PixlBit

Stage Select (top 3 town or village musical themes)

3. Dark Souls 2 "Majula Theme" - My first playthrough of Dark Souls 2 was pretty special to me, and hearing this understated theme in Majula village makes me picture my character standing at the scenic coastal village itself and looking inland to see the giant Roman aqueduct traversing the mountains, as well as the King's castle in the far distance.

Majula Theme on youtube

2. STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl "Dirge For The Planet" - This plays on loop via a radio in the first village of the game. It's a melancholic dirge with acoustic guitar, violin, and vocal harmonies lamenting the state of the world and sets the tone for the sad and harsh world you will find as you wander out into the Chernobyl exclusion zone.

Dirge For The Planet on youtube

1. Mass Effect 1 "Normandy Theme" - Mass Effect has my favorite soundtrack in gaming and the Normandy is like a small village in and of itself. This theme fills me with nostalgia for wandering that ship and talking to my crew members.

Normandy Theme on youtube

Chrono Crossing 1997

My 1997 was mostly on the N64 and the two games I loved the most were also the first FPS games I had ever played: Goldeneye and Turok Dinosaur Hunter. Turok had the cooler premise, more enemy diversity, and had the gratuitous gore that made it the after-hours game I had to play when my parents weren't around to see what was really in this "dinosaur game" that I convinced them to buy for me. Meanwhile, Goldeneye was a total package that delivered a big single player campaign and a multiplayer mode that my friends and I became addicted to. For years afterwards, Goldeneye set the bar for what I expected console shooters to deliver. I pick Goldeneye because that's still the better overall package and is plenty fun in its own ways, but my heart is always with Turok in a close second place.

Great show guys. I totally missed Fighters Destiny. That would have hit my 5. It was a cool premise to base a match off who got to the point limit first. Nice call on who picked it. 

Stage select was tough. Favorite game music or specific genres is easy but specifically villages is hard because I don't remember most. Here's some of my standouts though. I'm sure there's many I'm forgetting.

Stage Select:

Guldove (Another World) from Chrono Cross
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FVqh7uiDgK4

Marbule (Home World) from Chrono Cross

around the 47 second mark especially https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd4tiM1yV7o

Wep'keer Village  (Okami)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PUXtd3gRwos 

Chrono Crossing 1997: Megaman X4

I started Megaman on Sega Channel with part 3 and loved the series. I missed all the SNES stuff and picked up X4. Having 2 unique characters was great for replay value. Zero was really cool and I can still remember the anime cutscene where he pummels Sigma vividly.

At least someone appreciated it. Lol At first I was wondering if it was a fighting game one of the neighbors relatives worked on and we played a rough copy of (really wish i knew what it was; i believe id's unreleased). 

To Julian's point about Tekken 3 vs. Fighters Destiny, I'd honestly have to play them again, but at the time I loved the ring outs in Fighters Destiny and played it more in '98. Remember, I based my list on what I liked then, rather than necessarily what I like now, though I'd argue most of my picks hold up.

Definitely real. I loved that game. Rented it like 3 times before I bought it years later. I actually just found my N64 and games last year. May have to plug it in. Valerie was my favorite. I always tried to pull off the Heaven-Earth Breaker combo. Not only was that cow a pain (that damn victory dance pissed me off every time) but that damn evil Joker (not Pierre). F that guy, lol. Every time you beat him he seemed to come back stronger. I'd definitely take a new Fighters Destiny over Tekken though my opinions tend to skew on the least popular side, lol. 

There's enough tekken already out there so i agree. I'm wondering how many on the podcast played it recently. It got solid reviews, so i stand by my solid fighter comment no matter what Angelo says. Lol

So, I watched some videos of Fighter's Destiny after this episode, and I liked that it tries to be like a modern day Karate Champ and does a points system. But Tekken 3 has that huge roster, all the bonus modes, and just looks and moves better. Fighter's Destiny isn't the joke I thought it was (it's no Mace: The Dark Age or War Gods), but I'd still put Tekken 3 ahead of it. 

I'd have to go back and play them both to know for sure, but giant rosters and extra modes can't beat gameplay.

Which again, i have no idea what id think if i played now.

Damn that was a great episode. A lot of fun with that one and makes me want to check so many games out

Chronic Crossing

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back- In some ways this is better than Warped. More platforming levels is a huge bonus, but the locations repeated themselves more and there's no time trial mode like Warped. Also, to bring up your point on MGS cutscenes this episode, go watch 2's. There's fewer and in a less complex story but you can't deny Naughty Dog understood cutscenes before everyone else.

Stage Select

3. Pokemon Firered/Leafgreen: Lavender Town- This town has four different remixes across four games but this was by far my favorite of them. I love how creepy the theme is, contrasting with the friendly nature of every other town theme which fits well because of the Pokemon cemetery in it. This theme always pops into my head whenever I see or play anything scary, it's just that good.

2. Wind Waker: Dragon Roost Island- Zelda games always had great tracks and WW has by far my favorite of them. It's track was a huge source of the games charm and I feel this island/town had the most upbeat and fun tune to it. That said, the title screen theme still dominated any other track

1. Jade Empire: Metropolis 1 and 2- Made simply roaming a city feel epic. I enjoy towns in other games, but I haven't been pumped exploring one like JE made me.

Chrono Crossing for me is Star Fox 64. I've said it's my favorite game ever but ... Honestly, that's not true. It's my strongest positive nostalgic gaming memory. I'm honestly not sure what my "favorite" game is.

Anyway, I received it with my N64 this year for Christmas. This was one of the first 3D games that wowed me with its graphics. I loved the futuristic look of Corneria and the water effects.

It was also used to promote the rumble feature and I have a vivid memory of a commercial I can never find, where a kid's room caves in while playing the game. The only ad I find on YouTube is one where a kid plays in like a reddish lab, and I have zero memory of that one ... And I even recall wanting to get SF64 partly because of the apparently nonexistent ad I'm thinking of. That and watching some relatives play it.

The fact I didn't get an N64 until this year partly explains why Mario 64 doesn't tickle my brain hole like it does other gamers. I remember playing Tomb Raider and Tekken demos at kiosks and my brother had a PSX, but I completely missed the mario hype to the point I thought Star Fox was an N64 launch title in lieu of mario. I didn't play mario until much later via rentals.

As for the game itself, it's a fun rail shooter with branching paths I didn't even fully realize were there as a kid and memorable characters (if sometimes memorable in a negative way). Even though it's my pick, I think it might be a bit overrated, but it still means a lot to me. Also, I prefer this style of game, where there's relatively little content but it's hugely replayable, to the fetch quest stuffed trophy/achievement oriented open world games of today ... I say after playing lego Batman 3 right before typing this.

Stage select:

Gerudo Valley is a damn catchy theme and stands out because of the Spanish guitar ( which makes it the only Zelda theme I learned to play on guitar ... Well ok, that might not be true, but I definitely played it more than others) and horns. I can listen to this on a sunny day whether the game is popped in or not. Almost makes Ganondorf sound like a Colombian drug Lord from a movie ... No one call me out on not being sure what exact nationality to associate the sound with.

Kokiri Forest has a couple instruments that annoy me, but I love how relaxing it is. Because it's the first area, it also reminds me of reading The Hobbit and thinking when Gandalf comes to take Bilbo on an adventure that I want him to go away. Fuck off old man, the hobbit life of living in a green country side, eating everything and laying back is amazing. To hell with adventure! Sometimes I want to just stay in these opening areas and enjoy the company of the NPCs. LIKE a HARVEST Moon Zelda. I think. Never played those. I'd be more interested in the social interactions than the farming upkeep though.

Finally i know clock town in majoras mask is technically three themes, but I'll cheat and just choose the theme in general. It manages to have the feel of both Kokiri Forest like starting areas with its upbeat charm, but later parts of it reveal the sinister undertone ( overtones?) of the game.

And that's what this list looks like when you ask someone who plays no RPGs. Even in this case, I'd argue Zelda is more accurately classified as as an action adventure game. Especially in my case, where I don't project myself on to Link and still see LINK no matter what I name the character. 

Hope I'm not too late!!

Stage Select - Top 3 Town/Village Themes

3. Windwaker/Breath of the Wild - Dragon Roost Island/Rito Village theme. I agree with Casey on this choice, as this is one of my favorite Zelda tracks to date. I am so happy they remixed it to use in Breath of the Wild. Sometimes I go to Rito Village just to hear the song.

2. Final Fantasy V - Home, Sweet Home from Lix. This song is really relaxing and pretty in the game, playing in Bartz's hometown of Lix. My favorite version is on the Final Fantasy V Dear Friends album, where the song is given lyrics.

1. Final Fantasy VI - Kids Run Through the City - plays in multiple towns in the first half of the game. This song is a great MIDI, but it is a stunning piano piece. If you've never heard the solo piano version, do yourself a favor and YouTube it. One of the best songs in the game from my favorite Final Fantasy soundtrack. 

Chrono Crossing - 1997

Is it finally the year I get to say it!? It is! It really really is! My favorite game of 1997 is...

Diddy Kong Racing!

No, seriously. It's Final Fantasy VII! This was the first Final Fantasy game I had ever played, and it hooked me on the series for life. I met my husband through our shared love of the ShinRa corporation, and the Turks were the first cosplay we had ever done together. Fun story you do not have to read on air, but feel free: Years ago we attended a tiny convention in Chattanooga, TN called JAMPcon. We had a cosplay group consisting of Rufus, Reno, Rude, Hojo and Reeve. The con was small and held at a hotel, so needless to say, most of the guests had no idea what was going on. In costume, we decided to have a drink at the hotel bar. We must have looked very important because a man came up to us wondering what company we worked for and where we were from. Our Rufus proceeded to tell him all about our amazing energy company, ShinRa Electric Power Company. The man was enthralled. I feel confident he looked up our stock symbol, SHI.