VGBA 7 - World 1-2

Koopa Soundworks - World 1-2

Well Known Video Game Composers VS Great Video Game Remixers!

Band - Koopa Soundworks
Sites - Home. Facebook. Bandcamp. Album.
Type of Album - Video Game Remix + Original Video Game Music.
Genres - Video Game Music, Video Game Remixes.
Favorite Song/Songs - Driving Upwards, The Night Fighter.

Review - Here comes a strange but quite awesome collaboration. Game Chops joined up with the new studio, Koopa Soundworks, to help them release their first album, World 1-2. Now this album is just... It's an amazing piece of work. It's one part mixture of classic video game composers meets newer video game composers meets video game remixers. You mix that all together, and you get a great album.

Now I'm not really great with names, but I decided to look up a couple of the artists to give you a good idea of who you will be hearing on it...

• Manami Matsumae - Best known for her work on the Mega Man soundtrack and sounds for later Mega Man titles.
• Benjamin Briggs - One of my favorite chiptune/electronic/video game remixers. Has a lot of great albums available for free at http://benjaminbriggs.bandcamp.com/  (Please throw a few bucks his way though.) 
• Stemage - Songwriter and arranger whose most notable work is the Metroid Metal project. It's good stuff. YOU SHOULD CHECK IT OUT!
• halc - Electronic music and video game music composer. Great stuff!
• Danimal Cannon - Musician and well known Chiptune artist. Is also a part of the great video game remix band, Armcannon.
• Aaaand a whole lot more that I don't know very well.

Now, with this all-star lineup, the expectations have already been set really high, but guess what? It delivers on every level.

The album selection is just great stuff. There's a lot of variety from artist to artist, so no two songs sound remotely alike. You've got grand video game orcheastriac pieces, original video game-style sounds, hippin and hoppin remixes, chiptunes, and so much more. As I've said many times, I'm not really a very good reviewer for music, so I'll replace any real chatting up I'd have on this album with a single sentence.

"As I listen through this glorious album from track to track, I feel the breeze of video game inspiration blow in and out of my ear's mind. The great sounds fuel my fire of love for video game music and remixes alike. I hit play on the album and time slips away into a dream state of deliciousness."

That just about covers how I feel. I can't really diss this album in any way. There's really nothing to hate about it because it's just so well done and organized. There are original songs to give you something new, and the rest of the songs are great remixes by some awesome artists. (The Night Fighter is a remix from Street Fighter 2.)

The only other note I really got to say here is... For $10, you get twenty great songs. Compared to most VGBA albums I post, it costs a little bit more, but I'd say the price is worth it. Figured I'd mention it because this could drive people away. If nothing else, just listen to it on the YouTube or BandCamp. It's great stuff though, so you really should support it!

And... that's all I got. I really didn't prepare for this review. I've had this sitting here for several weeks now, and I felt the need to get it out there. I waited too long, but I promise the next one will be better!

Pros - A great collection of new and old music. Pretty good amount of variety. Good selection of old and new video game artists along with remixers and just so much stuffed in this package.
Cons - It's only great video game music? Oh darn. Costs a bit more than most of my reviewed albums, but it more than makes up for the cost. So... not really any cons.
Rating - 5 out of 5.


Side Note - Although I'm review World 1-2, they actually released a new album that goes with this. You can download the new albums (which includes new songs and also a recollection of the original album) right about here. It is called World 1-2: The Complete Collection, and I shall be digging into it fairly soon.

~May the Crystals Guide Me~