RE-VGM

Summertime is here! The skies are clear, the sun is shining, and the waves are beckoning. That means it’s time to hit the beach. Time to check that list: Summer clothes and glasses? Check. Basket of food? Check. BBQ grill and charcoal? Check. Ice chest filled with ice and drinks? Check. All devices charged? Check. Extra power banks? On this week’s episode, we’ll head to some famo...

We’re back with part two, in celebration of Anime Expo. This time, we’ll listen to tracks from video games which spawned from anime shows or movies (OVA) and manga. Basically, the anime or manga was created first and then later a video game was made based on that material. We’ll learn a bit more about the anime and then hear the remix track. And in case you’re wondering, no...

“Minasan, kon’nichiwa. Kore wa ‘RE-VGM’ desu.” Hopefully, I wrote that correctly in Japanese, as it’s supposed to say “Hello, everyone. This is RE-VGM.” This week’s episode is a celebration of anime and video games, in relation to Anime Expo, which happened a couple of weekends ago at Los Angeles Convention Center in Downtown Los Angeles. It wa...

This week’s episodes returns us to the man-on-the-street interview session, this time at Brew Game Plus. Brew Game Plus is a 2-day music festival held in San Diego and is devoted to video game music. Musicians and bands come together to perform their covers, remixes, and original tunes. Some are familiar (“Guile’s Theme” from Street Fighter II) and some are popular enough t...

Hot Dogs! Hamburgers! Fireworks! Stars and Stripes! Red, White, and Blue! That could mean one thing: The Fourth of July is upon us! On the 4th of July, we celebrate a moment when the 13 colonies separated from the British government with their Declaration of Independence. The American Revolution was a bloody war yet it was fought with the understanding, at the time, that no one should be ruled by...

And now, the final composer for “The Masters of VGM”. While she has only done one video game soundtrack, Cœur de Pirate (stage name for Beatrice Martin) has the receipts for her incredible work on the game. Playing piano at the age of three, she studied for several years at a conservatory, played in a band as a keyboardist, and released a debut album that would gain notoriety thanks to...

Now we shall talk about one of the more famous and familiar composers among the VGM community and perhaps outside: Yoko Shimomura. She is best known for her compositions of the Kingdom Hearts series, but that required working on many titles beforehand. This week’s episode, we’ll go through her career, listening to several tracks from long list of her works, starting with Street Fighter...

Welcome to Part Two of “The Masters of VGM”. This week’s episode will be about a composer who’s likely to be more famous for his work on another medium besides video games: Hiroyuki Sawano. If you’ve been watching lots of anime, you probably have several shows on your list that you have watched, are watching, or have yet to watch: Seraph of the End, Mobile Suit Gundam...

Welcome to one of the four episodes in “The Masters of VGM”, an event during the month of June in which participating VGM podcasters get to talk about their love and admiration for certain composers. This week’s episode will focus on Hitoshi Sakimoto, a composer who started wanting to learn how to make video games and ended up founding a company that composes music and produces s...

This week’s episode places a spotlight on mental health, an issue that has become more prominent during the pandemic. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, grief – these in addition to other forms of mental sickness are what plague our daily lives in a moment of crisis or confusion. It affects everyone individually and effects those close to them and their daily routines. While there are many way...

This week’s episode is going to be un-bee-lievably honey-sweet, because May 20th is World Bee Day. Designated by The United Nations, the day brings awareness about the bees and their importance to the ecosystem and humanity. From pollinating flowers to producing honey, the bee is an important asset to the world at large. We’ll be listening to tracks from video games that have bees: a c...

Personally, I like months where the first day perfectly falls on Sunday, because that means it will have a Friday the 13th (bwahahaha!!!). Now, some will call me weird, but I prefer to be called a triskaidekaphile (an admirer of the number 13). If you want to get technical, you can call me a paraskevidekatriaphile (an admirer of the 13th of Friday) or a friggatriskaidekaphile. Unless you’re...

This week’s episode is all about moms and I’ll be talking specifically about my own mom. I’ll be playing tracks from three different video games and their remixes, to explain how I felt about my mom before she passed. A nurse, a motivational speaker, and a home maker, my mom was all that I had in being comforted, encouraged, fed, and made safe from the world. I hope to inspire ot...

Ah, young Padawan. The Force is strong in you, I sense, yes. Perhaps you will walk in the light, or maybe you prefer to travel into the dark side. However you decide, this week’s episode celebrates Star Wars Day, which falls on May 4th. An MMO (massive multiplayer online) game, a single-player action adventure under Darth Vader, and another single-player action adventure taking place after O...

(Apologies for the late upload of this podcast. It seems I haven’t uploaded the audio portion of the podcast at all. I was also away from the desktop, at a funeral, so I couldn’t finish the process until I got home. I promise you this episode is worth a listen, as it’s very important to me and to share with everyone subscribed or just happened to find my podcast via my website or...

Did you just see something white and fluffy hop through this way? Was it carrying a basket with something colorful inside? That could only mean one thing: It’s Easter! Happy Easter, listeners (Happy Resurrection Sunday for any and all of the Christian listeners). It is the time of the year marked by several things: colorful eggs, beautiful baskets, egg hunts galore, Easter egg photos with th...

Yay! Ten weeks of podcasting about video game music and it’s an awesome feeling. Surely, there’s something special about reaching it. If not, by golly I’ll make it special. This week, I decided to take the idea from Episode 06 and ask podcasters within the VGM (video game music) community and present them with two questions: What games do you enjoy listening to the soundtrack or...

Don’t get fooled, everyone! It’s April Fool’s Day, when people decide to prank each other harmlessly, all in the name of good, clean fun. You can spin a joke, fool them with your Jedi mind tricks, or mess with their items in an unusual way. Witty or gross, sometime we all just need to laugh it out, because we can’t be stressed and serious all the time. This week’s epi...

With the world going crazy and absurd, perhaps it’s time to sit back on your favorite cushion or pillow, pull over your favorite blanket or quilt, and put on a pair of headphones to hear some easy-going beats. This episode, we’ll be listening to some lofi music based on the video game ‘Super Mario Bros.’, from the Nintendo Entertainment System. Sure, the game is frantic at...

Ah, the luck of the Irish be with you, laddies and lasses, for this week’s early episode celebrates St. Patrick’s Day and the games that are about luck, namely gacha games. We’ll listen to three games that entice their players and fans with the possibility of winning something worthwhile as they play through the story line and partake in missions for materials and in-game credits...

A couple of weekends ago, I attended the SoCal Gaming Expo. With a digital voice recorder in hand and some nerves of courage, I roamed the aisles of vendors and developers, searching for people to interview. I had just three questions to ask: Do you listen to video game music? Which games do you enjoy listening to the music? Is there a track or two that you could put on repeat? I’ve braved t...

Wow! Five podcast episodes so far. Yeah, it doesn’t seem like a lot but it means much for just starting out. I wonder what I’ll do for the tenth podcast… Anyway, to celebrate five episodes, I figured we would talk about a couple of games with the number 5, within the same series. Specifically, Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5 Strikers (in Japan, Persona 5 The Royal and Persona 5 Scr...

This week’s episode is (very) early because of two important events: The addition of Earthbound and Earthbound: Beginnings on the Nintendo Switch Online, and the SoCal Gaming Expo. We’ll listen to several tracks from the game, along with some remixes, covers, and arrangements. Between sets, I’ll talk a bit about the event and a few of their guests expected to appear. Also, I brea...

This week’s episode focuses on one of the best introductions for a JRPG: Final Fantasy VI (Final Fantasy II in the U.S.). We’re going to look at one of Nobuo Uematsu’s compositions that sets up the story and mood of the game. Afterwards, we’ll listen to several tracks from artists who cover it in their own way. And to think it was because of an article read during dinner&#8...

Love is in the air. Yes, Valentine’s Day is upon us, as the party stores give out bunches of balloons, the florists work tirelessly on bouquets of flowers, the candy stores hand out boxes of sweets, and the restaurants become booked with reservations. While you’re waiting for your order to arrive or your table to be available, how about sharing an earbud with your significant other and...