Absurdist SNES action with a French-Japanese culinary twist, and the soundtrack matches every ounce of that insanity. Gourmet Sentai Barayarou -- roughly "Gourmet Squadron Rose Bastards" -- is a 1995 beat-em-up by Virgin Interactive and Tam Tam, and this 2022 bande originale release finally gives this obscure gem the proper soundtrack treatment.
Read more
"The Explosive Baron Bonjour" and "The Explosive Lady Mademoiselle" are character themes with names so ridiculous they loop back around to being genuinely cool, and "The Ultimate Explosive Beast Tres Bien" goes even harder.
The Spicy variants are a brilliant concept -- "Reactor Power Station (Spicy)" and "Chief Kiriko (Spicy)" take the base tracks and crank the intensity, like the game itself is responding to its own food-based power system.
"Secret Organization Bath" is a track name that exists and somehow makes perfect sense in context. "Conga Dance" in the options menu is the kind of throwaway detail that shows the developers cared about every single screen.
"Dinner Time - A Man's Game" captures the entire philosophy of a game where cooking and punching are treated with equal seriousness. "Gourmet Warriors" ties the whole theme together as the squad anthem. One of the most personality-packed SNES soundtracks you've never heard.