14 November 2012

Episode 107: Board Games

Board Games is the topic of Episode 107, that is, video games based on actual board games like Clue or Monopoly, or, video game board games like Itadaki Street and Bakushou Jinsei Gekijou.  This is ends up being a great topic, because it makes Brent and Rob delve into a whole new, unexplored faction of video game titles and video game music, especially some very obscure Japanese stuff, and in turn, they find some really cool tracks.  NOTE: Brent says the word "basically" a record amount of times in this episode, so watch out.  Full track listing below.


Game - Composer - Song - Company - Console - Year (North American release unless otherwise indicated)

Itadaki Street: Watashi no Oten ni Yottette - Toshiyuki Ueno - Is'RND's (Street 2 - Maharata Islands) - ASCII/Game Studio/Loginsoft - Famicom - 1991

The Chessmaster - Nick Eastridge, Peter Stone - Title Theme - Software Toolworks/Mindscape - SNES - 1991

Asameshimae Nyanko - Eiji Hirasawa, Toyakazu Nagaishi - Mesa - J-Force/Zamuse - Super Famicom - 1994

Millionaire - unknown - Ending (Good) - Sachen/Thin Chen - Famicom - 1990

The Monopoly Game 2 - Yasutsuna Sasaki - Rule and History - Tomcat System/Tomy - Super Famicom - 1995

The Monopoly Game 2 - Yasutsuna Sasaki - Final Matches - Tomcat System/Tomy - Super Famicom - 1995

Bakushou Jinsei Gekijou 3 - Kenichi Kamio - Board 3 (Train Ride) - Act Japan/Taito - Famicom - 1991

Pictionary - Tim Follin - Drawing Game - Software Creations/LJN - NES - 1990

Kishin Douji Zenki: Tenchi Meidou - Gouji Tsuno - Diamond Realm - Hudson Soft - Super Famicom - 1996

Clue - unknown - Elementary - Sculptured Software/Parker Bros. - SNES - 1992

Itadaki Street 2: Neon Sign wa Bara Iro ni - Kyohei Tsutsumi, Koichi Sugiyama (advisor) - Long Way to the Cape - Tomcat System/Enix - Super Famicom - 1994

Chinese Checkers - unknown - Title Screen - Sachen/Thin Chen - Famicom - 1991

Sugoro Quest: Dice no Senshi Tachi - Nakano ("Sonic Sky"), Yoshihiro Kameoka ("Monopoly"), Michiya Hirasawa ("Daitikun") - Stage 3: Beach - Technos Japan - Famicom - 1991

Zen-Nippon Pro Wrestling: Fight da Pon! - Iku Mizutani, Shinya Kurahashi, Kinuyo Yamashita - Beards and Tears - Natsume/Masaya - Super Famicom - 1994

Bananan Ouji no Daibouken - Nobuyuki Shioda - Bonus Island - KID/Takara - Famicom - 1991
Posted by The Legacy Music Hour at 2:45 PM
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21 comments:

  1. SpencerNovember 15, 2012 at 12:03 AM

    Some points about this delightful episode:
    - "Drawing Game." Never have two banal (if inviting) words, put together, come to mean so much by association. The soloing on this track is indeed unbeatable. One of the most enjoyable/listenable tracks I've heard on the Hour yet, and that's saying a lot.
    - Chinese Checkers. Weirdly enjoyable. The lead voice actually sounds not unlike a harpsichord; it has a decay/cutoff effect that is not unlike the mechanical effect of a harpsichord. So it sounds like a dissonant harpsichord funk jam. I can get on board.
    - The Chessmaster fits in well with Chinese Checkers, and also seems to prefigure "19-2000" by Gorillaz, for what that's worth.

    As usual, every track is good, but these stood out to me for their character, as well as Asameshimae Nyanko and Sugoro Quest just for solid jam status.

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  2. darylNovember 15, 2012 at 7:34 AM

    Ahh Alf for Master System -- I own it -- spent way too much time playing that ... game.

    If I remember correctly you attempt to collect parts to rebuild your ship while you run away from Judge Doom (from Who Framed Roger Rabbit) and beat up up bats with your salami.

    Classic.

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    Replies
    1. Rob F. SwitchNovember 15, 2012 at 2:30 PM

      Nice. I'm kind of jealous. I loved the ALF show growing up. Did you beat it? How were the tunes?

      Delete
  3. Alberto J. González (McAlby)November 15, 2012 at 9:22 AM

    Thanks for the nice podcast! Every one should include a tune of the Follin bros. :)

    I like how you get information about the composers instead of just playing the music. Also I didn't know about most of the tunes.

    Definitely, Joe McAlby sounds better in English :D

    Cheers

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  4. TomNovember 15, 2012 at 10:49 AM

    I've only heard the first few songs so far, but the track from The Chessmaster had me first going "huh?" and then going "rock on!". That is some sick bass.

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    Replies
    1. Rob F. SwitchNovember 15, 2012 at 2:20 PM

      I know right!!!! That track only gets better after repeated playings. "Rock on!" indeed :)

      Delete
  5. Big MikeNovember 15, 2012 at 10:55 AM

    Pictionary: My new ringtone.

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  6. The Long VersionNovember 15, 2012 at 4:19 PM

    +1 on this episode!

    There were some -great- tracks on this one. This is kinda like the Sports episode...given the genre, I really wasn't expecting too much...but then I was totally proven wrong with killer music. :-)

    For this episode, I had a three way tie for my 2nd favorite track: Asameshimae Nyanko, Rule and History (Monopoly 2), Kishin Douji Zenki. I really can't decide between these three which one gets the silver.

    However, there's no doubt in my mind which one gets the gold, and it seems like a lot of people feel the same way: "Drawing Game"....hands down! I am always a huge fan of Tim and/or Geoff Follin, but this track is a standout even for them! What a gem! (Rhyme intended). This track had no problem "drawing me in" (Pun intended.)

    Tech talk: what an -amazing- use of samples on the Kishin track! Perhaps the best I've heard on the SNES/SFC! If someone told me this was CD-Rom, I might actually fall for it. Sure, some of the hallmark SNES "muffle" is present, but surprisingly, I've found several early CD-Rom games that have the muffle too....so yeah, I probably would've believed it! The Chessmaster track was the complete opposite. It was a fairly catchy piece, but I just could not get past the -terrible- samples...sounded like someone banging it out on a Casio. I love Rob, and most of his track choices, but I just can't track with him on that Chessmaster piece (pun not intended). :-)

    Keep up the great work, BOIZZZ! :-D

    St. John, From the suburbs of Des Moines, Iowa (where all the Fumahitos live) ;-)

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    Replies
    1. The Long VersionNovember 16, 2012 at 5:22 AM

      I had Drawing Game on repeat this morning as I was getting ready for work. I might also listen to it on the drive in.....I think I'm hooked! :-)

      Delete
    2. Big MikeNovember 18, 2012 at 9:45 PM

      Hey John, I don't know if you're checking the past episode comments, but you asked to hear some of my music, so I figured I would give you a link here. I know this is entirely off topic from this episode, so my apologies to Rob and Brent.

      www.mindhorn.bandcamp.com/albums/face-anagrams

      This is the band I'm in now. We're sort of haunted house disco prog. Or something. I'm bad at describing the music we play. All I know is the five most interesting people I've ever met in my life are also in this band. I don't write songs here, I'm just a guitar player in this band. But if you hear anything that sounds influenced by 8 bit music, I'm probably doing it.

      Nothing that I've done in the past is online yet. I'm working on it, but man. There are only 7 days in one week.

      Delete
    3. The Long VersionNovember 26, 2012 at 5:26 PM

      Hey Mike! Sorry for the late reply.

      I'll definitely plan on checking your music out! I'll let you know what I think of it! :-)

      Let me know if you want to hear the game music I sent the Double Dragon BOYYZZ! I actually still haven't heard back from them what they thought about it. Hopefully they don't think it's crap. :-) I do value their opinion though, so I think I'd rather hear from them some kinder, gentler version of "you suck" than just not hear anything, you know what I mean? Also, not hearing from them makes me wonder if if was blocked by a spam filter or something, and they never got it. Hmm...

      Anyway, I'll get back to you soon on your music.

      -St. John

      Delete
    4. The Long VersionNovember 26, 2012 at 5:28 PM

      Hmmm, looks like that link is bad, Mike. Got another one?

      Delete
  7. Jessie MooreNovember 16, 2012 at 4:58 AM

    Pictionary totally surprised me! I would never imagine the great tunes coming out of a game like that. It also showed me that I am a big fan of Tim Follin. I've always loved Sky Shark, and this song is right up there with that one.

    When you mentioned TV show games, i first thought of Home Improvement. I dont remember if the music was good, but the game itself was hilariously terrible. I hope it gets representation on the next episode.

    Thanks for the great jam (and toast?)

    Jessie
    Roboawesome.com

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  8. Big MikeNovember 16, 2012 at 5:23 AM

    Have you guys alked about te infamous sachen games on here yet? i dont remember. i kow retronauts has talked about them before...but yeah, quite a story there.

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  9. TomNovember 16, 2012 at 6:34 PM

    For those of you who liked Drawing Game, the rest of the Pictionary soundtrack is worth a listen - some other good songs there. Also, if you're intro remixes, there's a really nice one of Drawing Game over at OC ReMix: http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01548/

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  10. goemonsamaNovember 17, 2012 at 9:38 PM

    Great episode guys! I love these oddball episodes with obscure topics. Put me down as another fan of that Pictionary JAM, I can't stop listening to it. I also really enjoyed that Kishin Douji Zenki: Tenchi Meidou track.

    I might be wrong about this, but I believe the Zen-Nippon Pro Wrestling track is an Enka piece. "Enka" is a combination of traditional Japanese music and the modern sentimental ballad.

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousNovember 18, 2012 at 9:28 PM

    i need to stop commenting on these episodes using my ipad. every comment i leave has letters missing, and i never notice because the text shows up so small.

    #talking to myself

    ReplyDelete
  12. UnknownNovember 28, 2012 at 11:52 AM

    Drawing Game is the first track I made other people listen to and I've been a long time listener. There are dozens I've downloaded for myself but it was just too good to not share. Great find!

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  13. Stephan KuwabaraMay 16, 2017 at 7:04 PM

    Hey, I know I'm like 5 years late on this, but I've been going through your legacy episodes, and felt compelled to tell you that song from Zen-Nippon Pro Wrestling, that Rob played totally sounded like Japanese Enka music.

    My Grandmother was Japanese, and used to love Enka music, I used to hear it all the time growing up; so as soon as I heard that I was like, "Yep that's totally Enka!" anyways, just thought I would add that.

    ReplyDelete

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