Pixelated Audio - VGM and Retro Gaming

Neural Gear, developed by Fill in Cafe and published by Cross Media Soft, is a 3rd person rail shooter (riding in the light of Space Harrier) released strictly for the Sharp X68000 on November of 1990. While the game doesn't win any awards in the visual department it makes up for it in audio. Composed by Keishi Yonao, Neural Gear features both a soundtrack designed for the OPM/OKI (FM/PCM) sound source and the MT-32 (MIDI) sound source. Keishi Yonao, best known for Asuka 120% Burning Fest series, Mad Stalker, and Dies Ire, he's highly regarded in the Japanese chip tune community for his creativity and detail. Listen in as we discover the music and also chat briefly with Yonao-san about his career and compositions. Neural Gear - Sharp X68000, Fill in Cafe Composed by Keishi Yonao

SNK produced some of the best titles to grace the arcades but also covered the spectrum in genre and variety. Only twice in the company’s history did they attempt to produce a wrestling game and Big Bang Pro Wrestling released in 2000 for the Neo Geo Pocket Color was out of this world. Taking lots of inspiration from the Fire Pro Wrestling series, the handheld quasi-adaptation delivers everything you’d expect and more. Big roster of characters, multiple modes, customizations, and of course, a rocking soundtrack composed by Takafumi Wada. Take a listen with us and we explore the soundtrack! Big Bang Pro Wrestling (2000) Neo Geo Pocket Color Produced by SNK, Developed by S-NEO Composed by Takafumi Wada Track List: * 0:00:07 Opening * 0:09:50 Beginning (Wrestler Bio) * 0:11:53 Fight! (Normal Match BGM) * 0:18:35 Knives (Brian’s Theme) * 0:24:49 Red 200X (Mike’s Theme) * 0:26:38 Night Saw (Deitz’s Theme) * 0:33:41 Samurai (Title Defense Match BGM) * 0:40:23 Fujiyama (Sho’s Theme) * 0:43:51 I Scream (David’s Theme) * 0:51:24 Funky Dog (Alex’s Theme) * 0:53:06 Tokyo Man (Eagle’s Theme) * 0:59:58 Streaming (Josef’s Theme) * 1:02:02 Cocoa Milk (Kei’s Theme) * 1:08:10 Geisha!! (Final Match BGM) * 1:16:03 You’re Mine (Ending)

After a short break, we're back! Starting off 2018 with a new episode featuring the music of Tetris DS on the Nintendo DS. In 2006, Nintendo did classic puzzle enthusiasts a solid by not only chalking the game full their 8bit all-stars, but also producing a phenomenal Tetris title with loads of new content. Join in as we take a listen to some new arrangements of some well-loved tunes. Tetris DS, 2006 Nintendo DS composed by Minako Hamano, Akira Fujiwara

WonderBoy III: The Dragon’s Trap is a special game for a lot of people in a lot of ways. Today we will explore all the different paths to find its hidden gameplay and musical treasures. Much like the game, with its colorful cast of playable characters, we will not be alone on this journey of discovery. We are joined by the original composer Shinichi Sakamoto as well as Michael Geyre, Omar 'Bock' Cornut and Romain Gauthier from the amazing team that brought this game back to life in 2017 for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One and PC. Whether you played this back in the day on the Master System, picked this up for a modern console, or even have it on your 'wish list' we think you will enjoy this interesting (and chaotic at times) look into a game that was so ahead of its time it's still enjoyable today. Check the website for loads more info :) http://pixelatedaudio.com/95

Today’s Expansion Pack tends to lean heavy on the Sharp X68000 (not planned) but that’s not a bad thing. Some amazing tracks selected from the Pixelated Audio team for your listening pleasure. Be sure to let us know your thoughts about the music as well! Track List: * Victory is Imminent – Lord Monarch (FM Towns) * Mieko Ishikawa, Atsushi Shirakawa, Masaaki Kawai * Premonition – Lagoon (X68000) * Hideki Suzuki * Valley – Lagoon (X68000) * Hideki Suzuki * Launching (Title) – StarTrader (X68000) * Hiroya Hatsushiba, Keishi Yonao, Mieko Ishikawa * Lunatic Dance – Getsumen no Anubis (SFC) * Noboru Iwata * Legend – Sion II (X68000) * Zenji Nishikawa, Tetsushi Takahashi, Noriyuki Shindou * Title Screen – Deneb (Atari 8-bit) * Robert Drag * Ending “Last Drive” – Knight Arms: The Hyblid Framer (X68000) * Toshiya Yamanaka

Pixelated Audio Music Disk Vol. 3 features the 7th and final music disk from GC-clusterz. Released in December of 1991, this compilation includes both arrangements of video game music AND original tunes made for the PC-8801 series of computers by NEC. Led by GEPPEL, this doujin group only lasted a year (as GC-clusterz) but produced a ton of music in that short span of time. Join in as we take a listen to some of our favorite tracks from this awesome indie music disk. GC-clusterz Music Disk vol. 7 最後の悪あがきの水増し特集（笑） December 23, 1991 – NEC PC-8801 – SoundBoard II – PMD v3.3    Track List: 0:00:08 MAYIM MAYIM Euro Arrangement – composed by Senhor.M 0:12:06 Air Battle (Thunder Cross II – Arcade) – arr. by GEPPEL 0:20:36 某Shooting Opening – composed by GEPPEL 0:28:42 Battle Field (Space Harrier – Arcade) – arr. by Kobuhei 0:32:44 某Shooting 1st Name place Entry – composed by Senhor.M 0:36:20 Talisman, Underground Dungeon (Sorcerian – PC-8801) – arr. by GEPPEL 0:40:11 PSG 3 Voices Brings Me to Tears – composed by GEPPEL 0:44:35 Gift of the Wind (Detana!! TwinBee – Arcade) – arr. Tetsuya Ootani 0:48:50 Opening (Demon II – PC-9801) – composed by Senhor.M 0:54:29 Gallantry (Raiden Densetsu – FM Towns) 1:00:41 The deal with Saturday night (土曜日の夜わ大騒ぎ) – composed by GEPPEL GEPPEL’s website http://neuzkraft.com

Cuphead is the first game by the indie studio called StudioMDHR based in Canada, which was created by brothers Chad and Jared Moldenhauer. In development since 2010, Cuphead graced the gaming world only last month but is the first of its kind. Now, we’ve seen many action platformers and many boss-battle systems pop up before (no short supply here) but a beautiful art style that is reminiscent of cartoons from the 1930s combined with a killer sound that marks an era, Cuphead is something of its own. Join us as we chat with the current world record speed runner, The Mexican Runner, about the gameplay. And of course, composer Kristofer Maddigan about his composition. Cuphead (Xbox One, Steam, Windows 10) Studio MDHR, 2017 Composed by Kristofer Maddigan krismaddigan.com | @KrisMaddigan The Mexican Runner (current world record holder of Cuphead) The Mexican Runner: Twitch | NESMania Episode Track List: * 0:00:00 Introduction * 0:10:31 All Bets Are Off * 0:17:49 Treetop Trouble * 0:37:54 Porkrind’s Shop * 0:49:29 The King’s Court * 1:04:27 Floral Fury * 1:16:04 Clip Joint Calamity * 1:29:14 Sugarland Shimmy * 1:39:10 Murine Corps * 2:02:11 Closing Credits

It's Halloween season and we're bringing out a soundtrack to one of the most terrifying adorable ghosts around (even makes your ghost emoji look scary). Yuurei-kun (aka Mr. Ghost) is a side-scrolling action game released for the MSX2 and higher compatible machines in 1989  both published and developed by System Sacom. While the soundtrack was written using simple PSG (3 voices), the late Manabu Saito delivered an enjoyable soundtrack that is wonderfully composed and hauntingly catchy.  A bit of a change from our normal episodes, James is sick this week so Gene taps in to fill the void in this late night recording. We hope you enjoy it!

In this installment we’re exploring the soundtrack of an overlooked SNES Action-RPG released in 1994, titled: Brain Lord. It was developed by Produce! in conjunction with a sound group called Opus, and published by Enix for the Super Nintendo (or Super Famicom). Composed by Masanao Akahori, the game has a totally catchy soundtrack and some truly wonderful moments that were clearly inspired by 80’s Pop and Rock. Join in as we take a step into the town of Arcs with Remeer and friends. Track List: 0:00:00 Dragon Legend 0:08:17 Town of Arcs 0:16:17 Tavern/Inn 0:19:19 Shop 0:23:52 Road to the Tower/Northern Highway 0:28:48 Before the Journey 0:35:41 Road to Toronto/Southern Highway 0:40:07 Town of Toronto 0:48:29 Natural Cavern/Underground Passage 0:57:31 Huge Roach/Cockroach Race 1:08:12 Site of Civilization/Ancient Ruins 1:11:24 Platinum Shrine 1:16:40 Unused Track 1:19:19 Road to Droog 1:25:22 Epilogue

Riding on the heels of our last episode (MAGWest Panel), Gene co-hosts with us once again for a Sega Genesis/Mega Drive themed Expansion Pack. We've got a lot of great music and hopefully some new stuff that you might have missed! Check the site for track list! pixelatedaudio.com/89

MAGWest was the first West Coast MAGFest event in Santa Clara, California (August 25th-27th) and we were stoked to be invited to do a panel this year. The topic we landed on was the sound system of the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive and how the two sound chips (Sega PSG/YM2612) complemented each other for a rich audio experience. This year and had two guests join in on the talk. Well-known chiptune artist and game audio advocate Inverse Phase and the master of the OPL2, Extent of the Jam. Sound chips, tunes, and some Inverse Phase originals included. MAGWest had tons of bands, music, gaming, and awesome people in the community. It was a blast! ---Oh, and pardon the audio quality! For our panel, we included a visual presentation to help with some of the explanation. Check the site for the visual presentation. MAGWest Panel Slides

Heading back to the YM2608 for a look (and listen) at a game called Starfire for the  PC-9801. A system exclusive, 1st person action RPG, released on October 14th of 1994; developed and published by a small company called StarCraft Inc. It's an interesting game that, even though a Japanese only title, borrows heavily from Western games like "Might and Magic." More importantly, the music composed by Takeshi Abo, is a mixture of ambient, dance, and focuses on rhythm and pace to carry the mood.  Join in as we discuss the music of Starfire and also chat with Takeshi Abo about his music from over 20 years ago! http://pixelatedaudio.com/starfire/

The third Natsume NES/Famicom spotlight on the show features music from another strong composer. Dragon Fighter is a side scrolling action platformer, released for the Famicom in Japan in 1990, developed by Natsume and published by Towa Chiki. In 1992 the game was brought to the North American audience by a company called SOFEL Corp. Using the driver by Iku Mizutani, composer Kouichi Yamanishi delivers a similar style that retains everything we love about the Natsume sound. Join us as we listen to the music of Dragon Fighter on Nintendo's 8 bit powerhouse. Join our Discord server at  For more Natsume featured music check out our other episodes: Episode 78 - Mitsume ga Touru (Interview with Hiroyuki Iwatsuki) Episode 37 - Shadow of the Ninja

We’re taking a break… Don’t worry, just this week. :) In this episode, we got together for a bit to listen to how we started (episode 1) that was released just over 3 years ago now. We talk a little about the show, how we’ve changed, the way it’s produced, and the other additions as well. If you were expecting a normal episode, we do apologize but hope that you join in this mini retrospective on Pixelated Audio. – BRYAN & JAMES

In this installment of Pixelated Audio, we're heading back to the Game Boy featuring a soundtrack from a Japanese-only title called Uchuu no Kishi Tekkaman Blade, developed by Sun L and published by Yutaka in 1992. This game is based off the short lived anime by Tatsunoko Production and Sotsu Agency. The game is a blast and has a great soundtrack composed by Norihiko Togashi, who has contributed to over 100 titles in his career (Battle Dodgeball, Ultraman, and Super Wagyan Land for SFC). Join us as we tear apart the audio from this cool action platformer. Complete show notes and track listing at pixelatedaudio.com/84