Playstation 2 Soundtracks
from Tokyopop
Review
by : Russ
Ray
Behind
the times and without a Playstation 2 of my own, I set out
to review two video game soundtracks for this format from
Tokyopop
for a couple of games I've never played before and know only
by reputation.
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Tekken Tag Tournament
Composed by: Akitaka Touyama, Keiichi Okabe,
Nobuyoshi Sano, Yuu Miyake, Kamimae Shou & Yoshihito
Yano
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One of
the most interesting things about this disc are the liner
notes. Inside, one of the four composers for the game mentions
that their ability to compose the music they wanted was limited
by the amount of space that was available on the disc after
the game. Although that seems like a very obvious comment
to make, I think it deserves extra consideration. It truly
makes you appreciate a video game soundtrack that is done
well when you realize the tricks they pulled to get it into
the game itself.
Most of
the tracks on this disc are hopped-up techno beats that capture
the intensity and energy of fighting, yet are very catchy
on their own. One of my favorite themes is that of Eddy
Gordo, whose theme mixes what sound like samples from
8-bit video games and South American music to give his theme
a great deal of flavor. Another favorite of mine is King's
theme, which is very rough and brutish--a befitting style
for the beastly Mexican wrestler. And, although I hate the
character because she's so damn happy, Ling
Xiaoyu's theme has a really great disco/techno blend that
even includes a classic disco violin hit.
Some of
the other tracks aren't so catchy, but the good outweighs
the bad for the most part. There's a stretch of eight tracks
near the end that are just sound effects, and although they
don't take up a lot of space on the disc, they don't really
add anything either. Likewise with the four remixes at the
end of the disc. Although they are fun to listen to, they
really don't improve on the original songs that much. I would
rather have seen them put a couple more originals on instead.
The CD also comes with a Soul Calibur trading card.
If you
like techno music, you might want to give this one a try even
if you haven't played the game. It's fun to listen to, rarely
slows down, and is just flat-out good.
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The Bouncer
Composed by: Noriko Matsueda & Takahito
Eguchi
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Debate
the merits of the game all you want. Players either want to
argue that The Bouncer is a boring, uneventful rip-off
of a side-scrolling fighting game like Double Dragon
or Fatal Fury or more of an interactive adventure like
the old Dragon's Lair or Space Ace laserdisc
coin-ops or the banned Sega CD Night Trap. Either way
you believe it, it doesn't change the fact that this is one
kick-freaking-ass CD. Almost entirely action-oriented techno
music, this is great music to listen to in the car while you're
evading the cops on the interstate.
The first
10 tracks are almost exclusively techno,
while later themes fuse classical film scores with synthesizers.
The best of these later themes is a covert
op track that sounds like it came right out of Starsky
& Hutch or Beretta.
The most
amazing thing about the composition of this disc is that every
track pays homage to the music of classic games like Double
Dragon and Fatal Fury. The uncanniness is unbelievable.
There are maybe two slow tracks on the entire CD, and you
still won't even want to skip any of those. Hell, I would
buy this disc just to play while you're playing other video
games. It's that good.
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