If you are like us in this regard, then good news! OverClocked ReMix just released a brand new Mega Man 9 themed album, Mega Man 9: Back in Blue. It contains 18 tracks of remixed goodness from the likes of Sixto Sounds, bLiNd, Joshua Morse and our very own Jesse “Main Finger” Gregory.

It was a long time in the making, and lot of blood, sweat and robo-tears went into its creation. So much so that a sequel game came out before this album was able to. So the only question left is, what are you waiting for? Go download it now!

Whats this? A new Barrel Roll!? But we just HAD one! Well, loyal super fans, we here at WingDamage are going to fatten you up with an extra helping of podcast fixins. It’s our way of making sure you stay entertained since the upcoming PAX-stravaganza could potentially upset our schedules.

That being said, this bonus episode gives us a chance to discuss what games we’ve been playing since next episode will be too full of PAX related tales of whimsy. Everybody shares a little more love for Shadow Complex, Jesse relives the euphoria that is Metroid Prime with the Trilogy that released on Wii, Brittany uses her noggin’ to solve puzzles with Professor Layton, Jonah plays the Dreamcast while pouring out a fourty, and Wesley passes his travel time with various iPhone games.

There’s also a music discussion including updates on the Mega Man 9 Remix Project and a glowing recommendation of the new Armcannon album: Return of the Attack of the Legend of Pizzor. All this and even a tiny snippet of gaming news on this short bonus edition of Barrel Roll!

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Showlinks
Outro Music – “Fortuna (Star Fox)” by The OneUps
Mega Man 9 Remix Project
Armcannon
Penny Arcade Expo (PAX)

"This blue bomba' brings head trauma"

Let me preface this review by saying one thing: I am not normally a fan of adding lyrics to videogame remixes. That was before Random came along.

Half teacher, half musician, Random already had a much more serious rap album under his belt before deciding to share his love of Mega Man using his music. This is one of the things that I feel helps set him apart from the other artists labeled as “nerdcore”.

The first Mega Ran album is what introduced me to Random. I was skeptical when I first heard about it, but I gave it a listen and ended up really enjoying it. Later, Mega Ran 9 was released. Though “Robot City” on the first album was not surpassed as my favorite Random song, I ended up liking the album as a whole better than its predecessor.

Much like the first album, most of the tracks on Mega Ran 9 tell an over-arching story. I guess you could say it’s a “rap opera”. Much like the title suggests, Mega Ran 9 follows the basic plot of Mega Man 9.

The story starts out with a brief recap of the events of the first album followed by Mega Ran discovering that Dr. Light has been framed by Wily. From there, Mega Ran sets out to stop the Robot Masters, attempts to bail out Dr. Light, and gets smitten with Splash Woman.

All the tracks on the album use music from the Mega Man 9 soundtrack. Most of them are sampled with added layers and tempo/pitch changes, but some are made from the ground up. However, both styles have their share of sweet, hip hop beats. The album’s sound is kept fresh from track to track and even features other artists joining in on certain songs.

One of the interesting things about this album is that it uses some of the lesser listened to songs from the soundtrack in clever ways rather than just sticking exclusively to popular stage themes. “My Love” is a great example of this, using the game’s shop theme to make a love song.

I get a serious PaRappa the Rapper vibe from “The Bailout”. The entire song consists of a rap-infused conversation between Mega Ran and a newscaster named Brad Bradford. “Megalude 9″ is a sweet little instrumental track featuring some industrial drum sounds, slowed down chip tunes, and sexy wah guitar licks. This is just a taste of what you can expect.

You can find the album for sale on CDBaby in two versions. The physical cd, which is only available in limited quantities, runs just under $12 and the mp3 price is $9.99. If you’re a Mega Man fan like me or just want to hear some cool videogame inspired rap, be sure to check it out!