Theme - Devil's Crush (TurboGrafx-16)

Cyril: Forget Splatterhouse, because Devil's Crush has the spookiest theme on the TurboGrafx-16. If you strip away the limited hardware, this mesmerizing theme sounds like it was lifted from a cheesy movie about exorcisms. We're given the creepy sounds of a faux-theremin, an instrument not utilized enough in video game soundtracks. All the while we have the keys staggering their way up and down the scale. Even when it becomes repetitive, this Devil's Crush intro remains haunting. You can almost hear the priest yelling at the demon and throwing holy water. The whole thing is even more unnerving when you realize that the only thing standing between you and salvation is a round, metal pinball. Suddenly I'm in the mood for pea soup.

Kevin: Pinball is definitely not what I expect when you tell me a game is called Devil's Crush. Creepy music, on the other hand, is exactly what I expect, and this theme song delivers. The melody of this song is a moderately busy, yet slow piece of organ music, with the bass notes as a left hand part. What's rather unusual here is the tone harmonizing with the organ; they seem to have borrowed the theremin used for old alien movies. I really love the weird instrument combination, but as usual I find the simple backing notes disappointing. Simply giving the bass part chords instead of single notes would have been nice. I also find the theremin a little misleading, as this game definitely has no aliens. I suppose my mind has typecast the instrument. Regardless, it's a good theme song, and the soundtrack gets even better from here.