RPGFan's Rhythm Encounter

We all have origin stories about how we got into RPGs (several of us shared them almost six years ago in this feature !), so today our panel discusses music origins — what RPGs attuned us to the RPG music scene or otherwise elevated our senses and made us take notice. For some of us, this dates back to the days of the NES, and sometimes our awakening happened during the days of the GameCube. Whene...

We're no strangers to game series-themed episodes on Rhythm Encounter, such as our Mario RPGs or Dragon Quest shows. Now, it's time for the Tales series! Bandai Namco's long-running series turns 30 next year, and the mainline series alone contains 17 games (or 18 depending on which ones you count). That's more than enough material to showcase on an episode, wouldn't you say? Join our panel as we t...

It's been awhile since our last instrument spotlight, so in this episode, we're sharing some favorite RPG songs featuring woodwinds, like flutes, ocarinas, and more! Whether it's the incredibly moving sounds of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 , the adventurous Dark Cloud 2 , or Final Fantasy III 's Maiden of Water, we have a lot to cover, so join us on this lovely journey, won't ya? Featuring: Mike Salbato...

Somehow it's been four years since Rhythm Encounter's last Halloween episode, back in 2020's episode 56 . Well, it's time we rectified that. A sequel to that episode and a spiritual successor to our previous episode about the works of Michiru Yamane , our panel dug into our gaming experiences to find music for the most spooky time of year. You'll find one of Pokémon 's most iconic themes, and ever...

We are at the beginning of "spooky season," and while this isn't (yet) our Halloween episode, October is a fine time to shine a spotlight on composer Michiru Yamane, known in our parts for her excellent work on the Castlevania and Suikoden  series . That means some games you may expect, but definitely some you wouldn't, from this talented composer. So dim the lights, summon your favorite fairy com...

There are countless reasons we play and love RPGs, and often those that become our favorites have powerful stories and characters. But pitting your party against often overwhelming odds requires inspirational music for the optimal effect. In this episode we share both music and RPGs that have inspired US in turn, whether it's through bombastic battle music or lively energy. What RPG soundtracks in...

With fall (or autumn, if you prefer) around the corner for many of us, it feels like a good time for relaxing music. While we did a pair of episodes focused on relaxing RPG music about four years ago (see Episode 54 and Episode 55 ), this time, RPGFan's biggest lo-fi fans got together to listen and chat about lo-fi RPG music. Sometimes these are straight from games, but often they come from the in...

So many of our beloved RPG soundtracks are filled with great music, and often have songs named in the same dramatic flair as the games and their narratives. And then sometimes, we find great tracks in our RPGs with names like " No No I don't die Noooo! " or " Rouen 'But-dad-dead-bed' ," and those are the songs we are showcasing in this episode. It's always entertaining coming across these songs wh...

Part two of our handheld RPG music celebration continues — and concludes — today! Last time, we brought you some of our favorite tracks from Nintendo DS RPGs , and this time we talk about the DS' competition, the Sony PSP. The PSP was a haven for RPGs, especially considering its support of playing PSOne/PSN titles. From a surprise track by Nobuo Uematsu, beautiful vocal tracks, to the second and l...

It's a handheld celebration! We had so much fun with our Game Boy Advance music episode last fall, we're back for two more handheld episodes, starting with the Nintendo DS! Nintendo's little experimental handheld made waves upon its announcement, and once the dust settled on many gimmicky titles, some great games made their way into our hearts. And as you'll hear today, some great music as well, f...

The indie RPG scene is ever expanding, and while indie RPG music makes its way into many a Rhythm Encounter episode, we wanted to make an episode just about celebrating the music from indie devs. We enjoyed it so much, we may even make this a regularly recurring topic! But, for now, come journey through a wide variety of music from some of our favorite indie games, showcasing many types of instrum...

Almost exactly a year ago, we published a fun episode on jazz and funk RPG music . Today we are back with a spiritual sequel, talking about jazz, funk, but especially city pop. All our tracks in this episode represent one or more of these genres, but all are excellent listens. So sit back and listen to some great tunes from the likes of Shin Megami Tensei NINE , Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth , sp...

Avast, ye scurvy dogs! This here episode of Rhythm Encounter be now the property of RPG Pirates. (Note: episode actually contains only a minimal amount of pirate speak.) Join the crew with Captain Hilary, Audra "Quick Draw" Bowling, "Gemstone" Jim Turner, and Kyle "Feat of Strength" Cantelon as they plunder the very best of RPG pirate themes from across the vast sea of game music within our covera...

We're trying something new here on Rhythm Encounter. While there is no end to the variety of RPG music out there, sometimes we spot similar song titles on different soundtracks, which gave us an idea. For this episode, each panelist chose a pairing of two (near) identical track names from different games, so we could compare and contrast each version. As we learned, this is a topic that could repe...

It's-a-us, the Rhythm Encounter crew! With the impending launch of the remaster for the beloved sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door , we decided it was high time to talk about Mario's illustrious RPG career. Starting with 1996's Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and extending through the Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario games, the idea of a Mario -based RPG went from an unheard o...

Whether or not you need an introduction to Masashi Hamauzu's music, we've got something for you. From some well-known to lesser-known Final Fantasy pieces to some classic Square Enix games, our panel dug in to ensure we covered a lot of ground in Hamauzu's history as a composer and arranger. So join us as we discuss fantasies, legacies, remakes, a guy named Todd, and way too much about how we're m...

Everything's better with the right soundtrack backing it up, whether that's studying, working, or household tasks — most notably for today's discussion, cooking! Whether our panel on this episode was channeling energy for a flavorful Spanish chicken dish or some chill tunes to prepare cozy desserts, we got to showcase the diverse range of music that each of us likes to accompany our time in the ki...

It's hard to go a few months without a remaster of a beloved RPG gracing our physical or virtual shelves, but when some of those are the quality of the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series or the recent Persona 3 Reload , we aren't complaining. This age of remasters also means updated or rearranged music is part of the package, so today we're showcasing some stellar new takes on music for eight RPG...

Huh? Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Wes Iliff, Kyle Cantelon; Edited by Mike Salbato Links for this episode: YouTube: Might and Magic VI, All Voice Acting Part 1 YouTube: Might and Magic VI and VII: Creature Sounds PlayStation 2 Crystal Clock Tracklist 0:03:32 - Level Up - Dragon Quest 0:03:36 - Judgment Ring Hit - Shadow Hearts Covenant 0:12:32 - Wizard Eye/other spell sounds - Might an...

While RPGs have no shortage of high-energy moments requiring intense strategizing, quick reflexes, or simply a box of tissues for the more emotional moments, it's important to have downtime between those to balance everything out. This episode is about "safe spaces" in RPGs, and our panelists did not always choose the kinds of song we expected of one another. We enjoyed hearing the various ways ea...

Previously on Rhythm Encounter, we have talked about some important first impressions, namely some of our favorite intro themes , and even title screen music . But what happens next is just as important: the opening hours of an RPG can really set the stage for what's to come. When thinking about our favorite games, it's fun to think back to how they began, and how well the mood and world is establ...

Do we at RPGFan like Final Fantasy VII? Off course! That's why we're ready for…a reunion of tracks from across the expansive (and still growing) FFVII universe. The timing here is intentional to celebrate the fantastic music associated with FFVII as we all get ready to enjoy Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Join our panel of savvy veterans and one newcomer SOLDIER: First Class news editor as we celebrat...

It's finally time to celebrate the music of the (last) year! As you know by now, a great deal of incredible games released in 2023, and with them, many notable soundtracks. Our panel today brought some of their favorite songs of 2023, featuring music from some Square Enix heavy hitters to some lovely indie titles and others in between. As usual for Music of the Year, this episode is longer than us...

We're kicking off the new year on Rhythm Encounter with a brand-new kind of episode: Building a soundtrack from pieces of other games. We distilled our imaginary RPG down to eight core musical moments — title, overworld, town, dungeon, battle, emotional, final boss, and ending, to be specific — and pulled a song for each from eight different RPGs. While we were all prepared to justify how eight di...

To celebrate the new year, we put together a special episode before we return to our regularly scheduled topics, with a short episode full of music dedications. We were inspired by the idea of radio DJs who take listener calls and offer up dedications on air, so we polled the RPGFan staff, asking them for songs and written dedications to read on the episode. We both offered some of our own as well...