Blue Fire OST Vinyl Review "This is the best soundtrack release I’ve heard in a while" 🔥 @TheMangoMage #VideoGameVinyl #Vinyl #VGM #OST

Blue Fire is a 3D action platformer released in 2021 to pretty much universal acclaim. You play a diminutive warrior battling through the world of Penumbra in what was described at the time as a 3D successor to Hollow Knight. 

The Blue Fire soundtrack, composed by Ariel Contreras-Esquivel, came out shortly after and is available digitally, and on this lovely limited vinyl release via Mango Mage Records, with a couple of exclusive bonus tracks.

Video Game LoFi - Deltarune Chapter 2 Vinyl Review "if you like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing you’ll like" 📀💿 @CuragaRecords #VideoGameVinyl #Vinyl #VGM

Another day, another Video Game LoFi record to review, and this is a good thing. 

This one features re-imaginings of true Renaissance developer Toby Fox’s music for Deltarune Chapter 2. 

This release comes from Curaga Records as usual, on single black vinyl with a really nice holographic cover and heavyweight black paper sleeves. As with all VGLF releases, it’s got a premium feel.

The Legend of Synthwave Vinyl Review "If The Legend of Zelda was an ‘80s movie, this would be its soundtrack" ⚔️💿 #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl #VGM @GameChops @iamhelynt @VideoGameDJ

It’s Summer, and absolutely the right time for some soothing Synthwave coolness. Cue GAMECHOPS release The Legend of Synthwave, which imagines classic tunes for this most beloved of franchises re-imagined as a breezy neon electronica soundtrack. Good.

The cover – which is rich with shades of pinks and purples,  features a bespectacled and smiling Zelda – with Master Sword earrings, natch – emblazoned under a starry night sky, with the Tri-Force symbol behind her, and mountains rising up from a neon checker design that stretches into the horizon.

This artwork (courtesy of ONSTA) is GLORIOUS. There are nods throughout - in the designs and clothing - of Zelda to the franchise, whilst being a vibrant, stylish piece of art in its own right – it completely conjures up the melding of Zelda and synthwave in incredible detail, awesome stuff.

The rear cover art furthers the landscape set out on the front with the Duelling Peaks, black palm trees and that neon pattern drenched in hues of – again – pinks and purples. It’s very evocative of the ‘80s, and I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Don Johnson tucked away in there somewhere….wearing wicker shoes with no socks in sight.

The records are ensconced in anti-static sleeves and comes on double red/purple, pressed at 45RPM. – again, the colour choice and inner-circle design are completely in tune with the rest of the artwork, it’s a very mood-setting record, even when taken at first glance.

Opening the cover shows off the illustration that is spread across the double gatefold sleeve, a starry Zelda on a pink motorbike surrounded in a fuzzy dreamscape – a smile still plastered across her face. On the right-hand side are the track listing and credits, the blues of these pages breaking up the external colours whilst also being a thematic match.

The Fantastic Adventures of Dizzy Picture Disc Review | Record Label - 8-Bit is Enough 🥚💿 #Vinyl #VGMvinyl #Vinyl

The Dizzy series of games are among my earliest gaming memories, I inhaled them on my Amstrad CPC – and later – Commodore 64, not really understanding the difference between budget and full-price titles at the time, as far as I was concerned – the Dizzy series were the best games in my collection!

Along with the inventory-based puzzles, combined with platforming and memorable locations and sprites, the music – of course – was an integral part of the experience, giving bouncy life to the many screens traversed in your quest. Here, Matt Gray and Gavin Raeburn’s work on the NES is captured in picture disc form, and it makes a heck of a first impression!

Needlemouse Mania Vinyl Review "10 Adrenalin-Fuelled Dance Takes on Those Classic Tracks We’ve All Been Enjoying Since 1991"🦔 @FiragaRecords @RoB_KTA #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl #VGMVinyl

Having recently covered LOST:TREE’s Lo-fi Sonic album, and presently being in the throes of covering Sonic Origins Plus on Xbox, it’s clear that I’m Sonic-tastic at the moment, which is absolutely fine.

Here, London-based VGM remixer ROBKTA gives the Sonic back catalogue an invite to an after-show party, then a double vodka and Red Bull before pushing it out onto a bottom-lit dancefloor and letting it groove.

What follows is ten adrenaline-fuelled dance takes on those classic tracks we’ve all been enjoying since 1991. Good.

Chocobo & Chill Vinyl Review "Never Far From My Turntable" 🐦 #VideoGameVinyl #VGMvinyl #Vinyl @GameChops @RiftiBeats

We’ve covered a few records in the VGM lo-fi genre recently, and that’s absolutely fine by me as it’s one of my favourite styles of music.

Taking the much-loved Final Fantasy musical templates composed by Nobuo Uematsu, Rifti Beats distils the tracks down to smoky, hypnotic beats and heart-thudding bass. Good.

Harnessing the power of the melodies and re-imagining them as mood music to be devoured as you close your eyes and imagine being stood atop a skyscraper and gazing out over the city of Midgar.

With music as treasured as this, it’s a hefty task, but Rifti Beats weaves their magic and ends up creating an album that shifts between being sexy, swaggering, fun, delicate and heart-breaking, often from the track.

I listen through albums many times whilst reviewing them, but Chocobo & Chill has sneaked in as one of those that is never far from my turntable, as my fiancee has also been popping this on in addition to my constant looping for reviewing purposes – it’s especially telling as she has no nostalgia or link to the Final Fantasy games, she just loves this take on the music.

As she should.

Video Game LoFi: Yoshi Vinyl Review By 'Lo Fi' Lee 📀 @nokbient @MateriaStore @CuragaRecords #VideoGameVinyl #Vinyl #VGM #LoFi

There’s quite a fashion for lo-fi covers of video game soundtracks at the moment. This offering from Save Point, Nokbient and Lofi VGM is released on vinyl through Curaga Records/Materia Music and comes on a single disc of black vinyl, in a nice shiny sleeve with artwork reminiscent of the Monument Valley games. 

It’s also available digitally and in an on-trend cassette version.

REBIRTH + DESPAIR Vinyl Review 'Piano and Cello Covers from NieR: Gestalt/Replicant + NieR Automata' 💿 @TheMangoMage #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl #VGM

The NieR series of games has a seriously hardcore fanbase, and from my own experiences of playing the original title on PS3 (I remember picking it up at a bargain price in a car boot sale near Pontins, natch) I can see where the love comes from, as the characters are memorable, and the story is sweeping, majestic and grand – terms that can also be levelled at the music.

Whilst the original versions feature full orchestration, here TPR and Roxane Genot strip the sound back to primarily piano and cello, re-arranging the tracks to give a closer, more intimate feel.

Video Game Lo-fi: Sonic Curaga Records Vinyl Review 💿 🌴💨 #VideoGameVinyl #Vinyl

There’s something about the lo-fi genre that completely resonates with me. Over the years I’ve covered several lo-fi versions of various video game soundtracks, and I appear to always be in the mood for a lo-fi record, there’s something about the low, beat-driven mellow vibes that gets me hips deep into the music, and in cases where I have a personal history with the game in question, I can genuinely find myself getting totally caught up in it, as was very much the case with a specific track on this particular record.

Edo Superstar OST By DBXY Vinyl Review 💿 @TheMangoMage #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl

The Edo Superstar soundtrack marks the sixth release from Mango Mage Records, and is a very different beast to the last release that we covered from them - TPR’s The Songs of Time - back in 2022, in that whilst The Songs of Time was a melancholic, stripped-back take on familiar Zelda tunes, Edo Superstar is a blend of Edo period instrumentation and modern beats and samples, it’s a far more energised album with quite striking design throughout in terms of the physical presentation. Should you want to find out more in regard to the label, have a goosey at our interview with Mango Mage Records from back in 2021.

FURI OST Vinyl Review "Honestly, You Can't Fault Any Part Of This Album" 💿 @G4F_Records #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl

Furi is a combination of a twin-stick shooter and hack and slash, released on most platforms back in 2015 with all-around good review scores. 

This OST, released through G4F records, comes in a lovely silver-on-white gatefold version on double-coloured vinyl, one blue and one pink. 

The vinyl version is slightly cut down from the digital release for reasons of space, with some tracks edited to fit the runtime.

Mario Mixtape by Mustin 🎶 @Mustin #SuperMarioBrosMovie #SuperMarioMovie #VideoGameMusic #VGM

You might have noticed that there was a Super Mario Bros. film released recently. Or, I don’t know, perhaps you’ve been in a cave thousands of feet below the earth’s surface. 

In any case, music producer Mustin has released an album in celebration. Mario Mixtape is a genre-hopping collection of remixes of tracks from Nintendo’s number one franchise, written by Mustin himself and produced with his 17-year-old son Logan.

The twelve tracks cover the entire series, from the underground theme in the original game, all the way through Dr Mario and Super Smash Bros. Melee, to a military drum-filled version of Attack of the Airships from Super Mario Galaxy. 

Standouts are the electro-swing Delfino Plaza, from Super Mario Sunshine, and the city pop-esque Piranha Plant’s Lullaby from Super Mario 64. This album is a lot of fun and gives a new lease of life to a lot of tracks you forgot you knew.

 

Mario Mixtape is available on all streaming services, and if you want to support Mustin directly (as I always recommend) it’s available digitally and on CD for $ 9.99 USD on his Bandcamp page.

VGM Essentials: Pokémon Remixed Vinyl Review "Flash Forward A Few Years and Now I have Kids, and They Like Pokemon" 💿 @MateriaStore #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl #VGMVinyl

The Pokemon series has, by and large, passed me by. The original came out in the late 90s, and I bought a Gameboy with the game just to see what all the fuss was about. 

A couple of hours in and it never really grabbed me, so that Gameboy pretty much became a Tetris machine (no regrets). And, like everyone in the world, I did a little bit of Pokemon Go at first but never actually understood what I was meant to be doing.

ODYSSEY "Original Amiga Demo Scene Soundtrack" Vinyl Review | "If you are a fan of Amiga audio, I heartily recommend that you grab this" 💿 @WRWTFWW #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl #VGMvinyl

Readers of previous records that I’ve mentioned or covered over the years - such as David Whittaker’s Shadow of the Beast or The Bitmap Brothers:

Odyssey will know of my love for the Amiga. The singularly impressive sound chip and sheer creativity from artists of the time mean that there’s a really special moment and nostalgia for me when I get lost in the Amiga soundscape.

I’d say I spend more time listening to the music of various Amiga games than actually playing the games themselves because the audio is so evocative and transportive. 

River of Slime Vinyl Review "River of Slime is a Beautifully Presented Release" 💿 @shapeshiftvinyl #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl

Shapeshift Records came hurtling onto the vinyl scene in 2022, when they released GOTHAM ‘89, a soundtrack of an imagined 16-bit Batman video game, good.

When a label does something this audacious, it tends to stick in the mind, I mean – if that’s how they kick off – what is the next release going to be, can they top this?

It turns out that the guys and gals behind Shapeshift Records are not shy, and this, their second release is an absolute belter-  and will make a lot of Ghostbuster-lovin’ folks very happy.

MEGA REMIX MAN.EXE Vinyl Review "This Album Runs The Gamut of The Earlier Mega Man Games"💿 @FiragaRecords #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl #VGMVinyl

Another vinyl release is here from the excellent Firaga Records and Materia Music. This time it’s an eleven-song number comprising RoboRob and friends’ takes on tracks from Capcom’s venerable Mega Man series. 

For your hard-earned, you get a clear vinyl pressing in a gatefold sleeve inside a printed plastic wallet, which gives the whole thing a premium feel. As ever, you can also grab this from the Firaga Bandcamp page ($29 vinyl/$15 CD/$10 digital) and on streaming services too.

Save Point – Video Game LoFi: Zelda "An absolute belter from Curaga." 🧝‍♀️ @CuragaRecords @MateriaStore #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl

Music from the Zelda series of games has been covered in many forms.

I reviewed Mikel’s Zelda and Chill from Black Screen Records back in 2021, and thought the lo-fi aesthetic really worked with those familiar melodies and tracks.

When I found that I would be covering this record, I had a faint worry that it would be quite close to Mikel’s take on the songs – but those worries were unfounded, because whilst Mikel’s stripped-back, mellow journey through Zelda is a work unto itself; focused on enhancing the groovy, lullaby aspects, this album takes a far more moody and expressive, jazz-fuelled take through the songs that are more engaging and alluring when compared to the more hypnotic and Zen approach of Mikel.

KiRite Vinyl Review "A Tale as Timeless as the Music" 💿 @WayoRecords @WayoRecordsJP #VGM #VideoGameVinyl #Vinyl

Purchase Link

From the Wayo Records website:

Initially released in 2005, KiRite is a collaborative album of music and story

presented by the legendary duo of Yasunori Mitsuda (composer) & Masato Kato (game creator), both are widely known for their work on cult games such as Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross.

The universe of Masato Kato is fantastic, strangely cold and yet warm and soothing.

The Five Seasons of KiRite will immerse you in the fascinating story of Kotonoha and KiRite,

Its dreamy melodies and the bewitching voice of Eri Kawai will make you travel through the five seasons of its unique universe.

Fully translated into English and remastered for the vinyl format,

KiRite's story and music are now available worldwide in this new 2 x LP Gatefold format.

Don't wait any longer to (re)discover this masterpiece by Yasunori Mitsuda!

Twenty Years of The OneUps (Troggo Studio) Vinyl Review "Here’s to the next twenty years!" 💿 @TheOneUpsBand @Mustin #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl #VGMvinyl

The third release that we’ve covered here at GF from Troggo Studio, following Lifestream and MES: Contigo en la Distancia Social – both great records – and this time around, the focus moves away from prog-rock VGM and mariachi to smooth jazz with space left for jam sessions and the occasional dip into more ambient work…which is absolutely, completely and utterly fine. These long, dark nights suit the genre of smooth jazz perfectly, and The OneUps really know how to roll. this was my first exposure to the group, a band that has been around – as the title of the album attests – for twenty years.

Having released many volumes on CD, this is the band’s first vinyl release and has been curated to showcase a track from each previously released CD volume, giving a year-on-year account of how the members and sound have evolved through the life of the band. 

Britt’s Video Game Vinyl Fantasies #5 "Trouser Removal Music" 💿 #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl #VGM

Lifestream (Retro Game Remix / Erek Ladd) -Troggo Studio

This was the first release that we covered from Troggo Studio, a prog-rock take on classic Final Fantasy VII songs, the crispness of the production, combined with the nods and references in the artwork and top-notch musicianship meant that this made a huge impact on me when I covered it several months back. I really feel that there’s something in this for everyone, as it completely pulls me in each time I listen, honestly though – if you had told me that Steven Wilson himself had produced this, I would have completely believed it. Hopefully, we’ll be hearing a lot more of Erek Ladd’s work through Troggo -a label that will certainly be cropping up again in Video Game Vinyl fantasies 6!