VGM Highlights - February 2019

I almost forgot that February only has 28 days, but only almost. So here we go!

First off I've got a double entry from the excellent VGMpire podcast. I am so far behind on this show I would be sad but it also means that I have loads to look forward to so I am kinda happy instead.

In their episode 70 "Indie Game Music Showcase 2" they've picked out a whole bunch of really great indie game tracks, some I had heard before (like Hotline Miami OST) and a lot I hadn't. One I hadn't was the music to Luftrausers. I could've sworn they were talking about a game called "Love Trousers" throughout the episode and it wasn't until afterwards when I went to search more information about the game that I figured out it was actually the Luftrausers game they had been talking about... I'm unfortunately not making that up. I just love the crunchy, gritty sound of the Main Theme, that is right up my alley.

In episode 71, "20 Years of Breath of Fire" we get a track from the game Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter. Dragon Quarter is the only BoF game I have played to any extent, and it was good enough though I didn't finish it. It plays out entirely (or at least for the duration of my game time) indoors and sublevel and it made me feel claustrophobic somehow. Hearing the "Lift" track from this game made me nostalgic and even made me want to get back to playing it again however. It's a pretty un-assuming but nice track that you hear quite a lot of in-game;

Then we're off to the Battle Bards Podcast which highlight the OST of World of Warcraft: Battle of Azeroth in their episode 135. Anything World of Warcraft is basically like catnip to a cat to me. Though I haven't played WoW since 2013 or something, it has played such a huge part in my life that I think about it almost every day. Sounds crazy, but it's true. The theme from the Motherlode Dungeon is a very long one, but it's rewarding and fun to listen to. It's the kind of music that you should put on while you're cleaning or something, it'll definitely make it more enjoyable. I would love to hear it in-game while playing through the dungeon but I'll have to just settle with watching someone stream a run of it some day I guess…

The KVGM The Last Wave podcast specializes on some really chill tunes for when you just want to relax (which is always, amirite?). I often listen to podcasts when putting my baby daughter to sleep and trying not to fall asleep myself while having this in my ears is impossible. But the Metro City Night track from the game Astro Boy: Mighty Atom in episode 2018-11-25 is so sleek I can't help but love it, it's also the perfect way to end your day if you do fall asleep listening to it, take it from someone who knows;

That's it for tracks in February, but just like last time I want to leave you with an episode highlight. This time it's the Alberto Gonzáles episode from Retro Game Audio podcast. The only thing it is missing is Alberto Gonzáles himself, but otherwise it is absolutely filled with not just awesome music but loads of interesting tidbits, anecdotes and solid information about this amazing composer from people who have met and interviewed him themselves. Gonzáles is definitely one my favorite composers so this episode was a treat. I'll also leave you with one my favorite tracks of his, which basically just means randomly choosing any track he's done;