Now I don't normally tend to cover most original video game soundtracks, but today I make an exception. I got an email from one Keith Burgun about an iPhone game him and the rest of the folks at Dinofarm Games are currently finishing up entitled 100 Rogues. The game itself looks like a fun 2D, overhead dungeon crawler which seems to be a mix of classic games like Gauntlet, Zelda, and turn based strategy games like Fire Emblem and Shining Force. It turns out that the album is out now, and is completely free to download. Just head over to the proper Dinofarm forum post and grab the ten track album right now!
Anyway, what turned me on to checking out the soundtrack (and eventually loving it and writing this post) was a sentence that stated, "What makes the 100 Rogues soundtrack special is that we use almost entirely SNES synths/sound-fonts..." If you know me well, then you know a line like that will immediately catch my attention.
The album starts out with what could be a classic intro theme from the 16 bit era, Blake Reynolds' Quest of the Highest Order, a somber tone of SNES style strings and swells. From there we get the atmospheric lounge like style of Select Your Rogue, which can be evocative of the catchier tunes of Earthbound with it's funky driving piano and able use of percussive instruments.
Of course no dungeon crawler is complete without the dark ominous tracks such as Deeper Down the Bandit Hole with it's sauntering melody and dreary tones. Keith Burgun represents on the former track, as well as one of my personal favorites from the album, Genie Fight!. This song is of course, one of those epic and memorable boss battle tracks with it's ever building tension and rock out attitude, with some ominous hints of underlying evil.
The whole album continues on in this way, providing a nostalgic but original and catchy musical style which, judging from the gameplay footage and art style, should combine fittingly to create a classic throwback to the classic SNES games of our youth. From the pomp opening through the harrowing journey, and to the adulatory Grand Finale, this album is definitely worth taking a listen to, even if you are like me, and do not own an iphone, which means we won't be playing this game too soon. If you do own an iPhone though, keep an eye on 100rogues.com to keep up to date on the game's release and more news from the Dinofarm team.
