I haven't actually played Akumajo Dracula X yet, but I was impressed with the music, which I could hear when Crawl was playing it. Castlevania games are almost always a good source of game music, and this one was no exception. I'm half-tempted to say Dracula X might be my favorite of the Castlevania soundtracks, but it's hard to etch that in stone since there are so many others that are great, too (especially Simon's Quest, Dracula's Curse, and Symphony of the Night).

I decided to make some mp3s available of the Turbo Duo's version of Dracula X for two reasons: 1. I think they sound much better than the versions that were in the Super NES game, Castlevania: Dracula X, but since the TGCD version is so rare and expensive, it's likely many people have never even heard these versions. 2. The TGCD version contains a few songs that weren't in the SNES game.

I used to think Albert Odyssey Gaiden had the best soundtrack of any RPG I'd ever heard. Now, I'm more careful about throwing around that "best ever" terminology, but even if it's not the best, it's still pretty damn good. Naoki Kodaka is somewhat well-known for his excellent NES soundtracks (think Blaster Master, Journey to Silius, Batman, and Super Spy Hunter), but this departs from his usual hard-driving rock repertoire (well, everything except the battle themes anyway), taking on a more celtic approach. Real violinists were hired for the overworld themes as they're listed in the game's ending credits. Anyone who owns the game can hear the Redbook Audio tracks by putting the game in a CD player, but I've also included many songs that were not streamed and could only otherwise be heard by playing the game.

Music also featured on:
Albert Odyssey Character & Music Gallery

Kohei Tanaka has a very impressive resume of various games and anime series that he's composed music for, and one of his very best is the score for the Playstation Zelda-style adventure, Alundra. Using various styles for the game's many settings and moods, all done with a bombastic epic flair. Of all the various Kohei Tanaka soundtracks I've heard, this one best exemplifies his diversity and breadth of talent.

Alundra 2 gets a lot of undeserved bullshit at other gaming outlets across the internet and media in general, and in the tried-and-true tradition of gaming journalism, if one thing about the game gets trashed, everything does, regardless of how accurate said criticism really is (see also Legend of Mana, which may or may not be a good or great game, but has an undeniably excellent soundtrack, yet still got hard-hit in that category, too.)

Truth be told, Alundra 2's score is a notch below Kohei Tanaka's previous work on its precedessor, Alundra, but one of the primary reasons is because Alundra 2 has a much more lighthearted and comical tone. Thus, the music takes on a bouncy, cartoonish quality, which is something that I often feel is one of the biggest mistakes game developers can make in choosing a soundtrack style, but Kohei Tanaka actually pulls it off with flying colors! Alundra 2 has some of the catchiest, can't-get-it-out-of-your-head songs around, and I guess that's to be expected from the guy who wrote one of the few pieces of circus music I've ever liked (the parade theme in Paladin's Quest).

Music also featured on:
Game Ending Songs Extravaganza
Unused Game Music Oddities

Like Alundra 2, Arc the Lad 4 got a lot of unfathomable crap from "professional" reviewers for its soundtrack, but most of them based that almost entirely on the voice acting (which isn't even bad, imo, and can be turned off). Game Informer's review said the music sounded like NES music. Uh, don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with NES music, but if you seriously think this sounds like chiptune technology, you're out of your gourd. Love it or leave it, Arc 4 has one of the best RPG soundtracks I've heard in recent years, including some fantastic electric guitar work alongside the more traditional epic strokes. Some of the incidental numbers sound more akin to what you'd hear in a movie than what's usually found in games.

Music also featured on:
Game Ending Songs Extravaganza
NES & SNES MIDI Conversions

Note: These mp3s were all originally part of my Azure Dreams Monster Shrine. They are all from the Game Boy version of the game except when otherwise noted. (The Game Boy remake actually has a better soundtrack than the original Playstation game.)

Music also featured on:
Azure Dreams Monster Shrine