Capcom produced a marvelous sound
experience with Versus series soundtrack
experience with Versus series soundtrack
Beat.Trip.Game
with Lyndsey Beatty
with Lyndsey Beatty
The Versus series has always had its fair share of memorable bangers. Whether it's a character select screen or a staff roll, most Versus games had something to make you nod your head as you chose a side of X-Men or Brotherhood of Mutants and Marvel or Capcom. These are my favorites in the long-running fighting juggernaut.
1. Continue - Marvel Super Heroes: Not too many other tracks from the game caught my ears but this one did because it's perfect for the Versus series in general. It's got a nice beat, and the sound is very Versus coded.
2. Player Select - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: In a superfluous game such as Marvel vs. SF (see our feature on why this is), the character select screen is not bad. It's a fun romp while picking characters and it sounds like it belongs in a Versus game with its triumphant superhero horns.
3. Staff Roll - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: The staff roll track is fun. It's fast-paced and sounds like it could be for either a Marvel game or Capcom game, which is the point.
4. Theme of Gouki - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: I didn't see this theme for Gouki considering what all his other themes sound like from his introduction forward. It's interesting because it's more of a swing track with a synth playing the role of horns; it's a good interesting and is a foreshadowing of later jazz tracks that will show up in Marvel vs. Capcom 2.
5. Theme of Hidden Character - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: Another fast-paced track that will make you nod your head, it's very reminiscent of 1980s bops even though the Versus series doesn't have a defined period.
6. Theme of Vega - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: The Dictator gets a nice rocking track that sounds like his Alpha 3 tracks. That's a good comparison and one that is worthy of a usual game-ending boss like Dictator.
7. Theme of Wolverine - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: This is the best track in the game. Wolverine has always been a favorite, but his track takes him over the top. The track has a nice beat, breakdown and synth section and is an immediate download.
8. Theme of Zangief - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: Composer Yukui Iwai was on a nice kick of big band swing when coming up with the soundtrack because Zangief's theme hits on all cylinders. The drums are nice and the piano portion in the breakdown is the right touch.
9. Boss Intro - Marvel vs. Capcom: Onslaught's intro is fun. I will never not hear "Know my name and fear it; I am Onslaught."
10. Onslaught Battle 1 - Marvel vs. Capcom: Fighting the first battle against Onslaught is fun if you know what you're doing. The fast track accompanying the battle is something to behold as well.
11. Player Select - Marvel vs. Capcom: The fun track accompanying the faces background of the character select makes me happy. I know something cool is about to happen.
12. Staff Roll - Marvel vs. Capcom: The staff roll track is one of my favorites just because it's usually hard earned. Sometimes just making it to Onslaught is a battle, and I like to be rewarded with a nice beat and cool sprites over the credits.
13. Theme of Captain America - Marvel vs. Capcom: I became a massive Cap fan with the MCU's Winter Soldier, and I can't help but think this theme fits the character well way after. I can picture forever bae Chris Evans as Steve Rogers knocking heads together with this theme in the background.
14. Theme of Jin - Marvel vs. Capcom: I've briefly played Cyberbots and I can see this theme fitting Jin easily. The mecha pilot has a nice theme that makes him stand out. That and his Gundam Blodia make an impact.
15. Theme of Morrigan - Marvel vs. Capcom: The reliable and loveable Darkstalker translates well to the Versus sphere and her theme remixed here is a good translation also.
16. Theme of Roll - Marvel vs. Capcom: Though Roll is a terrible character in every Versus game appearance, her theme is cool. It's the only one with some type of lyrics and vocalist, and the actual music isn't bad, either.
17. Theme of Strider Hiryu - Marvel vs. Capcom: Strider Hiryu is the coolest character on the Capcom side, and his theme makes me want to play his terribly controlled game. Almost. It does make me want to use Strider as a character, though.
18. Variable Cross - Marvel vs. Capcom: The best non-character theme in the game is Variable Cross. The first time I pulled it off, I fell in love with it. It invokes the craziness of controlling your characters simultaneously perfectly. There is nothing quite like getting your characters' faces to line up and hearing the opening notes of the theme.
19. Airship - Marvel vs. Capcom 2: Like every track on the Marvel vs. Capcom 2 soundtrack, the Airship stage is perfectly fine as a track even with the jazz elements. The instruments make this track fun and it's the home stage of my favorite Versus character, Ruby Heart.
20. Character Select - Marvel vs. Capcom 2: "I wanna take you for a ride" is etched into my brain after 25 years of MvC2. From the first time I popped tokens in the sit-down cabinet at Frankie's Fun Park in February 2000 to right now, I know exactly how that sequence is supposed to go. I have never figured out what the ride is for, but I begrudgingly have stayed on it.
21. Continue - Marvel vs. Capcom 2: "Don't give up; challenge again." The soft voice beckoning you to keep trying to beat Abyss is nice, but it always stood out as a laidback R&B track in a jazz setting.
22. Desert Stage - Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New character Amingo's home stage is extremely fun. After hearing it a million times during versus matches against my friends and at tournaments, I learned to appreciate the desert atmosphere and the random announcer chatter about cheap bunny hops on the east side and embrace the trumpets and jazz.
23. Swamp Stage - Marvel vs. Capcom 2: The Swamp stage aka Swing Your Body - known colloquially as "Sing, Nobody" in the Beatty stronghold - is my absolute favorite track in all of Versus land. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it, and it remains my favorite track despite there being other games afterward. There is something magical about the horns and the mishearing of "Sing, Nobody."
24. Abyss - Stage 1 - Marvel vs. Capcom 2: The first form of MvC2 boss Abyss is a slightly challenging battle if you're not used to his pattern. The track is understated just like the boss and fun to listen to removed from facing Abyss.
25. Check Your License Theme - Marvel vs. Capcom 3: I wasn't a big fan of MvC3 as I could have been, but it did have a decent soundtrack. The license theme is nice and perfectly encapsulates the feeling of the game.
26. Main Menu Theme - Marvel vs. Capcom 3: This fun romp is a banger of a menu theme from Capcom in the vein of their other main menus. The drums here are nice and drive the track.
27. Introduction Theme - Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3: This dramatic intro has no business being as good as it is. Vanilla MvC3 set the tone, but this takes it to the next level. This easily could be in an MCU film.
Lyndsey Beatty is editor-in-chief of Gaming Insurrection. She can be reached by email at lyndseyb@gaminginsurrection.com
1. Continue - Marvel Super Heroes: Not too many other tracks from the game caught my ears but this one did because it's perfect for the Versus series in general. It's got a nice beat, and the sound is very Versus coded.
2. Player Select - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: In a superfluous game such as Marvel vs. SF (see our feature on why this is), the character select screen is not bad. It's a fun romp while picking characters and it sounds like it belongs in a Versus game with its triumphant superhero horns.
3. Staff Roll - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: The staff roll track is fun. It's fast-paced and sounds like it could be for either a Marvel game or Capcom game, which is the point.
4. Theme of Gouki - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: I didn't see this theme for Gouki considering what all his other themes sound like from his introduction forward. It's interesting because it's more of a swing track with a synth playing the role of horns; it's a good interesting and is a foreshadowing of later jazz tracks that will show up in Marvel vs. Capcom 2.
5. Theme of Hidden Character - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: Another fast-paced track that will make you nod your head, it's very reminiscent of 1980s bops even though the Versus series doesn't have a defined period.
6. Theme of Vega - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: The Dictator gets a nice rocking track that sounds like his Alpha 3 tracks. That's a good comparison and one that is worthy of a usual game-ending boss like Dictator.
7. Theme of Wolverine - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: This is the best track in the game. Wolverine has always been a favorite, but his track takes him over the top. The track has a nice beat, breakdown and synth section and is an immediate download.
8. Theme of Zangief - Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter: Composer Yukui Iwai was on a nice kick of big band swing when coming up with the soundtrack because Zangief's theme hits on all cylinders. The drums are nice and the piano portion in the breakdown is the right touch.
9. Boss Intro - Marvel vs. Capcom: Onslaught's intro is fun. I will never not hear "Know my name and fear it; I am Onslaught."
10. Onslaught Battle 1 - Marvel vs. Capcom: Fighting the first battle against Onslaught is fun if you know what you're doing. The fast track accompanying the battle is something to behold as well.
11. Player Select - Marvel vs. Capcom: The fun track accompanying the faces background of the character select makes me happy. I know something cool is about to happen.
12. Staff Roll - Marvel vs. Capcom: The staff roll track is one of my favorites just because it's usually hard earned. Sometimes just making it to Onslaught is a battle, and I like to be rewarded with a nice beat and cool sprites over the credits.
13. Theme of Captain America - Marvel vs. Capcom: I became a massive Cap fan with the MCU's Winter Soldier, and I can't help but think this theme fits the character well way after. I can picture forever bae Chris Evans as Steve Rogers knocking heads together with this theme in the background.
14. Theme of Jin - Marvel vs. Capcom: I've briefly played Cyberbots and I can see this theme fitting Jin easily. The mecha pilot has a nice theme that makes him stand out. That and his Gundam Blodia make an impact.
15. Theme of Morrigan - Marvel vs. Capcom: The reliable and loveable Darkstalker translates well to the Versus sphere and her theme remixed here is a good translation also.
16. Theme of Roll - Marvel vs. Capcom: Though Roll is a terrible character in every Versus game appearance, her theme is cool. It's the only one with some type of lyrics and vocalist, and the actual music isn't bad, either.
17. Theme of Strider Hiryu - Marvel vs. Capcom: Strider Hiryu is the coolest character on the Capcom side, and his theme makes me want to play his terribly controlled game. Almost. It does make me want to use Strider as a character, though.
18. Variable Cross - Marvel vs. Capcom: The best non-character theme in the game is Variable Cross. The first time I pulled it off, I fell in love with it. It invokes the craziness of controlling your characters simultaneously perfectly. There is nothing quite like getting your characters' faces to line up and hearing the opening notes of the theme.
19. Airship - Marvel vs. Capcom 2: Like every track on the Marvel vs. Capcom 2 soundtrack, the Airship stage is perfectly fine as a track even with the jazz elements. The instruments make this track fun and it's the home stage of my favorite Versus character, Ruby Heart.
20. Character Select - Marvel vs. Capcom 2: "I wanna take you for a ride" is etched into my brain after 25 years of MvC2. From the first time I popped tokens in the sit-down cabinet at Frankie's Fun Park in February 2000 to right now, I know exactly how that sequence is supposed to go. I have never figured out what the ride is for, but I begrudgingly have stayed on it.
21. Continue - Marvel vs. Capcom 2: "Don't give up; challenge again." The soft voice beckoning you to keep trying to beat Abyss is nice, but it always stood out as a laidback R&B track in a jazz setting.
22. Desert Stage - Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New character Amingo's home stage is extremely fun. After hearing it a million times during versus matches against my friends and at tournaments, I learned to appreciate the desert atmosphere and the random announcer chatter about cheap bunny hops on the east side and embrace the trumpets and jazz.
23. Swamp Stage - Marvel vs. Capcom 2: The Swamp stage aka Swing Your Body - known colloquially as "Sing, Nobody" in the Beatty stronghold - is my absolute favorite track in all of Versus land. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it, and it remains my favorite track despite there being other games afterward. There is something magical about the horns and the mishearing of "Sing, Nobody."
24. Abyss - Stage 1 - Marvel vs. Capcom 2: The first form of MvC2 boss Abyss is a slightly challenging battle if you're not used to his pattern. The track is understated just like the boss and fun to listen to removed from facing Abyss.
25. Check Your License Theme - Marvel vs. Capcom 3: I wasn't a big fan of MvC3 as I could have been, but it did have a decent soundtrack. The license theme is nice and perfectly encapsulates the feeling of the game.
26. Main Menu Theme - Marvel vs. Capcom 3: This fun romp is a banger of a menu theme from Capcom in the vein of their other main menus. The drums here are nice and drive the track.
27. Introduction Theme - Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3: This dramatic intro has no business being as good as it is. Vanilla MvC3 set the tone, but this takes it to the next level. This easily could be in an MCU film.
Lyndsey Beatty is editor-in-chief of Gaming Insurrection. She can be reached by email at lyndseyb@gaminginsurrection.com
