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    Retro Game Audio

    Retro Game Audio is a monthly podcast about sound design in classic video game music. Hosted by Patrick ("bucky") and Steve Lakawicz. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RetroGameAudio RSS feed: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:46473124/sounds.rss
    en35 Episodes

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    Episodes (35)

    Halloween Mix III (music only)

    Halloween Mix III (music only)
    Tracklist: 0:00 Agony (Amiga) 2:14 Devil Crush (PCE) 5:44 Armalyte (C64) 9:19 Lunar 2: Eternal Blue (Sega CD) 11:52 Assassin (Amiga) 16:37 Suikoden 2 (PS1) 19:20 Ghost Battle (Atari ST) 23:50 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES) 26:31 Aquaventura (Amiga) 29:36 Mario Kart (N64) 31:17 The Hobbit (C64) 33:22 Final Fantasy XI (PS2) 42:27 Astaroth (Amiga) 49:01 ActRaiser (SNES) 51:33 Dragon's Kingdom (Amiga) 55:21 Star Ocean III (PS2) 59:38 Alien Syndrome (C64) 1:05:52 Akumajō Dracula (Sharp X68000) 1:08:54 Dune (Amiga) 1:12:17 Super Mario RPG (SNES) 1:15:16 Battle Squadron (Amiga) 1:19:43 Logical (Atari ST) 1:22:05 Extase (Amiga) 1:25:59 38万キロの虚空 (X68k) 1:29:17 Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Amiga) 1:31:44 Leavin' Teramis (Atari ST) 1:33:45 Superfrog (Amiga) 1:38:26 SD Snatcher (MSX2) 1:40:38 Zombi (Atari ST) 1:44:28 Bubsy (SNES)

    Episode 32: Halloween Mix V

    Episode 32: Halloween Mix V
    After a long hiatus, we're back! We don't have anything specific to announce or regular content on the way just yet, but stay tuned for more. RGA will resume in some capacity, with Jeffrey Roberts joining as a permanent member. Intro-less version of this episode can be found here, and as always downloads are enabled to be able to listen outside of soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/retrogameaudio/halloween-mix-v-music-only/s-kMh08uYqa7Z Steve, Patrick, and Jeff each picked 10 tracks, so we're doing the usual 30-tracks format, divided 3 ways this time instead of 2. Patrick would like to thank Alex Menchi again for providing most of the Amiga rips used in this playlist; His archive has been incredibly helpful in discovering more Amiga tunes we weren't previously familiar with. Tracklist: 1:39 Galactic Empire (Amiga) - Original Theme, composed by Frédéric Motte (Moby) 5:20 Otto's Ottifanten - Baby Bruno's Nightmare (GB) - Ghostphobia, composed by Alberto Jose González 8:09 SaGa Frontier (PS1) - Ancient Tomb of Sei, composed by Kenji Ito 10:09 Nitro Ball (Arcade) - Field 3: Ghost Town, composed by Hiroaki Yoshida; Akira Takemoto 11:18 Turrican 3 (Amiga) - Slimy Mutants & Alien Disaster, composed by Chris Hülsbeck 13:05 Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (3DS) - Madman's Reign - Greyfield, composed by Yoshito Hirano 15:13 Warlock (SNES) - Terror Awaits..., composed by Eric Swanson 16:54 Lemmings (PC/DOS) - Beast II, composed by Tim Wright 18:30 Awesome (Amiga) - Game Over, composed by Timothy Brian Wright & Lee Wright 20:37 Akumajou Densetsu (Famicom) - Overture, composed by Konami Kukeiha Club 22:50 Addams Family Values (SNES) - Sea of Cursed Trees, composed by Keith Tinman 25:32 T-Racer (Amiga) - Theme, composed by Pierpaolo Di Maio 29:49 Murders in Space (Amiga) - Murders in Space, composed by Stéphane Picq 31:49 Demon's Crest (SNES) - Beyond the Colosseum, composed by Toshihiko Horiyama 34:00 Garfield: Caught in the Act (PC) - Count Slobula's Castle, composed by Tristan Des Pres 35:38 Dead of the Brain: Shiryou no Sakebi (PC-9801) - BGM 1, composed by Ryu Takami; Marina 37:49 Death Stalker (ZX Spectrum) - Title Screen, composed by David Whittaker 40:48 Wings of Death (Amiga ) - Title Theme, composed by Jochen Hippel 46:31 Xak: The Tower of Gazzel (PC-9801) - Gazzel, composed by Tadahiro Nitta 48:56 Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64) - Bats, composed by Robin Beanland 52:20 Secret of Mana (SNES) - Ceremony, composed by Hiroki Kikuta 54:08 King's Valley 2 (MSX) - Demo Between Pyramids, composed by Kazuhiko Uehara, Kinuyo Yamashita, Masahiro Ikariko, Michiru Yamane, Motoaki Furukawa, Yasuhiko Manno 54:53 Duck Tales (prototype) (NES) - Ghost House, composed by Hiroshige Tonomura 56:31 Gauntlet III (Atari ST) - Title Screen, composed by Tim Follin 58:44 Invasion from Beyond (PS1) - Track 9, composed by Jolyon Myers 61:12 Nosferatu (SNES) - Creature of the Night, composed by Masanao Akahori 62:38 VergeWorld: Icarus (Amiga) - Theme, composed by Szudizlav 65:16 Devilish (Genesis) - Stage 7 - Prarie , composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto 67:54 Ilusion of Gaia (SNES) - Threat of Dark Gaia, composed by Yasuhiro Kawasaki 71:01 Journey to Silius (NES) - Intro, composed by Naoki Kodaka

    Episode 31: Halloween Mix IV

    Episode 31: Halloween Mix IV
    We're back with another Halloween playlist of spooky VGM. Here is the link to the music-only version of this episode, which includes a download option: https://soundcloud.com/retrogameaudio/halloween-mix-iv-music-only/s-bCwbD Apano Sin (Amiga) Der Langrisser (SFC) Alien Target (Amiga) Etrian Odyssey III (DS) Dungeon Explorer (PCE) Adventure of Tokyo Disney Sea (GBA) Tempest 1200 (Amiga) Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (PS2) Battle Heat (PC-FX) Mortal Kombat II (Sega Genesis) Necronom (Amiga) Fantasm Soldier Valis II (PC-98) Rings of Medusa (Atari ST) Muppet Monster Adventure (PS1) Mystic Formula (PCE) Banjo-Kazooie (N64) Sabre Team (Amiga) Wild Arms (PS1) E.V.O.: Search for Eden (SNES) Lunar: The Silver Star (Sega CD) Alien III (Amiga) Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (PS2) Beyond Shadowgate (PCE) Donkey Kong Country 2 (SNES) Neutopia II (PCE) Wild Arms XF (PSP) Efera & Jiliora (PCE) Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes (SNES) Psychosis (PCE) Diablo II (PC) Special thanks to Alex Menchi, who is our source for the Amiga tunes.

    Episode 30: Castlevania Bloodlines

    Episode 30: Castlevania Bloodlines
    Patrick and Steve are joined once again by Kevin Burke to discuss the Castlevania Bloodlines soundtrack. Sampled from a modded Sega Genesis to achieve a crisp, bright sound, we do a complete listen-through as we also explore some of the technical aspects of its creation. Show notes 1:35 - Kevin's vgm audio sources on original hardware project 6:22 - Bloodlines' history and context 9:10 - Konami's history with hardware and sound design, leading to the Genesis 15:53 - Contra Hard Corps discussion 18:27 - Bloodlines listen-through and discussion 28:10 - Why the sound mod makes the soundtrack sound better 39:41 - Demonstration of algorithm 4, polyphony in a single "monophonic" patch 45:03 - All FM instruments demonstration 51:35 - The "x" shaped envelopes used to create a gnarly instrument 54:06 - Michiru Yamane overview 1:01:57 - More game discussion and Portrait of Ruin tangent 1:06:28 - Demonstration of noise/hiss from the sound mod 1:22:20 - Bloodlines' music in later CV titles 1:25:48 - What Else Is Going On? 1:36:20 - Name that Game 1:37:16 - Song of the Week

    Episode 28: Halloween Mix III

    Episode 28: Halloween Mix III
    We return with our 3rd annual Halloween playlist of spooky video game music! Lots of obscure and great tunes. Also, an announcement about the upcoming 3rd season of Retro Game Audio. You can listen to & download the music-only version of this episode here: https://soundcloud.com/retrogameaudio/halloween-mix-iii-music-only/s-uw4U2 Tracklist: Agony (Amiga) Devil Crush (PCE) Armalyte (C64) Lunar 2: Eternal Blue (Sega CD) Assassin (Amiga) Suikoden 2 (PS1) Ghost Battle (Atari ST) The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES) Aquaventura (Amiga) Mario Kart (N64) The Hobbit (C64) Final Fantasy XI (PS2) Astaroth (Amiga) ActRaiser (SNES) Dragon's Kingdom (Amiga) Star Ocean III (PS2) Alien Syndrome (C64) Akumajō Dracula (Sharp X68000) Dune (Amiga) Super Mario RPG (SNES) Battle Squadron (Amiga) Logical (Atari ST) Extase (Amiga) 38万キロの虚空 (X68k) Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Amiga) Leavin' Teramis (Atari ST) Superfrog (Amiga) SD Snatcher (MSX2) Zombi (Atari ST) Bubsy (SNES) Once again thanks to Alex Menchi for providing the source rips for most of the Amiga music.

    Episode 27: The Sunsoft 5B & Mr. Gimmick!

    Episode 27: The Sunsoft 5B & Mr. Gimmick!
    Patrick and Steve discuss the Sunsoft 5B famicom sound expansion and the sound design of Mr. Gimmick. This episode includes some previously-unknown information about Gimmick!, and also a complete listen-through of the soundtrack sampled from original hardware. Show notes: 0:00:43 - introduction & general gameplay discussion 0:13:49 - the 5B sound expansion 0:26:07 - the gimmick ps1 soundtrack 0:28:10 - imatrackman's "buzzer" cover 0:32:24 - the history of Gimmick! and Masashi Kageyama 0:38:09 - the PAL soundtrack (Mr. Gimmick!) 0:42:26 - the cancelled US port 0:44:19 - soundtrack listen-through and analysis 1:28:07 - sunsoft bass 1:38:27 - the origin of strange memories of death 1:42:36 - "so what's up?" / comments 1:50:43 - name that game 1:53:06 - song of the "week"

    Episode 26: Recording Chiptunes from Hardware

    Episode 26: Recording Chiptunes from Hardware
    Patrick and Steve are joined by Jeffrey Roberts to discuss the optimal set-ups for recording chiptunes and video game music from hardware. We review the audio outputs, recommended mods, audio formats, and flashcarts/ devices for a variety of consoles. 12:43 - NES 23:00 - Sound Expansion on the NES 31:02 - Top Loader NES 32:29 - Nintendo Famicom 38:02 - Game Boy & Game Boy Color 50:36 - Super Game Boy 55:04 - Super Nintendo 1:07:29 - Sega Genesis/ Mega Drive 1:19:40 - Sega Nomad 1:23:22 - Sega Master System 1:30:12 - Sega Game Gear 1:35:29 - TurboGrafx / PCE 1:41:29 - Atari Lynx 1:43:44 - Neo Geo AES Follow Jeff's band Marshall Art on twitter: https://twitter.com/MarshallArtBand Cover photo credit: https://www.instagram.com/lippemfg/

    Episode 25: MSX Computers

    Episode 25: MSX Computers
    Patrick and Steve are joined by ImaTrackMan to discuss the MSX standard and its audio. After a bit of history discussion, we take a look at its PSG audio, followed by the following expansions and updates: SFG, MSX-AUDIO, SCC, OPLL / MSX-MUSIC, PCM / MIDI, and Moonsound. We include some pretty great music selections and hope you enjoy!

    Halloween Mix II (music only)

    Halloween Mix II (music only)
    It's that time of year again! We've compiled another playlist of spooky video game music for your listening pleasure. Most tracks picked by Patrick and Steve, with a couple guest selections (see soundcloud comments for more info). Special thanks to Alex Menchi for providing the rips of most of the Amiga selections found in this episode. You can find a lot of Amiga music on his youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/alexmenchi Last year's Halloween episode can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/retrogameaudio/episode-14-halloween-mix-music-only/s-kYCYf Tracklist: 0:00 Alien Breed (Amiga) 4:40 Tactics Ogre (SNES) 6:46 Robocop 3D (Amiga) 8:10 QuackShot (Sega Genesis) 9:10 Apidya (Amiga) 11:41 Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (GBA) 13:58 Darxide (Sega 32x) 16:53 Addams Family: Pugsly's Scavenger Hunt (SNES) 18:47 Weird Dreams (Amiga) 21:51 Xak: The Art of Visual Stage (X68000) 24:32 Lotus II (Amiga) 25:39 Earthworm Jim (Sega CD) 29:36 Pinball Fantasies (Amiga) 30:56 Brave Fencer Musashi (PS1) 33:56 Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64) 37:17 Dark Seal (Arcade) 40:05 Unreal (Amiga) 43:02 Dragon Slayer:The Legend of Heroes (X68000) 45:27 Clocktower (SNES) 47:05 Final Fantasy IV (SNES) 48:07 SWIV (Amiga) 51:47 Pokemon FireRed (GBA) 54:20 Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (MSX2) 55:53 Zombies Ate My Neighbors (SNES) 57:46 Shadow of the Beast (Amiga) 1:01:38 Phantasy Star IV (Sega Genesis) 1:06:24 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (NES) 1:07:23 Xenogears (PS1) 1:11:10 Hero Quest (AtariST) 1:14:34 Rusty (PC98)

    Episode 23: Capcom's NES Music

    Episode 23: Capcom's NES Music
    Patrick and Steve are joined by Oliver to discuss Capcom's Famicom and NES music. We do a pretty deep dive into some of the strange nuances and quirks of their sound engines, as well as observe how their sound progressed over time. We also share at least one song from every FC/ NES title of theirs, in chronological order of release.