Pixelated Audio

Illusion Blaze with Seung-Hwan Ro – PA63

Retro gaming and game audio tends to get associated with US, Japan, and Europe because of the shear volume of games and media. So, we thought to ourselves, why not look at some other countries take on game music.

Illusion Blaze (일루젼 블레이즈) was released in 1994 for Korea on the PC and was developed by Family Production. Their games were mostly composed by a duo known as D.A.C. that was producing a mix of rock and electronic music into a unique balance of “destructive harmony.” So, join in as we dip into Korean gaming history, Family Production, and chat with Seung-Hwan Ro of D.A.C. Continue reading →

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Expansion Pack XV: Namco C352 with ctr – PA62

Namco was known for their extravagant arcade systems and over-the-top designs, however, they also had one of the most impressive sound chips in the early 90s. The 32-voice C352 and it’s driver “Quattro” were both innovative and polished but more importantly, they were utilized by an amazing roster of composers.

Guest-hosting the show, ctr (from our affiliate site vgmrips.net) joins in to discuss his latest playback and logging tool QuattroPlay which has been released today alongside the show!

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:06:36 — 179.7MB)

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Astaroth: The Angel of Death – PA61

Imagine, if you will, a game that’s from an Amiga developer heavily influenced by the English rock band Sisters of Mercy. Add in some truly insane music coupled with artwork that’s both sexy and demonic in the style of an 80’s heavy metal album cover (sporting a naked demon right on the title screen). The game you would get is Astaroth: The Angel of Death developed by Eldritch the Cat with music by none other than Jochen Hippel.

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:40:53 — 154.9MB)

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Herzog Zwei with Nathan and Tomomi Otani – PA60

Herzog Zwei is a real-time strategy game that was developed by Tecnosoft and released for the Mega Drive in 1989 for Japan and for the Sega Genesis in 1990 for North America. With excellent music, you’re in for a good time. Join us with guest-host Nathan Daniels and a special appearance from composer Tomomi Otani.
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Buffers Evolution – PA59

It’s safe to assume you’ve heard of Bandai, but did you know they developed a handheld console called the WonderSwan? If not, don’t worry, its obscurity comes from the fact that it was never released in North America and had the misfortune to be in direct competition with the Game Boy… ouch! This doesn’t mean it was bad, in fact it was quite amazing… just unlucky (and maybe marketed poorly). Buffers Evolution is a handheld VGM masterpiece and a great example of what this system could do both in sound and graphics. Enjoy!

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Expansion Pack XIV: Furniss Obscura – PA58

Today marks the 2 year anniversary of Pixelated Audio and we decided to have a little fun by mixing things up a bit! It’s hard to have played Sega Genesis games without hearing the amazing music of Matt Furniss. He is one of the most well-known Western composers and as luck would have it he joined us for a deep dive into some of his more obscure tracks. So listen in as we attempt to stump the legendary composer with his own tunes!

*Spoiler Alert* If you want to try to guess alongside Matt, don’t view the track list ;) Continue reading →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:56:15 — 190.4MB)

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