My Top 10 Game Tunes

After getting a new iPod last week, I asked my followers on Twitter for some recommendations for game music to stick on it. I've got my fair share, but there is no harm in adding to the collection!


Well one follower, Mr. Bradley Fish of Fishy's View took this on board, recommended me some great tracks, then created a top 10 list of his own on his blog. Inspired by his top ten list, here are my top ten favourite game tracks of all time. 


Pretty much all of these tracks hold some kind of memory, especially from my childhood. 


Now bare in mind I love my Zelda music, so I have decided to do a similar list dedicated to Zelda tracks in a few days (keep checking back!). So, I hope you all enjoy my list! What would make up your top ten?


10. Never Ending Journey from Dragon Warrior Monsters


I have many good memories of playing this game when I was younger. This track in particular has stuck with me the most, as I'm instantly taken back to the wandering around in the various locations, picking up beefjerky, "an herb" (gotta love bad English in games) and encountering new monsters.


9. Hog Wild from Crash Bandicoot


One of my favourite levels in Crash Bandicoot, the Hog Wild theme brings back some great memories of taking it in turns to complete levels with my brother when we were first bought our PS1. Fun stuff!


8. Delfino Plaza from Super Mario Sunshine


Delfino Plaza is a cheerful, summery piece that reminds me of the hours I spent on this great Mario title for the Gamecube. 


7. Fly Me To The Moon from Bayonetta


Whilst this may be a cover track, I had to include this. It's a fun take on a classic track, and reminds me of the crazy gameplay that Bayonetta had. 


6. [Ending] Tribute from Halo 3


Halo 3 ends with this rousing, quite emotional ending theme. Great stuff.


5. Gerudo Valley from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time


This one had to get a mention! No doubt a favourite for a large majority of Zelda fans, Gerudo Valley has a great guitar heavy sound. 


4. Neverending Journey from Lost Odyssey


A truly under-rated game, not only is Lost Odyssey a joy to complete, but it has a fantastic accompanying soundtrack too. Neverending Journey plays during the map/location select screen, and whilst we only hear a snippet of it (unless you stay on the map screen for quite some time), it's a great piece that switches from a relaxing acoustic piece into a full-blown guitar riff by the 1.38 mark. Give it a listen.


3. Lullaby from Braid


The music in quirky time meddler Braid is in it's entirety beautiful, but this one seems to resonate emotion from me than the rest. A hauntingly beautiful piano piece.


2. Main Theme from Tomb Raider


Many tracks in my top ten make it there in the first place due to some kind of nostalgic gaming memory. This is definitely true when it comes to my reason behind choosing the Main Theme from Tomb Raider. As a child I had many fond memories watching my Dad (an avid gamer himself) play through countless games such as the Resident Evil series, and in this instance, the Tomb Raider series.


The main theme reminds me of the first time he loaded up that game back in our brand new PS1, and from that moment on, I was hooked. It's a beautiful piece with some great memories for me of my Dad having what we coined "Tomby Rage" (come on...that game has many frustrating puzzle moments!), freaking out at the mythological beasts and all of us working together to decipher where to go next.


1. Dragon Roost Island from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.


Aww...of course when I think of my favourite game tunes, a Zelda one had to take the top spot. Although Link's Awakening was the game that started my love for Zelda, I adore the Wind Waker soundtrack. So, here's Dragon Roost Island. 


Want to see me do more features? Feel free to email me any suggestions!

Retro Review: Dragon Warrior Monsters

Dragon Warrior Monsters (known as Dragon Quest Monsters in Japan) is the first game in the vastly expansive, and successful, Dragon Quest series. 


Released on the Game Boy Colour in 1998, Dragon Warrior Monsters follows the story of Terry, who has been forced into a quest in the magical land of Great Tree in order to save his kidnapped sister, Milly. Those who have played Dragon Quest VI will notice that this is the same Terry and Milly represented, but in this first game, they are small children. When Terry arrives in Great Tree, he is greeted by the King, who gives him his monster-a Slime called Slib (in a side-note, I kept Slib in my party and trained him right up until the end of the game. He never left my side-maybe it was those wide eyes and infectious grin of his?). With Slib at his side, the King tells Terry that if he wins the Monster Trainer's Starry Night Tournament, he is granted a wish. Knowing Milly's current predicament, I think we can all guess what Terry's wish would be right now. So, the player spends the entire game catching and training monsters, and traversing up the tournament ladder until they reach the final. 

Like most RPGs, Dragon Warrior Monsters relies heavily on the levelling-up system in order to progress further in the game. The game becomes increasingly difficult by the end, and the player will find themselves defeated more often than not if they do not train and level up their monsters, and assign them new skills. The monsters are not as overly cute as those in Pokemon, but each has a cartoonish, and interesting design nonetheless. 


Whilst it is true that Dragon Warrior Monsters shares follows the same game play as the Pokemon series, there are certain aspects that definitely set it apart. For instance, the breeding system is vastly complex. Not complex in a way that gamers would have difficulty understanding how to make their monsters breed, but in the sense that there are so many different choices during breeding. This means that many monsters will breed with almost any other, so players are never quite sure what breed will hatch out of the egg. For me, this was one of the most exciting parts of the game.

The breeding aspect may remain one of the most memorable aspects of the game, but what I also have fond memories of is the music (an adventurous, often cheerful sounding retro score), the huge variety of wild and wonderful monsters, and the large level of exploration involved. I have always been a huge fan of RPG's, and I find I am in my element if a game contains a huge amount of exploration, free-roaming and levelling up. Thankfully, Dragon Warrior Monsters contains all three of these aspects.


Overall, Dragon Warrior Monsters is an excellent game that combines a complex but significantly impressive breeding system, enjoyable RPG elements such as the exploration and item collecting sections, memorable music, and a satisfying story. Many people may dismiss this straight away as being a Pokemon copy, but I urge you to give it some credit-it is worthy of being classed as an excellent game. So excellent that it still remains one of my favourite games, even today. 

An Interview with Zac Gorman

When I have some free time to aimlessly browse the internet, I always enjoy reading a few web-comics. It was during one of these browses one day that I stumbled across Zac Gorman. Zac brings to life a host of Nintendo characters in his work, but, being a self-confessed Zelda buff since Link's Awakening, it was his Zelda comic strips that resonated with me the most.

I got the opportunity to question Zac on his obsession with Zelda, his comic book experiences, and much more.

Magicalgametime.com

Q. Hello! Could you introduce yourself to my readers?

A: Hi! I'm Zac Gorman, and I make comics at MagicalGameTime.com under the handle idrawnintendo.

Q. You draw a lot of Zelda comic strips. What is it about the Zelda series that appeals to you so much?

A: The thing that really got to me about Zelda, is that at the heart of everything, you have this little kid going up against seemingly insurmountable odds and never giving up. Link's got this unfaltering moral compass, but my goal with doing Zelda comics, is to show some of the immaturity, the fear, all those sorts of emotions that would come with being an actual little kid in his predicament, and then showing how he carries on in despite all that.That's what the Triforce of Courage is all about. It's about facing your fears simply because it's the right thing to do, more than it is about never being afraid in the first place. I always preferred the Zelda games where Link was a bit younger, for that reason.

Q. Is there a particular strip you are most proud of?

A: Not really. It's always interesting to me though, when I'll finish one that I think is my best yet, and then it doesn't get the reaction I was hoping for.

Q. How has the response to your Zelda strips been so far?


A: The response has been awesome! I mean, aside from the sheer number of
Tumblr followers, twitter followers, traffic, etc., it has been really nice to hear from a lot of people, telling me that a comic I did, or a print I did, really resonated with them in a very personal and emotional way. That's the advantage of the subject matter, I guess. These games and the intimate experiences that I had with them, which I try to show in my work, are very similar to the experiences that a lot of other players had.

Q. Have you got any advice for those wishing to create their own gaming comics?

A: Well, I guess that for me, when I'm working, it's always been less about the specific details of a particular universe, and more about the larger themes of that story. So, if I had to offer any advice to somebody who wanted to make comics about games, I suppose that it's that you should probably worry less about what hand Link's sword is in, or what color the beads in Red XIII's hair were, and think more about why you fell in love with these games, what they really mean to you, and what made your experience with them special or meaningful. I think that's the distinction between doing fan art and doing a comic about a particular game. Free yourself up a little and just have fun with it! Make it yours and make it personal.

Q. You've drawn other excellent game art before. Do you plan to create a series of animated comic strips, like your Zelda set, for another gaming series?

A: I've done a few Earthbound comics also, but most of the other ones tend to be one-shots of a particular game. Honestly, there are only a few series that have ever really impacted me in a way that I feel like I'm capable of making comics for them that are more than just your usual joke strip; Legend of Zelda, Earthbound, some of the Final Fantasy series, and some slightly less popular titles like Vandal Hearts and Suikoden also had a pretty big impact on me...but this isn't to say that I don't like other games! I know it sounds like I only play decade-old JRPGs, but that's not true, they just happen to be some of my all-time personal favorites. Right now, I'm mostly just biding my time until Skyrim comes out by playing older games and indie titles.

Q. Are there any games you think my readers should play?

A: The one game that I always have to insist that people play is Mother 3. Also, if I meet somebody who hasn't played Earthbound--play it! My favourite Zelda game is Link to the Past, although obviously it's a tough choice between that one, Ocarina of Time, and Wand of Gamelon for the CD-i. Most people I talk to though have already played all my favorite games. How about Panic! for the Sega CD? I used to love that game when I was a kid and I'm pretty sure that nobody out there played it.

Q. And finally, is there anything new in the pipeline for yourself?

A: I'm working on some new comic projects, but I hate to talk about things before they're done. A lot of hollow talk tends to get thrown around by us cartoonists about the next great graphic novel that we're working on, but until you have something to show for it, it's all just talk. All that I can say for certain is that I plan to continue making comics as long as people keep reading them!

A Collection of Posts

Hello all,


Once again, I've been busy writing elsewhere on the web as well as my personal gaming blog, which you are currently reading from right now.

Retro Kingdom
First of all, I've recently started writing for Retro Kingdom, a collaborative retro blog by myself and Lewis Terry from App Kingdom.


Here are my most recent posts:
Donkey Kong Country
Dragon Warrior Monsters
Mario Paint
Aladdin

MCM Buzz
I'm pleased to announce that I've bagged myself a press pass to cover the London MCM Expo in October for MCM Buzz! I shall be doing a few interviews, writing up coverage for all the events, browsing the stalls, etc. 


Do not be shy! If you see me, by all means come and say hello. I shall be handing out some 8-Bit Girl flyers (I hope) during the convention as well!


Here are latest articles:
Dragon Quest X Goes Online for the Wii and Wii U
Red Dead Redemption "Myths and Mavericks" DLC Revealed
An Interview with Christaan Gough (The Sci-Fi Guys)

Gamers Daily News
I was appointed as a guest contributor for Gamers Daily News this month. This means that I shall be posting up any of my game musings whenever I feel I have something worthy enough to share.


My first (and hopefully not my last!) article for the site:
My Favourite Game: Link's Awakening


I know many of my readers like to read my other posts around the internet, and so I shall be doing regular update posts like this from now on to let you all know what else I have been writing.


I hope you continue to enjoy my writing on and off of 8-Bit Girl, and please do not hesitate to get in touch via my email address!


Kayleigh Powis