like that it's got a considerably expanded melody to enjoy while admiring the killer artwork. Hiroyuki Iwatsuki did his cohorts proud on this project.

Heh BIL, if you wanna talk about great character select BGM, you needn't look further than Scrambled Valkyrie.

Oh hell yeah, that's a great one. Sort of select BGM that makes you want to hang around a bit! Even an impatient bugger like me!

This is a rad tangent, but for now I'll just post a tune that would make a killer select theme, Mission 5 from Stellar Assault. Jazzy, snappy, expectant and concise.

Ninja Warriors Trilogy Album
BIL pretty much said it all, outstanding new versions of already amazing songs.

Face-shredding KURENAI x BRUE BRAD x MIDNIGHT CARNIVAL arrangement from S.S.H. Was messing about with old X-Japan favourites ("STANDINGU SEEECKS!") and wanted to revisit I-NO's X-cribbing boss jam, glad to see Saitama had it covered.

On the subject of character select BGM's...

DOOMSDAY - Ketsui
[character select] - Star Gladiator 2
[character select] - Street Fighter 3 2nd Impact
25mg - Chaos Field
oh no
[character select] - Fate/Unlimited Codes
Actors Anteroom - Melty Blood <- Criminally under-rated
Spiritual Successor to the above

Personal shoutouts to character select themes par excelente go to:

Psyvariar 2 - Select
Espgaluda 1 - Secret Power
DDP DOJ - Mukei; doubly so for how well it flows into the first stage theme)
Broken Thunder - Attack Point For RVR Series; TFV's jungle drum thumpin' select theme arranged to have a little more pizzazz and a fitting countdown/lift-off at the end
Senko no Ronde DUO - Crowd Control act.3 (select B)
Under Defeat - Dispatch Preparations
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor - System; technically a main menu theme, but you do all the selecting while it plays so it counts in my eyes

Balls! I knew I'd forgotten to follow up on something good! Including weapon setup BGM if ok. Same objective IMO - strike a mood in minimal amount of time+space while the player sorts their shit out and prepares to blast off! Without further ado:

Alien Soldier - Slap Up A techy yet chill tune to set you up for white-knuckle assault course stuntin'.

Battle Garegga - 0471AM Upbeat, punchy, catchy! A new credit means new opportunity! Raaad title, too.

Battle Mania Daiginjou - Pick Me Up, Boy! Super-feelgood pop-rock - bang on target, as with every other tune in this faultlessly anime-styled shooting caper.

Contra Hard Corps - Locked And Loaded Fizzing cyberpunk voltage, plus cowbell.

Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou - Equipment Majestic, militaristic yet also of unmistakable good cheer, epitomising the series' spirit of heroic space fantasy.

Gunstar Heroes - Choose A Path HEAVY AND MASSIVE GOOD VIBES BARRAGE

The King of Fighters '99 - STANDBY Utterly. Fucking. Killer. Primal trashcan-pounding aggression!

Mars Matrix - Secret Loop Absolute compulsion.

R-Type III - Badass, bad-tempered balls-hard heavy metal careening out of control! Blast off and stomp the shit out of the Bydo Empire!

R-Type Delta Formidable sense of expectation and wonder... Delta is one of those PS1 efforts I periodically check back in on, when I'm not actively replaying it, just to make sure I'm not remembering its presentation as better than it is. I'm not. Bravura direction from start to finish.

Ridge Racer Revolution - Car Select Gonzo, like so much of this game's OST. Can't help but get fired up. Fuck, can't help but yell along with the announcer. Get down!

R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 - On Your Way Lovable goofy immaculately-produced little thing. Goes sublimely well with the warm menus, both perfectly playing off the game's cutting-edge style.

Shock Troopers - See Mars Matrix, sheer compulsive simplicity.

Street Fighter Zero 3 - Who'll Be Your Double? Violent Storm Rising. Violent Storm Rising. Violent Storm Rising. Revvin' the fuck up! Yeah I'm sorry I invoked Final Fight Revenge but at least this involves Cody right? That badass tagline deserved so much better.

Tekken 3 - Character Select [ARCADE] Ballsy wah riff with stone-cold bassline meets reserved techno embellishment in a tight, almost chantable loop. I love that Paul's monolithic BGM gives the bassline center stage in its snarling molten breakdowns.

Trap Gunner Daft as a brush, but the feelgood house beat is fairly irresistible! Cool game BTW, plays like a head-to-head MGS1. I'd forgotten about the screaming incarnation of righteous roid rage that is JOHN BISHOUS, lmao.

Wild Guns Urgent! The OST's charming neo-western inflections jump right out alongside its character designs.

Winds of Thunder - Armor Select Doomy, heavy, KVLT...

Winds of Thunder - Item Select / Shop ...oh hi there toots! READY 4 WAR / LET'S FUKKEN ROCK

Dennou Senki Virtual-ON - M.S.B. System ver 3.3 ~Sally Mechanistic head-stomper with an intriguing shade of the ethereal.



A classic - breezily controlled rising fury.



God damn that is one sexy beat.



Always enjoyed the comforts of this one's technothereal tone and biorhythmic pulse, tbh I thought it deserved a way more attractive game.



OH SHIT



Another old STG favourite - instantly unforgettable with that brilliant piano sound. Also, can't forget the rad "KTANNNG" Start SFX, which sounds rather like Silent Hill's similar, which leads me down some weird memory pathways!



Always liked this one's apropos evocation of a wind-up doll, or perhaps the inner workings of one, the way its melody oscillates. All very KARAKURI

Yeah, okay.

With etiquette out of the way, here's my picks for today.

Arctura, the very definitely final level.

Stage 7 from Rendering Ranger. Best stage imo. It's the moment in the game where it turns from plain sci-fi to something more heroic, not unlike what happens in Doom. The music certainly helps. I'd describe its theme as overwhelming.

Speaking of Doom, it's Doom Troopers! Whole game is totally metal, but this level and song in particular.

Now for something different. Here we see Zuntata absolutely struggling to make something as silly as Megablast sound compelling.

Mostly Dark Universe from Jets'n' Guns - a more modern, horizontal Tyrian, if you will. They're actually making a sequel right now, and it's also gonna have a Machinae Supremacy soundtrack. Hype, even if you don't like euroshmups!

Credits theme from Nexzr. Masterwork song. Puts you to sleep.

Burning Road from Night Striker - AKA theme of adrenaline™

I was just ambushed by said unfitting battle BGM and so help me god, I'm gonna cut the intro of my Saigo no Nindou: Necromantic Dreamers In Wuxia Hell - The Total Breakdown DVD to this thing. Fucking hell! That's HAWT!

*EUROBEAT INTENSIFIES*


Oh here are the other two candidates (■｀ω´■)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml3lh9kPPDE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXWEZrnOZQM
I'm gonna crossfade 'em I know the good vgm I fucken swear (■｀ω´■)



Hey, that's pretty good! With fatter tone it'd be a great MD metal banger, still nice though! Great trackname too lmao!



Haha, thought it'd be Round 2's BGM instead. ^__^ Always gave me mad Hokuto no Ken anime vibes. The Morricone-esque theme that'd accompany the latest tragedy in Ken's life, every ten minutes or so!

Jebus, like twelve years ago I did a Bridge M1 gamerip of Megablast for my ol' buddy and fellow ZTT lover Cecil McWoot. Don't think we ever figured out who exactly composed that one. Round 4 was always my jam back then, too cute with its goofy, infernally hooky New Order vibe.



Night Striker OST is among ZTT's absolute best. Up there with Darius II, Gun Frontier and Elevator Action Returns! (EVERYBODY NAME YOUR OWN ZUNTATA TOP TIER or alternatively, DENIGRATE MINE ). At the controls, it will confirm the true bearer of ROAD AVENGER. (it is not DECO!) Signature disarming weirdpop given an 800mph DYSTOPIA COP kick up its frilly nouvelle vague derierre! Burning Road is a mainstay of their live sets for good reason. That is a hook for landing mechawhales!

BURNING ROAD RAIBU '98 VER in GLORIOUS 240p aka LEMONS IN UR FUCKIN EYE - can u stand teh pain!! (・｀W´・)

Obligatory: BLOODY ROAD (DECO no FUKKATSU)
Also: STREET - ROAD
Plus: ROAD OF ENEMY #1 [DBPS VER]

Trance Parlent in Blue is wickedly intense too, I actually prefer it to Burning Road - doesn't have the instant killer hook, but it busts out some thunderous crescendos and sinuous twists further in, packing an astonishing level of cinema into a tight arcade BGM package. On par with Darius II's similarly roving, dynamiting Say Papa. I'm aghast to admit I can't recall the song itself offhand - brain moths fluttering hard! - but TERARIST is Engrish For The Ages!

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Playing the new-to-me Double Dragon II (AC), I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Famicom version's Mission 7 aka Deadly Jungle Gym aka LULZ FACTORY theme was originally boss BGM. So the arrange album's rather ass-whoopin' rendition BREAKING THE BARRIER is now significantly less bathetic! That grinding riff and screaming guitar/keys duel are quality!

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Although I've enjoyed Shoji Meguro's PS1/PS2-era MegaTen soundtracks, I couldn't tell you the first thing about earlier stuff. However I have been blasting FC MegaTen II's OST for the past half hour while Doing Other Shit and it fuckin rawks, so I would feel remiss not sharing! Gave it a shot because grad1u52 knows rad VGM! Castlevania fans (aka ME) should jump on this.

(some of this stuff sounds a bit familiar, though, and I don't mean in the "remixed in later games" sense. Yo, that's Tower of the Shadow of Death you sneaky motherfucker! Genius steals. )

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"Aw MAYNE, THE LOST ONES from DINOSAUR is rad in both its plaintive OSV and primally wailing RESURRECTION formats! (seriously, dig that muhfuckin lead tone & technique! ) I bet the down-tempo stoical rocker TOWER OF ORDEALS sounds even radder! Wait what the fuck"

Unhappy surprise (・｀W´・) FUHGEDDABOUDIT with The Legend of Xanadu's ALEXANDRA, which starts off promisingly in OSV but explodes into an incendiary speed-metal paean via the oddly-named KLEENE from WOODSOFT, who always fail to live up to their name!

Darius - CHAOS
It's so avant-garde and deviously-otherworldly - very atmospheric piece that's dead-on for the environment you find yourselves in!

Darius - Captain Neo
Solemn, powerful piece perfect for heralding your deep-sea adventure.
As you may or may not know, it has its origins in an earlier Taito game, and sounds great there as well: Metal Soldier Isaac II - Captain Neo

Darius Gaiden ~The Last Kiss~
(Arrange Soundtrack Album). Couldn't find anything from it on YT. The whole album is a masterpiece.

Not Zuntata, but:
Megami Tensei II - Ex-Convict
So badass

I knew of Isaac, if only for its charmingly biblical/badass title, but I had no idea about it debuting Captain Neo! OGR made the right call bringing that one back, a perfect encapsulation of Darius's colourful melancholy.

Such a fine line, that series' aesthetic. Plight of interplanetary exile war, be menaced by genocidal robofish, jamming ensues. I will leave off with Gaiden's Touei. ;-;7



Such a rad sound from that cart! The hard bass reminds me of Konami's MSX stuff.

To be fair to other games, it uses the Namco 163 audio extension chip

Indeed, same as Rolling Thunder I believe? Snapcases and custom mappers and stickers. Namco's FC stuff had all the good stuff around then.

Right, they really were an excellent package all around. While Konami had an extension chip for some games, Taito had snapcases - but nobody other than them offered both.
Well, aside from only one specific example I know of: Sunsoft's Gimmick!

Was really too bad Nintendo gutted the Famicom HW out of risk-aversity before selling it overseas.

Tangential: Akira Yamaoka's Mad Season, from his solo album iFUTURELIST. Wanted to revisit after some time rewatching The Terminator. Even better than I'd recalled with its interplay of an ultra-beefy backbeat, weeping synths and operatic lamentation. I hesitate to call it "unique" because Yamaoka is a total artful thiever but I've not encountered much like it.

Oh, the more conventional Empty of the Sky is catchy too.

Another SAVAGE cover from Savaged Regime, this time an underappreciated 'vania tune:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmOWW9MN1BU

This chap has an absolute head-stomper of a Rising Blue Lightning arrangement, which got me subbed right away, but this would've done the trick too:

WCW/nWo Revenge Starrcade BGM, Mega Drive-style. An appreciation of this gem will always get my attention! Can just hear the crowd roars and gasps and the sounds of bodies hitting canvas.

This guy's channel is a friggin goldmine. (as is his MD hardware rips channel!) One more, a Thunder Force IV-worthy Top Gun II (FC) arrangement in MD style. Never played the game, but that's killer. I do love it when other VGM enthusiasts deliver the Konami deep cuts.

^^^^^^^^^
Thanks for the recco bud. I could always use another MD-rip-from-real-hardware source. Especially one that does killer arranges.

(I should really get back to ripping MD OSTs with my trusty model 1 VA2. And compose more music for YM2612, for that matter)

Was just revisiting your PSIV rip the other day while browsing the FM synth thread.

Nice.

I really dig how that OST sounds on the VA2.

Some stuff like Yuzo's work sound better on the VA3-to-VA6 mobo. But the more midrange-focused stuff like Vampire Killer and PSIV sounds better on the VA2 to my ears.

Absolutely batshit Ryu Uemoto techno-funk: Responser HungUp! (GREAT trackname ) From Desire, a PC-98 H-game. Dependable genre for killer VGM.

Put me in the mood to hear Super Shinobi II's NINJA SOUL, which is not only a floor-shattering jam but also more or less redeems its stage's snoozy autoscroller by sheer force of will. Blasting the fuck out of this BGM makes it fly past!

As an aside, something I consistently find with SSII's OST - its bass & drum tracks always make me visualise live performers, before I even realise it. The cold fury of Inner Darkside, and My Dear D's eccentric hammerings, especially (those crushing rolls, so calculatedly violent). I wonder what the composer's story was, definitely seemed to like their skins.

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Could just as easily go in "Late Realisations" and "Shmups Ticker": I was digging around for info on the precise differences between Thunder Cross's "Old" and "New" revisions (not to be confused with the infamous Japan vs US differences). Per JP wikipedia, it seems "New" is tweaked to be a bit tougher, particularly in later loops - can't tell much difference in the first three stages, but have gone with New for now! I remember squashing this one with alarming ease in MAME, right after registering here, and always looked back on it as a nice but insubstantial Konami hori with a customarily brilliant Gradius II-era soundtrack. Wouldn't surprise me if I was playing the "Old" revision, reading this. Could be interesting.

Anyway, the same wiki page mentioned "Skywalker" (Thunder Cross st2) and "In The Wind" (Gradius III st3) sharing a composer and motif. Can't believe I never noticed it in all these years. I love the aggressive "tan-tan, tan-tan-tan!" ride cymbal in the latter's verses, gives it such a happy vibe.

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Dogosoken's soundtrack was a pleasant surprise - a small brace of fiery gallops, played sublimely well off its grueling doom-march. Any fan of Toaplan's signature steely, driven "Gamushara" sound will love these. Actually, despite Dogo seemingly not being known for its tunes, its BGM reminds me of popular Toaplan/DECO stuff from a good two-three years later! Of the uploads on YT, the 1987 recording is louder but only loops tracks once, VS the quieter 2006 release.

>Cruel Killers (power chord barrage reminds me of Bloody Wolf's opening motorcycle rampage - also, one for the Evocative VGM Titles thread!)
>Run To The Field (fiery! IKARI, even! traversing the hellish battlefield, cutting down fiends left and right! )
>Count Down (the only stage BGM used twice, in succession at that, classy pick for the tough final stretch)

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Prompted by watching some fierce KOF '98 competition on the second Neo Geo World Tour, been revisiting the King of Fighters Arranged Sound Trax collection this week. An ancient favourite treasure trove from my college days trawling Napster, still holds up mightily!

KOF '95

Aozora ni Flute (Fatal Fury Team)

DESERT REQUIEM (Ikari Team)

KOF '96:

Arashi no Saxophone #2 (Yagami Team)

RUMBLING ON THE CITY (Ikari Team)

Seoul Road (Kim Team)

Fairy (Chizuru Kagura) (will always be the KOF 98 ladies' team BGM to me, though)

Esaka? (Japan Team)

KOF '97:

BLOODY (New Faces Team)

Still Green (Shingo Yabuki)

KOF '99:

KD-0079 (K' Team)

Dear Falling Angel (Kryzalid v2)

KOF 2000:

Inner Shade (Benimaru Team)

Beauty And The Beast (Art Of Fighting Team)



Inexhaustible good feels. Beautiful talented musicians playing their hearts out to flawless character/BGM synergy.

Xevious 3D/G+ PlayStation soundtrack 001 (VGMdb)


Nice 90s techno of the gentle kind, varied, spacey and melodic. Perfect for work, learning, as a substitute BGM when you're tired of another game's music, or even a dedicated listen. I hold it in high regard.

A few highlights:

CD1 ~ Track 07 — Boss 2 (3D/G for PS1)
CD2 ~ Track 01 — Area 5 (3D/G for PS1)
CD2 ~ Track 08 — Continue? (3D/G for PS1)
CD3 ~ Track 09 — Area 5 (3D/G for arcade)
CD3 ~ Track 11 — Area 6 (3D/G for arcade)

Earth Frame G -R360 - G -LOC- by Blind Spot (ex-SST band members)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlZlZDTwWpM

DOOM Eternal's menu BGM (arrangement of DOOM II's final stage) is good stuff Nice n' heavy.