Chiptune artist Savaged Regime likes to play with the SEGA Genesis’ YM2612 FM synthesizer. And I like to listen to it.
His channel is filled with retro YM2612 remixes of Sonic, Mega Man, and Castlevania tunes (among others). However, today I wanted to share some original music he composed for an indie game called Xeno Crisis.
Xeno Crisis is a bit interesting — it was a crowdfunded Kickstarter game for the Sega Genesis (or Mega Drive, if you want) released in 2019. It also found its way onto Dreamcast, Nintendo Switch, and a ‘port’ is available right now on Steam for a cool $19.99.
The game’s something along the lines of Smash TV, with inspiration also taken from Contra, Alien Syndrome, and Zombies Ate My Neighbors:
“…Xeno Crisis is an arena shooter that can be played solo or in local co-op mode. Take control of battle-hardened marines embarking on a deadly mission to confront an alien menace and get home alive! Run and gun your way through thousands of adversaries as you explore the devastated research outpost, searching for survivors, and ultimately facing the origin of the outpost’s demise.”
But just check out the soundtrack. Here’s Savaged Regime’s piece from Xeno Crisis’ Area 1. It’s really incredible what can be done on the YM2612.
Also be sure to check out his take on Successor of Fate, which some felt sounded muddy in the Nintendo DS release of Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance, but apparently would’ve rocked on Genesis
