Hey. It’s that time again. You know that time—the time where we look at some numbers. What are contained in these numbers? Music. Cool music. Music of a quality that could be denoted as “high.” SiIvaGunner provides elite listening material for those who choose to seek it out. 20,000 videos in, I have dwindled it down to ten—for the seventh time—to show you what is higher than high: highest.
Given the high quantity of rips released in a given day, I can only listen to so many. I browse some here and there, but this list will only contain tracks that I have personally listened to. And for the record, I’m not one who finds humor in these running “themes” the channel is apt to doing every once in a while. If I notice that every rip seems to have the same joke, I skip the entire week or two’s worth of music.
No rules make up this list. The following are simply ten rips that I find to be of premium oomph, regardless of when they were posted. Yes, it says “2023 edition” in the title. Yes, it just means that it’s this year’s list. I can add rips from 2016 if I want. Maybe even 2026.
In case you wanna get into the mood before this list, look at these links for the prior six years: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.
10. File Select (Alpha Mix) – Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse
Released just twelve days after the publication of last year’s list, this one ended up being a frontrunner for this year’s. Unfortunately, it ended up in tenth because of fierce competition after the fact. Not to mention that the “joke” is something that has been used ad nauseum in SiIvaGunner’s history, perhaps more adequately placed, in some people’s view, in other rips.
Despite other people’s incorrect opinions, I adore Shantae’s soundtracks, and the mishmash of two funky tracks is immediate auditory bliss. This makes me want to remember what it feels like to be in shape. Just kidding; I’ve never been in shape.
9. All Clear – Star Fox 64
As promised, a rip from 2016.
Another example of “How did this not make a list earlier?” Randomly going through rips of tracks from Star Fox 64, a childhood favorite of mine, I stumbled upon this gyrating piece. Something so splendidly in sync with is own style that I cannot help but be in awe. Something I always desire in great rips, simple as it may be, is two separate audio tracks that are mixed together to wonderful effect. Fusions are awesome in basically every context.
8. Bowling – Results (Alpha Mix) – Wii Sports
Bruno Mars is author to some of the absolute most sickening, obnoxiously cheesy love songs of the 2010’s. While I cannot deny the man has a great voice, the lyrics contained within his music forces an almost involuntary cringe. Nevertheless, this gosh dang diddly song is nostalgic to me for the sake of repetition alone.
You take that nostalgia, then you smash it into some nostalgia from another source. Like many Nintendo enthusiasts, I spent some three-trillion hours playing Wii Sports, which came bundled with the Wii console back in the late 2000’s. Wii Bowling was always my favorite mode, so the ending results were often played in my household. Nostalgia + Nostalgia = Good.
7. Intro Story – Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Y’know what’s good? Build-up. You do not just provide the emotional foundation of what’s to come right out of the gate. That is a literary sin. Not only literary, but liferary. That is not a word.
You build and build your entire life, hoping that eventually something will come of the work you put in. Maybe in time something will be earned that makes everything worth it. As you build and work and see the progress you’ve made and the memories you’ve curated, you can’t help but grow cold at the time that’s passed. But you understand that it is the process that allows you the identity of your current self. You are who you are because you choose it. You are art. And so is this.
6. Goldenrod City (Unused Version) – Pokémon Gold & Silver
This is not the catchiest nor the most intricate rip. It is not something that would take a master audio engineer to compute. What is certainly does not lack in authenticity—this sounds perfect.
If I was not a Pokémon fan and you had me listen to this, I would legitimately think it’s a real track. The quality, the soundfont, the bounciness of the music; it sounds real. It is real. There’s no way this isn’t an actual track from Gold & Silver. I just missed it somewhere. No, it was unused. Of course. This is a secret just recently unearthed. Thank you, SiIvaGunner.
5. Bonetrousle (Day 1 Patch) – Undertale
Here’s a second rip from 2016, just for good measure.
He will always be #1.
4. G.A.M.E.O.V.E.R. – Daytona USA
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH
HIGH-OCTANE SPEED RACING AND VULGARITY ALL IN ONE!
GAME. OVER. GAME. OVER. GAME. OVER. GAME. OVER.
D-D-D-D-D-U-DU-DU-D-D-D-DUDUDUDUD
I HOPE YOU DIE.
3. Donkey Kong Music – Intro Medley
All right, all right! You don’t have to keep begging. Have another rip from 2016. Jeez, get a hold of yourself.
Like the rip at #9, this is another case of “How did this not get on an earlier list?” This is actually one of the earliest rips I’ve ever heard, and for whatever reason it escaped my mind for several years. Now it will forever be placed within the confines of my inescapable* memory. I hope you enjoy it; it’s a doozy for me.
*Results may vary.
2. Ocean Area (Unused) – Kirby & the Amazing Mirror
This actually released almost a month prior to last year’s list. Alas, I missed it. Already having scraped together a list of rips I wanted featured, I never took the time to really look at current offerings. When I finally did click on it, though… hoo, boy.
I knew from first listen that this would compete for best of 2023. God, it is so catchy! There isn’t even a joke to it; the whole thing is just a great remix of the original track, complete with an arsenal of ear-scratching audio cues. Feels simultaneously too long and too short, a terrible tragedy that only makes me miss it more after each listen. Something about it just explodes in my brain. Kirby really does have some outstanding soundtracks (and fonts).
1. Boss (Unused Version) – Plok
The real joke here is I still haven’t played Deltarune’s second chapter.
What is not a joke is Toby Fox. Holy moly, that man can compose music. What even is this insane pyramid of intricacy I am currently listening to? And why do I get the urge to destroy all of my bones breakdancing on the floor of my home’s kitchen? God, what a gorgeous track. Plok’s soundfont just suits it so terribly well. A genuine masterpiece, worthy of being called a high-quality rip.
Any other SiIvaGunner rips you would’ve suggested? Is my taste not actually high quality? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments and I will look at them.
If reading this compelled you to give me a dollar, feel free to tip me on Ko-fi.
Thank you for your time. Have a great rest of your day.
The Visualist's Veranda 