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For legal reasons I can't make this song available for download directly.
Another music game pick? Trust me this one rocks. It first appeared in Guitar Freaks 8th Mix/drummania 7th Mix and later finally arriving on PS2 in Guitar Freaks/drummania: Masterpiece Gold. A cover of the classic J-Rock song by Gackt, it was covered by Naoto Fuuka (in-house for Konami) and I have to say it certainly lives up to the original version, while not quite the same, still manages to rock pretty hard.
Please note due to copyright issues I can not make this song available for you to download directly.
Jumping Flash! was one of the games released in the first year of the PSX's launch. It was one of the first attempts to make totally 3-D platformer and it was surprising good. While it doesn't offer a lot of depth, game-wise, it was kinda challenging and had some pretty good puzzles to solve, though it was probably overlooked because of its "kiddie" aspects making it a sleeper hit, although it did well on sales. But enough talk about the game, let's talk about the music.
The soundtrack of the game is pretty charming and very fitting of the world in Jumping Flash! Some of the tracks can be annoying at times, but others are pretty good and enjoyable. The track I like the most is the one from World 3, it is a pretty simple track, yet so adorable to listen to, kinda magical too. I played the demo for this game a lot just to hear the song over and over again.
Also the music was composed by Takeo Miratsu, who was a member of Twin Amadeus, of IIDX fame. He pretty much made the soundtrack for the whole series. Unfortunately, he passed away back in 2006 because of liver cancer.
So if you want to try this game and hear its wonderful soundtrack, you can get Jumping Flash! on the PSN over the PSOne Classics section. I really suggest you to give a try, even Jamie (DarkSakura) picked it for "Classic Game of Week", so you know it's good.
If you enjoyed this song and have any comments or suggestions for future "I love that song" segments, please click the "Add new comment" link or contact us via Twitter: @olr, @Darktetsuya or me, @act_deft!
(Editor's Note: In an attempt to bring some more all-new content to the site, is my attempt at a new series of articles looking back at some of the 'lesser known' systems, like this one. If the reception on this article is good, I will definetly follow up with future installments covering other less well known systems!)
Welcome to the first all-new segment since they invited me to join in for 'I love that song!' I thought I'd try my hand at starting a new series of articles which cover some of the systems you may not have heard of, like my first entry: the MSX.
The MSX was released in the early 1980s in Japan and some parts of the UK. Interestingly, it was actually Microsoft that was responsible for the conception of the MSX. Also interesting to note is that much like the slightly more recent 3DO multimedia system, the MSX was also manufactured by several different companies. Phillips, Spectravideo, and Goldstar all had their own variatons of this classic computer.
But, like OLR says "A system is only as good as the games that are on it". Luckily the MSX has a massive library of classic games. in fact many classic franchises that are still going today actually had installments or got their start on the MSX! The list includes:
Metal Gear (The original is vastly different from the NES/Famicom version, and the 2nd game 'Metal Gear: Solid Snake' was even inspired by the abysmal 'Snake's Revenge' on NES!)
ChoroQ (Cute super-deformed racing game featuring miniature Micro Machines-esque vehicles)
Dragon Slayer (The fourth game was released on NES as 'Legacy of the Wizard' and also appeared on the MSX2)
Goonies (Also vastly different from the Famicom original)
Contra (Which was slightly easier than any of the other versions, with the addition of a life meter instead of dying in one hit)
Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest
Several of Konami's shooters (Gradius, Nemesis, Parodius, Twinbee)
Popular puzzle series Puyo Puyo also got its start on the MSX systems
So the MSX is no slouch when it comes to having a massive library of games. Unfortunately the MSX also had some technical shortcomings. For example most games didn't implement scrolling - they could only handle one screen at a time. Which for better or for worse made some games easier, like Contra. Luckily by the time the vastly updated MSX2 came around, companies had figured out ways to implement scrolling in later titles.
Unfortunately, unless you live in Japan your only chance of ever seeing the system in the flesh is to hit up eBay, and considering just how rare these systems are, they'll probably set you back a pretty penny. However if you do live in Japan, Nintendo has reportedly added MSX games to the library of Virtual Console titles on the Wii.
Luckily it looks like several hobbyists around the world still celebrate the MSX. Like Kazuhiko Nishi, who has released the only official MSX emulator, MSXPLAYer, you can read up on it here. There's also that tribute fan-game dedicated to the MSX and Konami's games... :3.
Well I hope you liked my first attempt at an all-new article series. If there's a classic system you'd like to see me highlight, hit me up on twitter if you have any ideas for future installments... I know I have a few more ideas in the pipeline, I just wanted to start with this one and see what kind of reaction I would get out of it.
So what about those rumors of an Xbox live channel? We know Conan wont be there, but does that necessairly mean the project is dead? We talk about it with our live chatters. Some DRM controversy breaks out and surprise-- its not about Ubisoft but a different company! The web is all abuzz about Marvel vs. Capcom rumors, meanwhile some big Wii titles are quietly pushed back. In Part B of the show, we tackle some updates on Dead Rising 2 and the announcement of Bionic Commando Rearmed 2. A new free MMO launches, and rumored game releases are plentiful. Our live listeners prove to be quiet this week on the phones, but pretty active in our live chatroom. All this and more including e-mails, twitter topics, and SO much more on the show where EVERY gamer has a voice-- Orange Lounge Radio!
