Memorable Melodies: Pursuit ~ Cornered from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Song: Pursuit ~ Cornered

Game: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Composer: Masakazu Sugimori

I first brought up composer Masakazu Sugimori a few weeks ago when I talked up the Ghost Trick soundtrack. Before he was writing dope tunes for Ghost Trick he did a whole lot of work on the Ace Attorney series. I love the music in every Ace Attorney game, but I still feel the most connected to the music of the original. There was something much harder about the way its 16-bit tunes came out of the speakers. Everything was super exciting and really made you feel the twists and turns of each case.

Being a visual novel Ace Attorney lives and dies by how engaging it is. Luckily the localization of the series has always been great. Then the music is layered on top of the writing. It always does an excellent job of capturing the exact scenario going on in game. For those who don't know Phoenix is still a rookie attorney in the original game. He's not very good at protecting his clients, but he has a lot of heart. This makes is super exciting when you finally corner your opponent and they have no lies left to fall back on. This is when Pursuit ~ Cornered kicks in.

You know that Phoenix is on the right track when this heavy jam starts up. I think it's impossible for me to not get hype when I hear this song. It makes me want to yell "Hold It," and "Objection" at the top of my lungs. Seeing the character on the witness stand crumble is amazing, because you as the player are the one that made it happen.

This is just one of many great songs from the Ace Attorney franchise, so expect it to come back to this feature at some point. It has a tune for all kinds of situations. 

Memorable Melodies: Epilogue ~ The End of the Night

Song: Epilogue ~ The End of the Night

Game: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Composer: Masakazu Sugimori

Ghost Trick seemed like the kind of game that would be right up my alley. However, for some reason didn't purchase it when it came out. I instead told myself I wouldn't buy it until it was $20. A few summers ago one of my friends called me to let me know that there was a physical copy with the case still intact at the local Gamestop. To this day I am still mad at myself for waiting to buy the game. Without a doubt Ghost Trick is one of my top five favorite games of all time. It has a unique premise, compelling story, and most important of all, an amazing soundtrack.

Masakazu Sugimori is well known for his work on Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and Phoenix Wright: Justice for all. Both of those are great, and really add to games. The soundtrack he produced for Ghost Trick is no different and I personally think it's the best out of the three. If you asked me to sing/whistle songs from the first two Phoenix Wright games I couldn't do it on cue. Ghost Trick is another story though. 

One thing that makes a video game tune particularly memorable to me is when it ends up being tied to a particular scene in my mind. In the case of this one it's tied to the credits of Ghost Trick, because that's  the point where it plays. Man, the ending of Ghost Trick is insane. At first I didn't even believe it. I had to set my DS down several times in shock as it played out. The ending continues into the credits as scenes detailing what happened to the characters play out. Interspersed between the character vignettes are the credits. 

During the credits I felt gleeful. The game was a wild ride that had some great twists. Epilogue is a combination of the main theme of Ghost Trick and a new melody that makes you feel victorious, It says that the struggle is over and it's something to be happy about.

Thinking about the Ghost Trick ending gets me all warm and fuzzy inside. This song sure is a doozy, What a great game! Capcom needs to put out more stuff like this.