Hello everybody, Thunderbird here again for another installment of my Top 100 Video Game Songs! I've tried to write as much as I can about each game, but sometimes the music will speak for itself. Also, before I get into the list, I wanted to add a brief personal message. Today is my birthday! I just wanted to let people know that, because, I don't know, I guess I feel like I know a lot of people here, so I feel that it's necessary. Well, yeah, happy 17th to me!! And we're back to the list. If you missed entries 100-96, it's here: http://screwattack.com/node/27612 If you missed entries 95-91, it's here: http://screwattack.com/node/27851 If you missed entries 90-86, it's here: http://screwattack.com/node/28198 So without any further rambling, let's get into it. 85). Winter Theme – Harvest Moon 64 This is one of the saddest songs in gaming that I’ve ever heard. I don’t know why, but whenever I hear this, I just think of… death. Yeah, that’s it, I think of death and sadness. That’s not saying that this song isn’t good however, it’s a great tune. It has a slow, ponderous melody, but still one with plenty of emotion. This is the second Harvest Moon theme in a row that has a slow beat to it. I think the reason that I so prefer the more upbeat songs is that to me, Harvest Moon 64 is a representation of life; it truly is art, this masterpiece of a game, and I prefer life to be more upbeat and happy, not lonely and depressing. But as far as accurately representing the surroundings, I can’t think of a better example than the Winter Theme. I haven’t heard a song be so perfectly reminiscent of the cold, harsh months of December, January and February in a game except for this theme, and that’s definitely reason enough for the Winter Theme to be at the number 85 spot on my list. 84). Crystal King Battle Theme – Paper Mario This song is awesome. By the way, I’m going to be saying a lot from here on out, I really love all the songs on the list, I really do, and it’s really freakin’ hard to order them. Sure some were easy like the Super Metroid theme and White Land I, but really, it got hard keeping so many great songs so low. And it’s not that they are anywhere near the level of the songs near the top of the list, it’s just that these are so good, it feels like an insult to say that there are 83 better songs than the Crystal King Battle Theme. But that’s just the nature of a list. Now, after that pointless speech, let’s turn to discussion of the actual song. This beat is unlike anything I’ve heard before in a game, and it really sticks with you. It seems to be always shifting around somehow, and the melody sounds out of place, but also in place at the same time. It’s a strange sensation, trying to analyze the Crystal King’s music, I always hated that boss. I don’t care what you say, this guy was much harder than Bowser. Maybe it’s because my cartridge of the game is flawed so Bowser doesn’t breath fire in the final match, but that’s besides the point. Bottom line, the Crystal King is a pain to fight, but this music almost makes it endurable. That’s how good this song is, it makes that boss fight bearable. Moving on. 83). One-Winged Angel – Final Fantasy VII This song is just terrifying. It’s just downright freaky. The industrial sounding beat, the creepy progressing horns, the swirling sounds, and the chorus singers all combine to create an awe-inspiring, and also hide-in-the-freakin’-corner song. Now, it might seem like I’m slighting Final Fantasy yet again by placing an alleged masterpiece so low, but that speaks to the quality of this list, and also I just feel that while this song really rocks, it just barely falls to the other entries on this list. But just barely. Anyway, let’s get back to the song. I can’t stress the creepy-ness factor in this song, it’s the only emotion that comes to mind when hearing it. Maybe this is just me, or the fact that I learned some of it for my chorus class last year, but this sounds like it could be straight out of the requiem mass. Let’s compare, you already have the video of One-Winged Angel, here’s some of Mozart’s Requiem Mass: Eerie, right? And the strange thing is that the Final Fantasy music is actually creepier! Yeah, the pauses in the Mozart piece, while enhance it musically of course, take away from the creepy factor. Good thing One-Winged Angel doesn’t, otherwise I wouldn’t have this much to talk about. So going back, One-Winged Angel; awesome, awesome song, just not good enough to be any higher on my list. 82). Brinstar Theme – Metroid This is much better than the Super Metroid theme. This is adventuring music at some of its best; the 8-bit bloops and bleeps taking on a soul, just how other classic 8-bit themes do, carrying emotion and spirit all within a handful of notes. Just listen as the feeling of nostalgia washes over you as the cheery melody of the Brinstar theme over its possibly sinister beat plays. And no, this obviously isn’t as good as the other main 8-bit themes, such as Mario and Zelda, but it’s still really freakin’ good. The Brinstar Theme has a sort of mystery that the other main 8-bit theme can’t really match, but it still has a general cheeriness to it. Compare that with the later music in later Metroid games, and you see that it ends up getting much darker. I for one think it’s better this way; simple, adventurous, happy, and full of possibilities. Just like the rest of this list maybe. Anyway, that’s it about the Brinstar theme, it’s just… good. 81). Baby Bowser Fight – Yoshi’s Story Yes, I know that Yoshi’s Island had a better Baby Bowser fight, and the final boss in Yoshi’s Story is pretty anti-climatic, with it’s insane level of easiness. However, that does not change the fact that the music is freakin’ amazing. The song starts off with a bang, going into its crazy, descenting synthesizer, and ends up as sort of musical interpretation of madness in my eyes. It just ends up as pure insanity, and off the wall craziness. It has so many different parts to it, that each has to be examined separately. That’s all I can say about Baby Bowser’s Boss Battle music from Yoshi’s Story, but it was easily enough to say to put it at 81 on my list.