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It's-a-us, the Rhythm Encounter crew! With the impending launch of the remaster for the beloved sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, we decided it was high time to talk about Mario's illustrious RPG career. Starting with 1996's Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and extending through the Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario games, the idea of a Mario-based RPG went from an unheard of collaboration between Nintendo and then-Squaresoft to multiple styles of games across several generations of consoles. And, as it turns out, incredibly talented composers are attached to every game's soundtrack. So strap on your overalls and join us for some of our favorite Mario RPG music!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Mario Garcia, Jimmy Turner; Edited by Paul Dennis
Links for this episode
Rhythm Encounter 61 - A Very Yoko Shimomura January | RPGFanMario Tennis (N64) - Game Point (YouTube)TracklistWorld 1 - Dream City0:08:53 - Dreamy Castle Rendezvous (Yoko Shimomura) - Mario & Luigi: Dream Team0:11:25 - Rogueport (Yoshito Hirano and Yuka Tsujiyoko) - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
World 2 - Mushroom Stomp0:26:25 - Beware of Forest Mushrooms (Yoko Shimomura) - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars0:28:31 - Battle (Yoko Shimomura) - Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
World 3 - And My Name's Birdo0:46:42 - ‌Enter Birdo (Yoshito Sekigawa, Shoh Murakami, Yoshiaki Kimura, Hiroki Morishita, and Fumihiro Isobe) - Paper Mario: The Origami King0:48:39 - This is Booster Tower (Yoko Shimomura) - Super Mario RPG (Remake)
World 4 - Bowser's Castle 41:06:25 - ‌Game Point (Motoi Sakuraba) - Mario Tennis (GBC)1:08:16 - The Grand Finale (Yoko Shimomura) - Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story1:30:34 - Mario's Bonus Track!

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Whether or not you need an introduction to Masashi Hamauzu's music, we've got something for you. From some well-known to lesser-known Final Fantasy pieces to some classic Square Enix games, our panel dug in to ensure we covered a lot of ground in Hamauzu's history as a composer and arranger. So join us as we discuss fantasies, legacies, remakes, a guy named Todd, and way too much about how we're meant to pronounce "Archylte."
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Patrick Gann, Zach Wilkerson, Greg Delmage; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist0:06:51 - The Star Graal - The Legend of Legacy0:11:38 - Frenzy Under Pressure (comp. Masashi Hamauzu, perf. Benyamin Nuss, Lisa Schumann & Kana Shirao) - Masashi Hamauzu Opus 4 Piano and Chamber Music Works0:39:23 - End of the World (comp. Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu, arr. Masashi Hamauzu) - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth0:42:16 - Jessie’s Theme - Final Fantasy VII Remake1:03:33 - The Archylte Steppe - Final Fantasy XIII1:07:41 - A Fleeting Dream (comp. Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Masashi Hamauzu) - Final Fantasy X1:39:43 - Todfeind - SaGa Frontier 21:41:51 - A Dream in Flight - Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon2:16:55 - Mike's Bonus Track!
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Everything's better with the right soundtrack backing it up, whether that's studying, working, or household tasks — most notably for today's discussion, cooking! Whether our panel on this episode was channeling energy for a flavorful Spanish chicken dish or some chill tunes to prepare cozy desserts, we got to showcase the diverse range of music that each of us likes to accompany our time in the kitchen.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Audra Bowling, Tin Manuel, Jimmy Turner; Edited by Jonathan Logan
Tracklist0:05:20 - Balamb Garden (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VIII0:08:48 - vital signs (universa’s theme) (Milk & Bone) - Invincible Presents: Atom Eve0:23:09 - Challenging a Queen (Tripod & Austin Wintory) - Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical0:28:39 - 10:27 Appledew Stew (Danger) - Haven0:48:58 - Dance of 1,000 Suns (Eric W. Brown) - Sea of Stars 0:51:16 - Crimson Valley -Night- (Daisuke Achiwa) - Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book1:05:39 - Life at Garreg Mach Monastery - Piano Arrangement (Takeru Kanazaki, arr. PurpleSchala) - Fire Emblem Three Houses for Solo Piano1:09:50 - Farm Boy (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Shotaro Shima) - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth1:31:34 - Mike's Bonus Track!
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It's hard to go a few months without a remaster of a beloved RPG gracing our physical or virtual shelves, but when some of those are the quality of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series or the recent Persona 3 Reload, we aren't complaining. This age of remasters also means updated or rearranged music is part of the package, so today we're showcasing some stellar new takes on music for eight RPG remasters released in recent years.
Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Audra Bowling, Gio Castillo, Lucas Greene; Edited by Mike Salbato
TracklistBlock 1 - Final Fantasy Anthology0:06:02 - Battle on the Big Bridge (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster0:08:32 - Aria di Mezzo Carattere {English Language Version} (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster
Block 2 - Yoko! Oh no!0:25:09 - Agniratha, Mechonis Capital/Night (Definitive Edition ver.) (arr. Kenji Hiramatsu) - Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition0:27:56 - Danger Aplenty on the Journey (Yoko Shimomura) - Super Mario RPG Remake
Block 3 - Samurai Secrets and Space Spectres0:43:11 - Collisions of our Swords (arr. unknown) - Like a Dragon: Ishin! (2023)0:47:48 - Resynthesis (Sam Hulick) - Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
Block 4 - Masked Faces in Dark Places01:02:15 - When the Moon’s Reaching Out Stars -Reload- (arr. Atsushi Kitajoh) - Persona 3 Reload1:05:36 - Face Shrine (arr. Ryo Nakamatsu) - The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (2019)1:28:58 - Gio’s bonus track!
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Huh?
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Wes Iliff, Kyle Cantelon; Edited by Mike Salbato
Links for this episode:
YouTube: Might and Magic VI, All Voice Acting Part 1YouTube: Might and Magic VI and VII: Creature SoundsPlayStation 2 Crystal Clock
Tracklist0:03:32 - Level Up - Dragon Quest0:03:36 - Judgment Ring Hit - Shadow Hearts Covenant0:12:32 - Wizard Eye/other spell sounds - Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven 0:12:36 - Dark Space "blip" - Illusion of Gaia0:26:18 - Pokéball Wobble - Pokémon series0:26:23 - Disc Sounds - PlayStation 20:41:30 - Start of the Search (Fumiyoshi Shimohara) - Yakuza 00:41:38 - Cursor Movement - Final Fantasy VII
Sound Sources: Final Fantasy VII, PlayStation 2, Dragon Quest, Shadow Hearts Covenant, Might and Magic VI
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While RPGs have no shortage of high-energy moments requiring intense strategizing, quick reflexes, or simply a box of tissues for the more emotional moments, it's important to have downtime between those to balance everything out. This episode is about "safe spaces" in RPGs, and our panelists did not always choose the kinds of song we expected of one another. We enjoyed hearing the various ways each of us wanted to represent safe spaces through a variety of musical means, and we'd love to hear your favorite music in this vein as well!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Audra Bowling, Gio Castillo, Tin Manuel; Edited by Paul Dennis
Links for this episode
YouTube: Final Fantasy XV "Uncovered" TrailerRhythm Encounter 104 - Like a Dragon: Rhythm! | RPGFanTracklist0:06:31 - Maiden in Black (Shunsuke Kida) - Demon’s Souls0:10:51 - Yohan Romantic (Spencer Bambrick) - Eternights0:26:48 - By the Campfire (Norikazu Miura) - Suikoden Tactics0:28:23 - Our Terms (Takafumi Imamura) - Final Fantasy XVI0:49:20 - Brink of Time (Yasunori Mitsuda) - Chrono Trigger0:51:44 - New Serena (Yuichi Kanatani) - Yakuza 41:23:30 - Song of the Ancients / Hollow Dreams (Keiichi Okabe, arr. Keigo Hoashi) - NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139...1:26:57 - Stand By Me (Ben E. King, perf. by Florence and the Machine) - Final Fantasy XV2:00:30 - Audra's Bonus Track!
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