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. If you missed entries 100-96, you can find it here: http://screwattack.com/node/27612 So without any further rambling, let's get into it 95). Victory Fanfare – Final Fantasy Series DO-DO-DO-DO-DO-DO-DO-DO!!! By far one of the most memorable tunes in gaming history, the victory fanfare is something that is etched into pretty much every gamers mind, even if they haven’t played a lot of final fantasy games. Now, everyone reading this knows while it’s on the list, it’s a memorable song, it fits the situation nicely, it’s upbeat and cheerful, and it’s just plain old fun. But why is it this low, and more importantly, how did this fall from my original top 10 video game theme to the mid 90’s on this list? Well the answer to that is that I became a better blogger. In my older lists, I wouldn’t spend as much time thinking, and was just anxious to get lists done, and I didn’t fully think about what it meant to put a song in the top 10. But anyway, the reasons I have that lead to this song being so low is that, well, it’s too short. Yes, those iconic 8 notes are some of the most famous in history, right up there with Mario and Zelda, but with the victory fanfare, except for maybe the first battle where you just want to hear the music, the player will just skip through the rest of the song. There is something to be said about an overworld song that constantly plays, and how it compares to a song you can skip. But even though most of the time this song ends up getting skipped through, it’s still a classic, and in every right is deserving of being on this list. 94). Pyroxene of the Heart – Eternal Sonata Not every great video game song is fast, or upbeat. Also, not all of the great ones grab you from the start. One example of this is Pyroxene of the Heart. It starts very faintly and slowly, and at first you wonder if music is even playing. The piano gets a little louder, the beautiful vocals come in, and the piece gets more and more complex. Pyroxene of the Heart is an absolutely beautiful piece of music, and the emotion it gives off works great in Eternal Sonata. This song sounds like it could be straight out of final fantasy cut scene, and it really speaks for the fact that the music in Eternal Sonata expresses so much. Although the characters are for the most part very interesting, well thought out, and deep, sometimes the voice acting (which I’ve talked about, for certain characters and certain situations is just awful) ruins the characters, or the seriousness of any given situation. That’s where the music comes in and gives the game a much needed consistent sense of great emotion. But why isn’t this song higher? Well, I think it’s because of the game it’s in. The rest of the amazing music in Eternal Sonata overshadows Pryoxene of the Heart to such a degree that when I think about music in Eternal Sonata, this song is not what I immediately think of. Also, even if the songs build up is really good, it does start kind of slow and a little boring. That’s just my taste though, and don’t get me wrong, Pyroxene of the Heart is definitely one of the greatest game songs ever. 93). Katamari Roll – Katamari Damacy This is easily one of the strangest songs in gaming history, from possibly the all time strangest game in history, Katamari Damacy. Katamari Roll (which I think is the title, that’s the one I found on Youtube) starts off with some piano, and vocals singing what is seemingly gibberish. After a little while of this, the main part of the song comes in, which a crooner-style song with some very funny lyrics, all really based around one central pun, the use of the word “roll”. It’s not the most imaginative joke in the world, but it’s kind of clever. And in a game as strange as Katamari Damacy, this song, which would sound overly cheesy in any other game, somehow works really well. I don’t know how to describe it really, but this song has such a cheery feel to it that I instantly have an affinity for it, it just brightens up my day whenever I hear it. But it is rather low on this list because I did make a sort of penalty for having real songs in a game, I usually prefer video game music that sounds like it’s from a game. It’s kind of like how I penalized the Rock Band 2 soundtrack in my top 10 Soundtracks list; while technically this might be better than some songs higher up on the list, I have to penalize it. I don’t even have to explain that this isn’t the best song in Katamari Damacy, I think you all know what I’m talking about, so that also keeps this song low. But Katamari Roll is one of the most unique and original songs in a game that I’ve heard in a while. And you can’t help but smile at all the “roll” jokes, they’re kind of clever. 92). Heat Man’s Theme – Mega Man 2 And we finally get into the vast Mega Man soundtrack. Heat Man’s theme from Mega Man 2 is one of my favorite songs in all of Mega Man, with its crazy techno feel and awesome bass line, it’s definitely an energetic song. Despite it being probably my least favorite Mega Man 2 stage, the music helps make it memorable. There isn’t a whole lot special about this song, so the description will be shorter than normal. But this is a perfect example of the greatness of the Mega Man soundtrack. Most 8-bit music doesn’t sound this complex, and it really speaks for the quality of the Mega Man soundtrack that most of the songs are actually very complex. There isn’t anything else I can say about this song, but that’s why I have the video; the music pretty much speaks for itself. 91). Snake Man’s Theme – Mega Man 3 Yes, another Mega Man song. It’s just how the list played out. But Snake Man’s Theme from Mega Man 3 is really cool. The tune immediately catches your ear with its rapid-fire opening, and then keeps you interested with a very catchy melody. One thing I like about this song, and the whole Mega Man soundtrack really, is how diverse it is. Most of the themes in the game are vastly different from eachother. Although, one problem for me with Mega Man music is that I can never really think of anything to write about any of the songs. So excuse me if the amount of writing on future Mega Man entries is somewhat lacking. But Snake Man’s Theme is just cool, and is one of my favorites.