Your top 5 SHMUP soundtracks?

[bVork]

I pay a lot of attention to soundtracks, as my usual method of memorizing shooters is remembering what attack waves occur during which parts of the background music. Here's my top 5:

1. Apidya - Chris Huelsbeck. Need I say more? TI love it so much that I own the arranged soundtrack CD (though the really high-quality music such as the pond and the ending are left unarranged - proof of how amazing the music is)

2. Iridion 2 - Another Amiga-style soundtrack, but on GBA. Considering the usual mediocre GBA sound output, this is doubly amazing. Manfred Linzner conjures memories of Turrican with his synthpop-style music but also manages to make it unique and fitting. I wish I could buy the soundtrack CD. I don't suppose anyone has it, do they?

3. Thunderforce 3 - Prog-rock on Genesis. Proof that the supposedly weak sound capabilities of Sega's 16-bit console are not that mediocre after all. If you want further proof, check out Chris Huelsbeck's work in Mega Turrican.

4. G-Darius - Operatic techno weirdness. Very unique. Play it on your car's stereo to get some weird looks

5. Dangun Feveron - FREEEE LOVE! The whole game is based around a disco theme, so there's a very appropriate soundtrack. I often get killed in level 2 because I stop firing to hear the music.

[ccovell]

I have the Iridion Soundtrack. It's really good, and the arranged music from Ir3D and IrII still have that old synthy Amiga feel to them. There are a couple of bonus tracks which are great, but steal outright from Castlevania. The CD length is about 40 minutes.

The CD has a data track containing the Shin'en website and a jukebox program that plays all the music from Iridion II in high quality (higher than the GBA, anyway.) Now if only that jukebox had all of Shin'en's GAX productions...

p.s. The jukebox executable is just a RAR extractor with a .RAR file embedded in it, so it's not all that difficult to get at the real executable and all the graphics files it uses.

p.p.s. bVork, it's nice to see another Canadian from the West Coast that loves shmups, the Amiga, and Chris Huelsbeck! Where do you live? I'm from North Vancouver.

[CIT]

In no specific order:

- Rayforce (actually specifically the Layer Section Saturn soundtrack - much better than the PCB sound)

- Raycrisis

- Metal Black

- Border Down

- Thunderforce V

Other favs include Axelay, Einhänder, Gradius II, Gradius III, Xexex, Last Resort, Espgaluda, Mushihimesama, Ketsui.


I guess you can tell I'm a Zuntata fan. ^^

[Shatterhand]

TSK!!!

1) APIDYA!!!!111!1

Just to make it clear. This is what everyone should list as 1st spot. If you haven't played Apidya, you shouldn't be listing a top 5 shmup soundtracks.

2 - Battle Squadron (Good to see someone else mentioning it )
3 - Raystorm
4 - Rayforce
5 - Hinotori (MSX)

Agony also had an amazing soundtrack too. The introduction set the mood perfectly, and then you had an epic soundtrack perfect for an epic adventure. Shame the gameplay isn't all that hot..

[DEL]

ccovell - Many thanks for the heads up on the Tatsujin Hucard soundtest. There's just no way I'd know that you have to get 7,100 points then run/start a couple of times and get an upgraded menu

But its true, it works!

Cheers!

[LSU]

1. Radiant Silvergun
2. Ray Series (sorry, really can't split the three of them apart)
3. Einhänder
4. Soukyougurentai
5. G-Darius

[King Slime]

5.) Pulstar
4.) Einhander
3.) Darius2
2.) Darius Gaiden
1.) G-Darius

[shimeril]

1. Soukyuguentai
2. Guwange
3. Dodonpachi

4 & 5 I may take a raincheck on - my brain is out to lunch.

OMG, how could I have forgotten Gyruss. I love Toccata in Fugue, absolutely gobsmacked me the first time I heard it. To fill out the 5, I'll run with Ikaruga. But I was sorely tempted to through in IK+ off the C64 instead....it's in my head now.

[jp]

5. Radiant Silvergun
4. Soukyuugurentai
3. Hyper Duel
2. Thunder Force III
1. Blast Wind

[Neon]

Somehow I really liked the RS soundtrack but hated Soukyu, and they were both the same guy on the same hardware at around the same time with the same basic idea (variations on a particular theme).

Generally anything Technosoft and anything Zuntata, I thought Ikaruga's really fit the game well. Most Cave stuff has at least 1 good song. Lots of good soundtracks in this genre really.

[jp]

Zuntata... yeah... Metal Black, Border Down, and/or Darius Gaiden really should be on my list as well.


But Tecno Soft just owns. I give Souky the edge over RS due to level 3 and the final boss(es).

[roker]

3. Ibara (finally, heavy metal on smhups!)

ahem, Lords of Thunder did it first

my top 5 (in no order)

Garegga
Under Defeat (stage 5)
Ikaruga (such a dramatic feel)
Lords of Thunder
R-Type Final (the humongous ship stage)

and, um, one more:

ESPGaluda

I lived in Europe for a short while

crappy techno music kinda grew on me

kinda

[Shocky]

Gotta start paying attention to these. Too bad that arcades are usually so noisy that the music can rarely be heard... But I still kinda doubt some lists here: Cave, the ultimate in music? Yea rite.

1. Gigawing - Really stands out from the crowd.
2. Salamander (MSX, special sound chip) - Cool and most atmospheric space opera
3. Recca (NES) - Every track is pure awesomeness, my fave being the title music.
4. Agony (Amiga) - THE most extreme symphonic soundtrack EVER
5. Apidya (Amiga) - Hülsbeck is god, and Apidya may be his finest creation. And yes, I'm one of them techno freaks.

Hinotori (MSX) has really catchy and beautiful music (I even have it as a ringing tone in my phone), but the I guess a "soundtrack" requires more tracks...

[Shatterhand]

Hinotori (MSX) has really catchy and beautiful music (I even have it as a ringing tone in my phone), but the I guess a "soundtrack" requires more tracks...

Well.. Someone (Besides myself) voted for Battle Squadron, and that only has 2 songs... the title screen one, and the in-game one... (Well, maybe there's another song when you finish the game, but damn if I will ever do it) Hinotori has at least 2 songs more than that

Some people only remember one song of the game ("Hinotori Theme") because for some reason Konami used this song at EVERY DAMN PART of the game. In the title screen, when you enter a password, when you finish the game..... (Well, it indeed is, like you said, a very beautiful song)

And, DAMN, I should have voted for Thunder Force V too....

[Herr Schatten]

Someone (Besides myself) voted for Battle Squadron, and that only has 2 songs... the title screen one, and the in-game one... (Well, maybe there's another song when you finish the game, but damn if I will ever do it)

It has at least three. The totally awesome title tune, the in-game music and the sad song that plays when the highscore list is shown. Actually, I cannot remember if there was another song playing during the ending sequence or if they just re-used the title tune.

[ROBOTRON]

Oh yeah....

R-Type Final stage 6 "Dimension Jump" is awesome when heard through a good sound system with subs. Takes you to another place.