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Alternate Soundtrack: Super Street Fighter II vs. The Go! Team

What follows is the very first piece I ever wrote for 61 Frames Per Second during the blog's first week. It was originally published on May 18th, 2008, with the video to follow on July 15th, 2008.

I've developed a nasty habit that I like to call "Alternate Soundtracking". I think it stems from my wanton desire to multi-task as much as possible. Most of my gaming these days is on handhelds while I ride the train and when I've got an iPod full of new and classic tunes vying for my attention, the games' soundtracks just become redundant.

This is a slightly different beast, though. Alternate soundtracking, for me, involves sitting down with a familiar game, turning down its volume, and queuing up my music library to find music that actually enhances the gaming experience.

For the first entry, I'm going to keep things simple. This one's all about the raw youthful energy. Super Street Fighter II is one of the most popular fighting games of all time, but its popularity isn't thanks to violence. There were plenty of louder, bloodier, more extreme fighters around when it released sixteen years back. Super Street Fighter II's claims to fame are its lightning-fast speed, precision controls, and its bright cartoony cast. More than any other fighting game franchise, the Street Fighter games are legendary for their charming characters and their respective special moves. And nothing aurally compliments SSFII quite like The Go! Team.

There's something inexplicably gratifying about pulling off Dee Jay's Double Rolling Sobat to "Doing It Right"'s handclaps and xylophone bridge. And the victory-dance horn section of "Titanic Vandalism" demands an endless barrage of Hurricane Kicks (or whatever the crap you kids are calling that flying kick move that Ryu and Ken do these days). "Grip Like A Vice"'s relentlessly sharp drums and female empowerment lyrics are practically an anthem for Cammy crushing every muscle-bound martial artist in her path! Public Enemy's Chuck D makes "Flashlight Fight" ideal for the final battles against Sagat and M. Bison. With horn blasts and Chuck D at your back, you'll feel like you are truly leading a revolution with your joypad.



Of course, that's just my experience, and we all know that games and music are both subjective art forms. Let me know what your alternate soundtracks are!