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 meant to pronounce "Archylte."

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Patrick Gann, Zach Wilkerson, Greg Delmage; Edited by Paul Dennis

Tracklist
0:06:51 - The Star Graal - The Legend of Legacy
0:11:38 - Frenzy Under Pressure (comp. Masashi Hamauzu, perf. Benyamin Nuss, Lisa Schumann & Kana Shirao) - Masashi Hamauzu Opus 4 Piano and Chamber Music Works
0:39:23 - End of the World (comp. Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu, arr. Masashi Hamauzu) - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
0:42:16 - Jessie’s Theme - Final Fantasy VII Remake
1:03:33 - The Archylte Steppe - Final Fantasy XIII
1:07:41 - A Fleeting Dream (comp. Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Masashi Hamauzu) - Final Fantasy X
1:39:43 - Todfeind - SaGa Frontier 2
1:41:51 - A Dream in Flight - Chocobo's Mystery Dungeon
2:16:55 - Mike's Bonus Track!

Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.

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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 kitchen.

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Audra Bowling, Tin Manuel, Jimmy Turner; Edited by Jonathan Logan

Tracklist
0:05:20 - Balamb Garden (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VIII
0:08:48 - vital signs (universa’s theme) (Milk & Bone) - Invincible Presents: Atom Eve
0:23:09 - Challenging a Queen (Tripod & Austin Wintory) - Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical
0:28:39 - 10:27 Appledew Stew (Danger) - Haven
0:48:58 - Dance of 1,000 Suns (Eric W. Brown) - Sea of Stars
0:51:16 - Crimson Valley -Night- (Daisuke Achiwa) - Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book
1:05:39 - Life at Garreg Mach Monastery - Piano Arrangement (Takeru Kanazaki, arr. PurpleSchala) - Fire Emblem Three Houses for Solo Piano
1:09:50 - Farm Boy (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Shotaro Shima) - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
1:31:34 - Mike's Bonus Track!

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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 remasters released in recent years.

Featuring: Michael Sollosi, Audra Bowling, Gio Castillo, Lucas Greene; Edited by Mike Salbato

Tracklist
Block 1 - Final Fantasy Anthology
0:06:02 - Battle on the Big Bridge (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster
0:08:32 - Aria di Mezzo Carattere {English Language Version} (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VI Pixel Remaster

Block 2 - Yoko! Oh no!
0:25:09 - Agniratha, Mechonis Capital/Night (Definitive Edition ver.) (arr. Kenji Hiramatsu) - Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition
0:27:56 - Danger Aplenty on the Journey (Yoko Shimomura) - Super Mario RPG Remake

Block 3 - Samurai Secrets and Space Spectres
0:43:11 - Collisions of our Swords (arr. unknown) - Like a Dragon: Ishin! (2023)
0:47:48 - Resynthesis (Sam Hulick) - Mass Effect: Legendary Edition

Block 4 - Masked Faces in Dark Places
01:02:15 - When the Moon’s Reaching Out Stars -Reload- (arr. Atsushi Kitajoh) - Persona 3 Reload
1:05:36 - Face Shrine (arr. Ryo Nakamatsu) - The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (2019)
1:28:58 - Gio’s bonus track!

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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 and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven
0:12:36 - Dark Space "blip" - Illusion of Gaia
0:26:18 - Pokéball Wobble - Pokémon series
0:26:23 - Disc Sounds - PlayStation 2
0:41:30 - Start of the Search (Fumiyoshi Shimohara) - Yakuza 0
0:41:38 - Cursor Movement - Final Fantasy VII

Sound Sources: Final Fantasy VII, PlayStation 2, Dragon Quest, Shadow Hearts Covenant, Might and Magic VI

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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 each of us wanted to represent safe spaces through a variety of musical means, and we'd love to hear your favorite music in this vein as well!

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Audra Bowling, Gio Castillo, Tin Manuel; Edited by Paul Dennis

Links for this episode

• YouTube: Final Fantasy XV "Uncovered" Trailer
• Rhythm Encounter 104 - Like a Dragon: Rhythm! | RPGFan

Tracklist
0:06:31 - Maiden in Black (Shunsuke Kida) - Demon’s Souls
0:10:51 - Yohan Romantic (Spencer Bambrick) - Eternights
0:26:48 - By the Campfire (Norikazu Miura) - Suikoden Tactics
0:28:23 - Our Terms (Takafumi Imamura) - Final Fantasy XVI
0:49:20 - Brink of Time (Yasunori Mitsuda) - Chrono Trigger
0:51:44 - New Serena (Yuichi Kanatani) - Yakuza 4
1:23:30 - Song of the Ancients / Hollow Dreams (Keiichi Okabe, arr. Keigo Hoashi) - NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139...
1:26:57 - Stand By Me (Ben E. King, perf. by Florence and the Machine) - Final Fantasy XV
2:00:30 - Audra's Bonus Track!

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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 established through the narrative, characters, and of course, the music. Today we're sharing some of our favorite early game tunes that were instrumental (sorry not sorry) in getting us into some great games.

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Michael Sollosi, Patrick Gann, Wes Iliff; Edited by Paul Dennis

Tracklist
0:06:23 - Reminiscence (Miki Higashino) - Suikoden II
0:08:11 - Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World (Yasunori Mitsuda) - Chrono Cross
0:31:30 - City of Bells (Ken Nakagawa) - Atelier Iris ~Eternal Mana~
0:33:32 - Caravan Crossroad (Kumi Tanioka) - Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles
0:57:24 - Autumn’s Rise (Deniz Akbulut) - CrossCode
1:00:14 - Garland Office (Yoshitaka Hirota) - Shadow Hearts: From the New World
1:16:50 - Unary Game (Shinji Hosoe) - 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors
1:19:04 - Pledge of Demon (Hidenori Shoji) - Yakuza 0
1:51:57 - Sollosi's Bonus Track!

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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 celebrate our favorite music from this (sub-)series in all its iterations and, of course, fight against Shinra. We hope these tracks will get you ready to battle on!

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Audra Bowling, Kyle Cantelon; Edited by Jono Logan

Tracklist
0:07:40 - Those Who Fight (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Shiro Hamaguchi) - Piano Collections Final Fantasy VII
0:11:33 - Judgement Funkadelic (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Sean Schafianski) - MATERIA: Final Fantasy VII Remixed
0:31:49 - Crazy Motorcycle (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VII
0:35:23 - Dear to the Heart (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VII
0:54:29 - Why (Yoshihiko Nishio & Ayaka) - Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
0:58:52 - AVALANCHE (Nobuo Uematsu, arr. Mega Ran) -  Black Materia
1:24:56 - Bombing Mission - Infiltration (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VII Remake OST Plus
1:31:43 - Advent: One-Winged Angel (Nobuo Uematsu) - Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
2:04:01 - Mike's Bonus Track!

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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 usual, as each of us picked one more song than usual, giving us a total of 12, plus two special bonus tracks from Rhythm Encounter's co-founders. It still isn't enough to cover it all, but we packed in as much musical greatness as possible! What are some of your favorite songs and soundtracks from 2023?

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Michael Sollosi, Patrick Gann; Edited by Jono Logan

Pat's Picks
0:05:05 - Toto’haha (Yasunori Nishiki) - Octopath Traveler II
0:08:38 - The Apotheosis (Brandon Boone) - Slay the Princess
0:11:21 - Celestial (Toby Fox Remix) (comp Ed Sheeran, arr Toby Fox) - Pokémon Scarlet & Violet - The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC

Mike Salbato's Picks
0:38:00 - Dedicated to Moonlight (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
0:43:44 - World Map (Reo Uratani) - Meg's Monster
0:45:53 - Colgera Battle (Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi, Tsukasa Usui) - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Bonus Track 1: Stephen Meyerink
1:11:33 - Normal Battle I (Yasunori Nishiki) - Octopath Traveler II

Michael Sollosi's Picks
1:17:30 - Preserved Realm (D’Anthoni Wooten) - Dave the Diver
1:20:56 - Ascension (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XVI
1:25:04 - Mr. Top Player (Shigeyuki Kameda) - Street Fighter 6

Hilary's Picks
1:48:14 - The Way I See (Andrew Jeremy) - Coffee Talk Episode 2 - Hibiscus and Butterfly
1:54:46 - Down by the River (Borislav Slavov) - Baldur’s Gate III
1:57:05 - Lux Tizer (Norihiko Yamanuki) - The 7th Saga Soundtrack Composer’s Edition

Bonus Track 2: Derek Heemsbergen
2:33:17 - Main Theme (Tsutomu Narita?) - Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising

Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.

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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 disparate tracks made sense together, the resulting "soundtrack" was more cohesive than we expected!

We hope you like this musical experiment, because we already have plans for a future sequel. Stay tuned!

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Gio Castillo, Lucas Greene; Edited by Paul Dennis

Tracklist
0:07:45 - Breath of Fire IV ~Opening Animation~ (Taro Iwashiro) - Breath of Fire IV
0:09:13 - Quatera Woods (Yukihiro Jindo) - Falcom Field Zanmai (originally Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim)
0:31:51 - Hateno Village (Yasuaki Iwata) - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
0:37:35 - Pyramid (Yuzo Koshiro) - Actraiser Symphonic Suite
0:58:34 - Battle 1 (Yasunori Shiono) - Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals
1:01:32 - The Sandy Beach of Gumbo (Noriyuki Iwadare) - Grandia
1:25:52 - On Blade’s Edge (Masayoshi Soken) - Endwalker: Final Fantasy XIV
1:30:11 - Journey’s End (Rich Douglas ft. Jillian Aversa) - Shadowgate (2014)

Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.

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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, so we hope you enjoy everyone's heartfelt messages and musical choices.

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff; Edited by Paul Dennis

Links for this episode

• Prelude / Crystal Theme (Final Fantasy) - Harp and Strings cover by Patti Rudisill & Paula Bressman
• My Mind | Final Fantasy VIII Piano cover by Sebastien Skaf
• OverClocked ReMix: The Legend of Zelda "Zelda Heineken"

Tracklist
0:05:31 - Wind Crest ~The Three Trails~ (Takahito Eguchi & Noriko Matsueda) - Piano Collection Final Fantasy X-2
0:10:11 - Boss Battle Theme (Shigeki Sako) - Vay
0:14:56 - Prelude (Nobuo Uematsu, cover by Patti Rudisill & Paula Bressman) - Final Fantasy series
0:23:32 - A Sailor Never Sleeps (Masayoshi Soken) - Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
0:31:20 - My Mind (Nobuo Uematsu, cover by Sebastien Skaf) - Final Fantasy VIII
0:36:17 - New Days (Shoji Meguro) - Persona 4
0:39:59 - Land of Radiant Flowers (Revo) - Bravely Default
0:47:17 - Zelda Heineken (Main Theme) (Koji Kondo, arr. & perf. by Mattias Holmgren) - The Legend of Zelda
0:52:33 - Overworld Theme (Koji Kondo) - The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Album links for places to buy, stream, and more are available in our post on RPGFan.

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In farming games, typically the slowest part of the year is winter. So why did we record our farming music episode when it's winter for many of our listeners? Hey, I don't have all the answers... unless it's about work/life balance and the best Stardew Valley partner. But I digress. Today's panel is only three people, but we still have a full slate of music to share from some of our favorite farming and sim games. Some are more RPG than others, but what they have in common are great lineups of music to set a mood for every season. Grab your watering can and your straw hat and let's go visit the farm!

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Tin Manuel; Edited by Jono Logan

Tracklist
Winter
0:07:38 - Quiet Winter (Dai Nakajima) - Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life
0:10:55 - Winter (Nocturne of Ice) (ConcernedApe, arr. Matthew Bridgham, perf. Augustine Mayuga Gonzales) - Stardew Valley Piano Collections

Spring
0:30:56 - Spring (Town) (Manual of Errors) - Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland
0:33:46 - Bird’s Eye Brae (Day) (Go Shiina) - Harvestella

Summer
1:00:35 - Summer Day 4 (Yugo Pratomo) - Coral Island
1:03:57 - New Life in the Desert (Claude Ruelle) - My Time at Sandrock

Chill
1:23:56 - Starry and Calm (Night) (Bashi Boizu) - Littlewood
1:26:00 - Whale Island Outside (Tomoko Morita) - Rune Factory Frontier
2:00:28 - Tin's Bonus Track!

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