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It’s the end of March, and in the in-like-a-lion-out-like-a-lamb tradition of this month of contrasts, the Video Game Grooves gang are back with a wildly diverse set of musics, newses, and discussions about video game music on vinyl record! Whether you’re doing yard work, getting that spring cleaning in, or loafing around like you usually do, we’re here for you.
We begin our show this week with a good old-fashioned Joe Hisaishi lovefest as we hear the sounds of the newly-released Ni No Kuni II: The Revenant Kingdom. Although none of us have played the game yet, Paul & co spend a bit of time appreciating the evolution of sound from the previous game, the piquant tones of the instruments, and thhhWHAT THE HELL HAPPENS IN THE OPENING CUTSCENE?? …Ahem. We recover from one kind of traumatic experience and rush headlong into another: Anthony’s bold choice of Streets of Rage 3, which may not be the kind of music you think it is. The soundtrack is a bit of an experiment by Yuzo Koshiro and apprentice Motohiro Kawashima, and we lean right into the “difficult listen” and discuss the creative frontiers of game music (and overall game development) of the day.
In our second segment we have a pretty great crop of announcements and new releases that we’re all excited about (we want to wad them up into our lives), and a few hints and rumors of what’s to come.
Finally, in our third segment we discuss curation of our record collection in the negative sense: When do we take the opportunity to reduce our collection rather than add to it? What are our tendencies toward hoarding, versus pruning our shelf like a lovely and delicate bonsai plant? The answers may shock and surprise you!
Outro: “Crazy Train” – Streets of Rage 3, by Yuzo Koshiro; “Ending” – Streets of Rage 3, by Yuzo Koshiro
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (iam8bit)
Mortician’s Tale (The Yetee)
Katamari Damacy (sold out) (Mondo)
Celeste (Crystal Clear variant) (Ship to Shore Phono Co)
Divinity Original Sin 2 (included in Bundle 003) (Black Screen Records)
Mystery Bundle 003 (Black Screen Records)
Protomen Act II: The Father of Death (Light Up the Night)
Synthetic Core 88 (The Yetee)
Sins of Hyrule (rozen.audio)
Far Cry 5 Mondo Edition (Ubi Store)
Human Fall Flat (sold out) (Super Rare Games)
PinOut/SmashHit (iam8bit)
Songs for Errant Microorganisms, composed with Electroplankton (mrghosty)
