Very Good Music: A VGM Podcast

In this very special bonus episode, the hosts are joined by the artist who designed their awesome cover art: Naomi Rubin! We had a blast digging into Naomi’s process for coming up with the VGMVGM design, and in talking about some of her influences. Of course, there’s still plenty of Very Good Music, as the trio listens to three songs, each representing one of the stars of the art itself: Sans, Zelda, and Proto Man!

No playlist this week. Naomi is the star of this show, and we want to keep the music a bit of a surprise. More than ever, we would love for you to check out the accompanying video on YouTube, where you can get an exclusive look at some of Naomi’s in-process artwork!

Finally...we have a Discord now! Come join us and talk about the music here: https://discord.com/invite/qpbXPdCf2N

That’s all for now. We’ll see you in one week for Episode 2-11: Platformers with ProfJeff!

Musical artists featured: Toby Fox, Toru Minegishi, Yasuaki Fujita, Hideki Sakamoto, and Kenta Nagata

Links Naomi mentioned:

Pueblo Unido PDX - https://www.pueblounidopdx.org/
Pueblo Unido is a non-profit organization that supports Portland metro community members in the fight against deportation

Ava’s Demon by Michelle Czajkowsk - https://www.avasdemon.com/

Helvetica by J. N. Wiedle - http://helvetica.jnwiedle.com/

Patron Links:

Alex Messenger's Podcast: https://anchor.fm/s/f8b4688/podcast/rss

Skeletroy's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM84dO4lFBk2NUnKQvypmTw

Ryan's Bandcamp: https://polartabby.bandcamp.com/album/catlandia-soundtrack

Carlos's Podcast: http://heroes3podcast.blogspot.com/

The Last Rican's Podcast: https://anchor.fm/s/379cabe4/podcast/rss

Forrest’s Show: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgEAyaGKcvUoMsovGYtPQhA

Artist Links:

Naomi Rubin - patreon.com/naomirubin | comics at moonsproutstation.com

Carlos Leon Roman - Instagram.com/kf_carlito

Ben "The Diad" Dishman - @TheDiad

Skeletroy - patreon.com/skeletroy

Ep. 3 Rivals, Rogues, and Frenemies:

Welcome to Episode 3 of Very Good Music: A VGM Podcast! We are your hosts, bedroth and Shootkapow, a father/son duo who love music and video games and especially music IN video games!

This episode is all about those characters in games that you love - or love to hate! Rivals have been around as long as there have been heroes to compete against, or develop a complicated relationship with. From the obscure to the more-beloved-than-the-hero, here are very good themes based on some of our favorite video game rivals!

This one includes a special bonus segment featuring picks from our earliest listeners and good friends from podcast fandom. We're both big fans of lots of other great VGM podcasts, and if we mention them on the show, you should really check them out! No time stamps for the fan-picks-lightning-round. We don't want to spoil the surprises!

We hope you enjoy the show. If you have any comments, questions, or requests, please send them to [email protected], or leave a comment below!

If you like what you hear, please like, comment, and subscribe, and ring that bell to be notified when our next episode comes out! We're currently planning to release every other Saturday, but check back here for news and updates.

Reflexez's original Protoman Theme [Blues] video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQdzH2T2nYg

0:57 - The Rival - Shovel Knight - (PC/3DS/Wii U) - 2014 - Jake Kaufman (Virt) [art by arkalpha]

7:02 - Battle with Kratos - Tales of Symphonia (GameCube/PS2) - 2003 - Motoi Sakuraba [art by by Alex Deza Duenas]

16:47 - Kay Faraday, the Great Truth Burglar - Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS) - 2009 - Noriyuki Iwadare and Yasuko Yamada [art by Hikaru Musume-Sama]

21:57 - Meta Knight’s Revenge - Kirby Super Star Ultra (DS) - 2008 - Jun Ishikawa [art by by ScepterDPinoy]

28:10 - Noontide - Guilty Gear XX (Arcade/PS2) - 2002 - Daisuke Ishiwatari and Koichi Seiyama [art by Dwelian]

33:04 - Battle with Magus - Chrono Trigger (SNES) - 1995 - Yasunori Mitsuda [art by ObstinateMelon]

38:56 - The Chosen One - Shadow the Hedgehog (Multi-Platform) - 2005 - Tomoya Ohtani [art by Akron117]

45:28 - Rival Theme/Final Battle (Champion) - Pokemon Red/Blue (Game Boy) - 1996 - Junichi Masuda [art by EndBlack]

51:02 - Theme of Riku - Kingdom Hearts (PS2) - 2002 - Yoko Shimomura [art by kuchinawa]

54:47 - Ken’s Theme Remix - Super Smash Bros for Wii U - 2014 - Yoko Shimomura/Ryo Hamamoto [art by GENZOMAN]

1:02:11 - Powerful Rivals - Dragon Ball Z: SuperSonic Warriors (GBA) - 2004 - Kennosuke Suemura [art by chibimaronchan]

1:07:25 - Theme of Dark Pit - Kid Icarus: Uprising (3DS) - 2012 - Motoi Sakuraba [art by TheMetalicDarkSonic]

1:11:17 - Groose's Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii) - 2011 - Hajime Wakai, Shiho Fujii, Mahito Yokota, Takeshi Hama [art by LethargicDuality]

1:17:19 - Star Wolf - Star Fox Zero (Wii U) - 2016 - Rei Kondoh [art by SupaCrikeyDave]

1:22:26 - We Are the Three Bonne Siblings - Mega Man Legends (PlayStation) - 1997 - Makoto Tomozawa [art by SweetLittleCavities]

1:27:38 - Listener Picks Lightning Round

1:40:51 Protoman Theme [Blues] - Mega Man 3 (NES) - 1990 - Yasuaki Fujita (Bun Bun) and Harumi Fujita (remix by Reflexez) [art by MegaRyan104]

You set foot on foreign soil. Only this land isn't ruled by any country or government. In this land we celebrate music. In this land we celebrate games. In this land we celebrate those who compose video game music.

Welcome to Very Good Music's special Episode 10 crossover with The VGMBassy!

Join the guys and VGM Podcast veteran Ed Wilson as they explore the work of composers from around the world! You're sure to hear something new, as well as an old favorite or two, but as always, everything we play will be Very Good Music! Even if it has very little, if anything, to do with the U.S. Independence Day...

If you like what you hear, please like, comment, and subscribe, or ring that bell to be notified when our next episode comes out! Check out the "About" page on YouTube for links to all the ways you can contact us or listen to our show, as well as original music by Bedroth and music and sprite work by @Shootkapow!

Help our audience grow by rating and reviewing us on your podcatcher of choice, especially Apple Podcasts! 2 minutes of your time will really help us out and help this podcast reach more people!

Shout out to Ben "The Diad" Dishman for our awesome pixel portraits! Check out his work @TheDiad on Twitter!

Support the artists on Bandcamp or their personal websites, and be sure to check out Ed's work at thevgmbassy.com!

Play In - Rayman Origins: The Lums’ Dream - 2011 - CHRISTOPHE HERAL - Ubisoft (Montpellier, Occitanie, France)

11:47 - Sleeping Dogs: Exit, Pursued by Motorcycles - 2012 - JEFF TYMOSCHUK - United Front Games (Manitoba, Canada)

21:11 - Super Mario Bros.: Underwater - 1985 - KOJI KONDO - Nintendo (Nagoya, Aichi, Japan)

25:56 - Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands: Enemies of the Djinn - 2010 - PENKA KAUNEVA - Ubisoft (Sofia, Bulgaria)

38:09 - Rad Rogers: Artifacting - 2018 - ANDREW HULSHULT - Slipgate Studios, THQ Nordic (Dallas, Texas, USA)

47:15 - Chrono Trigger: Memories of Green - 1995 - YASUNORI MITSUDA - Square (Tokuyama, Yamaguchi, Japan)

56:10 - The Elder Scrolls Online: Three Hearts as One - 2014 - MALUKAH (JUDITH DE LOS SANTOS) - Bethesda Softworks (Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico)

1:04:02 - Horizon Chase Turbo: Vyper - 2018 - BARRY LEITCH - Aquiris Game Studio S.A. (Scotland)

1:16:42 - Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Mad Monster Mansion - 1998/2018 - GRANT KIRKHOPE/MICHIKO NARUKE - Rare/Nintendo/Bandai Namco - (Edinburgh, Scotland/Chiba Prefecture, Kanto, Japan)

1:25:41 - The Last Express: Pursuit - 1997 - ELIA CMIRAL - Smoking Car Productions (Czechoslovakia)

1:35:36 - The Lost Vikings: Factory Beat: - 1993 - CHARLES DEENAN - Silicon & Synapse, Interplay (Denmark)

1:47:44 - Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story: Tough Guy Alert! - 2009 - YOKO SHIMOMURA - AlphaDream (Hyōgo Prefecture, Honshu, Japan)

1:56:40 - Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan: Forest of Torment - 2016 - JEAN-YVES BASSANGA, JAMES THORLEY - Kiro'o Games (Cameroon, Africa/Manchester, UK)

2:04:42 - Bionic Commando Rearmed: Heat Wave - 2008 - SIMON VIKLUND - GRIN, Capcom (Sweden)

2:19:40 - Play Out - Caveman Boy: Ice-Age Approaches- 2020 - VOLTZ SUPREME - noblemon (Australia - from the coastal town of Wollongong, an hour south of Sydney)

Blooper Reel - Angry Birds Theme - 2009 - ARI PULKKINEN - Rovio Entertainment (Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland)

Links to the Episode 12 Surveys!!

Part 1: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/R72MZG9

Part 2: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RWWJNCQ

If these aren't easy for you to use, just visit the video on YouTube or send us an e-mail at [email protected] and we'll send them to you!

Welcome to part 2 of a our special 2-episode series for the month of June! Flipping things around, in this episode, we'll hear Shootkapow's picks from some of Bedroth's favorite games! As always, you can rest assured that all of the selections will follow our one big rule: everything has to be Very Good Music!

If you like what you hear, please like, comment, and subscribe, or ring that bell to be notified when our next episode comes out! Check out the "About" page on YouTube for links to all the ways you can contact us or listen to our show, as well as original music by Bedroth and music and sprite work by @Shootkapow!

Shout out to Ben "The Diad" Dishman for our awesome pixel portraits! Check out his work @TheDiad on Twitter!

Top of Show Music - Mega Man X - 1993 - Toshihiko Horiyama - SNES - Capcom (also composed by Setsuo Yamamoto, Yuki Iwai, Yuko Takehara, and Makoto Tomozawa)

Zelda Intro 5:13

5:32 - Dark World - Link to the Past - 1991 - Koji Kondo - SNES - Nintendo

12:37 - Butter Building - Kirby’s Adventure - 1993 - Hirokazo Ando/Jun Ishikawa - HAL - NES

19:54 - The Ancient Pyramid - Donkey Kong - GB - 1994 - Taisuke Araki - Game Boy - Nintendo

26:54 - Bamboo Boogaloo - The Messenger - 2018 - Rainbowdragoneyes - Switch/PS4/Xbox One - Sabotage Studio/Devolver Digital

33:30 - Storm Eagle - Mega Man X - 1993 - Makoto Tomozawa - SNES - Capcom (also composed by Setsuo Yamamoto, Yuki Iwai, Yuko Takehara, and Toshihiko Horiyama)

40:36 - Stone Valley - Pokemon Snap - 1999 - Ikuko Mimuri - N64 - HAL

46:12 - Forest Maze - Super Mario RPG - 1996 - Yoko Shimomora - SNES - Nintendo

54:10 - Game Theme - The Adventure of Lolo - 1989 - Hideki Kanazashi - HAL - NES

59:25 - Yarrow - Steamworld Dig 2 - 2017 - El Huervo (Niklas Åkerblad) - Switch/PS4/Xbox One - Image & Form

1:06:24 - Hiding the Secrets - Doom - 1993 - Robert Prince - DOS - id Software

1:14:48 - In the Halls of the Usurper - Shovel Knight - 2014 - Jake Kaufman - Multiplatform - Yacht Club Games

1:25:19 - Galaxy (99 Players) - Tetris 99 - 2019 - Teruo Taniguchi, Takahiro Eguchi, Fumihisa Tanaka, Ayako Saso, and Shinji Hosoe - Switch - Nintendo

1:32:06 - Boss Battle - Turtles in Time - 1991 - Mutsuhiko Izumi, Kazuhiko Uehara, and Harumi Ueko - SNES/Arcade - Konami

1:38:26 - Angel Island Zone: Act 2 - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - 1994 - Brad Buxer, Cirocco Jones, Bobby Brooks, Darryl Ross, Geoff Grace, Doug Grigsby, Sachio Ogawa, Tatsuyuki Maeda, Jun Senoue, and purportedly, Michael Jackson - Genesis/Mega Drive - Sega

1:48:47 - Staff Roll - Super Mario 64 - 1996 - Koji Kondo - N64 - Nintendo

Bumper Music - Oak's Lab - Pokemon Snap - 1999 - Ikuko Mimuri - N64 - HAL

Links to the Episode 12 Surveys!!

Part 1: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/R72MZG9

Part 2: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RWWJNCQ

If these aren't easy for you to use, just visit the video on YouTube or send us an e-mail at [email protected] and we'll send them to you!

***Disclaimer for those who listen with kids - there are a few bad words and some dirty humor in this episode, especially the blooper reel. It's not a lot, but be forewarned.***

Greetings, Gamers! And welcome to the long-awaited (at least for me) Season 3 Finale: Superheroes with ProfJeff! The Professor hosted me at his apartment for the weekend and we finally recorded this episode, which we've been discussing for weeks and are really excited to finally share with you. There are a lot of great (and not so great) superhero games out there, and in this jam-packed episode, we bring you a wide variety of tunes featuring some of your favorite heroes, along with a few you've probably never heard of. Of course, everything follows our number one rule: Everything is Very Good Music.

Thanks as always to our amazing patrons and the artists who made our show art and theme song. You can reach out to us one of these ways:

Discord: https://discord.gg/qpbXPdCf2N
Twitter: @VGMpod and @Shootkapow
E-mail: [email protected]
Voicemail: Anchor.com/vgmvgm.

You can also leave us a comment on YouTube and while you're at it, please let us know if you like the video, and subscribe and ring the bell to be notified of future episodes! We look forward to hearing from you!

Tracklist:

Game Intro - Silver Surfer - Tim & Geoff Follin - 1990, Software Creations/Arcadia Systems, NES

Title/Menu - Superman - Hiroyuki Masuno & Ryu Hasegawa - 1987, Kotobuki/Kemco, NES

Main theme - Ultraverse Prime - Tim & Geoff Follin - 1994, Sony/Malibu Interactive, Sega CD

Shoutout to electricboogaloo on Discord who informed me that Geoff is the vocalist on this track. For lyrics and fun facts, check out the Retro Pals video on YouTube.

Boss (Gorilla Grodd) - Batman: The Brave and the Bold - The Videogame - Jake Kaufman - 2010, WayForward/Warner Interactive, Nintendo DS

Final Duel with Joker - The Adventures of Batman & Robin - Konami Kukeiha Club (Kazuhiko Uehara, Harumi Ueko, Jun Funahashi, Masanari Iwata, Masahiko Kimura, Kayo Fujitani, and Masahiro Ikariko) - 1994, Konami, SNES

Train (Stage 6) - X-Men: Mutant Wars - Kazuo Sawa - 2000, Activision/Avid/HAL, Game Boy Color

Metro City (Stage 1) - Astro Boy: Omega Factor - Norio Hanzawa & Tsuyoshi Kaneko - 2003, Treasure/Hitmaker/Sega/Activision, Game boy Advance

Moliarty's Tower - Darkwing Duck - Yasuaki "Bun Bun" Fujita - 1992, Capcom, NES

Menu Theme - Scud: The Disposable Assassin - Loudmouth, Tristan des Pres, DJR/IB3 Ltd., Fidget-X, and Unbelievable Jolly Machine - 1997, Syrox/SegaSoft, Saturn

High Score - Green Lantern - Dean Evans - 1994 (Unreleased), Ocean, SNES

Here Comes the Hero - X-Men - Seiichi Fukami, Yuji Takenouchi, Junya Nakano, and Ayako Hashimoto - 1992, Konami, Arcade

Windy Night at the Park - The Amazing Spider-Man: Lethal Foes - Shoji Tomii, Minoru Endo, Makato Igarashi, and Daisuke Inoue - 195, Agent/Epoch, Super Famicom

Gotham City/Streets of Desolation - Batman - Naoki Kodaka - 1989, Sunsoft, NES

Theme of Dr. Doom - Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds - Hideyuki Fukasawa - 2011, Capcom/Eighting, PS3/Xbox 360

Trickster for Mayor - The Flash - Jeroen Tel - 1993, Probe, Sega Master System

Ending Credits - The Incredible Hulk: The Pantheon Saga - Des Tong & The Gamma Gang (Mike Hehir, Chris Warne) - 1996, Attention to Detail/Eidos, Saturn/PlayStation

Blooper Reel: The Fun House - Spider-Man - Fletcher Beasley - 1995, Western Technologies/Acclaim, Genesis

Artist Links:

Naomi Rubin - patreon.com/naomirubin | comics at moonsproutstation.com

Carlos Leon Roman - Instagram.com/kf_carlito

Ben "The Diad" Dishman - @TheDiad

Skeletroy - patreon.com/skeletroy