Rust – Console Edition

Okay, let me start off by saying, I absolutely love Rust, the concept is great, the gameplay is getting there, and the player base is Toxic AF (and that is not bad for this game).

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TikTok Click Clock?

Recently I have become quite invested in TikTok. I know, I know, I’m an old man, why am I on TikTok? Well, the answer is, its super duper fun, I could not believe just how fun it could be, as such, I started making my own content for TikTok. My first attempts failed horribly due to audio issues, which I spoke about here. But I digress, lets get into some of my favourite TikTok’s that I have made!

TikTok Logo!
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14 Times You Were Insulted in Final Fantasy VI*

*in the World of Balance

I am going to assume, if you are reading this list, that you are at least somewhat familiar with the game Final Fantasy VI (or III as it was originally released in North America).

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Top 10 Video Game Music Remixes

I guess I play a lot of video games, and yeah, they have had an influence on my life. One aspect in particular that has been influenced are my musical preferences – I like video game music.

Video game music used to be beeps, boops, and other strange machine sounds; now it is a big deal with high-quality versions of popular “traditional” radio music. Well, my preference is usually for the earlier stuff, I don’t mind when video games use popular music, but for me it has to be appropriate, like the use of “normal” music on the radio stations in Grand Theft Auto. In a similar vein with a weird twist, I also like when video games (or movies for that matter) don’t have music unless there is a reason, the scene takes place at a concert, a radio is playing, for instance – it’s a thing, btw.

Anyway, as part of liking video game music, I also like remixes of that music, which is likely something you already knew based on the title of this article. Moving on, here are my top ten video game music remixes, in no particular order.

DuClare Chateau (Wine for two mix)
Deus Ex (2000)
Auteur Theory

This is an amazing track.

Yeah dog, I don’t know what you know about music, but I do know that if you don’t like this, then you probably have terrible taste. This remix is of one of the best original pieces of music from the source game and is somehow an improvement in every way. The original song, due to the constraints of the game, was designed to be looped, but this version adds in a progression and pleasant conclusion. The somewhat sedate and depressed nature of the track is accented further by the fact that the group who made the remix are no longer producing music, which is authentically sad.

Little Mac’s Confession
Punch-Out!! (1987)
Game Over

An amazing evolution and development.

Wow, this track is an evolution, a quantum leap, if you will. The original track, while cool enough, really gets development with this remix and even features lyrics that match with the material and theme of the game. Like the above track from Deus Ex, the original was meant to be looped, so this song adds in a conclusion.

Luther Broad Motel
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006)
Yung Scrolls

This is perfect.

I could easily make a list of my ten favourite Yung Scrolls tracks (and I might) but for me, this is easily the best of them all. Wow, a smooth jazz with gangster movie influences for a usually sedate medieval-themed instrumental? This is objectively fantastic. I know this is about the music, but even the “track art” really nails the mood. I have listened to the track on repeat for up to an hour at times and I do not regret a single second of that.

Mercenary Boxing
Street Fighter II (1991)
Malcos

It’s Mike Bison.

This song is taken from a larger complete work known as Blood on the Asphalt which is a remix album of every song in the Streetfighter II franchise. This particular song impressed me because it is fairly sedate and understated, especially in comparison with the music in the game and in the genre in general.

Mute City
F-Zero (1990)
Mitch Murder

This is one of the best compilation videos ever made.

Okay, first of all, anything Mitch Murder makes could be mistaken as video game music, and the artist does a lot of video game covers/remixes, but man, this particular one caught me by surprise. It is light, springy, and upbeat in the most positive of ways. I will note that the one thing that made this particular song my choice ahead of other really great Mitch Murder video game covers is the above video. Deal with it.

Phantom Train
Final Fantasy III/VI
LZLS

Skip to 7:20 if to hear the specific song, or listen to the whole album, it’s good!

My dude, if you expected this entire list to go by without a v a p o r w a v e song, you are mistaken, sort of. I would consider this to be more of a chillwave rendition, but I mean, it is good either way. Also, there are not too many vapor songs that heavily draw melody or sample from video games that are, in my opinion, all that fantastic. Most of the good vaporwave music in connection with video games involves fictional games, make that make sense. Anyway, this track is sedate, and probably the best on the album, and while it explores new sensations, it remains true to the source.

I Want Love (Studio Mix)
Silent Hill 3 (2003)
Akira Yamaoka / Mary Elizabeth McGlynn

Wait a second…

Okay, you are going to tell me that this isn’t a “remix” because it is on the official soundtrack, but, I will argue that it is not the version that appears in the game, and is therefore a remix, even if it is made by the original creators. Whatever. This song is absolutely awesome, and aside from some weird lyrics at spots, it is a truly great piece of music, much better, in my opinion, than the original.

バラムガーデン
Final Fantasy VIII (1999)
Cinctulan

I always thought that the Balamb Garden music would make a great sample for a vaporwave song, but I guess I must be wrong, because I have never found one. This one is pretty good, and I think you may like it.

The Dragonborn Comes
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)
Malukah

The original and best.

If you have ever listened to the actual source song in the game, you will have to agree that this is better in every way, and if you don’t you are trying to be a contrarian and you are a bad person.

Ashes to Ashes
Super Metroid (1994)
Zircon

Remember dubstep?!

I guess I am one of the few people that still enjoy dubstep, so well, here is a dubstep remix of an iconic piece of music from Super Metroid. I never really got into playing this game, but I always enjoyed the way it sounded. Like a lot of earlier pieces, this remix breaks the loop of the original and gives it a much better progression, the dubstep influence is subtle, and I think an overall improvement.

There you go, my ten of my favourite video game music remixes! Be sure to let me know how wrong I am in the comments!

King of Dragons

I know I recently mentioned how much I am bothered by Nostalgia, but I think it is more or less just frustration with outdated systems of gameplay. Games with “eternal” gameplay don’t seem to bother me, so maybe I will slake my thirst on these for a while.

Anyway, this is going to be a small collection of screenshots from a recent playthrough of The King of Dragons. There is a lot of lore in the game, but the majority of the game is taken directly from Dungeons and Dragons (and I mean the first edition of the game). So the plot, is basically a group of adventurers start out by trying to get rich, then get suckered into a plot to stop an evil red dragon, which is what D&D was originally about (ransacking ruins, killing monsters, collecting loot, getting rich) and for me, is about as good a plot as any game needs. I think a lot of games and designers feel they need some complex story, but I mean, they don’t.

Here is your character selection screen, the five original classes from D&D, yes, “Dwarf” and “Elf” were classes.
The game starts out simple enough, just dudes trying to get rich. …and eat strawberries?
Orcs with morningstars, wolfmen with crossbows, and a cave-complex ripe for plundering. If that doesn’t get you going, well, fuck you.
The game has a tonne of fantasy tropes and they are all done very well.
I really liked that this random ancient tree (that I recently saved from a giant spider infestation) referred to me as “buddy” – pretty rad.
Evil wizard eh? You’re going to eat steel!
Dare you enter the dungeon?! Dare you eat the dungeon apple?!
Here is that evil red dragon, and man, what a classic threat!
One of my favourite parts of the game: when the dragon moves around on his giant pile of golden treasure, coins and other stuff are thrown around in one of the parallax layers, really awesome effect.

I liked the game, and it is worth a play, in my opinion. Just as a note, I in no way 1cc’d this!