Rhythm Encounter Archives

Rhythm Encounter 129 – Level One: RPG Beginnings

Posted by Mike Salbato on March 11, 2024

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 f… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 128 – Compilation of Final Fantasy VII

Posted by Mike Salbato on February 26, 2024

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 Rebirt… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 127 – Music of the Year 2023

Posted by Mike Salbato on February 1, 2024

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 lovel… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 126 – Build Your Own RPG Soundtrack

Posted by Mike Salbato on January 15, 2024

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… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 125 – Long Time Listener, First Time Caller

Posted by Mike Salbato on January 2, 2024

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 th… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 124 – Hoedown Showdown: Farming RPG Music

Posted by Mike Salbato on December 18, 2023

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… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 123 – The Secret Trials of Hiroki Kikuta

Posted by Mike Salbato on December 4, 2023

It’s time for another composer spotlight on Rhythm Encounter, and this time we’re celebrating the works of Hiroki Kikuta. Many RPG fans know his work on the Mana series — particularly Secret of Mana and Trials of Mana — but there’s much more to Kikuta than many people know. From a PSone game that ne… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 122 – The Sounds of Autumn: Pumpkin Spice II

Posted by Mike Salbato on November 20, 2023

We’re knee-deep in fall leaves in some parts of the world, though much like our spring themes episode earlier this year, what autumn (or fall) means to each of our panelists varies. Some of us chose songs based on cozy evenings with a hot drink, and some of us used our imaginations since not everyon… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 121 – Game-Defining RPG Music

Posted by Mike Salbato on November 6, 2023

We all know those big moments in RPGs. A place, a scene, or a pivotal battle that really makes the game and solidifies it in your memory. The scoring in those moments isn’t always what makes it work, but it often plays a crucial role. In many cases, the music really does make the moment, if not the… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 120 – Party in the GBA

Posted by Michael Sollosi on October 23, 2023

From 2001 to 2005, the Game Boy Advance was Nintendo’s golden son. The Game Boy Advance brought gameplay depth and audio quality yet-unseen in a handheld gaming device, and gave us dozens of superb RPGs to enjoy over its run of success. Today, we celebrate the indigo blue machine with nine fabulous… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 119 – RPG Dance Party!

Posted by Hilary Andreff on October 9, 2023

“All this energy’s got us inspired now/We couldn’t stop it, just set it free and DANCE!” That’s right! Today we’re taking some advice from Persona 4: Dancing All Night and getting our dance on. Spin-off dancing games aside, danceable and electronic beats have permeated RPG soundtracks for a long tim… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 118 – RPG Town Themes II: Urban Expansion

Posted by Mike Salbato on September 25, 2023

In summer of 2014, Rhythm Encounter episode 18 was all about town themes. Today, a coincidentally exact 100 episodes later, we finally revisit the topic with more favorite RPG town theme music. This time around, we have games that span quite a range, from the early 90s to just last month, with four… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 117 – Underrated Final Fantasy Music

Posted by Mike Salbato on September 11, 2023

When it comes to Final Fantasy music, for every “One-Winged Angel,” there are a dozen lesser-known songs in a given game that don’t always get their deserved time in the spotlight. Today’s panel came loaded with eight songs they feel are overlooked, underrepresented, and, yes, underrated from across… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 116 – U R Not (red) E: PlayStation RPG Music Favorites

Posted by Mike Salbato on August 28, 2023

On Rhythm Encounter, we have celebrated several consoles’ RPG music, including the SNES (Episode 89), NES (Episode 73), and Genesis (Episode 92). Isn’t it about time the original PlayStation got some love? It’s hard to understate the tectonic shift in RPG releases in the West that began during the P… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 115 – Dirge of Dungeon

Posted by Mike Salbato on August 14, 2023

To the dungeon with you! But don’t worry, we’ll be there with you. Dungeons are a staple of most RPGs, and good music can elevate the experience of any dungeon, even the dreaded sewers. Why we have never had a dungeon-specific episode before now, we couldn’t tell you, so today we make up for it, fea… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 114 – Incomparettable: Piano Covers with Kara Comparetto

Posted by Hilary Andreff on July 31, 2023

Have you ever wanted an inside look at what it’s like to write covers from classics like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI, perform, and run a stream/YouTube channel? Then this episode is for you. It’s another special interview episode here on Rhythm Encounter, and we’re fortunate to be joined by… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 113 – Dragon Quest: Symposium of Sound

Posted by Michael Sollosi on July 17, 2023

A podcast appears! Fight? Spell? Parry? Item? JAM. The music of Dragon Quest, largely composed by the late Koichi Sugiyama, combines a classical sensibility with a flair for the dramatic, with tracks ranging from serene world map tunes to pop-inspired tracks for naming your hero. And let’s not forge… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 112 – With Jazz in Our Hearts and Funk in Our Souls

Posted by Hilary Andreff on July 3, 2023

It’s time to get down! In this panel, the Rhythm crew has selected some favorite jazz and funk tracks in RPGs. Not styles of music that first come to mind when thinking of RPGs, and indeed, that’s part of their charm and effect! How have game composers and arrangers adopted these styles while arrang… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 111 – Musical Games: From Classical Composers to Singing Pirates

Posted by Hilary Andreff on June 19, 2023

What defines a musical game? Videogames, and RPGs especially, are known for using a musical score to enhance the experience, so what parameters really define “musical games” and make their use of music especially notable? Today, our Rhythm panel is going on a journey to look at a wide variety of mus… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 110 – Melodious May Music (in June)

Posted by Mike Salbato on June 5, 2023

We interrupt the expected “Musical RPGs” episode with a quick listen to some recent music, just as we did earlier in the year with episode 101. With new Zelda and Final Fantasy XIV music that came our way in May, Mike had to share those. But there’s several other notable indie projects to share too,… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 109 – Character World: RPG Character Themes II

Posted by Mike Salbato on May 23, 2023

Welcome to our long-awaited followup to 2014’s Theme Park episode! Episode 21 of Rhythm Encounter was all about character themes, and we knew it was time to do this topic again, because there has been no shortage of characters with their own themes in RPGs since then. We’ve got Dragon Quest, Dragon… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 108 – Hitoshi Sakimoto: Person of Musical Caliber

Posted by Mike Salbato on May 1, 2023

Whether you know him from his legendary work on Final Fantasy Tactics or elsewhere, odds are you at least know composer Hitoshi Sakimoto’s name. And while he often gets talked about for his work in those Ivalice titles like FFT, Final Fantasy XII, and Vagrant Story, Sakimoto has worked on a fascinat… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 107 – Springtime Serenade

Posted by Mike Salbato on April 17, 2023

At Rhythm Encounter, we’ve created episodes around seasons in the past — Episode 6 was about summer, while Episode 23, Winter Warmer, was popular enough that we revisited winter in Episode 59. And yet, we’ve somehow never had episodes about spring or fall/autumn. Well, today we address one of those… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 106 – Rhythm de Chocobo

Posted by Mike Salbato on April 3, 2023

In preparation for April Fool’s Day, someone at RPGFan suggested we finally tackle a long-standing idea: a joke episode that features only chocobo music from Final Fantasy. We loved the idea, but then a funny thing happened — a perfectly normal episode celebrating Nobuo Uematsu’s iconic theme and it… Read More »

Rhythm Encounter 105 – Chained Echoes with Composer Eddie Marianukroh

Posted by Patrick Gann on March 20, 2023

There is nothing quite as exciting as having a composer as a guest on Rhythm Encounter. After offering much praise for Chained Echoes and its soundtrack, we wanted to get to know up-and-comer Eddie Marianukroh, the composer of said game. In today’s episode of Rhythm Encounter, we talk to Eddie regar… Read More »

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