Today is the VIP's sweet 16! Can you believe it? It feels like just yesterday this little playlist took its first steps, starting as a tiny collection of tunes nestled in the darkest corner of the intarwebs. Now here we are - the VIP has grown up right before our ears. A stubborn, moody teenager with niche taste, a weird sense of humor and is now old enough to drive and get a full-time job. So today, we're not just hitting play. We're celebrating everything this playlist has become, thanks to you, the ones who've been there all along. And what better way to celebrate this milestone than by giving the VIP some shiny new toys to play with? Here’s a fresh batch of tracks to keep things exciting. Code: Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin - The Noble Demon - Iron Blue Intention (Cover) Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin - The Noble Demon - Invitation of a Crazed Moon [Revision] (Cover) Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow - The Noble Demon - Pitch Black Intrusion (Cover) Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow - The Noble Demon - Ruined Castle Corridor (Cover) Castlevania: Circle of the Moon - The Noble Demon - Awake (Cover) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - The Noble Demon - The Tragic Prince (Cover) replacing Castlevania: Symphony of the Night - The Tragic Prince Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - The Noble Demon - Chapel Hidden in Smoke Arrangement Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge - The Noble Demon - Praying Hands Arrangement Monster Hunter: World - Main Theme - Stars At Our Backs Monster Hunter: World - Iceborne - Grav3staR - Zinogre Dynamic Theme (World, Chase, Mount) Monster Hunter: World - Iceborne - Congregation of the Fearless Monster Hunter: World - Iceborne - Nay! The Honor is All Ours Monster Hunter Generations - A Bewitching Dance - Mizutsune Monster Hunter Generations - Pokke Village Theme - Monster Hunter Generations Version Monster Hunter Generations - Something Ancient This Way Comes Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate - Silver Winged Scarlet Star ~ Valstrax Monster Hunter 2 - Defiance Against a Powerful Enemy ~ Shen Gaoren Monster Hunter 2 - Song of the Beginning Monster Hunter - Proof of a Hero Monster Hunter Rise - Sanctuary Abandoned by the Gods Monster Hunter Rise - Stage of the Strong Here's a big block of tracks from games with monsters in them. They sound like they should've been in a Holloween update, but I was trying to find more stuff to add when Holloween came and went. So now they're just here. The Noble Demon is an amazing arranger who makes super faithful arrangements that sound like they came from the game's remake or something. You'll be hearing more from this arranger soon. Code: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - Let's Go, Mt. Corel! Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - Aerith's Theme - Return to the Planet Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - The Chocobo Cup - Final Lap Final Fantasy VII Rebirth - Cosmo Canyon - Sanctum of Planetology You may have seen The Game Awards a few days ago, and FFVII Rebirth won best music. It turns out I already have a few tracks in the backlog after listening to yet another 8-disc behemoth. TBH, I think the OST of Rebirth was better. Code: Astro Bot - Bot of War Astro Bot - You Can't Catch Me (SSD Remix) Astro Bot - Pit of Peril Speaking of TGA, Astro Bot. Say what you want about this interactive Playstation ad - the OST ain't half bad. It features music from one of the guys who did the music for the series of LittleBigPlanet, Tearaway, and some EyeToy games. Yep, all Playstation games. Code: Alienation - Ashland (Red Alert) Alienation - Fort Itaipu (Code Red) Nex Machina - Cosmic Hero Nex Machina - Dark Shivers Nex Machina - Epic Montage Matterfall - Vertical Farms Matterfall - Skyline Heights Gunlord - Steel And Thunder (Holy Mountain I) Gunlord - Main Title Gunlord - Dreamy Ruins Rainbow Moon - Crossing Blades Rainbow Moon - Tales of Conflict Ninja Sprint - Groove 2 - City Rush'n Ninja Sprint - Groove 5 - Cloud of Sounds Rainbow Skies - Swords of Arca Rainbow Skies - Far Away From Home Rainbow Skies - Fighter's Song Steel Assault - Magnus' Dream Steel Assault - Heart of Concrete Steel Assault - City of Shattered Glass Steel Assault - The General II. (Magnus Pierce) Velocity 2X - Frontier Velocity 2X - Perilous Escape Velocity 2X - Jintinda Lab Now here's a bunch of tracks from shooters no one's every heard about. There are composers like Ari Pulkkinen and Rafael Dyll making a comeback. The Steel Assault OST sounds like something out of a Thunder Force game. Code: Turrican (Amiga) - Chris Huelsbeck - Shoot Or Die Turrican (Amiga) - Chris Huelsbeck - Outpost Turrican (Amiga) - Chris Huelsbeck - Victory Turrican II: The Final Fight (Amiga) - Dr. Future - The Final Challenge Turrican II: The Final Fight (Amiga) - Chris Huelsbeck - The Desert Rocks Turrican 3 - Chris Huelsbeck - Turrican 3 Main Title Turrican 3 - Chris Huelsbeck - Credits Super Turrican (1993) - Fabian Del Priore, Chris Huelsbeck, Jan Zottmann - Steam And Pressure Super Turrican 2 - Fabian Del Priore, Chris Huelsbeck, Jan Zottmann - Wormland Super Turrican 2 - Fabian Del Priore, Chris Huelsbeck, Jan Zottmann - Farewell Super Turrican 2 - Fabian Del Priore, Chris Huelsbeck, Jan Zottmann - Born To Be Wild Finally, the man, the myth, the legend of shooter music, Chris Huelsbeck and his legendary work of Turrican. Code: Honkai: Star Rail - Farewell, Penacony - Had I Not Seen the Sun Wait, I lied. It's actually time for a personal update, because, hey, this is also my blog. After sticking with Honkai: Star Rail since day one, I've decided to drop it. At first, I was hooked. But after a while, the writing started to feel bloated and unnecessarily verbose. When Penacony came around, I had high hopes because of the hype surrounding the writer - the same person who (from what I've heard) wrote one of the most emotionally devastating chapters in Honkai Impact 3rd. Instead, we got a mess that drags on with heavy-handed metaphors and endless speeches. They tried to tell a complex story but made it complicated. Any tragic moment is insignificant, because everything takes place in a dream anyway. The characters also don't seem human to me. They're almost robotic in their interactions and seem like they're always scheming and playing 4D chess with each other rather than just having relatable conversations. For a more detailed explanation, watch this. I'm not great at explaining in a wall of text, but this guy gets pretty close to what I'm articu-ma-lating. The track I'm adding is a poignant track for the end of my HSR journey. I'm not even gonna comment on the gameplay, because I just run everything on auto anyway. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ That's when I realized writing and character personalities are paramount in my gacha games. So now, I've replaced HSR with another turn-based RPG gacha game called Heaven Burns Red (Obligatory invite code: l5sw1jbgno0nd36i). It's not as expansive or epic as HSR, but it's written by Jun Maeda, an actual VN writer, who's known for Clannad and Angel Beats. Every chapter and event so far has a story that builds up and ends in a heartfelt tearjerker. Now, you might be asking, "Why don't you just play a VN then?" To that, my answer is this. After stuffing the playlist with all sorts of monster bangers and Astro Bot, what have you all been vibing to this past year? That's right, I'm bringing back the annual deets from Google Analytics. Top tracks played: (Whether they were clicked on, played for one second, played on repeat, or just plain RNG, these were the tracks that were played the most.) Fez — Majesty Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze — Seashore War Pilotwings Resort — Glider Final Fantasy IX — Crossing Those Hills Ragnarok Online 2 — Sailing Dawn of Mana — Rising Sun To the Moon — Everything's Alright The Sims: Hot Date — Cab Ride Transport Tycoon (2013) — Stroll On Aquaria — Remains A lot of emotional and sentimental tracks in this list. I guess ya'll just like to cry every now and then. Top chosen tracks played: (These were the most played tracks among everyone's favorites.) Paradise Killer — Paradise (Stay Forever) Octopath Traveler II — Critical Clash II Age of War — -Glorious morning- Sonic R — Living in the City Alan Wake's American Nightmare — Balance Slays the Demon Dragon's Dogma — Into Free -Dangan- Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 — Shine This Is the Police 2 — Lightweight Zombies — Modern Alan Wake — The Poet and the Muse These are all some very excellent tracks. I'm stoked to see some niche games in here. Top blocked tracks skipped: (When the playlist chooses a track to play, and the track is blocked by you, the playlist chooses another track. These are the most skipped tracks.) Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream — Dreams in a pie Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow — Battle (VS Gym Leader) Rhythm Heaven — Ribbit Dance (Bright Rock 'n' Roll) Karmaflow: The Rock Opera Videogame — The Twins D4DJ Groovy Mix — Into the storm Neon Genesis Evangelion (N64) — Komm, Susser Tod D4DJ Groovy Mix — Wonder Wonder Trip Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow — Pallet Town Theme Vidya Intarweb Playlist — Introduction Lost Ember — Your Light Some of the high-pitched tracks were understandably blocked. Sad to see the D4DJ tracks here, though. Top tracks looped: (These were the most looped tracks, because people just can't get enough of them.) Fez — Majesty Ar Tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica — Hearts Aflutter ~Chroche~ The Sims 4 — Topography Touhou Shinreibyou: Ten Desires — FELT - One More Time Vidya Intarweb Playlist — Mellow Edition Cyberpunk 2077 — Antagonistic Million KNights Vermilion — Forbidden Flowers Another Eden — Stand Against the Darkness Fragile Dreams ~Farewell Ruins of the Moon~ — Letter Streets of Rage Remake — Little Money Avenue Some of you really love these niche tracks, especially that one guy who keeps looping the silent mellow track. And there you have it - a snapshot of the tracks that defined our year together. 16 years strong, and this playlist is still as much yours as it is mine. Here's to more catchy jams and niche gems!
