The Greatest Game Music

Reviews of truly outstanding game music

Most recent review

Gauntlet IV Soundtrack

Gauntlet IV Soundtrack, Masaharu Iwata / Hitoshi Sakimoto, 1993

In an industry dominated so much by spin, it is refreshing to see a corporate history description as honest as developer M2’s: “Gathered a bunch of friends who used to play Gauntlet together at the arcades and ported it to PC (X68000) for fun. Presented it to TENGEN/ATARI GAMES, who then sold it for the MegaDrive title after some back and forth.” It’s a perfectly succinct description of how Gauntlet IV came about – although it is worth pointing out that at least the game’s title was a clever bit of marketing. Technically, Gauntlet IV was a significantly enhanced port of the original Gauntlet, adding three new gameplay modes. However, naming the game after an eight-year-old title that had already been ported many times to other platforms probably didn’t look like a promising strategy. So, a roman numerical was added, and Gauntlet IV was instead sold as a sequel.

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Featured review

Starship Rendevous Soundtrack

Starship Rendezvous Soundtrack (PC-88), Masaharu Iwata / Hitoshi Sakimoto, 1989

At first glance, there is precious little setting Starship Rendezvous apart from the glut of doujin games released during the late 1980s and early 90s on Japanese home computer systems. The game’s laggy, basic top-down shooter gameplay is spread across only four levels. To make matters worse, gamers could only shoot one bullet at a time – and then had to wait for it to leave the screen. At least enemies would only notice players when they ended up in their direct line of view. Then again, none of this was really the point of the game – that would be the “boss” fights against female characters in various states of undress. Yes, it’s an adult game, and per (almost) usual, the gameplay is a mere afterthought.

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After Burner Soundtrack

After Burner Soundtrack (FM Towns), Norio Hanzawa / Hiroshi Kawaguchi, 1989

Sega’s After Burner was such a smash hit in arcades that the game was ported to an astonishing number of console and home computer platforms. Of course, thanks to the power of After Burner’s X-Board arcade technology, none of the contemporary ports matched the original game’s sense of speed and visual fireworks. In some cases – such as the European C64 release – one might argue that developers should never have attempted a port in the first place. Out of all the many adaptations of After Burner, the FM Towns version came closest to matching the arcade original – not a surprise, given the platform’s powerful hardware that bested contemporaries like the Sega Genesis or the PC Engine.

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After Burner Soundtrack (C64 - Europe)

After Burner Soundtrack (C64 – Europe), Adam Gilmore / Hiroshi Kawaguchi, 1988

The immersive 3d-action and visual fireworks of 1985’s Space Harrier were unparalleled for its era. Sega quickly realised they were on to a winning formula and began to churn out several games that made more and more advanced use of the company’s Super Scaler technology. After motorbikes (Hang-On) and racing cars (OutRun), Sega chose fighter jets for 1987’s action extravaganza After Burner. In many ways, After Burner is the perfect summation of the arcade game experience: blinding speeds, non-stop action – and a difficulty level that focuses more on parting gamers with their quarters rather than providing a fair challenge. The latter point was less of an issue for the many, many console and home computer ports that this genre classic and franchise starter saw in subsequent years. Some platforms even received two After Burner ports – for example, C64 users got to choose between a European and a US version.

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Featured review

Raiden V Soundtrack

Raiden V Soundtrack, Yoshimi Kudo, 2016

You’ve got to appreciate true dedication. Take the development staff of Seibu Kaihatsu, creators of the Raiden franchise. The company slid into financial woes from the late 1990s and focused on adult mahjong arcade games. However, its staff members left Seibu Kaihatsu, formed a new company called MOSS, bought the rights to the Raiden franchise – and ensured that its legacy would continue through several new instalments. After creating the franchise’s third and fourth titles, MOSS hit a milestone with Raiden V in 2016 – an impressive 26 years after the original Raiden hit arcades. As with previous franchise titles developed by MOSS, Raiden V picked up solid – if not always ecstatic – reviews. Not surprisingly, Raiden V introduced few innovations to the formula that the series had thrived on, but once again promised solid bullet hell-entertainment (that was slightly more accessible to novices than previous Raiden games).

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Raiden DX Soundtrack

Raiden DX Soundtrack (PlayStation), Go Sato, 1997

Raiden DX is the perfect example of why it got difficult keeping up with the Raiden franchise and its music at some stage. The game is effectively an updated version of Raiden II, making it the strongest entry in the franchise’s classic period. Recycling levels from Raiden II and mixing in completely new stages, Raiden DX presents its content via three different courses players can take. One is essentially a reprise of Raiden II. The other two modes consist of one massive level and of a whole new set of stages that increase Raiden II’s already considerable difficulty level. A full three years after its 1994 arcade release, Raiden DX received a PlayStation port that added more bonus goodies, including new options and a demo of developer Seibu Kaihatsu’s puzzle game Senkyu.

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Raiden Soundtrack

Raiden Soundtrack (FM Towns), Akira Satoh, 1991

You could argue Raiden wasn’t a terribly innovative or flashy title, released at a time when there was no shortage of shoot’em ups jostling for the genre throne. Still, Seibu Kaihatsu’s game turned into one of the best-known vertical shoot’em ups, spawning an extensive franchise that would see new games released even decades after Raiden first delighted arcade audiences in 1990. What did set the game apart from the competition was not just its refinement of existing gameplay concepts but also its almost proto-bullet hell approach, filling the screen with tons of projectiles. As would befit a popular shoot’em up from the genre’s golden era, Raiden was released across many computer and console platforms. Likely the best contemporary port was the FM Towns conversion – a familiar story at the time, given the platform’s superior processing power.

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