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We're knee-deep in fall leaves in some parts of the world, though much like our spring themes episode earlier this year, what autumn (or fall) means to each of our panelists varies. Some of us chose songs based on cozy evenings with a hot drink, and some of us used our imaginations since not everyone lives in parts of the world with the typical four seasons. So enjoy eight different musical approaches to autumn, and let us know which of these sound like autumn in your part of the world!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Audra Bowling, Gio Castillo, Jimmy Turner; Edited by Paul Dennis
Links for this episode
Rhythm Encounter 11 - Pumpkin SpiceTracklist0:08:35 - 日常 (Everyday) (Ayako Minami, Makoto Asai) - DAEDALUS: The Awakening of Golden Jazz0:14:10 - Fall (The Smell of Mushroom) (ConcernedApe, arr. by GENTLE LOVE) - Prescription for Sleep: Stardew Valley0:31:32 - Old Familiar Scent of Iselia (Motoi Sakuraba) - Tales of Symphonia0:34:18 - Thank You (Jason Chen) - Autumn’s Journey0:45:30 - Mages In Their Chantry (Inon Zur) - Dragon Age: Origins0:47:13 - Works and Ways Unseen (Ryan Ike) - Shadows Over Loathing1:00:11 - Branch-Colored Past (Time) ~First Chapter - One Hundred Years Ago~ (SOLIDTUNE [Seiichi Takamoto]) - Suikoden: The Woven Web of a Century1:02:55 - National Park (Go Ichinose) - Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver1:18:02 - Audra's (and Jimmy's) Bonus Track!

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We all know those big moments in RPGs. A place, a scene, or a pivotal battle that really makes the game and solidifies it in your memory. The scoring in those moments isn't always what makes it work, but it often plays a crucial role. In many cases, the music really does make the moment, if not the game. Today we are talking about songs that carry that burden of really defining the RPG they're in, making the whole experience better by just being there.
We've been wanting to do this topic for over four years, and there's certainly more music that fits the bill than we had time for, but we are thrilled to talk about these eight songs. Be sure to get in touch with us and let us know some of your game-defining music!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Zach Wilkerson, Wes Iliff, Stephanie Sybydlo; Edited by Paul Dennis
Tracklist0:05:54 - Transcending Love (HIMEKAMI) - Suikoden III0:08:59 - Dynamis (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker0:26:56 - Theme of Grandia (Noriyuki Iwadare) - Grandia0:31:32 - Arc the Lad Theme (Masahiro Andoh) - Arc the Lad0:48:09 - Star Ocean Forever - Jazz Ver. (Motoi Sakuraba) - Star Ocean: Till The End of Time 0:55:15 - Battle 3 (Yasunori Shiono) - Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals1:14:33 - Weight of the World / The End of YoRHa (Keichii Okabe) - NieR: Automata1:20:02 - Carrying the Weight of Life (Kenji Hiramatsu & Yasunori Mitsuda) - Xenoblade Chronicles 31:49:26 - Wes' bonus track!
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From 2001 to 2005, the Game Boy Advance was Nintendo’s golden son. The Game Boy Advance brought gameplay depth and audio quality yet-unseen in a handheld gaming device, and gave us dozens of superb RPGs to enjoy over its run of success. Today, we celebrate the indigo blue machine with nine fabulous songs from a few of the GBA’s finest RPGs.
Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Greg Delmage, Patrick Gann, Peter Triezenberg; Edited by Jono LoganTracklistPart 1 - When something’s going wrong, you must shrink it. 0:15:43 - Awake (Sotaro Tojima) - Castlevania: Circle of the Moon 0:18:04 - Minish Woods (Mitsuhiko Takano) - The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Part 2 - I’m starting with the Mana in the mirror0:37:37 - Mana Shrine / Mana Sanctuary (Kenji Ito) - Sword of Mana0:39:45 - Within the Stars (The Elemental Stars) (Motoi Sakuraba, arr. Sam Dillard) - Golden Sun
Part 3 - Get in the tank, loser. We’re getting coffee. 1:01:59 - Boss Battle (Yoko Shimomura) - Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga1:03:51 - Jess’s Theme (Yoshito Hirano) - Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising
Part 4 - And I’ve seen the promised Landorus-Therian. 1:27:11 - Heaven’s Gate of Darkness / Dark Gate (Minako Adachi) - Riviera: The Promised Land1:29:07 - Elite Four (Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose and Morikazu Aoki) - Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire1:53:50 - Patrick's Bonus Track!
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"All this energy's got us inspired now/We couldn't stop it, just set it free and DANCE!"
That's right! Today we're taking some advice from Persona 4: Dancing All Night and getting our dance on. Spin-off dancing games aside, danceable and electronic beats have permeated RPG soundtracks for a long time, whether that's special arrangement albums or soundtracks incorporating a more modern sound to high praise. We have a good representation of that trend in our setlist today, so join our panel of makeshift DJs as we attempt to bring the house down and spread some of that infectious energy. Maybe we'll even discuss headphone protagonists and their musical powers.
Note: In the episode, we initially mentioned "Obsession" as appearing in .hack//INFECTION, but the song was composed for the .hack//SIGN anime before also appearing in the .hack//Link game.
Featuring: Hilary Andreff, Audra Bowling, Mario Garcia, Steph Sybydlo; Edited by Jono Logan & Mike Salbato
Links for this episode
Rhythm Encounter Episode 52 - Undertale Turns FiveTracklist0:09:14 - ASGORE (Toby Fox arr. Rob Gasser) - Undertale: Straight from the Underground0:13:04 - A Way of Life (ATLUS Kitajoh Remix) (Atsushi Kitajoh, Shoji Meguro, Ryota Kozuka) - Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight0:32:40 - Satisfy (Takeharu Ishimoto) - The World Ends With You0:36:35 - Pulse: Thunder Rolls (Masayoshi Soken, remixed by Daiki Ishikawa) - Pulse: Final Fantasy XIV Remix Album0:59:17 - TIGAR - Otto (Hayato Asano) - Blue Reflection1:03:26 - Staggered Injection (Ekstrak) - Mass Effect 31:25:07 - A New Hope (Masashi Hamauzu) - Musashi Samurai Legend1:27:43 - Obsession (Yuki Kajiura) - .hack//SIGN1:56:32 - Hilary's Bonus Track!
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In summer of 2014, Rhythm Encounter episode 18 was all about town themes. Today, a coincidentally exact 100 episodes later, we finally revisit the topic with more favorite RPG town theme music. This time around, we have games that span quite a range, from the early 90s to just last month, with four new-to-Rhythm Encounter games making their debut, like opoona and Sea of Stars. These town themes range from chill listens, exciting bops, and many things in between. All of us agreed that we all discovered something new from each other, and we hope the same is true for you! Tell us some of your favorite town themes!
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Gio Castillo, Tin Manuel, Audra Bowling; Edited by Jono Logan
Tracklist0:07:40 - Forgotten Days (Miki Higashino) - Suikoden0:10:56 - Sultana Dreaming (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn0:33:56 - The Village Without Memories (Noriyuki Kamikura) - opoona0:37:42 - Village Theme (Khrumble Dun) (Koichi Sugiyama) - Dragon Quest Builders 20:56:38 - Black Mage Village (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy IX0:58:31 - Mabe Village (Kozue Ishikawa, arr by Dj CUTMAN, Spamtron) - MeowMeow & BowWow: A Tribute to Link's Awakening1:11:30 - Seiran - The Blue Reflection (Hayata Takeda, Masato Nakamura) - Scarlet Nexus1:16:05 - Port Town (Day) (Eric W. Brown, Vincent Jones) - Sea of Stars1:38:32 - Gio's Bonus Track!
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When it comes to Final Fantasy music, for every "One-Winged Angel," there are a dozen lesser-known songs in a given game that don't always get their deserved time in the spotlight. Today's panel came loaded with eight songs they feel are overlooked, underrepresented, and, yes, underrated from across the Final Fantasy series. So take a seat, Sephiroth, today we're going to hear from Relm, Jecht, and some good avian friends.
Note: One of us made a mistake when discussing a song in the third block, but please continue listening before writing in, as we figured out the issue during the song break! Apologies for any confusion there, but enjoy the music nonetheless.
Featuring: Mike Salbato, Tin Manuel, Lucas Greene, Jimmy Turner; Edited by Jono Logan
Tracklist0:09:38 - The Selkie Guild (Hidenori Iwasaki & Ryo Yamazaki) - Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles The Crystal Bearers0:12:03 - Galdin Quay (Yoko Shimomura) - Final Fantasy XV0:27:42 - Damcyan Castle (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Yuko Komiyama) - Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster0:30:17 - Horror of the Abyss (Takeharu Ishimoto) - Final Fantasy Type-00:48:26 - Coin Song (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Shiro Sagisu) - Final Fantasy VI Piano Collections0:53:08 - God's Cradle (JP: Kami no Yurikago), Relm’s Theme (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Risa Ohki) - Final Fantasy Vocal Collections II “Love Will Grow”1:16:54 - On Our Fates Alight (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers1:20:50 - Otherworld (Bill Xtillidiex Muir, Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy X 1:51:51 - Jimmy's Bonus Track!
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