Weekly Game Music: mrs mushroom likes LCD soundsystem (Botanicula)


New week, new music.  To celebrate Amanita Design again, here’s a playfully named music, mrs mushroom likes LCD soundsystem by DVA.  It’s a nature-inspired, if a little trippy, collection of sounds and composition from the beautiful game, Botanicula.

Botanicula narrates a light-hearted adventure of 5 small friends, Mr. Lantern, Mrs. Mushroom, Mr. Poppy Head, Mr. Feather, and Mr. Twig.  Mr. Lantern find himself taking on the duty of planting the last seed from the great tree that he and his friend inhabit.  The seed, which gives Mr. Lantern a vision, describes how the mysterious black parasites had started infesting the tree.  Quickly realizing the significance of this task, he gathers his loyal friends to help him trek down the large and complex home of theirs.

Botanicula is an unorthodox point-and-click adventure that involves directing the direction the group should go.  The game has no inventory system, and most of the actions require assistance from the player rather than the in-game characters themselves.  As an example, catapulting things off a twig is done through the player’s mouse instead of the character taking that action.  Similar to their previous games, Botanicula is narrated entirely without text.  Lastly, the game has numerous hidden secrets, which becomes a fun meta-game in-and-of-itself.

Botanicula was released on the PC, Mac, and Linux in 2012.


Extra!

Title: zatoichi
Game: Botanicula
Composers: DVA

Title: juchu
Game: Botanicula
Composers: DVA

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Weekly Game Music: Jeremy (Granado Espada)


New week, new music.  We need…more MMORPG music!  Here’s Jeremy from Sword 2 (or Granado Espada outside of North America and Europe).  It’s composed by a group of South Korean composers, known as S.F.A.  The dramatic crescendo best portrays the wonders of discovering a new world.

Sword 2 is free-to-play at GamersFirst.com.

Sword 2 is loosely based off of the European colonization on the North American continent.  In the mist of a losing war, the king of Opoluto commands the explorers to Gilbert Granado and Ferrucio Espada to find an ocean route to get its upper hand on its enemies.  Instead, they find a new land, Granado Espada.  The discovery was a big surprise…for the enemy countries.  Soon, many nationalistic people ventures to this new land of hope, not letting the monster-infested land get in the way of their desire for power.

Sword 2 plays similar to the World of Warcraft: click to attack enemies, collect loot, gain experience points, etc.  It does, however, have one distinct twist: instead of controlling one character, you can control up to 3.  This allows for some neat party system, such as allowing the player to devote one character into healing without the need to be defended by their friends.  Surprisingly, this makes it an engrossing experience for even people preferring to play as the lone warrior.

Sword 2 was released on the PC in 2007.
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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: Sweet Georgia Brown (Charles Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden)


New week, new music.  What’s the absolute, most epic boss music you can ever play when you fight against your worst rival?  According to Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden , it’s Sweet Georgia Brown by Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard.  …I don’t really have a good joke to follow up on that one, so I’ll let the jazzy tune explain for itself.

Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden is a hilarious self-referencing game. You can download it at Tales of Games.

As the title suggests, Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden follows the famed basketball player, struggling to support his son, Hoopz, in a post-apocalypse world. While secretly teaching his son the outlawed basketball dribbles, Charles is falsely accused by the head of B-Ball Removal Department, Michael Jordan, for killing 15 million people with a Chaos Dunk. Charles naturally escapes from Michael’s clumsy grasps, and seeks for a safe refuge while hunting for the real culprit.

Barkley is a turn-based JRPG that uses a quick-time mechanic to enhance your attacks, much like Super Mario RPG series. The puzzles may remind some people of the Golden Sun series as well.  And the enemies appearing readily on the map will remind many of Earthbound , down to touching the back of enemy giving you an extra turn.
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Weekly Game Music: Above the Treetops


Goodness, I keep forgetting about this.  Better late than never: I’ve got yet another MMORPG music for all of you.  Here’s Above the Treetops from ultra-popular MapleStory.  Unfortunately, the name of the composer(s) seems elusive at the moment, but enjoy the mellow tune as it is.

You can play the game for free at Maplestory’s website.

The plot of MapleStory is a simple one: the Black Mage, once sealed by 5 legendary heroes, has unfortunately re-awakened!  As the knight of the Maple World, you must fight!  Cue all the cute monsters that tries to rock your level 1 boat.

The gameplay is a little more interesting.  Much like Legend of Zelda II ,MapleStory is a 2D side-scrolling RPG, with some light platforming.  As with the MMORPG tradition, the collectible weapons and character costumes significantly spices up the action.  Any player should be able to find their most ideal play style, whether it’d be short-range, brute-force brawler style or long-range, tactical style.

MapleStory was released on the PC in 2005.  Offspring versions exists on the Nintendo DS and, oddly enough, Facebook.
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Weekly Game Music: Caravan for 2 Pianos (Flyable Heart)


New week, new music.  I know I’m a week late, but forgive me on this one: I was moving.  In any case, here’s a fun piano tune, Caravan for 2 Pianos from a Japan-only erotic visual novel, Flyable Heart.  The playful composition by Ryo Mizutsuki sets the tone for this comical adventure

Flyable Heart protagonist, Syo Katsuragi, successfully transfers to a highly-prestigious high school, Ōtoriryōran Academy.  Little does he suspect that a generic Japanese harem adventure awaits him!  Upon entering, Syo is unfortunately (or fortunately) tossed into the girls dormitory, as the boys dormitory is crowded.  Even worse (or better), his roommate is a robot.  To make the best out of this unexpected (or expected) situation, he consults with the academy’s student council and Ryōran association.  Which consists mostly of girls (go figure).

As with any visual novel, Flyable Heart plays a lot like a choose-you-own adventure books.  The majority of the game is about reading through a story, occasionally interjected by a few choices one can take to veer the outcome. There isn’t much else to it, actually.

Flyable Heart was released on the PC in 2009.
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