Neontropolis (Jetpack Joyride 2 [2022])

Here’s a special upload from yours truly; it's another track I specifically chose to make my own video of, having utilized a game-breaking bug to make the stage go on indefinitely back when this world was first released in an update 13 months ago. I know there's an upload of the music already, but this is a far better way of showing one of the cool backgrounds in-game, I knew I HAD to do it the moment I discovered the bug on accident!

Yes, this also meant I held down a thumb onto the phone screen for 15 minutes straight, making sure to quickly alternate between left and right thumb at such a pace, that the game wouldn't count it as ever letting go, while making sure my other thumb didn't go numb, then I did the whole process all over again to record the music with the sound effects turned off, knowing I wouldn't ever get another chance at this. As a bonus, I used the same text font as the one in-game (New Athletic M54) for the timer at the top, which moves just as irregularly as the actual game does for its score/progress counter!

I have to say, without that cool section 47 seconds in, which lasts for a half-minute, I still would’ve favorited this track, but it wouldn’t be anywhere near stand-out enough to make this list. Part of what makes it stand out to me is that Bass, something about its calm and upbeat progression makes it feel like an epic journey, supplemented by the electronic sounds giving that sweet futuristic atmosphere too!

As a game, Jetpack Joyride 2 doesn't have much to offer for me as a fan of the 1st one, as its way of handling the level-based runner concept didn't really click with me, but anyone looking for something different yet familiar, might be interested, especially seeing as updates such as this one, help with the serious lack of content the game had on launch. Keep flying through danger with utmost confidence (Or upgrades, your call), as the game goes through a notable difficulty spike in Neontropolis, having experienced it myself!

(Length before loop: 1.5+ minutes)

Early Main Theme [Serious Joyride] (Jetpack Joyride [2011], Unused, used in earlier builds of game which were named “Machine Gun Jetpack”. Also a Bonus Track released in the “Jetpack Joyride Original Soundtrack”)

Most people would expect me to link the final game’s iconic main theme and call it a day, since most of us, me included, love it, but I’ve already put plenty of tracks that fulfill its specialty pretty well, so I’ve gotta go with something else for variety’s sake! Here we have some pretty epic Strings and Horns to set up a “high-risk infiltration” vibe, further highlighted by the clear mix of both Electronic and Orchestral themes, sometimes bridged by a Piano that only adds to the serious feel that would grant this track its final name.

And with that kind of focus, it’s pretty obvious why this track didn’t make it into the final; it’s not something you’d easily jam out to happy-go-lucky, it’s more fit for a game all about a high level of challenge or some story about going through lots of adversity, the former of which endless runners especially have a difficult time measuring. For those same reasons, I appreciate this track, managing to be just as cool as the final’s, but in its own way, not to mention the longer music length!

And let me tell you, this is 1 of the small group of mobile games to still hold up almost 12 years after release, even recently getting new updates this year to expand its already rich roster of good music tracks that other runners could only wish for! The gameplay is pretty good too, there’s a whole powerpoint presentation of it presented by the dev team online, about how it manages to take initially “awful” concepts such as changing control schemes in the middle of intense action, and making them work in a satisfactory manner! It's a good way for others to see if they’ll like the game or not, detailing good and bad:

(Length before loop: 3+ minutes)