Yuko Sasamoto -- Kono Omoi wo Tsutaetai (この思いを伝えたい)

One of the things I like to do is to visit an older cousin who plays a lot of different games. However, I’m kind of childish when it comes to games, so I don’t like to play realist games, such as the ones he plays. Based on that, before he bought some games in the style I like to play, we’d only play a lovely puzzle game called “Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo” (スーパーパズルファイターII X), which was originally released in 1996.

“Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo” is a fun game, and its puzzle style reminiscent of the classic "Puyo Puyo" (ぷよぷよ) is one of the few I know how to play well enough to beat my friends (I played another "Puyo Puyo"-inspired game called “Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine”, which was actually the Western version of "Puyo Puyo", in my childhood). Also, it’s a puzzle game from Capcom with well known characters from “Street Fighter Alpha” (ストリートファイター ZERO) and “Darkstalkers” (ヴァンパイア) games.

Besides being very fun and cute, one of the reasons I love the game is, of course, because of its lively soundtrack. The theme I like the most is the game’s version of character Sakura Kasugano’s (春日野さくら) theme, which can be heard below.

I could listen to this thing forever, and it’s not a lie as I keep repeating it non-stop for years now. In fact, when I play "Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo" with my cousin or my friends, I always end being the player one just to choose Sakura as my character in order to listen to this beautiful melody without stopping. My cousin and friends are the most considerate guys, so they don’t complaint at all.

I already loved the instrumental tune very much, but I was even more amazed when I discovered that a vocal version of the song existed, and it was a hidden feature of the game. Honestly, I never did what was necessary to unlock the song, but that’s why we have YouTube nowadays.

The vocal version is called “Kono Omoi wo Tsutaetai” by voice actress Yuko Sasamoto (笹本優子), and it’s the one featured at the beginning. The arrangement is quite different from the one I was initially used to, but it’s as lovely as Puzzle Fighter’s traditional instrumental version. I quite like the amount of keyboards and synths in it, but also how it also manages to keep the melancholic vibe that’s also apparent in the instrumental version.

In the end, it’s the same type of sound used in a lot of anime songs of its time, so that’s probably why I identified myself with it. Now imagine if Megumi Hayashibara (林原めぐみ) covered it... well, I’m kidding.

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo cover