My VG Music Picks #76 – The Phantom of the Bwahpera, Act 1 / Act 3 (Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle)

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

As I wrote in my review of the game last week, one of the joys of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle is seeing all the crazy shit Ubisoft was able to incorporate into the world of Mario. You’d think Nintendo would’ve reigned them in but it feels as if they were quite lenient in regards to the silly shenanigans Ubisoft came up with. And I think, for quite a lot of us, the absolute pinnacle of delightful absurdity that they concocted was the Phantom of the Bwahpera. Continue reading

My VG Music Picks #75 – Vector to the Heavens (Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days)

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

This is possibly an unpopular Kingdom Hearts opinion depending on who is reading this, but I was never a big fan of Xion. I didn’t dislike her per se; I just never got attached to her like some fans did since I found her character to be rather generic and, considering 358/2 Days’ status as an interquel and the fact that she was never mentioned in Kingdom Hearts II (probably because Nomura hadn’t come up with her character at the time), she was most likely going to die by the end of the game. It’s hard to become engaged with a character when you know they’re not going to be around anymore soon. But that being said, her theme music never fails to make me emotional – especially the version of it that plays during her boss fight. Continue reading

My VG Music Picks #74 – Super Bell Hill (Super Mario 3D World)

I remember when Super Mario 3D World was first announced and how very few people seemed impressed with it. Aside from the new Cat Mario power-up, there wasn’t really anything appealing about it until the second trailer dropped and showed a lot more cool, new stuff about it, which caused a lot of fans’ opinions to do a complete 180 (myself included).

And while it may have been a bit of a chaotic mess as a multiplayer game, I found it to be an enjoyable single-player romp. But one constant that I think a lot of people can agree was good from the very get-go was the first piece of music we heard from the game, which also acts as the music for the game’s first level. Continue reading

My VG Music Picks #73 – One-Winged Angel (Final Fantasy VII)

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Final Fantasy VII

It’s high time I wrote about one of the most iconic pieces of music ever made – not just for Final Fantasy VII, but for videogames in general. Even if you’ve never so much as looked at FFVII, you’ve undoubtedly heard this piece somewhere before. I’m honestly not sure if there’s anything new I can really mention about it because, well, what else is there to say that hasn’t most likely already been said? Continue reading

My VG Music Picks #69 – Striptease (Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4)

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4

For those of you who are paying attention, yes, I AM being incredibly childish, but with this being the 69th VG Music Pick, I felt like I had to pick a fitting piece of music. And if you don’t know why, Google it. But keep Safe Search on, just in case. Though, despite its title, this music piece is anything but sexy. Continue reading

My VG Music Picks #67 – Professor Layton’s Theme (Professor Layton and the Curious Village)

I’m actually kind of shocked that it’s taken me this long to write about some music from the Professor Layton series, especially the good old prof’s theme music itself. The series became an instant favourite of mine when it launched back in 2008 thanks to its range of interesting and brain-taxing puzzles, lovely visuals, wonderful characters, off-the-wall storytelling and, of course, atmospheric music. And while Layton’s theme has remained relatively unchanged throughout the series, there’s a very good reason for that – it’s perfect already. Continue reading

My VG Music Picks #66 – Tomorrow Hill/Falling Off Tomorrow Hill (WarioWare: Smooth Moves)

There is a surprising amount of vocal tracks in the WarioWare series. I dunno, I just find that strange; I never would have pegged a series like this to get that kind of content. But, these lyrical pieces are not only quite fitting but are easily some of the most popular and memorable music tracks from the series (probably because they last more than five seconds).

And while there’s a certain little witch whose theme song reigns supreme above the rest, I want to shift the focus to another one for the time being – specifically Tomorrow Hill from the Wii title, Smooth Moves. Continue reading

My VG Music Picks #65 – Bomb Rush Blush/Tidal Rush (Splatoon 2)

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Splatoon 2

I don’t know what I expected from Splatoon 2‘s single player mode. I guess I always figured it’d just be more of the same aside from one or two new additions. And, for the most part, that’s pretty much what I got. That being said, I was curious as to what the new final boss would be so I was initially disappointed that it was essentially the same boss from the first game. Fortunately, not only was this version much better in my opinion but it had even better music accompanying it. Continue reading

My VG Music Picks #63 – Boss Battle (Steven Universe: Save the Light)

Steven Universe is well known for a lot of reasons – one of those reasons being its numerous musical numbers; the quality of which can range from decent to down right amazing. So it’s kind of a shame that the soundtrack for it’s console tie-in game turned out to be very generic. Not bad, just… a bit bland, maybe. It does have a couple killer tracks though that stand above the rest – one of them (fortunately) being the boss battle theme.
Continue reading

My VG Music Picks #62 – Nemesis Ridley (Metroid: Other M)

One thing we can always look forward to in a Metroid game is the inevitable fight with Ridley. No matter where Samus is or what she’s doing, chances are this big, purple, space dinosaur’s going to rear his ugly head and we get to enjoy putting him in the ground again. Hell, he’s so popular that they added him as an extra boss in the Metroid II remake for 3DS. And when Ridley shows up, he brings that famous theme music with him as well. Continue reading