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[Vieo]

IMO, I say 'Darius Gaiden - Silverhawk' with Einhander and Radiant Silvergun fighting for second place. Darius Gaiden wins on uniqueness alone.

 

[Mejilan]

Thunderforce V

 

[Wario64]

i dont play many 'shumps', but i did like music from einhander, ikaruga and gradius v

 

[drohne]

soukyugurentai

 

[MightyHedgehog]

This is a tough one...ThunderForce III/Super R-Type/Radiant Silvergun/Forgotten Worlds...tie.

 

[Gibbo]

Axelay. Close the thread

 

[Varian]

shump = shoot up more penicillin

 

[Finaika]

Thunderforce IV

 

[Woch [Eol]]

Best Soundtracks. Ever.

1.- Axelay
2.- Soukyugurentai
3.- Ikaruga
4.- Radiant Silvergun
5.- Mushihimesama
6.- Gradius V
7.- Thunderforce IV
8.- Earth Defense Force
9.- Border Down
10.- Espgaluda

 

[ArcadeStickMonk]

Thunderforce IV

Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar

 

[GhaleonEB]

Thunder Force III

Runner Up - Gaires

 

[jett]

Einhänder, no contest.

Axelay and Gradius V for second and third place, respectively.

 

[FiRez]

This one

Is orchested and it gives a very epic mood to the game

 

[dark10x]

Einhänder, no contest.

Axelay and Gradius V for second and third place, respectively.

Well damn, those are some good choices. I agree.

 

[Nostrildamus]

1. Raiden Fighters Jet
2. Gigawing 2
3. G-Darius

..."ZUNTATA!!!"

 

[Crazymoogle]

Einhander is pretty good. But I have a soft-spot for old konami chiptunes. Gradius II for me.

R-Type Delta and Darius Gaiden had some damn nice tunes though, as I recall.

 

[dog$]

Thunderforce V

I'm so glad the first post in this thread is the right one.

Most of the other really good 'tracks have been posted, so I'll put one vote in for Dangun Feveron as well.

 

[Tain]

Esp Galuda and Thunderforce V. Maybe Gradius V.

 

[argon]

some of my favorites:

ikaruga
einhander
life force

 

[Lyte Edge]

All-time favorites for me are:

-Viewpoint (all versions except for the EA PSX version)
-Silpheed (Apple IIgs)
-Einheinder (PSX)
-Lightning Force (Genesis)

 

[FiRez]

ikaruga

Yes, Ikaruga has some very good tunes and in combo with the gfx is possible the most slick shump that I've played.
it's a shame that the game is beyond inhuman and I can only hear those soundtracks with the replays that I download

 

[Kleegamefan]

How could anyone forget XEXEX!!!


Axelay is a *close* 2nd.....

 

[Mejilan]

All-time favorites for me are:

-Viewpoint (all versions except for the EA PSX version)
-Silpheed (Apple IIgs)
-Einheinder (PSX)
-Lightning Force (Genesis)

Lol, you actually spelled that wrong

 

[Lyte Edge]

Lol, you actually spelled that wrong

:lol It's been a long day.

 

[ArcadeStickMonk]

I can't believe anybody posted Thunder V. Was the soundtrack different in the Saturn version? I have the PSX "Perfect System" and I don't recall anything special about it other than I loved the dedicated-button weapon system.

 

[Tarazet]

Would Rez qualify?

 

[dog$]

Would Rez qualify?

No.

Was the soundtrack different in the Saturn version?

No.
The music just has good arrangement and tone. The entire CD isn't flawless but TF5 is like a grand culmination and grace note of Tecnosoft's BGM style. I think it still rocks, years later.

 

[ArcadeStickMonk]

I'll check it out again, but I'm still taking Thunder 4 to the grave.

 

[djtiesto]

Einhander - the boss theme seals this one for me, I love the rapping. Also some of the final boss stages have amazing music, really epic trance with the piano and everything.

ESPGaluda - sounds like a cross between cheesy trance and video game music, it's catchy as fuck, I dig

Gradius III - I love that SNES synth sound, plus the game is long and there's a TON of songs to go through. I love some of the boss themes and the music in the bubble stage best.

Dangun Feveron - First game to my knowledge to feature DISCO soundtrack, that's just cool.

Radiant Silvergun - never thought an orchestral soundtrack would work in a shmup till I played this game. It also doesn't hurt that I like Sakamoto and his FFT work.

Life Force - my favorite 8 bit game soundtrack ever.

 

[zmet]

My favorite shmup soundtracks:
1. Thunder Force 4
2. Axelay
3. MUSHA
4. Mushihime-sama
5. Thunder Force 3
6. Gradius Gaiden
7. Raiden DX
8. Darius Gaiden
9. Rayforce
10. Last Resort

 

[bob_arctor]

Axelay. Close the thread

Well, playing this again for the 1st time in years (Ebay, for $8.99 mint no less), I gotta say it's definitely up there (I particularly like the "City" vertical stage theme) and better than I remember it. Anyway, I really dig Radiant Silvergun and Layer Section as well. But best? I can't call it. For some reason I keep thinking Gaires had some dope tunes but I can just be thinking of that 1st stage: Boom-pah, boom-boom-pah, boom-pah....

Edit: Oh shit, how could I forget M.U.S.H.A.!?

 

[thomaser]

All for the SNES:

- Starfox
- Axelay
- Super R-Type

Life Force on the NES has a great soundtrack too!

 

[Doom_Bringer]

Einhander

 

[bob_arctor]

All for the SNES:

- Starfox
- Axelay
- Super R-Type

What about this one:

Just copped it yesterday off Ebay. It's Compile, so it's mandatory, but the only thing I really remember back from when it 1st came out is that the weapon system is crazy intricate.

 

[OptimusPrime]

Axelay

Iridion 2

R-type 3

In that order

 

[FortNinety]

Come on peole, Radiant Silvergun, no contest, and the scores for other games mentioned are still really good!

Close but no cigar is Gradius V and Thunder Force 4.

And I'm still baffled by how anyone can think Ikaruga has a better soundtrack than RS.

 

[Funky Papa]

You are all wrong, the correct answer is Xenon 2.

Megablast forever.

 

[Beer Monkey]

 

[aoi tsuki]

Don't think it's been mentioned yet, but Lords of Thunder had a kickass redbook audio soundtrack. Wish i still had the rip of it given it's impossible to find now.

 

[Beer Monkey]

I might still have an original Lords of Thunder somewhere, I'll look for it.

 

[djtiesto]

Yeah, Gate of Thunder has some nice music too. Redbook audio is awesome, I've been so disappointed that so few games use original redbook, instead relying on chip tunes or just straight out licensed music. Sigh, I miss the days of the first cd systems.

 

[PanopticBlue]

Raycrisis. Not a very good shooter, but damn I just love the music in this game.

and

Border Down. Awesome game with an amazing soundtrack that manages to sound very modern and very video-gamey all at once.

 

[KairiLover]

did someone say nanostray?

 

[BruceWayne]

You are all wrong, the correct answer is Xenon 2.

Megablast forever.

Amen!

 

[dorikyasu]

Dangun Feveron - First game to my knowledge to feature DISCO soundtrack, that's just cool.

Thought I was the only one who liked DF's BGM.
Parodius (all of them) has great music as well.

 

[Timen]

This thread needs more Neo Geo love

My vote goes to Blazing Star great music, great game.

 

[Shompola]

This is pretty damn hard and my list is far from final...


Thunderforce III
Gaiares(mainly boss tunes, but level 3 music is a masterpiece)
Whip Rush
Lords Of Thunder
Life Force
R-Type
Axelay

 

[Kuramu]

Zanac

no one has mentioned it yet... maybe my taste just sucks

 

[Ruas]

star fox 64

 

[Tyrael]

1 - Radiant Silvergun
2 - Thunder Force V
3 - Ikaruga
4 - Soukyugurentai
5 - Border Down
6 - Legendary Wings
7 - Giga Wing 2
8 - Gradius II
9 - G-Darius
10 - 1943