In the 18th episode of Video Wizards, we again travel back to 3 months in one single episode: September, October and November, all in the year 1986. And do things get more 1980s than this one? Perhaps not when arcade games like Out Run and movies like Top Gun see a release in this time period.

It’s a true golden era of mid eighties arcade gaming, with staples Bubble Bobble, Rampage and Arkanoid being wheeled onto floors everywhere. Meanwhile, we also see more hidden gems like Xain’d Sleena by Technōs and Legendary Wings by Capcom appear.

Gaming at home in Europe is dominated by the micros, such as the ZX Spectrum, Commodore C64 and the MSX, but Sega’s Master System and Nintendo’s NES are also quietly launched in this moment in time!

And what about music in the autumn of 1986? Well, it’s as varied as ever, with a lot of 80s R&B, metal, rap and rock crossovers and the usual dose of synth based pop blasting out of speakers around the world. In movie theaters meanwhile, it’s not just Top Gun, but also the very creepy Poltergeist 2 and indisputable sci-fi-horror-action mashup classic Aliens that find their way to the silver screen.

This lenghtiest Video Wizards episode yet of course also contains all the Local Dutch News, Trash from the Classifieds and Video Wizards Quiz shenanigans you’ve come to expect from us.

Get very, very comfortable as you follow Ben and Michiel all the way back to the golden autumn of 1986!

Show theme tune: NEON CITY, composed by Ed 「イートレム」 Tremblay for Mudprints Music and licensed exclusively to The Video Wizards Podcast, ©2019 Mudprints Music, all rights reserved.

Other music used in this episode:

• TV Theme Style (The Winner) – by Colin Thomson, 2018
• Magical Sound Shower – by Hiroshi Kawaguchi for Out Run, 1986
• Lagto Soa – by ??? for Xain’d Sleena, 1986
• Main Theme – by Tadashi Kimijima for Bubble Bobble, 1986
• All Clear (Ending Theme) – by Hisayoshi Ogura for Arkanoid, 1986
• Area 1 – by Tamayo Kawamoto for Legendary Wings, 1986
• Main Theme – by Mark Cooksey for Ghosts’n Goblins (Commodore C64 version), 1986
• The Rain – by Oran “Juice” Jones, 1986
• Hollywood Boulevard – by L.A. Dream Team, 1986
• No Sleep Till Brooklyn – by Beastie Boys, 1986
• Open the Gate – by Vortex, 1986
• Stranger in a Strange Land – by Iron Maiden, 1986
• Ain’t Nothin’ Goin’ On but the Rent – by Gwen Guthrie, 1986
• Walk This Way – by Run D.M.C. (featuring Aerosmith), 1986
• We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off – by Jermaine Stewart, 1986
• When I Think of You – by Janet Jackson, 1986
• What’s the Colour of Money? – by Hollywood Beyond, 1986
• Love Can’t Turn Around – by Farley “Jackmaster” Funk & Jesse Saunders (featuring Darryl Pandy), 1986
• Theme for The Equalizer, by Stuart Copeland, 1985

And finally: our special thanks to Andy Hofle.

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