RPGFan's Rhythm Encounter

Once one of the most popular genres of video games, adventure games have become much more niche in recent years. But thankfully, it’s a niche with some absolutely fantastic music!

From the mid-80s to …

Bravely Default and Bravely Second are two 3DS throwback RPGs from Square Enix, with a new 2021 entry for the Switch in Bravely Default II. To celebrate the Bravely series and its excellent soundtrac…

RPGs can offer a surprising variety of stories, which are definitely reflected in their opening and ending sequences and, of course, the memorable music to go along with them! What makes a good overt…

NieR: Automata has sold over 5 million copies, and we're awaiting the release of the mobile game, NieR Re[in]carnation, and the updated version of NieR Replicant this spring. And today, Hilary and Pa…

We're back with a panel of four this time, and how else could we follow up our primer to female game composers than to discuss the inimitable Yoko Shimomura and her many contributions to RPG music? W…

Every year we get introduced to new games and new music. The ever-growing bounty of RPG music out there has grown quite a bit, with 2020 alone giving us amazing soundtracks like Final Fantasy VII Rem…

Today we're getting cozy and seasonally appropriate as the two Mikes and Alana discuss some excellent wintery tracks. It's amazing how various instruments can come together to convey a wide variety o…

They sing, they form bands (and companies), and several of them play piano so well it will knock your socks off. And that's just what they do in addition to writing music. In this episode, Alana, Eva…

Final Fantasy IX saw the light of day in North America almost exactly twenty years ago today. It was on November 13, 2000 that the crystals returned, and Final Fantasy took a reprieve from the realis…

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! We're getting in the spirit this spooky season with a collection of chilling tracks to help make the season memorable. Submitted for the approval of the Midnight Society... er, RPGFa…

We're just here to vibe...again. There's so much good relaxing music within our favorite genre that we needed two episodes to cover it. We delve into a nice assortment here (from 16-bit to recent rel…

Chill out with Rhythm Encounter! This is not the first time we've presented a chillout or relaxing topic—though the last time was seven years ago (!) in Episode 6: Summer Chill—but if there's one thi…

RPG music can be very helpful in daily life, and our panel has met today to discuss workout music. Making those gains can certainly be a journey, so Mike Salbato, Mike Sollosi, Greg, and Hilary share…

We featured Undertale across all three parts of our Music of the Year 2015 podcast trio (see links below), but the indie darling didn't often make Rhythm Encounter appearances afterwards, so we thoug…

To kick off what is essentially a new season of Rhythm Encounter, I enlisted proofreader and music aficionado Hilary Andreff along with musician Chris Porter to talk about one of our favorite compose…

Note: We had to re-number our episodes several years after publishing. This was originally Episode 33, as reflected in the audio. Don't worry, you're not missing anything!

Many years later after a ver…

Note: We had to re-number our episodes several years after publishing. This was originally Episode 32, as reflected in the audio. Don't worry, you're not missing anything!

It's safe to say that EarthB…

Note: We had to re-number our episodes several years after publishing. This was originally Episode 31, as reflected in the audio. Don't worry, you're not missing anything!

Are you a Pokémon fan? Have …

Our third interlude is all about the music of Persona 5! With the long-awaited RPG just around the corner, we thought it would be a special treat to share some selections from the amazing soundtrack …

The final movement of Rhythm Encounter's Music of the Year 2016 extravaganza is upon us. In true MOTY tradition, that means this episode is where we, your hosts, get to share with you some of our fav…