Phillyist Reviews... Mega Ran

If you're a regular reader of the site - well, then first of all, God bless you, and we love you. But secondly, it should be obvious by now that this Phillyist is a bit of a video game fan. We definitely try to keep up with the latest, cutting edge stuff as best we can, but the old NES titles still have a strong, nostalgic glow to them. Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, Metroid - all classics, and all now giant, multi-million dollar franchises. Another classic from the era that's since become quite a big franchise, but that we never really got into as much as those others, is Mega Man. The title character of this series is actually a robot created by a good and noble scientist named Dr. Light to defeat the evil robots created by his nemesis, the villainous scientist named Dr. Wily.

In recent years, many of those old video games have inspired musical tributes, usually in the form of covers/recreations of the more exciting chunks of their soundtracks. But for whatever reason, Mega Man seems to inspire a special level of devotion in musicians. Its story is the basis of at least two whole concept albums that we know of, not to mention an entire band. The band is The Protomen, and one of the albums is their self-titled first release, an amazing, earnest, epic rock opera re-telling the story of the tragic conflict between Protoman and Mega Man. But it's the other album that I want to talk about here. It's the latest release from Philly-born artist Random, and it's called Mega Ran.

Random is best known for his critically-acclaimed, very serious, very politically and spiritually aware release The Call, but Mega Ran is a much lighter piece of work, put together as a 20th anniversary tribute to Mega Man. It features many samples from the soundtrack, and is even set up like a trip through the game, starting off with an intro in which Random finds himself inserted into the story as a new version of the Mega Man character called Mega Ran. This is followed by a series of battles with Mega Man's enemies, including Shadowman, Bubbleman, Flashman, Ringman, and Metalman. There are also occasional interludes where Mega Ran finds time to visit "Robot City," and even tries to find himself some "Robot Love" - although it's hard when Dr. Light is totally hating.

Random weaves the old game music into his beats quite expertly (he produced most of the tracks on the album himself), and his lyrics are both funny and clever. He fits in a lot of geek references (and not just to Mega Man), but also manages to give the story - robots fighting robots in the future - a very cool, contemporary, real-life context. "Boss Battle Metalman" (featuring The Megas) is particularly amusing - it's funky, incredibly cheesy, and totally fun. But the best track could be "Final Battle" (featuring Loose), due to its irresistible rhythm and great tune. Other favorites of ours include the catchy "Bubbleman," the lovely, instrumental "MegaLude" (featuring Kid Overdrive), and the defiant "Mega Club" (featuring Problem Child). Then there's "Robot City," featuring YT Cracker and JonBap, and "Rock and Roll." Really it's a strong record throughout - a kind of love letter, not just to a video game, but to childhood in general. "Grow Up" closes out the album with a nostalgic look back at playing games as a kid, using the games as a metaphor for life, and revealing that Random still plays them, hasn't grown up yet, and doesn't plan to. We're with him.

Image via RAHM Nation