Mario Kart World (NS2) Main Theme and Crown City Studio Performances

What was lovingly called by the community "Mario Kart Mondays", due to the fact that Nintendo would release the much-enjoyed free roam tracks of Mario Kart World each week on its Nintendo Music service, has come to a conclusion with the arrival of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's music. As a pleasant surprise, the over-an-hour of tracks from the game was not split up into two weeks. 

As an even greater pleasant surprise--arguably--Nintendo's primary YouTube channel uploaded two looks at the in-studio recording process of Mario Kart World, featuring the main title theme of the game and the Crown City track. The overall soundtrack certainly is one of Nintendo's very best ever put together, which if you are familiar with its catalog of musical compositions, is nothing to throw a blue shell at. It's darn impressive!

Enjoy these pair of YouTube videos showing the musicians performing the duo of themes, and if you'd like some more Mario Kart World goodness, check out the SuperPhillip Central review.

SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGM - Four RPGs and Halo 4 Walk Into A Bar... Edition

...So Halo 4 says to the four RPGs, "Monopoly?! I thought we were playing Yahtzee!"

It's time once again for SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGM, a series of segments where we delve into the best of video game music. As the title suggests, we have Halo 4 leading the charge this week, alongside four unique RPGs. It's an interesting mix of games this week, with the first appearances of games like Suikoden II and Final Fantasy XII. If you're ready to listen, we're ready to share our faves!

v431. Halo 4 (360) - Main Theme

Halo 4 was listed as one of our favorite games from the Xbox 360 at last year's SuperPhillip Central Best of 2012 Awards. For good reason, as well. 343 Industries took the reins of the Halo series from Bungie and they successfully made it their own. In addition to a new developer, a new composer took center stage as well, and you can hear his work with this terrific main theme for the game.

v432. Suikoden II (PS1) - Secret Village of the Ninja

Miki Higashino composed this theme for the ninja village within Suikoden II's vast world. As stated in the introduction, this is the Suikoden series' first time being featured on SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGM. We especially love the vocals to this beautiful piece of music, along with the very Asian flair.

v433. Star Ocean: First Departure (PSP) - All for One

A very foreboding town theme, All for One is an orchestral masterpiece. Star Ocean: First Departure marked the first time the original Star Ocean was available for Western audiences in an official capacity. The original released on the Super Nintendo before making the shift to the 32-bit PlayStation platform.

v434. Fire Emblem: Awakening (3DS) - Id (Hope)

Our second favorite theme from Fire Emblem: Awakening (albeit from a DLC battle) after Id (Purpose) is Id Hope. We love the piano, orchestra and brass and the fast tempo that makes for some great accompaniment to a tense battle!

v435. Final Fantasy XII (PS2) - Ozmone Plain

This theme has actually been featured on a prior edition of SuperPhillip Central's Favorite VGM before. Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift has a version of this theme known as Crossing Over the Hill. Same composer, so why not enjoy it all over again for Final Fantasy XII's Ozmone Plain?