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CultureMorning MusicGyruss Remixed Bach, Then NES Remixed Gyruss
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today we’re checking out Gyruss, which impressed early arcade-goers with its switched-on Bach, then sounded even better on the NES and its Japan-only disk add-on. 1983’s Gyruss (longplay), by Time Pilot creator and future Street…
By Alexandra Hall Published September 2, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicObscure Puzzler Detonator Has The Most Gorgeous, Melancholy Soundtrack
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today’s pick comes out of left field: an obscure PlayStation 2 puzzler that randomly happens to have an achingly gorgeous soundtrack. At the dawn of this year I was hip-deep in obscure corners of the…
By Alexandra Hall Published September 1, 2020 -
OpinionAsk KotakuDo You Typically Play As ‘Good’ Or ‘Evil’ Characters?
It’s Monday and time for Ask Kotaku, the weekly feature in which Kotaku-ites assemble to deliberate on a single burning question. Sometimes a serious one, other times less so; mostly it’s just a nice opportunity to talk more about video games. You down? This week we Ask Kotaku: Do you typically play as “good” or…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 31, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicShadowgate’s Simple Melodies Conjure Danger And Unease
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. The deadly adventure game Shadowgate was an unlikely hit on the NES, and I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest its tremendous soundtrack played a role in that. Shadowgate was originally a…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 31, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicKiller Cuts Was ‘90s Nintendo Failing To Be Cool
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today’s aural treat (of sorts) is Nintendo’s 1995 freebie album Killer Cuts, which was the soundtrack to Minoru Arakawa’s illegal, underground raves. If “game recognize game,” it follows that “nerd recognize nerd.” And as a…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 28, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicOsamu Sato’s Transmigration Is Music To Trip To
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today we’re getting esoteric with an album spun off of a very weird CD-ROM adventure game. (Or was it the other way around?) And oh, it’s by the guy who conceived LSD: Dream Emulator The…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 27, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicBefore Donkey Kong Country, David Wise Composed Wizards & Warriors
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today composer David Wise is revered for his work on Donkey Kong Country, but he got his start composing two brief soundtracks for the very first NES games Rare ever made. Wizards & Warriors (longplay)…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 26, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicTekken’s Pretty Outdated, But Its Music Still Owns
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. If you were Namco in 1994, designing your Virtua Fighter killer, what would it sound like? In Namco’s case, it sounded like Tekken …Which is to say bright, high-energy techno with a fair share of…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 25, 2020 -
OpinionAsk KotakuDo You Still Prefer Physical Games?
It’s Monday and time for Ask Kotaku, the weekly feature in which Kotaku-ites assemble to deliberate on a single burning question. Sometimes a serious one, other times less so; mostly it’s just a nice opportunity to talk more about video games. You down? This week we Ask Kotaku: Do you still prefer physical games? Fahey Prefer?…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 24, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicElemental Master Is Top-Tier Mega Drive Rock, But Skip These Remixes
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today, a dose of pure, straight-up, 1990 Technosoft. These folks could make the Sega Genesis sing. One of my great childhood gaming surprises was a gently used copy of Thunder Force III. I don’t remember…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 24, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicStrider’s Most Disappointing Console Port Had The Best Soundtrack
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today I’ll disparage Capcom’s arcade classic Strider and then try to win back your trust by praising its music. A bold strategy! Let’s see if it pays off. Sega’s 1990 Genesis conversion of Capcom’s 1989…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 21, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicSpelunky’s Sublime Music Keeps Me Addicted To Dying
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Ever play Spelunky? No no no. We are hipsters here, so obviously I meant the original freeware game from 2008. Ugh, whatever. Just come in already. I don’t recall how I first found Spelunky, but…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 20, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicBionic Commando’s Got That Signature Capcom Sound
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today we’re listening to the unexpectedly great NES port of an arcade underachiever. A number of arcade-to-NES ports were outright superior to the coin-ops that spawned them, in gameplay if not technical aspects. Tecmo’s Ninja…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 19, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicThis Cassette Tape Made Double Dragon Sound Awesome
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Double Dragon’s super-famous 1987 soundtrack interests me for two reasons: It kind of sucked on its original arcade hardware, and a much better version came out on a cassette tape! Okay, “sucked” is a bit…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 18, 2020 -
OpinionAsk KotakuAsk Kotaku: What Was The First Game That Disappointed You?
It’s Monday, and that means it’s time for Ask Kotaku, the weekly feature in which Kotaku’s rank and file weigh in on the burning questions of our times. Sometimes serious, sometimes less so. Mostly it’s just another excuse to talk vidya games. You down? This week on Ask Kotaku: What was the first game that…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 17, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicBalloon Fight’s Tiny Soundtrack Knows When To Be Quiet
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Did you know Balloon Fight’s soundtrack is by the same composer as Metroid’s? It’s pretty memorable despite clocking in at just a few minutes. Yep, just minutes. And a lion’s share of that is a…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 17, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicA Tribute To Mega Man 8‘s Lost Banger, ‘Electrical Communication’
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today’s object of aural inquiry is a single track, a helluva banger from Rockman 8. No, not Mega Man 8… just Rockman 8. Hmm. So what happened was Capcom hired a short-lived band called Ganasia…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 14, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicJumping Flash! 2 Is One Of PlayStation’s Most Pleasant Listens
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today we’re listening to Exact’s Jumping Flash! 2 for the PlayStation. Mind the exclamation point! A lot of U.S. folks will remember the first Jumping Flash! as the best demo included on the PlayStation Picks…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 13, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicFaxanadu Sounds Equal Parts Dark, Mysterious, And Catchy
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today we’re listening to Hudson’s Faxanadu for the NES. It’s dark and moody, like 2020, but in a more endearing way. Faxanadu was a NES/Famicom action-RPG that hit Japan in 1987 and the U.S. in…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 12, 2020 -
CultureMorning MusicSega Mega Drive Super Medley Leaves You Wanting More
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s new, daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today we check out an album of energetic Sega Genesis / Mega Drive medleys that hit 15 years ago, almost to the day. I happen to own a copy of Sega Mega Drive Super Medley…
By Alexandra Hall Published August 11, 2020
Alexandra Hall
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