Monday, December 18, 2017

SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - "Twas the Week Before Christmas" Edition

'Twas the week before Christmas, and all through SuperPhillip Central's site
Phil was preparing game reviews to end the month for your delight

That... That's all I have for my Christmas poem so far. Instead, I bring you a special pre-Christmas edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs! Next week, presents will be opened, gifts will be given, and the fireplace will be lit up to make everyone warm and toasty. (Unless you're like me and don't have a fireplace in your household.)

This week's lineup of games features music from Star Wars Battlefront II, the recently released version, that is. Then, SoulCalibur V delivers an impressive orchestra and choir piece to bring even more emotion to this edition. Following that, we go a bit chill with music from Sonic Free Riders and Super Princess Peach. Things wrap up with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project.

Before I conclude my weekly introduction to SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs, remember to check out the VGM Database for all past games and songs ever featured on this long-running segment. Now, let's get onto the music!

v1526. Star Wars Battlefront II (PS4, XB1, PC) - Falcon Flight

Beginning with a bang, Star Wars: The Last Jedi released in theaters this past Friday, so what better excuse to post a theme from a Star Wars game? While EA's Star Wars Battlefront II has been raked over the coals with its microtransactions, so much so that the company is temporarily removing them until it gets a better idea on how it wants to implement them, the presentation is absolutely breathtaking in both gorgeous visuals and magnificent sound. The latter part of the presentation is our focus with this theme that plays during the Millennium Falcon's flight.



v1527. SoulCalibur V (PS3, 360) - Daybreaker

Announced at The Game Awards 2017, SoulCalibur VI is set to launch on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One sometime next year. Thus, let's take a look -- or in this case, listen -- back to the game that proceeded it, SoulCalibur V on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Much like Star Wars Battlefront II's score, we're greeted with an epic symphonic performance, but this time we have the powerful force of a backing chorus joining in.



v1528. Sonic Free Riders (360) - Metropolis Speedway

"Hey, hey, hey!" Groove with this track from the otherwise reprehensible attempt at bringing the Sonic Riders series to the Xbox 360's Kinect. It was a recipe for disaster, as well as a move that has pretty much killed the otherwise enjoyable Sonic Riders series. Thanks, Kinect! Having gotten my bitterness out, we can turn towards this infectious theme for the Metropolis Speedway circuit in Sonic Free Riders, one of the high points of the soundtrack as a whole.



v1529. Super Princess Peach (DS) - Tag the Flowers!

While those of us deep in the Midwest of the United States don't have much in the way of flowers to actually tag, much less pick, there's nothing saying we can't enjoy this delightful loop from the Nintendo DS' Super Princess Peach, the very first platformer where she's the star and not kidnapped. Instead, the roles are completely reversed with Mario being the one who is kidnapped by the ghastly Bowser. The Super Princess Peach soundtrack has a lot of cute and bouncy themes throughout its lineup of tunes, such as this one that only appears in a specific series of puzzle rooms in the first world of the game.



v1530. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project (NES) - Ending Part 3



I would consider Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: The Manhattan Project the most overlooked of Konami's early era TMNT games. The first TMNT is well known for being ridiculously hard, TMNT II is a home port of the famous arcade game, and Turtles in Time (TMNT IV) saw the series leap to the Super Nintendo. Meanwhile, The Manhattan Project released after the launch of the SNES and didn't get too much hype otherwise. It's still a rather fun game, especially if you like beat-em-ups and/or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

No comments: