Video Wizards Podcast

In episode 23 of Video Wizards, we return to the year 1994 to bask in the sunrays of the summer, for another seasonal spectacular. With the midpoint of the ’90s just one year away and the ’80s now full and well behind us, we find ourselves in a period of cultural turmoil, where the arcade industry, the music industry AND the film industry seem to lack a general direction and focus and throw a lot at the wall to see what sticks. In the arcades, we deal with the hodge podge of flat shaded polygonal experiments Wing War and Desert Tank by SEGA and Midway’s bizarre attempt to put aging rockers Aerosmith forward as dangerous symbols of youth culture that need to be silenced by a sinister fascist government in the lightgun shooter Revolution X. Atari, meanwhile, goes full stop motion animation for the feral fighter Primal rage, as we can still count on Capcom and SNK to deliver noteworthy, quality fighting games in the shape of Darkstalkers and the first entry in the The King of Fighters series.

And what about those other industries? The pop charts in the UK and the Netherlands are generally a mess, but there is a lot of solid music being made in the scenes of Hip-Hop and metal. And in theaters we see more scattershot releases, with a massive, animated movie centered around a family of lions by Disney, a bit of 20th century history viewed through the eyes of a lovable simpleton who has a knack for cutting to the core of things and the comedic exploits of a band called The Lone Rangers, as they take a radio station hostage to get their demo played on air.

With the Atari Jaguar out on shelves and a new generation of CD-based consoles around the corner, all bets are off when it comes to this chaotic period in the late-early nineties. But these are still simpler times, and we invite you into their comforting, sun drenched embrace, for the next 6 and a half hours.

Show theme tune: NEON CITY, composed by Ed 「イートレム」 Tremblay for Mudprints Music and licensed exclusively to The Video Wizards Podcast, ©2019 Mudprints Music, all rights reserved.

Baller of the Month Jingle composed by Yuli Anna and licensed exclusively to The Video Wizards Podcast, ©2022 Yuli Anna, all rights reserved.

Other music used in this episode:

• Cracking! (Stage 4) – by Tamayo Kawamoto / Zuntata for RayForce, 1994
• Title / Yak 141 – by Tomoyuki Kawamura for Wing War, 1994
• Wake Up! & Up Against the Wall – by Chris Granner for Revolution X, 1994
• Felicia’s Theme – by Takayuki Iwai & Hideki Okugawa for Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors, 1994
• The Cove – by Jeanne Parson for Primal Rage, 1994
• Napolitan Blues – by Masahiko Hataya, Bros.Hige, Pearl Sibakiti & Akihiro Uchida for The King of Fighters ’94, 1994
• Brinstar (Underground Depths) – by Kenji Yamamoto & Minako Hamano for Super Metroid, 1994
• Stress – by Organized Konfusion, 1994
• Regulate – by Warren G featuring Nate Dogg, 1994
• Props Over Here – by The Beatnuts, 1994
• Under the Sun – by Terminator X & The Godfathers of Threatt featuring Joe Sinistr, 1994
• Represent – by Grand Daddy I.U., 1994
• Where My Homiez? – by Ill Al Skratch, 1994
• Oh My God (Remix) – by A Tribe Called Quest, 1994
• Wrong Side Of Da Tracks – by Artifacts, 1994
• Tears of the Dragon – by Bruce Dickinson, 1994
• Vasoline – by Stone Temple Pilots, 1994
• Get Your Gunn – by Marilyn Manson, 1994
• Davidian – by Machine Head, 1994
• Faster – by Manic Street Preachers, 1994
• Live Forever – by Oasis, 1994
• 100% Pure Love – by Crystal Waters, 1994
• Dissident – by Pearl Jam, 1994
• Big Time Sensuality – by Björk, 1994
• Bombtrack – by Rage Against The Machine, 1993
• Feel What You Want – by Kristine W, 1994
• Liar – by Rollins Band, 1994
• Te Land, Ter Zee en in de Lucht Leader (1994) – by Hans van Eijck, 1994
• No Mean City (Theme from Taggart) – by Mike Moran, 1985

Episode edited by: Juli Reed & Michiel Kroder

And finally: our special thanks to Andy Hofle.

Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Android, Google Podcas...

In episode 22 of Video Wizards, we find ourselves in the glorious year of 1988, where the 2D shoot ’em up still reigned supreme as the most dominant video game genre. In the arcades we see releases of heavy hitters like Vulcan Venture a.k.a. Gradius II by Konami, Forgotten Worlds by Capcom and Silkworm by Tecmo, the three of them pushing boundaries and technology all in their own particular way. And then there is the oddball 1 versus 1 brawler Kageki by Kaneko, taking super deformed fisticuffs to new extremes.

In terms of gaming at home, SEGA and Nintendo are continuing their efforts to break the choke hold that micros like the ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Commodore C64 and MSX have over the European game industry, with their 8-bit consoles. Music, meanwhile, is in a very interesting place, as Hip Hop has landed in its most revolutionary era and a line is drawn in the sand, glam rockers Poison are trying to stink up metal, while Judas Priest and Living Colour fight back, and the charts are incredibly varied, with a bit of a theme of sociopolitical engagement running through more than one song. We also look at the successes and failings of the mega expensive silver screen blockbusters Willow and Rambo III and delve into some interesting stories from the world of television at the time.

What relevant movie quote does editor Juli drop in the middle of this month’s Video Wizards Quiz? Can Ben hold it together as Michiel drops yet more culturally significant Dutch TV personality names? Does the fact that Gradius II is the main arcade game talking point this month lead to a rift between Michiel and Ben? Will doors be slammed and angry letters be written? Find out in a new 5 and a half hours Video Wizards throwback audio tour extravaganza!

Show theme tune: NEON CITY, composed by Ed 「イートレム」 Tremblay for Mudprints Music and licensed exclusively to The Video Wizards Podcast, ©2019 Mudprints Music, all rights reserved.

Baller of the Month Jingle composed by Yuli Anna and licensed exclusively to The Video Wizards Podcast, ©2022 Yuli Anna, all rights reserved.

Other music used in this episode:

• TV Theme Style (The Winner) – by Colin Thomson, 2018
• Theme from Butsuzou – by Masahiko Ishida for Ninja Spirit, 1988
• Burning Heat – by Shinji Tasaka, Motoaki Furukawa, Kenichi Matsubara & Seiichi Fukami for Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou, 1988
• A Shooting Star – by Shinji Tasaka, Motoaki Furukawa, Kenichi Matsubara & Seiichi Fukami for Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou, 1988
• Stage Four – by Tamayo Kawamoto & Yoshihiro Sakaguchi for Forgotten Worlds, 1988
• Main Theme – by ??? for Silkworm, 1988
• Street Theme – by Hirokazu Tanaka for Gumshoe, 1986
• My Philosophy – by BDP, 1988
• Just Got Paid – by Johnny Kemp, 1988
• Run’s House – by Run-D.M.C., 1988
• Keep Risin’ to the Top – by Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew, 1988
• I’m Still #1 – by BDP, 1988
• Are You Ready for Freddy – by Fat Boys (featuring Robert Englund), 1988
• Every Rose Has Its Thorn – by Poison, 1988
• Cult of Personality – by Living Colour, 1988
• Ram it Down – by Judas Priest, 1988
• Blue Monday – by New Order, 1983
• Theme from S’Express – by S’Express, 1988
• Everywhere – by Fleetwood Mac, 1987
• Yé Ké Yé Ké – by Mory Kanté, 1987
• Beds Are Burning – by Midnight Oil, 1988
• Alphabet St. – by Prince, 1988
• Preparations – by Jerry Goldsmith for the motion picture Rambo III, 1988
• Theme from M.A.S.K. – by Shuki Levy & Haim Saban, 1985

Episode edited by: Juli Reed & Michiel Kroder

And finally: our special thanks to Andy Hofle.

Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Android, Google Podcasts, Player FM or via RSS.

In the 24th episode of Video Wizards, we travel to a time close to the “mark of the millennium”, as we find ourselves covering the autumnal months of September, October and November of 1998 for yet another very substantial seasonal spectacular. Arcade games increasingly lose floor space to slot machines and the ones that don’t have specialised cabinets often see very accurate home ports. In that category we find the monumental 2D fighting game Street Fighter Alpha 3, Taito’s 3rd game in the “Ray” series of vertical shoot ’em ups, RayCrisis, and to some extent Gauntlet Legends by our good friends at Atari. Cave’s odd disco themed shoot ’em up Dangun Feveron DID get a home port, but that would come only 18 years later. And Neo Geo games like Shock Troopers: 2nd Squad being available at home as well is nothing new... if you had the funds, that is. On the other hand, we of course still get SEGA spectacle cabs, as we take a closer look at the zeitgeist friendly Star Wars Trilogy Arcade.

Gaming at home, then, is massive in the fall of 1998, with Half-Life coming out for the PC, Tekken 3 coming out for the PlayStation, Japanese import favourite Marvel Super Heroes Vs Street Fighter coming out for the Saturn and F-Zero X coming out for the N64. As well as a whole host of other titles. And with the U.S. president fighting off impeachment in the midst of an adulterous sex scandal at the background, we see everything from Google getting founded, Hip-Hop concept albums seeing the light of day, the rise of Nu-Metal, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker teaming up on the silver screen and Edward Norton taking a paycut for a defining role in the incendiary American History X to the first airing of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in the UK and everyday people living our their odd sexual fantasies on Local Dutch National TV. That’s right, the world is getting ready to party like it’s 1999.

Get extra comfortable as this all makes for the lengthiest episode of our podcast yet. For the next 8 and a half hours we’ve got you covered with another riveting, uproarious and nostalgic audio journey, right back to the later half of 1998.

Show theme tune: NEON CITY, composed by Ed 「イートレム」 Tremblay for Mudprints Music and licensed exclusively to The Video Wizards Podcast, ©2019 Mudprints Music, all rights reserved.

Baller of the Month Jingle composed by Yuli Anna and licensed exclusively to The Video Wizards Podcast, ©2022 Yuli Anna, all rights reserved.

Other music used in this episode:

• Steeple Chase – by Howard Drossin for Dynamite Cop, 1998
• Prismatic Stars (Theme of R. Mika) – by Takayuki Iwai for Street Fighter Alpha 3, 1998
• Dancing Bomber – by T’s Music for Dangun Feveron, 1998
• 2nd Mission – by Masaki Kase for Shock Troopers: 2nd Squad, 1998
• Lavender Blue – by Zuntata for RayCrisis, 1998
• Opening – by Nobuyoshi Sano, Keiichi Okabe, Yū Miyake, Hiroyuki Kawada, Yoshie Arakawa, Minamo Takahashi & Hideki Tobeta for Tekken 3, 1998
• Second Round K.O. – by Canibus, 1998
• Can I Get A... (Instrumental) – by Irv Gotti, 1998
• Let the Games Begin (Instrumental) – by Young Trey, 1994
• Ha (Instrumental) – by Mannie Fresh, 1998
• John Blaze – by Fat Joe featuring Nas, Big Punisher, Jadakiss & Raekwon, 1998
• Definition – by Black Star, 1998
• Aquemini – by OutKast, 1998
• Pad & Pen – by A Tribe Called Quest, 1998
• Magnum Force – by Heltah Skeltah featuring Representativz & Ruste Juxx
• Tha Game – by Pete Rock featuring Prodigy, Raekwon & Ghostface Killah, 1998
• Take Your Time – by Pete Rock featuring Carl McIntosh & Jane Eugene of Loose Ends, 1998
• Spazzola – by Method Man featuring Masta Killa, Streetlife, Inspectah Deck, Killa Sin & Raekwon, 1998
• Holocaust (Silkworm) – by RZA as Bobby Digital featuring Holocaust, Doc Doom, Ghostface Killah & Ms. Roxy
• Freak on a Leash – by Korn, 1998
• Faith (Live at the UNO Lakefront Arena 1998) – by Limp Bizkit, 1998
• If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next – by Manic Street Preachers, 1998
• Tsunami – by Manic Street Preachers, 1998
• The Bartender and the Thief – by Stereophonics, 1998
• Music Sounds Better with You – by Stardust, 1998
• Doo Wop (That Thing) – by Lauryn Hill, 1998
• Are You That Somebody? – by Aaliyah, 1998
• Cocktail – by Postmen, 1998
• More Days to Come – by E-Life featuring The Anonymous Mis & Karima, 1998
• Inte...

For this 25th episode of Video Wizards, we find ourselves back in the earlier 1980s, when health and safety regulations were of a lesser concern. It’s the cold, cold winter of 1983 going on 1984 and the arcade industry was rocked to the core by the “Atari Shock”. Picking up the pieces and strapped for cash, developers West and East had to make do with what they had, with incredibly varied results, ranging from Midway’s Tapper to Nintendo’s Punch-Out!! and even complete oddities such as unkowns Diatec’s Uncle Poo. Irem, meanwhile, released the influential 10-Yard Fight, Konami put out the cute and clownesque Circus Charlie and our good friends at Atari dropped a not-half-bad laserdisc game with a title that’s tough to look info up on in Altavista: Firefox.

With consoles such as the mighty Vectrex failing to etch out anything even resembling a lucrative piece of the market, it was up to computers like the MSX, C64, the freshly launched Macintosh and the ZX Spectrum to bring home some gaming goodness. All while Slayer released their first LP and Hip Hop’s early beginnings were documented with the original soundtrack of the film Wild Style. And while we’re on the topic of film, how about some iconic 80s silver screen fare like Brian de Palma’s Scarface and Footloose, as well as the incredibly poor Hot Dog... The Movie.

Grab a blanket, grab a hot beverage and get ready to warm yourself with a new four and a half hours of seasonal Video Wizards fun!

Show theme tune: NEON CITY, composed by Ed 「イートレム」 Tremblay for Mudprints Music and licensed exclusively to The Video Wizards Podcast, ©2019 Mudprints Music, all rights reserved.

Baller of the Month Jingle composed by Yuli Anna and licensed exclusively to The Video Wizards Podcast, ©2022 Yuli Anna, all rights reserved.

Other music used in this episode:

• Track 3 – by Rick Hicaro for Tapper, 1984
• Track 2 – by ??? for Circus Charlie, 1984
• All Night Long – by Lionel Richie, 1983
• Subway Theme – by Grand Wizard Theodore, 1983
• The Final Command – by Slayer, 1983
• Bark at the Moon – by Ozzy Osbourne, 1983
• Radio Ga Ga – by Queen, 1984
• Relax – by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, 1983
• Holiday – by Madonna, 1983
• Hey You (The Rocksteady Crew) – by Rocksteady Crew, 1983
• Owner of a Lonely Heart – by Yes, 1983
• Just Be Good to Me – by S.O.S. Band, 1983
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Theme – by Keith Stachan, 1998
• Intro Theme for The Snowman – Howard Blake, 1982

Episode edited by: Juli Reed

And finally: our special thanks to Andy Hofle.

Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Android, Google Podcasts, Player FM or via RSS.

In the third episode of the Video Wizards Podcast we’re traveling a bit further back again, to April 1986, and enter the Fantasy Zone for some unique shoot ’em up stylings by SEGA. Japanese developers continue making their mark as we also look at a string of Capcom hitters like Trojan, Gun.Smoke and Section Z and Konami’s oddly similar looking Double Dribble and Jail Break. And SEGA doesn’t just leave it at releasing a cute shooter, but also publishes the delightful and ubiquitous Wonder Boy.

Under the shadow of the Chernobyl disaster and the ever present 1980s threat of a nuclear apocalypse, two shape shifting alien bounty hunters use the Power of the Night to lay waste to a small rural town in the U.S.A., when on the lookout for sharp toothed extraterrestrial vermin, and Rakim, with help of Eric B, changes the face of rap music with a single song.

Show theme tune: NEON CITY, composed by Ed 「イートレム」 Tremblay for Mudprints Music and licensed exclusively to The Video Wizards Podcast, ©2019 Mudprints Music, all rights reserved.

Other music used in this episode:

• TV Theme Style (The Winner) – by Colin Thomson, 2018
• Opa Opa – by Noah Toku for Fantasy Zone, 1986
• Keep on the Beat – by Noah Toku for Fantasy Zone, 1986
• Area 1 to 10 – by ??? for Slap Fight, 1986
• Main Theme – by ??? for Wonder Boy, 1986
• U.S.A. National Anthem – by ??? for Double Dribble, 1986
• Stage 3 – by Ayako Mori for Trojan, 1986
• Theme of Terra Cresta – by ??? for Terra Cresta, 1985
• Section A to E – by Tamayo Kawamoto for Section Z, 1985
• Eric B is President – by Eric B & Rakim, 1986
• When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going – by Billy Ocean, 1985
• Why Can’t This Be Love – by Van Halen, 1986
• (Nothing Serious) Just Buggin’ – by Whistle, 1986
• Living Doll (Comic Relief) – by Cliff Richard and The Young Ones, 1986
• Don’t Waste My Time – by Paul Hardcastle featuring Carol Kenyon, 1986
• Just Say No – by The Cast of Grange Hill, 1986
• Power of the Night – by “Johnny Steele”, 1986
• Jossy’s Giants Theme – by Mike Amatt, 1986

And finally: our special thanks to Andy Hofle.

Subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Android, Google Podcasts, Player FM or via RSS.