RPGFan's Rhythm Encounter

Well hello there, and yes, it is time for a super-sized episode of Rhythm Encounter to celebrate many of the excellent RPG soundtracks, arrangements, and more from 2025. That's right, it's Music of the Year 2025 time! With four panelists who each brought on three songs, this is certainly our longest episode in awhile. That's why we're releasing it a bit ahead of schedule, so there's more time to listen before our next episode. So join us for a walk down a very recent memory lane, and be sure to let us know what your favorite 2025 music was!

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Patrick Gann, Matt Wardell, Paul Skevington; Edited by Jono Logan

Tracklist
Pat's Picks
0:03:24 - Battle Theme / Final Fantasy XI (comp. Naoshi Mizuta, arr. Kyota.) - #SQkawaii Sounds -Final Fantasy-
0:17:21 - Field of Hopes and Dreams (comp. Toby Fox, arr./perf. Trevor Alan Gomes) - Deltarune Piano Collections: Volume 1
0:28:33 - Spiritual Rainstorm (Kazuki Yanagawa) - Atelier Yumia ~The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land~

Paul's Picks
0:43:21 - Lune (Lorien Testard, Alice Duport-Percier) - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
1:01:02 - Doomed City (Darren Korb) - Hades II
1:24:31 - KIKIKAITAI (Murasaki & Kanna Katata) - Urban Myth Dissolution Center

Matt's Music
1:37:11 - Toward Unseen Horizons (Miwako Chinone) - Monster Hunter Wilds
1:50:04 - The Clear Blue Sky (Tsukasa [aka Yosuke Hatakeyama]) - Lies of P: Overture
2:05:22 - Emil (comp. MONACA, arr. Hiroyuki Nakayama) - NieR: Piano Journeys

Mike's Music
2:22:14 - Lavos' Theme (comp. Yasunori Mitsuda, arr. Shogo Nomura) - Chrono Trigger Piano Soundscape Arrangement
2:36:55 - The Baron of Mount Holly (Trigg & Gusset) - Blue Prince
3:00:38 - Roses of May (Dawntrail) (comp. Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail EP 6
3:24:32 - Group Bonus Track!

Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.

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Given the monumental releases throughout most of 2025, it would be easy to think we saw the best of what last year had to offer by September. But nay! The last quarter of 2025 graced us with many excellent releases, and today we discuss a couple of arrangement albums worth your time, plus four brand-new games and their associated soundtracks that you won't want to miss out on. As always, find links in our show notes and on RPGFan.com to see all of our Q4 considerations, places to buy and stream, and more!

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Patrick Gann; Edited by Mike Salbato

Tracklist
0:16:10 - Legendary Hero (comp. Koji Kondo, arr. ROZEN) - Ballads of Hyrule III
0:25:41 - Into the Thick of It (comp. Hiroki Kikuta, arr. Torsten Rasch, perf. Mischa Cheung) - Piano Fantasies – music from SQUARE ENIX
0:42:03 - Tuesday Overworld (Investigation) (Kurt Feldman) - Demonschool
0:51:58 - Searching Room (Joey Lopes) - Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved
1:02:55 - Intergalactic Convertible (Andrew Arcadi) - Dispatch1:16:07 - Green River (Gareth Coker) - Absolum

Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.

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We're getting festive today on Rhythm Encounter, but maybe not in the way you'd expect. It's the end of year holiday season, and we are taking inspiration from a holiday that celebrates another thing I like as much as video game music: books! Jólabókaflóðið — which roughly translates to "Christmas book flood" — is an Icelandic Christmas Eve tradition where people gift each other books and stay up reading them, possibly with a nice hot cocoa. We thought this was a great opportunity to provide some excellent video game music to pair with various authors, genres, and specific reads. Please join our assembled panel of connoisseurs as we discuss the two together. Happy reading, listening, and holidays!

Featuring: Hilary Andreff, Rob White, Audra Bowling, and Matt Wardell; Edited by Mike Salbato

Links and books mentioned in this episode

• Jólabókaflóðið official site
• Between Two Fires - Chris Buehlman (The Road x Dark Souls)
• Blade Runner “Ash” Comic Series (2019, 2029, 2039) - Michael Green and Mike Johnson
• Brave Story - Miyuki Miyabe
• Chronicles of the Avatar Series - F.C. Lee (Kyoshi and Yangcheng duologies) and Randy Ribay (Roku duology)
• The City and the City - China Miéville (Disco Elysium adjacent)
• Colourless Tsukuru Tazaki and his Years of Pilgrimage - Haruki Murakami
• Fifteen Dogs - Andre Alexis (Gods give dogs human intelligence)
• Legend of Exorcism: Tianbao Fuyao Lu Series - Fei Tian Ye Xiang
• Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree
• The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
• The Midnight Library - Matt Haig
• Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami
• Pandora’s Star - Peter F. Hamilton
• The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett
• Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
• The Shadow on the Glass - Ian Irvine
• Shakespeare’s Tremor and Orwell’s Cough - John J. Ross, M.D.

Tracklist

In Search of Lost Time
0:12:26 - Before the Fall (Laurence Chapman) - Heaven’s Vault
0:23:05 - Last Silhouette (Masafumi Takada) - Digimon Story: Time Stranger

The Canterbury Tales
0:33:55 - Adventure of the Would-be Hero (Oliver Good) - Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars
0:45:32 - Sic arsit historia kiersis (Alkemie) - Pentiment

The Left Hand of Darkness
0:57:42 - Voices from the Abyss (Izumi Wu, Rizet Tseng, Hong Zhang Su) - Xuan-Yuan Sword 7
1:12:29 - The Insulindian Miracle (Sea Power) - Disco Elysium

A Scanner Darkly
1:23:55 - Signal Haze (Amos Roddy) - Citizen Sleeper
1:35:17 - When Mother Was There (Shoji Meguro) - Persona 5
1:52:40 - Matt's Bonus Track!

Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.

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Well we finally did it: An episode all about one of this generation's most stunning soundtracks, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. We talk about the beauty, the melancholy, the cellos, the feelings, and really, the feelings that Lorien Testard and Alice Duport-Percier evoke every time we play the game or listen to the soundtrack. If you know, you know, but even if you don't, we welcome you on this journey!

Though please note that the second half (Act?) of this episode delves into major spoiler territory, so proceed with caution if you continue to listen!

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Zach Wilkerson, Hilary Andreff, Aleks Franiczek; Edited by Mike Salbato

Tracklist
0:07:40 - The Manor - Our Painted Family (Lorien Testard)
0:18:49 - Flying Waters - Goblu (Lorien Testard, Alice Duport-Percier)
0:28:12 - Monoco (Lorien Testard)
0:37:24 - ‌Forgotten Battlefield - Dualliste (Lorien Testard, Alice Duport-Percier)

Spoiler Warning for the rest of these songs!
0:51:16 - Verso (Lorien Testard)
1:03:01 - Une vie à t'aimer (Lorien Testard, Alice Duport-Percier, Victor Borba)
1:24:13 - Alicia (Lorien Testard, Alice Duport-Percier)
1:36:40 - ‌Aline (Lorien Testard, Alice Duport-Percier, perf. Orchestre Curieux) - Orchestral Sessions
1:55:29 - Mike's Bonus Track!

Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.

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In the distant past of 2021, our panel on Rhythm Encounter 74 chose songs based around eight elements of their choosing. Today we follow up on this elemental idea, but focused on four core elements of water, earth, fire, and air. With each element represented by two people, we compare and contrast each others' approaches. Where could we take the concept next? Let us know!

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Matt Wardell, Audra Bowling; Edited by Mike Salbato

Links for this episode

• Rhythm Encounter 74 - It's Elemental, My Dear Watts
• Thirsty Suitors Game dev tries re-enacting OWN GAME in real life
• Chinese Traditional Erhu Music Vol. 1 - Lei Qiang
• Xeen Music on Bandcamp
• For Long Tomorrow by toe on YouTube
• To Be Hero X Character Songs on YouTube

Tracklist
Water (Go With the Flow!)
0:11:56 - Verdant Overflow (Darren Malley) - Mythic Ocean
0:14:37 - Currents (Miki Higashino, arr. Yoko Ueno, vocals KOKIA) - Genso Suikoden II Music Collection ~Orrizonte~/Genso Suikogaiden Vol. 1: Swordsman of Harmonia

Earth (We Will Rock You!)
0:30:04 - Earth Dancer (Noriyuki Asakura) - Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma
0:36:03 - Vagrant Song (Appalachia) [feat. Jillian Aversa] (Ryan Ike) - Where the Water Tastes Like Wine

Fire (Get Out of the Kitchen!)
0:54:02 - Destiny of Love (Inon Zur feat. Aubrey Ashburn) - Dragon Age II: Epic Times
0:57:27 - Bhangra Battle (Marskye) - Thirsty Suitors

Air (This Will Blow Your Socks Off!)
1:14:41 - Dragonhead Island (Tsukasa Usui) - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
1:18:00 - A Moment with Zelda (Takeshi Hama) - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
1:41:32 - Matt's Bonus Track!

Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.

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Throughout the planning for this episode, we jokingly used the term "Electro-Bangers," with credit to panelist Rob White, knowing full well we wouldn't use it in the end. But then we figured... why not? This episode is full of excellent electronic music and they are all bangers, so there you have it. Some are from places you'd expect like Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Stellar Blade, and Shin Megami Tensei V, but others may surprise you!

We were also supposed to encourage you to revisit Rhythm Encounter 119 - RPG Dance Party, but since we all got too invested in today's picks, consider THIS your reminder to listen to that episode as a followup. Get yourself revved up and join us!

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Gio Castillo, Audra Bowling, Rob White; Edited by Jono Logan

Tracklist
Dance Off!
0:05:35 - Battle -dancing crazy murder- (Ryota Kozuka) - Shin Megami Tensei V
0:10:03 - Red's Dance - Two Legs, Nothin' To it (Nobuo Uematsu, Mitsuto Suzuki) - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Clubs & Cupcakes
0:28:00 - ‌Techno Madness (Jesse Allen) - Mass Effect 2 Unreleased OST
0:30:18 - Spider Dance (Toby Fox, arr. by arthur x medic, VOIA) - Straight from the Underground (Undertale)

The GoCho Special
0:45:24 - Scarlet (Phase 2) (Hyunmin Cho) - Stellar Blade Original Soundtrack PLUS
0:49:08 - ‌The Butterfly’s Invitation (Go Shiina) - God Eater 2 Rage Burst

Urban Beats
1:05:53 - Primal Perspective (Parasite Eve) (Yoko Shimomura, arr. by Xavier "mv" Dang) - World 1-2: Encore
1:12:46 - Receive You the Hyperactive (Hidenori Shoji, arr. 83key) - Yakuza: Like a Dragon
1:35:07 - Rob's Bonus Track!

Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.

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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

Links for this episode

• Rhythm Encounter 134 - Masashi Hamauzu Spotlight
• Final Fantasy Piano Collections, Ranked

Tracklist
0:03:45 - Alexandra’s Shop (Tyler Mire) - Quartet
0:14:43 - Düstersee (comp. Masashi Hamauzu, arr. Junnosuke Usui) - SaGa Frontier 2 Remastered
0:28:05 - Shadow of You (Satoshi Okubo) - Dear me, I was...
0:41:20 - Wind Scene (Chrono Trigger) (comp. Yasunori Mitsuda, arr. & perf. Ohta Mitsuhiro) - Guitar Cover Collection from SQUARE ENIX MUSIC Channel
0:58:37 - Kookai Foundation (comp. Yasunori Mitsuda, arr. Hiroyuki Nakayama, perf. Benyamin Nuss) - Across the Kosmos ~ Xenosaga Piano Collection
1:08:05 - Cradle of the Abyss (Leenzee, 8082Audio) - Wuchang: Fallen Feathers

Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.

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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!

Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.

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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

Links for this episode

• Misheard Lyrics: Alphascape v3.0 [O11] - YouTube

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!

Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.

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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

Links for this episode

• Andrew W.K. - Gundam Rock (YouTube)

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!

Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.

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