Beeps Bops & Beats

So we're back with Axiom Verge 2! Today Joshua walks us through this 2021 metroidvania prequel. As with Axiom Verge previous covered here, this game was developed, published, and composed by Thomas Happ. A lot of the similarities end there though as there's a heavy divergence from the heavy synythetic chiptunes with a whole new sound from Happ as Joshua supplies trip hop beats, melodic world music...

SNES JRPG royalty comes barreling back to Beeps Bops and Beats as Chris brings us Secret of Mana, a 1994 action-RPG developed and published SquareSoft. Composed by Hiroki Kikuta, this beloved entry in the Mana series was the first to land in the US with its own moniker while enthralling a generation with the promise of high adventure. Ancient sorcerers, flying on dragons, finding legendary weapons...

Welcome to the World of BBB! Today we'll be joined by Professors Laura, Joshua, and Chris as we bring to you the Pokémon Power Hour! We cover a whole heaping of everyone's favorite Pokemon Company creatures while exploring the music from as far back as the original GameBoy releases all the way up to the most recent ooting with Pokopia on Switch 2! As varied as the creatures are, the music runs the...

Eager to bring more cyberpunk to the podcast, Chris is coming in today with 2016's waifu booze-em-up  VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action . Developed by Sukeban Games, published by Ysbryd Games, this indie hit is composed by Michael Kelly aka Garoad. In this dystopian visual novel you sling drinks as a bartender trying to make in a crazy world where talking corgis run companies, android pop s...

Link, wake up. You've been snoozing for a century! Laura bringing us Breath of the Wild despite it not having any music somehow? Really though, the soundtrack for this 2017 action-adventure game that developed and published by Nintendo was composed by Hajime Wakai, Yasuaki Iwata, and Manaka Kataoka. Somehow its ambient, yet threatening - but also melancholic and triumphant? Things are getting dice...

The perks of getting old is having a lifetime of gaming under your belt, and today the BBB crew leans hard into that during this Nostalgia Hour (+), sharing with each other beloved games, memories, and music from our collective childhoods. Some of us were Hylian adventurers or blue hedgehogs, others were farmers in remote mountain villages, rapping dogs, or purple dragons and eco terrorists... It...

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, wait, it's Laura bringing us Skyward Sword today while riding a massive loftwing in this 2011 action-adventure game, developed and published by Nintendo. Compositions by Hajime Wakai, Shiho Fujii, Mahito Yokota, and Takeshi Hama. Continuing our journey through the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda series, we find ourselves way way up in the skies, but also way...

So what IS the Axiom Verge ? Today we found out as Joshua walks us through this 2015 indie homage to Metroid that leans heavily into the retro feel of the genre. Developed, published, and composed by Thomas Happ, this side scrolling action adventure game takes the scientist Trace through a foreign alien world ruled by technology while piecing together what happened to the world you woke up in, and...

What would games be if not for the characters that let you live there stories? Today we're putting our heads together and coming out with some of our favorite Character Themes across all manner of games, genres, and decades. Summoners, mole men, self-proclaimed badasses, space bounty hunters, devout murderers, and fish people about.  Join the BBB Discord @ https://discord.gg/FEAYdbePt8 Follow us o...

Today Chris is bringing the wub wubs with 2018's release  Tetris Effect . Developed by Monstars / Resonair / Stage Games, published by Enhance Games, directed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, with compositions by Hydelic. Drop blocks, make lines, clear out the puzzle. We all know Tetris. Now add in some panache fueled by various electronica beats, entrancing visualizations to match the music, a desire for a...

In today's episode Joshua serves up his favorite su... tunes from Dave the Diver. This 2023 indie darling has a blend of action-adventure and management gameplay as you play as Dave exploring the depths of The Blue hole to catch fish to serve at his friend's sushi diner. Developed by Nexon, published by Minitrocket, and composed by D'Anthoni Wooten and Jukio Kallio, there's never been a better tim...

Hopefully you brought a change of clothes because this is our wettest episode yet as we share our favorite Water Music across the decades . We got some Mario music... and Mario music... And some not Mario music. Some dam turtles. A goddess love story. Deep fears of... well, the deep. Fear not though as after some rough seas we'll bring you back to port with beautiful lake music, and even a serenad...

Today's episode is a change-up as we play a game to celebrate storied composer Yoko Shimomura . With over 40 years of work in her portfolio, Chris puts Joshua and Laura to task as they try and connect the dots of which games come from which series. Ranging the gamut from Street Fighter to Kingdom Hearts, there's something in here for everyone. Give it a shot and let us know how you held up on toda...

H'yuk! Looks like today Laura is taking BBB on a journey through Banjo-Kazooie , the 1998 Rare developed platforming collect-a-thon released for the Nintendo 64. As this bear and bird combo takes us from snowy mountains to bays, and even through time traveling woods, Laura as guides us through Grant Kirkhope's compositions that dynamically shift during gameplay. Be ready for the nostalgia bump as...

There's a saying that you can never go home... Today we disagree as we focus on Hubs and Town Themes , places you live in for a bit before going forth into the world. Yet its always there for you to return to. Whether its a town of wizardry or elf-kin that you were banished from, an island you made home to collect bugs with friends, a damned village, or just a spooky mansion - Home can come in man...

In today's episode Chris takes us out to the brink of civilization and civility with madcap looter shooter Borderlands 3. A 2019 multi-platform release, this RPG shooter was published by 2K Games and developed by Gearbox and mostly known for its absurd sense of humor and style over substance through comics inspired character design and having a bazillion guns. During all the time spent hopping pla...

In today's episode of BBB Laura sets sail and rides the waves with The Wind Waker , a 2003 action-adventure game, developed and published by Nintendo. Compositions by Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi,  and primary arrangements from Koji Kondo's work through the series. Tetra, Link, and the King of Red Lions take charge and save (or cast aside) Hyrule in its new beachy vibes in some branc...

In today's episode Joshua comes in blasting with Mega Man X. This 1993 Super Nintendo action platformer was developed and published by Capcom, kicking off an entirely new series of Mega Man games. Composed by credits the Capcom Sound Team ( Setsuo Yamamoto, Makoto Tomozawa, Yuki Iwai, Yuko Takehara, Toshihiko Horiyama ), this is one of the quintessential bitchin' soundtracks folks go to when looki...

Variety is the name of the game today as we figure out exactly what does it mean to be a monster. That being said,  Monster(s) is today's focus with the three hosts of BBB. Sometimes we're facing monsters, sometimes we are the monster... and sometimes the world is the monster? Journey with us as we boldly traverse the forgotten lands, colorful cities, and demon worlds... but also stealing eggs and...

We're not quite sure where Joshua found the beret, baguette, and striped shirt he wore in... But today he's also brought us Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to listen to while celebrating his birthday this week. 2025's Game of the Year for many, this RPG is the studio debut for French developer Sandfall Interactive, published in partnership by Kepler Interactive, with music composed by Lorien Testard a...

We hope your rolled for initiative because this episode goes straight into some bangin' Battle Bops today as the BBB team brings in some of their favorite fightin' music. Going to the gamut through the eras from Gameboy to PlayStation 5, 'Shmups to RPGs, East, West, and everything in between - We hope this puts you in the mood for punching baddies and finding victory with our series of selections...

Don't worry when looking at the title of this episode, your feed is not corrupted with a virus, but the game collection of .hack//IMOQ is. Today's episode Chris brings us an episodic JRPG series that spawned a cross-media story of novels, manga, anime, and video games back from yesteryear in 2002-2003. Pronounced "dot hack", the games were I nfection, M utation, O utbreak, and Q uarantine, collect...

In today's episode of BBB Laura brings us into a new realm with Twilight Princess , a 2006 action-adventure game, developed and published by Nintendo. Compositions by Toru Minegishi, Asuka Ota, and some rearrangements from Koji Kondo's iconic scoring for the franchise. Come for the Zelda, stay for the Midna and her wild ghost hand head, as actual wolf Link does his best to save the lands of Twilig...

In today's episode Joshua brings to us platforming royalty with Donkey Kong Country. This 1994 Super Nintendo gem was developed by Rare, published by Nintendo, and brought a truly unique 3D art style to a generation that was almost exclusively 2D sprite work. To stand out on a console known for its platformers takes a lot of firing on all engines and the soundtrack definitely did its fair share of...

In today's episode each of the BBB crew rummaged through their sofas and junk drawers to bring in a bunch of cool songs we wanted to share with each other and the listeners that didn't quite fit into any one specific mold. So buckle up and get ready for a really cool collection of tunes as we tackle all matter games ranging from beat 'em ups, mobile gatcha, MMOs, open world, rad racoons, and of co...