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168 - Dear me, I was... Not Born Yet in 1995
13 Oct 2025
01:34:14
With another quarter come and gone, we reflect on the games and music released in the last three months to showcase some of our favorite discoveries! From new takes on classics, to brand new music IN classics, alongside straight up new games, there have been several notable happenings in RPG music. Check out our six picks, and don't miss the list of links for everything we considered in the show notes, since there are many worthwhile musical releases you won't want to miss.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Matt Wardell, Patrick Gann; Edited by Mike Salbato
Today we highlight a composer and games that don't often appear on the show. Naoshi Mizuta's music credits span 30 years, and much of that time has been with Square Enix leading the charge on Final Fantasy XI's soundtrack. That Final Fantasy XI, which launched in 2002 on PC and the PlayStation 2 (TWO!), is still running today is a feat in itself. But so are Mizuta's continued efforts to create music for it and many other games over that time. Today we feature several different types of FFXI tracks among other great works by this talented composer and arranger.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Audra Bowling, Patrick Gann; Edited by Jono Logan
Tracklist Thirteensies 0:13:11 - Eternal Winds - The Dead Dunes (English Ver.) (comp. Nobuo Uematsu, arr. and lyrics Naoshi Mizuta, perf. Kenneth Pinyopusarerk) - Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII: Original Soundtrack PLUS 0:16:03 - Noel's Theme (Naoshi Mizuta) - Final Fantasy XIII-2
Elevensies 0:40:17 - Ragnarok (Naoshi Mizuta) - Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan (found on Wings of the Goddess OST) 0:43:09 - Xarcabard (Naoshi Mizuta) - Sanctuary: FINAL FANTASY XI Music from the other side of Vana'diel
RPG Staples 1:06:18 - Dragon Riding (Naoshi Mizuta) - Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light 1:09:12 - Heavens Tower (Naoshi Mizuta) - Final Fantasy XI
Nanaa Mihgo's Celebration 1:32:24 - Clash of Wills (2023 OST Mix) (Naoshi Mizuta, perf. by Nanaa Mihgo’s) - Final Fantasy Grandmasters 1:36:18 - Goddesspeed (Naoshi Mizuta, perf. Nanaa Mihgo's) - Final Fantasy XI Gifts from Vana'diel: Prime Memories 2:00:52 - Pat's Bonus Track!
It sure is weird to think that our last dedicated Final Fantasy XIV episode was almost four years ago, with Episode 69: What Moogle Wakes Me? Today, with a 75% different set of panelists, we return to "RPGFan's Favorite MMORPG" with selections from several of FFXIV's expansions, including fan favorites like Endwalker and Shadowbringers, up through 2024's Dawntrail. Join us as we adventure throughout Eorzea, The First, and beyond!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Mario Garcia, Matt Wardell, Wes Iliff; Edited by Mike Salbato
Tracklist Towers and Giants 0:14:25 - A Long Fall (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers 0:16:40 - In the Belly of the Beast (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
Serenity 0:33:58 - Skybound Emerald (Daiki Ishikawa) - Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail 0:38:22 - Sands of Amber (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
Lord of the Castle 0:58:02 - A Trail Unending (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail 1:01:02 - Amatsu Kaze (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood
Peaceful Days 1:21:39 - The Day Will Come (Endwalker) (comp. Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Takafumi Imamura) - Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker 1:24:51 - Coffee Break (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail 1:51:48 - Matt's Bonus Track!
We last celebrated the beloved Wild Arms series in 2022's episode 93, where we paired its Western stylings with Shadow Hearts, in honor of the then-new Armed Fantasia/Penny Blood Kickstarter. Now, almost exactly three years later, we are talking exclusively about Wild Arms. This series of RPGs from Media.Vision and Sony featured a distinctive Wild West flair, with exciting soundtracks to boot.
While there sadly have been no new games in the series since 2007's Wild Arms XF (unless you count Wild Arms: Million Memories and its less-than-two-year mobile game lifespan, which we aren't!), we still have five main games, a remake, and a tactical spinoff packed with memorable music, almost all of which feature on today's show. Saddle up pal, it's Wild ARrms!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Audra Bowling, Matt Wardell, Wes Iliff; Edited by Mike Salbato
Tracklist The Warmth of a Desert Morning Stirs My Heart 0:13:35 - A Person's Warmth (Michiko Naruke) - Wild Arms 3 0:16:33 - The Shaman Princess' Feelings (Michiko Naruke) - Wild ARMs
The Remnants of Determined Relaxation 0:33:52 - A Town Where the West Wind Blows (Michiko Naruke) - Wild ARMs 2 0:34:55 - Courage (Michiko Naruke) - Wild Arms Alter Code: F
The Whistle of Memory - Blazing Suns 0:56:02 - Migratory Birds-Scoundrels (Michiko Naruke) - Wild Arms 3 0:59:35 - When the Heart Ignites (Noriyasu Agematsu) - Wild Arms 5
A Voice in the Desert Calls to Me 1:21:05 - as time goes by ~We Won't Forget~ (Michiko Naruke, vocals by Franki Love) - Wild Arms 4 1:25:05 - Because You Are Here Looking Up at the Sky (Opening Theme) (Michiko Naruke, vocals by Kaori Aso) - Wild Arms 4 1:44:14 - Wes' Bonus Track!
It's been almost exactly 11 years to the day since we last welcomed video game arranger, producer, and saxophonist Sean Schafianski onto Rhythm Encounter, so it's long past time we had him on again! With a string of excellent new arrangement albums throughout last year and this year, there's so much to talk about. From his work on Jazz Arrange Version: Chrono Cross to a 3 "disc" full remaster arrangement of Final Fantasy VI and so much more that even two hours only covered so much of it!
But it was a great conversation with music you don't want to miss. Be sure to check below for links on where you can listen to more of Sean's work as well.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Patrick Gann, Sean Schafianski; Edited by Jono Logan
Tracklist Clowns, Gods, and Bird Folk 0:12:36 - Dancing Mad (comp. Nobuo Uematsu) - Remastered Soundtrack: Final Fantasy VI, Disc 3 0:16:15 - Island (comp. Yoshino Aoki) - Letters from Wyndia: Music from Breath of Fire III
Time & Space 0:45:13 - Primitive Mountain (comp. Nobuo Uematsu) - Remastered Tracks: Chrono Trigger 0:47:20 - Fields of Time (Home) (comp. Yasunori Mitsuda) - Jazz Arrange Version: Chrono Cross
Storm Clouds 1:09:16 - Matataki Village (comp. Tomohito Nishiura) - Remastered Tracks: Dark Cloud 1:10:58 - Distant Thunder (from Secret of Mana) (comp. Hiroki Kikuta) - Remembrance: A Game Music Tribute 1:48:09 - Sean's Bonus Track!
163 - Princes, Expeditions, Dating, the 1980s, and More
04 Aug 2025
00:58:57
Call it spring, some spring and some summer, or the most accurate but boring moniker, "Q2 2025," but the second quarter of this year saw the release of some VERY musically important titles in RPGFan's coverage. While Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 looms over everything in the RPG space for this time period, there were many notable other releases that also deserve your time, from RPGs to adventure games and visual novels.
Oh, and classic RPG fans, just for the record, Mike would have included a song in honor of the overdue release of the Super Mario RPG (Remake + SNES) OST if he hadn't featured that game in our prior episode!
As usual, we also have a longer list below of the many albums and releases we considered for this episode, so don't miss it!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff; Edited by Mike Salbato
Tracklist 0:07:51 - The 80s Called (Thomas Regin) - Old Skies 0:13:23 - Encounter Elite! (Narcis Version) (Eric W. Brown) - Sea of Stars: Throes of the Watchmaker 0:19:05 - Ever Higher (Toby Fox) - Deltarune Chapters 3+4 0:24:14 - Theme from Capriccio Infernal (John Michael Tatum) - Date Everything 0:32:46 - Éveil (Lorien Testard) - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 0:40:09 - Under the Black Bridge (Trigg & Gusset) - Blue Prince
The Switch 2 is here! Is what we would have opened with had this episode gone up on time. Still, Nintendo's latest is the newest console on the market and it's doing pretty well, so we gathered up some fans of Nintendo music for this one. To try something new and to celebrate a wider range of Nintendo music history, each panelist was allowed to choose one non-RPG song, which resulted in a great episode of both expected and unexpected musical choices.
Even branching out like this barely scratches the surface of Nintendo's long music history, but we gotta start somewhere! If you're still reading this, we both know there's only one way to kick this off: Let's-a-go!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Gio Castillo, Matt Wardell, Tom Cox; Edited by Mike Salbato
Tracklist Block of Affection 0:27:38 - Because I Love You (Keiichi Suzuki, arranged by Kenji Kondo) - Mother 1+2 0:31:01 - Caring (Kazuki Komai) - Fire Emblem Engage
Giants and Monsters 0:47:24 - Yellow Giant (2023 Remaster) (Tatsuhiko Asano) - Doshin the Giant 0:49:54 - Ecruteak City (Go Ichinose) - Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver
Butter Galaxy 1:16:46 - Gusty Garden Galaxy (Mahito Yakota) - Super Mario Galaxy 1:19:10 - Butter Building (Tomoya Tomita, Jun Ishikawa, Hirokazu Ando) - Kirby's Epic Yarn
From the Stars 1:38:08 - Title (Kenji Yamamoto) - Metroid Prime 1:40:16 - Fight Against Smithy (Yoko Shimomura) - Super Mario RPG (Remake) 2:09:40 - Tom's Bonus Track!
Say what you want about your average mobile game, but there are a growing number of great RPGs you can play on your phone. Sure, some have hostile gacha mechanics, and many of the best get shut down eventually, but the care, budget, attention, and talent that goes into some mobile RPG soundtracks is no less than their console or PC brethren. In some cases, it's even tragic (or tragedic...) that we may only have a collection of music to remember some games by. So join us today as we cover a bunch of music for games that rarely, if ever, make their way into typical episodes of Rhythm Encounter!
(Please note this episode was recorded far in advance of publication, so the notes about recent episodes of our other podcasts are outdated, but you should listen to them anyway!)
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Patrick Gann, Audra Bowling, Pete Leavitt; Edited by Jono Logan
Tracklist What's in a Name, Anyway? 0:09:54 - Smoke Signals at Sea (Yasunori Nishiki) - Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent OST vol.2 0:13:20 - Tragedic Paramours (Shunsuke Tsuchiya) - Another Eden OST 2
Boisterous Relaxation 0:30:30 - The story so far (Shuhei Naruse, perf. Chisato Akita) - The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel - Northern War 0:34:44 - Jinzhou (maybe jixwang) - Wuthering Waves
Heartbreak Block 0:51:50 - Smooth White (Takeharu Ishimoto, Devin Kinoshita) - Final Fantasy Record Keeper OST Vol. 5 0:56:08 - Entrance: Celestial Fulcrum (Kenji Ito, arr. Kohei Tanaka, perf. Ayano Nonomura) - Romancing SaGa Re;univerSe
Flow and Deepspace 1:12:47 - Whence the Flow Cometh / Springvale I (Yu-Peng Chen) - Genshin Impact 1:14:12 - Love and Deepspace (Sarah Brightman) - Love and Deepspace 1:39:23 - Pete's Bonus Track!
It's been nearly nine years since we published our first episode about RPG forest music, so it is high time we revisited the topic! Forest music comes in several varieties, from contemplative to mysterious, upbeat to foreboding, and many more. Today's long-awaited episode covers RPG music with a real range, both in terms of styles but also in that the games span many years, between 1995 and 2022! Give it a listen and let us know what some of your favorite forest music is.
Also, an important note to our listeners: We apologize for the delay in publishing this episode! We have recently been short staffed in the audio editing department. So while we have continued to record Rhythm Encounter episodes during this unplanned hiatus, it has taken longer than planned to edit them. We are hoping to be back on our regular bi-weekly schedule starting here, though! We appreciate your patience, and hey, if you or anyone you know would want to help us with editing our podcasts, let us know! And thank you to Jono Logan for stepping in to edit!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Gio Castillo, Audra Bowling; Edited by Jono Logan
Tracklist Arboreal Aspirations 0:09:04 - In the Deep Woods (ConcernedApe) - Stardew Valley 0:11:08 - As I Feel, You Feel (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy V: Dear Friends
Bacon & Eggs 0:33:03 - Starting Over (Naoshi Mizuta, perf. by Joelle) - Final Fantasy XIII-2 0:38:20 - Secret of Forest (Yasunori Mitsuda, arr. by Guido - Hiroshi Hata and Kalta Ohtsuki) - Chrono Trigger: The Brink of Time
Great Silence 1:04:50 - Silence of the Forest (Revo) - Bravely Default 1:09:15 - Dungeon1 The Great Forest (Takashi Tsuzuki and Seitaro Tsuzuki) - Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising
Devilish Visitors 1:22:26 - A Visitor in the Forest (Marika Suzuki) - Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin 1:24:18 - Devil Forest (Hiroyuki Yanada) - Last Bible III 1:45:11 - Audra's Bonus Track!
159 - Press Start Again: More RPG Title Screen Music
28 Apr 2025
01:55:44
RPG title screens bear a heavy burden. They're one of the first things we see in a game, making them one of the best places to leave a strong first impression. And often, a key component of that is the music. Several years ago, we highlighted eight standout title screen tracks in episode 71, and today, with a new panel, we're highlighting eight more! Come in and enjoy the music of several games you may know and some you likely don't. Welcome Matt to his first episode, and learn why there's an Elvis song in our links below, in this jam-packed episode of, well, jams!
As a side note, this episode's publish date was moved back, so some of the info near the end about Random Encounter and Retro Encounter's schedule is accurate, if behind where the shows currently are.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Gio Castillo, Tin Manuel, Matt Wardell; Edited by Mike Salbato
158 - Winter 2025: Pirates, Urban Myths, Magnolias, and More
31 Mar 2025
01:12:37
Continuing our new run of quarterly new music updates is our first episode for 2025, and it's a truly notable start. We have a range of new music today, from well composed soundtracks that play homage to earlier console generations to new projects from popular Minecraft composer C418. We also continue to take our definition of music from a certain timeframe liberally and even have music for a game that doesn't exist (anymore). May these episodes help you learn more about new game music releases, and we'll be ready for more next quarter!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff; Edited by Mike Salbato
Tracklist 0:04:58 - Batten Down the Hatches (Winifred Phillips) - Flint: Treasure of Oblivion 0:12:08 - Child of the Earth (Lena Raine) - Earthblade ~ Across the Bounds of Fate 0:23:28 - Acoustic: Main Theme of FFVII - Battle Edit (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Takaaki Nakagawa) - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Acoustic Arrangements 0:34:00 - A Different Sun (Amos Roddy) - Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector 0:43:22 - Truth (Ada-P) - Urban Myth Dissolution Center 0:52:08 - Main theme (Mili feat. Cassie Wei) - ENDER MAGNOLIA: Bloom in the Mist 1:09:02 - Hilary's Bonus Track!
It's visual novel day at Rhythm Encounter! Following one of the quickest sign-up processes ever for our show, four visual novel fans have come together to share thoughts on the music of eight visual novels, but they discuss so many more in the process. We all quickly learned that this topic will have to make an appearance again because the well of inspiration is so very deep. But for today, listen as our panel digs in to Suikogaiden, Ever17, YU-NO, and much more!
Featuring: Patrick Gann, Neal Chandran, Audra Bowling, Gio Castillo; Edited by Mike Salbato
Tracklist Don’t Go Away, We’re Just Getting Started! 0:24:17 - went away (Kazuya Takase, perf. KOTOKO) - Hourglass of Summer 0:30:58 - You Can’t Hurry Love (Kazuya Nishioka, perf. The Biscats) - Cupid Parasite
Feelin’ Indie 0:47:32 - Summer Night (Crystal Cola) - A Summer's End - Hong Kong 1986 0:50:45 - Bonds (Low) - Fatal Twelve
Names To Remember 1:04:40 - Impatience 1 (Ryu Umemoto, arr. Keishi Yonao) - YU-NO: A girl who chants love at the bound of this world. Soundtrack [Remake Version] 1:08:19 - Karma (Takeshi Abo) - Ever17
PSOne VNs 1:28:35 - The Boundless Dream (Ending Theme) (Miki Higashino, perf. Yumiko Takahashi) - Genso Suikogaiden Vol.2: Last Duel at Crystal Valley 1:33:13 - Dreaming Robot (Multi) (Shinya Ishikawa, arr. Yaco) - To Heart (from the arrangement album Melty Kiss) 2:00:48 - Neal's Bonus Track!
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is almost here, so what better time to dive into this musically fascinating "side" tale from 2015? Many fans were surprised that the first Xenoblade Chronicles was not followed by a "2" (though that happened later), but by Xenoblade Chronicles X. The name and looks alone made it clear this was a different beast: XCX features some now-familiar Xenoblade components and scale, but the more "worldly" nature of its story outside of the "main" plot thread was almost as divisive as its soundtrack to some players.
When your first game features music by Yoko Shimomura, ACE+, Manami Kiyota, and Yasunori Mitsuda, pivoting soundtrack duties to "Attack on Titan guy," Hiroyuki Sawano, makes people take notice. The whole Xenoblade series is packed with unforgettable music, but there's no denying that none of them sound quite like the sometimes weird, often catchy, and above all, wholly unexpected, Xenoblade Chronicles X.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Wes Iliff, Stephanie Sybydlo, Sean Cabot; Edited by Mike Salbato
It's time for more of 2024's best RPG music! In the last episode, we featured nine excellent songs from last year, and today we return with Part II, bringing nine more tracks! Look for some Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, Flowstone Saga, a double dose of Stellar Blade, and more! Scarlet Moon's Jayson Napolitano joins us to share some of his picks as well, so don't miss out.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Michael Sollosi, Gio Castillo, Patrick Gann, Jayson Napolitano; Edited by Mike Salbato
Mike Salbato's Picks 0:35:29 - The Climb (Andrew Luers) - Flowstone Saga 0:38:40 - A Turn of the Page (Failpositive) - Paper Perjury 0:40:58 - Sword Search (Minako Hamano, arr. The Deku Trio) - Zelda & Jazz II
Jayson's Picks 1:04:23 - Charred Passage (Tsuyoshi Sekito) - Visions of Mana 1:06:23 - Silent Street (Battle) (Hyunmin Cho, seibin, Youngkyoung Choi) - Stellar Blade 1:09:53 - Penny's in a Pinch (Sean Bialo) - Penny's Big Breakaway
It's time for Music of the Year! 2024 was absolutely stacked with game releases. Some even felt it was one of the all-time best years in gaming. And the side effect of a year filled with excellent games means a year of excellent soundtracks. For this annual special, we let each panelist bring on three songs. Even so, how did we pick just nine today? It wasn't easy.
2024 being such a great year for RPG music meant that one episode could not contain our Music of the Year celebrations, so we have split it into two back-to-back episodes. Enjoy the likes of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Arco, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and much more today. Then come back next week for three more panelists' highlights of the year!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Michael Sollosi, Gio Castillo, Patrick Gann; Edited by Mike Salbato
Almost exactly a year ago, four panelists came together to build a soundtrack to an imaginary RPG out of 8 fragments of other RPGs. Today, we're doing it again, except our "Hard Mode" rules dictate that we must choose songs from our source games with different use cases. So our Town Theme could be anything except another game's town theme, and so on. What kind of RPG will we assemble this time? Find out with us!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Gio Castillo, Lucas Greene; Edited by Mike Salbato
Tracklist 0:16:41 - Title Theme: Hollow Charge (Chris Geehan, Dan-Byrne McCullough) - Cosmic Star Heroine 0:26:30 - Map/Overworld Theme: Vana'diel March #2 (Naoshi Mizuta) - Final Fantasy XI 0:39:33 - Town Theme: Title Screen (Tsuyoshi Tanaka) - Harvest Moon 64 0:47:29 - Battle Theme: communication breakdown (Yuki Kajiura) - Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse 0:58:03 - Dungeon Theme: One Small Step (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker 1:10:20 - Sad/Emotional Theme: Bloom Outro (Mili) - ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights 1:21:16 - Final Boss Theme: Touch It - FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS Remix (Ariana Grande) - Final Fantasy Brave Exvius 1:36:02 - Ending Theme: Welcome to our Town (Motoaki Takenouchi) - Symphonic Suite Shining Force II ~ Ancient Sealing ~
Between our recent milestone of 150 episodes and the start of a new year, we will have some fun changes coming to Rhythm Encounter, starting with this episode. New games and music release all the time that don't always fit with our episode themes. Starting today, we will release a "new music" episode every few months to spotlight the latest in RPG music. These episodes will typically be a shorter listen with a smaller panel, featuring 6–8 songs each. Today, Mike and Hilary highlight Metaphor: ReFantazio, Ys X: Nordics, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, and more!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff; Edited by Jonathan Logan
151 - Slay the Princess with Composer Brandon Boone
30 Dec 2024
01:33:41
WARNING: This episode contains major spoilers for Slay the Princess, so listen at your own risk if you have not yet played the game!
Every now and again at Rhythm Encounter, we have the chance to bring on a special musical guest. For today’s episode, RPGFan Music editor Patrick Gann sits down with Brandon Boone, composer for the indie visual novel hit Slay the Princess. The interview includes Brandon’s insights and reflections on the process of building the game’s score from the ground up, then expanding the soundtrack for its newer form, The Pristine Cut. Brandon also provides some interesting background information on how he got his start in music, his ties to studio Black Tabby Games (Abby Howard & Tony Howard-Arias), and his recent win at the World Soundtrack Awards!
Featuring: Patrick Gann, Brandon Boone, Mike Salbato; Edited by Jonathan Logan
Tracklist 0:24:13 - The Princess (Brandon Boone) - Slay the Princess Original Soundtrack 0:40:44 - The Shifting Mound Movement V (Live) (Brandon Boone) - Slay the Princess Live 1:23:26 - Brandon’s Bonus Track! House of Woodcock (Johnny Greenwood) - Phantom Thread Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Retro Encounter can't be the only one making quiz show episodes. Rhythm Encounter had to get in on the action to celebrate our 150th episode milestone! Which of course means making our contestants identify songs, composers, and more across five themed rounds. Who will triumph? Feel free to play along too and see how you do! We had enough fun with this one that we don't want to wait another 150 episodes to bring it back. But for now, put your quiz show hats on (those are a thing, right?), make some guesses, and ring in 150 episodes with us!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Patrick Gann, Hilary Andreff, Gio Castillo; Edited by Jonathan Logan
Rounds 0:05:31 - Round 1: Better Together 0:16:45 - Round 2: This One's for the Girls 0:35:35 - Round 3: This, That, or the Other: Sakuraba Edition 0:51:50 - Round 4: Final Fantasy Arrangements 1:13:10 - Round 5: Know Your Eras 1:31:06 - Round 6: Final Question
We all have origin stories about how we got into RPGs (several of us shared them almost six years ago in this feature!), so today our panel discusses music origins — what RPGs attuned us to the RPG music scene or otherwise elevated our senses and made us take notice. For some of us, this dates back to the days of the NES, and sometimes our awakening happened during the days of the GameCube. Whenever these songs hail from, they each hold a special place in our hearts.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Wes Iliff, Gio Castillo, Rob White; Edited by Paul Dennis
Warm Beginnings 0:05:01 - Diddle's Organ (Yoko Shimomura) - Legend of Mana 0:05:53 - Godot - The Fragrance of Darkness; That is Coffee (Noriyuki Iwadare) - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials & Tribulations
16-Bit Vibes 0:25:35 - Kids Run Through the City (FFPR ver.) (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster 0:28:11 - Frog's Theme (Yasunori Mitsuda) - Chrono Trigger
Round 3: Fight! 0:44:50 - Colosseum Round 3 (Tsukasa Tawada) - Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness 0:49:05 - Battlefield Without Light -War Theme 2- (Miki Higashino) - Suikoden II
Iconic Themes 1:11:11 - Tantagel Castle (Koichi Sugiyama) - Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest I 1:14:31 - Fear of the Heavens (Hiroki Kikuta) - Secret of Mana 1:46:22 - Gio's Bonus Track!
We're no strangers to game series-themed episodes on Rhythm Encounter, such as our Mario RPGs or Dragon Quest shows. Now, it's time for the Tales series! Bandai Namco's long-running series turns 30 next year, and the mainline series alone contains 17 games (or 18 depending on which ones you count). That's more than enough material to showcase on an episode, wouldn't you say? Join our panel as we talk about the oldest, newest, and several Tales games in between, and listen to music by the venerable Motoi Sakuraba and company.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Michael Sollosi, Wes Iliff, Stephanie Sybydlo; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist Tales of Strings 0:09:30 - Risk It All (Takao Ogi) - Tales of Crestoria 0:12:35 - Flame of Hope (Motoi Sakuraba) - Tales of Arise
Tales of Battle 0:30:09 - Fighting of the Spirit Remix (Motoi Sakuraba, arr. S.S.H) - Tales of Phantasia 0:34:17 - The Arrow was Shot (Motoi Sakuraba) - Tales of the Abyss
Tales of Resolve 0:55:12 - White Light (comp. Koichi Tsutaya, Shiho Ochi, perf. Superfly) - Tales of Zestiria 0:57:21 - Theme of Velvet (Motoi Sakuraba) - Tales of Berseria
Tales of Forest 1:14:09 - Mystic Forest (Motoi Sakuraba and Shinji Tamura) - Tales of Phantasia 1:16:59 - Sunlight Filtering through the Trees (Go Shiina) - Tales of Legendia 1:53:16 - Wes' Bonus Track!
It's been awhile since our last instrument spotlight, so in this episode, we're sharing some favorite RPG songs featuring woodwinds, like flutes, ocarinas, and more! Whether it's the incredibly moving sounds of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, the adventurous Dark Cloud 2, or Final Fantasy III's Maiden of Water, we have a lot to cover, so join us on this lovely journey, won't ya?
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Gio Castillo, Tin Manuel; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist Calming Melodies 0:09:48 - Village of the Elw (Michiko Naruke) - Wild ARMs 0:11:18 - A Life Sent On (Yasunori Mitsuda) - Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Open Plains and Seas 0:27:27 - Shinshu Plains (Masami Ueda arr. Tomomichi Takeoka) - Okami Goju no Onchou 0:31:28 - Elia, the Maiden of Water (comp. Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Takashi Hoshide, perf. Siena Wind Orchestra) - BRA★BRA FINAL FANTASY BRASS de BRAVO 3 (FFIII)
Slippery & Drippy 0:53:40 - Price (Shoji Meguro) - Persona 5 0:55:25 - Ding Dong Dell -The Cat King's Castle- (Joe Hisaishi) - Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Your Big Chance 1:15:30 - The Adventure that Never Ends (Rush Theme) (Tomohito Nishiura) - Dark Cloud 2 1:17:09 - Field (With Marin version) (Normal) - (Ryo Nagamatsu) - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening 1:47:23 - Hilary's Bonus Track!
Somehow it's been four years since Rhythm Encounter's last Halloween episode, back in 2020's episode 56. Well, it's time we rectified that. A sequel to that episode and a spiritual successor to our previous episode about the works of Michiru Yamane, our panel dug into our gaming experiences to find music for the most spooky time of year. You'll find one of Pokémon's most iconic themes, and everything from old PC adventures to SNES, PS4, and more. If you need some tunes while carving pumpkins, or you're baking some Halloween treats... well, first of all, send us some. But either way, join us for a spooky good time!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Mario Garcia, Wes Iliff; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist What Lurks Beneath 0:04:34 - Forest Temple (Koji Kondo) - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 0:08:14 - The Surface of the Water (Yoko Shimomura) - Parasite Eve
Let's Have Some Fun 0:25:01 - Heart of the Idol (Robert Holmes arr. Space Quest Historian/Troels Pleimert) - Gabriel Knight: Synths of the Fathers 0:29:47 - Amusement Park (Keigo Hoashi) - NieR: Automata
Witchy Vibes 0:52:49 - Lavender Town (Junichi Masuda) - Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen 0:54:40 - Freshly Glazed Porxie (Masayoshi Soken, Nobuo Uematsu, and Daiki Ishikawa) - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
We are at the beginning of "spooky season," and while this isn't (yet) our Halloween episode, October is a fine time to shine a spotlight on composer Michiru Yamane, known in our parts for her excellent work on the Castlevania and Suikoden series. That means some games you may expect, but definitely some you wouldn't, from this talented composer. So dim the lights, summon your favorite fairy companion, and get ready.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Audra Bowling, Patrick Gann; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist Come See the Softer Side of... Oh 0:06:45 - Searching for a Past Hero (Flame Champion Waiting Ground BGM) (Michiru Yamane) - Suikoden III 0:09:36 - Nocturne (comp. Michiru Yamane, vo. Hekiru Shiina) - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Perplexing 3D Attacks 0:29:04 - Unknowable Geometry (Symphony Mix) (comp. Jim Guthrie, arr. Michiru Yamane) - The Scythian Steppes: Seven #Sworcery Songs Localized for Japan 0:33:06 - Reincarnation of Light and Darkness ~ Shagaru Magara (comp. Marika Suzuki, arr. Michiru Yamane) - Monster Hunter 10th Anniversary Compilation Album [Tribute]
House of Fortune 0:57:04 - House of Sacred Remains (Michiru Yamane) - Castlevania: Lament of Innocence 1:00:55 - Gears of Fortune (Michiru Yamane) - Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
Ecclesia the Elder 1:16:03 - Screen Credit (Staff Roll) (Michiru Yamane) - Elder Gate 1:19:54 - Wandering the Crystal Blue - Arranged (Michiru Yamane) - Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia 1:39:34 - Pat's Bonus Track!
There are countless reasons we play and love RPGs, and often those that become our favorites have powerful stories and characters. But pitting your party against often overwhelming odds requires inspirational music for the optimal effect. In this episode we share both music and RPGs that have inspired US in turn, whether it's through bombastic battle music or lively energy. What RPG soundtracks inspire you? Let us know!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Lucas Greene, Tin Manuel, Rob White; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist Familiar Territory 0:05:52 - Weight of the World - Prelude Version (Keiichi Okabe, Nobuo Uematsu) - Death Unto Dawn: Final Fantasy XIV (Shadowbringers) 0:08:23 - Color Your Night (comp. Atsushi Kitajo, lyrics by Lotus Juice) - Persona 3 Reload
Soldiers (but not SOLDIERS) and SEEDs 0:27:45 - The Landing (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VIII 0:32:18 - Revolt / Thunder (Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata) - Tactics Ogre: Reborn
Stellar Days 0:53:46 - The Song of the Sirens (Mothervibes) - Stellar Blade 0:57:47 - Halcyon Days -Branched- (Yoshimi Kudo) - 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim Remix and Arrange Album -The Branched-
Like a Boss 1:20:22 - Tumult - Raise Thy Sword in Pride (Yuzo Koshiro) - Etrian Odyssey III HD 1:22:00 - Hopes and Dreams (Toby Fox) - Undertale 1:49:32 - Rob's Bonus Track!
With fall (or autumn, if you prefer) around the corner for many of us, it feels like a good time for relaxing music. While we did a pair of episodes focused on relaxing RPG music about four years ago (see Episode 54 and Episode 55), this time, RPGFan's biggest lo-fi fans got together to listen and chat about lo-fi RPG music. Sometimes these are straight from games, but often they come from the incredible community of independent musicians and arrangers. We have both of these and more covered today, to put on your favorite comfy Lofi Girl merch and chill out with us.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Gio Castillo, Wes Iliff; Edited by Paul Dennis
Special Credit: Our title this episode is inspired by and in honor of Homework Radio's excellent fantasy-themed lo-fi playlists. Check 'em out!
Tracklist Square Enix & Chill 0:09:04 - Fisherman's Horizon (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. by Kilikabeats) - Final Fantasy VIII Lo-fi Cover 0:12:58 - Roman (Minstrel Mix Version) (Masashi Hamauzu, arr. Takegorou Kobayashi) - SQUARE ENIX - Mellow Minstrel Mix Vol.3 (SaGa Frontier 2)
Defying Expectations 0:31:28 - Sweetheart Latte (Andrew Jeremy) - Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly 0:36:57 - Starless Skyline (Maybe Masayoshi Soken?) - Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail
Game Changers 1:03:23 - Dark World (Koji Kondo, arr. Mikel) - Zelda & Chill 1:05:58 - Beneath the Mask -Rain- (Shoji Meguro, vocals Lyn) - Persona 5
Toss a Coin 1:31:48 - Day at the Academy (Yuki Ichiki, Tsukasa Saitou, Ayako Minami, Shouhei Tsuchiya, Daisuke Matsumoto) - Enchanted Arms 1:33:18 - Blood and Wine (Marcin Przybyłowicz, arr. bits & hits) - The Witcher but it's lofi beats 1:58:27 - Wes' Bonus Track!
So many of our beloved RPG soundtracks are filled with great music, and often have songs named in the same dramatic flair as the games and their narratives. And then sometimes, we find great tracks in our RPGs with names like "No No I don't die Noooo!" or "Rouen 'But-dad-dead-bed'," and those are the songs we are showcasing in this episode. It's always entertaining coming across these songs when listening to music, so for this episode, our panelists all chose music we love with offbeat, weird, or otherwise amusing titles.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Patrick Gann, Audra Bowling; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist The Fantasy of Being Tall
0:06:32 - A Sunbaked Throb (Masanori Osaki of Falcom Sound Team jdk) - Ys SEVEN
0:09:23 - Seize the Artifact For Tallness (Motoi Sakuraba) - Eternal Sonata
Shopping and Slaughter
0:24:18 - Holy Death Strike of Slaughter (ACE) - Code of Princess
0:27:49 - When We Laugh About Forgetting to Buy Something (Kazuki Yanagawa) - Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & the Secret Key
Modern Villains
0:46:45 - It's On Like Necronomicon (Ryan Ike) - Shadows Over Loathing
0:50:00 - Fish Force (HyperDuck SoundWorks) - Penny Arcade’s On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4
Science Fantasy
1:09:36 - So nah, so fern (comp. Hiroyuki Sawano, vocals Mika Kobayashi) - Xenoblade Chronicles X
1:14:13 - EXEC_CUTYPUMP/. (comp/arr Maiko Iuchi, vocals au) - Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel
Part two of our handheld RPG music celebration continues — and concludes — today! Last time, we brought you some of our favorite tracks from Nintendo DS RPGs, and this time we talk about the DS' competition, the Sony PSP. The PSP was a haven for RPGs, especially considering its support of playing PSOne/PSN titles. From a surprise track by Nobuo Uematsu, beautiful vocal tracks, to the second and last Mega Man Legends title, we have a great lineup today. Let us know what some of your favorite PSP music is!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Patrick Gann, Audra Bowling, Gio Castillo; Edited by Paul Dennis
Written in the Stars 0:51:02 - Crimson Star {PSP “Growlanser” OP2 (Male Version)} (Noriyasu Agematsu {Elements Garden}) - Growlanser PSP 0:54:59 - Rendezvous of the Stars - Ready to Fly - (English Version) (Chiaki Fujita {Sing Like Talking}, Additional Music by Bill King) - Summon Night 5
Extra Gurumin 1:06:26 - Sight of Silence (Falcom Sound Team jdk) - Gurumin 1:10:05 - Battle (Shinji Hosoe) - Fate/EXTRA 1:35:36 - Gio's Bonus Track!
It's a handheld celebration! We had so much fun with our Game Boy Advance music episode last fall, we're back for two more handheld episodes, starting with the Nintendo DS! Nintendo's little experimental handheld made waves upon its announcement, and once the dust settled on many gimmicky titles, some great games made their way into our hearts. And as you'll hear today, some great music as well, featuring the likes of Hitoshi Sakimoto, Michiru Yamane, Yasunori Mistuda, and more. Give it a listen and come back for the next one too, where we'll be discussing PSP music!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Michael Sollosi, Patrick Gann, Gio Castillo; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist Legends in Obscurity 0:06:09 - Amaty, the Ancient City (Yasunori Mitsuda) - Soma Bringer 0:09:39 - Yellow Brick Road (Hitoshi Sakimoto) - The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road
A Good Mana Is Hard to Find 0:28:48 - The Guitar's Serenade (Shu Takumi, arr. Noriyuki Iwadare) - Gyakuten Saiban Tokubetsu Hōtei 2008 (Apollo Justice) 0:33:22 - Beyond the Pale Blue Sky (Kenji Ito) - Children of Mana
Darkness and Soul DS 0:51:10 - The Unknown Floor (Arrange Version) (Kenichi Arakawa) - The Dark Spire 0:54:33 - Demon Castle Pinnacle (Michiru Yamane) - Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
I'm not gonna spend my life being a color. 1:18:07 - Scene - Blue and White [Event: Truth] (Yuzo Koshiro) - Etrian Odyssey 1:20:33 - Anville Town (Go Ichinose) - Pokémon Black & White 1:50:50 - Mike's Bonus Track!
The indie RPG scene is ever expanding, and while indie RPG music makes its way into many a Rhythm Encounter episode, we wanted to make an episode just about celebrating the music from indie devs. We enjoyed it so much, we may even make this a regularly recurring topic! But, for now, come journey through a wide variety of music from some of our favorite indie games, showcasing many types of instruments, vocals, and musical stylings!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Audra Bowling, Lucas Greene, Neal Chandran; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist Drama School 0:09:14 - It's Showtime! - Gilda's Theme (Aivi & Surasshu, Renko) - Ikenfell 0:10:55 - Too Dramatic (Elektrobear) - Virgo Versus the Zodiac
French Quarter 0:27:21 - Clair-Obscur (Lorien Testard feat. Alice Duport-Percier) - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 0:30:56 - Forest of Torment (Jean Yves Bassangna) - Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan
Connection and Memories 0:51:43 - Echoes ~ Numina Part II Theme ~ (Manuel Schmuki) - Numina ECHOES Soundtrack 0:57:04 - To the Moon - Main Theme (Kan Gao) - To the Moon
Airborne Adventure 1:13:36 - Field of Wind (Aaron Walz) - From Another Shore Aveyond & Beyond 1:17:08 - Claret's Theme (Phil Hamilton) - Skyborn
1:36:24 - Lucas' Bonus Track!
Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.
Almost exactly a year ago, we published a fun episode on jazz and funk RPG music. Today we are back with a spiritual sequel, talking about jazz, funk, but especially city pop. All our tracks in this episode represent one or more of these genres, but all are excellent listens. So sit back and listen to some great tunes from the likes of Shin Megami Tensei NINE, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, space casinos, jazz-loving parents, and much more!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Gio Castillo, Tin Manuel; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist Wind In My Hair Block 0:10:30 - Prince of the Wind (From Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes - Town) (Falcom Sound Team J.D.K., arr. Etsuko Yamakawa) - Falcom SPECIAL BOX '91 0:14:51 - Honolulu City Lights Full Spec Edition (Chihiro Aoki) - Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
Neon City Block 0:34:15 - Karmotrine Dream (Garoad) - VA-11 HALL-A 0:36:33 - Harajuku (Tsukasa Masuko, arr. Masaki Kurokawa and Takahiro Ogata) - Shin Megami Tensei NINE
Avast, ye scurvy dogs! This here episode of Rhythm Encounter be now the property of RPG Pirates. (Note: episode actually contains only a minimal amount of pirate speak.) Join the crew with Captain Hilary, Audra "Quick Draw" Bowling, "Gemstone" Jim Turner, and Kyle "Feat of Strength" Cantelon as they plunder the very best of RPG pirate themes from across the vast sea of game music within our coverage. There are pirate tunes for every mood, so listen now or prepare to say hello to the briny depths.
Featuring: Hilary Andreff, Audra Bowling, Kyle Cantelon, Jimmy Turner; Edited by Mike Salbato
Tracklist 0:04:19 - Prismelody: Pirates Ahoy (comp. Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Shingo Kataoka) - World of Final Fantasy 0:05:57 - The Sea and Her Love (Justin E. Bell) - Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire 0:17:46 - Sailing (Masahiko Kimura) - Suikoden IV 0:19:03 - Blue Sky Pirates' Ship (~Nasrad, ~Ixa'taka, ~Valua) (Yutaka Minobe) - Skies of Arcadia 0:30:53 - The Queen's High Seas- Beast's Theme (Borislov Slavov) - Divinity: Original Sin II 0:33:24 - Tavern Music (Inon Zur) - Dragon Age II 0:45:52 - Monkey Island Main Theme (Michael Land, arr. Banjo Guy Ollie) - The Secret of Monkey Island 0:48:00 - Cap’n Orla’s Swashbucklers - Oh, We Be Pirates (Noriyuki Iwadare) - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies 1:12:19 - Everyone's Bonus Track!
We're trying something new here on Rhythm Encounter. While there is no end to the variety of RPG music out there, sometimes we spot similar song titles on different soundtracks, which gave us an idea. For this episode, each panelist chose a pairing of two (near) identical track names from different games, so we could compare and contrast each version. As we learned, this is a topic that could repeat, as there's no shortage of potential songs that fit this theme. Give it a listen and let us know what pairings you have discovered!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Audra Bowling, Gio Castillo, Tin Manuel; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist 0:13:26 - A New World (Go Shiina) - God Eater 0:16:25 - Final Fantasy V: A New World (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Arnie Roth & Distant Worlds Philharmonic Orchestra) - Distant Worlds VI: More Music from Final Fantasy 0:27:37 - Big Shot's Theme (Shogo Sakai) - Mother 3 0:29:22 - BIG SHOT (Toby Fox) - DELTARUNE Chapter 2 0:41:17 - End of the World (Yoko Shimomura) - Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX 0:44:28 - End of the World (Barry "Epoch" Topper) - Paradise Killer 0:56:09 - A Safe Haven (Koichi Sugiyama) - Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past 0:58:20 - Safe Haven (Yoko Shimomura) - Final Fantasy XV 1:17:15 - Mike's Bonus Tracks!
It's-a-us, the Rhythm Encounter crew! With the impending launch of the remaster for the beloved sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, we decided it was high time to talk about Mario's illustrious RPG career. Starting with 1996's Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and extending through the Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario games, the idea of a Mario-based RPG went from an unheard of collaboration between Nintendo and then-Squaresoft to multiple styles of games across several generations of consoles. And, as it turns out, incredibly talented composers are attached to every game's soundtrack. So strap on your overalls and join us for some of our favorite Mario RPG music!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Mario Garcia, Jimmy Turner; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist World 1 - Dream City 0:08:53 - Dreamy Castle Rendezvous (Yoko Shimomura) - Mario & Luigi: Dream Team 0:11:25 - Rogueport (Yoshito Hirano and Yuka Tsujiyoko) - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
World 2 - Mushroom Stomp 0:26:25 - Beware of Forest Mushrooms (Yoko Shimomura) - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars 0:28:31 - Battle (Yoko Shimomura) - Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
World 3 - And My Name's Birdo 0:46:42 - Enter Birdo (Yoshito Sekigawa, Shoh Murakami, Yoshiaki Kimura, Hiroki Morishita, and Fumihiro Isobe) - Paper Mario: The Origami King 0:48:39 - This is Booster Tower (Yoko Shimomura) - Super Mario RPG (Remake)
World 4 - Bowser's Castle 4 1:06:25 - Game Point (Motoi Sakuraba) - Mario Tennis (GBC) 1:08:16 - The Grand Finale (Yoko Shimomura) - Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story 1:30:34 - Mario's Bonus Track!
Whether or not you need an introduction to Masashi Hamauzu's music, we've got something for you. From some well-known to lesser-known Final Fantasy pieces to some classic Square Enix games, our panel dug in to ensure we covered a lot of ground in Hamauzu's history as a composer and arranger. So join us as we discuss fantasies, legacies, remakes, a guy named Todd, and way too much about how we're meant to pronounce "Archylte."
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Patrick Gann, Zach Wilkerson, Greg Delmage; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist 0:06:51 - The Star Graal - The Legend of Legacy 0:11:38 - Frenzy Under Pressure (comp. Masashi Hamauzu, perf. Benyamin Nuss, Lisa Schumann & Kana Shirao) - Masashi Hamauzu Opus 4 Piano and Chamber Music Works 0:39:23 - End of the World (comp. Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu, arr. Masashi Hamauzu) - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth 0:42:16 - Jessie’s Theme - Final Fantasy VII Remake 1:03:33 - The Archylte Steppe - Final Fantasy XIII 1:07:41 - A Fleeting Dream (comp. Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Masashi Hamauzu) - Final Fantasy X 1:39:43 - Todfeind - SaGa Frontier 2 1:41:51 - A Dream in Flight - Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon 2:16:55 - Mike's Bonus Track!
Everything's better with the right soundtrack backing it up, whether that's studying, working, or household tasks — most notably for today's discussion, cooking! Whether our panel on this episode was channeling energy for a flavorful Spanish chicken dish or some chill tunes to prepare cozy desserts, we got to showcase the diverse range of music that each of us likes to accompany our time in the kitchen.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Audra Bowling, Tin Manuel, Jimmy Turner; Edited by Jonathan Logan
Tracklist 0:05:20 - Balamb Garden (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VIII 0:08:48 - vital signs (universa’s theme) (Milk & Bone) - Invincible Presents: Atom Eve 0:23:09 - Challenging a Queen (Tripod & Austin Wintory) - Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical 0:28:39 - 10:27 Appledew Stew (Danger) - Haven 0:48:58 - Dance of 1,000 Suns (Eric W. Brown) - Sea of Stars 0:51:16 - Crimson Valley -Night- (Daisuke Achiwa) - Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book 1:05:39 - Life at Garreg Mach Monastery - Piano Arrangement (Takeru Kanazaki, arr. PurpleSchala) - Fire Emblem Three Houses for Solo Piano 1:09:50 - Farm Boy (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Shotaro Shima) - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth 1:31:34 - Mike's Bonus Track!
It's hard to go a few months without a remaster of a beloved RPG gracing our physical or virtual shelves, but when some of those are the quality of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series or the recent Persona 3 Reload, we aren't complaining. This age of remasters also means updated or rearranged music is part of the package, so today we're showcasing some stellar new takes on music for eight RPG remasters released in recent years.
Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Audra Bowling, Gio Castillo, Lucas Greene; Edited by Mike Salbato
Tracklist Block 1 - Final Fantasy Anthology 0:06:02 - Battle on the Big Bridge (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster 0:08:32 - Aria di Mezzo Carattere {English Language Version} (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster
Block 2 - Yoko! Oh no! 0:25:09 - Agniratha, Mechonis Capital/Night (Definitive Edition ver.) (arr. Kenji Hiramatsu) - Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition 0:27:56 - Danger Aplenty on the Journey (Yoko Shimomura) - Super Mario RPG Remake
Block 3 - Samurai Secrets and Space Spectres 0:43:11 - Collisions of our Swords (arr. unknown) - Like a Dragon: Ishin! (2023) 0:47:48 - Resynthesis (Sam Hulick) - Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
Block 4 - Masked Faces in Dark Places 01:02:15 - When the Moon’s Reaching Out Stars -Reload- (arr. Atsushi Kitajoh) - Persona 3 Reload 1:05:36 - Face Shrine (arr. Ryo Nakamatsu) - The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (2019) 1:28:58 - Gio’s bonus track!
Tracklist 0:03:32 - Level Up - Dragon Quest 0:03:36 - Judgment Ring Hit - Shadow Hearts Covenant 0:12:32 - Wizard Eye/other spell sounds - Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven 0:12:36 - Dark Space "blip" - Illusion of Gaia 0:26:18 - Pokéball Wobble - Pokémon series 0:26:23 - Disc Sounds - PlayStation 2 0:41:30 - Start of the Search (Fumiyoshi Shimohara) - Yakuza 0 0:41:38 - Cursor Movement - Final Fantasy VII
While RPGs have no shortage of high-energy moments requiring intense strategizing, quick reflexes, or simply a box of tissues for the more emotional moments, it's important to have downtime between those to balance everything out. This episode is about "safe spaces" in RPGs, and our panelists did not always choose the kinds of song we expected of one another. We enjoyed hearing the various ways each of us wanted to represent safe spaces through a variety of musical means, and we'd love to hear your favorite music in this vein as well!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Audra Bowling, Gio Castillo, Tin Manuel; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist 0:06:31 - Maiden in Black (Shunsuke Kida) - Demon’s Souls 0:10:51 - Yohan Romantic (Spencer Bambrick) - Eternights 0:26:48 - By the Campfire (Norikazu Miura) - Suikoden Tactics 0:28:23 - Our Terms (Takafumi Imamura) - Final Fantasy XVI 0:49:20 - Brink of Time (Yasunori Mitsuda) - Chrono Trigger 0:51:44 - New Serena (Yuichi Kanatani) - Yakuza 4 1:23:30 - Song of the Ancients / Hollow Dreams (Keiichi Okabe, arr. Keigo Hoashi) - NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139... 1:26:57 - Stand By Me (Ben E. King, perf. by Florence and the Machine) - Final Fantasy XV 2:00:30 - Audra's Bonus Track!
Previously on Rhythm Encounter, we have talked about some important first impressions, namely some of our favorite intro themes, and even title screen music. But what happens next is just as important: the opening hours of an RPG can really set the stage for what's to come. When thinking about our favorite games, it's fun to think back to how they began, and how well the mood and world is established through the narrative, characters, and of course, the music. Today we're sharing some of our favorite early game tunes that were instrumental (sorry not sorry) in getting us into some great games.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Michael Sollosi, Patrick Gann, Wes Iliff; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist 0:06:23 - Reminiscence (Miki Higashino) - Suikoden II 0:08:11 - Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World (Yasunori Mitsuda) - Chrono Cross 0:31:30 - City of Bells (Ken Nakagawa) - Atelier Iris ~Eternal Mana~ 0:33:32 - Caravan Crossroad (Kumi Tanioka) - Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles 0:57:24 - Autumn’s Rise (Deniz Akbulut) - CrossCode 1:00:14 - Garland Office (Yoshitaka Hirota) - Shadow Hearts: From the New World 1:16:50 - Unary Game (Shinji Hosoe) - 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors 1:19:04 - Pledge of Demon (Hidenori Shoji) - Yakuza 0 1:51:57 - Sollosi's Bonus Track!
Do we at RPGFan like Final Fantasy VII? Off course! That's why we're ready for…a reunion of tracks from across the expansive (and still growing) FFVII universe. The timing here is intentional to celebrate the fantastic music associated with FFVII as we all get ready to enjoy Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Join our panel of savvy veterans and one newcomer SOLDIER: First Class news editor as we celebrate our favorite music from this (sub-)series in all its iterations and, of course, fight against Shinra. We hope these tracks will get you ready to battle on!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Audra Bowling, Kyle Cantelon; Edited by Jono Logan
Tracklist 0:07:40 - Those Who Fight (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Shiro Hamaguchi) - Piano Collections Final Fantasy VII 0:11:33 - Judgement Funkadelic (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Sean Schafianski) - MATERIA: Final Fantasy VII Remixed 0:31:49 - Crazy Motorcycle (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VII 0:35:23 - Dear to the Heart (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VII 0:54:29 - Why (Yoshihiko Nishio & Ayaka) - Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII 0:58:52 - AVALANCHE (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Mega Ran) - Black Materia 1:24:56 - Bombing Mission - Infiltration (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VII Remake OST Plus 1:31:43 - Advent: One-Winged Angel (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children 2:04:01 - Mike's Bonus Track!
It's finally time to celebrate the music of the (last) year! As you know by now, a great deal of incredible games released in 2023, and with them, many notable soundtracks. Our panel today brought some of their favorite songs of 2023, featuring music from some Square Enix heavy hitters to some lovely indie titles and others in between.
As usual for Music of the Year, this episode is longer than usual, as each of us picked one more song than usual, giving us a total of 12, plus two special bonus tracks from Rhythm Encounter's co-founders. It still isn't enough to cover it all, but we packed in as much musical greatness as possible! What are some of your favorite songs and soundtracks from 2023?
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Michael Sollosi, Patrick Gann; Edited by Jono Logan
Pat's Picks 0:05:05 - Toto’haha (Yasunori Nishiki) - Octopath Traveler II 0:08:38 - The Apotheosis (Brandon Boone) - Slay the Princess 0:11:21 - Celestial (Toby Fox Remix) (comp Ed Sheeran, arr Toby Fox) - Pokémon Scarlet & Violet - The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC
Mike Salbato's Picks 0:38:00 - Dedicated to Moonlight (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker 0:43:44 - World Map (Reo Uratani) - Meg's Monster 0:45:53 - Colgera Battle (Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi, Tsukasa Usui) - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Bonus Track 1: Stephen Meyerink 1:11:33 - Normal Battle I (Yasunori Nishiki) - Octopath Traveler II
Michael Sollosi's Picks 1:17:30 - Preserved Realm (D’Anthoni Wooten) - Dave the Diver 1:20:56 - Ascension (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XVI 1:25:04 - Mr. Top Player (Shigeyuki Kameda) - Street Fighter 6
Hilary's Picks 1:48:14 - The Way I See (Andrew Jeremy) - Coffee Talk Episode 2 - Hibiscus and Butterfly 1:54:46 - Down by the River (Borislav Slavov) - Baldur’s Gate III 1:57:05 - Lux Tizer (Norihiko Yamanuki) - The 7th Saga Soundtrack Composer’s Edition
Bonus Track 2: Derek Heemsbergen 2:33:17 - Main Theme (Tsutomu Narita?) - Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising
We're kicking off the new year on Rhythm Encounter with a brand-new kind of episode: Building a soundtrack from pieces of other games. We distilled our imaginary RPG down to eight core musical moments — title, overworld, town, dungeon, battle, emotional, final boss, and ending, to be specific — and pulled a song for each from eight different RPGs. While we were all prepared to justify how eight disparate tracks made sense together, the resulting "soundtrack" was more cohesive than we expected!
We hope you like this musical experiment, because we already have plans for a future sequel. Stay tuned!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Gio Castillo, Lucas Greene; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist 0:07:45 - Title Theme: Breath of Fire IV ~Opening Animation~ (Taro Iwashiro) - Breath of Fire IV 0:09:13 - Map/Overworld Theme: Quatera Woods (Yukihiro Jindo) - Falcom Field Zanmai (originally Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim) 0:31:51 - Town Theme: Hateno Village (Yasuaki Iwata) - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 0:37:35 - Dungeon Theme: Pyramid (Yuzo Koshiro) - Actraiser Symphonic Suite 0:58:34 - Battle Theme: Battle 1 (Yasunori Shiono) - Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals 1:01:32 - Sad/Emotional Theme: The Sandy Beach of Gumbo (Noriyuki Iwadare) - Grandia 1:25:52 - Final Boss Theme: On Blade’s Edge (Masayoshi Soken) - Endwalker: Final Fantasy XIV 1:30:11 - Ending Theme: Journey’s End (Rich Douglas ft. Jillian Aversa) - Shadowgate (2014)
To celebrate the new year, we put together a special episode before we return to our regularly scheduled topics, with a short episode full of music dedications. We were inspired by the idea of radio DJs who take listener calls and offer up dedications on air, so we polled the RPGFan staff, asking them for songs and written dedications to read on the episode. We both offered some of our own as well, so we hope you enjoy everyone's heartfelt messages and musical choices.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist 0:05:31 - Wind Crest ~The Three Trails~ (Takahito Eguchi & Noriko Matsueda) - Piano Collection Final Fantasy X-2 0:10:11 - Boss Battle Theme (Shigeki Sako) - Vay 0:14:56 - Prelude (Nobuo Uematsu, cover by Patti Rudisill & Paula Bressman) - Final Fantasy series 0:23:32 - A Sailor Never Sleeps (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn 0:31:20 - My Mind (Nobuo Uematsu, cover by Sebastien Skaf) - Final Fantasy VIII 0:36:17 - New Days (Shoji Meguro) - Persona 4 0:39:59 - Land of Radiant Flowers (Revo) - Bravely Default 0:47:17 - Zelda Heineken (Main Theme) (Koji Kondo, arr. & perf. by Mattias Holmgren) - The Legend of Zelda 0:52:33 - Overworld Theme (Koji Kondo) - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
In farming games, typically the slowest part of the year is winter. So why did we record our farming music episode when it's winter for many of our listeners? Hey, I don't have all the answers... unless it's about work/life balance and the best Stardew Valley partner. But I digress. Today's panel is only three people, but we still have a full slate of music to share from some of our favorite farming and sim games. Some are more RPG than others, but what they have in common are great lineups of music to set a mood for every season. Grab your watering can and your straw hat and let's go visit the farm!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Tin Manuel; Edited by Jono Logan
Tracklist Winter 0:07:38 - Quiet Winter (Dai Nakajima) - Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life 0:10:55 - Winter (Nocturne of Ice) (ConcernedApe, arr. Matthew Bridgham, perf. Augustine Mayuga Gonzales) - Stardew Valley Piano Collections
Spring 0:30:56 - Spring (Town) (Manual of Errors) - Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland 0:33:46 - Bird’s Eye Brae (Day) (Go Shiina) - Harvestella
Summer 1:00:35 - Summer Day 4 (Yugo Pratomo) - Coral Island 1:03:57 - New Life in the Desert (Claude Ruelle) - My Time at Sandrock
It's time for another composer spotlight on Rhythm Encounter, and this time we're celebrating the works of Hiroki Kikuta. Many RPG fans know his work on the Mana series — particularly Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana — but there's much more to Kikuta than many people know.
From a PSone game that never left Japan to his contributions to many indie games today, today's episode digs into the many hats Hiroki Kikuta has worn over the years. We hope you discover new facets to his work as some of us did on this episode!
If you want more composer episodes when you are done, check out episodes 108 and 61, where we spotlighted Hitoshi Sakimoto and Yoko Shimomura, respectively.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Patrick Gann, Greg Delmage; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist Fiji Block 0:08:13 - Where Angel Fear to Tread (Hiroki Kikuta, arr. Sachiko Miyano) - Trials of Mana (2020) 0:10:54 - Into the Thick of It (GENTLE LOVE) - Prescription for Sleep: Lullabies of Mana
We're knee-deep in fall leaves in some parts of the world, though much like our spring themes episode earlier this year, what autumn (or fall) means to each of our panelists varies. Some of us chose songs based on cozy evenings with a hot drink, and some of us used our imaginations since not everyone lives in parts of the world with the typical four seasons. So enjoy eight different musical approaches to autumn, and let us know which of these sound like autumn in your part of the world!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Audra Bowling, Gio Castillo, Jimmy Turner; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist 0:08:35 - 日常 (Everyday) (Ayako Minami, Makoto Asai) - DAEDALUS: The Awakening of Golden Jazz 0:14:10 - Fall (The Smell of Mushroom) (ConcernedApe, arr. by GENTLE LOVE) - Prescription for Sleep: Stardew Valley 0:31:32 - Old Familiar Scent of Iselia (Motoi Sakuraba) - Tales of Symphonia 0:34:18 - Thank You (Jason Chen) - Autumn’s Journey 0:45:30 - Mages In Their Chantry (Inon Zur) - Dragon Age: Origins 0:47:13 - Works and Ways Unseen (Ryan Ike) - Shadows Over Loathing 1:00:11 - Branch-Colored Past (Time) ~First Chapter - One Hundred Years Ago~ (SOLIDTUNE [Seiichi Takamoto]) - Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century 1:02:55 - National Park (Go Ichinose) - Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver 1:18:02 - Audra's (and Jimmy's) Bonus Track!
We all know those big moments in RPGs. A place, a scene, or a pivotal battle that really makes the game and solidifies it in your memory. The scoring in those moments isn't always what makes it work, but it often plays a crucial role. In many cases, the music really does make the moment, if not the game. Today we are talking about songs that carry that burden of really defining the RPG they're in, making the whole experience better by just being there.
We've been wanting to do this topic for over four years, and there's certainly more music that fits the bill than we had time for, but we are thrilled to talk about these eight songs. Be sure to get in touch with us and let us know some of your game-defining music!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Zach Wilkerson, Wes Iliff, Stephanie Sybydlo; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist 0:05:54 - Transcending Love (HIMEKAMI) - Suikoden III 0:08:59 - Dynamis (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker 0:26:56 - Theme of Grandia (Noriyuki Iwadare) - Grandia 0:31:32 - Arc the Lad Theme (Masahiro Andoh) - Arc the Lad 0:48:09 - Star Ocean Forever - Jazz Ver. (Motoi Sakuraba) - Star Ocean: Till The End of Time 0:55:15 - Battle 3 (Yasunori Shiono) - Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals 1:14:33 - Weight of the World / The End of YoRHa (Keichii Okabe) - NieR: Automata 1:20:02 - Carrying the Weight of Life (Kenji Hiramatsu & Yasunori Mitsuda) - Xenoblade Chronicles 3 1:49:26 - Wes' bonus track!
From 2001 to 2005, the Game Boy Advance was Nintendo’s golden son. The Game Boy Advance brought gameplay depth and audio quality yet-unseen in a handheld gaming device, and gave us dozens of superb RPGs to enjoy over its run of success. Today, we celebrate the indigo blue machine with nine fabulous songs from a few of the GBA’s finest RPGs.
Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Greg Delmage, Patrick Gann, Peter Triezenberg; Edited by Jono Logan
Tracklist Part 1 - When something’s going wrong, you must shrink it. 0:15:43 - Awake (Sotaro Tojima) - Castlevania: Circle of the Moon 0:18:04 - Minish Woods (Mitsuhiko Takano) - The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Part 2 - I’m starting with the Mana in the mirror 0:37:37 - Mana Shrine / Mana Sanctuary (Kenji Ito) - Sword of Mana 0:39:45 - Within the Stars (The Elemental Stars) (Motoi Sakuraba, arr. Sam Dillard) - Golden Sun
Part 3 - Get in the tank, loser. We’re getting coffee. 1:01:59 - Boss Battle (Yoko Shimomura) - Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga 1:03:51 - Jess’s Theme (Yoshito Hirano) - Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising
Part 4 - And I’ve seen the promised Landorus-Therian. 1:27:11 - Heaven’s Gate of Darkness / Dark Gate (Minako Adachi) - Riviera: The Promised Land 1:29:07 - Elite Four (Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose and Morikazu Aoki) - Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire 1:53:50 - Patrick's Bonus Track!
"All this energy's got us inspired now/We couldn't stop it, just set it free and DANCE!"
That's right! Today we're taking some advice from Persona 4: Dancing All Night and getting our dance on. Spin-off dancing games aside, danceable and electronic beats have permeated RPG soundtracks for a long time, whether that's special arrangement albums or soundtracks incorporating a more modern sound to high praise. We have a good representation of that trend in our setlist today, so join our panel of makeshift DJs as we attempt to bring the house down and spread some of that infectious energy. Maybe we'll even discuss headphone protagonists and their musical powers.
Note: In the episode, we initially mentioned "Obsession" as appearing in .hack//INFECTION, but the song was composed for the .hack//SIGN anime before also appearing in the .hack//Link game.
Featuring: Hilary Andreff, Audra Bowling, Mario Garcia, Steph Sybydlo; Edited by Jono Logan & Mike Salbato
Tracklist 0:09:14 - ASGORE (Toby Fox arr. Rob Gasser) - Undertale: Straight from the Underground 0:13:04 - A Way of Life (ATLUS Kitajoh Remix) (Atsushi Kitajoh, Shoji Meguro, Ryota Kozuka) - Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight 0:32:40 - Satisfy (Takeharu Ishimoto) - The World Ends With You 0:36:35 - Pulse: Thunder Rolls (Masayoshi Soken, remixed by Daiki Ishikawa) - Pulse: Final Fantasy XIV Remix Album 0:59:17 - TIGAR - Otto (Hayato Asano) - Blue Reflection 1:03:26 - Staggered Injection (Ekstrak) - Mass Effect 3 1:25:07 - A New Hope (Masashi Hamauzu) - Musashi Samurai Legend 1:27:43 - Obsession (Yuki Kajiura) - .hack//SIGN 1:56:32 - Hilary's Bonus Track!