"Aquas" from Star Fox 64 on the Nintendo 64 (1997)
Composer: Hajime Wakai
Album: STARFOX 64 Original Soundtrack
Label: NINTENDO64 SOUND SERIES, PONY CANYON
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Along with "Zoness," "Aquas" is one of my favorite tracks from Star Fox 64. Something about the marimba-esque instrumentation and the MIDI vocal "Aahs" makes this song a perfect fit for an underwater incursion against a giant energy bubble-launching clam; being in 3/4 probably also helps. I also feel that this is one of those songs, not just from Star Fox 64, that sounds great in-game; with all of the environmental and Blue-Marine sound effects almost seems like it would drown out the music, but it just manages to enhance it. And then on its own, there does feel to be a bit of a downgrade as far as the epicness goes when you're not firing a limitless supply of torpedoes, but I still find it to be a great piece.
The other thing I love about "Aquas" is the perceived slowness of the song, because of how the vocals sound. Even with the faster 145 bpm synth that's driving throughout the entire song, it still feels like a much slower piece, which again works perfectly well in the water level where your ship is less agile, and especially when the framerate tanks in the second half of the level, this track makes it all feel purposeful and thereby, all the more epic.
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