RPGFan's Rhythm Encounter

Long ago, the two podcasts of RPGFan lived in harmony. But then, everything changed when the Rhythm Nation attacked. Actually, that's not true. Rhythm Encounter was actually around before Retro Encounter, but Janet Jackson didn't record a song called Retro Nation, did she? (Did she?) Today we are getting elemental. Any RPG fan knows how important the elements often are in our games, whether they'r...

Marty, we've got to go back! Back to the... past. That didn't work. But on this episode of Rhythm Encounter, we're doing a console-specific episode, for the first time since Episode 1 (which debuted way back in February 2013). The Nintendo Entertainment System wasn't the first game platform, but its impact on the gaming landscape can't be understated. Plus, for many of us of a certain age, it was...

Once upon a time, the idea of going to a theater or other venue to see video game music performed live was unheard of. But as gaming grew in popularity, live performances have become more frequent, and fans have had the opportunities to hear the likes of The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy performed in various forms over the years. Add in music cons like MAGFest, and the proliferation of online...

Title screens are among the first things we see when we turn on our favourite RPGs, and they're incredibly unique to the medium of video games. So it seems criminal that we haven't had an episode devoted exclusively to them! From setting the tone to weaving a story, a title screen (and its accompanying music) can say a thousand things about the video game it precedes. On today's show, we leave the...

When it comes to instrumentation, it doesn’t get more fundamental than the piano. Not only is it often the first instrument that musicians learn, but its 88-note range and ability to play both melody and accompaniment give it unmatched versatility. Piano albums of RPG soundtracks have been popular for decades, and in today’s episode, our panel is going to take a deep dive into some of our favorite...

How many Shakespeare references can Yoshi-P's team pack into a Final Fantasy XIV expansion? How many of said references will we reference today? And what angel wakes Mike Salbato? The answer to some of these questions lie within our new dedicated Final Fantasy XIV episode of Rhythm Encounter. Because the show was on hiatus during the releases of Stormblood and Shadowbringers , we have not been abl...

In this special surprise episode of Rhythm Encounter, we are joined by musician and actor Joe Zieja! RPG fans may know Joe from a multitude of roles, especially for his work in Fire Emblem: Three Houses as Claude, leader of the Golden Deer house. Recently, we posted an article about Joe's musical Kickstarter project , in which he plans to reimagine a portion of the Three Houses soundtrack in saxop...

It's hard to deny the power of NieR 's music. Keiichi Okabe (and his company MONACA) created something remarkable in 2010 with the music of NieR Gestalt & Replicant . In 2017, lightning struck again with the soundtrack for NieR: Automata , a masterwork of instrumentation and emotion. There's a reason you can search for "NieR" on VGMdb and get over fifty results worth of albums. Original soundt...

Hold it! For Ace Attorney fans, it was a long wait since the last mainline game in the series was released in 2016. But now, with the recent release of The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles in July 2021, Ace Attorney looks to be getting the attention in the West that it deserves! Though the series is known for its chaotic courtroom battles, bizarre witnesses, and unique “Japanifornia” setting, many wo...

Once one of the most popular genres of video games, adventure games have become much more niche in recent years. But thankfully, it’s a niche with some absolutely fantastic music! From the mid-80s to the early 2000s, adventure games were at the forefront of narratives in interactive entertainment. In a time before RPGs embraced cinematic CGI cutscenes and voice acting, LucasArts, Sierra, and other...

Bravely Default and Bravely Second are two 3DS throwback RPGs from Square Enix, with a new 2021 entry for the Switch in Bravely Default II . To celebrate the Bravely series and its excellent soundtracks, Rhythm Encounter assembled a panel of three Revo-and-Ryo superfans to discuss this preeminent pair of RPG musical scores, from sea shanties in the sky to live rock opera concerts to sea shanties i...

RPGs can offer a surprising variety of stories, which are definitely reflected in their opening and ending sequences and, of course, the memorable music to go along with them! What makes a good overture and why is it good to have high standards about them? How do you reflect the end of a complex and sweeping tale like Xenosaga musically? Our panel this week has framed their own little RPG story se...

NieR: Automata has sold over 5 million copies, and we're awaiting the release of the mobile game, NieR Re[in]carnation , and the updated version of NieR Replicant this spring. And today, Hilary and Patrick are talking NieR music and more with a very special guest, the one and only J'Nique Nicole. She joined the NieR team to lend her voice to Automata , and here she talks about that experience, per...

We're back with a panel of four this time, and how else could we follow up our primer to female game composers than to discuss the inimitable Yoko Shimomura and her many contributions to RPG music? We've got Live A Live , Kingdom Hearts , Mario RPGs , and more...not to mention a large amount of Legend of Mana . Shimomura has been a force helping game music gain recognition as an art form, so join...

Every year we get introduced to new games and new music. The ever-growing bounty of RPG music out there has grown quite a bit, with 2020 alone giving us amazing soundtracks like Final Fantasy VII Remake , Haven , Paradise Killer , 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim , and more. And while we've been enjoying introducing music to people again on Rhythm Encounter since our return, we couldn't ignore the music we...

Today we're getting cozy and seasonally appropriate as the two Mikes and Alana discuss some excellent wintery tracks. It's amazing how various instruments can come together to convey a wide variety of winter atmospheres; that and the abundance of good winter/snow themed music make this a topic worth revisiting. Get your mittens and hats ready, because we're discussing tumultuous wintery tracks as...

They sing, they form bands (and companies), and several of them play piano so well it will knock your socks off. And that's just what they do in addition to writing music. In this episode, Alana, Eva, and Hilary delve into the rich and unique world of game compositions from female composers. From the incomparable Yoko Shimomura to Persona guest composer/vocalist Elisha La'Verne, get ready for a wo...

Final Fantasy IX saw the light of day in North America almost exactly twenty years ago today. It was on November 13, 2000 that the crystals returned, and Final Fantasy took a reprieve from the realism and sci-fi or steampunk overtones to harken back to castles, kingdoms, and big heads. Since FFIX has somehow only lightly featured on Rhythm Encounter in the past, this anniversary was the perfect ti...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! We're getting in the spirit this spooky season with a collection of chilling tracks to help make the season memorable. Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society... er, RPGFan listeners, we have spooky soundscapes from Final Fantasy haunted libraries to the deeply unsettling worlds of Bloodborne and the Souls series. Give it a listen, if you dare! The bonus track is sure t...

We're just here to vibe...again. There's so much good relaxing music within our favorite genre that we needed two episodes to cover it. We delve into a nice assortment here (from 16-bit to recent releases) and discuss how these relaxing picks fit into their in-game settings, whether it's a nice underwater atmosphere or around a campfire. Relax and be well, listeners, but also remember that ambianc...

Chill out with Rhythm Encounter! This is not the first time we've presented a chillout or relaxing topic—though the last time was seven years ago (!) in Episode 6: Summer Chill —but if there's one thing we could all use right about now is some damn fine coffee... er, relaxation, but coffee may also make an appearance. Who can say? Since Rhythm Encounter's return earlier this season, one of the tea...

RPG music can be very helpful in daily life, and our panel has met today to discuss workout music. Making those gains can certainly be a journey, so Mike Salbato, Mike Sollosi, Greg, and Hilary share some picks for different types of workouts. The episode has four sections: Warm Up, Arm Day/Core Workout, Leg Day/Cardio Workout, and Cool Down. It’s a high concentration of podcast hosts to help moti...

We featured Undertale across all three parts of our Music of the Year 2015 podcast trio (see links below), but the indie darling didn't often make Rhythm Encounter appearances afterwards, so we thought it was time to change that. Because this month marks exactly 5 years since Undertale released in 2015, we knew we had little choice but to make our second comeback episode about Toby Fox's masterful...

To kick off what is essentially a new season of Rhythm Encounter, I enlisted proofreader and music aficionado Hilary Andreff along with musician Chris Porter to talk about one of our favorite composers, the baddest and coolest around, Yasunori Mitsuda. The result is an episode with an impressive musical range, fun discussion, and some great surprises. Listen to the episode and check out the time-s...

Note: We had to re-number our episodes several years after publishing. This was originally Episode 33, as reflected in the audio. Don't worry, you're not missing anything! Many years later after a very successful Kickstarter campaign, Enigami brings to life Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom, a magical world of vivid sceneries and wonderful, alluring music. Creator and composer, Hazem Hawash, alongsid...