SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs - Memorial Day 2015 Edition

In the United States, today is Memorial Day, where we honor our troops both living and dead for the sacrifices they've given their country. For everyone else, it's just a regular day. However, it's never a regular day when SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs are here! We start off with three first-person shooters to get your week going guns blazing. There's GoldenEye 007, TimeSplitters, and Perfect Dark Zero. Then we end things with Star Fox Assault and Viewtiful Joe. If you have no objections, let's get to the music!

v881. GoldenEye 007 (N64) - Frigate

The classic James Bond 007 theme gets a modern industrial take on it with the Frigate level theme from GoldenEye 007. The game was revolutionary for making a successful first-person shooter on a console in both sales and creation in the first place. It played well, which most games around that time in the same genre on consoles couldn't really say.

v882. TimeSplitters (PS2) - Castle

From a fair portion of the makers of GoldenEye 007, TimeSplitters was a PlayStation 2 exclusive. Future sequels would end up as multiplatform, available on the GameCube and Xbox as well. If you're looking for a first-person shooter similar in scope and feeling of Rareware's GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark, look no further than Free Radical Design's TimeSplitters series.

v883. Perfect Dark Zero (360) - Outpost Rescue: Main Theme

Outpost Rescue is the penultimate mission in Perfect Dark Zero's campaign. It takes place in the Middle East, featuring a theme that is relatively mellow. Say what you want about Perfect Dark Zero's campaign, which I actually did enjoy, but I will not allow anyone to diss the game's amazing multiplayer, offering up to 32 people in one room across huge, sprawling maps. Many of my favorite online multiplayer memories come from Rare's Perfect Dark Zero.

v884. Star Fox Assault (GCN) - Aparoid Queen 2

The final boss of Star Fox Assault is an intense chase after the Aparoid Queen that is accentuated by this great theme. Star Fox Assault was an underrated entry in the Star Fox series that was a bit polarizing in the fandom of the series. Some loathed the on-foot parts and wanted Fox in an Arwing in on-rails sections for the entirety of the game, while others like me appreciated the variety offered in the game.

v885. Viewtiful Joe (PS2, GCN) - Joe & Sylvia

We end this Memorial Day edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGMs with an intergalactic theme that plays during the final of seven stages in Viewitful Joe. Not only does Viewtiful Joe have a terrific soundtrack, but it has a brilliant combat system, tremendous puzzles based off of Joe's abilities, and a myriad of other things that makes it one of my favorite games Capcom has ever released.

SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs - A Memorial to Video Game Music Edition

On this American holiday we celebrate not with music from war games. No, no. That would make too much sense. Instead we have a cavalry of varied tunes from Tenchu IV, Castlevania, and Perfect Dark to name a few. Let's kick off summer in style, shall we?

V316. Tenchu Shadow Assassins - Rain

Rain starts off very slowly with increasing percussion, chimes, and other sounds to increase the feeling of tension and ambiance in the game. At around forty-five seconds, the main melody kicks in. It sort of sounds like something you'd hear in an underwater cavern in Castlevania to me. The track takes the listener back and forth between different moods. It's really quite good. Regardless, this Tenchu: Shadow Assassins (aka Tenchu 4) track is one of my favorites from this entertaining Wii and PSP game.



V317. The House of the Dead: Overkill - I Want You (Explicit)

Now that I included a warning, all of you young whippersnappers now have something to ignore when you listen to this song anyway. It's one of many vocal tracks from The House of the Dead: Overkill for Nintendo Wii. The game is incredibly over the top which is much better than other games that pretend to be more mature than they actually are. I get it, Killzone 2. You like to cuss beyond what is considered overkill. Great. As for this song, the instrumental version plays during the second level, Ballistic Trauma.



V318. Dead Rising - Cletus

Dead Rising came to the Wii. I really enjoyed it. It's really a different game from the 360 version. Whereas the story is relatively the same, the design is altered. Which one is better? Depends on your preference. I think they're both excellent games. This song plays during the boss battle with Cletus, the gun shop owner.



V319. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - Spell of Sorrow

This song comes from the latest traditional Castlevania, Order of Ecclesia for the Nintendo DS. When the song kicks in (at the seven second mark), doesn't it sound like something you'd hear in a Mega Man X or Zero game? Perhaps in one of Sigma's stages. Regardless, it's a really pumping song to slay zombies and other miscreants to.



V320. Perfect Dark - Ending Credits - Hyper Funky Dance Mix

It amazes me that after all these years, Perfect Dark, a Nintendo 64 game, still has the most fleshed-out multiplayer of any FPS I've played yet. There's just so many options, and that's why to this day Perfect Dark is still one of my favorite games of all time. This song is explained by its name. It's the ending credits theme with kick-ass rock great for late night fragfests. Sublime soundtrack for a phenomenal game.



I believe that last video had a barbecue stain or two on it. Not even the VGMs can resist food served from a grill! We'll catch you next week for more music!