Pixelated Audio

As fans of multiple game companies and characters, there is always a question that lingers in the back of our geeky minds...What if the characters from these two game franchises met in the heat of battle? SNK and Capcom are no strangers to helping fans answer this burning question with some excellent crossover titles. So in the spirit of crossovers, we’ve collaborated with Pixeltunes Radio to brin...

Sadly, with David Bowie’s recent passing, the world lost an icon. Thankfully his legacy lives on forever in his music and movies. His role as Jareth in the 1986 film “Labyrinth” captivated us and now 30 years later we call the Goblin King back with a look at the music from Labyrinth the Computer Game for the Famicom as well as the MSX and C64 in a Pixelated Audio styled tribute episode. Show notes...

Grounseed is practically unheard of and that's a shame. Developed by Studio Twinkle and published by EXIT in 1996, it’s a stripped down minimalist JRPG at its core, but that’s not what’s important. Where this game stands out is that it has some of the best FM synth around...we’re talking mindblowing! visit http://pixelatedaudio.com/47 for track list and show notes. Grounseed (PC-9801) Composed by:...

Released in early in 2000 on the Sega Dreamcast, ChuChu Rocket! was the definition of what multiplayer puzzle games should be. Frantic gameplay and highly addictive, this is a must have for any DC console owners (but you probably already know that). This was also the game that kicked off Tomoya Ohtani's composing career for Sega at Sonic Team and it's just a cool soundtrack to jam to. Enjoy! Track...

The new year has come, join us as we look back at some of our favorite VGM tracks from our thirty episodes in 2015. It’s been an amazing year with some incredible music so narrowing it down wasn’t easy, but we had fun and hope you will too. Thank you for all your support and we have a LOAD of amazing music on the way this year!

Here at Pixelated Audio we decided to kick off the new year right by diving into Popful Mail across the Sega CD/Mega CD, PC Engine CD, PC-88/98 and Super Famicom. This game has it all; it looks great, plays great and last but not least sounds great! Even if you are thinking you know this game we’re pretty sure that there are a few new things we can show you. http://pixelatedaudio.com/44

Power Quest on the GameBoy Color would've been an easy title to overlook because there were plenty of terrible fighting games ported to the GameBoy (i.e. Street Fighter II). So back in the 90’s you were probably conditioned to pass on the handheld’s fighting genre which might explain this game’s lack of notoriety. However, Japan System Supply produced a stellar 2D fighter with amazing music by Kou...

Battle Squadron: The Destruction of the Barrax Empire! and it's slightly less known older brother, Hybris, are arguably two of the best shooters on the Amiga. Composers Paul van der Valk (Hybris) and Ron Klaren (Battle Squadron) deliver incredible music that is not to be missed! For track list and more info check http://pixelatedaudio.com/42

This week we're bringing you a special episode from our Extra-Life charity event  (24hour gaming marathon)  that took place on Nov. 7th. We asked the other team members to play something that was special to them and voice their thoughts. Good times, good music. Listen to us slowly lose our minds. Track List: 00:00:00 Bryan: Intro - Paragliding Simulation by Frédéric Motte (Ami) 00:04:41 Dusty: Cos...

Enjoy the swanky sounds of Grim Fandango with special guest, composer Peter McConnell. Track List http://pixelatedaudio.com/40

Its that time again so join us for a Halloween flavored Expansion Pack with #VGM from a variety of games across a bunch of systems. This episode fits with our previous Expansion Packs but with a creepy theme...we're talking games like Space Hulk, Fez and Pulseman to name a few. They are not exactly all horror-themed games but some are pretty twisted!  Track List: 0:00:00 Hydro 1 by Josh Randall - ...

While Sonic the Hedgehog focuses on speed while racing through levels, Ristar takes a different approach that involves creatively maneuvering across the world using his elastic arms while simultaneously solving simple puzzles to progress. The music from Tomoko Sasaki is a perfect fit and brings fun and playful character to each level while making great use of the system’s sound hardware. If you pl...

The 80’s and 90’s were buzzing with shurikens and katana wielding ninjas, not only for video games but all media. During the height of this phenomenon, Shadow of the Ninja appeared on the NES. With every media outlet fighting to cash in on the fad, it would be easy to write this game off as nothing more than an uninspiring ninja trope. While this game does borrow (quite heavily) ideas from other g...

Another mix of video game music from the guys at Pixelated Audio. Tokyo Bus Guide to Commander Keen. Expansion Pack IX full track list at http://pixelatedaudio.com/36

Even as kids -thanks to Nintendo Power- we knew certain games got released in Japan that would never breach the borders for western audiences to experience. It’s even more painful when a company like Squaresoft (Square Enix) releases a beautiful RPG that will never reach the English-speaking population. Treasure Hunter G, developed by Sting for the Super Famicom, is one of these games. Treasure Hu...

Racing games in the 90s were a very important part of gaming history and culture. Games like OutRun, Top Gear, F-Zero, and the Lotus series brought us a formula that not only defined the genre but also inspired many of us growing up. Barry Leitch, the composer from many well-loved retro games, makes an incredible comeback to game audio with the recently released Horizon Chase racing game for iOS....

It's time for another EXPANSION PACK and this episode guest-host Kevzter, spreads the video game music love with some awesome tracks to bring back some found memories. Tunes from N64, MSX, Sega Genesis, Arcade, and more! Track list can be found http://pixelatedaudio.com/33

In 1999 Hal Laboratory and Pax Softnica combined to develop a unique and interesting new game for the Nintendo 64 showcase what the N64 could do with 3D environments. Hal and Pax used a very well known Nintendo franchise to help pull this idea off and thus Pokemon Snap was born. Blending cutting edge graphics with beloved characters earned a very special place in gamers hearts and homes. So find a...

In 1995 the western world was introduced to the cyberpunk anime, Ghost in the Shell (based on a manga of the same name) and two years later a Ghost in the Shell video game developed by Exact (now know as SCE Japan Studio) made its way onto the original Playstation. With clean graphics, unique gameplay and a fast paced soundtrack, get ready for a non-stop thrill ride as a new team member of Public...

Knightmare (Majou Densetsu), The Maze of Galious, and Shalom were released between 1986 and 1987 and even though they are all completely different (in terms of gameplay) they share an intriguing story, detailed graphics, and some of the catchiest chip tunes around. Complete show notes and tracklist http://pixelatedaudio.com/30

In 1987, Technos Japan brought the world Double Dragon. A year later in 1988, the famous brother duo is back in Double Dragon II: The Revenge as a direct sequel to the original hit arcade/console game! Double Dragon II saw a port pop up on virtually every popular system available between 1988 and 1993. Since it's our Pixelated Audio One Year Anniversary we thought we would cover the Arcade, NES, C...

It's time for another Expansion Pack which means another awesome set of video game music to scope out. Richard Hubbell joins us in today's episode and brought some great chip tunes to the mix. Richard has been rocking VGM for years and hosted a show on 91.9 KCSB (Santa Barbara's College Radio) called VGM Pickin's. We had a lot of fun with this show and we think you'll enjoy it. Tracklist can be fo...

What can be said about B.O.B.? Aside from the fact that he’s a funny teenage android packing heat and some wicked dance moves, probably not much. But it does summarize the protagonist of the 1993 SNES and Genesis/Mega Drive game by Grey Matter Inc. With plenty of attitude and a good (yet dated) sense of humor, the great gameplay and funky tunes made it kind of a surprise that we never saw a sequel...

When Konami got the rights from Marvel in early 90’s to bring the X-Men universe to arcades, it shouldn’t have surprised anyone that a classic beat’em up was on the horizon. The coin-op version of X-Men had a great cast, solid gameplay, and a fun soundtrack that made fans of the comic franchise very happy. Whether you played the hell out of this or you skipped it altogether, Pixelated Audio, Cyclo...

Today we have another Expansion Pack of VGM to soothe the soul and feed your fix. Join Bryan and James for 6 hand-picked tracks from games on the NES, Sega CD, Sega 32X and Playstation 2. If any track stands out to you, let us know. Tracklist can be found at http://pixelatedaudio.com/25