Konami Kukeiha Club packed three of the greatest shmup soundtracks ever made onto one disc and it's kind of overwhelming. This Battle Music Collection runs through Gradius arcade, Gradius 2 on MSX, and Salamander's arcade version back to back.
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The original Gradius arcade themes still define what space shooters should sound like, all tension and momentum in FM synth. Then the MSX Gradius 2 tracks show how they adapted that energy for home hardware without losing the bite.
Salamander's stages hit with this relentless urgency that matches the game's co-op intensity perfectly. Four complete soundtrack runs in one collection. If you've ever white-knuckled through a Vic Viper run, you already know half these melodies by heart.