SIM Anime and Gaming Club

YJ: Well, we r still in touch even after she left the kingdom by twitttting. I know that she has been backpacking and  finding myth balls to grant her wish. Since she is direction idiot, prob lost her way most of the time. But since this kidnapping case started, I lost contact wit her. I saw her tweet abt goin to new world and find children or sth. 

So I have been enjoying my time off in my hometown Jakarta last month and coincidentally, it was the Hari Raya festive season around then (Aidil Fitri for the culturally savvy).

As Indonesia's only metropolis, Jakarta is crowded with kampong villagers from all over the country looking for "high-paying" jobs (read: unstable odd-jobs with an unstable monthly wage equivalent of SGD 300) so they can live better lives.
Hectic is an understatement when it comes to Jakarta's street traffic.
To give you a rough illustration, imagine three buses cramped in a small avenue in Little India, with motorcycles speeding up, blocking the ends of the road.
You need to drive from your house maximum at 7AM to avoid traffic jams, and even without jams, you'll reach the office area at around 8.30AM (8 if you are not working in the prestigious yet bustling central area).
And then there's the evening peak hours. If you leave your office at around 6-7PM, you would be reaching your home around 9 if you're lucky. If you're working overtime, leaving your office at around 10, the highways will be filled up with gigantic 6-8 wheelers and the traffic would not seem to budge, at all. Good luck.

At least half of this traffic is generated from these kampong people, and it's certainly not a good idea to be on the road in peak hours, especially if you're not a native of Jakarta.

Whenever Hari Raya season comes, these people travel back to their kampong to meet and greet their families and relatives (compare CNY).
This phenomenon is what makes Jakarta the ideal city for sightseeing in this short period of time. The usual packed arteries and highways become empty and wide with less vehicles (emphasis on motorcycle) and almost no 6-8 wheelers.
The streets at night were simply wonderful, similar to Singapore's night traffic, with freedom to swerve anywhere you want.

Usually I am more fond of playing jazzy chill tracks while driving in the night, to compensate for the usual hectic traffic and create a more pleasant atmosphere inside the car.

On the second night of Hari Raya however, an epiphany struck me while I was driving through Jakarta's empty highways,



 of course I was driving alone and my parents weren't in the car with me, else I would be disowned faster than you can spell "disown"


So here's a list of anime-game song remixes that are suitable for your speeding pleasure, an assortment of Techno, Trance, and Eurobeat remixes.


1. "God Knows" - Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu (Eurobeat)


Vocalwise, this remix offers the beautiful vocal of the prolific utaite nayuta.
Just listen to that swinging, lovely voice that is almost Hirano's equal. Goddamn it makes me ha...... ppy!


2. "Last Impression" - Gundam Wing (Trance)


As you know, "two-mix" is one of the early pillars of electronic music in Japan and was really popular in the mid 90s, especially for their involvement in the Gundam franchise with Gundam Wing.
This trance take on the original techno-disco version is really impressive, cutting down the melancholic piano and amplifies the beats and wow-effects.


3. "LION" - Macross Frontier (Speed Trance)


I have to say that this version is on par or even better than the original.
The original version had a rockish background and the beautiful vocals of May'n and Nakajima.
This version however, has a faster tempo that provides a more intense background and a chorus that simply fills you with adrenaline.


4. "Airman ga Taosenai" (Speed Trance)


Ah, the ever famous "I Can't Defeat Airman". You can feel the frustration and tension from the music.
Perfect song for making sharp turns without braking or speeding up in a cramped small street and all around frustrating your passengers, especially if your homies are in the car.
Isn't it lovely to make them cuss "Goddammit Anthony I fucking saw a flash of my childhood memory!"
and make them realize that their lives is in your hands?


5. "LEVEL 5 Judgelight" - To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (Eurobeat)

Actually, this Euro mix is not as intense as "Only My Railgun" by raptor32, but as you can see, raptor's final mixing is unclean even though the song has so much potential.
As per my policy of featuring only one song from every title, I have to pick this over raptor's Only My Railgun.
Before someone jumps in with, "but Beatcharger-san has also made an awesome eurobeat mix of judgelight!", let me remind you that we are using these tracks for driving, with your right foot glued to the gas pedal, of course we need tracks with crazy fast tempo!


6. "Phantom Minds" - Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha Movie (Trance)


This is pretty much the same as the LION trance mix above. This remix is on par or even better than the original Nana Mizuki version (inb4 Nana fans rage).
Although it lacks Nana's amazing voice, the faster tempo gives you the adrenaline rush you need for speeding up on highways.


7. m.o.v.e - "Gravity" (Euro-disco)


This is undoubtedly my favorite song from m.o.v.e and I would be very orgasmic if they are to sing this on AFA next month.
Gravity is a very unique song. The original version was done by a mishmash group "m.o.e.v" for an Initial D parody scene in a certain Lucky Star episode.
m.o.v.e then followed up with their own mix of Gravity, which is this song.
So it's a parody of a parody, get it? Yeah, this is some inception stuff.


8. "Lunatic Paradise" - Izayoi Sakuya theme remix (Eurobeat)

A remix of Sakuya's boss theme "Lunar Clock". This is pure Japanese Eurobeat material, comes in a pack with super hard Engrish.
J-Euro differs a lot from normal Eurobeat in terms of lyrics.
You see, the quick formula to determine the lyrics of a Eurobeat is to look for the words "Night", "Tonight", "Dance", "Baby", "Fire", words that European (mostly Italian) composers love to use in almost every existing Eurobeat tracks.
Japanese composers on the other hand, misinterpret the cheesy and incoherent lyrics of Eurobeat (which was penned down by fluent English speakers) as gibberish, thus writing nonsensical and jumbled Engrish.


9. "I'll Believe" - Shakugan no Shana III (Trance)


The original version was, like usual ALTIMA style, a m.o.v.e inspired mixture of euro-disco.
However, it had a fatal weakness in -a deliberately- improper mixing which leads to a low background volume (focusing on Maon's vocal), making the whole song less intense. Apparently it's not a case of audio quality difference, the background volume is just that damn low, and if you amplify it using audio softwares, you'll simply get the loudness effect and a poor quality song. If you are listening to the original version with an MP3 player that has 3D equalizer presets, by all means, use them.
This trance remix not only has a faster tempo, it also amplifies the background music. Although the final mixing is a bit unclean, you can consider that the weak background problem has been eliminated.


10. "TANK!" - Cowboy Bebop (Eurobeat)


And the final track is TANK! a perfect song for you to speed up without an ounce of care.
Sadly there are no Extended ParaParaMAX versions in youtube. I have the extended music file, but it's locked inside my spoiled hdd D:

Hi Everyone,

           ED 212, after 3 decade since the kingdom have been founded,  one of the Tuesday morning. A group of people wearing a black cape, knocking at someone's door. Ding Dong......

Jer: No one's at home i guess. 
Dr: My information cannot be wrong, she should be in this house. 
Shaun: Lets just break the door and see for ourselves.
Chahan: Is that something a King who sneak out of the castle while neglecting his duties, should say???
Shaun: I am here to protect the honor of our people and the Country's reputation and also.....
Dr: Both of u shut up. sh...... 
Jer: Someone is coming. 
               
 The door opens and they see the girl in pajama who looks like just wake up from bed.

Girl: How can I help you?
Shaun: Hi. We are umm looking for a girl called Chloe. Might you be by chance Chloe?
Girl: No idea who that is. Sorry but u got the wrong place. 
Dr: No way, my source cannot be wrong.
                
 The girl tried to close the door. but the man in cape stopped it.

 Guy in a cape: Hi Chloe, long time no see. ( He removed his cape and showed his face )
Chloe: ...Ant???
Ant: Lets go inside and talk. I think you prob know them once you see their face.
             
    They went inside to the house. and removed their cape. 

Chloe: OMG. All hail AMCC. Forgive my insolence. (being frightened)
Shaun: Nah. I cant do that. As a King, I have to punish you. (Grinning) 
Dr: Stop scaring her. Its your fault for not showing your face. 
Shaun: Ok ok. i get it. your punishment is to help us find a certain someone, you know who. 
Chloe: ??? U cant mean HER right?

Ant: Yep. HER who has been MIA since that incident in ED210. Until now, no one know her whereabouts. 
Jer: AKA The legend.
Chahan: I have no idea who this person you guys talking about? Can anyone explain me?

Dr: Well, you are a new member of the council. It cant be helped that you don't know the incident happened which we called it "Missing Decade". Its an unspoken rule in the castle not to say a word about that case ever again. 

Shaun: Thats gonna take us long time to tell you all this. So, we will cut it short. Chloe we want you to help us in finding HER. 
Chloe: Why now?? She been missing for long time. 
Ant: Its 'cuz of this recent news around the world. 
           
   He took out all the newspaper, article about the kidnapping case. 

Chahan: Whats dat to do with finding HER?
Chloe: I see. You aren't suggesting that SHE is the culprit. 
Jer: We wouldn't wanna think so. However, if SHE is the culprit. 

Shaun: Our country will be ruined. The legendary hero of the AMCC is actually kidnapping children around the world. Everything we built so far, will be vanished. and we cant let that happen. So, we gotta find her before the world government finds out about it. 

Chloe: But how can you be so sure its HER doings. She wouldn't do something like this. Right? Hmmm Perhaps. Maybe she might if you really think about. 

Ant: Come on. This case is so fishy. The kidnapper never asked for ransom or anything. And this many kids missing naturally. Prob She just thought ahh so cute. I wanna play with them fow awhile and then she gave the kids sweet and prob brought them to her place and since she is a Airhead, she couldn't recall where she picked them up and now she is branded as a criminal. End of story.  

Dr: We need to find HER ASAP for our country's sake. Since you are a reporter and been close friend with her till she left, you can help us.

Chloe: Ok. I might have an idea where to start with. Knowing her, if we go to this new world where all this happened, we might be able to find her. 
Chahan: In the meantime, you will have to tell us about the incident happened in the missing decade. 

Chloe: Since you guys are from the Rounds of Council, is it ok to go on a trip leaving everything behind?
Shaun: Its ok. I am King, So, I can do whatever I want. I left all my works to my Hand Lady Char and Minister of Finance Lady Clover. They should be fine.

Chloe: All the country's heads leaving all the works behind, this country will it be ok? 
Jer: We will do the introduction then. I m Jer .General of the Army and member of the council.
Dr: I am DR The crown prince even though me and the king are not related at all. 
Ant: You already know me Former prince. 
Chahan: I am the new council member and the name is Chahan. Minister of Foreign Affair. 

Shaun: Well, I sure this will be a fun trip Especially for u 2 - Chahan and Jer. Haha Aren't I considerate. 
Jer & Cha: Shuddup .
Chloe: Am I missing something?

Dr: Cha been in love with the Princess of Salsa, our neighbor country which is our rival as well and things aren't goin well these days. and for Jer well.... he got rejected when he hasnt even started anything yet. 

Ant: Dr you are not in the position to talk about others. You and Girl A. Ahem Ahem. 
Shaun: Ok enough with dat. I dun even have a story like you guys. I so EMO now. Let's prepare for the trip,Shall we?
                   Everyone laughed. and then they start packing up for the trip to find the Legend . 



Meanwhile.......              
                                   Legend: I totally lost my way. Where the hell is NEW WORLD. I just wanted to save the kids from the kidnapper and join straw hat crew to travel around the world for free. How come it turned out like this. wahhhhhh 



                                                                                                                           To Be Continued.....

                                

Warning: This is a pure fiction of work. Any resemblance to characters and names are strictly coincidental.

Anthony is back to bequeath his Jpop knowledge to you all.


I know that some of you guys enjoy listening to your music in a certain fashion.
For example, blasting a hot blooded Super Robot song before going to a sports meet for the adrenaline rush, playing soft and sweet ballads for a good night lullaby, or cheerful punk ronk tracks to start your day.

So you can call me DJ Smartass, I'm going to present to you 20 Japanese songs that fit in with a chilling night ambience.
This was made with night time driving as the focus. When the sky has turned dark, playing these tracks in your car sets the mood perfectly, especially when you're out with the boys after midnight.



"HOME SWEET HOME - reform" - Home Made Kazoku


This is the remix version of HMKu's hit single "HOME SWEET HOME - reborn", 2006's "Most requested song" of Japan's collective radio stations, and HMKu's catalyst to superstardom.

This remix is an all around song that screams out the word "chill night".

The keys, the horns, the drums, and the unique fusion of MICRO's high and KURO's low key vocals, they provide a solid and delicious mix of hip-hop and blues unlike any other chill song.
Well, this song ranked 3rd in my previous top 10 Jpop list. A perfect opener for your night time collection.


"Bump! Bump!" - BoA

This is my utmost favorite BoA song.
I love the consistent soprano sax and blues scratch prominent all over the track.

If you are a Jpop fan, you would have known how BoA failed her US debut around 3 years ago.
She, or more precisely her music producer, changed her style to match the US RNB scene.
It worked well for "Eat you Up", but for the rest of her album, not so much.....
Utada Hikaru released her 2nd US album around the same time as BoA's debut, stayed true to her Jpop style and gained moderate to high success.
This would serve as a big lesson to BoA, who went back to Asia and released "Bump! Bump!" with veteran rapper Verbal.
The song depicts how BoA is going to shine despite the harsh failures of her past haunting her, how she's going to rise again to the top by just being herself.


 "Mr. Taxi" - SNSD
YES, THEY ARE KOREANS.
YES. THIS VERSION IS IN JAPANESE.
YES, I AM A BIG FAN OF THEM.
YES, YOU MUST HAVE THIS IN YOUR COLLECTION.
NO, NO BUTS.


"STARSTRUCK" - m-flo loves AI, Hinouchi Emi, Rum
m-flo is considered a legend in Japan for their ability to collaborate with many artists from different genres and still produce feelgood electronic based music.
DJ taku is a genius composer and Verbal is a globally accomplished emcee who has been working with giant stars from all over the world.
Their "m-flo loves" project is generally accepted by the Japanese as a "dream collaboration" of sorts, where m-flo invited various artists to create some songs together.

"STARSTRUCK" features the up and rising cute Hinouchi Emi who is well known as an urban singer with her sweet voice, Rum who is one part of the Heartsdales female rap duo, and AI who is a quarter Italian RNB singer with a distinct soulful voice.


  "Driving Through the Night" - m.o.v.e
So the theme is "Songs for night time driving".
Now look at the song title, look at it closely, it said "Driving through the Night".

YYYYYYYEEEEAAA BBBBBBBOOOIIII IT'S IKKITOUSEN BBBBBIITTCCCCHEESSSS!!!
FANSERVICE FOR LIFE MADAFAKKKAAAAAAAAA!!!

*cough*

Pardon me, too much oppai can screw with your common sense.
Well to be honest there are better m.o.v.e tracks out there that could replace "Driving through the Night" in this list, like the cool Friday night song MUGEN, the funky and catchy Blazin' Beat, or their most awesome song and my personal favorite Gravity to name a few examples.
But yes, you can't possibly skip out a song which blatantly have the same title as this post's topic and is overall a great chill track.


 "Around the World" - MONKEY MAJIK
To hell with Far East Movement, we have MONKEY MAJIK right here.
Both are bands famous for their signature "gaijin members", but Far East Movement is totally overrated just because they are big in the US and musically speaking, MONKEY MAJIK is far more superior with their versatility.

MONKEY MAJIK has been producing Spitz-like feelgood music that are easy in your ears since their early days. "Around the World" was their first breakthrough to mainstream success, and boy they really nailed it with this one.


 "FIREWORKS" - EXILE
refer to my previous Weekly Jpop Goodness entry. yeah I know, this song is catchy as fuck, a must have for your night time collection.


 "We'll See Heaven" - Digital Planet

Your night is never complete without EUROBEAT! Especially if you drive!
Please remember that if you have friends on your car when this track is on, don't take everything they say into your heart.
Their usual response would be, "Whoa Initial-D! Hey drift on that corner!" and you won't believe how tempting it is to follow their words when this song is blasting, when you're out past midnight and the streets are empty.
Your life is very important, please keep that in mind, you wouldn't want to LITERALLY see heaven just because a song tells you so.


  "SWITCH" - LISA feat. Koda Kumi and Heartsdales

Another perfect representation of a "chill night" mood. What do we have here?
We have LISA, the half Columbian former m-flo vocalist, Koda Kumi, the Christina Aguilera of Japan, and Heartsdales, the famous female rap duo.
All of them are veterans when it comes to urban pop.  "SWITCH" is the result of that extraordinary collaboration, and it is certainly cool as fuck.

This song was tied up with a very old school PS2 game, Crimson Tears. I played that game for a bit in junior high and completely forgot the storyline lol.


"1,000,000 Monsters Attack" - SOUL'd OUT

SOUL'd OUT is one of the more popular rap groups in Japan with their unique urban style.
DIGGY's somewhat nasal rap style might be annoying to English speakers, but there's no denying his music composing ability.
Even his solo career is going very smooth thanks to his creativity.
Combine that with the finishing touch of DJ Shinnosuke and the high speed rap of Brother Hi, you'll get a massive package called SOUL'd OUT.

"1,000,000 Monsters Attack" was featured as one of FIFA 2005's soundtracks.
The lyrics may not make sense after the first verse, but the overall music ambient is perfect for night time activities, especially a futsal match.
Next time you play futsal, bring a boombox and blast this off, it's going to be epic I tell you.


"Nemurenai no wa Dare no Sei" - Inaba Koshi
YYYYEEEAAAAA, one from my favorite singer! Time for a blues song bitches! Inaba Koshi is, without a doubt, Japan's number one rock vocalist, the equivalent of Steven Tyler and Bon Jovi. He is the only singer in Japan who possess an explosive energy and high pitched, yet husky and flexible vocals. His flexible voice profile and unique singing style are able to cover a wide range of genres from cheerful pop songs, soft ballads, power ballads, blues, to hard rock, and perfectly convey the feelings of the songs.  Translated as "Whose fault is it that I can't sleep", this song depicts a proud man's struggle of not being able to sleep, yes. The man has this extreme pain and confusion, like a hole has been drilled in his chest and him being the victim of stoning. He feels that something is off with him today. He is confused of how he can smile ear to ear for a certain person's happiness, and how he can feel sad when that person is unhappy. With those nauseating feelings all mixed up, the stars seem to circle around the ceiling, and the night sky has turned bright all of a sudden. For those of you who are rather slow, this is an unconventional love song.


"GENERATION" - J Soul Brothers

J-soul Brothers was a former EXILE's brother group that has joined EXILE's ranks as of now.
Well actually, J-soul Brothers was used as EXILE's first group name after its major debut, but they changed to EXILE after co-founder Yagi Shokichi went to manage another group and used the J-soul Brothers to name his new group.

J-soul Brothers operate in the same manner as EXILE's. Two vocalists and the rest are dancers.
You can say that they are a species of pure pop group entertainers, which is rare in Japan's present idol culture.
"GENERATION" was featured in EXILE's album "MONSTER - someday", which is the first album released after their merge. It has a pretty cool beat and vocals, what else would you like to ask for?


 "Traveling" - Utada Hikaru
You can't say that you have a good composition of night time music without this track in your list.
Utada's soothing vocal really brings out the best of her chill songs like "Automatic" and "Movin' on Without You", but "Traveling" takes the crown amongst her vast discography.
Well, you can say that it is the best Japanese song out there in terms of night time ambient.

Its very lyrics tells the story of a young woman who has just finished from her work and hopped in a taxi, asking the driver to just joyride anywhere, enjoying the night breeze and scenery.



 "Kagayaku Yoru" - CHEMISTRY
http://www.jpopsuki.tv/video/CHEMISTRY---Kagayaku-Yoru-/15b9f8b041d4c23e025398e25804a513

It is quite sad and disappointing to see one of the greatest pop groups in Japan to break up. CHEMISTRY has been one of the leading pop artist in Japan who excelled in soothing ballads and feelgood music.
Now Kawabata Kaname and Yoshikuni Douchin has split up to pursue their own solo career, with seemingly no intentions to have reunions whatsoever.

With the sheer amount of ballads in their discography, "Kagayaku Yoru" (Shining Night) is one of their rarer uplifting songs.
It was used as the theme song of 2008 U-18 football Olympics, and it certainly reflects the soulful mood of the field: How your friends and teammates are always there to support you no matter what. 


"Heart of Sword ~ Yoake Mae" - T.M Revolution

I'm going to put it bluntly here.
If you don't know this song, you should feel bad. I mean it.
"Heart of Sword" is a staple knowledge for every single person who are into anime culture.
No explanations necessary.


"Only You can Rock Me" - Seikou Nagaoka feat. Mi-yo
Seikou Nagaoka is a Japanese veteran composer and trackmaster who excels in Jazztronic and freetempo music.
He has been dabbling in the world of music around the same time as the legendary Komuro Tetsuya and Max Matsuura.
He composed anime soundtracks as well.
To Heart, Strike Witches, and the Tenchi Muyou series are some of his more popular examples.
His music production and arrangement career is even more popular.
Bigshots like EXILE, KINKI KIDS, and SMAP have been under his care at one time.


"Aishitene Motto" - Kayo Aiko

Time for a jazzy sweet, sweeeeet, diabetic love song by Kayo Aiko the idol singer.
Yes, it's the ending theme for that violent martial arts anime "Tenjou Tenge".

"Aishitene Motto" literally translates to "Love Me More", and yes, who would not want to love her more with that kind of hypnotizing voice aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!
It tells a story of how a girl is crazily in love with 'you', how she is not able to fall asleep and how she desperately needs to hug 'you' right now. She wants you to just look at her.
It is more than enough for her to just be beside 'you', and she will love 'you' more than ever before, always.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA MOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE  


"Kirei na Sora" - AAA


[PV] Kirei na Sora (AAA) by HyoukaC

AAA was originally a group of background dancers before Avex decided to put them together into a new mishmash pop group, marketing them as "Attack All Around" with their superior dance moves.

Their discography consists of mostly energetic and uplifting songs.
Examples including their ever famous Kamen Rider Den-O's Climax Jump, the dark and edgy Samurai Heart, and the very iconic Blood on Fire.
They only have a few soft ballads in their discography so suffice to say that a funky song like "Kirei na Sora" is a rare find.



"Cruel Angel's Thesis (10th anniversary edition)" - Takahashi Youko

For the 2nd to last number, we have the amazing jazz version of the legendary anisong "Zankoku na Tenshi no Thesis", from the 10th anniversary special album.
Yes, I have a soft spot for jazz music, especially uptempo jazz.
Heck, you can say that I love everything that has jazz as its roots: Jazz-rock, acid jazz, hip-hop jazz, jungle jazz, jazztronic, pretty much anything really.


"Real Folk Blues" - The SEATBELTS feat. Yamane Mai

And for the closing number, we have a Jazz-Blues fusion, the legendary "Real Folk Blues", ending theme of Cowboy Bebop, and hands down one of the greatest songs to be composed under God's hot sun.
If you have been living in a cave for this past decade, "Real Folk Blues" is composed by Kanno Yoko, who collaborated exclusively with the jazz band SEATBELTS and blues singer Yamane Mai for the legendary anime Cowboy Bebop.

Even if you don't understand Japanese, you can clearly feel the overflowing emotion put into this song. The strong acoustic guitar, the wailing and screeching guitar, the lonely drums, the harmony of violins and horns, Yamane Mai's soulful vocals and her delicious raspy screams towards the end of the song, everything has been set perfectly by the maestro Kanno Yoko for your pleasure only.

With this, your night is now complete.

After two months of laziness and fooling around, Anthony is back with another blogpost.

Following Clare's Top 5 Game Songs, here is some of my top pick from the Gaming industry.

Do note that it's practically impossible for me to create a list of cream of the crop, top 5 game songs since it is loosely affected by my mood.
Sometimes it would be dominated by JAM Project, sometimes a P3/P4-esque typical Japanese music, and sometimes fighting game tracks (notably the metal Guilty Gear and hip hop Street Fighter III) or even DDR music.

This is just a couple of songs that happened to be in my top 5 lists more often than the others.


5. "La Mer" (Suikoden IV opening theme)


Suikoden IV is a -love it or hate it- type of game.
It has a very simplified gameplay unlike its complex predecessors, and comes with the RPG standard of a 4-man battle system, which abandoned the Suikoden trademark 6-man team battle mechanics (with its own cool features).
Playtime wise, you can finish the game swiftly under 24 hours with all 108 stars recruited.
The encounter rate is insanely high for a PS2 game (and a Suikoden installment on top of it) and there are tons of plotholes and character background stories left unexplained (that's why Tactics were made).
Also, the world map is so fucking small it's possible to explore every nook and cranny.

With those simplicity so unrepresenting the typical Suikoden, most Suikoden fans dubbed it as one of the worst (the worst is arguably Tierkries by now) Suikoden game up to date.
However, those very fans couldn't deny the fact that Suikoden IV has one of the best -if not the best- theme in the whole franchise.

"La Mer", or "The Sea" in French, is a theme unlike any other. The soothing harmony of harp and acoustic guitar is flawlessly executed, plattered exquisitely for the players to enjoy along the amazing scenery of the blue sea. It is a fucking masterpiece on its own right.


4. "Brutal Heart" (Way of the Samurai series)


Asakura Noriyuki is famous for composing epic sounding tracks that has a classic Japanese feel to it. Rurouni Kenshin, for one, is the most prolific example of his works. When it comes to games, he is the main composer of "Tenchu" and "Way of the Samurai" game franchises.

"Brutal Heart" is played in the very first installment of "Way of the Samurai" game, as a final battle theme. Long story short, our character the samurai needs to fight against the government army led by a corrupt colonel that is threatening to divide and conquer the village.
There is one problem though, you are breaking through the army camp alone, in the middle of the fucking night.
When this song plays, you would find yourself facing hundreds of army goons, alone. FUCKING EPIC.

The song is then remixed numerous times throughout the future installments, and is best identified as the "Way of the Samurai" theme.


3. "Let's Get it On" (Street Fighter III 3rd Strike character selection)


Probably the best hip-hop soundtrack in the current gaming industry and is undoubtedly the best character selection theme in history. "Let's Get It On" is produced by Okugawa Hideki, featuring Canadian rapper INFINITE

Street Fighter III 3rd Strike is famous in the gaming community for its revolutionary music, and is listed numerous times in various gaming magazines as one of the best games in terms of soundtrack and overall musical ambience. Spearheaded by Okugawa, 3rd Strike features an array of chill music variety, which has a deep root in jazz. It mainly comprises of jazz influenced hip-hop, breakbeats, drum and bass, trance, and oldschool jungle music.

For a game circa 1998-1999, those genre of music seemed so out of place in Japan that no composers would even think about touching them. Almost all of them follows the conventional electronic synth pop-rock "Megaman X / Dead or Alive" style.
There were noticeable innovations though. Uematsu Nobuo presented epic orchestral sounds with Final Fantasy series and Ishiwatari Daisuke brought heavy metal to Japan with Guilty Gear. Okugawa however, dared to be different. He chose club jazz as the basis of his arrangements and worked with different types of chill music to make one hell of a chilling ambient.

Just look at the lyrics. This shit is so real it stays strong 13 years after the game's release.