Virt Week continues with UN Squadron rearrangement by the Smash Brothers

Virt is a man of many hats, and the number two song on the countdown is a testament to that. Along with Ailsean, Norg, and many others, Virt takes part in the incredible super band known as the Smash Brothers. This gathering of elite VGM talent is behind the number two song on the Virt week countdown.

Shaking Hands With the Devil is a full band rearrangement of the incredible Air Division stage of the SNES version of Capcom's UN Squadron. The Smash Brothers' hard hitting heavy metal rendition is right in line with the non stop shoot-em-up action of the classic sidescrolling shooter. The song comes from the Bacon EP, which I reviewed after its release in January 2010. The song has only continued to grow on me since then.

A few facts about UN Squadron.

• Titled Area 88 in Japan, the game is actually based on a Manga series of the same name. (The number 88 can still be seen in many sections of the game, including the introduction, and as the symbol for completed missions.
• The game had completely different composers for the Arcade and SNES versions of the game. Manami Matsumae (also known for her work on the original Mega Man titles) &
  Takashi Tateishi composed the lesser known arcade version of UN Squadron while Mari Yamaguchi &
  Yoshihiro Sakaguchi worked on the SNES version of the game.
• Coming full circle, Manami Matsumae arranged two tracks for Jake Kaufman's soundtrack to Shovel Knight.