Forever Sound Version

Hideo Kojima may be known best as the brains behind the legendary Konami series Metal Gear, but he had other things going on in the late eighties… In this episode I discover Snatcher, a post-apocalyptic detective adventure game that boasts some highly evocative music across its various versions!

LucasArts is a hugely important name in the world of point-and-click adventure games, with an abundance of classic titles under its belt. I didn’t know a ton about these games until recently, so I invited super special guest Robert Hunter back to Forever Sound Version HQ to play some great musical picks from titles like The Secret of Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, and Grim Fandango!

Here’s something special, a free picks episode in which I team up with one of my VGM podcasting heroes – the Diad! Join us as we crank the ‘tude up to 11 and jam on some deep cuts from adult visual novels, isometric adventure games, street basketball simulations, and bizarre movie tie-ins!

I’ve been looking forward to this one! Chris jumps into the Forever Sound Version guest seat for the first time since his appearance on my Sonic the Hedgehog focus episode to jam on some truly top-notch tracks from the Streets of Rage series. If you have somehow managed to stumble upon this podcast without having heard the work of the matchless VGM composer Yuzo Koshiro, here is the perfect opportunity for you to put that right!

At last! A guest appears on Forever Sound Version once again! Ross visits my house to jam on some diverse and often quite breathtaking compositions from Real-Time Strategy titles. So, plug in your mouse, and please go and see a doctor about those corrugated ankles…

In this episode I celebrate the work of Manami Matsumae – a fantastically talented Japanese composer whose VGM career spans four decades. So, I’ve managed to pick out tracks from the years 1987, 1989, 1990, 1997, 2001, 2010, and 2016! We’ve got Mega Man action, arcade action, and a bit of horsing about too…!

It was the early 1990s, and Nintendo and Sega were going head to head in a 16-bit battle of the mascots, but what about the world of home computers? What about the Commodore Amiga? Meet Zool: the Amiga’s platforming ninja gremlin with a penchant for Chupa Chups lollipops and, evidently, British rave music…

Ah, the NES... I never had one! My part of the world mostly revolved around 8-bit home computers until the 16-bit consoles arrived on the scene, so I have had to get into NES music without the nostalgia dimension. Curious? Lock in and check out some of my top NES picks!

Rallying is a motorsport that has always fascinated me, which I think is largely down to titles such as V-Rally and Colin McRae Rally, a pair of first-rate driving sims from the fifth generation of video games. It turns out that rallying games often have some excellent, inventive music, so lock in and enjoy these rocking and raving gems from the 1990s!

Back in the Commodore 64’s heyday, the lengthy tape loading times meant that computer games enthusiasts needed something to nod their heads and tap their feet to as their screens flickered with raster bars and intro screens. Thus, the ‘loader’ track was born! Join me as I check out some SID chip jams from games old and new (three tracks on the playlist are from games released this decade!) along with some loading tunes from the Sharp X68000, Amiga, and Atari ST.

Everyone knows about the Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn, but what about those other CD-based video game systems? In this episode I take a deep dive into the world of early Redbook audio VGM, covering platforms such as the FM Towns, PC Engine CD, Sega CD, 3DO, and Neo Geo CD!

It’s the first episode of 2018 – let’s go an adventure! In this episode I get stuck into the rocking tracks of Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun, a Sega Mega Drive exclusive from 1992. Expect crunching drum beats and raging riffs, and watch out for that red dragon…

For the final episode of 2017 I dip into something a bit unusual – games released via Sega’s Meganet service, a means of downloading Mega Drive software via a dial-up connection that was available in Japan in the early nineties! Thank you for checking out Forever Sound Version in 2017, and here’s to a rocking 2018!

You wanted the best; you got… the third instalment of Forever Sound Version’s VGM battle series! For this special extra-long episode I’m joined by John, Michael T, and Joseph for a good old Saturday afternoon listening party in my living room. Who will be the Supreme Champion this time around?

Fire is dangerous and should be treated with respect! In this episode I cover tracks composed for firefighting games – a very interesting niche theme in the world of video games that has inspired a lot of imagination and creativity. Feel the heat… of the fire…!

The early to mid-nineties was what I consider to be the golden age of console gaming, with Nintendo’s sleek grey wonder, the SNES, leading the way creatively and commercially in tandem with the Sega Mega Drive. Lock in and enjoy some great sample-based VGM picks – the system’s sound really is as good as you remember! Many thanks to the Diad from The Diad Presents: A VGM Podcast for contributing a pick and some commentary to this show.

This week, ‘Scary’ Michael is joined by ‘Spooky’ Rob to bring you a very special Halloween-themed episode! In true Forever Sound Version fashion we’ll be enjoying tracks from classic games including Resident Evil and Super Mario World as well as some sounds from rarer titles like Countdown Vampires. Happy Halloween!

The RPG genre is an incredibly fertile source of VGM, with sprawling and varied soundtracks to match the lengthy and oftentimes cinematic nature of the games, so it’s about time I made an episode dedicated to it! RPG connoisseur and Forever Sound Version veteran John Baldasera swings by to enjoy some tracks from games such as Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe, and Nier Automata.

The Roland MT-32 was a powerful pre-General MIDI sound module for PC that offered game composers a ton of different voices to make music with. Lock in and enjoy some of my picks from DOS game soundtracks played on the MT-32, and humour my musings on Black Sabbath’s unsung hero, management simulation games, and BBC Ceefax!

I need your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle…! The golden age of action movies gave us a ton of licensed games with a wide variety of styles represented in their soundtracks. Join me as I put on a bullet belt and a pair of sunglasses to check out tracks from titles like Rambo on the NES, Die Hard Trilogy on the Playstation, and Predator 2 on the Amiga!