fmfridays:

Final Fight (X68000), 1992
Original: Manami Matsumae
Arranger: Yoshihiro Sakaguchi

It would have been nice to feature somebody else this year for International Women’s Day, but that’s what happens when you forget it exists until the day prior.

I’ve wanted to post this classic theme for quite some time, but the sound quality on the original CPS release is pretty atrocious. I even tried remixing the FM channels myself to no avail. Luckily for all of us, due to the similar sound hardware, the X68000 version is essentially a remastered arcade soundtrack, with a more balanced mix and higher quality samples. In other words, this is how it should have sounded in the first place. If only The King Of Dragons had enjoyed the same treatment! The bass still lacks definition, but it’s a clear improvement overall.

I had no idea that Ms. Matsumae wrote this until I investigated the credits in greater detail, but now it seems kind of obvious. Most people know her from her work on Mega Man, but I think all of the CPS stuff she did is her strongest material. She really shines when she’s given enough polyphony to do more complex chords and arrangements. There’s an oppressive urgency to it, as if you were really fighting for your life. But you’re eating burgers out of the trash. So that’s somewhat of an emotional disconnect. Or maybe the true story of Final Fight is surviving the horror of homelessness.

This VGM comes courtesy of The Green Herring.