Top Ten Video Game Soundtracks: 10-8 EDIT

In Honor of the (graphically superior) Dreamcast version of Space Channel 5 part 2 getting an upcoming release on the PSN and Xbox live arcade, I decided to start a top ten list of my favorite VG soundtracks.

EDIT: I decided that Space Channel 5 & SC5 part 2 should count as one entry, so here is the revised 10-8 list.

10) Castlevania (Rondo of blood/ Symphony of the Night) [Turbo CD, PS1]

The Castlevania Games have always had great music and awesome identifiable themes, even from their starting days on the NES. But, it was when The series hit the CD format that the soundtracks moved from “eh, pretty good,” to “great.” These first 2 CD based Castlevania games definitely prove my point. The songs range from, energetic, to eerie, to just plain epic. It fit’s the game well and also is fun on it’s own.

Sample(s):  Vampire Killer & Requiem 

9) Space Channel 5/ Space Channel 5 part 2(Dreamcast, PS2)

Part of me really, really, wants these games higher up on the list, but my more critical side is restricting them to the number 9 spot. Space Channel 5 for the Sega Dreamcast has an awesome soundtrack that could have come straight out of the 60’s if it didn’t have that one techno song stuck right in the middle. Each song has a killer beat and goes great with the game-play's sleek, sexy retro-futuristic style. Every one of the songs on the soundtrack blends well with the next, but that’s part of the reason this game is stuck in the 9 spot and not 4 or 5; the songs start to sound sort of similar after a while, and although fun, the soundtrack isn't too varied. This is not a huge surprise, because the majority of the soundtrack as well as the game itself were inspired by the 1960’s Ken Woodman song, Mexican Flyer. Don’t let it get you down on the game or soundtrack though, both are super fun. The sequel’s music is just as good, in fact it has a wider range of musical styles, but it isn’t different enough for a seperate entry in this countdown

(Remember, don’t forget to pick Part 2 up on the PSN or Xbox live arcade when they come out! :3)

Sample: End bosses + support chant & Guitar battle

8) Jet Grind Radio (Dreamcast)

Jet Grind radio is a totally over the top skating/action-platformer, one of my top 5 dreamcast games, and probably one of my favorite games of all time. It’s one of those games that once you figure out the basics, you can basically jump right in and have a blast with Now, the game would have been great on its own, but it’s Hip-Hop, Techno, Ska/Punk-Rock soundtrack puts you in the moment, not to mention a great mood. As far as just listening to the soundtrack on it’s own goes, this one is a terrific mood lifter. Seriously, this kept me in a good mood while I was cleaning the kitchen! I friggin had to unclogged the sink too! True fact.

Samples:  Jet Set Medley + Funky Radio

 

Peace out and Geek out,
Mikeke352

Retro Gaming, Collections- Part 2: Game Consoles and their libraries

For part 2 I will be giving brief discussions of what types of games are on each systems, and where to start your reseach on all these games.

Here is a guide of what game genres you should expect to run into for different systems

NES- There is seriously something for everyone on the NES because it has a little bit of everything. Shooters, (a lot of) platformers, action/ adventure games, puzzle, racing, even RPG’s. There is a reason why some people hold the NES high on a pedestal, and that’s because so many of the games were great, even the 3rd party ones. But keep in mind that nothing is perfect. Although there are certainly a lot of gems on the NES, theres a lot of crap too. This is more noticeable for NES games later in it’s lifespan.

Sega Master System- The Master System, Sega’s first Console, was technically superior to the NES with a wider color palette and a better sound chip. Although it has these advantages, it never was the success Sega expected. It has a similar range of genres to the NES, but a more limited library, at least in the US. This in part is due to Nintendo’s tyrannical dealings with third party developers in the 1980’s. (They basically told developers either you make games just for the NES, or not at all.) Despite all this, it didn’t stop Sega from releasing some great games on their own. ( It even had the first J-RPG released in America, (Phantasy Star.)

Sega Genesis- The genesis is a great Gamers game system and has a lot of action games, platformers, sports games, adventure games, and shooters. The Genesis has a very large game library, (around 500 games,) and many classic Sega franchises first got their debut on this system. There aren’t a ton of RPG’s for the genesis, and most of them are directly from sega, but the ones that the Genesis got are pretty good. You really can’t go wrong with any Phantasy Star, or Shining Force

Turbografx-16- The turbografx is a neat little oddity. The games are stored on credit card sized chips and even though it is a few years older than the Genesis, it has a MUCH larger color palette Having only recently acquired a Turbografx, I’m not nearly as familiar with its library, but I’ll give it a shot. -_-;;  The Turbografx has many excellent scrolling shooters and arcade ports, as well as some cool platformers and action games. Neither the game cards or the Turbografx itself can store save data, (without an add-on,) so don’t expect many RPG’s, or strategy games. . If you are lucky enough to have the pricey (region & copy protection free) CD add-on, you can find more high(er) quality, longer games, including many excellent RPG’s, strategy games, and anime style games complete with cinimatics and voice acting.

Part 2 Continued will include Game console/game library info for the Super Nintendo, Sega Saturn, Playstation 1, N64, and Dreamcast.

Next Time: either a journal entry or Retro Gaming Part 2 (cont.)

Peace out and geek out,

Mikeke352

Rough Week?

Honestly? It’s been sort of crazy week. Classes have been dropped, added, rescheduled, dropped again, incorrectly added and then as a result been automatically dropped. Again. Add on top multiple runs to the Campus book store for returns and new purchases, and scheduling errors. (It turns out my “Development of Modern Poetry” class starts at 5PM instead of 6:15PM, which explains why I could never find it.) Things have been hectic, but (lately) when the crazy dies down for the day, I actually have tried some cool movies and stuff that I would say qualify for geeky, So instead of a typical review, This is going to be more of a journal-ish blog.

1)      Laura (1944)

A couple nights ago I was going through my streaming netflix account and was surprised to come across the classic detective/Film Noir movie: Laura. This is an excellent movie, apparently some critics tout it as the beginning of the Film Noir genre.

It tells the story of a detective investigating the brutal (but never seen,) murder of the beautiful, young ,advertising executive, Laura Hunt. As he questions her relatives, friends neighbors, etc, he falls in love with the idea of who she was from what is described to him. Things get complicated when one of her friends calls him out on it, and even more so when Laura walks through the front door of her apartment, alive. The acting, cinematography, story, all great.  If you like old movies or classic detective stories and happen to have netflix, give it a shot. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

2)      Labyrinth (1986)

Honestly? This movie has not aged well. At all. Even though the acting seems stale and roughly 1/3 of the effects seem totally hokey by today’s standards, this still is a very fun movie to watch. I love Jim Henson. He takes puppetry and optical illusions to impressive heights, and for the most part Labyrinth is no exception. Most of the effects that up the “meh” factor of this movie are the CG/computer aided effects, most of the ones that rely on optics and the puppets/animatrons are the ones that work.

Plot and soundtrack –wise, this film is a mess, but that’s part of the fun. You watch it going, “yeah that dancing scene is cool but where the hell did it come from? Why is it there?” or just baffled in general by David Bowie decided to act in and write most of the big songs. Just put it on, shut off the logic and plot critic parts of your brain, and enjoy the ride; It’s completely bad and ridiculous, but the fun kind. Sort of like Rocky Horror is insane and plot hole-ish, but at least Rocky Horry was meant to be that way.

More on my stress relieving geekary tomorrow. I need sleep.

Peace out and geek out,

Mikeke352

Lost at Sea: Graphic Novel Review

“Raleigh is eighteen years old, and she has no idea what she’s doing.If you’ve ever been eighteen, or confused or both, maybe you should read this book.”

This is a comment from the back cover of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s marvelous first graphic novel, Lost at Sea, and it is the perfect blurb for this wonderful story.

I first became aware of Lost at Sea’s existence after seeing it’s picture in the back cover of each Scott Pilgrim book. After asking around and looking it up on the web, I decided to give it a try, and let me tell you. It was COMPLETELY worth it.

Lost at Sea tells the story of Raleigh, an eighteen year old girl who is stuck in the awkward and frightening transition period between high school and college. She’s unsure of herself, uncomfortable in her skin, and a little socially paranoid. From the start of the book she’s emotionally hanging on by a thread, and to top everything off, she’s stuck in a car on road trip from California back to Canada with three other kids she barely knows form her high school . This whole situation combined with some motives that are not fully explained until later in the book, (and you won’t find theme here, sorry,) leads to a reluctant coming of age journey that helps Raleigh grow and learn important nuances in life. Things like stumbling through words expressing yourself, and knowing that no one is completely OK and that it is this baggage that unites us.

Lost at Sea is told in a first person omniscient narrative, and does a great job doing so. O’malley writes the story so while Raleigh does explain to us her feelings and some of her thoughts directly, it is done so without blatantly telling the reader what going on or what will happen. O’Malley also does a good job of putting us in her shoes, making the reader feel her awkwardness and feelings of isolation and confusion. You are never lost in a maze of Raleigh’s thoughts, even though there is a large amount of narrative text. To put it simply the story is told beautifully, causing empathy for the reader towards the characters.

The art in Lost at Sea is fairly simple, but at the same time it’s expressive and fun to look at. There's not a lot to say about the artwork really, it’s pretty standard stuff, but nothing to write home about; and yet, that’s part of it’s charm. The art progresses the story and portrays emotion well enough without it being a distraction or detrimental to the experience. It does it’s job, and that’s enough.

Overall, I LOVED this graphic Novel. It’s emotional without being emo, and it’s dramatic but at the same time still fun to read. I totally recommend it,

10/10

Next Time: Part 2 of the retro gaming series.

Peace out and geek out,

Mikeke352

Starting Retro-Gaming Collections-Part One: Intro

Hello fellow Geeks,

In case you haven’t noticed from the pictures posted, I am a retro-gamer. Don’t get me wrong, I love my PS3 and the games for it, But retro-games hold a very special place in my heart. Collecting and playing these old games is a major hobby, one that should take some serious thought when starting out.

“Why do I want to collect these systems and titles? What systems should I start out with and why? What games should I buy? Where are some good places to buy them?”

These are some important questions you should consider. For example, I personally decided to get into retro gaming because I feel it’s important to play and respect the games that have revolutionized the industry and various genres. It’s really cool to be able to look at a modern game and think, this common gaming mechanic originated from this overlooked title, and I started out with the Sega Dreamcast and Saturn. Anyway, before I ramble on forever, I’m going to go into ways to approach these questions and help you make the right choices for you.

Deciding on the retro systems you start out with is important. One thing to do that is IMMENSELY helpful is research, research, research. Google is your friend. Another good place to learn about systems you are interested in is Racketboy’s beginner’s guides. (Link below.)Then, start examining your budget. It’s expensive to start out this hobby at first, systems range in various prices, and then you have to think about controllers, hook ups, and memory cards; it can be intimidating. I suggest starting out with no more than two systems at the same time. I suggest looking into the more common, older systems, (as they tend to be cheaper,) and researching what systems have an abundance of games in your favorite genres.

A good game console to start out with, in my opinion, is the NES. It’s old enough that you don’t have to worry about memory cards or expensive peripherals, and many of the most popular and fun titles were produced in large quantities meaning they’re cheap. There is something for everyone on the NES, and it’s held up a good recommendation for a reason.

The Genesis isn’t too much worse price-wise for starting up a collection either, if you like some more challenging games for a somewhat older audience, (I’m not saying you can’t get this on the NES, I’m just pointing out the Genesis/Mega Drive was aimed at the teenage/ older gamer crowd, so there are more games for those ages.) The Genesis might be a better choice for you.

For Part 2: What types of games are on what systems, where to find good places to buy these games and info on them, and price guides to keep in mind.

Next Time: either a review of the graphic Novel "Lost At Sea," or Part 2 of the retro game series.

Peace out and geek out,

Mikeke352

Racketboy Link:

http://www.racketboy.com/guide/retro-gaming-101

A Hint

Here's a hint on the next blog topic:


It'll be uploaded as soon as it's done.

Peace out and geek out,
Mikeke352

Weird is the New Polite

Hello again geeks and nerds,

Convention season is approaching. Whether you’re a N00b or a regular, it is important to keep these guidelines in mind:

Respect cosplay. (costume-play) cosplay, is a huge part of conventions. It’s fine to compliment and look at others costumes; some people spend several months working on them, BUT do not touch, or hug, without permission. The same goes for photos. If you ask, the answer is usually yes. Taking pictures or hugging without permission at these things is considered creepy and rude. Remember, some costumes are delicate. Trust me, you don’t want a guy in a semi-broken eight foot tall robot costume chasing you down.

Be prepared for some strange sites while you’re looking around as well. It is not uncommon to see costumes bordering underwear and/or men in drag: Sailor Manly-Moon. Remember, conventions are a once a year occurrence to most, where geeks can go all out and not be ridiculed. Don’t be the one to ruin that fun. If something bothers you, walk away.

Be open to anything. Spontaneous weirdness WILL occur. If people on the far end of a line shout out, “MARCO,” yell back “POLO.” It’s all part of the experience. Try something new, like I mentioned earlier, this is a once a year event, so you might as well let loose. If you are normally afraid of showing your geeky side, or tend to be on the shy side, an Anime Con might be just what you need. You won’t be judged here, so absorb all the weirdness you can, dance in the hallways, try a costumed fighting event, karaoke as loud as you can! No true musical talent is required.

Lastly, be social and have fun! You may meet new friends you will never forget.

Next time: A blog on something video game related...I think.

Peace out and geek out,

Mikeke352

Welcome!

Hello my dear geeks and nerds, Welcome to The Geek Commentaries, a blog that will cover geeky topics such as video games, tech stuff, anime/manga, movies, etc. I have a fairly busy schedule at the moment, with my college classes starting up and a crazy-active job hunt, so at the moment there is no set update schedule for the blog. I do have a few guest authors in mind to help out when things get a little slow.

Next Time: expect a blog on either anime convention etiquette or starting a retro game collection.

Peace out and geek out,

Mikeke352