SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - "Lovin' the VGMs" Edition

Roses are red. Violets are blue. Valentine's Day is tomorrow. Wait. That didn't rhyme. Well, there are more important things to consider here at SuperPhillip Central, such as this being Monday, meaning only one thing-- time for SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs!

This week, SimCity (2013) leads things off, followed closely by Kingdom Hearts II to completely change the mood. Then, we get cute and catchy with Kirby's Adventure. Finally, we wrap things up with some wintry goodness in the form of Snowboard Kids and Mega Man Zero 2.

Click on the VGM volume name to listen to it, and check out the VGM Database for all past VGM volumes featured on SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs. Now, let's get on to the music!

v1331. SimCity (2013) (PC) - Town and Out

EA and Maxis certainly didn't do the SimCity name well by launching the 2013 entry in the shape it was in. The push-back by gamers and consumers alike was quite strong. Still, at least one thing was of excellent quality at launch and it relates to SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs. Of course, I'm talking about the soundtrack, as heard with this delightful city-building theme, Town and Out.

v1332. Kingdom Hearts II (PS2) - Fragments of Sorrow

Going from a serene and upbeat theme to a climactic one here with Kingdom Hearts II's Fragments of Sorrow. Obviously, fans of the series are waiting with bated breath for any news of Kingdom Hearts III. Hopefully that game won't suffer the same fate as many other Square Enix/Tetsuya Nomura joint efforts (i.e. an enormous amount of time between announcement and release). We can only hope.

v1333. Kirby's Adventure (NES) - Vegetable Valley 1

Let's go retro with Volume 1333 here at SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs. It's Kirby time, and Kirby's Adventure was the pink puffball's first appearance on a home console. It also nailed home the point that Kirby was indeed pink instead of white, as Western box arts showed with Kirby's Dream Land on the Game Boy. Vegetable Valley 1 is but one of the myriad of cheerful and catchy tunes found in this NES classic.

v1334. Snowboard Kids (N64) - Silver Mountain

It's winter in Central City, but you wouldn't be able to tell if no one told you that, as the weather outside is unseasonably warm. It's been that way for a week and will continue to stay warm. Regardless, I'm in a winter state of mind, so why not bring up the slopes of Snowboard Kids, a cult classic from the Nintendo 64 which also saw a sequel. In fact, Snowboard Kids even made it to the Nintendo DS, though that version turned all the characters to teenagers and certainly wasn't as fondly remembered.

v1335. Mega Man Zero 2 (GBA) - Ice Brain (South Pole)

Capping off this pre-Valentine's Day edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs is a theme from Mega Man Zero 2. The Mega Man Zero sub-series of Mega Man games would see four installments of the Game Boy Advance as well as a collection of all four entries on the Nintendo DS. It's one of the harder sub-series of Mega Man games.

SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - Winter Role-Playing Edition

It's Monday, so that can only mean one thing. Well, aside from obvious things like most people going back to work or school. What I'm talking about is SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs! I have for you a themed edition this week, an edition chock full of RPG goodness.

This week we start off with some Ys I & II Chronicles music. Then we enter into a waltz with music from Kingdom Hearts II. Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan leads us to the halfway mark of this week's edition, while Chrono Trigger and Skies of Arcadia take us home.

If after listening to the VGMs this week has left you yearning for more, check out the VGM Database, where more than 1,000 past VGM volumes are located for your listening pleasure!

v1061. Ys I & II Chronicles (PC) - First Step Towards Wars

Yuzo Koshiro originally composed the themes heard in many early Ys games. Falcom's masterful arrangers took the already excellent compositions and turned them into even greater pieces with the Ys remakes. This theme, First Step Towards Wars, plays early in the first Ys game, which featured simplistic combat compared to future games in the series.

v1062. Kingdom Hearts II (PS2) - Waltz of the Damned

Yoko Shimomura is a goddess of a game composer. That's not spreading it on too thick, is it? Her work in Kingdom Hearts 2 is fantastic, as exemplified by this theme that plays during the Beast's Castle level of the game, obviously modeled after Beauty and the Beast. Played in 3/3 time, as waltzes are wont to be, Waltz of the Damned is a magical and marvelous piece of music.

v1063. Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan (3DS) - Area I - Windy Plains

We just can't get away from Yuzo Koshiro, can we? While we sampled a composition from his past works, his compositions on Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan is much more recent, but no doubt just as capable and compelling. This beautiful travel theme for the Windy Plains area of Etrian Odyssey IV welcomes the listener with gorgeous strings and piano.

v1064. Chrono Trigger (SNES, DS) - Secret of the Forest

We've already had some great composers featured on this RPG-filled edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs. Now I feature one of my favorite game music composers of all time, Yasunori Mitsuda. His work on Chrono Trigger was quite stressful to him, making it so he became ill during working on the music. Thankfully, the equally awesome Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy fame came through and assisted Mitsuda with work on the soundtrack.

v1065. Skies of Arcadia (DC) - Little Jack

Vyse and crew travel the skies of Skies of Arcadia in a variety of vessels. The Little Jack is Drachma's ship and namesake, one of the earlier ships used in the game. Little Jack as a theme is heroic and majestic, great for soaring through the skies, passing by towns and clouds alike, as the adventure continues.

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX (PS3) New Features Trailer

Kingdom Hearts 2 and Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep are returning to the spotlight with loads of new content in the form of bosses, items, and chapters. Witness all of the newness in this new features trailer. That's a lot of new!