The VGMbassy

The fabled event is finally here! After promising a guest appearance on “the next show” for a few months, Ed and Dan Laughton finally found time to sit down together and share some tunes from another of their favorite genres. Today, they’re looking at the soundtracks and gameplay from Hack & Slash games, sharing music from classic and current titles. Ready your weapons and vi...

Knees bent. Elbows out. Head down. Thumbs locked…. SWWIIING! WOW, is that a birdie? Or a Birdo? Mario and golf go hand-in-hand. The Nintendo mascot and his skittish little brother have been hitting the links since 1984! With the recent release of Mario Golf: Super Rush on the Switch and over 35 years’ worth of putts, sand traps, and water hazards behind him, Ed felt like it was time to...

The VGMbassy welcomes an esteemed representative of Aqua City as KVGM Radio host Hammock stops by for a visit! On today’s show, Ed and Hammock check out a fantastic FM AdLib soundtrack from an obscure Korean DOS platformer called Eol’s Adventure, developed by Family Production and composed by Sung-Wook Moon. The music is not to be missed, so grab a cozy chair by the pool and join us fo...

It starts with a low rumble, and you turn towards the highway. You can barely make it out from a distance in the bright desert sun, but as it gets closer, you brace yourself against the oncoming wind. Barreling down the road, it’s Ed and his son Logan, hauling a heavy load of truckin’ video game tunes from all over the world! Logan loves video games with big personality and great tunes...

Though the series isn’t discussed too often, vertically-scrolling shmups owe a lot to Capcom’s 194X games. Arcade-goers were treated to an addictive and fun experience, flying their P-38 Lightning fighter planes over the Pacific Ocean towards Japan. On today’s show, Ed takes a look at a fantastic example of the evolution of game music, starting with the scratchy beeps of the orig...

Game music and demoscene chiptune collide in a multi-genre explosion of audio bliss! Today’s show features music from BreakQuest, an impressive breakout-style game with fantastic graphics and a complex physics engine. The soundtrack is comprised entirely of repurposed demoscene tunes composed by members of Maniacs of Noise: Thomas Mogensen (DRAX,) Jeroen Tel (WAVE,) and Thomas Petersen (Laxi...

We’re back with a super special episode, in more ways than one!  Not only has The VGMbassy returned after a multi-month hiatus, but it also features the reunion of PixelTunes Radio cohosts Ed and Mike Levy ( XVGM Radio , Dude You Haven’t Played This Game?! ) The duo just received their copies of brand new Genesis beat ’em up PAPRIUM, and they’re honored to have returning gu...

Happy Halloween! Joe and Ed get together on a particularly stormy night to play some creepy and scary game music. As the weather gets worse, though, things get a little weird. Will our hosts survive the night? Special thanks to Voltz Supreme and Logan for lending their voice talents to the show! A huge thank you to Indira J ( The Misadventures of Buddy and Friend , Sacrimony ) for the amazing VGMb...

We’ve done an NES Nostalgia show, so how about something a little more… modern? Back with one more solo show before the podcast goes on a brief hiatus, Ed shares music from NES games released within the past 10 years. It’s incredible how many talented people are still coding and composing on Nintendo’s OG console, so get ready for some mind-blowing music and games that are...

Some gamers only know “Phalanx: The Enforce Fighter A-144” as that game with the weird old banjo playing guy on the front of the SNES box. Most were turned off by the strange marketing choice and never gave the game a chance. Ed happened to rent it one day as a kid, and fell in love with the rockin’ soundtrack and smooth gameplay. Today, he’s set out to dispel a lot of the...

Games like Harvest Moon and Stardew Valley have captured the imagination of millions of gamers around the world, so it’s only natural that other game developers have attempted to capitalize on the farming concept that these titles are so well-known for. Today, Ed is joined by farm owner and game composer (Catlandia RPG, Pandora; Chains of Chaos) Ryan Steel to check out the soundtracks to gam...

It’s been a looong summer! Between working from home and staying in on the weekends, Ed’s been keeping his eye on new indie releases and diving into the games that grab his attention. As you’d expect, many of them have fantastic soundtracks! Check this episode out and learn about some really cool game OSTs from artists like Harumi Fujita and Machinae Supremacy that have been rele...

After a long hiatus, Ed finally brings the popular Blind Listen format back to The VGMbassy! Today, he and new VGMbassador Muddle MADness (Daniel Perkey) are listening to the amazing (and unfamiliar) soundtrack from the Game “Later Alligator,” and trying to figure out what kind of game it might be based on the music. Do they figure it out? Do soundtrack submitter Voltz Supreme’s...

Manfred Linzner’s music has provided an upbeat, danceable backdrop to to many awesome games over the years. The German-born composer not only wrote music for incredible titles like Nanostray and Iridion II, but he programmed and produced the games as well! On today’s show, Cam Werme joins Ed with a selection of incredible Linzner-penned tunes, and they explore his career with Shin&#821...

From some of the earliest days of video gaming, running and shooting has been an integral part of the industry’s repertoire. From the fast-paced gameplay, to the imaginative and screen-filling bosses, to the aggressive and driving soundtracks, run & gun titles were designed to give the player a mental and physical workout. Today, Ed invites speedrunner, parenting podcast host, and good f...

Nintendo created the GameCube to compete directly with Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s powerhouse PlayStation 2. It featured faster load times due to a mini-DVD game format, a fantastic selection of Nintendo first-party titles, and and adorably compact cube-like exterior. On today’s podcast, Ed is joined by Alex Messenger, host of “A VGM Journey,” to explore some of the l...

The colorful and innovative Katamari Damacy was released on the PS2 in 2004. The game casts the player as the diminutive Prince, rolling a sticky ball around the landscape, collecting objects to become bigger and bigger. What seems like a simple concept captured the attention of gamers all around the world, and the series quickly became popular. Ed and returning VGMbassador Ben (aka The Diad) were...

Longtime VGM podcast community member Chris Murray (aka justapunk) joins Ed for a look back at the PlayStation! Included in this show are some of their PS1 favorites. Chris shares some well-known classics, and as usual, Ed breaks out the obscure music that’s woefully overlooked. Look forward to music from Spyro, Suikoden, Hot Shots Golf, and more! Do you have some PS1 faves you’d like...

Embassy Exclusive is on the main VGMbassy feed again this month, free for all as an offering to those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This month’s show is a solo show in which Ed shares a few more selections from the 3DO that weren’t necessarily exclusives. Jam out to a few selections from Crystal Dynamics’ in-house composer Burke Trieschmann, vibe to a lovely piece of golf...

Concluding a 2-part solo series focusing on obscure and failed CD-based consoles, Ed takes his 3DO off the shelf, dusts off the cobwebs, and delves into some of the music from games exclusive to the platform. There’s a lot to be explored here, with some extremely unique and memorable tunes that you may be hearing for the first time! From games with rockin’ music like Autobahn Tokio, th...

SNK’s Neo-Geo game platform was an absolute monster. Designed as an arcade system which allowed fans to purchase identical titles for their homes, it featured an enormous memory capacity, huge, colorful, and well-animated sprites, and some amazing music thanks to its robust YM2610 sound chip.  All of this came at quite a cost though; in the US, gamers were faced with a $700 console and over...

While the Embassy Exclusive shows are normally for Patreon Patrons only, we thought it might be nice if we made a special bonus episode for everyone to enjoy. Collected here are testimonials from VGMbassy patrons, with music and words of hope and encouragement for those having a difficult time with isolation and adapting to a “new normal.” We hope you find it uplifting and helpful. A h...

The PICO-8 is a fantasy console featuring a huge library of free games and a robust demoscene. It can be played on a wide variety of devices, and has built-in game development tools. So, just what the heck is a “fantasy console?” Think of it like an emulator for a system that never existed – developers create fully-featured games using a specific set of hardware limitations, and...

<BODY TEXT> VGMBASSY is NEW and IMPROVED. You will ENJOY SPONSORED CONTENT and PURCHASE OBJECTS. DAN and ED will SHOW YOU the WAY </BODY TEXT> <BEGIN DEFAULT TEXT> A huge thank you to Indira J ( The Misadventures of Buddy and Friend , Sacrimony ) for the amazing VGMbassy artwork and design, and to Trevin Hughes (aka chiptune composer Jredd ) for the podcast theme song! Check out...

It’s the 50th episode milestone celebration! To kick off the festivities for the occasion, Ed brings his friend and VGM scene veteran UtopiaNemo to the embassy to hang out and read some old video game magazines. The music they share on the show comes directly from pages of those classic mags, and the guys chat about some of their memories with GamePro, EGM, Diehard Gamefan, and more! To top...