Aggressive techno and industrial beats exploding out of a PS1 side-scrolling shooter. EINHANDER dropped in 1997 from Squaresoft, and yes, the RPG company made a shoot-em-up with one of the hardest soundtracks on the PlayStation.
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"CAPITAL" kicks Stage 1 off with pounding electronic urgency, "MACHINE BEAT" for the armored train sequence is pure mechanical fury, and "BADLANDS" opens the desert up with a rawer, grittier pulse. The stage structure means each track shifts as you move through zones.
Street to Ruins to Chase, all within one level. The music evolves with the scenery and it never lets up. "DAWN" into "MADNESS" is the kind of late-game escalation that makes your palms sweat. Anyone who thinks Square only did RPGs in the 90s needs to hear this immediately.