Sometimes great soundtracks can become overlooked simply because they are one of the weaker components of an already fantastic game, much is the case with the soundtrack from Street Fighter II and it’s various spin-offs. Obviously the soundtracks to these games were adequate and were often leaps and bounds better then other fighting games at the time, however the same intense polish that the gameplay sported seemed missing from the music. With the release of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Capcom choose a rather unconventional method by allowing the guys over at OC ReMix to handle the creation of the new soundtrack by taking the familiar Street Fighter tunes and adding a badly needed coat polish to them.After hearing OC ReMix’s tribute album to Street Fighter II entitled Blood on the Asphalt, Rey Jimenez, an associate producer at Capcom, singled them out as the perfect group to handle the creation of the soundtrack to the new old game. By working with a large creative entity as with OC ReMix, Capcom could have been setting themselves up for a disaster of missed deadlines and poor quality work, but at least on the outside it seems like a fantastic soundtrack was created from such a bold experiment.

Made in U.S.A. Heavy Damage (Ken)

The jump in both complexity of composition as well as audio fidelity is immediately noticeable when booting up the game. Although the complete soundtrack was created by a large number of individuals an incredible job was done in managing the over all sound in keeping it consistent throughout. While the sound could have become muddled, much like playing an elongated musical version of the schoolyard game telephone, both the folks at Capcom and OC ReMix were able to pull together a sound so coherent that it appears despite a few subtle differences in composition style, that the soundtrack was crafted by one individual.

Spittin Narcissim (Vega)

Taking the diverse source material of Street Fighter II, which at first glance seems to want to take a global approach to each character’s music, those working on the new album seemed to take this idea and run with it. Added instrumentation and an uncanny familiarity with the characters, probably coming from hundreds of hours of play, seemed to breath new life into them as well as their stages. While the identity of the original soundtrack could have been lost behind complex melodies not thought of as possible in the time since the original arcade machine came out, as with all other elements of the soundtrack, everything was done to the highest standard in both paying homage and creating something different.

Blood on the Asphalt (Guile Ending)

While many tracks stand out as favorites, such as the theme from the Zangief stage with it’s frenetic guitars and DJ scratching, as well as the music from Vega’s stage which took a somewhat boring theme and brought it to the next level of Awesomness, all of the music in the soundtrack easily represents some of the best of the past year.

-Eric Wall

Tags: Music Monday, OC ReMix, Street Fighter, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

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