Shadow Hog
Member
AWS Pro Moves Soccer Menu: Jesper Kyd's first work on the Genesis (before he did Adventures of Batman and Robin, Red Zone or Sub-Terrania). I dunno how good the game is (sports games aren't my scene), but there's no way it could live up to a menu theme this kickass.
Bubble and Squeak - The Neverglades: Never played this one, but I rather like the atmosphere this track's got, so darned if I don't want to try it.
Captain America and the Avengers - Stage 1. Really the whole soundtrack, but this is as good an example as any. I have no idea how well the game or the conversion holds up, but music-wise, it kicks the ass of the SNES one (which was really pretty awful all things considered).
Comix Zone - Stage 2-1. Really, the whole soundtrack is pretty awesome rock guitar stuff, but I always had a soft spot for this one; captured the feel of a snowy mountain training ground fairly well, I think.
Contra Hard Corps - "Last Springsteen". This game has such an amazing soundtrack, honestly, and this is probably the most visceral of the lot. So good, Konami reused it for Contra Rebirth's final boss, where it's equally pulse-raising.
Devilish - Intro. Mediocre Breakout/Arkanoid game, to my understanding, but Hitoshi Sakimoto composed, which means it has a great soundtrack, so here we are.
Garfield - Caught in the Act - "Season Finale". Not sure why a game featuring a mediocre newspaper comic icon (albeit the old '80s cartoon was legitimately fun) has such a good techno track in it, but I recall being fairly smitten with this one my first run through the game.
Lethal Enforcers 2: Gun Fighters had a pretty kickass soundtrack conversion from the arcade version. Stage 1-1, 1-2, 2/4 and 3-2 are all pretty much standouts in my mind, although there aren't many YouTube videos of either this version or the arcade one's (doesn't help the sound test in the service menu for the arcade version doesn't let you play any of the music from the game :I).
Master of Monsters - "Standing in the White Fortress". More somber FM synth from Hitoshi Sakimoto. He's really good at this, don't you know?
Mega Man - The Wily Wars - Wily Tower Stage 4. While the game's overall kind of a mediocre port of the first three NES titles, it does have an original campaign hidden in it when you finish them all. While the music for the three Robot Masters you fight is kinda eh, the Wily Castle themes are some kickass stuff. Always kinda liked the Western-ish feel this one has.
Mega Turrican - "Bionic Action" (Stage 1-1). Chris Huelsbeck's soundtracks for the Turrican series have always been kickass, and this is the first (and only) entry in the series where he does the Genesis soundtrack himself (the conversions for the first game and Universal Soldier kinda sound like ass, honestly). It's very much kickass as a result; I actually kinda like it more than the Amiga version...
Midnight Resistance - "Flood of Power". More Hitoshi Sakimoto! This guy really knew how to work an FM synth. That intro's incredibly kickass, too. The arcade version sounds impotent in comparison.
Monster World IV - "Try the Trial". Dunno why I like this one so much, beyond the fact it reminds me a lot of OPL synths on old DOS games. I like nostalgic tickles like that, even if I didn't check out this game until around 2011 or so.
Red Zone - "Retirement". "This nuclear war will create a nuclear winter that will kill most life, and radioactivity will render the world uninhabitable for thousands of years to come. DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR!" Basically, the Game Over screen doesn't fool around - and the music really makes it sink in, too.
Toy Story - "Inside the Claw Machine". Another pretty awesome techno(-ish) piece inside a licensed game. I actually like this version better than the SNES one; the square wave lead works better, I think, than a honky-tonk piano trying to do the same thing. "Really Inside the Claw Machine" was another good one, although it's surprisingly lengthy considering it plays during a timed mission.
Vapor Trail - Main Theme. Seriously, listen to that intro. Does it get more '80s sounding than that? Really brings to mind the kind of kitschy action films you'd get from that era.
Yu Yu Hakusho - Makyou Touitsusen - Mountain Peak. Another game I've never played, but I really like way this one goes for some reason. Wouldn't be out of place in a mountain stage in any given action game, really.
Bubble and Squeak - The Neverglades: Never played this one, but I rather like the atmosphere this track's got, so darned if I don't want to try it.
Captain America and the Avengers - Stage 1. Really the whole soundtrack, but this is as good an example as any. I have no idea how well the game or the conversion holds up, but music-wise, it kicks the ass of the SNES one (which was really pretty awful all things considered).
Comix Zone - Stage 2-1. Really, the whole soundtrack is pretty awesome rock guitar stuff, but I always had a soft spot for this one; captured the feel of a snowy mountain training ground fairly well, I think.
Contra Hard Corps - "Last Springsteen". This game has such an amazing soundtrack, honestly, and this is probably the most visceral of the lot. So good, Konami reused it for Contra Rebirth's final boss, where it's equally pulse-raising.
Devilish - Intro. Mediocre Breakout/Arkanoid game, to my understanding, but Hitoshi Sakimoto composed, which means it has a great soundtrack, so here we are.
Garfield - Caught in the Act - "Season Finale". Not sure why a game featuring a mediocre newspaper comic icon (albeit the old '80s cartoon was legitimately fun) has such a good techno track in it, but I recall being fairly smitten with this one my first run through the game.
Lethal Enforcers 2: Gun Fighters had a pretty kickass soundtrack conversion from the arcade version. Stage 1-1, 1-2, 2/4 and 3-2 are all pretty much standouts in my mind, although there aren't many YouTube videos of either this version or the arcade one's (doesn't help the sound test in the service menu for the arcade version doesn't let you play any of the music from the game :I).
Master of Monsters - "Standing in the White Fortress". More somber FM synth from Hitoshi Sakimoto. He's really good at this, don't you know?
Mega Man - The Wily Wars - Wily Tower Stage 4. While the game's overall kind of a mediocre port of the first three NES titles, it does have an original campaign hidden in it when you finish them all. While the music for the three Robot Masters you fight is kinda eh, the Wily Castle themes are some kickass stuff. Always kinda liked the Western-ish feel this one has.
Mega Turrican - "Bionic Action" (Stage 1-1). Chris Huelsbeck's soundtracks for the Turrican series have always been kickass, and this is the first (and only) entry in the series where he does the Genesis soundtrack himself (the conversions for the first game and Universal Soldier kinda sound like ass, honestly). It's very much kickass as a result; I actually kinda like it more than the Amiga version...
Midnight Resistance - "Flood of Power". More Hitoshi Sakimoto! This guy really knew how to work an FM synth. That intro's incredibly kickass, too. The arcade version sounds impotent in comparison.
Monster World IV - "Try the Trial". Dunno why I like this one so much, beyond the fact it reminds me a lot of OPL synths on old DOS games. I like nostalgic tickles like that, even if I didn't check out this game until around 2011 or so.
Red Zone - "Retirement". "This nuclear war will create a nuclear winter that will kill most life, and radioactivity will render the world uninhabitable for thousands of years to come. DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR!" Basically, the Game Over screen doesn't fool around - and the music really makes it sink in, too.
Toy Story - "Inside the Claw Machine". Another pretty awesome techno(-ish) piece inside a licensed game. I actually like this version better than the SNES one; the square wave lead works better, I think, than a honky-tonk piano trying to do the same thing. "Really Inside the Claw Machine" was another good one, although it's surprisingly lengthy considering it plays during a timed mission.
Vapor Trail - Main Theme. Seriously, listen to that intro. Does it get more '80s sounding than that? Really brings to mind the kind of kitschy action films you'd get from that era.
Yu Yu Hakusho - Makyou Touitsusen - Mountain Peak. Another game I've never played, but I really like way this one goes for some reason. Wouldn't be out of place in a mountain stage in any given action game, really.
Also by Hitoshi Sakimoto :VSurprisingly I never played Gauntlet IV, but I am a huge Gauntlet fan. Lovely OST, it's easier on the ears than most Genesis music.