album of the week: 9.2

Rockman 10 宇宙からの脅威!! Original Soundtrack

INTI Creates (2010)

why you'll love it: best Rockman music since the second game.

why you'll hate it: 8-bit music is for baby ears

Thanks to a recent episode of Retronauts, praising 25 years of the NES, I'm feeling very nostalgic this week. Which is handy, because I've been looking for a reason to give the Rockman 10 soundtrack precedence over more contemporary sounding new releases. To me, the NES was Mega Man, not Mario. I can't remember if I owned Super Mario Bros 3, but I definitely owned all 5 Mega Man games. Capcom was so kind in 2008 to give reality to the dream I never even considered fantasizing about, and make Rockman 9; a modern day 8-bit successor to the original NES series that defined my childhood.

Let me back up, actually… although this is common game trivia, some may be lost… Rockman is the Japanese title of Mega Man. This is why his female robot sidekick is named Roll, and why the little robot bird is named Beat. There are robot villains named Treble & Bass, (but they are in the crappy games, so who cares about him?) and Proto Man's original name is Blues. Now it should make more sense to anyone who has played the games, why the music rocks (no pun intended by me, but maybe by them). Rockman soundtracks are celebrated not just for nostalgic factor, but for being some of the most energetic tunes to come from the 8-bit era. The Rockman 2 soundtrack alone is a god damn triumph.

So here we finally come to Rockman 10, released earlier in the year. I wouldn't say the game is as enthralling as 9, but easily stands alongside it. The soundtrack, on the other hand, is a big step up, and I think my favorite since 2. "Solar Inferno" struck me immediately. The music for the challenge stages is great too, which was a smart move. That catchy theme was the sole thread of sanity I clung to throughout multiple restarts. The boss theme is one of my favorites in Rockman history.