Retronauts - 482: Retronauts Episode 482: Retronauts Radio Summer 2022

Episode Date: September 19, 2022

Jeremy Parish spins up the ol' turntable and activates Public Radio DJ mode to look at some of the best new old game music releases for 2022, including Metal Gear, Mega Man, Scott Pilgrim, Bomberman, Breath of Fire, Darius… and even some non-game tunes. Cover art by Amanda Pruitt. Retronauts is made possible by listener support through Patreon! Support the show to enjoy ad-free early access, better audio quality, and great exclusive content. Learn more at http://www.patreon.com/retronauts

You're listening to Retronauts a part of the HyperX Podcast Network. Find us and more great shows like us at podcast.hyperx.com. This week in Retronauts, prepare to be prosecuted to the full extent of the jam. Hi, everyone. Welcome to Retronauts. I am Jeremy Parrish, and I'm it for this week. It's just me and music. That's right. This is a Retronauts radio episode, the first in more than a year. There's a reason for that. That reason is that the pandemic and supply chain constraints have really done a number on the music industry and on the distribution and production of vinyl. It hasn't been too big a problem for major labels like Warner or Atlantic or whatever. Is Atlantic still around? I don't know. Anyway, you know, the big companies have been okay because they have such volume that they command, you know, the attention and production of vinyl. They have priority. Whereas the smaller labels,

which are the ones that actually publish video game music. Not so much. So it's been a quiet year, or it was, but this year has actually been pretty loud. There have been a lot of vinyl releases this year for video game soundtracks. And we're going to talk about some of the first ones to come in. There's actually, there have been so many releases this year that I'm going to need to put together another episode in a few months

just to kind of catch up. So please look forward. forward to it. Magnetka! Sun-A-Mash is mack-o'-havenna Ha-oh-o-Magnet

T'was-a-e-o'-ha-i-to-beck-h-h-h-h-ha-magnet-sie. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-mach-h-h-h-h-mach-h-h-h-h-h-mach-si-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-mach-si-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-mach-si-h-h-h-si-----milil. Retronauts Radio, as you may know if you've heard these before, is just basically me talking about some of the music that has come out about old video games lately. Mostly on vinyl, just because that seems to be where the collector's market is and where the greatest effort is being expended in terms of, issuing music in physical media.

So if you're not into vinyl, well, actually, don't despair because I do have something to talk about that's not just vinyl. But for the most part, that's just kind of the nature of the games music industry right now. And the reissues for retro soundtracks, classic game soundtracks. And companies are stretching out a bit into cassette tapes and also doing some digital distro. And of course, CDs continue to come out, but the CD is a waning facet of the music market. I believe last year, it was the first year since like sometime the late 80s, early 90s, that vinyl actually outsold CDs worldwide. So you know, I'm just going where the wind is blowing. But in any case, this being a Retronauts radio episode, obviously the emphasis is on

music. And if you're listening to this on the public feed, I would like to encourage you to subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com slash retronauts and subscribe for at least $3 a month. You will be able to download this episode at a higher bit rate quality. So you won't have to listen to as much compression in the music, which is kind of the point of this episode. And therefore, it would behoove you to join our Patreon. I promise it's worthwhile. It's a good deed, and you'll feel good about yourself. And you'll listen to some music in good quality. I'm going to be able to be.

So this episode, we're actually going to, I've broken it up by publisher, and we're going to, I've broken it up by publisher, and we're going to start with data disks, which is one of the first companies, along with ship to shore, to really commit whole. heartedly to publishing retro game soundtracks classic game music on vinyl. Datadisks went kind of quiet last year, and it actually seemed, I was kind of worried that they were going out of business, that, you know, the pandemic had kind of run wild over them, and they just couldn't bounce back. But no, they've actually released several CDs, or sorry, several records this year, and we're going to look at the best of these so far. But first, we're also going to, I want to talk about a little bit about their, um, a new facet of their business, which, uh, you know, should come in as good news to anyone who does not like

listening to vinyl, does not want to buy physical media, does not want to own objects, but rather bits of data. Datadiscs has opened a bandcamp page at datadiscs.combe.com, where they are selling digital versions of some of their albums. It's not all of their albums. They've got like 25, 26 albums out of this point. Mostly Sega music. They've only have eight albums available for digital download at the moment. Half of those are soundtracks by Yuzokoshiro, which given the emphasis on Sega releases should not come as a surprise. But I'm actually going to talk about the first few that they published. digitally, which are not

Kosciro compositions, but are equally valid and among some of the greatest soundtracks ever made, they are super hang on, outrun, and I guess space here here. Space here is not that big a deal in terms of music, but the other two, they were some great game soundtracks. They really changed the industry, especially Outrun. And those are available now digitally,

so if you don't want to listen to music with the pop and snap of vinyl. Well, good news. You've got digital format. I'm going to be able to be. But I think it's fitting that they would shift into the digital business with Outrun, because I really feel like Outrun, was the first game soundtrack where you really felt like video game music was

legitimate music, honestly. There were some great game soundtracks before Outrun, but the thing that catches me, that really catches my attention about Outrun, is looking at it in the context of its era, 1986. It feels like the first time a composer had sat down and said, you know, I need to

bring the essence of what YMO captured from video games back into video games. You know, the band Yellow Magic Orchestra took very early game soundtracks or even just game sounds and turned them into music, like proper craftwork type synthesizer, rock, pop type compositions, mostly instrumental with some sampling and voice sounds, but they were extremely influential. I mean, I feel like anyone who was composing game music in Japan in the 80s, especially the latter 80s, you know, their influence just couldn't be escaped.

And I feel Outrun is the first one that really channeled that into a video game soundtrack. And on that note, magical sound shower might be the first truly great piece of video game music. It's a piece that transcends the medium and doesn't just have to exist as game music, but at the same time, it complements the game perfectly. Now, again, there had been plenty of great music for video. video games before magical sound shower. I mean, you know, I mentioned Yuzo Koshiro, and he was doing amazing stuff. Lots of, lots of people had access to, you know, advanced sound capabilities with systems like the Commodore 64 and the PC 98. But magical sound shower feels like a real work

of music. It's performed with, you know, FM synthesis instead of like a live band, but it has the feel of live music. And I think, you know, it works with the nature of the game to kind of draw out something that hadn't existed in game music before that. For one thing, rather than consisting of a 90-second loop that just repeats infinitely, magical sound shower and the other tracks in Outrun's arcade soundtrack stretch out for a full six minutes. They start out sounding like they're going to loop after 90 seconds. But with magical sound shower, midway through the second loop, it segways into a bridge that just explodes into a steel drum jam. You're going to be

I'm going to be. I'm going to I'm going to I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm

I'm I'm so you know You know, I'm going to be able to You know, and I'm going

to You know, I mean, this sounds like, you know, the live breakdown from a Calypso concert where there's a guy in a Hawaiian shirt and a big beard just improvising the hell out of, out of this jam. And you can almost imagine, you know, like low, low resolution VHS tapes cutting, you know, between the band members. And they're all just kind of like standing there, shaking their head. maybe like shaking, you know, Morocco's or something while the guy on steel drums just goes for it. And, and that kind of, you know, meticulously programmed and composed, but convincingly organic music just had not been a part of video games before this. And it's something, you know,

I always point to with Supercastlevina 4 is that someone, you know, the composers took the time to really sit down and meticulously construct a fake improvisational jazz piece. And this is the precedent for that. This is where that began. The first game to really do that. It's an impressive concept. It took some real imagination to kind of push video game music into that direction. And the credit goes for that to Hiroshi Hiro Kawaguchi, a great composer with Sega,

who I believe is still there and still mentoring younger composers and is kind of the driving force between behind the fact that Sega had a lineup of arcade and console game soundtracks that merit being released on vinyl 40 or 30 years later. I'm not going to be able to be. I'm going to be. I'm going to be. I'm going to be able to be.

The other thing that makes Outruns soundtrack great is the radio. Outrun's music is presented in a diagetic form. The idea is that as you're playing the game, you're listening to these tunes on the stereo of the car that you drive while you streak down the highway. There are three tracks you can select from, and all three of them are great. I've already talked a lot about magical sound shower, but passing breeze also deserves mention it's more chill, though it also has a jam session. The Outrun Vinyl also includes latter-day editions to the Canon.

There's a Genesis track, which I don't like quite as much, It doesn't have the richness of the arcade tunes just because of the step down and the Genesis sound chips quality from what Sega was putting into arcades. But from the latter-day era, you have two wonderfully authentic tracks created for the, I believe,

Sega Ages 3DS port of the game. First is Cruzenline, which is like magical sound shower, a very Mediterranean-type piece that feels very, very much of a piece. with magical sound shower. And now a word from our sponsor, BetterHelp. Have you ever found yourself stuck against an RPG super boss that you just can't beat?

No matter how many times you return to that fight? At some point, it breaks out some kind of special attack that your party just can't counter, and within a turn or two, you're out of the fight again. When that happens, the only thing you can do is go back to your save file, rethink your team build, grind up some new skills or resistances. Sometimes life feels the same way, except that instead of fighting a super boss, you're trying to overcome a challenge with real world stakes, a difficult relationship, work-related stress, or depression.

You can't revert to an old save file in life, but you can still change tactics. And sometimes, you need someone else's perspective to help bring the clarity that you need to change tracks and overcome that seemingly unbeatable challenge. Maybe that helps going to come from a friend, but maybe it'll be a therapist. I've seen firsthand the profound difference that a compassionate, thoughtful therapist can bring to a troubled life. A great therapist won't solve your problems on their own, but they can equip you with the mental and emotional tools you need to work through them. It's a process, and that's why finding the right therapist is so important.

And finding that person can be an intimidating process. Better help wants to make it easy for you. All you need is an internet connection and BetterHelp's simple survey, and they'll get to work right away putting you in touch with a therapist who meet your needs, whether that's through video conferencing, voice-only communication, or simple text messaging. BetterHelp can fit your schedule, your needs, and your budget. So when you want to be a better problem solver, therapy can get you there. Visit betterhelp.com slash retro gaming today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterH-E-L-P dot com slash Retro Gaming.

And there's also Camino Amiens, which is a sort of disco-inflected, kind of minor piece-type key, but it has a great, great baseline. I'm going to be able to be. Thank you. Both of these are totally awesome. If you had just, you know, put them in the original outrun back in 1986, no one would have blinked and said, oh, these don't belong here. It's a really great work of faux history reconstruction, I guess you would call it.

And it's also worth mentioning the super hang-on soundtrack. Hang-on, the original Hang-on, was a huge deal for Sega, just kind of their arcade breakthrough. The introduction of super-scaler technology. It came out in Japan in an optional ride-on cabinet that looked like a bright red motorcycle. It was fast-paced. It showed up on all their consoles. But I have to admit, the music was not that great. The Master System port didn't even bother to include the soundtrack.

Super Hangout came out a year later, and basically, you know, they took the outrun approach of, using diagetic music, giving you multiple tracks you can select, and came up with something that's a little more appropriate to a more intense, fast-paced racing game. You're on a motorcycle. Everything just feels more dangerous, higher intensity, higher speed, higher pitch. Thank you. You know, Outrun is sort of a calming, you know, it's challenging, but it's a calming But it's a calming drive down the coast, you know, with with a cute girl sitting next to you in a nice sports car. Whereas Super Hang on, there's none of that.

There's no sports car. There's no cute passenger, there's no coast. It's just you blazing down the highway as fast as possible on a motorcycle, about to take a tumble and explode at the, you know, given a wrong turn. And the soundtrack, you know, really sells that. For my money, the best track is the default track outright a crisis. Thank you. Thank you. But any one of the tracks on Super Hang on Soundtrack are worth listening to.

And again, like Outrun, it's just, you know, it's a masterpiece of music. It has the same sort of improvisational tone, the fake improvisation, the extended tracks that last through the entire duration of a race. it's the kind of music that motivated you not just to play the game, but to play the game well so you could hear everything. Now, of course, Datadiscs hasn't given up on vinyl, and they've had a few releases this year. said, the best of them so far has been Shadow Dancer, The Secret of Shinobi, which was composed by Keske Tsukohara. It's a very different style of album from previous Shinobi games. It has a faster, more driving rock influence. It's less obviously a soundtrack about ninja action.

I mean, you wouldn't really listen to it and say, ah, yes, this is, this is about a ninja and his dog. It feels more, you know, dystopian science fiction. There's a lot of synthesizing synthesizers and guitars, electric guitars. It just feels very much that kind of late 80s, early 90s, Japanese rock influence. The game kind of set you up for what you can't be able to be. The game kind of set you up for what you can expect sonically with the first two tracks of the action stages. The first is an expansive synthesizer tune that rather than having a bridge, it just kind of tightens up and becomes more driving for a, you know, kind of a brief passage, and then it

loosens up again in loops. Whereas Burning Downtown 2 is almost discordant. It has these overlapping interweaving organ roofs and almost sounds a little bit out of tune. Maybe that's just the, you know, the magic of the Sega Genesis sound chip, but I feel like it was deliberate and, you know, meant to be kind of a little chaotic and a little unsettling. For my money, though, the standout track on Secret of Shinobi Shadow Dancer is the Statue of Liberty Stage track. It's a standout tune just encompasses everything great about the album. about the soundtrack, and surprisingly, you know, usually they put the best in the first stage to just kind of pull you in, but they actually held out. This is midway through the game.

So kudos to the arrangers and the producers for holding onto this one and giving you this kind of anamped-up boost, a shot in the arm, midway through the game. I'm going to be. I'm sorry. I'm not. I'm going to I'm going to I'm going to

I'm going to I'm. I'm going to you. Thank you. I'm going to be. I'm sorry. Thank you.

Thank you. So that's Datadisks. Now we're moving on to Mondo. Where DataDiscs has gone all in with Sega, Mondo has really, really doubled down on Konami releases, and has released a bunch of, you know, the mainstream Konami releases, not the really weird stuff that shipped ashore likes,

but, you know, mainstream stuff like Contra, Castlevania, Silent Hill, and of course, Metal Gear. And they've actually continued their Metal Gear series this year with two releases that came out exactly the same time, actually. And both of them are sequels to Metal Gear. First, there's the American NES sequel to Metal Gear, Snake's Revenge. It is an NES game.

It followed on the heels of the very successful, very popular American release of Metal Gear, and Konami said, hey, these Americans really, really like this game. Let's give them a sequel. And this sounds exactly like you would explain. expect. It's peak Konami NES with great sample drums. I mean, just like the licks at the end of the introductory track, amazing. So good. Snakes Revenge definitely calls back to classic Metal Gear tracks. The jungle-based theme feels like an amped up version of music from Metal Gear one. But notably, it feels like an amped up version of the jungle infiltration tune that was added

to the NES version and did not exist in the MSX game. Just about all of the NES music in Metal Gear was created specifically for that game and did not appear in the MSX game. So it makes sense that this soundtrack would tie back to the original Metal Gear and the elements that were added to that game. You know, Snake's Revenge Stakes Revenge does bring new sounds and a new kind of approach to music to the Metal Gear series, you can hear it in the track Underground Corridor,

which accompanies the new format of game that was added to Snake's Revenge, which is a side-scrolling kind of action. There's stealth, but it's definitely not the classic Metal Gear style. It's not top-down. There is a lot more action to it. And Underground Corridor, as well as the arms cargo transit theme. Both of those just sound like classic Konami action platformer music. And also worth noting is the Metal Gear Fortress theme, which builds up to the final conflicts. I don't really love the battle themes, the, you know, the boss, you know, the boss themes in this game. They're a little too repetitive, a little too strident, but the sneaking themes, the action stage themes, top class stuff, arguably a little too good for the game.

We're going to be able to be. But for the Metal Gear purists out there, whose view of Metal Gear aligns with the original vision of Hideo-Kogima, there's also the Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake soundtrack. This, of course, was the soundtrack to an MSX game, or MSX2, that came well after Snake's Revenge. Basically, Snake's Revenge kickstarted this game. It bootstrapped it.

because Kojima heard that, oh, yeah, Konami, we're making a sequel to your game just for America on NES. And he used that as kind of the jumping in point to create a proper sequel for MSX. And it's a great game. Arguably, I mean, the soundtrack is two LPs, which is a lot for an 8-bit game. But Metal Gear 2 was really sophisticated. And if you go back and play it, graphics aside, it really feels like a next-generation game, like a 16-bit game. And in fact, Metal Gear Solid for PlayStation is basically a 3D remake of Metal Gear 2.

I mean, not story-wise, but the gameplay, the mechanics, like all of those come forward from Metal Gear 2. And the soundtrack is equally sophisticated. It carries forward a lot of the general feel of the MSX Metal Gear 1 soundtrack, but in a different way. it has a very spacey electronic sound. I think really the early track Zanzibar Breeze, which has these ascending sweeps and kind of over a grinding baseline

really defines the album sound. Thank you. I mean, the whole thing I mean, the whole thing sounds undeniably Konami. And in a way, I would almost call this the hidden soundtrack sequel to Castlevania 3. Listen to the tracks, Return to Dust, the Frontline, or Killers. These sound basically a lot like the Famicom version of Castlevania 3, the soundtrack with the amped up audio chip.

Thank you. Because there's a lot of sneaking in this game, a lot of story, it really draws on some of the slower, more atmospheric tracks from Castlevania 3. But there's just something about, I don't know, the phrasing, the chords that are used, some of the sounds, just the way things are arranged. It really, really calls to mind Castlevania 3. This record really captures a lot of the sort of unique musical pieces. I don't know that necessarily I want to listen to some of the tracks that accompany the story scenes and events.

They feel a little bit like throwaways. But there are some really great musical themes for different alert states when soldiers are hunting for you. Thank you. And also even as a background music for the transceiver screen. Thank you. Hello, listeners, Hello, listeners, as part of the HyperX podcast network, we're letting you know that this year is HyperX's

20th birthday. To celebrate, they're offering some great deals on their award-winning gaming gear. If you're in the market for a new headset, a new microphone, blue light-blocking eyewear, or any number of other high-quality HyperX products, head on over to hyperx20.com to check out all the birthday deals. Once again, check out the HyperX-20th birthday sale over at HyperX.com. I'm Colette. I'm at. It's time to talk about the most important topic facing humanity.

Video games. Oh, okay, video games. Every week on Colette and Matt have entered the chat. We have in-depth conversations about the games we are currently playing. We also talk to people who make video games as well as YouTubers, writers, and podcasters that you already know and love. We also talk about what you're playing when you join our community. Subscribe to Colette and Matt have entered the chat wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Thank you.

...their... ...it... ...the... ...as... ...the... ...you... Moving on to something that hits a little closer to home from limited run games, the Scott Pilgrim versus the world, the game soundtrack by Anamonagou,

has finally been making its way into the world. This has been a laborious process. It's been going out in waves. There's been a lot of explanation about why that is online. I'm not getting into that. But, you know, within a very short time, I think, most everyone who ordered that album should have it in hand. And it's worth waiting for because it's a great piece of music.

And I'm not saying that just because Anamonoguchi wrote the Retronaut's opening theme. Scott Pilgrim versus the world is the typical Anamonaguchi style, which is to say it combines chip tune sounds, which I believe are sequenced in advance, but then that's accompanied by a four-man band playing three overdriven guitars and live drums. It's chip tunes, but deluxe. The Scott Pilgrim versus the World soundtrack in particular draws a lot of stylistic inspiration from Mega Man 2. I'm not saying it's an homage or a sound alike in any way to Mega Man 2. It just has this certain indefinable something. Like the way the opening track fades out on an echo reminiscent of the end of the credits theme from Mega Man 2. Or the way that the opening stage track, another winter, almost seems to quote Airman's stage and Woodman's theme.

Thank you. Thank you. The album never goes all in on Mega Man references or amages. It just flirts with references, enough to drive them home to get the point across without feeling like another video game homage. It puts you in the game's intended headspace, but at the same time, the soundscape has freedom to strike out in its own direction. and not just be tied to this particular vintage NES sound.

I mean, for one thing, it leans really heavily into the feel of European demo scene music. It has those trademark pulsing synth hits that you hear, especially in the Asian market, Asian restaurant stages, makia and sushi box. Oh, and so. And then you have the shop theme, cheap shop, which is great. It combines those European Pulse themes and Mega Man style NES sound elements with almost like a Spanish ballad. It's a whole lot of disparate influences that you would never necessarily think to combine, but it works. And it's a just like you just want to hang out in the shops to enjoy the music.

I'm going to be able to be. Also worth noting is that the limited run release includes, in addition to the 12-inch main soundtrack reissue, a 10-inch bonus disc with additional new music, which admittedly are more like transitional or interstitial linking pieces, not necessarily something you want to just like put on and groove to and enjoy in their own. But, you know, as a completest thing, it's nice to have. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fact that most, if not all of Anamonoguchi's back catalog was reissued somewhat recently on vinyl through polyvinyl records. And all of it seems to be in stock at the moment available for sale. So literally, there's much, much more of this music where it came from, and I can't recommend it enough.

And again, I'm not just saying that because they wrote our cool intro theme. Thank you. Thank you. We're going to be able to be. So just to get the disclosures out of the way, we're jumping ahead to Ship to Shore Phono Company, another publisher that I'm biased toward. They don't employ me like Limited Run Games does, but I do a lot of freelance work for them writing liner notes. And in fact, the first two notable releases for this year from Ship to Shore are the Mega Man Legends

one and two soundtracks, both of which I contributed liner notes for. Because if someone comes to me and says, hey, I need you to do a thing that involves the Mega Man Legends games, I'm obviously going to say, yes, absolutely. I feel like Mega Man Legends in particular has a highly underrated soundtrack, just underappreciated. You know, it's different. Like the game itself, it's different from classic Mega Man. And I think it's not necessarily the sort of thing that Mega Man fans go in for with their soundtracks. But taken on its own, it's a really excellent. It's an excellent release, and it's great to have it on vinyl.

Now, even though it's two LPs, it still is not a comprehensive release. It omits the vocal tracks from the game, which were different in the American and the Japanese versions of the game, and also drops quite a few incidental tracks, despite its length. But otherwise, it sounds great. One thing worth mentioning is that both the game world and visuals and story, draw a lot from Studio Ghibli's Laputa, Castle in the Sky. And the music does too. It has some tracks that sound very similar to Joe Hisashi's work.

At the same time, it's also extremely mid-90s in its arrangements and style. We're going to be able to be. It's instrumentation, especially. It has a ton of, like, synth stings that just pop, you know, strike out all of a sudden, you know, that owner of a lonely heart type of thing. So it's a bit dated, but, you know, it's an old video game. Look at the graphics. They're a bit dated, too.

It's all part of the charm. Soundtrack consists of a combination of ambient tracks and battle themes, and they all share a common production style. Of all the tracks, I think the most important is probably the Apple Market, which also appears in a different arrangement as The Flutter. I'm going to be I'm going to I'm I'm

I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm I'm

I'm It's a track you hear a lot throughout this game, but even more in the sequel. And on the same note, you also have, We Are the Three Brothers Bon, which is the sort of Bonn family theme. That shows up repeatedly in different forms throughout this album, and on Mega Man Legend 2's soundtrack as well. The battle themes are some of the standouts here. The battle themes are some of the standouts here. And they basically come in two forms. You have the Bond battle themes, which are often sort of fast-paced rock and roll with synthesizers and often reference or just, you know, rearrange, we are the three Bond brothers.

Then you have the Reaverbot themes, the battle themes with the ancient robots lurking underground that, basically are taken straight from Laputa. They tend to be epic, slower in pace, more, not quite orchestral, but just grander. The kind of defining piece for this is Garudoratan, which accompanies the battle against the sleeping Reberbot underwater, which absolutely looks like one of the sentinel robots from Castle in the Sky. We're going to be able to be. that that grandiosity that surrounds the Riverbots hits its peak with the final battle theme, which is literally just a Bach organ feud.

The use of reprised themes throughout Mega Man Legends creates a sense of familiarity that ties in with the story. It really works to great effect with sort of evolutionary suites, like the running battle themes as you take down the Bond family pirate airship for the final time in a series of consecutive battles that constantly change the footing and the nature of the battle. So this evolves from Flutter versus the Gesselshaft to the Gesselshaft to Fokerva. We're going to be able to be.

Thank you. Thank you. And there's a lot of this evolution at work in the exploration themes as well. You go from sort of ambient tracks in the early exploration phases, but as the pitch and anxiety of the game, the tension rises, as you near the end and the mystery of what's inside the main gate, you have much more intense exploratory tracks like Main Gate and the evocatively named at a place nobody knows. I don't know.

Now, Mega Man Legends 2 is a stranger case because the soundtrack consists almost entirely of variance on a few themes that are carried over from the first game. I really feel like half of this 2-LP soundtrack consists of reworkings, remixes, and rearrangements of the Flutter theme from the first game. There's also plenty of We Are the Three Bond Brothers. Now this approach works great in the game, because every rearrangement fits the area,

fits the nature of what you're doing at the time. And there's also a dynamic element to the music in Mega Man Legends 2 that unfortunately wasn't able to be captured in the LP soundtrack. But having that constant flux and change, like gives you this real sense of evolution, of, you know, a sense that your journey across the world is, one, constantly evolving and changing its nature. but also, too, that it's always anchored in sort of the surrogate family that Mega Man has with his sister-ish role and his adoptive grandfather Beryl.

I find myself listening to Mega Man Legends a lot more than Legends 2, which isn't to say Legends 2 is bad. I mean, I said positive things about it in the liner notes. but it's just not quite as good and as varied and adventuresome as the original Mega Man Legends soundtrack. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Also from ship to shore, you have Breath of Fire. Now, this is probably my least favorite of this set of releases this episode, but I did want to give it a shout out because fellow retronaut Nadia Oxford wrote the liner notes for this one, and its sequel. I don't think the soundtrack to Breath of Fire. fire is bad at all, but it definitely strains of the limitations of the Super Ineus sound chip, and it probably could have used more custom samples integrated into the music. I mean, if you listen to the main theme, blood relations, it just sounds strident and flat, which is something that happened a lot with Super NES music that emphasized synthetic streams.

You know, I'm going to be able to be. I'm going to Thank you. I do think the upbeat and faster-paced themes work really well. For example, the initial overworld theme starting the journey is really fun. It has a nice martial snare drum and flute to it, so it gives you the sense that you're marching out into the world.

We're going to be able to be. I don't know. It has some pretty good battle themes, including beginning of a battle themes, including beginning of a battle. Thank you. I think that when the music breaks away from the standard supernia sound library, it makes you set up and really take notice. So like the track, deep forest. The juice of synthetic keyboard sounds you just didn't hear a lot on the system really stand out

and really underscore the unusual nature of the space. Thank you. What's that? majestically cresting the horizon as it makes its way into port. Why, it's the brand new HyperX Armada monitors, mounts, and arms. Both the HyperX Armada 25 and 27 gaming monitors come bundled with a sturdy HyperX Armada mount and arm. If you need every split second of advantage when gaming, the full HD Armada 25 and its 240 hertz refresh rate are for you. If you like to soak in the graphical majesty of your gaming, you'll be eyeing the Quad-HD Armada 27,

within a 165 perch refresh rate. Set sale for hyperX.com or Amazon.com to start making your display armada. Hey guys, Brandon, Vin. Yeah, yeah, Joe. You see this thing here? Could you tell me if it's good or good or not? Well, I'm going to need an hour. Yeah, at least.

Should I just wait over there or you want me to come? No, no, no. Talk it out with you guys? Yeah. Cool. Come on, let's go. Podward Review. We review things so you can do things every week on the HyperX podcast network.

Another from ship to shore is Darius 2, which is a great soundtrack by Zintata, as if there's any other kind of soundtrack by Zentata. I'm a huge fan of the opening track. It just, you know, opening tracks always set the stage for a game. But in this case, it just gives you this sense of excitement as it builds up and you have these voice samples speaking over it. The only downside is it always makes me hungry. Reactions on the radar.

Recognize 20.30 distance. $12,000. Third and fourth investment, and ignition. Main engine energy level, 20% increase. I always wanted a thing called tuna sashimi. Three, two, one. There are some surprising creative choices on this soundtrack.

For example, the track Muse Valley sounds unusually subdued for a tune in a shooter designed for arcades. You know, I'm going to be able to be. On the other hand, the track War O begins with a scream before breaking into a boogie, and also a dance track, and a spacey steel drum calypso piece. There's a lot going on in this track, which honestly, you know, I suppose that is the Zunata way. I'm going to be able to be. Thank you. Finally, from ship to shore, you have the bomberman soundtrack.

the NES versions. There were a lot of ports of Bomberman through the years, but this focuses on the NES games that came to the U.S. This one's worth mentioning just because it's a really, really cool record in and of itself. I mean, yes, it has music on it, but one side has a zoetrope animation. We put it on the spindle and listen to it, and there's basically running animations of a bomber man, like just circling infinitely. It's kind of like a flip book, but on a record. It's a really cool etching, a really cool concept that I haven't seen anyone actually do with modern reissues. I have a few records that have etchings on them, but nothing that, you know, attempts to do this.

And the music itself is great, too. Like I said, there's two albums on here. The original Bomberman is a pure chip tune album, and it sounds actually surprisingly sophisticated for a Famicom release from late 1985, considering it's vintage and it's pretty catchy. The real prize here, though, I think is Bomberman 2, which is just a more sophisticated work, having come several years later. Bomberman 2 includes more sampled instrumentation in that Konami style, which I guess makes sense.

It's from Hudson. They would eventually become Konami. and it has more elaborate compositions. For example, it opens with a reprise of the original Bomberman stage theme, but this time it has kind of a Eurochip tune sound, similar to what you hear in Scott Pilgrim versus the world, which is very unusual to hear from a 1980s, 1990s soundtrack created in Japan. They just didn't really go in for that sort of style.

So hearing it here is unusual and kind of cool. We have a bit... ...buttie... ...withite... ...they're... ...that... ...you... ...and...

...and... ...this... The and I'm going to be it. I'm going to be. I think of it. I'm a good. I'm a good.

Thank you. That's just like to beaughaned Onesme-lared-oombed-a-tecich-tach What's different, but everyone's in a-cum-no-naker Ah, so you've been borned to think I'm not you.

To get-o-puret, but I'm just, so, it's very, but, Don't let's keep on the one of the eyes No, the real-in-a-gen-a-genit I'm going to

come up, blow up, blow up! Never to give you up, never again al-a-all-a-le-up, never again Never-to-keep-up, never again to run, and after a-and-a-must, I love-sure And finally to end this episode, I do

out one non-game soundtrack release. Though it feels very much of a piece with the vintage music, we heard in video games in the 80s, things like YMO and so forth, this is actually eight releases. It is the eight LP standalone individual releases for the bubblegum crisis anime series. There were eight episodes of the show, and each episode received its own LP release,

its own soundtrack release back in the day. The vintage bubblegum crisis releases have been my top classic vinyl wish list item basically since I started listening to music on vinyl again six or seven years ago. I always wanted to buy copies, but every time I actually could even find them in Japan, they were just way, way too expensive.

Each individual album cost $150 to $200 a piece, when you could even find them. God knows what kind of condition they were in. And there were eight of those. We're talking a multiple thousand dollar investment had I just gone for it. So it's out of my wish list, my dreams, waiting for the yen to plummet against the dollar

like it has now. But thankfully, I didn't have to do that because they've been remastered and reissued on vinyl, all eight albums. They're also available digitally. So if you want to buy the CDs or just the downloads, those are also available. At the moment, these releases are Japan only aside from the streaming versions, but at the current exchange rates, they only cost about $25 a piece. So basically, buying all eight reissues costs the same as just one original pressing. So obviously, this was a must-buy. Realistically, I probably could have gotten away with just picking up a few of the albums.

The later episodes of the show had superior animation and writing. The stories were better. The characterizations were better. You had people like Masami Obari and even Satoshi Uruci Hara doing key illustrations and character designs. But while the story and writing and animation improved, the soundtracks just kind of gradually tapered off over time. Nothing really had the same punch as the first couple of records. I would say the first three records have a surprisingly raw edge to them, something you wouldn't necessarily expect from J. Rock of this era.

It helps that Bubblegum Crisis's lead character, Chris Asagiri, leads a band called The Replicants. Yes, it's very open in its admiration for Blade Runner, The Terminator, and quite a few other popular American sci-fi hits of the 80s. Chris was voiced and sung by a former child star named Kynuko Omori. She was in her early 20s when the bubblegum crisis series was created, but she had a great huskiness to her voice like Chrissy Hind or Joan Jett that really adds just a little bit of bite to this music that you don't always hear.

You actually very rarely hear in kind of like Japanese pop idol music. It became much more sterile, you know, beginning in the early 90s. And having this kind of a little bit of, I guess you could call it grittiness, if you want to use that word, to it really, it adds something unique and special to the bubblegum crisis songs. I'm GERRY MAKERC MANT-A-N-A-Nazas, look-n-tem-hapelessity,

lonely, a cold-cun-o-coucnoe, ...corduct of angel... ...haughts... ...haughts... ...hearting... ...theircould can't... ...you can't...

...you can't be... ...are someone who... ...what what... ...that's... ...aughts... ...saoyic... The first record is really the standout that kind of what would be about what bubble gum crisis would be about. It opens with an instrumental track that is very obviously channeling

Van Jalise's compositions for Blade Runner, a track called Tokyo 2032. But it immediately segues into a really great slice of 80s J-rock, Konyawa Hurricane. I'm going to be able to be. I'm going to be. Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah,

ah, and a, uh, a And a A, ah, ah, ah, yeah, and Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, and so many of the

sea, you know, to be able to go, to try, yet, you know, dream of life and I'm looking I'm macken

mableche all all all behind and back and

one big three cold hard to heart to heart all

all all day, by day, never-nallang-n-lawy-moly what I just do not do you. Oh, it's a hurricane, I'm gonna'-ha-o-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-tall-ha-ha-ta-ha-ta-ha-ta-ha-tall-a-ha-ha-ta. The Bubblegum Crisis LPs are a mix between soundtrack and score.

But I will say that because this is the late 80s, there's a really heavy emphasis on synthesizer and guitar arrangements in the score. They're not orchestrated. They're not, you know, strings, they're not horns. It's a pure 80s rock soundtrack. And it works really well in tracks like 80PK11. I don't know. And Gennem Power from the third album, which actually, to me, sounds like the character or stage select screen for some PlayStation 1 shooter.

I'm going to be able to be. Actually, episode three as a whole sounds an awful lot like Mega Man Legends, or I guess vice versa. You'll find throughout the records that several songs recur multiple times as both vocal and instrumental forms, such as Kodokuno Angel and Victory. We want to solve to knock, we want to solve. There's undeniably some definite cheese on these records. Some tracks that just kind of make you cringe a little bit. And because, you know, if you're listening on vinyl, you can't just skip past it.

So you just got to grin and bear it. Like Mr. Dandy. Hiddle-sagrish-kow-bosch-nobosch-nitcher, make-y. You-bigh-as-sust, glass-nogu-dleting, greek-a-lid-er-lety-a-lid-lid-a-laping. Anyway, Mr. Dundee, Mr. Dandy, hey, Mr. Joy, Karker, Karker, Karker, Kalki, Nackere, Nackere, Nackere, Anyway, once you get past the first three albums, the songs start to take a turn toward lighter fare and sound more like what you'd expect from a say you image album.

You know, you listen to tracks like Mysterious Night. That could be pretty much any anime from the 90s. I'm not going to be a heart about I'm going to be able to be I'm going to sleep never-n't-you-n't-n't-n't-lawed. What kind of be so in the world I'm going to

I'm Sobby'et Batengro Atenro, a quiet light What's something

going to It's night nightway The next from the mystery

You can't you can't have The sound also becomes a little cheesier overall as you move to cleaner guitar sounds and to all digital synths away from analog sense. Like the track Rock Me from Volume 6. I'll say, let's dance.

I will say that at least the Thiener, more pop style is justified in the seventh episode, which is all about a pop idol. Anyway, I don't want to be able to Anyway, I don't want to belabor bubblegum crisis too much because it's not a video game and this is a video game podcast and there's never been a good video game about bubblegum crisis. There were some Japan-only titles, but they weren't great. Now, the first bubblegum crisis soundtrack was released in early 1987.

The final volume came out the final week of December 1990. And as you know, the 80s ended in December of 1990, and the new decade began in January of 91. I don't want to hear any arguments. Because when you parse it this way, it means that bubblegum crisis effectively encompassed everything about the late 80s. At least, you know, everything in terms of Japanese rock and roll and pop

as applied to futuristic shows about cool ladies in battlesuits beating up robots. Anyway, that's it. That's Retronauts Radio for summer 2020. I've made it just at the very tail end of the season. Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed this walk through

classic game soundtracks and other soundtracks. and I'll be returning with another Retronauts Radio episode again in a few months, so please look forward to that. If you want to hear more Retronauts and Retronauts Radio episodes specifically, you can check us out on the internet. A lot of our Retronauts radio episodes have been patron exclusives, which you can enjoy by going again to patreon.com slash Retronauts, and for the exclusives you need to sign up at $5 a month or more.

But it's worth it because, again, you get to enjoy these music-focused albums at a higher bit rate than usual. I'm putting this out at max bitrate, actually, and no advertisements to bust up the musical experience. So who doesn't love that? As for myself, you can find me, Jeremy Parrish, doing retronauts every week or so. You can find me at limited run games every day,

or at least every weekday. You can find me on Twitter as Gamesbyte or on YouTube as Jeremy Parrish. I do a lot of stuff talking about old video games because they're great. I love them. And I love their music. And I'm looking forward to diving in to more digital and analog video game soundtrack releases for 2022. Please look forward to it.

And yeah, check out some of these records. Support artists. Listen to music. It's all good. And hopefully make sure. I've many-t-more-casseted moments, right? It's not yet

than just enough enough to-mere-the-mere-the-the-the-custrable wide-like, wide, light, life-chis. Sapsi-sapis I want to chat with I think of many many-more-casseted

of a moment time. You know, like, yesterday and for tomorrow

to see not see so big big and it's

Thank you. Thank you.