Super Mario Galaxy Music

Well, the following are tracks from the video game Super Mario Galaxy. Now, the game came out last November and it has one of the best soundtracks ever made. All of it orchestrated. Apparently, the Japanese have access to the soundtrack itself and that makes me very jealous. Anyways, apart from the music itself which is awesome, there are people who decided to emulate it with a piano to great results. Here are the results, all of the following were made by the following Youtube user named, tzohar. He is pretty awesome. First are the original renditions and then the piano ones.

The Good Egg Galaxy Theme

The Gusty Garden Galaxy Theme

Buoy Base Galaxy Theme

Super Mario Galaxy Theme, slow version.

And this is the music from the final battle. It is very kick ass, love every second of it. Look for more, nothing is bad.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone who has read and reads this blog. Hope everyone has a happy 2008!

A year in review…video games

Video games. My only addiction that can rival my writing addiction. It is an expensive addiction too, one which I am trying to control. I write about video games and movies because they are a large part of my life. My life, not being easy or stress free, is very dificult so most of the time I need something that I can use for escape. Video games have done that for me, they are my escape and keep me sane to some degree. Make me forget of who I am for at least a bit and I value that highly. Anyways, read on if you like or interested in video games and if not, well, don’t.

Another year of great games has come and gone. This year also saw my first purchase of a console outside of Nintendo. No, the PS1 I owned is borrowed from a friend. I bought a PS2 of course. I’ve always wanted to play some games I never got a chance to because of my allegiance to Nintendo and its high quality. Also, I had money this time around and that is very important. I also got to play the Xbox 360 thanks to my roommate and Bioshock…which is one of the best games. I can’t really have a category for that system since I don’t own it and aside Bioshock, the only other game I played on it was Halo and that is certainly not the game of the year.

So, console of the year I’ll give it to the Wii. The Nintendo 64 I have has brought me great nostalgia moments, such as beating Jet Force Gemini for the first time and replaying Rayman 2 but it is not number 1. The PS2 brought me the opportunity to play God of War, God of War 2, FFXII, Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, and other games. Those games were great but stood no chance against the Wii for the following reason. Super Mario Galaxy. That is all I need to say right there. That game is by far one of the best games I’ve ever played, it is the definition of fun and craziness. The musical score is excellent as well.

64 Game of the Year will be Jet Force Gemini, it is the reason I have the console in the first place. Sorry Perfect Dark, the other RARE game won it.

PS2 Game of the Year will be Shadow of the Colossus. It is short, there isn’t that much to do in it. There is slowdown and camera problems. But it is an experience worth having. It is the only other game that I can put in the same sentence as a Legend of Zelda game. For those who know me and the video games I play, that is saying a lot.

Wii Game of the Year. Super Mario Galaxy. That is all. It is the definition of fun. Metroid, Strikers, Zak and Wiki, Galaxy Wars just do not cut it.

Most addictive game. There were only real 2 choices in this category. One is Galaxy Wars for the Wii. Hardcore game. Easy to learn, hard to master. Great fun. But as always, with addiction there is a game that stands above the rest. Civilization. Or Civilization IV in this case. The process of starting with one individual to conquering the entire planet is just…addictive. Can’t really say much else.

There is much to look forward to in 2008. Wait, who am I kidding. I’m only waiting for one game, Super Smash Brothers Brawl. That game will probably be the only game I’ll need for the rest of the year after February.

A year in review…movies

AvP 2, or Alien vs. Predator 2: Requiem. I don’t know why it has that subtitle. Anyways, that was the last movie of the year that I saw. People will probably think it is a sucky movie, like these people, but I don’t care. I’ve always had a soft spot for those franchises since I saw those movies in Mexico and they may make me think about my old life. The same with Star Wars and Back to the Future.

2007 was a good year for movies. Since I was in school I was able to go see movies without having to depend on my dad. I either went to the big movie theater or the small one where more indie films were shown. So here we are, the movies that I like the best. I know this is not about immigration, maybe I’ll write something about that later, or maybe not. Immigration is an inescapable part of my life, but not the only thing.

Horror. I want to say that I liked The Host the best only because the friend I went to see it with jumped when something happened. I don’t remember clearly what it was. It is a Korean film and I highly recommend watching foreign films, they are great even if they have subtitles. I’ve also seen Resident Evil: Extinction (I think that’s the subtitle) but that’s not really horror. It was okay, not the worse but not the best. So my pick for the best horror movie I’ve seen will go to 28 Weeks Later, only because I actually jumped myself at the beginning of the film and I give it props because that had not happened since I watched Alien when I was 7.

Comedy: I’ll say Hot Fuzz for this one. It is one of the best films action comedies I’ve ever seen. Warning, if you have an aversion to violence, do not watch this film! Yes, Superbad and Knocked Up were great films, not being on the top spot does not make them any lesser. I laughed out loud when I saw them.

Animated: I’ve seen very few animated films this year, in fact, only 3 I think. Paprika, a Japanese anime film. The problem with that is that I didn’t understand it. Great animation though. Ratatoille (I think that’s how it’s spelled) is great film. Another great Pixar achievement. But ultimately, my favorite animated film was The Simpsons Movie. Spider-pig won it for me. No, I didn’t see Shrek 3 and have no desire to.

Action: This was a tough choice since there were two actions films I liked the best, Live Free or Die Hard (aka Die Hard 4) or The Bourne Ultimatum. Both were great, had lots of action. Tough choice, I’ll give it to…ah, I can’t decide. Oh what the hell, McClane wins it.

Sci-fi: I’m going to give this one to Transformers. Giant transforming robots kick ass. Hollywood, we need more giant robots.

Fantasy: I’ve seen Stardust, Harry Potter 5 and the Golden Compass. While I liked all those films, but I am actually a Jedi and I’m going bend the laws of time and space. Ok, fine, Jedis cannot do that…I wish they did though. I liked Pan’s Labyrinth the best. Yeah, it came in 2006 but I saw it on 2007 so I say it was the best. Not for the squeamish, or little kids. It is another subtitled film too. But it is very, very original.

Most badass (is that even spelled correctly) film is a new category. That goes to 300. THIS IS SPARTA! Great line. The only real competetion for me was Grindhouse, the Machete trailer in particular, but 300 wins it.

Weirdest film: It went between two movies on DVD I saw this year. Memento, which was great. Loved the concept. But I’m going to give it to David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. Okay, that was just…wow. I can’t even explain it. Note to self, watch more David Lynch’s films.

Greatest disappointment: Spiderman 3. What the hell happened there? Too much crying, and than the writers seemed to have been fired halfway through the movie. I really wanted to like it but it was a disappointment. One good thing out of it though was that the last time I saw it was in my college theater and the commentary people made during the movie made it worth it.