SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - First Snow of the Season Edition

Snow has fallen upon Central City for the first time this season! Let's bring out the old SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs segment to celebrate! (I was going to be posting this anyway, but don't let that spoil the celebration!) This week we have music from Killzone: Shadow Fall, Grandia, and Dark Souls! If you want to check out past VGMs featured on this weekly segment, check out the VGM Database!

v741. Killzone: Shadow Fall (PS4) - Main Theme

Let's start off this edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs with a PlayStation 4 launch title. Over the weekend it was the PlayStation 4's first birthday, after all. Killzone: Shadow Fall might not have played as an outstanding first-person shooter in a seemingly endless sea of the genre, but it certainly looked and sounded tremendous. This main theme of the game may not be the most melodic, but it's certainly provides an ominous mood all the same.

v742. Grandia (PS1) - The Sandy Beach of Gumbo

A gentle and serene theme for a tranquil town, The Sandy Beach of Gumbo lulls players into a peaceful meditation with its soft piano and soothing strings. Grandia debuted on the PlayStation in 1997, and from there it spawned three sequels. As for the PS2 generation, Grandia as a series has unfortunately been missing in action.

v743. Blue Dragon (360) - Dragon Fight!

Nobuo Uematsu knows how to deliver excellent boss music, and Blue Dragon's Dragon Fight! is no exception. Well, actually, now that I think about it, that Infinity song with the Deep Purple lead vocalist singing is sort of bad... Regardless, as the name implies, this battle theme plays upon facing one of many dragons within this Xbox 360 exclusive.

v744. Dark Souls (PS3, 360) - Ornstein & Smough

A terrible twosome, a boss battle to end all Dark Souls boss battles-- well, except for every other climactic and tense encounter within the game. Ornstein & Smough's theme features an entire orchestra and a deep chorus that shakes the very foundation of the song. Motoi Sakuraba shows his mastery of magnificent boss music with this track.

v745. Sonic CD (SCD) - Collision Chaos Zone (Good Future)

I am of the camp that prefers the North American version of Sonic CD's soundtrack. It's far catchier, has better beats, more amusing melodies, and so on. Collision Chaos Zone is the second zone of several in Sonic CD. This particular rendition of the theme plays in the good future, the final act of the zone. Gotta dig that awesome guitar and the proceeding riffs it rocks out!

SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - Two Dragons and A Ninja Walk Into A Bar... Edition

Boy, have we got an interesting mix of games and music here to share with you this week, gang! That's right. It's time for SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs, a collection of our most loved gaming themes and songs. This week we have music from Dragon's Dogma and Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon-- two games that have yet to see an appearance on our list until now-- Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, and No More Heroes. Enough talk! Let's do this!

v541. Dragon's Dogma (PS3, 360) - Imminent Triumph

If you know our Favorite VGMs well enough, then you know we cannot pass up a track that has a full choir and chilling orchestra backing it! That's exactly what we get with Dragon's Dogma's Imminent Triumph, a theme that plays as a boss is nearing defeat. It gets the adrenaline pumping. Just don't choke when you're this close to victory!

v542. Blue Dragon (360) - Main Theme

We were going to insert Eternity into our list of Favorite VGMs, but we didn't want to tarnish our list with something that is so polarizing. For most who like the vocal theme, it's really in so-bad-it's-good territory. Regardless, the Main Theme of Blue Dragon starts off with some nice brass, giving off a very friendly attitude to the listener. And then the boss theme comes in and you go "WTF"?

v543. Lost Odyssey (360) - The Gun Barrel of Battle

Another Mistwalker Xbox 360 exclusive and another Nobuo Uematsu score, Lost Odyssey is the more adult-oriented RPG for Microsoft's second gaming system. The Gun Barrel of Battle is, believe or not, the battle theme of Lost Odyssey. If you can track down a cheap copy (good luck), it's definitely our recommendation to try Lost Odyssey out.

v544. Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon (N64) - Flowery Oedo, the Lost Village

A charming action-adventure game with 3D platforming and even first-person robot battles, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon was a game from back when Konami had more interesting series than Metal Gear and Castlevania to their name. Excuse us. We were going to talk about the game and the music, but we're now depressed at yet another sad Japanese publisher outcome.

v545. No More Heroes (Wii) - The Virgin Child Makes Her Wish Without Feeling Anything

The theme that Dr. Peace sings before his battle on the baseball field with Travis Touchdown, The Virgin Child, et al. is a marvelously sung song that reaches utterly beautiful levels of poignancy at the end. Goichi Suda, the director of the game, wrote the lyrics of this song himself, perhaps providing a back story to the boss assassin. 

SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs - Rock the Dragon Edition

Are you ready for SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs? If you're not, well, I don't know what to tell you. I'm doing it anyway! On this Monday's fine and stellar edition we have music from such great games like Metroid Prime, Mario Golf, and Blue Dragon. 

v111. Metroid Prime (GCN) - Phendrana Drifts

Quite possibly my favorite area in any Metroid game, Metroid Prime's Phendrana Drifts is an icy, snowy, winter wonderland full of awe-inspiring architecture and perils. You wouldn't expect so much danger when this gentle, flowing song plays. Kenji Yamamoto provides the music for Metroid, and his ambiance-filled tracks make the series all the better for it, wouldn't you say?

v112. Mario Golf (N64) - Boo Classic

The latest in Mario's popular line of sports games, Mario Tennis Open, released yesterday in North America with Japan and PAL releases to follow later within the week. Mario Golf remains one of the best Mario sports entries to this date. Even though it only has six courses to tee off of, the holes are so well-designed that you will keep coming back to the game. Boo Classic is a theme by Motoi Sakuraba, and the course takes place high above a pale white stretch of sand. Move over, Yanni, Sakuraba-san knows how to compose great golf music, too!

v113. Blue Dragon (360) - Mechat Takes Off!

Hironobu Sakaguchi left Square Enix early this millennium to focus on a new studio, Mistwalker. Their first project was the Xbox 360 exclusive Blue Dragon. Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball) provided character design while the incomparable Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy) penned the music. Mechat Takes Off! is the airship theme of the game. It is a guitar-filled, hope-filled piece that lifts the spirits just like an airship taking off into the skies.

v114. Gundam Battle Assault 2 (PS1) - BGM 1

Gundam Battle Assault 2 is a lesser known PlayStation One game that came out near the end of the system's life. It was a 2D fighting game that combined the universes of various Gundam series like Mobile Suit Gundam, Gundam Wing, and at that time the newest entry in the Gundamverse, G Gundam. The songs for Gundam Battle Assault 2 do not have titles, so I (as well as the YouTube video uploader) had to improvise. BGM 1 is so creative of a title, no?

v115. Dragon Ball: Final Bout (PS1) - Hero of Heroes

Continuing our dragon-inspired edition of the VGMs, the original version of Dragon Ball: Final Bout is a relatively rare PS1 game. My brother and I just so happen to have it in our collection. It's an okay 3D fighter that spans the whole Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT sagas, but there are much better ones out there. The game would be re-released as Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout later on down the road. I do enjoy the music for the game such as the track I have selected to represent Final Bout, the theme of Super Saiyan Goku 4, the pulse-pounding Hero of Heroes.

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We must bid my VGMs adieu once more. It won't be a long wait for the next edition, however. There we will have music from titles like SimCity 3000, Perfect Dark, and Kingdom Hearts! I hope you look forward to more marvelous music.