Have You Listened To Your Games Lately?

One of the slightly hidden aspects of collecting games is that many older domestic and import CD releases used Redbook audio for their soundtracks. Not to be confused with in-game music players found on option screens, Redbook-encoded discs can be dropped in a CD player and played like a normal music CD. By the way, Redbook refers to one of eight color-coded books that define what formats CD and CD-ROM media can actually contain. You can go Googling for more info, as I could spend a few paragraphs babbling about the different books alone. Anyway, up until the end of the PlayStation One era, it was possible to have some of your favorite console games serve double duty as walking, exercising or driving music. There are a couple of reasons and more than a few opinions on why current console games don't use Redbook audio, but we'll leave those to the audiophiles and lawyers. This column is all about the simplicity of grabbing a stack of games and a boom box and seeing (er, hearing) what's what. You may also need an alarm clock to remind you that a chunk of time has passed, as you'll find this can be quite an addictive time-killer that sucks down the hours like a competitive eater going for a world record. While most soundtrack collectors prefer tracking down standalone music discs in different arrangements or collections, those gamers without the financial means to afford paying a small fortune for some of the rarer CD's can get a few of their favorite games and original music on one disc, often for a song (pun intended). Granted, the majority of official game soundtracks do a better job of expanding on their respective properties and that end of the hobby is well worth getting into if you've the time (and sufficient space) necessary to delve into it.

Since I'd actually not been playing as many games as I used to over the past few months (thanks to a temporary vision issue that's clearing up nicely, thank you), I resorted to listening to a nicely sized chunk of my collection while recuperating. My own personal favorite eras for game music are the PC-Engine CD-ROM/Super CD-ROM (Turbo Duo), Sega Mega-CD, Saturn and Sony PlayStation years from about 1989-2000. Game music has always been important throughout the history of the medium, but soundtrack quality pretty much shot into the stratosphere with the introduction of the Compact Disc and the approximately 78 minutes of storage space allowed for both game data and music. Not every great game has a Redbook score, while others actually mix dialog and music tracks together, lending an audio book feel to the soundtrack. By the way, if you've never tried this out and feel like conducting your own testing, make sure to skip the first track (or first and second on some PC-Engine CD titles), as these are the game data tracks, which are meant to be read by their respective consoles.

To some fans of game music, one of the most popular soundtracks belongs to the Ys series on the PC-E Duo. Each disc is chock full of stirring, energetic themes that warm over the brainpan with melodic goodness with plenty of storytelling that may make some of you want to consider taking a Japanese course. Given that we didn't get Ys IV on the Duo here, you'll have to seek out the Super CD-ROM game if you want to give the original soundtrack a listen. For my money however, Hudson's assorted Tengai Makyo (Far East of Eden) games have some of my favorite scores on the console, particularly the brilliant Far East of Eden Kabuki Den. This 1993 RPG mixes in tons of hilarious dialog and songs with its score, impressing right from the start with a powerful main theme. Throughout the disc, you'll hear plenty of traditional Japanese instruments, a bit of synth work and a full orchestra that goes from sweeping overtures and battle tunes to piano bar jazz and even flamenco! Oh, if you're a fan of the original Iron Chef reruns, the opening seconds of track 15 should get a grin going on your face. The spectacular scores created for this series hold their own even against some of today's games and even some classic films. Some other favorite Duo soundtracks of mine are Gainax's Gotzendiener, Masaya's classic Langrisser or Macross titles come recommended, as do Brain Grey's Genocide, along with the four entries in Laser Soft's Valis series.

Of course, with such a huge library of great CD-based games, I can't forget the scores to Linda Cube, Louga, Hellfire S, Psychic Storm, and quite a few others. As mentioned above, there are numerous game discs with Japanese voice tracks, a key reason many fans prefer native speakers in their RPGs or action games when they're localized. Without a game's visuals to get in the way, through a good pair of headphones one can hear some top voice actors giving their all. Snatcher, the two Legend of Xanadu games and the Cosmic Fantasy series are all great blends of storytelling and music tracks, but there are plenty of other RPGs and adventure games worth a buy just to hear their complete soundtracks. Human's great Space Cruiser Yamato is one of those titles that brings a nostalgic smile to my face, reminding me of those days of rushing home from school to catch Star Blazers. Interestingly, some imports have decent English voice acting on the audio track. Riot's side-scrolling action/shooter, Browning for example, oddly duplicates its entire voice track, sandwiching its cool score between the two repeated story segments. Speaking of shooters, R-Type Complete CD does an absolutely phenomenal job of presenting its voice acted story segments and a varied score that's packed with everything from straight up synth rock to a number of tunes that just might make you hit the dance floor ready to split your favorite jeans.

There are a couple of cool Mega-CD soundtracks worth tracking down, but with a smaller library than the Duo, some of the better import titles are getting harder to find. Hearing the original Japanese score to Sonic CD is an ear-opening revelation, while Micro Cabin's excellent RPG Illusion City has a dynamic score that makes one wish the game was localized into English. Other excellent soundtracks can be found on S(h)inMegami Tensei, F1 Circus CD, and Cyborg 009, even though that particular game is a dog on square wheels. RPG fans will be pleased with Record of Lodoss War or The Heroic Legend of Arslan, but a tough to find MCD game like Shadowrun comes up short with a paltry two music tracks, both variations on the same theme. Fan favorite developer Wolfteam has some intriguing musical work in games like Fhey Area, which throws all of its sound effects at you for 59 cuts before letting you hear its lovely score for the remaining 23. Another Wolfteam title, Devastator, makes up for its lackluster gameplay with some excellent tunes throughout. Oddly, the company's Tenbu CD Special comes with a two-track mini-CD while the actual game disc has eight tracks that are a bit more impressive.

Moving onto the Saturn, there's a nice variety of games with an even more unusual selection of music. Assault Suit Leynos 2, for example, uses lounge music, a romantic-sounding pop song and pounding synth-rock beats to get its message across. Taito's Elevator Action Returns starts off with a cool remix of the classic arcade theme, then switches over to a blend of assorted action tunes and other mood music perfect for the game. Shippuu Mahou Daisakusen (Kingdom Gran Prix) lays down an awesome opening track that pumps you up for the game's fact-paced racing/arcade shooting action. The rest of the score doesn't disappoint either, serving up more beats per minute than you can shake a thumb-wrecked controller at. Nearly a complete music store's worth of variety sits on the Pinball Graffiti game disc, with everything from classical music, wailing rock-god guitars, to ragtime-inspired tracks, dreamlike romantic tunes and a bit of funk. Some tracks reuse intros or thematic elements before turning into mini-jams, a nice touch that amps up the pinball action. Speaking of pinball, Tecno Soft's Fantastic Pinball also has a wild variety of music tracks that recall all sorts of influences from RPG's to TV commercial themes, matching the wackiness of the game perfectly. Ancient's VATLVA has a killer soundtrack featuring many outrageous dance mix-style tracks and others that end up being more memorable than the game, a top-down fun car combat mash-up for up to six players.

One of the best games on the system, Keio Yugekitai, has a great Redbook soundtrack that makes the generally high price this one commands worth every cent. It starts out with two fairly quiet tracks before the mostly madcap sections, mixing in a nice variety of Japanese instruments and toe-tapping beats including updated tunes from Keio Flying Squadron. Taito's Arcade Gears series has a few bizarre game scores on the different discs, with Pu-Li-Ru-La getting my award as one of the oddest game soundtracks I've ever heard. Then again, if you've never played this peculiar game before, you'll just nod and smile as you back away from your speakers. Altron's Parappa the Rapper-inspired game, Jung Rhythm gives you all its songs on the game disc, something Sony didn't do for their better-known game. Hearing these offbeat tunes without the gameplay getting in the way ends up being a tad more interesting than actually playing the game. On a far less goofy note, a bland but tactically intriguing game like Micronet's GOTHA has a really nice score on the game disc, while Dungeon Master Nexus' mere eight tracks will leave fans of brooding background music craving more after the final note sounds. One of many Saturn games that would have been awesome with a full soundtrack on the game disc is Red's supremely strange platformer, Super Tempo. If you're lucky enough to have a copy, you'll just get a slightly dated rap song and a nifty second cut that uses cartoon sound effects and a laugh track loop over an extended drum solo.

Moving onto the PlayStation, you'll need to be something of a time-stopping super genius to cover every title with audio tracks tucked away on those shiny black discs. Although from my initial forays into exploring the few hundred PS One imports I have here, I've found a good deal less music than I thought along with a few surprises. I'd previously thought multiple disc games wouldn't have any audio tracks and after going through about 80 or so titles, I was prepared to give up hope. However, Takara's Deep Sea Adventure was a watery revelation, featuring the same 19 nautically themed music selections on both game discs. Tons of lesser-known imports have many cool tunes. Sony's Dam Dam Stompland has a nice variety of 20 comical cuts that fit the bizarre shadow-stomping gameplay perfectly, while Bandai's Kamen Rider goes for the retro gusto with nearly 80 tracks that range from the campy theme music to plenty of vocal tracks that reveal the game's episodic structure quite nicely. XI [sái] Jumbo uses more cool acid jazz, trance and funk styles in presenting music as addictive as the dice flipping you'll be doing.

As I expected, Beat Planet Music has plenty of music to hear, with over 30 almost club-friendly tracks on the game disc. However, each track is broken up into brief samples, making for a schizophrenic listening experience at best. For a more satisfying dance floor groove, ASCII's Gale Gunner gives you 7 really good cuts that are surprisingly lively for a mech combat game. Speaking of mechs, the classics never get old even if the games based on them are somewhat dated. 1995's Mobile Suit Gundam uses that show's themes throughout the disc's 19 tracks spicing things up with a remix here and there. In more intriguing mech news, Reverthion on the PlayStation has a single audio track (the Tecno Soft jingle), while Hyper Reverthion on the Saturn has 15 tracks from the game. The sequel, Steeldom, has a whopping 94 tracks, but only 14 are different music or music cues; the rest are dialog clips from the game with all the characters doing their intro, win and lose quotes. Then again, you'll find this to be a minor trend, as Zero Divide 2 (PS One) has no tracks to groove on, while Zero Divide: The Final Conflict (Saturn) has 48, including all the fighter's quotes. At least the PS One version of Baroque got a lone track (an extended version of the game's theme music), where the Saturn original had no tunes to listen to.

Asmik Ace's two flight combat games, Sidewinder and Sidewinder 2 wear their Top Gun influences on their sleeves with lots of screaming guitar work mixed in with the pounding battle music. The second game also has complete mission briefings on the audio track, voiced in perfectly enunciated crystal-clear English. Another Asmik game, Bits' 3D space shooter Astro Trooper Vanark, uses a nicely retro score that's at turns thrilling and humorous. You'll get a great punky garage band sound from Mad Panic Coaster, but every other track out of the first 10 on the disc is literally one note played over and over for 27 seconds before you get 11 uninterrupted cuts. As the one-note tracks are different chords and I've never actually completed the game, I can't for the life of me figure out the purpose of these briefly painful distractions between the guitar-heavy tunes in the game. Cult favorite Pepsiman yields 6 tracks that repeat the Pepsiman theme tweaked for the game's different levels. While the tunes aren't quite as hilarious as the game, there's definitely a good chance that you'll be thirsty after listening to this disc, and it won't be for an ice-cold Coke.

With a few thousand other PS One releases from 1994 to 2005, you could spend a good long while with stacks of games all around as the obsession overcomes you. That doesn't include the hundreds of demo discs, many of which contain a few music or vocal tracks that may differ from what's on the retail versions of the games listed. Feel free to correct me, but I haven't found a single Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, or Xbox game disc with an music track (other than the Japanese Xbox logo "theme"), which is too bad when you consider some of the games in these libraries. Nintendo's skipping the CD age entirely (GameCube games don't quite count) is a bit of a disappointment, however, who knows what the Revolution will bring. In fact, with 16-bit games making a comeback thanks to game download services like GameTap along with Nintendo's plans to have Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx 16 titles available for download, you just may see a whole new means of getting some of your favorite game music without having to sacrifice wall space. Of course, we'll see what happens when the time comes, but the possibilities are promising if enough consumers make their wishes known.