The Super Nintendo was just as well known for great music as it was for great games. I remember getting unnecessarily pumped from fighting Katana (that jerk in the ring with the swords) in Final Fight, or trying to qualify in a last lap of Top Gear. I can't imagine those games being as good without the music backing them up.

As great as it was, I think composers still felt limited by the console's cartridge based sound processor. Hence, Arranged Soundtracks gave us CD quality alternate takes on our favorite songs - and giving us hardcore gamers a reason to mark out!

These CDs are long out of print and were never really released in the States. A simple google search can put all these gems in your digital collection. As games started coming on discs, the arranged soundtrack has become an unneeded and dying art. Some great and not-so great, what a way to relive the good old days of Game Music.


Super Mario World Arranged
Released: 2.25.91
Composer: Koji Kondo

Super Mario World might have carried the least familiar Mario music, but this CD gave a different take on it. The result was a smooth jazz attack. Most of the tracks are driven by a warm saxophone, with an extremely mellow ambidence. I bet you could put this on in Macy's and have no one complain about it "sounding like a video game".
01. Welcome to Mario World.(5:19)
02. Super Mario World.(5:11)
03. Morning of Yoster Island.(4:40)
04. Mario! Stay Alert!.(4:58)
05. Thank You, Mario!.(5:37)
06. Super Mario Bros..(4:23)
07. Shining Coral.(3:07)
08. Go! Go! Raccoon Mario.(5:06)
09. Mario Club Band.(1:28)
10. Peaceful Kinoko-World.(5:32)
11. Good Night, Mario.(1:14)

Street Fighter II ~ Sing!! Instrumental
Released: 12.16.92
Composer: Yoko Shimomura, Alph-Lyra (original), Seiji Toda (arranged)

Arguably the greatest music to the greatest fighting game - ever. The arranged version carries everything from hard rock to techno to blues. Even cooler, was Capcom also released a version with lyrics. These songs are just plain HOT, and the lyrics drive the character depth - though I can't imagine why you'd need or want to creep into their psyche :/. The track "Bison's dream" is in English, reflecting the nationality of everyone's favorite generic boxer. That shows great care for their characters. They may have released ten different versions of the same game, but they certainly didn't slouch in the music department.
01. towards the dream position [CHUN LI] (Spinning Long Version) (5:12)
02. Crimson Ken ~Burning Blood~ [KEN] (4:25)
03. blanka has come to town!! [BLANKA] (4:04)
04. a thrust of the hand: spirit of japan [E. HONDA] (3:36)
05. lonely wolf [GUILE] (4:31)
06. in faraway india [DHALSIM] (4:22)
07. dread! vacuum man!! [ZANGIEF] (3:19)
08. becoming the storm [RYU] (Tornado Intro Version) (4:49)
09. Bison's Dream [BISON] (4:42)
10. masked narcissist [BALROG] (4:04)
11. tiger legend [SAGAT] (3:05)
12. silent gravestone [VEGA] (3:57)



Mega Man X - Arranged
Released: 3.9.94
Composer: Alph-Lyra

Before many fans felt the franchise got out of hand with all the spinoffs, Mega Man music was all about blues driven rock and metal. The first SNES mega man game was no exception. The turnabout comes on this CD, which is slow jazz fusion like you've probably heard on the weather channel. Its hard for me to even find the original melody in most of the songs. Still, its an interesting listen. I constantly find myself unwinding to Night In The White, Chill Penguin's stage, after a long day at work.
01. Prologue - Awakening Road.~OPENING:HIGHWAY STAGE~ (5:48)
02. Welcome To Mechanical Forest.~FOREST STAGE~(3:18)
03. Take Back The Tower.~TOWER STAGE~(4:27)
04. Night In The White.~ICEBERG STAGE~(5:41)
05. Scrapping Beat.~FACTORY STAGE~ (4:19)
06. Get Through The Dark.~TUNNEL STAGE~(4:29)
07. Spark And Shadow.~POWER PLANT STAGE~(4:54)
08. Again.~UNDERGROUND STAGE~(5:49)
09. Repliroid King.~VS. LAST BOSS STAGE~(3:59)
10. Epilogue - The Transient Silence.~ENDING STAGE~(4:31)



Super Donkey Kong Jungle Fantasy
Released: 2.17.95
Composer: Robin Beanland, Eveline Fischer, Yoshiyuki Ito, David Wise

Donkey Kong Country was Nintendo's "Genesis Killer" of the mid ninties - with a decent soundtrack as well. This CD only arranged half the songs and for all intents and purposes, don't sound all that different from the original versions. Be that as it may, Aquatic Ambience (Water Music) is one of the most mellow water themes regardless of the version.
01. Title Screen Page (Theme of Cranky) "Arranged Version".(3:48)
02. Water Music "Arranged Version".(5:40)
03. The Warehouse Level "Arranged Version".(3:11)
04. Forest Level "Arranged Version".(4:29)
05. Funky Kong Page "Arranged Version".(3:14)
06. The Map Page "Arranged Version".(3:55)
07. Jungle Level "Arranged Version", Synth + Sound Effects Version of Stage One.(2:23)
08. Title Screen Page (Theme of Cranky).(1:25)
09. Jungle Level, Game Version.(2:51)
10. Water Music.(3:26)
11. Moving Platforms (Mine Area).(2:09)
12. The Cart Level.(2:25)
13. The Warehouse Level.(2:09)
14. Bonus Level.(1:01)
15. End of Level Baddie.(2:00)
16. The Caves.(3:09)
17. The Mine Level.(2:28)
18. The Pirate Ship.(1:51)
19. Cranky Kong Page.(1:18)
20. Funky Kong Page.(2:16)
21. Candy Kong Page.(1:17)
22. The Map Page.(1:54)
23. The Ewok Level.(1:59)
24. Forest Level.(2:00)
25. The Ice Cove.(2:04)
26. The Snow Level.(2:28)
27. The Temple.(2:12)
28. Credits (Ending).(2:12)