Episode 8 :: Super Castlevania IV, Hero of Time

It’s that time again, and another episode of our podcast has come around on the turntable of life. For this episode we are joined by retro gaming enthusiast, composer, and indie game developer Peter Smith aka Moon Kid, to investigate the deeper essential parts of our selections.

As featured selections go, we have treats in store! First, Anthony finally gets to bring you the “acid jazz fever dream” of Super Castlevania IV by Mondo, and we discuss the improvisational qualities of this early SNES title. This Castlevania entry musically stands alone in the series, and we’ve picked some selections that we hope will show you why. Next, Jeremy goes symphonic with the Hero of Time album by iam8bit, and we bathe in the beautiful orchestral re-imagining of the iconic Koji Kondo score.

Things get pretty deep in our third segment, and we get into the artifice, ritual, and “threshold” of listening to music on vinyl as opposed to other formats, and we pick Pete’s brain about his experiences composing for The Great Gatsby NES game (yes, it’s real). What might Douglas Adams think of all of this vinyl record stuff? We explore that too. Join us!

Twitter – @vg_grooves, @ajohnagnello, @walnutsoap, @turbomcphazer, @jeremy_lamont

Playable: The Great Gatsby NES

Outro: “Hyrule Field” – Hero of Time, by Eric Buchholz

Links:
Contra (Mondo)
Flinthook (The Yetee)
The Inner World (Black Screen Records)
Another World/Out of this World (Banquet Records)
Dark Souls I, II, III (ThinkGeek)
Sonic Mania (Data Discs)
Undertale (back order, iam8bit)
Uncharted 4 (back order, iam8bit)
Streets of Rage (Data Discs)
Streets of Rage II (Data Discs)