Friday, December 11, 2015

Ep. 11: Medieval Times

Get back into the swing of things at the usual jukebox gathering as Josh and Emily cue up a fresh batch of suggestions, construct a few more elaborate tune-inspired vignettes, and even coin a new term for the listeners. This episode has quite a bit of console variety to it, too. Enjoy!


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This episode was made possible by:
Game Track Title Composer(s)
Golvellius: Valley of Doom First Cave Myam, Shant, Shin-kun, Pazu
Cosmic Wars Incoming Attack Hidenori Maezawa
A.B. Cop Arcade Stage 1 Hikoshi Hashimoto
Final Fantasy XI Ronfaure Nobuo Uematsu
The Misadventures of Tron Bonne Nakkai Desert Toshihiko Horiyama
Al Unser Jr.'s Turbo Racing BGM C Shogo Sakai, Takafumi Miura,
Yuji Suzuki, Masaaki Iwasaki

...and listeners like YOU.


  1. I was a San D'Orian, and way back in 2005 (and periodically throughout the other years I played the game), I heard the Ronfaure theme more than I really care to admit. Just thinking about it makes my ears a little tired. Hearing it again, I can say that it is a very nice piece, but there were some tracks from the FFXI OSTs that would make me travel to places in the game (mostly) just to hear them: Gustaberg (only good thing about hunting Lizzy), Rolanberry, Heaven's Tower, Movalpolos, Tavnazia, Rabao, Sky (also because it's awesome), Zi'Tah (especially). I also never complained about going to Rulude, Pso'Xja, Wajaom, Mhaura, Selbina, or riding the ferry. (Okay, so I complained plenty about that last one, but the music was nice.)
    "Regeneracy," "Sorrow," "Fighters of the Crystal," "Belief," and "Recollection" are some other choice tracks from those OSTs. Practically required listening for all lovers of music.

    That stage 1 track from A.B. Cop was hella rad. I think it lit my ears on fire. More Sega arcade board recommendations incoming.

  2. Every time I listen to the Cosmic Wars soundtrack, I find myself going:
    'that track sounds right out of Castlevania',
    'and that one is TMNT',
    'and this is totally Contra''
    'now, that one there is straight Yume Penguin Monogatari!'

    Nakkai Desert was scorchingly good. The soundtrack to The Misadventures of Tron Bonne (which I will never again pronounce without a guttural r) merits investigation.

    1. Spritz, I was 100% feeling the TMNT on that one. Also, I have a random fascination with Yume Penguin Monogatari, coincidentally! Funny that you mention that one.

    2. I don't know about you, but the first I heard of that game was Brent Weinbach awkwardly describing it's bizarre plot after playing a track. And it just stuck with me.

      For whatever reason I always associate Konami bongos with the game too, even though they show up in plenty of other places.

  3. Wow! Fantastic episode, and not just because you kicked it off with a Golvellius track. I loved the Hikoshi Hashimoto track. I’d never heard of the game before, so it inspired me to look it up. Looks like a cross between Outrun and Road Rash. By the way, it would be awesome if you posted and/or mentioned the developer and publisher of a given title. I know the the spin of the show is not so much about the games as they are the tracks themselves and the memories attached, but developer info is always helpful.

    Regarding my fear of Zelda, it wasn't so much the size of the map as it was the fact that it was the first non-linear game I'd seen. Every game I'd seen up to that point had clear, obvious objectives. You either cleared the screen of enemies, or you drove to the checkpoint, or ran in one direction through a level to the end. With Zelda, not only could Link walk seemingly forever, but I never saw him talk to anyone or receive any instructions or guidance. From what I saw at the time, I couldn't figure out what the goal was. Even killing enemies seemed pointless, since they reappeared as soon as you would return to a previously cleared to screen.

    By the time I got around to playing Golvellius, I'd had enough experience with action adventure games like Y's to understand how they ticked. It eventually ended up becoming my favorite genre, but not by way of Zelda.

    And lastly: Josh, you are awesome! I felt exactly the same way about Metroid as I did about Zelda. Yes, huge maps, but also devoid of human contact, no obvious goals....it all felt so nihilistic. I'm sure I'd have a blast if I played these games today(or even a few years after they came out), but I just wasn't ready for them at the time.

    1. No, Nathan. YOU'RE AWESOME. I still haven't beat Zelda or Metroid. I look forward to the day I retire and can really immerse myself in those worlds.

    2. I never mentioned that I had switched Golvellius tracks at the last moment, which is why the track played here didn’t sound “quirky and lighthearted”. In any case, the track still has that trademark square wave bass and tremulous grace notes that I love about the best SMS music.

  4. Loved the episode guys! I have to say though that there definitely needs a more epic universe surrounding Mega Man. The Mega Man Legends series is my all time favorite for Mega Man, due in part to its great attention to detail, its colorful cartoon style and delightful characters that you quickly fall in love with.

    I highly recommend people play them and that the first game, as well as the Misadventures of Tron Bonne was recently put on sale on PSN for $3!

    Again, I love the picks by everyone! Such a stellar, broad range of emotions. You all have phenomenal taste!

    1. Yeah, you patrons are connoisseurs. A round of Energy Tanks for everyone, on the house!

  5. I love that Al Unser Jr track. The app I use for vgm music won't play that games file properly for some reason, so I don't get to listen to it very often.

    1. That was all Greg G.'s doing. Glad we could bring it back to your ears for a bit!

    2. What have we here? Another reason to rejoice in the recent creation of LMH Mixtape #66 -- more Al Unser Jr's Turbo Racing BGM C.

  6. There is a track called Maiden from from a 2001 visual novel, Kagetsu Tohya (or Ten Nights of the Singing Moon). It is a beautiful piano piece: melancholy, gentle, just slightly haunting, like a tangled memory. Not exactly a Spritz track but it is undoubtedly good.

    I want to quote in full a comment by a Youtube user named Random Gentleman:
    “It's 2014 and I still love this piece.
    Edit: now 2015, still here.
    Edit: Now 2016, same as above.
    Edit: 2017, don't listen to it as much anymore but it's still a lovely piece. This is becoming a yearly habit.﻿”

    Hang on. This story has nothing to do with the episode. Why am I even here?