Awesome Video Game Music: Quickies 1
By majormitch 4 Comments
I’ve been doing these music entries for about a year and a half now, and given how much amazing video game music is out there I feel like I could potentially keep doing it forever. One thing's for sure; I won’t have to stop due to lack of good music to choose from.
That being said, I personally can’t keep doing them forever. I love video game music as much as anyone, but I also have to prioritize how I spend my time. These posts take a good bit of effort, and given where my life is at the moment I’m not sure it’s the best use of my time. So even though it makes me a little sad, I’ve decided to wrap up this series after six more posts (including this one). There’s a small twist though; in an effort to highlight as many songs as possible (keeping in mind that I’ll never get around to all of them), each of these six posts will showcase three songs, but won't focus much on each one individually. “Quickies”, if you will. This will let me run through a lot of my favs that I haven’t yet touched in a timely manner, and hopefully someone out there will get something out of it. With all that out of the way, let’s move on to three very awesome songs!
Freedom Fighters: March of the Empire
Every song on the Freedom Fighters soundtrack is fantastic, but I consider March of the Empire to be the pinnacle track. The vocals are chilling and oppressive in a way that I imagine the Cold War was for a lot of people. The tempo and instrumentation hint at a slow and steady march, and I can just envision a Soviet army marching down the streets with this song propelling them forward. When I think of the Freedom Fighters soundtrack I think of awesome vocals and a East Bloc tone. March of the Empire does all of that, and bolsters the game’s alternate history setting perfectly.
Rhythm Heaven: Love Lab
I love the lighthearted and goofy nature of Rhythm Heaven, and Love Lab brings all that genuinely fun attitude to bear. The whistling, the snapping and the groovy beat are all really easy to get into, and the vocals are great to hum along with. This is just one of those songs that always puts a smile on my face, and kind of makes me want to... dance. Weird, I know, but that’s the power of Love Lab, and Rhythm Heaven in general.
Final Fantasy VI: Dancing Mad
Dancing Mad is the ultimate tribute to gaming’s greatest psychopath. I would argue that Kefka is one of the best villains out there; he is utterly insane in a way that is nothing short of terrifying. Dancing Mad is a lengthy song, with multiple transitions (which mimics the multi-stage final boss fight) that seem to portray the many sides of Kefka’s dementia. The tone and the instrumentation (if you want to call it that, given the SNES's sound quality) continue to contribute to the air of lunacy surrounding this character. I just love that this iconic madman has an equally iconic theme to accompany him, which makes Dancing Mad one of the most memorable video game songs I’ve heard, and one of my favorites to boot.
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