Episodes

This week, we are celebrating the digital release of Sonic Forces on Sony’s PlayStation 4. The game was originally released worldwide on November 7, 2017 and two days later in Japan. It was developed after Sonic Lost Worlds and influenced by Sonic Mania, including its plot. Dr. Eggman is at it again, and he’s tired of losing to Sonic. This time, he creates a creature who calls himself Infinite. Sonic tries to fight Infinite but loses to him and is taken prisoner by Dr. Eggman; Sonic’s absence a...

Sometimes, a game doesn’t need the backing of a popular company to be fun. It may not need crowdfunding. In fact, there are a host of games that are “inspired” by other popular games. Actually, it’s more like they borrowed from these games heavily enough to swap out things and switch certain areas, despite having some bugs that could crash the game. We’re celebrating National Bootlegger’s Day, held on January 17th, that commemorates a time with alcohol was sold illegally because of Prohibition....

Strange, unusual, weird… these words often describe someone who is peculiar. They are known to walk to the beat of their drum and make life abnormal, but at one time, these people were considered set apart from the rest of the crowd, as called by God. There was even a Christian movement called “The Peculiar People”, founded on two verse from the Bible, Deuteronomy 14:2 and 1 Peter 2:9. This week, we’re celebrating Peculiar People Day on January 10th, with tracks from video games with peculiar c...

After partying hard on New Year’s Eve and Day, a rest is surely deserved. In fact, there’s a day for that, called the Festival of Sleep Day, celebrated on January 3rd every year. Sleep can have some wonderful effects on the body: it lowers the blood pressure, regulates blood sugar, helps one solve a problem the next, relieve stress, and maintain weight. A lack of sleep, though, can cause heart attacks, heart failure, irregular heartbeats, high blood pressure, stroke, or diabetes. There are some...

Ah, the fruitcake, one of the holiday desserts that brings a smile to fans, a laugh to certain people, and a moan of pain to those receiving it. Because of how the cake is preserved, the fruitcake has also been family heirloom, passed down several generations, with some families having a sample of it each year. This week, we’re celebrating National Fruitcake Day on December 27th, with tracks from video games that have fruitcake or an enduring treat: a lone warrior who awakens to a devastated wo...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! It’s that time of the year where I compile all the tracks I’ve showcased for 25 days into a special holiday episode for your listening enjoyment. While some tracks are returning from the previous holiday episodes, there are some new one to spicy up the list. If you enjoyed any of these tracks, be sure to support these musicians by visiting their website, following and subscribing to their channels, adding their music to your playlists, donating to...

“There’s no need to fear…” This week, we are celebrating National Underdog Day, the third Friday of December. It was originally created to honor those unrecognized employees who toil in their workplace but nowadays it’s about those people who were expected to lose in a competition but somehow manage to win it out. One of the earliest examples is David, a figure from the Bible who took down Goliath with a sling and a smooth stone. Other examples include the “Miracle on Ice” from the 1980 Winter ...

Muh-haha-haha! Friday the 13th, one of my favorite days of the year. Well, any month in which the first day starts on a Sunday, and it is a tradition that, for any episode that is to be released on a Friday the 13th, that its theme include any superstitions and myths. Since December has a Friday the 13th, this week’s episode will be a Christmas edition of superstitions. There will be some food items and a worn accessory. In turn, we’ve got some original from video games that are (somewhat) rela...

Welcome to December, and this week, we’re getting dirty as we celebrate National Miner’s Day on December 6th. The day has three-fold purpose: 1) recognize the hard work and labor of miners and their families, 2) honor the Monongah Mining Disaster, and 3) bring awareness to mining safety and procedures. Without them, roads couldn’t be built with asphalt and cement, houses wouldn’t have a solid foundation, and computers wouldn’t exist. We’ll be listening to tracks from video games that having min...

The end of November is here, and that means it’s time for a special episode of “On Stage Now”, our final one for 2024. This month, we’re featuring Jordan Daniels. A classically trained pianist, Daniels (aka Jordan D Piano on YT) has been playing covers and arrangements of music from video game and anime. He has played in some famous venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Carnegie Hall in New York but, as evidenced by his video uploads, he plays in public. This includes w...

[The audio has a low hum in the background; somehow my mic picked up the noise from my PC. I did my best to remedy it so my apologies.] Yup, it’s another episode celebrating another game, this time Donkey Kong 64, first released on November 22, 1999. This action adventure game places Donkey Kong in 3D, allowing the player to explore DK Isle as he rescues the rest of the Kong family and the island itself from K. Rool’s Blast-O-Matic weapon. It is also one of two games that required the Expansion...

This week, we are celebrating the 23rd anniversary of “Halo: Combat Evolved”, released on November 15th. It was the launch title for Microsoft’s first console, the Xbox. This first-person shooter helped spawn a franchise of sequels, books, and film. By November 2005, it sold more than six million copies worldwide. Halo CE is considered a successor to Bungie’s previous games: Marathon and Marathon 2: Durandal. We’ll be listen several original tracks from the game, along with any covers and remix...

What is black and white and holds 88 keys in one place? No, it’s not another Keyblade. It’s a piano, an acoustic instrument in which pressing a key will cause a hammer to strike a tuned string. In the hands of a capable and talented musician, it can produce music that soothes the soul and enriches the creative mind. This week, we’re celebrating World Piano Day on Friday, November 8th, in honor of this acoustic instrument and its pianist. We’ll be listening to tracks from video games in which on...

While Halloween may be over, Mexico and most households of Mexican heritage are celebrating “Day of the Dead”, a time to honor and pay their respects to the souls of family members and friends in a festive manner. If you visit such a house, you may find an ofrenda with the photo of the deceased and adorned with decorations and their favorite food and drinks. You may see some families and friends at a cemetery cleaning the graves of their dearly departed and decorating them with flowers called ce...

Welcome to the November edition of “On Stage Now”, featuring The Noble Demon. The Nobel Demon (real name Evelyn Lark) has been creating orchestral arrangements of video game music since 2011. The arrangements seem to fit the name, “a villain with a moral code”, with their sweeping melodies and moody atmosphere. Initially self-taught, The Noble Demon took more interest in music thanks to Rock Band 2, by joining a high school band as a percussionist and later taking AP Music Theory classes, at th...

Today, we’re celebrating the release on Sonic & Knuckles for the SEGA Genesis on this date, October 18, 1994. This was a special game because 1) it was developed alongside Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and 2) the cartridge contained a special lock-on technology so that other Sonic games and those made before Sonic & Knuckles can be inserted for added gameplay and value. We’ll be listening to tracks from all the Act 1 Zones, with the exception of the Lava Reef Zone in which it’ll be both Acts. There will...

A 16-year-old teenager girl is crying about her missing boyfriend during her Sweet 16 party. However, it gets worse when her boyfriend returns with another girl wearing his ring. This is the story sung for a popular song that was released April 5, 1963, called “It’s My Party”, sung by Lesley Gore (born Lesley Sue Goldstein). It was based on another Sweet 16 for Seymour Gottlieb’s daughter Judy, who retorted to him after being told about her grandparents coming, “It’s my party, and I’ll cry if I...

When was the last time you tuned a radio in the car or on a boombox or portable music player? You know, that device with two dials and a bi-frequency band. You turn one dial to tune frequency and the other dial for the volume. Well, today, on Friday, October 4th, we’re celebrating College Radio Day. It brings awareness to the radio heard on high school and college campuses. Whether it’s music, news, or talk, the radio was a part of most people’s lives, bring knowledge, solace, or joy to them. ...

Here we are near the end of September, which means it’s time for our special episode of “On Stage Now”, and this month’s featured musician is William Matthews. William Matthews is often found under the alias WillfoxPiano or willfox125 on social media. He has been doing remixes and covers of VGM for several years, played mostly on keyboard or keytar. He also combines traditional instruments with chiptune music, providing a unique listening experience for his fans. However, his music is often smo...

On September 20, 1996, Atlus released a game that would be a start of their subseries to Megami Tensei: “Revelations: Persona”. It follows the exploits of a group of high school teenagers given the power of Persona, the ability to call upon entities to cast spells and fight against the demons that have invaded their town and high school. As stated by their guide Philemon, there are many Personas that may be in every person; some merciful, some vengeful; some kind, some cruel. This week, we’ll b...

Muhahahah!!! It’s the 13th of Friday, which means it’s another freaky Friday episode for the show. There have been three previous episodes (#15,#51, and #92) and this marks the forth one to celebrate Friday the 13th, its mystique, its fascination, and its fear concerning this specific day. One of these days, there will be an episode about the franchise. For now, this week’s episode will be discussing the bad randomness of video games, known by gacha players as RNG. Whether is programmed or huma...

Do you remember when you last read a book? High school, because of summer reading? College, because of an English assignment? At work, because, well, the boss thought it was a good idea to build teamwork? This Friday, we’re celebrating National Read a Book Day, a time to consider reading one of your favorites books (at least a section of it) or a new one that caught your eye at the bookstore or library. It doesn’t have to be in print, and you could consider joining a book club in person or onli...

Here we are at the end of month, and that usually means it’s time for our monthly special episode of “On Stage Now”, and for the month of August we are featuring GlitchxCity. GlitchxCity has been creating covers and remixes since 2011. While most of her music is from the Pokemon series, she also has music from other popular video games. On a rare occasion does GlitchxCity have a collaboration with other musicians, such as insaneintherainmusic. No wallflowers here, so get ready to stand up and ...

The taped-up glasses, the plain buttoned-up shirt, a pair of pants held up by suspenders, and a smile with an overbite showing. All these combine to form the common image of a nerd. They’re socially awkward, speak through their nose and use large words, and may walk funny. Yet, they are devoted a subject matter or interest that some may perceive as obsessive. However, gone are the days when a nerd was considered a social pariah in school and at work; now they’re embraced lovingly and sometimes c...