Pixelated Audio

Arumana no Kiseki (The Miracle of Arumana) is a sidescrolling action game released by Konami in 1987 for the Famicom Disk System. The game bleeds Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Seriously. Gameplay has similar bits and pieces from Castlevania and Bionic Commando but still sets itself apart as a nice little title. More importantly, the music is stellar and it's what we would expect from the 8bit publishing giant. Composed by Kinuyo Yamashita and Kouji Murata. Visit http://pixelatedaudio.com/79 for show notes and the track list.

Mitsume ga Tooru is a 2D side scrolling action platformer that was developed by Natsume and published by TOMY in Japan for the Famicom in 1992. It might not have made a western appearance, but what's not to love? The gameplay is simple, accessible, and challenging -but not in a frustrating 'rage-quit' way at all. Natsume packed tons of details into the game which gives it a very polished and totally enjoyable experience for the 8-bit crowd. We absolutely loved the platforming and honestly, the soundtrack is awesome and going to be a lot of fun to listen to together with you. Composer, Hiroyuki Iwatsuki, makes an appearance as well to provide some extra insight on the game and his career. Show notes and interview transcript: http://pixelatedaudio.com/78

In this episode we have a healthy dose of video game music from a variety of different games, systems and composers. Join in as we discuss the music and explore the games in Expansion Pack 18.

Track List:

0:00:00 B: The Prairie - Lucky Luke (GB/GBC) - Alberto José González

0:09:26 J: A Premonition - Styx - Ys III (X68k) - Mieko Ishikawa

0:13:31 B: Track 1 - Artist Tool (PCE) - Unknown

0:18:31 J: Stage 2 - Reon’s Adventure (PC) - Unknown

0:24:23 B: Perfect Transformation! Star Ruby - Bunretsu Shugo Shin Twinkle Star (PC-98) - Hiroaki Sano

0:30:07 J: CAMANIS - Tyrian (PC) - Alexander Brandon, Andreas Molnar

0:37:46 B: Round 1-3, 3-3, 5-1 - Riot Zone (PCE CD) - T's Music

0:47:29 J: I’ll Save you All My Justice - The Scheme (PC88) - Yuzo Koshiro

Toaplan was one of the most well-loved developers in the shooter genre with a number of releases including Tiger-Heli, Twin Cobra, Hellfire, Truxton, and Zero Wing. In 1990, they released a different style of shooter called Out Zone which and is one of the most significant departures from the company’s catalog but still retains all the excitement, difficulty, and attention to detail. Join us as we dive into the soundtrack and have a chat with the composer of Out Zone (as well as many others) Tatsuya Uemura.

Back with another selection of semi-random VGM tracks from a number of different systems. We've been a bit overdue for an Expansion Pack so listen in, join the fun, brush that 3D horse hair, and let us know what you think of the tunes.

Track List:

0:00:00 J Pick: Ultima - Dragon Saber (Arc) Shinji Hosoe

0:08:49 B Pick: BGM #5 - Wonder Classic (WSC) T. Fujitani

0:15:35 J Pick: Highly Responsive to Prayers - Touhou Reiiden (PC98) Junya Ota aka ZUN

0:23:26 B Pick: Minigame - My Horse 3D (3DS)

0:30:58 J Pick: Night Bird (Boss) - Grind Stormer/V-V (Arc) Masahiro Yuge

0:38:23 B Pick: Intro/Anarchy - TFX - (Ami) Barry Leitch

0:51:25 J Pick: Subterranean City - Zeliard (Tandy) Mecano Associates

0:57:37 B Pick: Title (Laughing Ghost) - Legend of Hero Tonma (TG16/PCE) Masahiko Ishida

Want a game that's obscure but still has it all? Alisia Dragoon on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive is exactly the game you're looking for. Fun game play, top-notch artwork, and some of the best music the system has to offer. It's too bad the title didn't get more recognition back in the day, however, 25 years later we can still fall in love with this work of art.

The composition was done by a small company called "Mecano Associates," led by Fumihito Kasatani. And with the help of the team, we believe that they hit this soundtrack out of the park. Join us as we explore the audio and hear about the process from the sound producer, himself.

Alisia Dragoon (アリシアドラグーン) Gen/MD - Game Arts/Gainax, 1992 composed by Mecano Associates:

Fumihito Kasatani, Nobuyuki Aoshima, Mamoru Ishimoda, Yoko Sonoda and Mariko Sato

A transcript of the interview can be found in the show notes at http://pixelatedaudio.com/74

When it comes to the Sega Dreamcast there certainly is no shortage of uniquely odd titles. Bangai-O fits the bill. From the moment you start playing, it shatters your expectations into tiny pieces and when you're done it reassemble them into an unforgettable experience. If somehow you were thinking the Dreamcast version wasn't enough, we're also taking a look at the original Nintendo 64 version Bakuretsu Muteki Bangai-O (爆裂無敵バンガイオー) as well as the Nintendo DS sequel Bangai-O Spirits. Enjoy! Check the website for show notes and the track listing!

With the new year we'd like to introduce you to one of the two new show styles that we will be added into the mix. "Pixelated Audio Music Disk Volumes" are a mixture of game music arrangements and original tunes created by the doujin (同人) groups of the late 80s through the 90s and each episode will revolve around a single disk. This episode we'll be looking at the first Orphe Music Disk released in 1991 for the NEC PC-8801 and playing our selection from the 40 tracks created for the SoundBoard II by this killer music-centric team. Enjoy!

Show notes and track list: http://pixelatedaudio.com/72

It's no surprise that there aren't many Christmas specific games out on the store shelves. And after looking around we found a few Christmas games and some demo/expansions but nothing we were excited to share. Facing the possibility of not finding a game we felt worth a short holiday episode, we had to dig deep and go outside of the North American release market to find Daze Before Christmas on the Mega Drive and Super Nintendo. Wrapped up in this game we found something fun (and odd), so grab some eggnog and fire up that yule log for some retro Santa adventures!

Track List:

0:00:00 Daze Before Christmas (MD)

0:06:46 Santa’s Workshop (SNES)

0:19:11 Out in the Snow (MD)

0:26:44 I’m Anti Clause (MD)

0:32:49 Bad Character (MD)

0:37:22 Holiday Destroyer (SNES)

0:43:34 Cool Floors (MD)

0:48:51 Unknown Track 2 (MD)

Daze Before Christmas (MD/SNES) composed by KIM M. JENSON and GEIR TJELTA

Today we bring you the tunes from a lesser-known Commodore 64 title called Quadrant composed by Thomas Detert. Quadrant it’s kind of like a Tetris-Plus/Connect Four style puzzle game that was released in October of 1993, published by CP Verlag and developed by X-Ample. While the game might not be all that amazing, it has an awesome soundtrack that will definitely get you moving. We've also snuck in some bonus content to showcase Detert's other work around the time the game was released from the Game On Disk Magazines. Take a listen!

http://pixelatedaudio.com/70