Five Video Game Soundtracks With That One Track That SLAPS

I like video games. I like video game soundtracks, and I recently wrote an article about five video games with soundtracks so amazing, I could hardly believe they belonged to the games they were in. Don't get me wrong, though. There are some soundtracks that are okay, but they have that one track or set of tracks that goes hard like the rest of the soundtrack doesn't.

1. Rayman's Theme (Rayman Arena-2001)-Rayman is a series that definitely has its amazing soundtracks. In my first video game soundtrack article, I mentioned the original Rayman game, Rayman Origins, and Rayman Legends. Rayman Arena (known as Rayman M in Europe) is a Rayman multiplayer game released between the series's second and third iterations. It's got a unique soundtrack in the sense that it has a theme song for each playable character that plays when that character is leading during a race. The one I'd like to draw attention to is Rayman's. It SLAPS. The main instrument--I can't tell if it's a guitar or banjo--plays a catchy melody that swept me away, and even though it repeats the same two melodies, the song only gets better as it progresses. That's why I chose it as the theme song for Rayman Recharged. I'd also recommend Tily's theme. It's very cute and magical, just like Tily.

2. Everwinter (Blinx the Timesweeper-2002)-Blinx the Timesweeper is an Xbox-exclusive platformer starring a time-controlling cat who has to save the world from rampant time anomalies. The game is accompanied by a pretty cool soundtrack. Pretty cool, that is, except for Everwinter's theme. That's EXTREMELY cool and not just because it's an ice level. Everything about it has an icy feel. Of course, there are the bells, which are a common motif in winter level songs, and the etherealness of the main synth sounds like a winter wind. It does a great job of fitting this wintry level and calming you down since this is the second-to-last and second-to-hardest world, and there will definitely be some raging. I almost put Hourglass Caves instead. It's very upbeat and has a lot of echoes, which would fit an underwater cave.

3. Blizzard Castle (Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg-2003)-Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg is a game that only came into my consciousness last month. I watched a full playthrough of the game and got a good listen to the soundtrack and found that the knockout track of the game is...everything from Blizzard Castle (I should write an article about winter level music). The song I have linked is one of the daytime themes. It definitely stands out because it starts with chimes and piano which is a definite departure from the rest of the soundtrack, which is a bit more intense, and the trumpet also strangely fits for a winter level. I like the nighttime music, too. It's spooky while still having that wintry theme. A couple other tracks I'd recommend are Tumbling Xylophone (from Forest Village) and Billy's Courage (the final boss theme).

4. Kicks (Animal Crossing: New Leaf-2012)-As far as soundtracks go, I'm pretty neutral on Animal Crossing's. The songs are nice and provide a nice background as you go throughout your day watering your flowers and such, but there aren't any tracks that stand out. The only exception to this would be Kicks's theme in New Leaf. I was actually filming when I first heard the song, and I had to add an editor's note about how sweet it is. This smooth-jazzy tune with whistling and finger-snapping alongside a 6/8 time signature (correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not an expert on time signatures) was enough to perk my ears up when first hearing it. I also like the personal exhibit variation of the museum theme.

5. Bede Battle Theme (Pokémon Sword and Shield-2019)-I feel about the Pokémon soundtracks about the same way as I feel about the Animal Crossing soundtracks. They exist. They do a good job of backing the action. Sure, there are those songs from Red and Blue that everybody knows and the original theme song for the anime, but then I booted up Pokémon Shield, got into a battle with Bede and was immediately blown away. The song is so upbeat with lots of loud instruments. It definitely captures the stress of going up against this guy's all-psychic team in the most jammin' way possible (though people who have beaten the game tell me that the all-psychic part changes).