LogFAQs > #956534033

11. Solar Man (Mega Man 10)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqct-YDnwMY

I was talking earlier about how Yasuaki Fujita, out of all of the MM composers in the canon, really embodies the idea of "rock music" in his works, and that's what made it so deadass obvious that this theme could ONLY be his when I heard it, despite the fact that absolutely none of MM3's hallmarks are present in it. Snake Man or Magnet Man this is not - this is as close as the measly 2A03 chip can get to raw, unbridled aggression. It's *metal*, like no other Mega Man track has ever really conceived of. The menacing growl of the opening lick is an entirely new soundscape that before this I'd never even really *thought* of trying on the NES, and the lead square effortlessly conveys the concept of an electric guitar, with its slides and vibrato painstakingly crafted to sound like something a little more than just a chiptune. It's just COOL, and it's exciting to see something this innovative done with the NES sound a whole 16 years after the console was virtually dead and buried. Mega Man 10 is an interesting mixed bag of experimental ideas, some of which worked really well, some that didn't, but this is the standout. Bun Bun's still got it.

Final Mega Man 10 Rankings:

1. Solar Man (11)
2. Dr. Wily 2 (12)
3. Sheep Man (25)
4. Ballade (29)
5. Dr. Wily 3 (30)
6. Nitro Man (52)
7. Chill Man (56)
8. Dr. Wily 1 (83)
9. Dr. Wily 4 (86)
10. Pump Man (93)
11. Dr. Wily 5 (120)
12. Commando Man (126)
13. Punk (130)
14. Enker (136)
15. Blade Man (144)
16. Dr. Wily 1 Intro (148)
17. Strike Man (168)
18. Endless Stage (172)
19. Challenge (190)

Thoughts: I'm willing to bet that this list has the highest standard deviation rating of any of the soundtracks. As one would expect of a soundtrack that was co-authored by at least 10 people (I think it might actually be 11 but I'm too lazy to check right now), it's an eclectic mix of songs that are all over the place. Like I said, it's about as experimental as an NES-style soundtrack gets, some are effective, some aren't. I think as a whole, it's better than the sum of its parts - in addition to having a bunch of really worthwhile tracks, it's also just great to see all of the composers from previous games come back for an encore, and that makes Mega Man 10 a really special swan song for the series. Wait, right, Mega Man 11 exists! Damnit!

Regrets?: Not really, maybe Chill Man a little too low. Wish I could have put Solar Man into the top 10, but it's my tippy top faves from here on out.