Do Me a Solid -- Creepy Song Arrange

Boy, this is gonna be an unreasonable request.  But if past Christmases have taught me anything, it’s that I’m pretty good at making demands and expecting a big payoff from, you know, normal people.  No wonder I only got clothes that one time.

Also, alternative post title: I Should Have Thought of This While it Was Still Halloween, But I Guess This is Okay Too Since I Did a Super Mario Odyssey Post

Wait, would that fit into the Blogger dashboard’s title page?  I don’t know.  I’ve never exactly pushed the limits on the character count.  For titles, at least…

RE: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite

Hey, welcome back to Cross-Up.  Glad you’re here.  I’ve been putting some more time into the latest version of BlazBlue, and I’m dying to talk about my findings.  Even if that franchise’s future is up in the air, I’ll gladly admit that --

Wait, hold on a second.  Isn’t there another fighting game coming out this week?

*checks release schedule*

*sighs heavily*

All right.  I guess I’d better get ahead of this.

So How Good is Yu-Gi-Oh!, Really?

Hey, wait a second.  Wasn’t E3 last week?  Shouldn’t I be doing a post on that?  Yes, probably.  But I need to talk about how I’ve strayed further from God’s light, sooooooooooooooo…here you go.  Don’t worry, I’m sure I can come up with something for this post.

But to start things off?  Damn you, Hiroaki Tominaga.  May you be forsaken till the end of days, as you have forsaken me.

On Power Rangers and Mega-Consequences

All right, we’re a little over a week away from the release of a brand new Power Rangers movie (and in the midst of a Twitch streaming marathon), so I figure this is as good a time as any to launch into a tangentially-related discussion about it.  But before I do anything else: Lost Galaxy has the best theme song of the entire franchise.  Yeah, I said it.  Come at me.  Fight me 1v1.

At this stage, it’s impossible to know for sure whether Lionsgate’s soon-to-drop film is good or not.  We can all make guesses based on the evidence presented -- trailers, interviews, and so on -- but there are only two ways to confirm its quality (or lack thereof): take in as many reviews as possible, or see it in the flesh.  I’d imagine that there’s a decent number of people who are already crying tears of blood over what’s been shown off so far -- I’ve almost hacked up a lung on a couple of occasions -- but you know what they say.  Innocent until proven guilty.  It’s a shame that proving innocence or guilt requires a time/money investment that might prove physically or spiritually painful; still, that’s the way it goes.

In any case, Power Rangers has gotten me thinking.  It pretty much had to; as your friendly neighborhood tokusatsu fan, 48% of my brainpower is devoted to visualizing OTT transformation poses.  So let’s get to it.

I’m Back to Rise (Basically)

Hey guys, I just had another thought about JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.  I’d better write a 7,000 word post to explain a middling and overall inconsequential point.

…Nah, just kidding.  I’ve done more than enough JoJo posts for now.  And you know what that means.

So How Good Were the 80s, Really?

Wait.  Should it be “How Good Are the 80s?”  Or is it okay for past tense?  I mean, it is literally the past we’re talking about here.  But we’re talking about it in the present and the context therein soooooooooooo…

Ah, forget it.  I’m done thinking about it already.

So anyway.  I’m pretty sure that if you’ve got a working set of eyes and ears, you know that Ghostbusters has made it back into theaters.  Again.  And as preferable (if not easy) it would be for everyone to just let it come and go, it’s been mired in controversy for months on end thanks to the less-than-ideal trailer and the boat-rocking by some Sony executives -- itself helped by the clash of opinions in nerd culture.  Now that people have actually gotten to see it, results have been “mixed”, as far as I can tell.  It had a good score on Rotten Tomatoes, which implies that a fair number of critics gave it their blessing.  On the other hand, plenty of internet/YouTube personalities have effectively loaded the new movie with bullets.  We’ll see what happens when the dust clears, especially in terms of money-making power (which is probably why Ghostbusters has been trotted out again in the first place).

But I’m not here to talk about Ghostbusters, because everyone else already has.  I have a more important question in mind.  Any guesses as to what it is, person who read the title of the post?

Do Me a Solid: Hype Song Arrange

I find it vaguely hilarious that a short post from me is probably the equivalent of an extra-large blog post on the sites run by normal, reasonable, well-adjusted people.  But let’s not dwell on it.  Every once in a while, I need to do some quick posts -- and this is one of those times.

Why?  Uhhhhhhhhhh…there may be a slight chance that there are some technical difficulties going around.  Very slight.  Hopefully.

Manly Songs: Kamen Rider Birth (Instrumental)

Okay, I know that this is supposed to be a feature shaped by visitors and readers, but I’m going to have to hijack the Repository for a moment.  Just a moment.  Because it’s kind of important.

As noted, I’ve been getting a lot of mileage out of Kamen Rider OOO recently.  I can’t speak for anyone’s preferences besides my own -- especially since I’m a Rider greenhorn -- but for what it’s worth, I think OOO is pretty freakin’ great.  (Then again, I watched the first episode of Fourze recently, so we’ll just have to see which one retains top honors.)  In any case, part of the allure of OOO is the music, and how it weaves into the series at large.  The way it works is that the titular Rider uses a combination of three medals to mix and match parts for his suit’s weapon loadout.  As long as he has one head medal, one body, and one leg, he can freely choose between parts.  But if he puts in three matching medals, he gets an even stronger form…and said form brings with it a swanky tune.  (“Power to Tearer” is as godlike as its title is Engrish-y.)

What I didn’t expect was for there to be a hidden gem on the soundtrack.  Two hidden gems, in fact.  That’s because they were tied to a certain character I didn’t even know existed until I’d gotten knee deep in OOO.  But now I feel ashamed for not getting into the series sooner -- because not only is the music amazing, but the character in question is just as incredible.

Now then.  It’s time for a manly henshin…unless you’re wary of spoilers, which there WILL be.  Then again, the title of the post is a spoiler in its own right, so go nuts.

Let's discuss...Kamen Rider?

If there’s anyone out there with any objections to a post on Kamen Rider, raise your hand now.

…Put your hand down, Mortimer!  I’m doing a post on Kamen Rider!

Why Anime is Amazing: Because Hideyoshi

YouTube is a very dangerous place.

It seems like it wasn’t that long ago when you could load up a video -- a song, or maybe an out-of context clop -- and be done with it.  But recently, it seems like every time I load up the site (which is often, given that I listen to video game music when writing), I end up getting sidetracked by the “recommended for you” cache that inevitably pops up.  It’s like a measure designed specifically to make sure my time gets wasted.  It’s either that or ensuring that I fall prey to the siren song of nostalgia.

One of the things that happened to catch my eye one day was a song from Sengoku Basara.  I’ve always had a fondness for the franchise -- for obvious reasons -- and Samurai Heroes helped secure that fondness thanks to its great soundtrack.  But thanks to the anime tie-in and YouTube’s dark magic sorting algorithm, “This is a Fight to Change the World” ended up getting recommended.  I’ll do you a solid and offer up a courtesy link…along with an assertion.

As it stands, the character that song belongs to -- one Hideyoshi Toyotomi -- is my favorite anime villain.

The Volties: My Top 10 Favorite Movies

There’s been too much negativity on this blog recently.

It’s been a chain of despair -- one troubled product to the next, or at least things that make me think harder than any normal person should.  Man of Steel was crushingly disappointing.  The Last of Us came out as a confused tale (and more confused game) hamstrung by creators and conventions.  The Wolverine had good intentions, but suffered from dull and almost-contradictory drama.  Percy Jackson is just awful.  It wasn’t my plan to do posts on four less-than-savory products almost one after another, but I guess that’s just the way it goes sometimes.

I say it’s time to turn the tide.  And this post should be just the thing to start doing the trick.

Manly Songs: The Tyrant

Hoo boy.  Playing The Last of Us has really been taking it out of me.  Especially with these posts I’ve been doing.  I mean, it’d be all right if I was having the blast with the game, but right now it just feels like I’m forcing myself to play it.  Not a good situation to be in…

Whatever.  I’ll just use this post as a break.  It’s been too long since there was a Manly Song post.  Too long, actually.  It’s true that there were those other posts from a while back with video game and anime songs, and the official post with Jin’s theme, but…I don’t know, it feels like there’s something missing.

I guess I haven’t thrown anything up into the Repository since I started this thing, but that feels a little dishonest.  This is supposed to be about others contributing.  Then again, I can’t get others to contribute UNLESS there are posts, so it’s only fair that I pop in every now and then, right?  But on the other hand, those posts have some other songs listed; it’s just a matter of listening to those and giving proper attribution.  But I wonder if it’s all right to count those…well, they probably are, but…

Ugh.  There I go, over-thinking things.  I think I’d better go take a break; cooling my head could do some wonders.  Besides, I could sure go for some hot dogs.  So I guess I'll switch off for now.

…Oh?  What’s this?  “Cross-Up”?  Well…this sounds like fun.

The Volties: My Top 10 Video Game Songs

Blessed are the gamers, as I often say.  Well, not out loud.  Or in my head.  Or ever.  But I thought it once, I swear.

I may love video games, but I don’t need anyone telling me that there are things that they can and can’t do.  I’m more than aware of the flaws and faults of the medium.  That said, it IS interesting -- and harrowing -- to hear the words of someone who’s gotten in deep with game development, like this interview with game writer Susan O’Connor.  She outlines a few problems with the business, but in spite of that -- and in light of her work on several notable games, like BioShock, Far Cry 2, and the recent Tomb Raider -- I can’t help but think that she’s done good work, and it IS possible to get something more out of games with a little elbow grease.  In spite of that, I can’t help but think that she brings up a lot of legitimate points.  (I haven’t played the new Tomb Raider, but from what I’ve heard via TomBadguy’s review is true -- and there’s no doubt that it is -- the issues therein are proof enough of the problems.)

So let the records show: videogames have something very near or equal to ninety-nine problems, but more often than not music isn’t one of them.  So without further ado, these are my favorite video game songs.  (Though really, you can’t go wrong with just searching YouTube for Guilty Gear songs.  And on that note, how awesome is it that a new game is on the way?  Rashousen time, baby!)

Manly Songs: Theme of Jin

You know, I’ve always found iTunes to be a little redundant.

Admittedly, this is coming from someone who’s always at least two years behind on the latest tech trends (ask me about my cell phone!), but I have to say I don’t see the point behind some of these music services.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating pirating music; I’m just saying that if you’re out for good songs, you won’t be left wanting -- and you don’t have to spend a cent.  I’ve made a couple of full CDs out of songs from Newgrounds composers, and gotten some great satisfaction out of them.  OverClocked Remix is absolutely packed to the brim with high-quality, high-impact tunes, and can applea to your sensibilities whether you know the game songs each remix handles or not (pro tip: go download EVERYTHING by Sixto Sounds).  Artists will occasionally offer entire soundtracks online for free, whether they’re by game composers or not.  And that’s ignoring the existence of YouTube.

The tradeoff for this is that I’m severely limited in my knowledge of current music stars and trends; IIRC when asked about what the difference was between the music of Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, my response was “Maybe they’re isn’t one, and they’re both robots out to conquer the world with audio-based brainwashing for their villainous overlords.”  I don’t know what a Nicki Minaj is supposed to be, but it sounds unpleasant.  Even meme-tastic songs like “Gangam Style” and “Call Me Maybe” (I think that’s what it’s called) are lost on me.  Then again, the tradeoff for that is an intimate connection with video game music -- and when that music is firing on all cylinders, man oh man is it something else.

Which brings me to today’s post -- and the Repository’s first video game-themed song.

Manly Songs: Path of Glory

It’s back!  It’s back!  Snap back!  Nice slacks!  Snack attack!

Yeah, I know it’s been a while since I’ve added anything to the Repository, but I’d say it’s about time for a change…and to write a post that isn’t thousands and thousands of words.  (I’m nothing if not accommodating to others.)  So, let’s have some more manly songs.  Because if there’s one thing I’ve noticed, it’s that I have this habit of saying “Time to be a man!” when I’m about to play video games.  But I can think of worse habits to have, and certainly far less endearing ones.

But enough talk.  Let’s have some rockin’ tunes.  And magic.

Why Anime is Amazing: Because DAT MUSIC

I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before -- both online and in real-world conversations -- but just so it’s on the record I’ll go ahead and say it again.  In my opinion, no character (least of all my own) is complete without a theme song to call their own.

Not being much in the way of composition or technology, I can’t say I’ve made my own songs to blast in my headphones (though I have a couple of melodies in mind for certain heroes).  So in exchange, time and time again I find myself relying on the glory of YouTube and the music stocked there -- not necessarily from bands like Gamma Ray or Stratovarius…not always, at least.  No, I find myself making full-on Word Documents full of links to music from games.  The lack of lyrics in most songs is a boon in a lot of ways; I’ll give my characters theme songs (game-related or not), but it’s downright natural for me to look for a certain song to help me write a certain scene.  How well it works out for me is up for debate, but I’d like to think it at least makes the process easier.

And really, the same can be said for the music from anime.  So let’s take a moment to extend some praise -- yet again -- to that sacred medium yet again, shall we? 

And by sacred I mean stuffed to the brim with speedlines and mechs.  Not that that’s a bad thing; if anything it just makes the medium more legitimate.

Let’s discuss video games -- with a vengeance.

Dare I say it…with a REVENGEANCE?!  (Seriously, though.  Go play Metal Gear Rising if you haven't yet.  Trust me on this.)

Improbable synonyms for a vendetta aside, I’ve been thinking about games a lot recently…well, about as much as usual, give or take a degree.  The 3DS has been out for a while now, and the Wii U is firmly lodged in stores, the hands of gamers, or the minds of millions as they wait for their store of choice to restock (at least if the Wii’s original unavailability is anything to go by).  It makes me wonder about the future of games; what’s going to happen next?  I remember how a friend of mine was utterly infuriated by Nintendo in its E3 showing, but as I’ve said (in real life and in other contexts), Nintendo’s not in any danger of failure.  The Wii U is going to be fine, hiccups here and there aside.  And while I have many…many…many reservations about the future of other companies -- hardware or software developers -- I’m more than willing to assume everything will work out.

That said, I can’t help but feel like taking steps back every now and then -- remembering the good old days, and smiling fondly thanks to those simulated sights.  And that’s why the theme of this round of Let’s Discuss is “return” -- get ready for games old and new-ish.  What will pop out before your eyes?  What fiendish sights will wreak havoc on your optic nerves?  What hyperbole can I slip into the next fifteen words or so?  Find out, or you’re certain to face a reality-destroying apocalypse!

I Hraet You -- Act 1 Recap

The first rule of I Hraet You recap videos is: you do not talk about how long it took to make I Hraet You recap videos.  And that’s all I feel like saying about that.

In any case, here’s a little something from me to you.In preparation for the upcoming deluge of new chapters for I Hraet You -- the so-called web serial novel thingamajig that’s been a fixture of this blog for the past year or so -- I’ve managed to put together a video that sums up everything that’s happened so far.  Well, “slide show” is probably the more appropriate term, but you get the idea.  In any case, this right here is fifty-five chapters (at least a hundred thousand words) summarized and compressed into a ten-minute video…featuring music from The King of Fighters…and one song from World of Goo.  I’m really getting a lot of mileage out of that four-disc soundtrack that came with KoF XIII.

Shame they didn't include any of the songs from 2002 UM, though.  Undercover is my jam.  And they left off the KoF XI version of Still Green?  That's just -- oh, right, I Hraet You.  Can't get too carried away now.

Let’s discuss Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Part 1).

It’s great.  Go play it.

What, you want more delicious words?  All right.  If you say so...

Manly Songs: Highway to Hell

Wow.  Been a while since I’ve done one of these.

In my defense, I have a good reason why.  I’m coming up on the final chapters of the current I Hraet You story arc and while I’m glad to have made the progress that I have (in the sense that I’m starting to feel like this is a project with some real potential), I know it’s about time to put it up on the shelf and work on something else for a little while.  So I’m motoring towards the arc’s climax, and between that and other themed posts -- the Looper post, the Tales of the Abyss posts, and the Spirit Showdown posts, all of which are a bare minimum of four thousand words -- I’m firing on all the cylinders I can.  You would think that I’d rather work on shorter posts and save the longer stuff for later, but…well, I can’t say I’m always the most logical person.

But enough chatter about internal affairs.  You’re here to listen to some manly songs, and use the lyrics to drone out the incessant rabble of a thousand-word post trying to rationalize it and subsequently take out all the magical elements.  Or if you’re from Bizarro World, you’re here to studiously imbibe every word I offer in my analysis and digest it, in the hopes that you’ll be able to offer your own thoughts and deductions, and hope that the stream of words flowing from your brain is enough to blanket the harsh sounds of soul-enflaming music and reality itself.  But then again, if you’re from Bizarro World, I wonder if you can even read in the first place.

So with all that said, let’s talk about a little-known, under-appreciated Australian band that has long since faded into obscurity and will never ever be referenced again after this post.