Game music of the day: Skate or Die 2

Game: Skate or Die 2: The Search for Double Trouble

Song: Title Screen

Above: Title Screen from Skate or Die 2

Skate or Die 2's opening song is a thrashing punk blast of 8-bit noise and neon colors the likes of which the NES had never seen, so if you have even the slightest interest in game music or chiptunes, sit the hell down and listen to this insanity.

Cool as this song is, it's on the extreme side of game music; unlike the pleasing notes of Mega Man or hummable tunes of Mario and Zelda, Skate or Die 2's raw and screeching noises could be grating to some. I happen to friggin' love what Rob Hubbard did here, which echoes his earlier work with the first Skate or Die on the Commodore 64. That system's powerful SID synthesizer was able to pump out incredible songs, though in this case I've gone with the NES version, as it's the one I'm most familiar with.

Above: The best part is the title screen animation, which highlights the words like a "follow the bouncing ball" singalong. D-D-D-D-DIE!

Above: The credits music, far too awesome to play over simple text

Above: An example of the C64's SID chip at work, from the first Skate or Die

Skate or Die was one of the most popular games in my schoolyard, so it always confused me why the franchise disappeared by the end of the 16-bit days. When EA announced the first Skate, several of us at GR assumed "oh, like ...or Die!" but that isn't quite what happened. Then Skate 2, now Skate 3... maybe the fourth game will revive a name that meant so much to easily entertained kids of the early '90s?

Hyrule Castle by Koji Kondo

Kickin' drum and bass tunes from the N64 days

Gate Area by Jonathan Dunn

A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.