Sky Shark's FM synth work from 1987 still sounds raw and aggressive in all the right ways. Vol.9 pairs it with Fire Shark and a couple other Toaplan titles, and you can hear the studio's sound evolving in real time across these games.
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Sky Shark ~ Asia opens with this tense, militaristic melody that captures the whole biplane-over-enemy-territory vibe perfectly. Fire Shark's IN THE BLUE SKY takes a brighter approach, more confident and sweeping. VICE IN TOKYO is unexpectedly moody for a shooter soundtrack.
Then you get Masahiro Yuge and Tatsuya Uemura pushing early FM synthesis as far as it could go. Tracks like Thread of Tension show how much atmosphere they could squeeze from the hardware. Perfect for anyone obsessed with the raw sound of late-80s arcade boards.