Weekly Game Music: Last Movement (Enemy Zero)


New week, new music.  I just realized haven’t introduced any music from horror games (unless Killer7 counts as a horror game), so here’s our first one from the famed British movie composer, Michael Nyman.  Last Movement is a simple composition that gives you a sense of drifting away.  A fitting music to the Sci-Fi horror game, Enemy Zero, that is also set in a place all too easy to get lost in: space.

Enemy Zero is part of an odd game series, collectively called D, where the only thing recurring between each game are the characters.  Not even their memory or personality carries over to their sequel.  The player takes the role of Laura Lewis, a pilot of AKI spaceship, who is quite unfortunately affected by amnesia after waking up from a malfunctioned cryogenic sleep.  The cause of the rude awakening turns out to be an invasion of carnivorous aliens who are invisible.  Equipped with a device that alarms its bearer of the approaching enemies, and an unwieldy laser pistol, Laura makes a desperate escape from the slaughter house the spaceship is becoming.

Much like Killer7Enemy Zero requires the use of sound to detect the location of the enemies.  The story-heavy game uses a Doom-like first-person perspective.  When you hear an enemy approaching, you have to charge your pistol before firing at the right moment.  The frustrating controls adds to the surprise horror of hearing an alien screeching at you as it pounces.  Coupled with the dark and claustrophobic maze-like hallways, Enemy Zero does everything to make you feel uncomfortable.

Enemy Zero was released on Sega Saturn in 1997.  It was later ported to the PC in 1998.
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Weekly Game Music: Soaring In The Stars (Flight)


New week, new music.  Time to drop those remixes, and back onto original music.  Here’s a movie-like music, Soaring In The Stars by David Orr.  The title quite literally points out the objective of the free flash game, Flight.

You can play Flight at its own website.

Flight depicts several disgruntled figures who write their wishes on a piece of paper, fold it into a paper airplane, and throw it as far as possible.  The gameplay, of course, involves throwing the paper airplane, and controlling it with limited fuel to extend it’s flight as far as possible.  Along the way, the plane can bump into stars, which acts as a currency to buy better upgrades on the next throw.  The distance of the plane’s flight accumulates, allowing it to reach to new locations.
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Weekly Game Music: Cheetahmen Techno (Cheetahmen II)


New week, new music.  Let’s do something completely different: introducing the spectacular internet meme, the Cheetahmen II theme song!  Cheetahmen Techno is, as its title implies, Nico Nico Douga user, 美路盆@LunchBox’s 90’s techno remix of the notoriously terrible (and unreleased!) game’s theme.  Unfortunately, the original composer for the music remains unknown due to lack of credits or licenses.  Wikipedia can only guess that the credits could go to Mario Gonzalez, Ed Bogas, Rob Base, DJ E-Z Rock, Mark Steven Miller and/or Jason Scher.  Whoever wrote the original composition, I salute you.

Cheetahmen II begins with Doctor Morbis creating a new sub-human, Ape Man, to fight against his mortal enemies — and incidentally, his own “failed expirements [sic]” — the Cheetahmen.  They are, after all, the only ones that stands against his evil plans…whatever that is.  It stands to reason that the Cheetahmen trio — Aries, Apollo, and Hercules — fights against Doctor Morbis and his evil mutants!

Simply put, Cheetahmen II is a “it’s so bad, it’s good” game that attempts to ride on the popular platformer gameplay.  Each Cheetahman can run, jump, and attack their enemies…if they are tall enough.  The funny thing is, most enemies are so short, none of the heroes can hit them.  Even worse, apparently each Cheetahman can only survive a small fall before dying, making the platforming portions more difficult than necessary.  Stacked on top hilariously bad glitches, confusing hit-box detection, and “everything can kill you” mentality,Cheetahmen II has all the ingredients to become a legend on the internet landscape.

Cheetahmen II was intended to be released on the NES in 1992, but alas, never saw the light of day.
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Weekly Game Music: Wind Waker Unplugged (Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker)


New week, new music.  Late again this week, but I’m currently checking out SIGGRAPH 2012, and it’s quite a bit exhausting.  Anyways, lets go with something special this week.  Here’s Fredrik Larsson’s medley, Wind Waker Unplugged , which quite predictably blends together various tunes from Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.  It does great justice to the original compositions by Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi, and Koji Kondo.

Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker begins with a common formula in the recent Zelda series: as a young boy named Link, you’re unsuspectingly thrown into an epic adventure when someone very close to him — his sister, Aryll — gets kidnapped by a gigantic bird.  Determined to save his sister, Link gets dropped square into the plot of a growing, evil force.

Sticking with the series’ tradition, Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker plays like an action-adventure.  Sword combat is executed through a simple control-stick, B-button combination.  New to the series is the introduction of countering and using dropped weapons against your enemies.  Wind Waker also strongly focuses on its wind physics, where gliding and sailing becomes essential.  Of course, no Zelda game is complete without complex dungeons and many creative tools to conquer them!

Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was published by Nintendo on the Gamecube in 2003.  No other port exists.


Extra!

Title: Hyrule Field Theme
Game: Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Remixer: Yutaka Iraha
Original Composer: Koji Kondo

Title: Saria’s Song
Game: Super Smash Bros. Melee
Remixer: Hirokazu Ando, Tadashi Ikegami, Shōgo Sakai, Takuto Kitsuta
Original Composer: Koji Kondo


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