It's Capcom, people. Everyone's gonna benefit from pairing up with them, although it's not like Marvel, SNK, Namco, and Tatsunoko Production exactly needed the help.
Marvel vs. Capcom
- Let's start this by mentioning that the Character Select music
in MVC3 (plus its orchestral version) will pump you the fuck up. Even it seems overjoyed that the third game has finally come out. - The Character Select theme from X-Men vs. Street Fighter (a remake of the Character Select music from X-Men: Children of the Atom) is also pretty catchy.
- The first MvC and its successor Tatsunoko vs. Capcom have Roll of Mega Man (Classic) fame as a playable character—she has the only theme with vocals in the games, "Kaze yo Tsutaete".
- Cammy's wonderful theme in X-Men vs. Street Fighter.
- Zero's remix of his Mega Man X2 theme. Perhaps the most impressive thing about it is the fact the original song is a rather simple, short loop, and the music team pulled out all the stops to extend into a kick-ass techno piece.
- Captain America's original theme from Marvel Super Heroes and the Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter version. His theme has always been fast-paced fun, perfect for saving the day. Infinite gave him a more generic theme, but like Spider-Man, his classic theme can be heard during the end credits.
- Can it even come as a surprise that your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man's theme is amazing? A perfect mix of laid-back and heroic, it's well-suited to Spidey. And Capcom's not one to rest on their laurels, and makes sure to bring the awesome factor to every single rearrangement. Behold, another mash-up.
- Venom's theme is a sick song fitting to his eerie and anti-heroic nature.
- Wolverine's theme in MvC1 and its MvC3 remix.
- Rogue's theme in X-Men vs Street Fighter has a smooth jazz sound reminiscent of a family sitcom. It features heavy guitar, keyboard and saxophone throughout the track.
- Gambit's theme in MvC1.
- Deadpool's theme, which will drill its way into your head and pester you forever... just like Deadpool.
- Jin has a triumphant theme that is heavy on brass instruments. It has a spooky sound to it, but overall keeps the listener engaged with an authentic progression from more rapid drums to more melodic parts of the tune.
- Captain Commando has an energizing theme. If you listen closely, you'll hear some of the melody of Cyclops's theme from Marvel vs Street Fighter and Charlie's theme from Street Fighter Alpha.
- The original MVC's staff roll is celebratory with various horns and drums playing in a shoutout to the music of Street Fighter III. The upbeat tempo is rewarding and features an awesome keyboard melody.
- To match his Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening look, Dante brings an awesome remix of the already awesome "Devils Never Cry".
- Albert Wesker takes "Wind of Madness", his incredible Resident Evil 5 theme, makes it rock out loud, and proceeds to saturate MvC3 with his awesomeness.
- Felicia's theme from MVC3 sounds like a dance song and is easily one of the best Darkstalkers tunes to appear in MVC so far.
- While it could originally be considered The Scrappy, the length of time between the release of MvC2 and MvC3 (not to mention Memetic Mutation) has finally brought "(I Wanna) Take You For a Ride", the character select theme from MvC2), to this level. More than a few fans screamed in joy when it was heard being played at the end of the Tokyo Game Show trailer for MvC3. Marvel vs. Capcom 3 has several remixes of "I Wanna Take You For A Ride", even a rock remix.
- Do you want to know why the Dread Dormammu is even more powerful in the Dark Dimension? Obviously, it's because he's enchanted it to play this at all times.
- Amaterasu brings a remixed version of the godly "The Sun Rises" to accompany her godly ass-kicking. You know a song is awesome when it's a CMOA in three different games.
- MvC3 takes Magneto's theme from X-Men vs. Street Fighter and injects it with PURE AWESOME. The Master of Magnet also had these stellar themes.
- Behold! The theme of Dr. Victor von DOOM! And for the obligatory MvC3 remix... feast your ears on this.
- Shuma-Gorath's epic theme! Here's his theme in MSHvSF. And then, MvC3 decides to take his theme and make it rock the f*** out.
- RAAAAAAGGH! Everyone forget Hulk's theme! Hulk's theme SMASH all other puny themes in game! The MvC rendition is not quite as adrenaline-packed, but still good nonetheless. Also, his themes in Marvel Super Heroes and MSHvSF.
- SWEET GAMMA-POWERED RAVE PARTY! ... Wait, that sounds kinda dangerous.
- M.O.D.O.K.'s theme. It fits particularly well with trolling sprees.
- Iron Man's theme in MvC3, which is a techno-rockified version of War Machine's theme in MvC, which in turn was a reworked expansion of Iron Man's Marvel Super Heroes theme. Confusing, right?
- How much of Spencer's theme is awesome? All of it.
- Morrigan's theme in the original Marvel vs. Capcom sounds like it'd be the perfect fit for some kind of lighthearted rave in the underworld. And then we have her theme in MvC3, based off of her Night Warriors theme (also, see the Tatsunoko vs. Capcom section). It's quite mystifying.
- While XvSF and MvC did the obligatory spin on the RED CYCLONE, Zangief himself, it is his MSHvSF theme that truly shines.
- Moon Light, Psylocke's theme in X-Men: Children of the Atom. Her theme in Marvel Super Heroes qualifies, too.
- BEHOLD!! OPTIC BLAST!!! Dreams don't die, huh? Got that right, Cyclops.
- Super-Skrull's theme. Epic electronic music that, as is fitting for the champion of a race of alien conquerors, masterfully blurs the line between ominous and heroic.
- Since Marvel vs. Capcom was more diverse on the Capcom side than being just being Street Fighters, they gave Ryu, the main representative of Street Fighter series in the game, the Street Fighter II main theme itself.
- M. Bison's theme from Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. Just makes you wanna yell out "YES! YES!"
- Thor's theme, fitting for a god of Asgard. He's also one of the few people on the Marvel side whose new theme in Infinite is suitably epic.
- Mayor Mike Haggar gets an epic, hip-hop style remix of the Metro City Slums theme from the original Final Fight. It's a Shout-Out to his original two allies as well, since the slums theme tends to be Guy's leitmotif in the Street Fighter games, and the hip-hop nature of the remix, complete with usage of the iconic "Turn the Beat Back" voice sample, calls to mind Cody's Street Fighter IV theme.
- Taskmaster's theme will remind you of who is the asskickee, and who is the asskicker.
- This remix of Akuma's iconic theme is... just listen! And it was just as awesome back in '96. Oh, and here's his MSHvSF theme for good measure.
- Sentinel's Marvel vs. Capcom 3 theme is epic! Just like it was 17 years ago.
- In Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Jill gets a dance remix of her RE5 theme, "Sad But True". Put yer dancing shoes on!
- The Deep, Omega-Red's theme from X-Men: Children of the Atom. In MSHvSF, it's revamped with a pretty sexy sitar that makes his theme "almost as Hindu as Dhalsim's."
- "Birdy! Play my swinging theme!" "Yes, boss!"
- Every single Street Fighter theme found in X-Men vs. Street Fighter. In turn, '97's Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter marked a stark deviation for the Street Fighters, as none of them retained their iconic leitmotifs, giving Capcom the chance to get creative. Make sure to tune in to stuff like Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Sakura, and Dan.
- Galactus' theme. Fittingly epic, considering the person in question.
- X-23's theme. Probably the Marvel side's equivalent to Roll's theme.
- Hsien-Ko's theme is a rocking remix of her iconic Night Warriors theme, and while it may have traded out the signature Kiai of the original, the epic usage of oriental instruments certainly does enough to fill the gap.
- Arthur's remix of his game's theme rocks enough to make you exclaim "Huzzah!" during the fight.
- The Victory/Outcome/Results theme from 3. You'll want it to play any time you win anything.
- With Ultimate MvC3 on the way, there's some new themes to go with the newcomers.
- Firebrand/Red Arremer's theme, a bitchin' metal remix of the Gargoyle's Quest intro.
- Strider Hiryu's theme, a triumphant reprise of his MvC1 theme (and by proxy, Stage 1 of his original game).
- Ghost Rider's theme, almost the polar opposite of Dormammu's.
- Hawkeye's theme, a funky, catchy beat that compliments his personality well.
- Doctor Strange's theme, which has a very appropriate mystical, otherworldly feel to it.
- Nemesis' theme, a RE5 remix of his RE3 theme, gives an extremely menacing feel.
- Vergil's theme is an awesome, yet slightly melancholy, symphonic rock remix of his second boss battle theme from Devil May Cry 3. Seeing as it was technically the only time Dante and Vergil were on even ground, this is perfect.
- Iron Fist's theme, which mixes Chinese instruments, pop, and rock together in a glorious fashion.
- Nova's theme takes spacefaring theme elements, like a sweeping chorus, synthesizer sounds, and sweet guitar riffs, and puts them together in one incredible, high-energy piece.
- Phoenix Wright's theme, a remix of "Objection - 2001" from the first Ace Attorney game. Until you go into Turnabout Mode, where Wright's more iconic theme "Pursuit - Cornered" starts playing in a fashion that would make Bang Shishigami proud.
- Frank West's theme, a remix of Adam the Clown's theme is very catchy and surprisingly fitting.
- Rocket Raccoon's theme is a heroic sounding tune that'll no doubt get one pumped up in battle.
- Firebrand/Red Arremer's theme,
- The character select themes in Ultimate MvC3 manage to build on the ones in the vanilla version and sound more awesome for it. The classic version adds an electric guitar into the mix. The dynamic version? It adds a freaking chorus.
- While MvC2 was notorious for its music, it still had some good tracks, like this one.
- The Heroes & Heralds theme. A dramatic piece fitting for a mode about a grand battle for the planet.
- You don't need many reasons to win but here's one: To listen to this victory theme.
- The Carnival stage from MvC2. The only theme in the game that not only suits its background, but also gets the player super pumped up.
- Despite only being an eight-second loop of music, the first MvC character selection screen is completely awesome! It has got so much energy to it that it just gets you pumped up for battle as you choose a fighter!
- Ready?
- MVC2 has beautiful woodwind music that plays during its credits. The piano adds a level of melancholy to the amazing original artwork onscreen.
- The stage themes in Ultimate MvC3 are also awesome. Kattelox Island in particular, is such an awesome theme, that Evolution Championship Series, the biggest fighting game tournament in the whole world, uses it as its leitmotif.
- Capcom's pulling out all stops to give the Mega Man X series the star treatment in Infinite. Zero's theme from Mega Man X2 is back with an update from MVC3. X's theme uses the Central Highway theme from his first game. When X and Zero fight each other in Story Mode, the fight's backed by "X vs. Zero" from X5. Sigma's battle music from X2 gets a straight variant when he's fighting as himself and two mashups with Ultron's theme as Ultron-Omega and Ultron-Sigma.
- Jedah and Morrigan get some very dance-worthy updates to their themes in Infinite.
- Monster Hunter's theme in Infinite is a pulse-pounding techno remix of the series's Leitmotif, Proof of a Hero.
- Though the themes of the Marvel side have been completely changed in Infinite, there are still some outstanding pieces. Highlights include Gamora's theme, which has a fast tempo and an underlying guitar fit for the intergalactic bounty hunter; Captain Marvel's theme, a triumphant orchestral rock theme that screams "superhero"; Ultron's theme, which has a very menacing orchestra that's fitting for one half of the Big Bad Duumvirate; Ghost Rider's new theme, which stands out as the only Marvel piece not to have any orchestra in it; and Iron Man's new theme, which is as bombastic and confident as the character himself.
- Venom has returned to the series in Infinite and brought a new theme to accompany him. It may be different from his original theme, but it still fits his nightmarish appearance, now rendered in glorious 3-D. Welcome back, old friend.
- Black Widow's theme has an exotic yet mysterious air to it that wouldn't sound out of place in a Soul Calibur game.
- Winter Soldier's theme is a triumphant orchestral anthem that represents the character's will to keep moving forward against the odds in the hopes of atoning for his past actions.
- T'Challa has a theme in Infinite that is fitting for royalty. The strings start off the piece before gradually blending into the background as the trumpets and African drums add a sense of speed and elegance that are synonymous with the Black Panther's persona.
- Infinite's character select theme is an intense piece that will get you pumped to fight.
- Abyss' Leitmotif that evolves through all three phases of his fight. The first phase is an ethereal, imposing theme with a guitar riff and a background choir, truly hitting home that you're facing against what is essentially a god. The second phase is the same but with some percussion and guitar strings, and the third? Drums!
- Thanos had an amazing boss theme in Marvel Super Heroes. It sounds like a combination of imminent doom and divine judgment when you're fighting against him.
- Apocalypse's theme in Marvel vs Street Fighter is a little repetitive but has a fast-paced and radical melody.
- Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000
- The character select has a techno sound to it that perfectly sums up the transition to the new millennium.
- The Boss Battle themes for M. Bison, Geese Howard, and Akuma are epic tracks that will put you and your team on the back foot from the word go. These guys aren't messing around.
- Hidden Character Nakoruru's theme. Probably the best track of the entire OST.
- Final Round (To The Limit), which will override a stage's regular music when the match comes down to each team's last remaining fighter. It really lets the players know that this is IT. Final Round, indeed.
- The character select
- Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium
- The boss battles for Shin Akuma and Ultimate/God Rugal are awesome, upping the ante from the original game's boss themes.
- True Spirit is a very somber and atmospheric piece. It really sets the mood for big battles against guys like Bison, Geese, Akuma, and Rugal.
- The boss battles for Shin Akuma
- When you face Yami's final form in either CGoH or UAS, he brings his world's Awesome Music, "The Sun Rises!", with him.
- The opening/intro song "Fly Across the Border" is different depending on the game's version,, the English one is softer, has some rap and gets pretty jazzy near the end, while the Japanese one rocks with eletric guitars, fast beats and effects. Don't try to argue which is better, both are AWESOME!
- Cross Generation of Heroes is chockful of it simply because every Anime Theme Song for the Tatsunoko characters and each Capcom character's respective Awesome Music is mashed together into one game. The reworkings of some of those themes makes these even more awesome than their original counterparts:
- Ryu's theme (Street Fighter II's Japan stage).
- Chun-Li's theme (Street Fighter II's China stage).
- Ken The Eagle's theme (WHOA! GATCHAMAN!!!).
- Gold Lightan's theme (Golden Warrior Gold Lightan OP).
- Batsu.
- Jun the Swan.
- Kaijin no Soki.
- Karas.
- Morrigan.
- The TVC version of Alex's "Jazzy NYC".
- Mega Man Trigger/Volnutt.
- Hurricane Polymar.
- Tekkaman (complete with SPACE LANCE!).
- And in what might perhaps be the catchiest one of all... Roll. And here is the English version.
- Hakushon Daimaou's theme is even catchier.
- Yatterman-1.
- Casshan.
- Doronjo.
- Ippatsuman.
- Ryu's theme
- Even with licensing issues preventing the themes from being used in Ultimate All Stars, there's still great music:
- Wasteland. Even better when on fire!
- Les Vagas.
- Daigo Temple (Moonlight).
- Uncharted Region of China.
- Gesellschaft (Clear Skies).
- Gesellschaft (Storm) gets your blood pumping and makes you ready for battle.
- Willamette Parkview Mall.
- Washinkyo, Amehon.
- And as a musical moment of fandom rejoicing, Orbital Ring Systems Cargo Bay.
- They also remixed the Character Select theme, and made it into a thing of beauty.
- Yatterman may not have a character theme anymore, but he still has his workshop.
- Wasteland.
Other Capcom vs. Games
Namco × Capcom- Trembling City of Aris which was also remixed in Endless Frontier as "Alice in Fluxland".
- "Brave New World", the opening theme of the game. During the final level, as the heroes make a Big Damn Heroes to aid Reiji and Xiaomu against the True Final Boss, an awesome instrumental version of "Brave New World" blares. As this takes you to the deployment screen, you get to enjoy the music as you plan who will go for the final battle.
- The cast of Final Fight (Haggar and Guy, along with Sho/Ginzu) receive this rocking remix of the Bay Area from the original game.
- Captain Commando might have gotten a different track remix during his first outing in the Vs series, but for this game, he and his crews get a SWEET remix of their game's first stage theme. It's as great as one expects!
- Stage 1 of Strider (Arcade) has never sounded so grand.
- Kagekiyo from The Genji And The Heike Clans proves two things:
- Brave Sword, Braver Soul, from Soulcalibur II, accompanies Mitsurugi and Taki ontp the battlefield.
- Didja know that this game made Taizo Hori (and Dig Dug in general) infinitely more manly? It did.
- Taizo's ex-wife Toby Masuyo (of Baraduke) teams up with Burning Force's Hiromi Tengenji to bring you this hotness. Awesome must run in the (extended) family.
- KOS-MOS, Shion, and MOMO bring the main battle theme of Xenosaga: Episode 1 with them.
- Anyone else getting some Underworld vibes from Valkyrie's theme?
- If you're listening to Stepping Wind, the theme of Klonoa and Gantz, the only appropriate response is a big "WAHOO!"
- Regina and Bruce McGivern bring this hyperkinetic tune from Dino Crisis 2 in tow.
- When you enroll at Rival Schools, don't expect an actual education. Expect a beating from Hideo and Kyoko instead!
- Well well Demitri, shall we dance?
- Well apparently, Lion - Irony of Fate has taken tips from Trombe to override the whole Tales of Destiny soundtrack for this game. Hell, whenever Judas appears, the enemy turn theme gets overriden with its awesomeness!
- M. Bison, the head honcho of Shadaloo, makes an appearance with his Street Fighter Alpha 3 boss theme, Brave or Grave. Brings back memories, right?
- Evil Profusion may not be her battle theme, but its sinister trance-like nature definitely fits Saya like a tee. It is then morphed into 61, the theme of the Final Boss.
- Even the post-stage music is great!
- Like An Old Dream, the music that plays during the epilogue, is a sound way to end the game, huh?
- Wing Wanderer, the opening to the first Project X Zone; a smooth-styled Anime Theme Song which welcomes fans to a massive crossover between Namco Bandai, Capcom and Sega. Not to be outdone is the much more energetic All The World's Stage in the sequel, hyping the player for another massive world-spanning adventure.
- Much of the first game's soundtrack has remixes of various themes taken from the IPs present, although most of a tracks were a hit and miss due to how the instrumentation was formed. Still, a few songs stand out well enough:
- Kami to Hito to, from God Eater, a solemn piano piece backing the destruction caused by the God Arc wielders.
- This remix of Demitri's theme hearkens back to the original CPS2 version of the theme, and for that matter, so does Morrigan's and Hsien-Ko's.
- Kami to Hito to
- For this game, Capcom gave priority to the Real Song Theme Tunes, as many songs were featured in trailers:
- Black Tide's "Honest Eyes", the de-facto theme for the game, featured in the intro of the game. It has definitely undergone Song Association with the game.
- Street Drum Corps' "Knock Me Out", used in the E3 2011 trailer.
- From the Comic-con trailer, Hollywood Undead's "My Town", which is SFxT's theme for everything Final Fight related.
- Rise Against's "From Heads Unworthy", for Bison/Juri Vs. Jin/Xiaoyu!
- Black Tide's "Honest Eyes",
- The Antarctica stage theme, a smooth mix of electronic beats and percussion, getting tenser or easier as the battle goes on.
- The Pandora boss theme for Bison and Juri is a sinister combo of the two character's teams complete with Ominous Latin Chanting. Fitting for the Shadaloo and SIN team-up.
- Jin & Xiaoyu's Pandora theme opens with a haunting orchestral build-up that beautifully segues into a cross of their respective Tekken 3 themes, and is sure to hammer home the point that you're going to be in for one hell of a fight.
- The remix of Akuma's theme at the end of a Tekken character's Arcade mode. Probably one of the best, and most metal, versions of his theme yet.
- How about the Mad Gear Hideout (Round 1) theme (also titled "Abigail Dancing" on the collector's edition CD), a sweet electronic remix of the Bay Area stage theme from Final Fight? Round 3 features a remix of the FF opening.
- The Mishima Estate Round 1 (rooftop) theme is a beautiful mixture of electronic and loud Asian instruments adapted from Heihachi's Tekken 2 theme. Mishima Estate Round 2 throws us in what seems to be a gentle theme...until it kicks into Heihachi's Tekken 3 arcade theme. Suddenly, that nostalgic metal guitar from his theme kicks in, with mild electronics throw in, all while a shout of "Hey!" ties the theme all together.
- Urban War Zone is quite iconic thanks to the reveals of the Playstation-exclusive characters (Mega Man, Pac-Man, Toro, Kuro, Cole). It's got electric synth sounds mixed in with some sweet guitar playing and it makes you want to say "This is my destiny!".
- Mega Man's theme, an orchestra-backed remix of Cut Man's theme from Mega Man 1.
- The remix of Ogre's Tekken 3 theme. It starts out like his theme normally would, but then immediately goes into the "True Ogre" portion of the theme with Ominous Latin Chanting in the back.
- The theme for Pit Stop 109. Such a nice, catchy, and upbeat tune to go with your asskicking... And then night falls, and you're treated to craziness that would feel right at home in a DanceDanceRevolution game!
