Pixelated Audio

Want a game that's obscure but still has it all? Alisia Dragoon on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive is exactly the game you're looking for. Fun game play, top-notch artwork, and some of the best music the system has to offer. It's too bad the title didn't get more recognition back in the day, however, 25 years later we can still fall in love with this work of art. The composition was done by a small co...

When it comes to the Sega Dreamcast there certainly is no shortage of uniquely odd titles. Bangai-O fits the bill. From the moment you start playing, it shatters your expectations into tiny pieces and when you're done it reassemble them into an unforgettable experience. If somehow you were thinking the Dreamcast version wasn't enough, we're also taking a look at the original Nintendo 64 version Ba...

With the new year we'd like to introduce you to one of the two new show styles that we will be added into the mix. "Pixelated Audio Music Disk Volumes" are a mixture of game music arrangements and original tunes created by the doujin (同人) groups of the late 80s through the 90s and each episode will revolve around a single disk. This episode we'll be looking at the first Orphe Music Disk released...

It's no surprise that there aren't many Christmas specific games out on the store shelves. And after looking around we found a few Christmas games and some demo/expansions but nothing we were excited to share. Facing the possibility of not finding a game we felt worth a short holiday episode, we had to dig deep and go outside of the North American release market to find Daze Before Christmas on th...

Today we bring you the tunes from a lesser-known Commodore 64 title called Quadrant composed by Thomas Detert. Quadrant it’s kind of like a Tetris-Plus/Connect Four style puzzle game that was released in October of 1993, published by CP Verlag and developed by X-Ample. While the game might not be all that amazing, it has an awesome soundtrack that will definitely get you moving. We've also snuck i...

One of our favorite golf games ever made. Before they were part of SNK, Nasca proved to the industry that they could hang with the best of em. Neo Turf Masters, being one of their first, showcased arcade golf at its finest which drove the game to becoming one of our favorite sports titles ever made. It has great gameplay and clean graphics but the soundtrack is the star with its upbeat, jazzy-fusi...

Join us as we celebrate 5 years of VGMRips with many of the people responsible, not only for its maintenance and up keep but its creation. We've asked our friends to share a song that has significance to them and to tell us about it in their own words. This led to an episode crammed with beautiful tunes (across many platforms) that we all think you'll enjoy. Thank you VGMRips community, for all th...

This week we’re bringing you a special episode from our Extra-Life 2016 charity event (24 hour gaming marathon) that took place on Nov. 5th. We asked the other team members to pick a track from any game that was special to them and tell us why. As always it was a great time with awesome music and good friends. So we invite you to listen to us slowly lose our minds over the course of the 24 hour ga...

Some games are just flat-out terrible and destined to never to see overflowing love from the gaming world (but that’s okay). This describes Hole Chaser for the PC-8801. If you were to pass over this game because of its graphics or because of the erotic storytelling you would be missing out on one truly amazing soundtrack by Masahiro Kajihara. In this episode of Pixelated Audio we’re making sure th...

Today we have the music from Red Alarm by T&E Soft to prove that no matter what you’ve heard about this system, it doesn’t mean it didn’t have some cool music with awesome stereo effects.

In this episode we (once again) have composer Naoki Kodaka in all his Sunsoft glory with Journey to Silius (aka [rʌf] World) for the NES/Famicom. This game has all the signs of what makes an NES title remembered as "classic." And it's dark visuals, gritty sound, and revenge-focused story draw their own highlights in the ocean of titles on the platform. Join us as we take an in-depth look at the ga...

Retro gaming and game audio tends to get associated with US, Japan, and Europe because of the shear volume of games and media. But music is universal right? So, we thought to ourselves, why not look at some other countries take on game music -and in the 90s, Korea definitely brought some amazing stuff in the PC market. Illusion Blaze (일루젼 블레이즈) was released on the PC in 1994 and developed b...

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 h...

Imagine, if you will, a game that’s from an Amiga developer heavily influenced by the English rock band Sisters of Mercy. They create a game that combines 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). That game would be Astaroth: The Angel of Death from Eldritch the Cat w...

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 and a deep dive into the game you're in for a good time. Join us with guest-host Nathan Daniels and a special appearance from composer Tomomi Otani.

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). B...

Matt Furniss is one of the most well-known Western composers for his audio contributions on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive. Matt joins Pixelated Audio for a deep dive into some of his more 'obscure' tracks (but all amazing!). Join the fun as we attempt to stump the legendary composer with his own tunes! Track list and show notes at pixelatedaudio.com/58

In the world of retro gaming there is no shortage of shoot ’em ups. It’s hard not to fall in love with their intense gameplay, flashy sprites, and insane music. Today we return to Compile, a company that had shoot’em ups down to an art form and with Musha Aleste, we feel they hit the perfect balance of look, control and sound. Join us as we dissect one of the best top down shooters of the entire 1...

Compile was responsible for dozens of games in the 80's and 90's but well-loved for their amazing shooters like the Aleste series. Aleste got its roots on the Sega Master System but made a portable detour on the Game Game for two installments: GG Aleste (1991) and GG Aleste II: Lance Bird (1993). These vertical shooters are a blast to play, look gorgeous on Sega's first handheld, and are bundled w...

Granada is a top-down tank shooter developed and published by Wolf Team in 1990 for the Sharp X68000. It was also ported to the Sega Genesis the same year (in NA and JP) and is largely the same game in terms of gameplay, but the X68000 version is far superior in most aspects, esp the audio department. Join in as we listen to both the FM synth and MIDI versions of the soundtrack composed by Motoi S...

In 1991, Konami was cranking out hits for pretty much every system available. However, Sunset Riders for the arcade, refused to blend into the herd of releases. While it's fun music, bright colors and its availability in a beastly 4 player cabinet made it hard to miss, the gameplay made it hard to forget. Join us as we bury you with pixels from the music of the arcade (Motoaki Furukawa) and consol...

Everyone knows that “Amiga love” flows thick in our veins; it’s just a fact. The humble home computer has had so many incredible composers write music for it's games that many of us in North America are a bit unfamiliar with. Today we bring you the music of Jim Power in Mutant Planet from one of the most prolific western composers in video game history, Chris Huelsbeck. Not only that, he's also a...

Madou King Granzort was released in 1990 by Hudson Soft (developed by Mutech) for the PC Engine SuperGrafx. Sure, it's a bit on the obscure side but we fell in love with this game almost immediately for its fun gameplay, challenging platforming, and vivid graphics. This little gem didn't get a whole lot of love (namely due to being an exclusive SuperGrafx title) but packs a great soundtrack compos...

Back in episode 24 we covered an amazing Konami game for the Famicom Disk System titled Ai Senshi Nicol. Today we are covering another 1987 Konami game for the Famicom Disk System titled Falsion and you’re in for quite an auditory ride. This Japan-only released game has an excellent soundtrack and we couldn’t help but share it with you... (plus we are overdue for some more Disk System ear-gasms!)...

We're extremely proud to have made it to episode 50 and put together a great show worthy of that milestone. So, with much thought and many show ideas kicked around, we finally decided on a plus sized Expansion Pack! Get ready for 14 tracks from several different systems, game genres, and styles!