Jet Set Radio has to be one of my all time favourite games. There was very little if anything wrong with it. Hot graphics, addictive gameplay, and one bad ass soundtrack. To say the music in Jet Set Radio was eclectic would be an understatement. J-Rock, J-Pop, House, Dance, Techno, Hip-Hop. Everything cool and credible for you to rock to whilst you skate around and deface public property in Shibuya.

One of my fave tracks was the song “Electric tooth brush” from Toronto. I’ve not always been a fan of dance music. I certainly wasn’t around the time I used to murder Jet Set Radio every weekend. But “Electric tooth brush” just did it for me. It’s all about that bass. It always got me working a shoulder and adopting a bit of a bounce.

Listen: Electric tooth brush

Performed by Toronto
Jet Set Radio OST
© 2000 Sega

For the mp3 players: Electric tooth brush

Streets of rage’s soundtrack was way ahead of its time. During a period when every other game was going for those pieces of music that could simply only be pigeon holed as a video game composition and nothing else, and in many cases exposed the limitations of the hardware at the time – the Streets of rage franchise pushed the boundaries. By going with a more mainstream musical styling, not unlike anything you’d hear in a club or on the radio: Streets of rage ushered in a new wave of video game soundtracks. And let gamers know that a video game soundtrack could be funky, could make you dance, could be hella cool and sound good enough that you could play it seperately from the game. I found the soundtrack so fresh when I first heard it, simply because I’d never heard music like it in a video game before. I didn’t know a video game could feature music so funky and dance oriented until Streets of rage came along.

The original Streets of rage’s very first stage had one of the most memorable pieces of music in the whole game, and possibly the series.  With it’s hot synth work, funky horns and a break down: there was nothing better for you to stab, bottle and pipe swing suckers to. “Fighting the the street” is a classic that never gets old. Not matter how many times I hear it, I love it, and come over all nostalgic in the process and just wanna switch the game on, pick Blaze and watch her lay the smackdown in a skirt that’s way too short and too shiny for a lady to wear on the streets at night unless she’s Beyoncé and she’s filming a music video.

I loved “Fighting the street” so much, that I decided to re-do the song from scratch myself a couple of years ago – purely because I wanted a version of it that had more kick and didn’t sound so 16-bit like. So this version is my own re-do if you will. It’s exactly the same as the original. Only less MIDI-fied and with a bit more of a punch in the beat.

Listen: Fighting in the street (Random J’s re-do)

Original composition by Yuzo Koshiro
Re-done by Random J
Streets of rage / Bare knuckle OST
© 1991, 2007 Sega

For the mp3 players: Fighting in the street (Random J’s re-do)

I was a bit taken a back when I first booted up Street Fighter IV and heard a guy start singing “I can feel it coming over me” as Ken and Ryu went at it. Street Fighter games and theme songs with vocals have been long estranged, so it’s both odd and refreshing that Capcom opted to change things with their latest Street Fighter game.

More often than not when games get themes sung by Japanese artists and said themes get translated into and performed in english, I opt for the Japanese version. But in Street Fighter IV’s case, I’m in preference of the English theme.  The lyrics and timing suit the music better, where-as in the Japanese version certain parts of the song don’t sound right. Almost makes me wonder if the song was written in English first and then re-worked into Japanese. Both versions are performed by Japanese boy band EXILE, and their English is perfect. No Engrish to the ears here! Okay…so there’s a little. But cleverly, the engrish is masked by loud guitars and synths. As a cool in-game option you can set whether you’re greeted with either the Japanese or English version of the song – so everybody wins!

I love this theme. I’d always avoided EXILE’s music like the plague, because frankly: Japanese boy bands suck. But I may check out more of their stuff as a result of their contribution to Street Fighter IV.

Listen: The next door: Indestructible

Performed by EXILE
Street Fighter IV
© 2009 AvexTrax / Rhythm zone

For the mp3 players: EXILE – The next door: Indestructible

I think Soul Calibur IV is a bloody awful game. But it was an awful game with kick arse graphics and also a pretty decent soundtrack. The soul series’ soundtrack has a patchy history. They’ve definitely fallen off a little with each new game. Soul edge’s soundtrack was a masterpiece which I will forever hold in high regard and every now and then am partial to listening to. But the sequels featured soundtracks which were mundane and forgettable, save for the odd one or two stand out pieces.

Whilst Soul Calibur IV’s soundtrack isn’t amazing, it is solid and probably one of the more grandiose  and atmospheric soundtracks of the bunch. My favourite piece from the soundtrack has to be “Immaculate pledge” – hands down. It’s dramatic, melodic, memorable and captures the partial essence of what made Soul edge’s soundtrack so brilliant. The piece also has a sense of familiarity about it. Every time I listen to it I keep trying to rack my brain on which other Soul Calibur piece it reminds me of.

Listen: Immaculate pledge

Soul Calibur IV
© 2008 Namco

For the mp3 players: Soul Calibur IV – Immaculate pledge

Chun-Li’s theme has been remixed and re-arranged so many times, that it’s often hard to even take notice. But Tatsunoko vs. Capcom has me sprung so badly, that I’ve been indulging in everything related to the game except playing it. (Curse Capcom for developing a great looking game, just to have Tatsunoko licensing screw its chance of getting a western release!)

After a bunch of Street Fighter related games which featured not so much as a hint of classic theme’s and a bunch of ever-so-forgetful new ones; Tatsunoko vs. Capcom see’s Capcom giving characters kick arse remixes of their classic themes! Yay!!!

Chun-Li’s Tatsunoko vs. Capcom theme is for the lack of a better term, downright funky. It’s a cool take on her theme – staying true to its essence, but giving it a cool new twist. I especially love the bass and the guitars. This is probably one of my favourite arrangements of Chun-Li’s theme. It’s great to hear a non CPS-2 mixed take of it.

Listen: Chun-Li’s theme

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom OST
© 2004 Namco

For the mp3 players: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom – Chun Li’s theme

Ridge racer type 4 was one of only 2 games in the Ridge racer series I actually liked and played extensively – the first being Rage racer. Believe it or not it was not the allure of short haired, big eyed, mini skirt donning Reiko Nagase that hooked me. But a mix of the cool game play and kick ass soundtracks. Seeing as I’ve mentioned Reiko, I may as well re-cap the short ‘n sweet intro to R4 for those who don’t remember it: Reiko waking up in a hot sweat, turning up her stereo, walking to work, stumbling in a tunnel as her heel breaks and then hitching a ride off of an anonymous man in a really fast car. Gotta love that her!

Then there was the theme song: with a well produced dance beat, a decent vocal, a little Japanesey mid section and the full song clocking in at under 2 minutes – it was more than enough for me to love. The whole of Ridge racer type 4’s soundtrack was pretty top notch. But I couldn’t sing along to any of the other songs, which is why “Urban fragments” ranked out on top.

Listen: Urban fragments

Performed by Kimara Lovelace
R4: Ridge racer type 4 OST
© 1998 Namco