Jin Watanabe pushed Sega's System 16B FM synth hardware until it practically screamed. Riot City is a 1991 beat-em-up from Westone, the Wonder Boy developers, and the soundtrack runs on pure YM2151 adrenaline. "Round 1-1" drops you into crunchy FM bass and rapid-fire percussion that sounds like Streets of Rage's rougher cousin.
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"Round 2-2" shifts into a moodier groove with these almost jazzy synth chord stabs over a driving beat. The boss themes hit with distorted FM guitar tones that were peak early-90s arcade energy. "Round 5 Boss" goes especially hard for a final confrontation.
Twenty-three tracks of nonstop FM punch. If you grew up feeding quarters into Sega cabinets and love that specific crunch of FM synthesis, this one scratches that itch perfectly.