What is your favorite shmup music?

[Captain]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-gnPp_8Kuc

[Gingerzilla]

Massive Fan of Giga Wing 2 on the Dreamcast Love the classical.

[SuperSoaker360]

I've been focusing a lot on Radiant Silvergun recently but Evasion seems to be my personal fav from the game. It has such a motivating feel to it.

[trap15]

RSG has such great music. My personal favorite is Space Battleship 130-33ki. It just has an extremely epic feel to it, fits extremely well with the boss fight that it goes to. My favorite 'scene' in RSG probably.

[ciox]

It's really great, the arrange also made most tracks hands-down better, save one or two.. like the original Penta has more punch even if it's less polished.
Penta: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdxRBDidSy8

[KyoKusagani1999]

I really LOVE DoDonPachi Dai-Ou-Jou's Soundtrack... The music fit perfectly and synchronized with everything
in the game, and being able to see the exact moments things show up from music cues is incredible,
as well as the mood it adds to the game! Without it, it would be an empty shell, ESPECIALLY
East Asia (Stage 1) This is the stuff of legends and perfection, much like the game itself...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nzbL7kv ... ure=relmfu

[xavierjesus]

Batrider, DOJ, Under Defeat - (hints of) dystopian future soundscape; parts magic & melancholic.
Deathsmiles - sheer tongue in cheek, high production, orchestral Halloween spooky-awesomeness.

Right now - super hyped 'bout Ginga Force audio. Soundtrack in trailer is fcuking BOSS!

[Lord Satori]

right now my favorite songs are from hellsinker. specifically the 4 different final boss songs, the shrine of farewell, as well as unused track 7.

[Pragma]

As one of my first shmups, the Blazing Star OST will always have a special place in my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EctotodvCJE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13cCMNZstQE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyc_ltajJlQ

From the more contemporary shmups, definitely these:

Ketsui - NO REMORSE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNK7j-j_c68
MoF Stage 5 Boss - Sanae Kochiya's Theme - Faith is for the Transient People: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4gqGhN0xnE
Touhou 13 "Ten Desires" OST: 2 - 死霊の夜桜/Night Sakura of Dead Spirits: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIrPo_h8-rE

And a number of them more, but these are the ones from the top of my head.

[Furry Fox Jet Pilot]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-gnPp_8Kuc

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!

[Furry Fox Jet Pilot]

I've been feeling very down lately, these songs describe the mood.
http://66.90.118.45/ost/raiden-raiden-i ... nd2-7-.mp3
http://66.90.118.45/ost/raiden-raiden-i ... vel2-8.mp3
http://66.90.118.45/ost/raiden-raiden-i ... level4.mp3
http://66.90.118.45/ost/raiden-raiden-i ... level5.mp3
http://66.90.118.45/ost/raiden-raiden-i ... level6.mp3
http://66.90.118.45/ost/raiden-raiden-i ... -clear.mp3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkuLxd5GDtQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7ZCBgCnOJ8

[R-Gray 1]

Some of the first shmup that i played on a pc ... when i was 10 i guess

Tyrian

Tyrian - Camanis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w9Dv5EDl5U

Tyrian -space battle 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrktEFbnCQs

Tyrian - Asteroid dance 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ9shn6kQx0

[Furry Fox Jet Pilot]

This is amazing!
Strikers 1945 II- Stage 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpHnUap5NWY

[casualcoder]

It would have to be the Deathsmiles score. There are parts of Guwange that are really great too, especially stage 3.

[Zaximillian]

Accident Road (High Speed Stage), Gradius III, SNES, found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sNRvNnT188

I like this because its many short notes bring the speed, and the offbeat percussion makes me imagine the cuts necessary to get through this stage.

[Aleksei]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT3z4k1B ... sults_main

Cho Ren Sha 68k


oh and Darius Gaiden

"close your eyes.................."

[null1024]

CRS's soundtrack is pure FM goodness.
I wish more recent machines/versions of Windows didn't act up so much when trying to play the damn game though, aaaaaa.

Also, I just realized: it's the only shmup soundtrack on my MP3 player. There has to be a reason for this.

[Suslik]

I found Cho Ren Sha 1.5 weeks ago. Currently my favourite is stage 2 music.
stay in the middle of 3 power ups long enough to capture them all

[KAI]

Dragon Saber stage 6 BGM (Arrangement of Dragon Spirits St6).
Hosoe rulz and you know it, everyone's been imitating his style for decades.

[kamiboy]

Guardian Legend

[SuperSoaker360]

Playing Akai Katana - Shin mode as of late. Some of the manliest guitars and sexiest solos I've heard in a long time (listening to the arranged soundtrack).

Stage 4
That epic build-up right onto the midboss at 0:53-1:02.

Stage 5
Badass intro and then guitar solo-goodness.

[trap15]

This is amazing!
Strikers 1945 II- Stage 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpHnUap5NWY

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Dam Buster is a great, great track. The sync with the "rail" tank thing is amazing too, gives the stage a great feeling.

[haceb0ne]

Hi everybody!

I've been playing (and loving) shmups since the days of the NES, and the music is truly what attracted me to the genre the most from day one. When every other kid was turning the volume down and playing a Guns N' Roses tape in the background instead (I'm not complaining there, though,) I was the one recording the game music straight from the tv to a tape recorder to jam wherever and whenever I wanted.

It's so fun to go through this thread and see what other people like. As my first post, I'd like to add a little bit on the soundtrack topic!

Just a fraction of my favorite shmup tunes, including arranged versions
--------------------------------------------------------------------
radiant silvergun - the stone like (all versions) <-- the best. no more comment.
19XX: War Against Destiny - "red naval port" (stage 2) I used to play this game to hear it!
ketsui - stage 2 suburbs (YEAH!)
gigawing - stage 5 (love the 'hardcore' kick drum! a bit low on the volume, though)
gigawing 2 - all tunes (props to the other poster who praised the orchestral sound!)
espgaluda ii - the little in between stages ditty & pretty much whole soundtrack
ddp:daifukkatsu - in between stages ditty/score tally & stage 5
armed police:batrider - "chasing gang's need speed"
deathsmiles - 360 ending/credits especially & the complete ost (especially swamp)
deathsmiles iix - elegy for the fallen angels (mind-blowing)
metal black - waste days ("the first" version, oooh baby! Love it!) & "Born to be Free" intro
gunbird 2 (more like FUNbird 2! bwahahah) - 'why do you wanna' (such a fun & cartoony track)
mars matrix - stage 2 (totally pumping house/techno with a vg twist!)
salamander - Pro-Fusion [Kukeiha Club] "Speed" (so deep & jazzy! great arrange!)
border down - intro song & stage 3 (JAZZY! ...and pretty much the whole soundtrack)
r-type leo - "paradise planet" ("3..2..1, let's go!!" Much like a UR "housey" style to me)
battle garegga - stage 2 (arcade and especially arrange, TOTAL UR style! Jupiter Jazz!)
akai katana - WOW. Whole soundtrack, LOVE the menu theme (such wonderful guitars!!!)
otomedius:excellent - menu theme (what an absolutely horrible game, buhhhhh)

And my all-time favorite ost... THUNDERFORCE IV (Lightening Force) whole thing. AMAZING sounds, especially for Sega Genesis! This soundtrack (and game) has it all, and it's also my favorite shmup of all time. As a funny side story, I remember telling somebody I beat this game with only 1 continue, where they replied "ooh, good job!" Then I told them I used the 99 lives cheat code HAHAHAH man, did their face drop. "Oh." Whoops!

Gotta throw in this too as a side thing, can't help it:
Contra: Shattered Soldier - Relic of Moirai (new wave style! bassline), Dearest (HEAVY)


As far as sound effects/little extras
----------------------------------
the <ok> button through the Mushihimesama Futari menus
the <ok> sound/ditty on Thunderforce V

Every sound in shmups adds to the game. Nothing worse than a bad tune/weak explosion effect. I might post something else about the music I think really sucks, or detracts from a game. But in the meantime, I'm feeling too positive to be negative I do have to say, without the right soundtrack, gameplay/graphics struggle. Just my opinion.


A few stupid extra thoughts
---------------------------
I was SOOOOOOOO disappointed with the horrible arrange album that came with the Deathsmiles (US) limited release. Does anybody agree with me?

Conversely, I do like the DoDonPachi:Resurrection (PAL) pack-in arrange cd!

I was happy to hear hardcore/gabber style kicks in Gigawing stage 5 the first time I played it. I've heard a few other 'traces' of hardcore in shmups, but nothing full-blown. Karous "Sex Pervert of a Silence" (true boss) is a hardcore/gabber track (a bit low on the quality/style, but hardcore nonetheless) which was GREAT to hear! I'm surprised more shmups don't have this sound in them. I know it's not a style for everyone, but man what a beat to get your heart pumping to. Perfect for the genre. Think .... a shmup soundtrack that's half gabber/hardcore, half Contra:Shattered Soldier-style metal. I can only dreammmm.......

I love the part in R-Type:Delta where the music changes as soon as you go under the water. What a lovely touch to a great game (with great sound!)

Nothing better than "cloud" effects scrolling along with shmups i.e. Ketsui intro/stage 1

I love listening to OSTs on YouTube, but there's nothing better than playing a game to a certain stage (or even just the menu music!) to get to your favorite songs (pre-youtube style) There was a bit more magic to the music in that respect, if you ask me. Almost like you "earned" it to hear it! "Forget a high score, I just wanna hear the stage 5 music!!!"

Thanks for reading this jumbled mess, if you did.

[kamiboy]

After going through half of this thread listening to all the posted tracks I only reaffirmed my brain's hypnotic love affair with catchy chiptune music and its contrasting apathy towards anything that came out of CD audio replacing said musical genre.

Seeing as how music accounts for at least half of my enjoyment of classic shooters it is no wonder that I do often find the post 16 bit generation's output so hard to get into.

Anyway, while randomly browsing youtube for shooter chiptunes I happened upon this gem.

They certainly don't write them like they used to.

[BIL]

Thanks for reading this jumbled mess, if you did.

Quality first post. Some great tracks and commentary there - "Speed" (Sala 2) and "Waste Days" are two of my personal standouts as well. I particularly like how the second's wistful tone is the accompaniment to an absolutely rabid bout of action within the game itself, with the player fending off an onslaught of foes - the contrast works sublimely.

[MmSadda]

ESPGaluda's music is part of what grabbed me about the game (and, ultimately, got me into bullet hell shmups. That game was so much more aesthetically pleasing than anything I'd ever played before.)

Oh, and somehow the stage 2 music on Pulstar really does it for me. It's not that intense, objectively, but PUlstar's got a slower pace to it than most shooters, and I feel like the music is really appropriate.

Also, parts of DOJ's soundtrack are properly eerie and contribute nicely to the feel of the game.

[Squire Grooktook]

DOJ has great atmosphere with it's music, one of my favorites, and along with Ketsui is probably Manabu Namiki's best work imo.

On a similar note, even though it might be technically inferior to some of their other works, I really really love Zuntata's ost for Rayforce. It just sets such a wonderful atmosphere, as it goes from upbeat and innocent when your in colorful outer space, to creepy and menacing as you touch down on the ruined Earth after watching your comrades die.

[EmperorIng]

While RayStorm has far catchier tunes by half, RayForce's OST as a whole fits each stage and mood so well that it really reinforces and adds to the whole atmosphere and experience.

The Ray series is by far Tamayo Kawamoto's best works. RayCrisis* is Tama-chan at her most experimental, and the way the music of RayCrisis blends with the game is quite a sight (and sound) to behold. Taito always pushed new boundaries when it came to presentation in their shmups, and I think they had something with RayCrisis... if only it played like RayForce!

==

"Favorite" tunes for me tend to fall in the Darius camp: Say Papa, Visionnerz, Kimera II.

Outside of anything ZUNTATA, Konami music usually does the trick, followed by Raizing (this link containing one of my favorite boss themes ever).

I'm not a huge Namiki fan (maybe it's just the sound emulation on my mame?), but I do like the stage 1 theme of DOJ.

==
*shameless plug of my attempt to decipher RayCrisis' scoring system, which is really interesting but hampered by the game's presentation problems

[Lord Satori]

Stages 4 and 5 bosses of Akashicverse. Y u no Youtube video yet?

Stage 3 boss of Alternative Arguments. No vid for this one either.

[Furry Fox Jet Pilot]

I have recently been listening to some of Dodonpachi Saidaioujou's soundtrack, and so far, I like these two tracks.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-k6LPP5GoU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH0xjdcKNfk
The game itself looks awesome, I can't wait wait to play it someday.