Favorite Video Game Music - Midna's Desperation (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)

This song comes at a really desperate point in the game.  It's especially haunting because the only sounds come from a solo piano at the beginning, a stark contrast to the rest of the soundtrack.  Even when it builds, the only other sound is from midi violins.  It doesn't even just happen during a scene - you have to run with a poor dying Midna on your back to get to the one person who can help you, with this music accompanying your desperate flight the entire time.  For me, it's probably one of the most memorable parts of the game. 

Video Game Music - Smooth McGroove

I recently came across this guy when looking for Zelda tunes on youtube.  His music is excellent, and the cat is a great touch.  This is one of my favorites. 

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds comes out soon!  

Favorite Video Game Music - The Light of Jupiter (Golden Sun: The Lost Age)

The Golden Sun games have excellent music.  This particular selection is from the second game in the series - The Lost Age (for Game Boy Advance).  The song captures the mystery of the Jupiter lighthouse and the magic that surrounds it. 

A Brief Review - Final Fantasy IX (PS)

I had not thought it possible, but Final Fantasy IX has become my favorite Final Fantasy game.  X had that spot for as long as I've been playing games in the series, but IX topped it, and it is easy to see why.  

Presentation:  This game is beautiful.  It was one of the last games released for the PlayStation, and it really pushes the hardware to its limits.  From the moment you begin the game, the visuals blow you away.  Speaking of which, this game has one of the best openings I have ever seen.  The movies alternate with gameplay graphics, and the transitions are seamless.  Even after the prologue, when you enter a new area, it is introduced with its name in different scripts.  This adds to the characterization of each part of the world.  

Characters and Story:  I'm going to spend more time on the characters here because while the story is great, the characters really sell it.  Zidane makes a fantastic lead, cocky but willing to take advice.  Dagger goes through major character growth.  Vivi rocks the entire game.  Steiner makes me laugh, but he worms his way into your heart too. I think the only character that doesn't quite measure up to the others is Amarant.

Gameplay:  On the whole, quite excellent.  The battle system hasn't changed a whole lot from previous games, but timing seems to be much harder in this game due to not being able to tell the order of who goes after a particular character (enemy-wise).  It changes your strategy, and can be downright annoying, but adds another dimension of difficulty to the game.  The only complaints I have are that there aren't very many side quests, and your party is split up for at least 3/4ths of the game.  However, unlike FFIV, your party stays pretty balanced throughout.

Music:  This game has one of the best soundtracks I have ever heard.  Nobuo Uematsu really outdid himself here, and this was the last FF game he really composed for.  Sometimes the music reminds me of early organ music, but then you have tracks for places like Treno, which sound suspiciously like ragtime.  Then there are two main themes that keep changing in instrumentation and style throughout the game depending on where you are.  Oh, and I haven't even mentioned the evil themes!  The music when you enter the Iifa Tree is particularly creepy:

This game definitely deserves a 5/5 rating.  Go play it!

Favorite Video Game Music - For Victory (Fire Emblem 9: Path of Radiance)

I am a huge fan of the Fire Emblem series (if you haven't played one of these games, go check them out!).  They are excellent tactics games with great characters, stories, and music.  This particular track is from the 9th installment in the series, Path of Radiance, for the Nintendo Gamecube.  I like it because it's one of the more melodic tracks and is kind of catchy.  It plays when you are in your base before going on missions in each chapter.  You can buy, sell, and forge weapons, as well as equip your team and build up relations between your troops.  Overall, a very nice theme.

The Beginning of an Adventure

I thought this would be a fitting first post - the title screen and music from one of my absolute favorite games.