Rockman 9 Arrange – “Hornet Dance” (III)
August 28, 2010Rockman 9/Mega Man 9 had a really cool soundtrack. The entire game was 8-bit, and they went with some fantastic 8-bit music composed by a new group of Capcom’s finest. Unfortunately, the arrange album was very lacking, opting to change the fantastic jazz and blues pieces for crazy funk and new age. The album was arranged by a band the unit III of Inti Creates (Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero series). So while Rockman 9 Arrange Soundtrack is experimental, and while I think it’s kind of interesting, it didn’t sit well with fans who were expecting something a bit more traditional. Even so, the album has a few pieces I enjoy, particularly “Hornet Dance”.
Rockman 9 Arrange – “Hornet Dance” (III)
“Hornet Dance” was originally composed by Hiroki Isogai, who also worked on Rockman 10. The arrange version has some funky honey-soaked guitar that’s sticky and bee-like, buzzing all over the scale. There’s some great rock guitar and trumpet support, making this a kind of big band arrange, and the drums are also glorious. The melody has a nice build, too, starting off with funk and growing to some well-developed trumpet sections that have a taste of the urban and social harmony. I keep thinking we’ll see Bee Mario show up somewhere, as this is a lot more interesting than the Super Mario Galaxy theme. It’s really a great opening track for the stage themes, but it’s too bad the remainder of the album doesn’t hold up as well.
