Tag: VGMFest
Lena Raine talks Chrono Trigger and wanting to write "a really rowdy anime opening"
Lena Raine's meteoric rise over the past few years has taken her from working in Quality Assurance at ArenaNet, all the way to being nominated for a BAFTA and an award for Best Music at The Game Awards — pretty impressive for someone who's technically only nine...
Quick Beats Streets Of Rage Composer On Musical Heroes And The Series He'd Love To Work On
10 rapid-fire questions for VGM legend Yuzo Koshiro
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter features...
Quick Beats Grant Kirkhope On How Batman Inspired Banjo-Kazooie
"I’ve used [those chords] a gazillion times, it’s in everything I write"
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling...
Feature Ranking The Playable Instruments Of The Legend Of Zelda, From Worst To Best
Link, the one-man orchestra
Our Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival will be coming to an end soon, and we can't think of a better way to send it off than spending way too much time analysing musical instruments in the Legend of Zelda series. Everyone knows and loves the Ocarina of Time, it's true — but it's far from the only instrument the...
Feature Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, Or That Time Mario Got Movin’ To Mozart
The funky rhythm comin’ at ya!
On the surface Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix appears to be the ordinary and obvious by-product of Konami and Nintendo continuing to operate in the same creative space. After all, by the time of the game’s 2005 release, Mario had already been doing non-Mario things for a very long time — he could paint, ride...
Feature Tee Lopes Talks Sonic, Streets Of Rage, And Making Music On A PS1
"Video games were a portal that allowed me to discover music"
Fans of certain beloved Sega franchises should be very familiar with this composer's name by now. Tee Lopes started out on the VGM scene releasing remixed and reimagined versions of some of gaming's most beloved music, with a special focus on one blue hedgehog in particular, and his...
Feature Banjo And Final Fantasy On The Radio? VGM On Classic FM Was Only The Beginning
WeLoveGameMusic head on campaigning with the VGM community
It's September, and the VGM Fest is coming to an end soon — but we still have time for a few more celebratory interviews and features before we put video game music back on the shelf for a while. Today, we've got a chat with Richard Stokes, the lead at We Love Game Music, who tells us all...
Soapbox The Era Of Rock Band, Guitar Hero And Plastic Instruments Was Silly But Special
Wish fulfilment
Over the past few weeks it's been a lot of fun to share a huge range of music-themed features as part of the Nintendo Life VGM Festival. Much of our focus, quite rightly, has been on highlighting the amazing talents behind the soundtracks and audio design that we enjoy in games. For a little change, though, I wanted to reflect on a...
Quick Beats Pulstar, Mega Man, And Final Fight Composer Talks Joe Hisaishi And The Beatles
"I wish I had done one of the Mario games. Maybe Mario Party"
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter...
We talk with the Hades composer, and Zagreus himself
We recently spoke to award-winning composer Darren Korb as part of our Quick Beats series, where he kindly answered ten quickfire questions about his musical tastes. However, that small snippet was just part of a much larger conversation we were lucky enough to have with Supergiant Games' in-house...
Quick Beats Save Me Mr Tako! Composer Talks Flyrule, Ravel And Star Wars D6
10 quick Qs for Marc-Antoine Archier
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter features 'Quick Beats'...
Quick Beats Sayonara Wild Hearts Composer On K-Pop, Nintendo Classics And Morricone
"Morricone was and still is so inspiring"
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we've been speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter features 'Quick...
Feature 'Bossa De Hyrule' Reimagines Zelda Music With Laidback Brazilian Beats
Dungeon bossa
Just prior to Nintendo Life VGM Fest kicking off in mid-August, we were contacted by Steven Morris — a musician and prolific producer of VGM covers — about a recent project he had undertaken to fuse music from the Legend of Zelda series with the relaxing tones and chilled beats of bossa nova. The result is Bossa de Hyrule, a...
Talking Point Which Nintendo Console Has The Best Start-Up Sound?
Ding! Boop! Click! etc!
Look, I know what you're thinking. You're already pre-emptively scrolling down to the comments to say "OBVIOUSLY it is the GameCube, Lord of All Noises", but just hold fire, okay? Let me at least make the case for some of the others. Before I do, though, a quick note as to why I'm not including the Nintendo 64, since I know...
Quick Beats Sonic Mania Composer On Portuguese Rap And His Musical Hero
"Jun Senoue bought me sushi once"
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter features 'Quick Beats'. We...
Quick Beats Mega Man Composer And Inti Creates Founder Talks Backdraft And Bongos
10 rapid-fire questions for Ippo Yamada
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter features 'Quick Beats'...
Feature Sayonara Wild Hearts Composer On Creating The First 'Pop Album Video Game'
"I want to keep growing as a composer"
It seems as if video game music continues to grow and reach new heights with each passing year. Incredible soundtracks are no longer limited to big budget titles and the work of long-established names, as the Indie space and the growth of tools and knowledge has introduced a fresh generation of composers. One...
Quick Beats Donkey Kong Country Composer Talks Aquatic Ambiance And Get Lucky
"There have been some amazing songs over the last decade"
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter...
Talking Point What's The Best Sound In Video Games?
Our favourite bleeps, bloops, and vwoops
Our summertime Video Game Music Festival has largely, if not entirely covered the wonderful world of soundtracks, which you could probably have guessed from the name. But what about all the stuff that isn't-quite-music? Don't noises deserve love too? YES. So, here you go: Our favourite sounds in video games...
*creeeeeeeeeeak*
Audio design is an underrated part of a video game's soundscape, though you almost definitely have appreciated a particularly good noise at some point in your gaming career — whether it's the creak of a Resident Evil door or the sound of Sonic collecting a ring, audio design helps create the right mood for a game. Our Nintendo...
Quick Beats The Composer And Solo Dev Of 'The Garden Path' Talks Arcade Fire And Young Thug
"Music has never been better"
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter features 'Quick Beats'. Today...
Quick Beats Final Fantasy Composer And VGO Founder On Road Trip Music, Rock, And The '80s
Put on some Van Halen
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter features 'Quick Beats'. Today's quick...
Talking Point It's A Golden Era For Video Game Music Fans, So How Do You Listen?
When you're not playing the games, obvs
Being a fan of Nintendo-based video game music has historically been pretty tough. Older aural aficionados would cling tightly to their Killer Cuts CDs, dedicated collectors wept at the triple-digit pricing of rare Japanese CD sets containing most, but never quite all, of a popular '90s RPG soundtrack, and...
Back Page Ranking Every Version Of Fairy Fountain From The Legend Of Zelda
Pick of the pixies
You may have noticed that we're doing a video game music festival while the summer months are still here — but you may also be wondering why we haven't included the most important music of all. Fear not! I'm here to save the day by ranking EVERY SINGLE VERSION OF FAIRY FOUNTAIN FROM THE LEGEND OF ZELDA. That's right, it's a...
Quick Beats Final Fantasy And Vagrant Story Composer Hitoshi Sakimoto Talks YMO And Dua Lipa
"It’s been played often"
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter features 'Quick Beats'. Today we're...
Guide Best Mario Music Ever: Our Top 10 Mario Songs - Super Mario Playlist
Super Mario Music
As a part of Nintendo Life VGM Fest, a season of music-focused interviews and features celebrating the video game audio in all its forms, we're assembling a bunch of playlists featuring some of our very favourite tunes. We've looked at the funky/groovy end of the spectrum, and we've also looked at the tracks we queue up when we...
Quick Beats Mega Man Composer Manami Matsumae On Ocarinas And Bohemian Rhapsody
"I saved up my allowance to buy Queen's Jazz"
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter features 'Quick...
Feature The Garden Path's Solo Dev On Hollow Knight And Final Fantasy Influences
"I'm a big fan of lo-fi music and lo-fi games"
We're bending the rules a little bit for today's Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival interview — this game isn't actually out yet. Scandal! But hopefully you'll forgive us, because The Garden Path — which recently finished its Kickstarter campaign, hitting the
Quick Beats Celeste Composer Lena Raine On Her Love For Ghibli, Hurdy-Gurdies, And Her Cat
The cat is called Bobbin
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we'll be speaking to a range of composers and musicians with a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter features 'Quick Beats'. Today's...
Soapbox Music Just Don't Come Spookier And Sadder Than Zelda: Majora's Mask
The moon, masks, and melancholy
I didn't play Majora's Mask when it first came out, and thank heavens I didn't — I probably would have just quit playing video games then and there. I mean, I used to have nightmares about the wind sound effects in Ocarina of Time (in my defence, they're creepy); I don't know how I would have handled the existential...
Feature Video Game Orchestra Founder Talks Live Music And Composing For Final Fantasy
The Woodwind Waker
When I was younger and more full of bad decisions than I am now, I used to go to gigs and watch rock bands sweatily flailing around the stage in cramped, smoky bars. Nowadays, I'd much rather sit in a concert hall and close my eyes while a bunch of talented orchestral musicians play a fancy version of the Skyrim soundtrack (which...
Quick Beats Shovel Knight Composer On Q*Bert, The Prodigy, And Magical Bongos
10 rapid-fire questions for Jake Kaufman
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these shorter features 'Quick Beats'...
Quick Beats Hades Composer Talks Weird Al, The Beatles, And Radiohead
"I would aspire to write something as cool or as beautiful as that"
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we're speaking to a range of composers and musicians for a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these...
Guide Funky Video Game Music - Groovy Playlist
Turn up the bass, baby
As part of our season of celebrating video game music that we're inventively calling the Nintendo Life VGM Fest, we're making a few lists of ~moods~, because that's pretty much how we organise our Spotify playlists these days. Everyone knows that video game soundtracks are full of epic orchestrations, relaxing melodies, and...
Soapbox Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Was The Basis For My Taste In Music
Sick jams, dude
The year was 2005. iPods were the hot thing, YouTube had just been launched, Twitter didn't exist yet, and the words "podcast" and "social media" had only just been added to the dictionary. It was, in short, a great time to be a kid, as well as the nexus point of many of our modern everyday experiences, like being able to listen to...
Feature Mega Man, Shovel Knight, And Save Me Mr Tako Composers On Getting 'That' Retro Sound
A roundtable on writing retro tunes in modern times
As any self-respecting subscriber of the Gaming Historian knows, one national survey conducted in 1990 found that more American children could identify Mario than Mickey. That sounds about right to this writer, who was one of those children. What truly astonished us, however, was witnessing...
Talking Point Which Video Game Song Could You Listen To For Ten Hours?
Ten hours is a loooong time
We've all been witness to the rise of "Ten Hour Versions" on YouTube, and while many of us may have scoffed — who wants ten hours of something that isn't either sleep or a Lord of the Rings marathon? — I will say that I have actually listened to some of them for way longer than I would like to admit. Except I will...
Feature How Fire Tonight Took A Decades-Old Synth-Pop Song, And Made A Game Out Of It
Flamey-o
Information Society in 2019, looking extremely cool You might think that there would be more video games based on songs, and yet, there really aren't. At least, I can't think of any, but then again, I am writing this at 10am on a rainy Friday morning, so my brain isn't exactly at its peak. But Fire Tonight, named after Information...
Guide Chill Music From Video Games - Relaxing Playlist
Chill the beans right down with these tranquil tunes
Throughout Nintendo Life VGM Fest — our season of music-focused features, interviews and other audio-based bits — we'll be bringing you some of the Nintendo Life team's personal playlist picks of the best music in all of video-gamedom. Our collective gaming experience spans many decades' worth...
Soapbox Chiptune Is Great, But The Impact Of A Full Orchestra Is Unbeatable
Elevated storytelling
It's wonderful to see the love for video game music in our current Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival; it'll rightly celebrate all sorts of audio and soundtracks across varied games and genres. When the right music combines with an outstanding game, there is arguably no more satisfying experience in entertainment; the...
Quick Beats 'Journey' And 'Abzu' Composer On Star Wars, Neil Young And Podcasts
Rapid-fire composer quizzing with BAFTA winner Austin Wintory
Throughout the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival we'll be speaking to a range of composers and musicians with a mixture of in-depth interviews and shorter, sharper (and perhaps a little goofier) Q&As where we ask just ten rapid-fire personal questions; we're calling these...
News Welcome To The Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival!
A mini-season of musical magic
Welcome, one and all, to the Nintendo Life Video Game Music Festival — or VGM Fest, if you like — a 'season' of music-based features, interviews, retrospectives, and more. As you might expect, we're all lovers of game audio here at Nintendo Life, from retro-flavoured chiptunes to sweeping orchestral scores; from...
