Memorable Music in Gaming #3

It has been a while since I took a look at some of my favorite soundtracks from video games, but having recently played the Double Dragon Trilogy - I was reminded of this feature. Unlike last time where it was all music centered around Final Fantasy X, there will only be a couple of Double Dragon references in our five clips below.

Double Dragon arcade theme - As I mentioned above, I had a chance to relive the arcade trilogy through the steam game. They remixed the music in that title with varying degrees of success. For me, this is probably the best arcade song of all time. It just stuck in my head and when it played at the beginning and the end, book ending the experience, this theme always got me pumped up.

Bloody Tears from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - My son just picked this up on the virtual console last week out of the blue. I did not think much of it until I heard the song play for the first time. Way what you will about the game itself (I absolutely loved it, but I was also one of those kids with a Nintendo Power - so I admit I had more than a little help navigating the game), but this song was always a striking one.

Double Dragon Neon theme - sticking to the Double Dragon theme (literally), this is a great example of a remix done right. It still does not top out the original arcade version of the song for me, but of all the various remixes and renderings I have heard over the years, Jake Kaufman's take on this classic song is probably the best.

Bionic Commando Area 9 - Bionic Command on the NES was a very different beast from its arcade counterpart. I recall playing it in the arcade, but the title never really stuck for me the way it did on NES where I beat it countless times. This song from Area 9 however, was the best of the bunch. It had a militaristic undertone yet still had an epic adventure feel to it at the same time - pretty much summarizing my thoughts on the game in general.

Double Dragon 2 - The Revenge's Shadow Battle - This song was an odd one the first time I heard it. I did not get to play this title in the arcade when it came out, only recently experiencing it via the Double Dragon Trilogy. I figured it only appropriate however, that I focus on this series one last time today. Most of the songs in the Double Dragon games until now had a sort of hard driving, almost rock beat most of the time. Yet when your shadow forms came out to battle, the music took on an unexpectedly and memorably creepy turn. This is true of the arcade version I have come to learn as well, but I experienced it on the NES first.

Article by Nick