Welcome to GamesRadar's daily blast of all things pertaining to the ever-growing field of game music. Each post will introduce new sounds, games, composers and fan-made remixes of gaming's greatest aural achievements.
June 28, 2010
Game: Earthworm Jim
Song: For Pete's Sake
Composer: Tommy Tallarico
Plenty of animal-based mascot characters deserved their fate. Bubsy, Aero the Acrobat, Punky Skunk... dead. All dead. But Earthworm Jim was always too unique, too bizarre and too damn creative to die young. Now, after MIA for nearly a decade, Earthworm Jim HD is shining a much-deserved spotlight back on the franchise, meaning it's the perfect time to celebrate one of its defining traits - the music.
Every single song in the original EWJ is classic stuff. Eachtrackfits the level it's in perfectly, and is atmospheric without being dull. In those days, a toe-tapping tune was the best way to burn a game into someone's brain, and Tommy Tallarico's pedal-heavy For Pete's Sake embodies everything a great game song should be.
Above: The "definitive" Sega CD version of For Pete's Sake
The pervasive weirdness of Earthworm Jim is perfect for videogames. The level this is from has you escorting a tiny pink puppy (Pete) across an obstacle course filled with meteors, tentacles, catapaults and ten other types of "what?" And honestly this is one of the more level-headed parts of the game.
Above: Some of you may best know the series by its cartoon
360 owners can try out EWJHD today, with PSN and WiiWare versions to follow sometime this summer. The original game is also on DSiWare, if you're that eager to give it a shot, but if I may suggest the HD version instead. It's easily the best way to be introduced (or even re-introduced) to one of the consistently weirdest games of all time.
Somnia Memorias by Yoko Shimomura
The Slingshot by Shawn Lee
Tommy T's tunes that launched the PlayStation
