Mega Man & Bass's soundtrack is easily the jazziest in the series, with a heavy emphasis on the SNES's lovely slap bass. It's not my personal favorite, but that's not saying much, it's still a very good listen. Like with MM7, this was a collaboration between three composers, Akari Kaida, Naoshi Mizuta, and Toshihiko Horiyama once again. And out of these three, I think Kaida understood the assignment the most. Her tracks are all incredibly groovy bangers, while the other two's feel a bit more hit or miss. Kaida would also become a very important Mega Man composer as she'd become one of the two major Battle Network composers along with Yoshino Aoki.
Mega Man & Bass
Title
What a groovy title screen, I love it! Mega Man & Bass immediately asserts itself musically with some smooth basslines and a melody that just keeps building.
4/5 Stars
Data Select
Even the file select music is incredibly groovy. The main melody is super upbeat and catchy, and the basslines are impeccable. Like with MM8's menu music, I feel like I hear this track everywhere nowadays, and well-deserved.
4/5 Stars
Player Select
This is a fine player select theme, though it's really short and repetitive. The twinkling keyboards sound very nice, but there's also one annoyingly long held note in the background that's very hard to unhear.
2/5 Stars
Opening Stage
Well, here we have the last of classic Mega Man's opening stage themes... and it's the best one. The main melody just sounds so adventurous and soaring, and the way the track keeps escalating over time is so good. The piano chords and bass keeps things groovy, and the synth solo is remarkable, starting unassuming until you notice that it's still going and is building towards a powerful climax.
5/5 Stars
Stage Select
I like what this theme is going for. It fits the computer aesthetic of the stage select very well and the pittering notes sound really satisfying, but it's aggressively short, way too short for its own good.
3/5 Stars
Dynamo Man
The next few Robot Master themes are all Kaida, and they're generally really great. Dynamo Man's theme has such a groovy riff, and the spy-movie-esque main melody is such a bop.
5/5 Stars
Cold Man
Cold Man's theme is one of the more unique ice themes. It has the melancholic melody you'd expect from a Mega Man ice theme, but the background theme is the same groovy bass that you'd find in the rest of the Mega Man & Bass soundtrack. It leads to this really unique and engrossing juxtaposition that helps Cold Man's theme stand out a lot.
5/5 Stars
Ground Man
ABSOLUTE BANGER. I adore Ground Man's theme, it's hands down one of the smoothest pieces of video game music ever conceived. The keyboard chords in the background, that slick central melody, the way the bass ties together each unique part of the track, it all sound so effortlessly groovy.
5/5 Stars
Pirate Man
Like with Cold Man's theme, Pirate Man's theme has that same juxtaposition between a melancholic central and a groovy background track. However, I do slightly prefer Pirate Man's theme as I think it has a stronger and more noticeably dramatic melody and I love the chimes used for the instruments.
5/5 Stars
Burner Man
Horiyama's sole Robot Master theme is exactly as weird as you'd expect, with the same kinds of repeated notes that populate his music. It's not one of my favorite tracks in the game, but the pretty pan flute instrument and the head-banging chorus really tie everything together.
3/5 Stars
Magic Man
Okay, this does not feel like a Robot Master theme at all. I thought Clown Man's theme was unfitting, but this feels like a victory theme! That being said, it's a really solid and memorable victory theme, and it uses the same pan flutes as Burner Man's theme.
3/5 Stars
Tengu Man
Kaida's back and gives Tengu Man yet another incredible theme. The upbeat and laid-back melody is so uplifting and heart-warming, and like with all her other tracks, the tight bass and percussion carry the piece along at a good pace.
Astro Man
So... this track kinda blows, huh? Like, it's not hard to listen to or anything, but it's just such a nothing track. It's slow-paced, the melody is sparse and muted, and it's such a pale shell compared to Astro Man's incredible MM8 theme. I think it's fair to say that this is the worst Robot Master theme in the entire series, and it's not even close.
1/5 Stars
Boss Battle
Okay, we're back. This is a pretty good boss battle, and it just screams Horiyama. It has that blend of adrenaline-pumping pacing and an incredibly melancholy melody, and I love how uncharacteristically tragic it sounds for a boss theme.
4/5 Stars
Get A Weapon
This is easily one of the best weapon upgrade themes. It's pleasing to the ears, loops smoothly, and boasts a killer bassline. That being said, it's still a weapon upgrade theme so it's also pretty short.
3/5 Stars
Shop
What else can I say that I haven't already said? The shop theme is yet another solidly jazzy menu track with a groovy bassline and some smooth keyboard. Kaida's just showing off at this point.
3/5 Stars
Crystal Gate
This could've been a solid bit of ambience with some very pleasing instrumentation, but the way the time signature keeps shifting really hampers the track for me.
2/5 Stars
King Stage
Yet another very distinctly Horiyama track. King Stage's theme is so dramatic and tense, with frenetic percussion and an incredibly downbeat melody, but it still sounds so good. This could've easily fit right in as a Mega Man X4 track and no one would notice.
4/5 Stars
Wily Stage
The Wily Stage theme, on the other hand, is a lot more toned down. The repeated bass riff sounds really good, but the melody itself is pretty basic and repetitive. The chorus is solidly tense, but it's also incredibly short.
3/5 Stars
King/Wily Battle
I really like Toriyama as a composer but I'll be the first to admit that his work on the classic games was a lot more hit-or-miss. The soundtracks for X4, Tron Bonne, and Battle Network 4 (and Apollo Justice I guess) is where his style really shines, but some of his classic tracks can border onto too annoying... and this is one of them. The main melody is good, very tense and frenetic, but the overwhelming background instruments and that thrashing chorus really drag down the track.
2/5 Stars
Ending
Mega Man & Bass ends with a nice bit of blues. It's such a smooth track, from the lovely melody to the stellar percussion to that chord progression. A great cap on the jazziest game in the series, even if the second half peters off a bit.
4/5 Stars
Data Base
This is secretly my favorite track in the game, it's shockingly beautiful. The blend of the soft synths in the foreground and the woodwinds in the background just give off the most aggressively 90s VHS Tape vibes possible. Dare I say, it almost sounds kinda vaporwave, as if it wouldn't feel out of place in the Tetris CD-i soundtrack. Absolutely heavenly track.
5/5 Stars
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