It’s the inaugural induction into the VGM Hall of Fame! Listen to hear the classic soundtracks that are getting honored!

Special thanks for this episode goes out to:

The soundtracks I picked are well-known, and if you want to hear some other VGM podcasters weigh in on how great they are, here are some links to episodes:

The remixers and arrangers over at OCRemix have touched several of these games over the years, and they even have full albums devoted to Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI. You can find those at https://ocremix.org/album/7/chrono-trigger-chrono-symphonic and https://ff6.ocremix.org/. 

If you want to reach me, I’m most active on Bluesky as @shujinacademy.bsky.social. You can also find me on Threads and Instagram as ShujinAcademyVGMClub. All episodes of the show are posted to my YouTube channel, which you can find by searching for Shujin Academy VGM Club. You can email me at [email protected]. Links to everything are available on my LinkTree at https://linktr.ee/shujinacademy. Please leave me a five star rating on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you’re finding this episode. New episodes are released once or twice a month depending on how often I get them done, and they premiere on Thursday mornings on your favorite podcatcher and on 8beats.co, the internet's number one game music radio station. My show is also featured on Terra Player, the cool app that’s a destination for gaming podcasts and other content, so you can check me out there. Finally, if you just can’t get enough of me, I’m also voicing esports reporter Samson Escapades on audio drama podcast How Much in Bison Dollars?, which you can hear on FGC Radio or at https://rss.com/podcasts/hmibisondollars/. 

If you’re listening on Spotify, please be aware that they’ve pulled a few of my episodes before. There’s a non-zero chance that they’ll eventually pull my entire podcast, as they’ve done with a few other game music podcasts, so I’d strongly suggest you subscribe elsewhere to be sure you can get all of the Professor Tom goodness you crave.

Track Listing:

00:00 - Show Tagline

00:08 - Chrono Trigger Arranged Version :The Brink of Time - Chrono Trigger (composer: Yasunori Mitsuda; arranged by Hiroshi Hata and Kalta Ohtsuki)

06:17 - The First Inductee: Chrono Trigger

09:28 - Chrono Trigger (SNES) - Guardia Millennial Fair (composer: Yasunori Mitsuda)

12:41 - Chrono Trigger (SNES) - Robo’s Theme (composer: Yasunori Mitsuda)

14:12 - Chrono Trigger (SNES) - Corridors of Time (composer: Yasunori Mitsuda)

17:13 - Chrono Trigger (SNES) - Last Battle (composer: Yasunori Mitsuda)

20:55 - The Second Inductee: Street Fighter III: Third Strike

24:30 - Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (Arcade) - Player Select

25:01 - Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (Arcade) - Alex & Ken Stage -JAZZY NYC ‘99-

28:14 - Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (Arcade) - Makoto Stage -SPUNKY-

31:46 - Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (Arcade) - Dudley Stage -YOU BLOW MY MIND- (excerpt)

33:11 - Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (Dreamcast/PS2) - Dudley Stage -YOU BLOW MY MIND- Dreamcast Mix 2

34:26 - Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (Dreamcast/PS2) - Dudley Stage -YOU BLOW MY MIND- Dreamcast Mix 3

36:40 - The Third Inductee: Streets of Rage 2

39:05 - Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis) - Go Straight (composer: Yuzo Koshiro)

41:45 - Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis) - Dreamer (composer: Yuzo Koshiro)

44:12 - Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis) - Slow Moon (composer: Yuzo Koshiro)

46:36 - Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis) - Wave 131 (composer: Yuzo Koshiro)

49:50 - Streets of Rage 2 (Genesis) - Back to the Industry (composer: Yuzo Koshiro)

50:59 - The Fourth Inductee: Final Fantasy VI

54:41 - Final Fantasy VI (SNES) - The Phantom Forest (composer: Nobuo Uematsu)

58:01 - Final Fantasy VI (SNES) - Kids Run Through The City (composer: Nobuo Uematsu)

1:00:44 - Final Fantasy VI (SNES) - Devil’s Lab (composer: Nobuo Uematsu)

1:03:16 - Final Fantasy VI (SNES) - Searching for Friends (composer: Nobuo Uematsu)

1:06:11 - FInal Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster (multiplatform) - Fanfare (composer: Nobuo Uematsu; arranged by Reo Uratani)

1:07:25 - Closing Remarks

1:10:24 - Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster (multiplatform) - Grand Finale (composer: Nobuo Uematsu; arranger Daisuke SHIIBA)

It’s a stupendous smiley stack of happy songs, coming to make you feel good and take all your worries away!

Special thanks for this episode goes out to:

I closed out the last music block with an amazing song from Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout, and if you want to hear more from this series, you can check out the episodes of Super Marcato Bros doing a deeper dive into these games. There’s a full episode devoted to Atelier Ryza at https://www.supermarcatobros.com/podcast/2019/10/6/episode-389-atelier-ryza and an episode looking at some other games in the series at https://www.supermarcatobros.com/podcast/2017/5/28/episode-269-the-atelier-series. 

If you want to reach me, I’m most active on Bluesky as @shujinacademy.bsky.social. You can also find me on Threads, Tumblr, or Instagram as ShujinAcademyVGMClub. All episodes of the show are posted to my YouTube channel, which you can find by searching for Shujin Academy VGM Club. You can email me at [email protected]. Links to everything are available on my LinkTree at https://linktr.ee/shujinacademy. Please leave me a five star rating on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you’re finding this episode. New episodes are released once or twice a month depending on how often I get them done, and they premiere on Thursday mornings on your favorite podcatcher and on 8beats.co, the internet's number one game music radio station. My show is also featured on Terra Player, the cool app that’s a destination for gaming podcasts and other content, so you can check me out there. Finally, if you just can’t get enough of me, I’m also voicing esports reporter Samson Escapades on audio drama podcast How Much in Bison Dollars?, which you can hear on FGC Radio or at https://rss.com/podcasts/hmibisondollars/. 

If you’re listening on Spotify, please be aware that they’ve pulled a few of my episodes before. There’s a non-zero chance that they’ll eventually pull my entire podcast, as they’ve done with a few other game music podcasts, so I’d strongly suggest you subscribe elsewhere to be sure you can get all of the Professor Tom goodness you crave.

Track Listing:

00:00 - Show Tagline

00:05 - Guilty Gear XX (Arcade/PS2) - Blue Water, Blue Sky ~May’s Theme~ (composer: Daisuke Ishiwatari)

03:01 - Talk Segment 1

06:54 - Aerobiz (SNES) - Pacific (composer: Taku Iwasaki; credit from Wikipedia)

08:31 - Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Justice for All (DS) - Maya Fey ~ Turnabout Sisters’ Theme 2002 (composer: Akemi Kimura)

10:22 - 3D OutRun (3DS) - Cruising Line (composer: Manabu Namiki)

16:14 - Parasol Stars: The Story of Bubble Bobble III (TG16) - Main BGM (composer: Noriyuki Iwadare)

17:52 - Super Golf (Game Gear) - BGM #06 (composer: unknown)

19:29 - Black Bird: Toritachi no Tooboe (PC-98) - Eimi Restored (composer: unknown)

21:06 - Talk Segment 2

26:15 - Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (Game Boy) - Victory (VS Gym Leader) (composer: Junichi Masuda)

28:10 - Persona Q (3DS) - Corn Dog (composer: Atsushi Kitajoh)

31:08 - River City Ransom - Menu (composer: Kazuo Sawa)

33:29 - Windjammers (Neo Geo) - You Got a Power (Concrete Court) (composers: Seiichi Hamada, Tomoyoshi Sato)

35:12 - Zoda’s Revenge: StarTropics II (NES) - Coralcola Village (composers: Takashi Kumegawa and Yoshio Hirai)

36:50 - Side Pocket (Genesis) - Fight It Out (composers: Emi Shimizu and Masaaki Iwasaki)

37:49 - ESPN Final Round Golf 2002 (Game Boy Advance) - BGM #16 (composer: Hiroyuki Nakayama)

41:11 - Talk Segment 3

46:39 - Persona 5 (PS4) - New Beginning (composer: Shoji Meguro)

49:41 - Breath of Fire III (PS1) - Country Living (composer: Akari Kaida)

53:11 - Dragon Quest II (Super Famicom) - Busy City Streets (composer: Koichi Sugiyama)

56:08 - Super Mario RPG (SNES) - Let’s Get Fluffy! (aka “Let’s Do the Fluff Fluff” or “Let’s Do the Fooka-Fooka”) (composer: Yoko Shimomura)

59:02 - Pokemon Diamond/Pearl - Pokemon Center (Day) (composer: Junichi Masuda)

59:49 - Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout (PS4/Switch/PC) - Bashfully Across the Ledge (composer: Kazuki Yanagawa)

1:01:38 - Outro Talk Segment

1:04:15 - Final Fight 3 (SNES) - Sunny Skies (composer: Katsunari Kitajima)

We’re matching colors, bursting bubbles, and clearing blocks with this playlist of songs from all kinds of puzzle games!

There are several links and notes for this episode:

Special thanks for this episode goes out to:

If you want to reach me, I’m most active on Bluesky as @shujinacademy.bsky.social. You can also find me on Threads, Tumblr, or Instagram as ShujinAcademyVGMClub. All episodes of the show are posted to my YouTube channel, which you can find by searching for Shujin Academy VGM Club. You can email me at [email protected]. Links to everything are available on my LinkTree at https://linktr.ee/shujinacademy. Please leave me a five star rating on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you’re finding this episode. New episodes are released once or twice a month depending on how often I get them done, and they premiere on Thursday mornings on your favorite podcatcher and on 8beats.co, the internet's number one game music radio station. My show is also featured on Terra Player, the cool app that’s a destination for gaming podcasts and other content, so you can check me out there. Finally, if you just can’t get enough of me, I’m also voicing esports reporter Samson Escapades on audio drama podcast How Much in Bison Dollars?, which you can hear on FGC Radio or at https://rss.com/podcasts/hmibisondollars/.

If you're listening on Spotify, please be aware that they’ve pulled a few of my episodes before. There’s a non-zero chance that they’ll eventually pull my entire podcast, as they’ve done with a few other game music podcasts, so I’d strongly suggest you subscribe elsewhere to be sure you can get all of the Professor Tom goodness you crave.

Track Listing:

00:00 - Show Tagline

00:06 - Klax (Amiga) - Intro and Attract Screen (composer: Matt Furniss)

03:11 - Talk Segment 1

08:54 - Blockout (Arcade) - Round Select, Next Round (composer: unknown)

09:48 - Planet Puzzle League (DS) - B3 Cub3d (composer: Masanobu Matsunaga)

12:40 - Cu-On-Pa (Super Famicom) - Colloseum (composer: Ken Kojima)

14:00 - Mario’s Super Picross (Super Famicom) - Wario BGM 1 (composer: Toshiyuki Ueno)

17:33 - Puzzle Bobble 2 / Bust-A-Move 2 Arcade Edition (PSX) - Background 2 (composer: Norihiro Furukawa)

19:11 - Adventures of Lolo (NES) - In-Game (composer: Hideki Kanazashi; programmer: Hiroaki Suga)

20:08 - HuniePop (PC) - Farmers’ Market (composer: Jonathan Wandag)

22:15 - Talk Segment 2

25:51 - Puyo Puyo (FM Towns) - Sticker of Puyo Puyo (composers: Haruo Tajima and Masami Yitsuse)

28:34 - Zoop (Genesis) - Uptown Meeting (composers: Mark Davis and Bob Scumaci)

31:31 - Dr. Mario (NES) - Chill (composer: Hirokazu “Hip” Tanaka)

33:38 - Columns (Genesis) - Clotho (composer: Tokuhiko Uwabo)

37:54 - Lemmings (Genesis) - Stage Theme 4 / One Way or Another (composers: Tim Wright, Brian Johnston, and Hirohiko Takayama)

40:29 - Talk Segment 3

46:59 - Tetris Kiwamemichi (PS2 / Arcade) - 06 (composer: unknown)

49:36 - Super Tetris 2 + BomBliss (Super Famicom) - Tetris B-Type (composers: Mitsuhiko Takano, K4, and Dhal‑chan)

50:23 - Tetris (Nintendo version) (NES) - Music 3 (composer: Hirokazu “Hip” Tanaka)

53:23 - Tetris (Sega Arcade YM2610B version) - Tetremix (composer: Yasuhiro Kawakami)

56:05 - Super Tetris 3 (Super Famicom) - Magicaliss Select (composer: Shigemitsu Goto)

57:12 - Tetris (CD-i) - Foster’s Freeze (Level 5) (composer: Jim Andron)

59:41 - Outro Talk Segment

1:02:29 - Tetris Effect (multiplatform) - 1989 Pt. 2 (composers: Hydelic and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)

We’re back to the vibe zone with another episode full of cool, groovy hangout music. Make yourself a good drink and enjoy this one.

Special thanks for this episode goes out to:

If you want to reach me, I’m most active on Bluesky as @shujinacademy.bsky.social. You can also find me on Threads, Tumblr, or Instagram as ShujinAcademyVGMClub. All episodes of the show are posted to my YouTube channel, which you can find by searching for Shujin Academy VGM Club. You can email me at [email protected]. Links to everything are available on my LinkTree at https://linktr.ee/shujinacademy. Please leave me a five star rating on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you’re finding this episode. New episodes are released once or twice a month depending on how often I get them done, and they premiere on Thursday mornings on your favorite podcatcher and on 8beats.co, the internet's number one game music radio station. My show is also featured on Terra Player, the cool app that’s a destination for gaming podcasts and other content, so you can check me out there. Finally, if you just can’t get enough of me, I’m also voicing esports reporter Samson Escapades on audio drama How Much in Bison Dollars?, which you can hear on Spotify and FGC Radio.

Track Listing:

00:00 - Show Tagline

00:05 - Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2 - Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon (PS2) - Everyday Detective Agency (composer: Shoji Meguro)

01:11 - Talk Segment 1

04:10 - Persona 3 Portable (PSP) - A Way of Life (composer: Shoji Meguro)

06:26 - Emerald Dragon (Super Famicom) - Caverns and Forests (composer: Yasuhiko Fukuda)

10:00 - San Francisco Rush 2049 (N64) - Night (composer: Barry Leitch)

14:43 - Pictionary (NES) - Move Piece (composer: Tim Follin)

16:10 - Galactic Pinball (Virtual Boy) - Alien (composers: Kenji Yamamoto, Masaru Tajima)

18:50 - Talk Segment 2

22:47 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit (NES) - City Park (composer: David Wise) 

22:54 - Milon’s Secret Castle (NES) - Outside Castle (composer: Takeaki Kunimoto)

26:30 - The Shinri Game 2: Magical Trip (Super Famicom) - Main Menu (composer: Kenji Yamazaki)

28:30 - City Hunter (TG16) - Mission 1: Gone with the Beauty (composer: Masashi Kageyama)

30:12 - King of Fighters XI (PS2) - Arashi no Saxophone ~KOF XI~ (composer: Masahiko Hataya; arranged by Koji Takata, Masuo Okumura, and Masanori Kuki)

33:19 - R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 (PSX) - PEARL BLUE SOUL (composer: Hiroshi Okubo)

36:45 - Talk Segment 3

40:52 - 1943 Kai (PC Engine) - Air Battle B (Round 2, 5) (composers: Kumi Yamaga, Tamayo Kawamoto, Harumi Fujita, Junko Tamiya, Manami Matsumae, Takashi Tateishi, and Hiroshige Tonomura; arranged for the PC Engine by Hisashi Matsushita and Daisuke Morishima)

43:08 - Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge (NES) - 05 (composer: Neil Baldwin)

46:05 - Persona 5 Strikers (Multiplatform) - Vacation (composer: Atsushi Kitajoh)

48:31 - Streets of Rage (Genesis) - Beatnik on the Ship (composer: Yuzo Koshiro)

52:47 - Black Bird: Toritachi no Tooboe (PC-98) - Explorers (composer: unknown)

55:07 - Outro Talk Segment

57:22 - Cyber Police ESWAT (Arcade) - Ending (composer: Yasuhiro Kawakami)

Take to the gritty streets of the urban jungle to seek revenge in this episode full of tough street sounds. 

Special thanks for this episode goes out to:

If you want to reach me, I’m most active on Bluesky as @shujinacademy.bsky.social. For now, you can also find me on Threads or Instagram as ShujinAcademyVGMClub. I’m on Mastodon at @[email protected], and my username on Discord is ProfessorTom. All episodes of the show are posted to my YouTube channel, which you can find by searching for Shujin Academy VGM Club. Links to everything are available on my LinkTree at https://linktr.ee/shujinacademy. Please leave me a five star rating on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you’re finding this episode. New episodes are released once or twice a month depending on how often I get them done, and they premiere on Thursday mornings on your favorite podcatcher and on 8beats.co, the internet's number one game music radio station. My show is also featured on Terra Player, the cool app that’s a destination for gaming podcasts and other content, so you can check me out there. Finally, if you just can’t get enough of me, I’m voicing esports reporter Samson Escapades on audio drama How Much in Bison Dollars?, which you can hear on Spotify and FGC Radio.

Speaking of Spotify, if you’re listening there, please be aware that they’ve pulled a few of my episodes before. There’s a non-zero chance that they’ll eventually pull my entire podcast, as they’ve done with a few other game music podcasts, so I’d strongly suggest you subscribe elsewhere to be sure you can get all of the Professor Tom goodness you crave.

I mentioned the DefunctGames.com review of Putter Golf during the show, and you can read it for yourself at http://www.defunctgames.com/review/1366/putter-golf.

To hear a different, much nicer version of the sounds of the city, check out my long-ago episode “Welcome to Metro City” at https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-e9upv-12c2d4d. 

Track Listing:

00:00 - Show Tagline

00:05 - Chase H.Q. (Arcade) - New York (composer: Takami Asano)

01:08 - Talk Segment 1

04:58 - Capcom vs SNK (arcade) - Stage of Final Fight - Needle (composer: Satoshi Ise)

07:28 - Putter Golf (Genesis) - BGM 1 (composer: E. Fugu)

09:10 - Scramble Spirits (Arcade) - BGM 2 (composers: Toru Nakabayashi and Yasuhiro Kawakami)

12:13 - Moto Roader II (PC Engine) - Menu (composer: Opus)

13:06 - Final Fight (Arcade) - Metro City Subway (composers: Junko Tamiya)

15:06 - Journey to Silius (NES) - Stage Theme 03 (composer: Naoki Kodaka)

16:55 - Streets of Rage 3 (Genesis) - Dub Slash (Round 2-1) (composer: Motohiro Kawashima)

20:30 - Talk Segment 2

24:16 - Power Drift (Arcade) - Adjustment Mind (D Course) (composer: Hiroshi Kawaguchi)

26:23 - Comix Zone (Genesis) - Episode 2, Page 1-2 (composer: Howard Drossin)

28:01 - Cyber Police ESWAT (Arcade) - BGM 01 (Stages 1-4-7-10-13) (composer: Yasuhiro Kawakami)

29:40 - ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Genesis) - Bracket Results (composer: Hikoshi Hashimoto)

31:26 - Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Genesis) - Ninja Soul (composers: Masayuki Nagao, Hirofumi Murasaki, Morihiko Akiyama)

35:41 - Final Fight 2 (SNES) - Creeping Weeping (composers: Yasuaki Fujita, Mari Yamaguchi, Yuki Iwai, Setsuo Yamamoto, Yūko Takehara, and Tatsuya Nishimura)

37:07 - Lam-Mal (x68000) - Town B (composers: Hideaki Takashita and Ryu Takami)

37:57 - Night Striker (Arcade) - Boss 1 (composer: Masahiko Takaki)

39:09 - Talk Segment 3

44:45 - Final Fight 3 (SNES) - Law and Disorder (composer: Katsunari Kitajima)

46:15 - The Dark Spire (DS) - 1st Floor Underground (Classic) (composer: Kenichi Arakawa)

47:48 - Abadox (NES) - Stage 1, 4, 6 (composer: Kiyohiro Sada)

49:28 - Myth: History in the Making (C64) - Loading Tune (composer: Jeroen Tel)

50:30 - Black Bird: Toritachi no Tooboe (PC-98) - Striker (composer: unknown)

53:41 - Alien Syndrome (Arcade) - Unknown 03 (composer: Tohru Nakabayashi)

58:00 - Ninja Five-O (GBA) - Enemy Base (composers: Aya Tanaka and Hiroyuki Tsuboguchi)

59:57 - Mario’s Super Picross (Super Famicom) - Unused Song 2 (composer: Toshiyuki Ueno)

1:00:30 - ATP Tour Championship Tennis (Genesis) - Sound Test No. 5 (composer: Hikoshi Hashimoto)

1:01:24 - Outro Talk Segment

1:03:58 - Streets of Rage 4 (multiplatform) - Main Theme of Streets of Rage 4 (composer: Yuzo Koshiro)

It’s an exciting hour of competition and fabulous prizes as we check out four games with great soundtracks! Come on down!

Special thanks for this episode goes out to:

If you want to reach me, I’m most active on Bluesky as @shujinacademy.bsky.social. For now, you can also find me on Facebook, Threads, or Instagram as ShujinAcademyVGMClub. I’m on Mastodon at @[email protected], and my username on Discord is ProfessorTom. All episodes of the show are posted to my YouTube channel, which you can find by searching for Shujin Academy VGM Club. Links to everything are available on my LinkTree at https://linktr.ee/shujinacademy. Please leave me a five star rating on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you’re finding this episode. New episodes are released once or twice a month depending on how often I get them done, and they premiere on Thursday mornings on your favorite podcatcher and on 8beats.co, the internet's number one game music radio station. My show is also featured on Terra Player, the cool app that’s a destination for gaming podcasts and other content, so you can check me out there. Finally, if you just can’t get enough of me, I’m voicing esports reporter Samson Escapades on audio drama How Much in Bison Dollars?, which you can hear on Spotify and FGC Radio.

Speaking of Spotify, if you’re listening there, please be aware that they’ve pulled a few of my episodes before. There’s a non-zero chance that they’ll eventually pull my entire podcast, as they’ve done with a few other game music podcasts, so I’d strongly suggest you subscribe elsewhere to be sure you can get all of the Professor Tom goodness you crave.

Track Listing:

00:00 - Show Tagline

00:05 - The Price is Right (DS) - Come On Down (composer: Edd Kalehoff)

00:55 - Intro Talk Segment: The Shinri Game 2

04:40 - The Shinri Game 2: Magical Trip (Super Famicom) - Title Screen (composer: Kenji Yamazaki)

06:58 - The Shinri Game 2: Magical Trip (Super Famicom) - In-game BGM 3 (composer: Kenji Yamazaki)

09:28 - The Shinri Game 2: Magical Trip (Super Famicom) - In-game BGM 4 (composer: Kenji Yamazaki)

12:22 - The Shinri Game 2: Magical Trip (Super Famicom) - In-game BGM 6 (composer: Kenji Yamazaki)

15:10 - The Shinri Game 2: Magical Trip (Super Famicom) - In-game BGM 7 (composer: Kenji Yamazaki)

16:31 - The Shinri Game 2: Magical Trip (Super Famicom) - In-game BGM 10 (composer: Kenji Yamazaki)

18:39 - Talk Segment: Esper Dream 2

22:10 - Esper Dream 2 (Famicom) - Name Entry (composers: Shigemasa Matsuo and Manami Matsumae)

22:50 - Esper Dream 2 (Famicom) - Toaru Library (composers: Shigemasa Matsuo and Manami Matsumae)

23:29 - Esper Dream 2 (Famicom) - Books 1 & 5 -  Town (composers: Shigemasa Matsuo and Manami Matsumae)

24:37 - Esper Dream 2 (Famicom) - Item Shop (composers: Shigemasa Matsuo and Manami Matsumae)

25:16 - Esper Dream 2 (Famicom) - Book 1 - Underwater (composers: Shigemasa Matsuo and Manami Matsumae)

26:17 - Esper Dream 2 (Famicom) - Area Clear (composers: Shigemasa Matsuo and Manami Matsumae)

26:56 - Esper Dream 2 (Famicom) - Book 2 - Rikki on Train (composers: Shigemasa Matsuo and Manami Matsumae)

27:52 - Esper Dream 2 (Famicom) - Book 2 - Express Train (composers: Shigemasa Matsuo and Manami Matsumae)

28:28 - Esper Dream 2 (Famicom) - Book 4 - Lava Area (composers: Shigemasa Matsuo and Manami Matsumae)

29:42 - Esper Dream 2 (Famicom) - Book 5 - Mount Crystal (composers: Shigemasa Matsuo and Manami Matsumae)

30:53 - Esper Dream 2 (Famicom) - Ending - Credits  (composers: Shigemasa Matsuo and Manami Matsumae)

33:01 - Talk Segment: Energy Breaker

36:30 - Energy Breaker (Super Famicom) - The Flowers Have Bloomed (composer: Yasunori Shiono)

37:31 - Energy Breaker (Super Famicom) - The Sky’s Brilliance (composer: Yasunori Shiono)

39:25 - Energy Breaker (Super Famicom) - Scientist’s Waltz (composer: Yuusei Yamamoto)

41:05 - Energy Breaker (Super Famicom) - The Guiding Fortuneteller (composer: Yukio Nakajima)

42:16 - Energy Breaker (Super Famicom) - Golden-Colored Wind (composer: Yukio Nakajima)

43:40 - Energy Breaker (Super Famicom) - Heroes’ Adventure (composer: Yukio Nakajima)

45:01 - Energy Breaker (Super Famicom) - To the Blue Horizon (composer: Yukio Nakajima)

46:48 - Energy Breaker (Super Famicom) - The Prayer Bells Do Not Toll (composer: Yukio Nakajima)

48:28 - Talk Segment: Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa

52:34 - Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (Famicom Disk System) - A Rattle Samba (main BGM)

54:02 - Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (Famicom Disk System) - Boss Battle

54:51 - Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (Famicom Disk System) - Sweat on the Beat (Worlds 1-2 & 6-2)

56:48 - Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (Famicom Disk System) - Underwater Stage (Worlds 2-2 & 5-3)

58:22 - Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (Famicom Disk System) - Ice Stage (World 3-3)

1:00:05 - Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (Famicom Disk System) - Final Boss

1:00:59 - Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (Famicom Disk System) - The Land of Happiness (Ending & Staff Roll)

1:02:40 - Outro Talk Segment

1:05:32 - The Price is Right (DS) - Main Theme (composer: Edd Kalehoff)

These are hopeful songs about a better tomorrow. 

Special thanks for this episode goes out to:

During the show, I mentioned the CRT Soundsystem episode about Quintet’s Heaven and Earth trilogy of Super NES games: Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, and Terranigma. You can find that episode (and all that cool music) at https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/crtsoundsystem/episodes/049---Quintets-Heaven--Earth-Games-e2m6mok/a-abekg3o.  

If you want to reach me, I’m most active on Bluesky as @shujinacademy.bsky.social. For now, you can also find me on Threads or Instagram as ShujinAcademyVGMClub. I’m on Mastodon at @[email protected], and my username on Discord is ProfessorTom. All episodes of the show are posted to my YouTube channel, which you can find by searching for Shujin Academy VGM Club. Links to everything are available on my LinkTree at https://linktr.ee/shujinacademy. Please leave me a five star rating on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you’re finding this episode. New episodes are released once or twice a month depending on how often I get them done, and they premiere on Thursday mornings on your favorite podcatcher and on 8beats.co, the internet's number one game music radio station. My show is also featured on Terra Player, the cool app that’s a destination for gaming podcasts and other content, so you can check me out there. Finally, if you just can’t get enough of me, I’m also voicing esports reporter Samson Escapades on audio drama How Much in Bison Dollars?, which you can hear on Spotify and FGC Radio.

If you’re listening on Spotify, please be aware that they’ve pulled a few of my episodes before. There’s a non-zero chance that they’ll eventually pull my entire podcast, as they’ve done with a few other game music podcasts, so I’d strongly suggest you subscribe elsewhere to be sure you can get all of the Professor Tom goodness you crave.

Track Listing:

00:00 - Show Tagline

00:06 - Treasure of the Rudra (Super Famicom) - Sword of the Valiant (Night) (composer: Ryuji Sasai)

01:58 - Talk Segment 1

05:45 - Final Fantasy III Pixel Remaster (multiplatform) - Road to the Summit (composer: Nobuo Uematsu; arranger: Masaya Tsunemoto)

08:14 - World of Final Fantasy (multiplatform) - Lann’s Melody (composer: Masashi Hamauzu)

10:07 - Chrono Trigger (SNES) - To Far Away Times (composer: Yasunori Mitsuda)

14:27 - Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete (PSX/Saturn) - Field to Tomorrow (composer: Noriyuki Iwadare)

16:33 - Street Fighter III: Second Impact (arcade) - SHARP EYES (piano melo version) : Japan-IBUKI STAGE (composers: Hideki Okugawa & Yuki Iwai)

19:45 - Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon (PS2) - Determination (composer: Shoji Meguro)

21:22 - Talk Segment 2

24:16 - Life Force (arcade) - Fly High (2nd Stage BGM) (composer: Miki Higashino)

25:55 - Soul Blazer (SNES) - Underground Castle (composer: Yukihide Takekawa)

29:04 - Final Fantasy VII (PSX) - Cid’s Theme (composer: Nobuo Uematsu)

32:15 - Fire Emblem Fates (3DS) - To A Foreign Land (composer: Hiroki Morishita)

36:38 - Pokemon Mystery Dungeon - Explorers of Time and Darkness (DS) - A Wish for Peace (composers: Arata Iiyoshi, Hideki Sakamoto, Keisuke Ito, Ken-ichi Saito, and Yoshihiro Maeda)

39:44 - Talk Segment 3

42:43 - Bravely Default (3DS) - Horizon of Light and Shadow (composer: Revo)

45:30 - Shining Force 2 (Genesis) - To Arms! (composer: Motoaki Takenouchi)

48:15 - Treasure Hunter G (Super Famicom) - Surrounded by Forest 1 (composer: Mitsuhito Tanaka)

51:48 - Brain Lord (SNES) - Natural Cavern (composer: Masanao Akahori)

54:22 - Tetris Effect (multiplatform) - Always Been But Never Dreamed (composer: Hydelic; vocals: Kathleen Brady)

58:42 - Outro Talk Segment

1:01:08 - Persona 3 FES (PS2) - Brand New Days (The Answer Ending Theme) (composer: Shoji Meguro; vocals: Yumi Kawamura; lyrics: Yuichiro Tanaka)

Tomorrow comes today with this collection of futuristic tracks! Some of them are from games set in the future, and some just sound like the future. Listen for a taste of life in the dystopian world of 2025. 

Special thanks for this episode goes out to:

If you want to reach me, I’m most active on Bluesky as @shujinacademy.bsky.social. You can also find me on Threads, Tumblr, or Instagram as ShujinAcademyVGMClub. I’m on Mastodon at @[email protected], and my username on Discord is ProfessorTom. All episodes of the show are posted to my YouTube channel, which you can find by searching for Shujin Academy VGM Club. You can email me at [email protected]. Links to everything are available on my LinkTree at https://linktr.ee/shujinacademy. Please leave me a five star rating on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you’re finding this episode. New episodes are released once or twice a month depending on how often I get them done, and they premiere on Thursday mornings on your favorite podcatcher and on 8beats.co, the internet's number one game music radio station. My show is also featured on Terra Player, the cool app that’s a destination for gaming podcasts and other content, so you can check me out there. 

If you’re listening on Spotify, please be aware that they’ve pulled a few of my episodes before. There’s a non-zero chance that they’ll eventually pull my entire podcast, as they’ve done with a few other VGM podcasts, so I’d strongly suggest you subscribe elsewhere to be sure you can get every single show.1

Track Listing:

00:00 - VA-11 HALL-A (multiplatform) - CALICOMP 1.1 Startup (composer: Garoad)

00:15 - Show Tagline

00:21 - Civilization III (PC) - Techno (composer: Mark Cromer)

03:48 - Talk Segment 1

08:40 - VA-11 HALL-A (multiplatform) - Welcome to VA-11 HALL-A (composer: Garoad)

11:43 - 2064: Read Only Memories (multiplatform) - Media Blues (composer: Matthew "2 Mello" Hopkins)

13:23 - Persona Q (3DS) - It’s Show Time (composer: Toshiki Konishi) 

15:55 - Unlimited SaGa (PS2) - BT Ver. 3 (composer: Masashi Hamauzu)

17:41 - The World Ends With You (DS) - Psychedelic (composer: Takeharu Ishimoto)

20:03 - Tetris Kiwamemichi (PS2 / arcade) - 05 (composer: unknown)

23:09 - Talk Segment 2

25:24 - Arkanoid DS (DS) - only nearby peace (GAME Chuu BGM) (composer: Takafumi Wada)

28:20 - Rage Racer (PSX) - Lightning Luge (composers: Tetsukazu Nakanishi)

33:28 - Jet Set Radio Future (Xbox) - Funky Dealer (composer: Hideki Naganuma)

36:59 - Tempest 2000 (Jaguar) - Mind’s Eye (composers: Alastair Lindsay, Ian Howe, Julian Hodgson, and Kevin Saville)

41:52 - Talk Segment 3

45:31 - Tetris Effect (multiplatform) - Flames (composer: Hydelic)

49:36 - Streets of Rage 3 (Genesis) - Boss (composer: Motohiro Kawashima)

52:19 - Rez (Dreamcast) - Fear (composer: Adam Freeland; vocals: Cage)

57:25 - San Francisco Rush 2049 (N64) - Flier (composer: Barry Leitch)

1:01:49 - Outro Talk Segment

1:04:20 - Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Darkness (DS) - Defy the Legends (composers: Arata Iiyoshi, Hideki Sakamoto, Keisuke Ito, Ken-ichi Saito, and Yoshihiro Maeda)

1:08:24 - VA-11 HALL-A (multiplatform) - CALICOMP 1.1 Shutdown (composer: Garoad)

Rando Calrissian had just docked at the megacasino on Humora Gamma, where he’d planned on relaxing with some drinks and winning a few jackpots at the rellack table. But when a mad scientist’s experimental new starship engine gets sabotaged, Rando’s thrust into a tangled grab bag of VGM tracks that may prove fatal!

Special thanks for this episode goes out to:

If you want to reach me, I’m most active on Bluesky as @shujinacademy.bsky.social. You can also find me on Threads, Tumblr, or Instagram as ShujinAcademyVGMClub. I’m on Mastodon at @[email protected], and my username on Discord is ProfessorTom. All episodes of the show are posted to my YouTube channel, which you can find by searching for Shujin Academy VGM Club. You can email me at [email protected]. Links to everything are available on my LinkTree at https://linktr.ee/shujinacademy. Please leave me a five star rating on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you’re finding this episode. New episodes are released once or twice a month depending on how often I get them done, and they premiere on Thursday mornings on your favorite podcatcher and on 8beats.co, the internet's number one game music radio station. My show is also featured on Terra Player, the cool app that’s a destination for gaming podcasts and other content, so you can check me out there. 

If you’re listening on Spotify, please be aware that they’ve pulled a few of my episodes before. There’s a non-zero chance that they’ll eventually pull my entire podcast, as they’ve done with a few other VGM podcasts, so I’d strongly suggest you subscribe elsewhere to be sure you can get every single show.

Track Listing:

00:00 - Show Tagline

00:05 - Tecmo World Wrestling (NES) - Insert Name Screen (composers: Keiji Yamagishi, Mayuko Okamura, Hiroshi Miyazaki, and Mitsuhito Tanaka)

00:50 - Talk Segment 1

03:45 - Arcus Odyssey (Genesis) - Act 1-2: The Shrine (composer: Motoi Sakuraba)

06:46 - 1943 Kai (PC Engine) - Antiship Battle B (Round 4-Zhang He) (composer: Harumi Fujita)

07:42 - Comix Zone (Genesis) - Episode 2, Page 1-1 (composer: Howard Drossin)

11:08 - Road Rash (Master System) - Pacific Coast (composer: Greg Michael)

14:15 - Bomberman 64: The Second Attack (N64) - Ocean Planet Aquanet 2nd Mix (composers: Yasunori Mitsuda and Yoshitaka Hirota)

16:55 - Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA) - Prologue ~ Mina’s Theme (composer: Michiru Yamane)

18:59 - Talk Segment 2

22:32 - Lagoon (SNES) - Premonition (composers: "GO" Saito and Masae Sakaide)

26:44 - Pixel Puzzle Makeout League (Switch / Steam) - It's Urgent (Retro Mix) (composer: Capsule King)

29:13 - Secret of Mana (SNES) - What the Forest Taught Me (composer: Hiroki Kikuta)

30:17 - Street Fighter III: Second Impact (Arcade) - TOMBOY (african voice mix) (composers: Hideki Okugawa and Yuki Iwai)

33:29 - Rolling Thunder 2 (Arcade) - Theme from Rolling Thunder 2 (Round 1) (composer: Ayako Saso)

35:34 - Golden Axe III - Ancient Mound (Stage 2A) (composers: Naofumi Hataya, Tatsuyuki Maeda, and Haruyo Oguro)

38:19 - Talk Segment 3

42:01 - World of Final Fantasy (multiplatform) - Labyrinth of Lights (composer: Masashi Hamauzu)

46:12 - Civilization III (PC) - Stars (composer: Mark Cromer)

50:01 - San Francisco Rush 2049 (N64) - Title (composer: Barry Leitch)

54:52 - Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (multiplatform) - Silent Howling (8-bit) (composer: Keisuke Ito)

56:47 - Moto Roader II (TG16) - Ingame 3 (composer: Opus)

58:11 - Outro Talk Segment

1:00:14 - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Genesis) - Competition Menu (composers: Michael Jackson, Brad Buxer)

These are more songs that have come to chew bubblegum and kick ass, and they’re all out of bubblegum.

Special thanks for this episode goes out to:

If you want to reach me, I’m most active on Bluesky as @shujinacademy.bsky.social. You can also find me on Threads, Tumblr, or Instagram as ShujinAcademyVGMClub. I’m on Mastodon at @[email protected], and my username on Discord is ProfessorTom. All episodes of the show are posted to my YouTube channel, which you can find by searching for Shujin Academy VGM Club. You can email me at [email protected]. Links to everything are available on my LinkTree at https://linktr.ee/shujinacademy. Please leave me a five star rating on iTunes or Spotify or wherever you’re finding this episode. New episodes are released once or twice a month depending on how often I get them done, and they premiere on Thursday mornings on your favorite podcatcher and on 8beats.co, the internet's number one game music radio station. My show is also featured on Terra Player, the cool app that’s a destination for gaming podcasts and other content, so you can check me out there. 

If you’re listening on Spotify, please be aware that they’ve pulled a few of my episodes before. There’s a non-zero chance that they’ll eventually pull my entire podcast, as they’ve done with a few other VGM podcasts, so I’d strongly suggest you subscribe elsewhere to be sure you can get every single show.

Since you enjoyed this episode, why not go back and listen to the original Playing With Power episode that I did way back in March of 2023? You can find it at https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-mnyub-13a568f

Track Listing:

00:00 - Show Tagline

00:06 - U.N. Squadron (SNES) - Introduction (composer: Mari Yamaguchi, Toshio Kajino, and Yasushi Ikeda)

01:19 - Talk Segment 1

04:56 - Command & Conquer (PC) - Act on Instinct (composer: Frank Klepacki)

07:47 - Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS) - Power! (composers: Taishi Senda and Yoshito Hirano)

08:37 - Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Arcade) - Last Duel (Story Demo 3) (composer: Isao Abe)

09:40 - Quake II (PC) - Operation Overlord (composer: Sascha Dikiciyan)

13:09 - Shin Megami Tensei (Super Famicom) - Level Up (composer: Tsukasa Masuko)

14:18 - Ys: Ancient Ys Vanished (PC-88) - Chase of Shadow (composer: Yuzo Koshiro)

15:28 - Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360) - Howl of the Departed (composer: Nobuo Uematsu / lyrics:

Hironobu Sakaguchi)

20:22 - Talk Segment 2

22:59 - Guilty Gear XX (Arcade / PS2) - Awe of She ~Dizzy’s Theme~ (composer: Daisuke Ishwatari)

26:05 - Persona 5 Strikers (multiplatform) - Daredevil (composer: Gota Masuoka / lyrics: Jasmine Webb / vocals: Lyn)

30:56 - Metal Slug 3 (Neo Geo) - Kiss in the Dark (composers: Takushi Hiyamuta, Yoshihiko Wada, Masato Horiuchi, Q_JIROU, and Maiko Iuchi)

33:19 - Contra (Arcade) - Maze Fortress 1 (composer: Kazuki Muraoka)

34:52 - Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster (multiplatform) - Battle at the Big Bridge (composer: Nobuo Uematsu / arrangers: Yuko Komiyama and Hidenori Miyanaga)

37:54 - Talk Segment 3

41:53 - Persona 3 (PS2) - Burn My Dread -Last Battle- (composer: Shoji Meguro / lyrics: Reiko Tanaka / vocals: Yumi Kawamura and Lotus Juice)

45:38 - Shining Force (Genesis) - Darksol Battle (composer: Masahiko Yoshimura)

46:45 - Final Fight 3 (SNES) - Chinese Takeout (composer: Katsunari Kitajima)

49:05 - King of Fighters XI (Arcade) - Queen (composer: Hideki Asanaka)

52:10 - Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster - Dancing Mad (Act 4) (composer: Nobuo Uematsu / arranger: Yuko Komiyama)

58:18 - Outro Talk Segment

1:00:24 - Garou: Mark of the Wolves (Neo Geo) - Spread the Wings (composers: Akihiro Uchida, Masato Horiuchi, and Yasuhiro Naka)