30 Days of Video Game Music: Day 18 -- Music from a Game Released the Year I Was Born

Check out the Day 1 post for the full challenge list.

“Picture of a Ghost Ship” – Keizo Nakamura

Game: Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (1993, PCECD)
Original: YouTube
Dracula X (SNES) version: YouTube
Cover: “Transylvania Sound Machine” by Stemage and Chunkstyle (YouTube)
Cover: Phoenix Pinion (YouTube)
Remix: Genesis style by Chiptune Raijin (YouTube)

As much as I wanted to pick “Vampire Killer” or “Beginning” from this game, it felt a bit disingenuous since those originated from Castlevania and Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse respectively. But this deeper cut is still a damn good track. It’s got a funky sound that I think the Stemage and Chunkstyle cover capture really really well. I might even go so far as to call their version the definitive version of the track to my ear. It’s so good! But the original is worth a listen, and much like Gate of Thunder, it took full advantage of the early days of CDs on consoles.

It’s a shame it took so long for us to see Rondo of Blood in the United States, but I’ve adored it ever since its release on the Wii Virtual Console. It is, of course, no longer available through that storefront, but it is still readily available on a collection with Symphony of the Night on modern storefronts. Grab it if you haven’t!