Sound of Play 140: The shoot 'em up special

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JaySevenZero
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Sound of Play 140: The shoot 'em up special

Post by JaySevenZero »

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Welcome to our weekly podcast dedicated to videogame music – Sound of Play

What we aim to bring you with Sound of Play is a diverse sample of some of our favourite pieces from the many air-punching, spine-tingling, tear-jerking and grin-inducing videogame soundtracks we’ve heard over the years. Since we’ve hit another tenth Sound of Play, Leon and Michiel are taking a special look back at the music of the shoot-em-up (shmup) genre. We’re vertically and horizontally scrolling through history.

Track listing for this show is as follows:

1: Challenger (Stage 1) by Miki Higashino – Gradius, 1985

2: Planet Ratis by Miki Higashino/Hidenori Maezawa/Shinya Sakamoto/Satoe Terashima/Atsushi Fujio – Salamander / Life Force, 1986

3: Galactic Dancing (Waltz) / (Tango) by Hiroyuki Kawada – Galaga ’88, 1987

4: Round 1 by Shinji Hosoe – Ordyne, 1987

5: Legrous by Tatsuya Uemura/Toshiaki Tomisawa/Masahiro Yuge – Zero Wing, 1991

6: Ready to Go ~ Captain Lancer by Tatsuya Uemura – Hellfire, 1990

7: Front Line Base by Manami Matsumae – Area 88, 1991

8: Paradise Planet by Hiroshi Kimura – R-Type Leo, 1992

9: Meadow’s Edge 1 by Chris Huelsbeck – Apidya, 1992

10: Lightning Strikes Again by Toshiharu Yamanishi/Takeshi Yoshida/Naosuke Arai – Thunder Force IV, 1992

11: Skim the Surface of the Sea by Yoshitatsu Sakai – Batsugun, 1993

12: Vision by Tamayo Kawamoto – Layer Section, 1995

13: Fly to the Leaden Sky by Manabu Namiki – Battle Garegga

14: Street by Kenichiro Fukui – Einhänder, 1997

15: Ruin by Hitoshi Sakimoto – Radiant Silvergun, 1998

16: Opening by Hitoshi Sakimoto – Gradius V, 2004

17: Last Boss by Manabu Namiki/Kimihiro Abe/Ryu Umemoto – Mushihimesama Futari, 2006

18: Dividing Road of Fate by Manabu Namiki/Azusa Chiba/Yoshimi Kudo – DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu, 2008

19: Don’t Look Back (New Order Mode Version) by Shinji Hosoe – Under Defeat HD, 2012

Sound of Play: 140 was edited by Ryan Hamann

Remember, it’s not just about what we like, so venture over to the thread at the top of this forum and put forward your own suggestions so that we might include them in future shows.

You can subscribe using Apple Podcasts or you can just simply download from here instead.
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KSubzero1000
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Re: Sound of Play: The shoot-em-up special

Post by KSubzero1000 »

Very interesting episode with some obviously heartfelt commentary. The chronological progression of the games (and tracks) being covered was very cool.

I just bought Radiant Silvergun for good measure! :P
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Sound of Play: The shoot-em-up special

Post by ratsoalbion »

Oh yes!
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Michiel K
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Re: Sound of Play: The shoot-em-up special

Post by Michiel K »

Good stuff, K!
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Stanshall
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Re: Sound of Play: The shoot-em-up special

Post by Stanshall »

Just popping in to say that I loved this show. Thanks for the great work. I've pretty much only played shmups over the last month so the timing is perfect.

Can I also request a Psikyo episode to be added to the long list? :)
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ratsoalbion
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Re: Sound of Play: The shoot-em-up special

Post by ratsoalbion »

Lots of Psikyo goodness on Switch right now courtesy of Zerodiv.
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Stanshall
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Re: Sound of Play: The shoot-em-up special

Post by Stanshall »

Absolutely loving that stream of releases, I even finished and kind of enjoyed the largely execrable Sol Divide. Looking forward to Dragon Blaze next!
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Michiel K
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Re: Sound of Play: The shoot-em-up special

Post by Michiel K »

I've got the PS2 port of Dragon Blaze. It's a good one.
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Stanshall
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Re: Sound of Play 140: The shoot 'em up special

Post by Stanshall »

Listening to this one again. First time round I had it on in the background while playing some Minecraft or something so was just picking out the music really but I'm really enjoying the discussion, too. Thanks, chaps. Such a brilliant genre for music.

A couple of my favourites if there's ever a second loop show:

Mushihimesama - Levi Sense - Boss:


It's so imposing but goofy in a very cartoony way. Less manic than much of what comes later and in Futari.

Dodonpachi DaiOuJou - East Asia:


I've now heard this so many times, it is the quintessential sound of shmups to me. The wriggling synth at the start is so evocative of its time, a glimpse at a hypothetical future from a perspective now charmingly quaint.
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Michiel K
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Re: Sound of Play 140: The shoot 'em up special

Post by Michiel K »

^^^^Excellent picks. Particularly fond of DOJ's stage 1 theme, as well.
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