Day nine, let’s get right into it. In the last episode, we highlighted Raise the Anchor, a song that plays during cutscene’s where your team’s getting ready to make the enemy wish they had stayed home. In this episode, we highlight a song that plays for enemies that make you wish you had stayed home.

Day 9: Major Enemy Theme – The Arrow of Destiny (Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden)

Boss fights. In my opinion, these should be the standout point of most games. They’re designed to be a cut above the common enemy, they serve as checkpoints to gauge the player’s rising skill level, and they usually have an investment in the story. This varies between game, series and genre, but in Super Robot Wars, bosses usually pack high health and defense, powerful attacks, and some nasty skills and mech abilities.

As the game progresses, you’ll find that enemy units used as bosses in earlier stages are used as regular enemies. But there’s always a few enemies that stay bosses from first to final appearance. These are high-ranking members of the game’s enemy organization(s), with mechs that are unique to them or anyone of their rank. And to top it all off, these guys have their own theme music that will play over any of your units’ themes.

The Arrow of Destiny is one of those songs. A menacing, steady drumbeat that is soon joined by electronic strings, it then proceeds into a far more frantic drumbeat accompanied by electronic brass. At least that’s my educated guess at what instrumentation is used. Regardless, the slow buildup leading into a fast-paced climax does a fantastic job of pumping you up for a hard fight.

Composed for SRW Alpha, this song is typically used for powerful mechs from the original faction of enemies, the Aerogaters. As a matter of fact, it was used in the first OG game as the final boss theme for the Aerogaters’ ultimate weapon, Septuagint. A remix would also be later used by Aerogater commanders in the first part of OGs.

In Alpha Gaiden, though, the Aerogaters are out of the picture. So this song is instead used for various encounters with powerful enemies from licensed shows. The stand-out moment for me was when General Bat of the Dinosaur Empire unearths a sealed Shin Getter Robo and pilots it in battle against the Londo Bell. Sealed away by the Getter Team because it’s sheer amount of power was a danger to all mankind, even in the right hands, it’s them now have to face Getter’s true terror.

And with that, I think we’re done here. Next time, we’ll be going even deeper into the dark side. That’s right, we’re tackling a FINAL boss theme. Which one will it be? You’ll have to tune in to find out.

Here we are again. Would you believe me if I said that the hardest part of writing these is to come up with some attention-grabbing way to write the intros to these posts? Well, I do my best. Anyway, our last foray was the Ver. Alpha 3 mix of GONG, which overrides every other theme during the last leg of the final stage in Alpha 3. This time, it’s an event theme, a category that plays an important, if less prominent, role in SRW games.

Day 8: Event Theme – Raise the Anchor! (Super Robot Wars V)

Event themes are quite a different dynamic from Battle or Map music. Instead of getting the player pumped for a fight, their goal is to establish an emotional tone for dialogue and cutscenes. Some examples are Masoukishin’s Everyday Routine, a cheery tune used frequently for casual conversations. Then there’s Z’s sorrowful Rain and Tear, which plays when the heroes are reflecting on the loss of one of their own, or when one of them is about to sacrifice themselves to save everyone else from certain doom.

The particular song that I chose for this slot, Raise the Anchor, is used primarily as a rallying theme. Imagine that after facing enormous odds, the protagonists make a huge comeback and have gotten even stronger than ever, but the battle that they’re fighting isn’t over yet. With enemies still standing against them, this song kicks in as the heroes declare that they’re going to use their new power to bring an end to those who threaten their world and those who live in it. And you, as the player, have some shiny new units to play with.

And…that about covers it from me. Considerably less to say this time, but Raise the Anchor is pretty new, and it’s not used with any specified character or mech. Still, I won’t forget the time that I saw a video where Tetsuya uses his new Mazin Emperor G to immobilize Mazinger Zero. And then when Koji choses to resist Zero’s influence and actually gains control over what used to be the Ultimate Evil Mazin, this theme kicked in, and I’ve been a fan ever since.

Next time we’re switching sides and featuring a track used by the bad guys. And I’m not talking about generic grunts. No, I’m talking about the kind of enemy that makes you go “Uh oh, I’m in trouble” whenever they show up as surprise reinforcements on the map. Look forward to that!

Well, we’ve come through an entire week already. Almost one-fourth of the challenge is already done. Time sure does fly, doesn’t it?

Last time we listened to Pantheon of Soulless Machines, the theme of the Uyudallo-class battleship that serves as the final boss of Super Robot Wars OG: Dark Prison. And I made a bunch of admittedly lame naval references. Now, we take a listen to a song that plays at the start of a turn in this Strategy RPG series, a Map Theme.

Day 7: Map Theme – GONG Ver. Alpha 3 (Super Robot Wars Alpha 3)

Map themes in Super Robot Wars have less prominence than other SRPGs. At least, nowadays they do, considering the fact that the Battle themes continue playing over the Map themes once a battle is initiated. The first two entries in the series, however did not have this feature. And there’s also the option to turn of continuous battle music. But I digress.

So…my entry this time around isn’t a Map theme in the way that I just described it, but it plays over the map, so I’m counting it. The main theme of the final game in the Alpha series, Alpha 3, is JAM Project’s GONG. And not only is it out of this world, but it’s also one of their most popular hits. And the Ver. Alpha 3 rendition of GONG is an instrumental mix used in the final stage of that game.

The Alpha Numbers, your team in that game, have their backs against the wall against the Spirit Emperor. Possessing the power of Infinite Negativity, he desires to destroy the material universe and create a world composed of only spiritual beings. Sapped of their will to fight, it looks like everything might be over…

But then the many comrades that the Alpha Numbers made over their journeys together arrive on the battlefield. Though they cannot directly aid in the fight, they rally the Alpha Numbers to triumph over their enemy. Then the voices of friends and even foes that passed away during the long conflict join in. The Alpha Numbers are bolstered by this, and the power of Infinite Negativity begins to wane.

It’s then that the instrumental version of GONG kicks in. And it keeps playing until you’ve brought down the Spirit Emperor once and for all. The finale of your journey to the end of the galaxy is in sight. Now’s the time to bring it all to a close. Yeah, it’s pretty darn cool, and I can’t wait until we see it all happen again in the climax of the OG series.

Incidentally, the plot has Basara Nekki from Macross 7 playing GONG Ver. Alpha 3 as a means of further weakening the Spirit Emperor. And when the songs starts up, other musicians such as GaoGaiGar’s Mic Sounders the 13th, Gundam SEED’s Lacus Clyne and the original Macross’ Lynn Minmay join in. Excellent fan service as always.

And with that, we’ve come to the end of the entry. In the next one, we’ll be looking at an song that plays when a cutscene or any similar event occurs during gameplay. See ya!

Welcome back aboard the Regnum Ignis! Our last port of call was Super Robot Taisen Original Generation, where we listened to the theme for those who didn’t have themes, Born to Fight. Our destination this time is a theme used by a Battleship.

Day 6 – Battleship Theme – Pantheon of Soulless Machines (SRW OG Dark Prison)

Like the main character of a Fire Emblem game, Battleships serve a crucial role in the Super Robot Wars series. Typically sporting massive amounts of HP and powerful weaponry, these also serve as mobile bases of operation. This means that if your battleship is sunk, you lose whatever battle you’re fighting.

Their overall application has varied slightly from game to game. Some games give you one and only one battleship to use, some give you a small handful from which you can pick two to deploy per battle. More recent games have even featured series that are based around battleships. Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and Arcadia of my Youth: Endless Orbit SSX, for example.

Now, here’s the ironic thing. Until the release of Super Robot Taisen OG, there were no Banpresto-original battleships, and neither were there captains or crew members. Steel Ark was the first battleship theme used for both original battleships in that game. However, the music track that I picked for this slot is from a game where you don’t have a battleship fighting alongside you.

SRW OG: Dark Prison follows an amnesiac Shu Shirakawa’s exploits during the first part of 2nd Super Robot Wars OG. And as there isn’t a battleship with you, that means if any ally is defeated, it’s game over. This would be a big problem, except that the robot that Shu pilots, the Granzon, is more fearsome than a whole fleet of battleships. And no, that’s not hyperbole.

So instead of a song associated with an allied battleship, Pantheon of Soulless Machines is actually the final boss theme. The last stage of the game has you facing off against an alien battleship, designated the Uyudallo-class Suppression Gunboat. This thing not only has the usual bulk and firepower of a warship, but it also uses devices called Prism Reflectors to redirect the blast from it’s main cannon, virtually eliminating any blind spots. Very appropriate to have such a cold and menacing theme.

Fun fact, Pantheon of Soulless Machines is actually a remix of a song from Super Robot Wars F. Heartful Mechanic was a map theme in that game, and if you follow this link, you’ll be able to hear it for yourself. And speaking of map themes, that’s what we’ll be taking a look at in the next post. Until then, anchors aweigh and cast off!

…Okay, I’m done with the naval terminology.

And we’re back again for the fifth day entry in our thirty day challenge. Time sure flies, doesn’t it? Last time my pick was the powerful yet melancholy The Wings Which Wipe Away Tears. This time we’re taking a look at a far more upbeat song, one that you might say has become a hidden jem.

Day 5: Generic Unit/Allied Unit Theme – Born to Fight (Super Robot Taisen Original Generation)

Y’know, as cool as most, if not all, of these character-specific songs are, back in the early days of SRW, there were far fewer songs to go around. Most playable characters only had one song depending on which series they were from, such as Gundam, Getter Robo or Mazinger Z. And the iconic song Reppu! Shippu! Cybuster! that Masaki uses as his main theme was once shared between all Banpresto Original protagonists.

This changed with the launch of SRW Gaiden: The Lord of Elemental. Featuring a cast solely of Banpresto-original characters, it debuted new themes for six individiual members of the player party. The remaining ones, however, were all assigned the same theme, Endless Battle. And that amounts to about half of the roster. Future titles, however, would steadily introduce a greater variety of theme songs made specifically for each individual character.

Still, the more unique theme songs that are made, the less used the ‘generic’ ones are. Most of the time they’re relegated to NPCs or player discretion. But there are those characters that still retain the use of generic themes right down to the bitter end. Some might say that they’re not important enough to warrant a new composition, but others, including myself, see them as championing music tracks that would otherwise be left to the wayside.

And I would like to highlight Gennady I. Kozyrev, pilot of the Masouki Jaohm, as an honorable mention. Even when a bunch of other characters got their own themes in the third Masoukishin game, Gennady continued to carry the standard of Endless Battle right down to Masoukishin F. And the same can also be said of Russel Bergman, Gespenst pilot and member of the Octo Squad, with the selection for today’s entry, Born to Fight.

Like Endless Battle before it, Born to Fight saw a lot of use in it’s debut of Super Robot Taisen OG for the GBA. Most of the time it was assigned to character that were also debuting in that game, or characters that were debuting ahead of their signature robots. But when that game and it’s sequel were remade for the PS2, many of those pilot had themes of their own. And the next game, OG Gaiden, would introduce even more.

And yet through it all, Russel Bergman continues to carry the standard of this incredibly catchy theme. The way it was composed is so intricate that you might think that it’s a chiptune version of a song made for a console game. But the truth is just the opposite. As much as I like the remix made for OGs, Born to Fight’s GBA version proves that chiptune songs are more than capable of withstanding the test of time.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to listen to it some more. I’ll see you back here tomorrow for another song, this time one assigned to arguably the most important unit(s) in an SRW game: Battleships. Bye!

That’s right, Super Robot fans! Gespenst Type-0 here, and we’re back with another installment of my Super Robot Wars 30-Day Music Challenge! Last time we checked out Desire, the theme of one of Super Robot Wars D’s main protagonists, Joshua Radcliffe. This time, much like Day 2 was to Day 1, we’re looking at another protagonist theme, but with different critera involved.

And just so that all my bases are covered, the following posts will contain SPOILERS!!! for one of the story routes in SRW Z.

Day 4: Protagonist Upgrade/Ultimate Attack Theme – The Wings Which Wipe Away Tears (Setsuko’s Theme) (Super Robot Wars Z)

Now, I’m not certain when it first debuted, but the concept of having a separate music track for a unit’s strongest attacks can be found as far back as Alpha Gaiden. In particular, for the Turn A Gundam’s iconic Moonlight Butterfly. And in the following title, Alpha 2, each of the four protagonists have two different themes, one that they start with and one they switch to when they get their mechs upgraded.

Now, most of my favorite upgrade themes are ones that carry over elements from the character’s first theme, but elevate it in some way to really give you the feeling that you’ve broken your old limits. A few honorable mentions are Ing Egret’s Lost Children, Edge Sainklaus’ Huckebein is Here, and the OGDP Remix of Shu Shirakawa’s theme, Dark Prison.

However, I decided to highlight the upgrade theme of Setsuko Ohara, female protagonist of SRW Z for the PS2, The Wings Which Wipe Away Tears. And I chose this one not just because it’s good or because it elevates her previous theme, but because it’s when the upgrade occurs that’s so different.

Setsuko carries within her mech one of twelve spheres, which can grant great power to their wielders if the right circumstances are met. And her sphere is the Sphere of the Sorrowful Maiden, and it gains it’s power through the emotional pain of it’s user.

For reasons unknown, one of the game’s main antagonists, Asakim Dowin, is intent on having Setsuko activate her sphere to it’s fullest potential. To this end, he kills her two squadmates, Denzel Hammer and Toby Watson, and continually hunts her down in his own mech, the Shurouga. And it all comes to a head when Toby shows himself to have apparently survived Asakim’s attack.

However, her joy at Toby’s survival is crushed when he reveals himself to have been Asakim in disguise. This trickery finally pushes Setsuko beyond her breaking point. Her sphere unleashes it’s full power to transform the Virgola into the Virgola Glory, and she vows to use her new power to defeat Asakim once and for all. And the worst part of it all is that, as a result of using this power, Setsuko is slowly losing her five senses…

All throughout SRW Z you see Setsuko constantly kicked while she’s down, and when the somber, electronic tones of The Wings Which Wipe Away Tears are first played, you can feel that she’s pouring all of her pain into the attack that follows. So while this song does play for when the heroine pulls off a major comeback against daunting odds, that empowering sense of triumph is distinctly absent.

And with that, I bid you farewell. Next time we meet, we’ll take a look (or a listen) to a theme that belongs not to any specific character or mech. Until then.

Welcome back once again to my Super Robot Wars 30-Day Music Challenge. Yesterday we looked at Extremely Close to an Exceedingly Distant World, the Main Theme of Super Robot Wars Advance and Advance Portable. Today, we’re leaving the intros behind and delving into the music theme of one of Super Robot Wars many main characters.

And I may as well clarify something while I’m thinking of it; the music tracks that I pick for this challenge aren’t my “favorite” ones in the sense that I like them better than any other song I could have picked. I just decided to highlight them for one reason or another. And with that out of the way, on to the song.

Day 3: Protagonist Theme – Desire (Joshua’s Theme) (Super Robot Wars D)

So in order to qualify for this entry, the song needed to be one that was used for a SRW Original Protagonist. Not necessarily a main protagonist, but they need to be Banpresto-made for SRW. And with an even greater pool of songs to pick from this time, it was no easy choice.

In the end, the one I decided on was Desire, the theme of Joshua Radcliffe from Super Robot Wars Destiny on the GBA. A young man with a straightforward, no-nonsense personality (similar to Kyosuke Nambu from SRW Impact), he pilots the Aile Chevalier alongside his adopted sister Cliana Rimskaya against the servants of the King of Ruin, the Ruina.

An upbeat theme that matches the Aile Chevalier’s high-speed fighting style, it’s easy to see why this one would be a favorite of mine. But as good as this song is, it hit a snag when it was remastered for Josh’s debut in SRW OG 2nd for the PS3. For some reason, instead of looping the song in the same place where they did in D, they have it so that it loops from the beginning, intro and all. And that leads to the feeling like there’s an unnatural skip in the middle of the track.

However, several years ago a Youtuber by the name of Alkahest extended and uploaded the OG2nd version of Desire, and he went and fixed it so that it loops at the same point as it does in D. And while his channel was taken down due to alleged copyright issues, he also provided MP3 files of each track he extended. And I just so happen to have that file right here!

And that’s all I’ve got for today. Next time we’ll be taking a look at another protagonist theme, but with a different criteria attached. ‘Til we meet again!

Welcome back to my Super Robot Wars 30-Day Music Challenge. Last time we kicked off the challenge with JAM Project’s Shining Storm. Today, we take a look at another Main/Opening/Title Theme.

Before we get into it, I wish to say that I’m aware that even though I’m using SRW A Portable for the game entry, the accompanying video I’ve got is taken from SRW Original Generations. However, the two games share the same composition of this particular song, and the PS2’s sound quality is better than the PSP, hence my decision.

Day 2: Instrumental Main Theme – Extremely Close to an Exceedingly Distant World (SRW A Portable)

While JAM Project’s OPs never fail to get the blood pumping, it’s only fair to shine the spotlight on the many instrumental themes that have appeared in Super Robot Wars. The first song to be considered a “Main Theme” was Toki wo Koete, aka Transcending Time. Created all the way back for Super Robot Wars 3 on the SNES, it was re-used in the remaining games that make up the ‘Classic’ series.

Now while Toki wo Koete has more than held up over time, even getting two remixes for 2nd SRW OG on the PS3, I ended up choosing a different theme for this entry. Extremely Close to an Exceedingly Distant World is the main theme of Super Robot Wars Advance for the GBA. If you know the original plot elements of that game, you know how fitting that admittedly long name is.

While I’ll always be a fan of GBA chiptunes, I just had to pick the version of this song that was made for OGs and reused in the PSP remake of Advance. Although, this song was almost a viable choice for the first entry in this list. To promote the release of A Portable, Banpresto commissioned a vocal version of this theme. It was used in a promotional video, but it didn’t end up making it into the game proper.

The group that recorded this version remains unknown, and there’s no completely ‘clean’ version, as the PV also has sound effects and voice clips. However, if you’re interested in hearing it, this video has the first part half of the song ‘clean’, though the latter half still has those sound effects in place.

So, which version of Extremely Close to an Exceedingly Distant World is your favorite? Is there an instrumental theme you like more? Go ahead and leave your picks for this entry in the comments, and I’ll see you here again on the morrow for more music picks!

Welcome to the start of my Super Robot Wars 30-Day Music Challenge! Over the course of the next month I’ll be featuring thirty different songs found in the Super Robot Wars series. Each song will have different criteria assigned to them, and I’ll be doing the ‘hard mode’ version of the challenge. That means once I choose a song from a game, I won’t be able to use that game again later in the list.

I’ll also be including a link to a Youtube video for every song in the list (where I can, because copyright stuff and all), as well as a link to a playlist that I’ll be adding said videos to each day. And finally, there’ll be some commentary from me on the song, what my thoughts on it are, maybe even some honorable mentions. So without further ado, let’s get right into it.

Day 1: Main Theme featuring vocals – Shining Storm (SRW OG The Moon Dwellers)

The first entry on this list is a Main Theme that features vocals. And yes, this is an important distinction. As many SRW fans know, most of the Title and Ending tracks in this series are done by the group JAM Project. Short for Japan Animationsong Makers, JAM Project was founded by the legendary Ichirou Mizuki (may he rest in peace), and it’s members are made of equally legendary artists such as Masaaki Endoh and Hironobu Kageyama.

They’ve done many songs for both anime and video games, especially for Super Robot Wars. Starting with Hagane no Messiah (Steel Messiah) for Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden all the way back on the original Playstation, more than thirty of their songs have featured subsequent games. And the one I chose to kick off this challenge is Shining Storm, the main theme of Super Robot Wars Original Generation: The Moon Dwellers.

Moon Dwellers is, as of this writing, the most recent game in the OG subseries. And as is typical in mainline releases, Shining Storm plays on the title screen and during the last leg of the final boss fight. And it was actually my first time listening to a song by JAM Project. Before this, I was familiar with the idea of ‘the main theme is also the final boss theme’ through the Sonic the Hedgehog series. But even though I’m still a fan of those Crush 40 tunes, Shining Storm got my blood running hot in a way that I had never felt before. It may not have the clout of other JAM Project hits like Skill or GONG, but Shining Storm is still a rockin’ track.

And with the first day finished, I’ll see you back here tomorrow. But before I leave, I want to give a shout out to the video where I first heard Shining Storm. BE WARNED THAT IT DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE FINAL BOSS OF MOON DWELLERS!

This video, uploaded by BassGSnewtype Full Spec, is essentially a showcase of a four-unit joint attack (aka Maximum Break) that finishes off the final boss of Moon Dwellers. And let me tell you, the synchronicity between the gameplay footage and Shining Storm is out of this world. I’d list out my favorite moments, but there are so many that you should just watch the whole video. ONE SHINING STORM!!!