Category: #WeeklyGameMusic

A weekly blog post series, where a video game music or fan remix is highlighted, bringing focus to the music and game alike. A Youtube playlist of most of the selections is available here.

Weekly Game Music: Squids Wild West (Squids Wild West)

Posted on by Taro Omiya

New week, new music.  This week, we’re doing something a little different.  Instead of a Youtube video, here’s the SoundCloud music player, coming directly from this week’s music composer, Romain Gauthier.  I’ve posted his music twice already, but theSquids Wild West theme from, well, the iOS game Squids Wild West is something truly special.  Give it a click, and check it out!

Anyhoo, Squids Wild West is a direct sequel to the mobile game, Squids.  Previously, a group of treasure hunting squids accidentally broke the valve sealing the evil goop.  Realizing their mess, their quest to cleanse the underwater world leads them to the sharp-shooter Clint and sumo wrestler Sammo’s home town, ye Seawood.  There, the party attempts to find the master Winnick, and get down with the evil mastermind controlling the ugly goop.

Squids Wild West is a turn-based RPG involving…flinging squids at evil shrimps, crabs, and other watery beings.  It plays a lot like Angry Birds, where squids are flung on a flat surface instead of a trajectory.  Damage is calculated based on the squid’s attack points and fling strength, meaning enemies closer to the squids are more likely to get the brunt of the force.  Along with slamming their own body into crazed wild-life, each class of squids have their own special abilities.  For example, sharp-shooters can shoot projectiles at a far-away enemy, while sumos can create shockwaves to hit enemies within close proximity.

Squids Wild West  was released on the iOS in 2012.  It’s also available on Android.

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Weekly Game Music: Machine Passage (Kirby Air Ride)

Posted on by Taro Omiya

New week, new music.  Nintendo is generally known for its cute and adorable characters.  While the Kirby series are no exceptions to this, Machine Passage from Kirby Air Ride would make you think otherwise.  This creepy, jarring, and melancholic composition by Hirokazu Ando, Shogo Sakai, Tadashi Ikegami and Jun Ishikawa stands in stark contrast to an otherwise cheery, happy racing game.

Kirby Air Ride is a cartoon racing game where Kirby, a pink puffball, and his gang races on Warp Stars across different themed courses.  Unique to this game are the controls.  Instead of holding a button to accelerate, vehicles in Air Ride automatically moves forward.  Instead, one holds the A-button to brake, while also charging the vehicle’s booster.  Gliding are also an important component to this game, allowing one to take many different aerial shortcuts.  Lastly, much like the Mario Kart series, Kirby can suck in enemies scattered each course to use their abilities to hinder rivals’ progress.

Kirby Air Ride  was released on the Gamecube in 2003.

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Weekly Game Music: Zoned In (InMomentum)

Posted on by Taro Omiya

New week, new music.  Moving from timeless to experimental music, I present Zoned In by Gareth Coker.  It’s an immersive composition of elegant motion, one truly worth of its title.  A perfect combination to go with the parkour game, InMomentum.

InMomentum is a first-person parkour game where momentum is everything.  You control a robot that jumps, double-jumps, and even wall-jumps across a minimalistic virtual world.  That last ability proves useful, as the many walls in the game serves as the life-saver to your impending doom.  In case it gets too difficult, InMomentum also gives you the ability to slow down time to make it easier to time your jumps.

InMomentum was released on the PC via Steam in 2011.

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Weekly Game Music: Theme (Bomb Jack)

Posted on by Taro Omiya

New week, new music.  Lets look back to a time when black-and-white was expected on a handheld device.  That’s right!  It’s time to look into Gameboy music.  Here’s Bomb Jack by Alberto Jose Gonzalez.

Bomb Jack is a simple 2D platformer where one guides the superhero, Bomb Jack, to collect bombs scattered across the course in order.  Bomb jack can jump really high and glide to make the collection more easier.  Don’t get hurt by any of the enemies, though!

Bomb Jack on the Gameboy was released in 1992.  It’s been ported on numerous old-school consoles, including Wii’s Virtual Console.

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Weekly Game Music: Main Theme (Ni No Kuni: The Wrath of The White Witch)

Posted on by Taro Omiya

New week, new music.  I’ve never expected to post any Joe Hisashi’s music — an infamous Japanese movie composer — yet here we are.  Level-5’s collaboration with the legendary animators, Studio Ghibli, is nothing short of amazing. Ni No Kuni: The Wrath of The White Witch’s Main Theme is one epic music to be remembered for ages.

Ni No Kuni begins immediately with a tragedy: 13-year-old Oliver’s mother dies while rescuing her son.  Oliver’s never-ending tears gives him a second chance, however.  His treasured doll suddenly comes to life, and reveals that Oliver could revive his mother by traveling into a magical world, the Ni No Kuni.  Oliver immediately accepts, and the duo goes treading through the new parallel universe.

Ni No Kuni is a JRPG that’s a bit like Pokemon.  Oliver and his party members can collect a few monsters to aid them in battle.  Each real-time battle takes placed in a flat arena (a lot like the Tales series), where the player can control one party member or monster, while the others are computer controlled.  Up to 3 party members and 3 monsters can be used in each battle, accounting for some hectic action.

Ni No Kuni: The Wrath of The White Witch was released on the PS3 in 2013.

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Weekly Game Music: Lullaby (Crayon Physics Deluxe)

Posted on by Taro Omiya

New week, new music.  Let’s move on from the anger-filled sad music, and onto a far more calming one.  Here’s Lullaby by composer _ghost.  It’s a simple composition that even children can enjoy, much like the game it comes from, Crayon Physics Deluxe.

Crayon Physics Deluxe is a puzzle game where the things you draw with a crayon becomes real objects, usable to solve its numerous levels.  All puzzles involve pushing a ball into a star, typically located in some ridiculous location.  The more creative the solution, the better!

Crayon Physics Deluxe was released on the PC in 2009.  It has also been ported onto Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android.

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