Album Review: Daniel Tidwell – Versus Video Games 2 (Daniel Tidwell)

Versus Video Games 2 is an album by Daniel Tidwell that continues his great work of taking famous video game music & giving them a hard rock/metal edge. Unfortunately this time around it’s a little less impactful thanks in part to some of the songs chosen.

Opening with the upbeat sounds of The Vengeance Frog (Chrono Trigger) played acoustically, it takes a moment to really get going but by then you will already have lost interest. I’m All Outta Gum/Grabbag from Duke Nukem doesn’t excite seeing as the theme was pretty rocking anyway.

That’s the biggest problem found throughout this 20 track album, not enough excites. Who cares about metal versions of Rad Racer? Or Werewolf: The Last Warrior? Or Tecmo Bowl for that matter!? Sure they’re well done but they don’t stick, you’ll listen to them once then promptly forget about them.

Other times the choice of music from a specific game just seems odd. Gang Plank Galleon from Donkey Kong Country is a good example of this considering just how much better music there is in that game! I’d have loved to hear rock versions of Ice Cave Chant or The Credits Concerto.

These are personal choice complaints though & the quality of almost everything you hear here can’t be called into question. Save the Dinosaurs from Super Mario World is joy inducing while Marble Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog is such a great idea. The guitar riff as it drops in beat briefly is absolutely epic (I’d love to hear Wing Fortress done, though).

The final double header of RPG goodness ends things on a spectacular high. Flight Into the Unknown (Secret of Mana) & The Planet’s Dyin’ (Final Fantasy VII) are both epic-sounding but tinged with emotion that takes you back to the moments you first experienced the music. Final Fantasy VII music will never not sound incredible meeting metal.

So all in all, Versus Video Games 2 doesn’t quite hit the awesome highs of the first album but still manages to do a great job of combining quality game soundtracks & heavy metal.

Overall Track Listing:

1. The Vengeful Frog (Chrono Trigger)
2. I’m All Outta Gum/Grabbag (Duke Nukem)
3. Sunset Coastline (Rad Racer)
4. Gang-Plank Galleon (Donkey Kong Country)
5. Reclaim the Sacred Orb (Gauntlet)
6. One Deadly Handshake (Werewolf: The Last Warrior)
7. Silly Putty Patrol (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)
8. Kuros the Knight Warrior (Wizards & Warriors)
9. Scares for Sale (Beetlejuice)
10. Bubble Man (Mega Man 2)
11. World Football Championship (Tecmo Bowl)
12. Boss Battle (Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest)
13. Save the Dinosaurs (Super Mario World)
14. Ordon Village (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)
15. Meyna (Legacy of the Wizard)
16. Hunter’s Chance (Final Fantasy IX)
17. Marble Zone (Sonic the Hedgehog)
18. Sewer Surfin’ (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time)
19. Flight Into the Unknown (Secret of Mana)
20. The Planet’s Dyin’ (Final Fantasy VII)

You can buy & find out more about Daniel Tidwell’s incredible work over on his Bandcamp page here. You can follow him on Twitter here & like him on Facebook here. You can subscribe to his YouTube channel here as well as support him over on Kickstarter here & on Patreon here.

Seriously, chuck him a little bit of money, his work is incredible.