Podcast
RPGFan's Rhythm Encounter
Hosted by RPGFan.com · EN
Join the staff of RPGFan as they discuss the wide world of RPG music both old and new.
20episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
153 - Build Your Own RPG Soundtrack: Hard Mode
Jan 27, 202501:55:42Tap to summarizeAlmost exactly a year ago, four panelists came together to build a soundtrack to an imaginary RPG out of 8 fragments of other RPGs. Today, we're doing it again, except our "Hard Mode" rules dictate that we must choose songs from our source games with different use cases. So our Town Theme could be anything except another game's town theme, and so on. What kind of RPG will we assemble this time? Find out with us!Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Gio Castillo, Lucas Greene; Edited by Mike SalbatoLinks for this episodeRhythm Encounter 126 - Build Your Own RPG Soundtrack | RPGFanRetro Encounter 442 – The Legend of Zelda: Draft of FantasyTracklist0:16:41 - Title Theme: Hollow Charge (Chris Geehan, Dan-Byrne McCullough) - Cosmic Star Heroine0:26:30 - Map/Overworld Theme: Vana'diel March #2 (Naoshi Mizuta) - Final Fantasy XI0:39:33 - Town Theme: Title Screen (Tsuyoshi Tanaka) - Harvest Moon 640:47:29 - Battle Theme: communication breakdown (Yuki Kajiura) - Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse0:58:03 - Dungeon Theme: One Small Step (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker1:10:20 - Sad/Emotional Theme: Bloom Outro (Mili) - ENDER LILIES: Quietus of the Knights1:21:16 - Final Boss Theme: Touch It - FINAL FANTASY BRAVE EXVIUS Remix (Ariana Grande) - Final Fantasy Brave Exvius1:36:02 - Ending Theme: Welcome to our Town (Motoaki Takenouchi) - Symphonic Suite Shining Force II ~ Ancient Sealing ~Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.Get in Touch:RPGFan.comRPGFan ShopEmail us: music@rpgfan.comTwitter: @rpgfancomBluesky: @rpgfan.bsky.socialInstagram: @rpgfancomThreads: @rpgfancomFacebook: rpgfancomTwitch: rpgfancom
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152 - New Year, New Music
Jan 13, 202501:01:51Tap to summarizeBetween our recent milestone of 150 episodes and the start of a new year, we will have some fun changes coming to Rhythm Encounter, starting with this episode. New games and music release all the time that don't always fit with our episode themes. Starting today, we will release a "new music" episode every few months to spotlight the latest in RPG music. These episodes will typically be a shorter listen with a smaller panel, featuring 6–8 songs each. Today, Mike and Hilary highlight Metaphor: ReFantazio, Ys X: Nordics, Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, and more!Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff; Edited by Jonathan LoganLinks for this episodeRhythm Encounter 53 - Feel the Burn!Rhythm Encounter 150 - Name That (RPG) TuneTracklist0:00:47 - Warriors in Arms (Shoji Meguro) - Metaphor: ReFantazio0:09:35 - Ceruleum Smoke at High Noon (Takafumi Imamura) - Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail0:21:31 - Heroes in Training (Winifred Phillips) - Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (Remaster)0:30:27 - Alefgard (Koichi Sugiyama) - Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake0:35:44 - Facing the Distant Horizon (Falcom Sound Team jdk) - Ys X: Nordics0:41:34 - VS. The Rutile All-Stars (Lena Raine) - Beastieball0:57:09 - Mike's Bonus Track!Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan. This post also contains a bonus listing of more recent music that were considered for this episode, so don't miss it!Get in Touch:RPGFan.comRPGFan ShopEmail us: music@rpgfan.comTwitter: @rpgfancomBluesky: @rpgfan.bsky.socialInstagram: @rpgfancomThreads: @rpgfancomFacebook: rpgfancomTwitch: rpgfancom
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151 - Slay the Princess with Composer Brandon Boone
Dec 30, 202401:33:41Tap to summarizeWARNING: This episode contains major spoilers for Slay the Princess, so listen at your own risk if you have not yet played the game!Every now and again at Rhythm Encounter, we have the chance to bring on a special musical guest. For today’s episode, RPGFan Music editor Patrick Gann sits down with Brandon Boone, composer for the indie visual novel hit Slay the Princess. The interview includes Brandon’s insights and reflections on the process of building the game’s score from the ground up, then expanding the soundtrack for its newer form, The Pristine Cut. Brandon also provides some interesting background information on how he got his start in music, his ties to studio Black Tabby Games (Abby Howard & Tony Howard-Arias), and his recent win at the World Soundtrack Awards!Featuring: Patrick Gann, Brandon Boone, Mike Salbato; Edited by Jonathan LoganTracklist0:24:13 - The Princess (Brandon Boone) - Slay the Princess Original Soundtrack0:40:44 - The Shifting Mound Movement V (Live) (Brandon Boone) - Slay the Princess Live1:23:26 - Brandon’s Bonus Track! House of Woodcock (Johnny Greenwood) - Phantom Thread Original Motion Picture SoundtrackAlbum links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.Get in Touch:RPGFan.comRPGFan ShopEmail us: music@rpgfan.comTwitter: @rpgfancomBluesky: @rpgfan.bsky.socialInstagram: @rpgfancomThreads: @rpgfancomFacebook: rpgfancomTwitch: rpgfancom
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150 - Name That (RPG) Tune
Dec 21, 202401:48:46Tap to summarizeRetro Encounter can't be the only one making quiz show episodes. Rhythm Encounter had to get in on the action to celebrate our 150th episode milestone! Which of course means making our contestants identify songs, composers, and more across five themed rounds. Who will triumph? Feel free to play along too and see how you do! We had enough fun with this one that we don't want to wait another 150 episodes to bring it back. But for now, put your quiz show hats on (those are a thing, right?), make some guesses, and ring in 150 episodes with us!Featuring: Mike Salbato, Patrick Gann, Hilary Andreff, Gio Castillo; Edited by Jonathan LoganRounds0:05:31 - Round 1: Better Together0:16:45 - Round 2: This One's for the Girls0:35:35 - Round 3: This, That, or the Other: Sakuraba Edition0:51:50 - Round 4: Final Fantasy Arrangements1:13:10 - Round 5: Know Your Eras1:31:06 - Round 6: Final QuestionAlbum links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.Get in Touch:RPGFan.comRPGFan ShopEmail us: music@rpgfan.comTwitter: @rpgfancomBluesky: @rpgfan.bsky.socialInstagram: @rpgfancomThreads: @rpgfancomFacebook: rpgfancomTwitch: rpgfancom
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149 - RPG Music Origin Stories
Dec 2, 202401:50:20Tap to summarizeWe all have origin stories about how we got into RPGs (several of us shared them almost six years ago in this feature!), so today our panel discusses music origins — what RPGs attuned us to the RPG music scene or otherwise elevated our senses and made us take notice. For some of us, this dates back to the days of the NES, and sometimes our awakening happened during the days of the GameCube. Whenever these songs hail from, they each hold a special place in our hearts.Featuring: Mike Salbato, Wes Iliff, Gio Castillo, Rob White; Edited by Paul DennisWarm Beginnings0:05:01 - Diddle's Organ (Yoko Shimomura) - Legend of Mana0:05:53 - Godot - The Fragrance of Darkness; That is Coffee (Noriyuki Iwadare) - Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Trials & Tribulations16-Bit Vibes0:25:35 - Kids Run Through the City (FFPR ver.) (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster0:28:11 - Frog's Theme (Yasunori Mitsuda) - Chrono TriggerRound 3: Fight!0:44:50 - Colosseum Round 3 (Tsukasa Tawada) - Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness0:49:05 - Battlefield Without Light -War Theme 2- (Miki Higashino) - Suikoden II Iconic Themes1:11:11 - Tantagel Castle (Koichi Sugiyama) - Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest I1:14:31 - Fear of the Heavens (Hiroki Kikuta) - Secret of Mana1:46:22 - Gio's Bonus Track!Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.Get in Touch:RPGFan.comRPGFan ShopEmail us: music@rpgfan.comTwitter: @rpgfancomBluesky: @rpgfan.bsky.socialInstagram: @rpgfancomThreads: @rpgfancomFacebook: rpgfancomTwitch: rpgfancom
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148 - Tales of Rhythm
Nov 18, 202401:54:51Tap to summarizeWe're no strangers to game series-themed episodes on Rhythm Encounter, such as our Mario RPGs or Dragon Quest shows. Now, it's time for the Tales series! Bandai Namco's long-running series turns 30 next year, and the mainline series alone contains 17 games (or 18 depending on which ones you count). That's more than enough material to showcase on an episode, wouldn't you say? Join our panel as we talk about the oldest, newest, and several Tales games in between, and listen to music by the venerable Motoi Sakuraba and company.Featuring: Mike Salbato, Michael Sollosi, Wes Iliff, Stephanie Sybydlo; Edited by Paul DennisTracklistTales of Strings0:09:30 - Risk It All (Takao Ogi) - Tales of Crestoria0:12:35 - Flame of Hope (Motoi Sakuraba) - Tales of AriseTales of Battle0:30:09 - Fighting of the Spirit Remix (Motoi Sakuraba, arr. S.S.H) - Tales of Phantasia0:34:17 - The Arrow was Shot (Motoi Sakuraba) - Tales of the AbyssTales of Resolve0:55:12 - White Light (comp. Koichi Tsutaya, Shiho Ochi, perf. Superfly) - Tales of Zestiria0:57:21 - Theme of Velvet (Motoi Sakuraba) - Tales of BerseriaTales of Forest1:14:09 - Mystic Forest (Motoi Sakuraba and Shinji Tamura) - Tales of Phantasia1:16:59 - Sunlight Filtering through the Trees (Go Shiina) - Tales of Legendia1:53:16 - Wes' Bonus Track!Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.Get in Touch:RPGFan.comRPGFan ShopEmail us: music@rpgfan.comTwitter: @rpgfancomBluesky: @rpgfan.bsky.socialInstagram: @rpgfancomThreads: @rpgfancomFacebook: rpgfancomTwitch: rpgfancom
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147 - Woodwind Quartet
Nov 4, 202401:50:16Tap to summarizeIt's been awhile since our last instrument spotlight, so in this episode, we're sharing some favorite RPG songs featuring woodwinds, like flutes, ocarinas, and more! Whether it's the incredibly moving sounds of Xenoblade Chronicles 3, the adventurous Dark Cloud 2, or Final Fantasy III's Maiden of Water, we have a lot to cover, so join us on this lovely journey, won't ya?Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Gio Castillo, Tin Manuel; Edited by Paul DennisLinks for this episodeWhat is a zurna?TracklistCalming Melodies0:09:48 - Village of the Elw (Michiko Naruke) - Wild ARMs0:11:18 - A Life Sent On (Yasunori Mitsuda) - Xenoblade Chronicles 3Open Plains and Seas0:27:27 - Shinshu Plains (Masami Ueda arr. Tomomichi Takeoka) - Okami Goju no Onchou0:31:28 - Elia, the Maiden of Water (comp. Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Takashi Hoshide, perf. Siena Wind Orchestra) - BRA★BRA FINAL FANTASY BRASS de BRAVO 3 (FFIII)Slippery & Drippy0:53:40 - Price (Shoji Meguro) - Persona 50:55:25 - Ding Dong Dell -The Cat King's Castle- (Joe Hisaishi) - Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White WitchYour Big Chance1:15:30 - The Adventure that Never Ends (Rush Theme) (Tomohito Nishiura) - Dark Cloud 21:17:09 - Field (With Marin version) (Normal) - (Ryo Nagamatsu) - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening1:47:23 - Hilary's Bonus Track!Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.Get in Touch:RPGFan.comRPGFan ShopEmail us: music@rpgfan.comTwitter: @rpgfancomBluesky: @rpgfan.bsky.socialInstagram: @rpgfancomThreads: @rpgfancomFacebook: rpgfancomTwitch: rpgfancom
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146 - Spooky Edition 2024
Oct 21, 202401:45:20Tap to summarizeSomehow it's been four years since Rhythm Encounter's last Halloween episode, back in 2020's episode 56. Well, it's time we rectified that. A sequel to that episode and a spiritual successor to our previous episode about the works of Michiru Yamane, our panel dug into our gaming experiences to find music for the most spooky time of year. You'll find one of Pokémon's most iconic themes, and everything from old PC adventures to SNES, PS4, and more. If you need some tunes while carving pumpkins, or you're baking some Halloween treats... well, first of all, send us some. But either way, join us for a spooky good time!Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Mario Garcia, Wes Iliff; Edited by Paul DennisTracklistWhat Lurks Beneath0:04:34 - Forest Temple (Koji Kondo) - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time0:08:14 - The Surface of the Water (Yoko Shimomura) - Parasite EveLet's Have Some Fun0:25:01 - Heart of the Idol (Robert Holmes arr. Space Quest Historian/Troels Pleimert) - Gabriel Knight: Synths of the Fathers0:29:47 - Amusement Park (Keigo Hoashi) - NieR: AutomataWitchy Vibes0:52:49 - Lavender Town (Junichi Masuda) - Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen0:54:40 - Freshly Glazed Porxie (Masayoshi Soken, Nobuo Uematsu, and Daiki Ishikawa) - Final Fantasy XIV: ShadowbringersUnsettling Ambiance1:14:45 - Magus' Castle & Confusing Melody (Yasunori Mitsuda) - Chrono Trigger1:16:43 - Firelink Shrine (Motoi Sakuraba) - Dark Souls1:42:35 - Mario's Bonus Track!Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.Get in Touch:RPGFan.comRPGFan ShopEmail us: music@rpgfan.comTwitter: @rpgfancomBluesky: @rpgfan.bsky.socialInstagram: @rpgfancomThreads: @rpgfancomFacebook: rpgfancomTwitch: rpgfancom
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145 - Nocturnes & Counterpoint: Michiru Yamane
Oct 7, 202401:42:53Tap to summarizeWe are at the beginning of "spooky season," and while this isn't (yet) our Halloween episode, October is a fine time to shine a spotlight on composer Michiru Yamane, known in our parts for her excellent work on the Castlevania and Suikoden series. That means some games you may expect, but definitely some you wouldn't, from this talented composer. So dim the lights, summon your favorite fairy companion, and get ready.Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Audra Bowling, Patrick Gann; Edited by Paul DennisTracklistCome See the Softer Side of... Oh0:06:45 - Searching for a Past Hero (Flame Champion Waiting Ground BGM) (Michiru Yamane) - Suikoden III0:09:36 - Nocturne (comp. Michiru Yamane, vo. Hekiru Shiina) - Castlevania: Symphony of the NightPerplexing 3D Attacks0:29:04 - Unknowable Geometry (Symphony Mix) (comp. Jim Guthrie, arr. Michiru Yamane) - The Scythian Steppes: Seven #Sworcery Songs Localized for Japan0:33:06 - Reincarnation of Light and Darkness ~ Shagaru Magara (comp. Marika Suzuki, arr. Michiru Yamane) - Monster Hunter 10th Anniversary Compilation Album [Tribute]House of Fortune0:57:04 - House of Sacred Remains (Michiru Yamane) - Castlevania: Lament of Innocence1:00:55 - Gears of Fortune (Michiru Yamane) - Bloodstained: Ritual of the NightEcclesia the Elder1:16:03 - Screen Credit (Staff Roll) (Michiru Yamane) - Elder Gate1:19:54 - Wandering the Crystal Blue - Arranged (Michiru Yamane) - Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia1:39:34 - Pat's Bonus Track!Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.Get in Touch:RPGFan.comRPGFan ShopEmail us: music@rpgfan.comTwitter: @rpgfancomBluesky: @rpgfan.bsky.socialInstagram: @rpgfancomThreads: @rpgfancomFacebook: rpgfancomTwitch: rpgfancom
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144 - Inspiring RPGs FTW
Sep 23, 202401:53:56Tap to summarizeThere are countless reasons we play and love RPGs, and often those that become our favorites have powerful stories and characters. But pitting your party against often overwhelming odds requires inspirational music for the optimal effect. In this episode we share both music and RPGs that have inspired US in turn, whether it's through bombastic battle music or lively energy. What RPG soundtracks inspire you? Let us know!Featuring: Mike Salbato, Lucas Greene, Tin Manuel, Rob White; Edited by Paul DennisTracklistFamiliar Territory0:05:52 - Weight of the World - Prelude Version (Keiichi Okabe, Nobuo Uematsu) - Death Unto Dawn: Final Fantasy XIV (Shadowbringers)0:08:23 - Color Your Night (comp. Atsushi Kitajo, lyrics by Lotus Juice) - Persona 3 ReloadSoldiers (but not SOLDIERS) and SEEDs0:27:45 - The Landing (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VIII0:32:18 - Revolt / Thunder (Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata) - Tactics Ogre: RebornStellar Days0:53:46 - The Song of the Sirens (Mothervibes) - Stellar Blade0:57:47 - Halcyon Days -Branched- (Yoshimi Kudo) - 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim Remix and Arrange Album -The Branched-Like a Boss1:20:22 - Tumult - Raise Thy Sword in Pride (Yuzo Koshiro) - Etrian Odyssey III HD1:22:00 - Hopes and Dreams (Toby Fox) - Undertale1:49:32 - Rob's Bonus Track!Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.Get in Touch:RPGFan.comRPGFan ShopEmail us: music@rpgfan.comTwitter: @rpgfancomBluesky: @rpgfan.bsky.socialInstagram: @rpgfancomThreads: @rpgfancomFacebook: rpgfancomTwitch: rpgfancom
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