Episode 91 :: Final Fantasy VIII, Battletoads Smash Hits

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Show Notes: https://videogamegrooves.com/2022/01/31/episode-91-final-fantasy-viii-battletoads-smash-hits/

We’re back for 2022, perhaps a little bit sleepy, but hibernation can do that to you. Jeremy, Anthony, and Caleb are kicking off the new year with a giant spiked boot and a cool Squall Leonhart necklace. (Yeah, we know.) We are ready to return to the days of slow MIDI beats to study to with Final Fantasy VIII from Square Enix, extracting a few thematic elements from the generally well-liked Uematsu score, and putting them on the turntable for all to see. Redbook audio? Who needs it?? And who in the Final Fantasy universe is the Vin Diesel analog from The Fast and the Furious? We move it along to a much earlier (and also much later) era with Battletoads: Smash Hits from iam8bit. We discuss a bit of the origins of the franchise with David Wise’s not-actually-heavy-metal leanings in the 80s, and run through the weird and warty history up to Battletoads (2020). David Housden expertly weaves many metal threads together into a simultaneously self-aware but genuinely great metal album… along with some calliope music.

We look at the new releases that have come out or been announced in January, and the list is not too bad and generally pretty encouraging! We also put down some predictions for 2022, including production and industry matters, the kinds of releases we expect to see, and we toss a few out-loud wishes into the podcasting ether to see what comes back to us.

Outro: “Balamb Garden” – Nobuo Uematsu, Final Fantasy VIII

Twitter – @vg_grooves, @jeremy_lamont, @ch3records

Caleb’s other prediction is that game music vinyl labels will be releasing a lot of other kinds of “merch” this year. We shall see.

Links:

Guilty Gear (Channel 3 Records) (sold out)
https://ch3records.com/products/guilty-gear
Valis: The Fantasm Soldier Collection (Limited Run Games)
https://limitedrungames.com/collections/neo-frontpage/products/valis-the-fantasm-soldier-collection-3-lp-soundtrack
Cris Tales (Black Screen Records)
https://blackscreenrecords.com/products/cris-tales
Bämeräng (Black Screen Records)
https://blackscreenrecords.com/collections/all-releases/products/bamerang
Ys Origin (Wayô Records)
https://www.wayorecords.com/en/vinyls/754-ys-origin-vinyl-collector.html
Dead Cells Volume 2 (Laced Records)
https://www.lacedrecords.co/collections/dead-cells/products/dead-cells-volume-2-original-soundtrack
Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair (Fangamer)
https://www.fangamer.com/collections/yooka-laylee/products/yooka-laylee-vinyl-soundtrack-impossible-lair
Shadow Dancer: The Secret Of Shinobi (Data Discs)
https://data-discs.com/products/shadowdancer
Syberia: The World Before (Decca Records)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QCY1MCX
Arknights: Journey Of Hope (Yostar) (requires proxy; sold out)
https://yostarshop.com/view/item/000000000161
Martha Is Dead (Wired Productions)
https://shop.wiredproductions.com/products/martha-is-dead-official-soundtrack-vinyl
Chocobo & Chill (GameChops)
https://gamechops.bandcamp.com/campaign/chocobo-chill
Duke Duke Dance Party (Duke Nukem arrangement) (Qrates)
https://qrates.com/projects/25478-duke-duke-dance-party