XVGM Radio
by VGM
XVGM Radio is a VGM podcast, done in the style of a radio show. It was established in 2018 with one simple mission in mind: to bring an awesome & eclectic mix of Video Game Music to your ears! Each episode will bring you new music, new topics, and hopefully show you something you may not have heard, or might not have thought to listen to otherwise. With co-hosts Mike Levy, Justin Schneider, Ed Wilson, & NikoTengoku, you’ll hear from game music composers, fellow VGM lovers and podcasters as well as musicians within the scene. Join the guys (and their producer, a Metroid named Janine,) as they take game music podcasting to a whole new level (complete with caller requests from game characters mixed with ones from Patreon members plus….silly commercials!) XVGM Radio….Where the Bits Keep Comin’! We release shows (episodes) on a monthly basis – usually on the middle-most Wednesday.
Episodes
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Episode 138 – SPOOOOOOOOOOOKYFEST 2026
BOO! XVGM Radio is back and SCARIER than ever! Mike and Justin host the 8th annual SPOOKYFEST 2026 festival, showcasing tons of spooktacular Halloween tunes to get you in the mood for this time of the year! With special bonus picks from co-hosts Niko and Ed, as well as a Patreon pick, multiple...
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Episode 137 – The Music of the Nintendo 64
The Nintendo 64 was released in 1996 in Japan and North America. September 29th, 1996 to be exact; 30 years old as of this recording! Though it wasn’t as big of a financial success for Nintendo as their two previous consoles, it was still an extremely important console. Often considered home to…
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Episode 136 – Star Wars
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away….those are the words that began one of the greatest franchises in movie history. However, the video games based on those franchises were very much worthy of the same praise! That’s why on today’s episode of XVGM Radio, Mike and Justin are chatting about...
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Episode 135 – Interview with Jeff van Dyck
Jeff Van Dyck’s musical career in video games has been a storied one. For over 30 years, Jeff’s music has continued blessing our ear drums, helping us create warm memories and exciting memories. Now, he joins us on XVGM Radio as Mike and Niko learn about his long history. We hear the story about...
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Episode 134 – Super NES Musical Swansongs
The Super Nintendo and Super Famicom have some of the greatest games ever made. But what sort of output did the system have in its twilight years? Today on XVGM Radio, Mike and Ed look at the late life cycle of the Super Nintendo/Super Famicom from 1996 and beyond, official releases only (No...
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Episode 133 – Dragon Quest I, II and III with Ryan and Cam
Dragon Quest has had 11 mainline games, tons of spinoffs and ports galore. It’s a franchise known for ushering in the foundation of the Japanese Role Playing Game, or the JRPG. Originating on the Famicom in the mid 1980s, the game saw not one but FOUR games release on Nintendo’s first console. In...
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Episode 132 – Basketball VGM Hall of Fame
March Madness is alive and well and what better way to celebrate than with a spotlight on some of the best game music that has adorned the courts of basketball game’s most celebrated titles! From Mike’s nostalgic stories about Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls fashion of the 90s, playing on the...
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Episode 131 – The Music of Shinji Hosoe
Many video game music composers try their best to fit into different musical genres but few do it as well as composers like Shinji Hosoe. On today’s episode of XVGM Radio, Mike and Ed discuss several of Hosoe’s game soundtracks, highlighting a wide variety of musical tracks. From techno and…
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Episode 130 – Wii Would Like to Listen
This year, Nintendo is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Wii…and if you’re old enough to remember the release, you might want to go get your cholesterol checked out. Despite this, XVGM Radio is ushering in a new era for its 8th year of existence. As always, NikoTengoku joins us for the...
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Episode 129 – Super Scope Games
It’s time for the holidays…and what did people receive as a gift during this time of year back in 1992? The Super Scope 6 of course! Nintendo’s successor to the NES Zapper was a bazooka-shaped monolith of potential. Though the final game library was small, the Super Scope 6 was full of untold...
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Episode 128 – Same Song, Different Arrangement: Phantom Breaker BattleGrounds Ultimate
Mike’s been raving about Phantom Breaker Battle Grounds for almost a decade. The heart-pumping soundtrack, exciting chibi anime beat-em up styled gameplay and intuitive leveling up system is a prime example of a game that should’ve gained more appreciation over the years. When the most recent...
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Episode 127 – Spookyfest 2025!
It’s BAAAAACCCCCKKK! Yes, it’s that time of the year again. SPOOKYFEST has returned for its 7th year and we’re pulling out all the tricks AND treats to celebrate the Halloween season! Fresh off the backs of the Spookyfest VIP Pass (If you didn’t get it, check it out on our Patreon!) We’re playing...
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Episode 126 – Human Entertainment: The Musical History
Today on XVGM Radio, we’re taking a look (and listen) to the audio history of Human Entertainment. Formed via a merger between Try Co. Ltd. and Communicate Inc in 1987, Human Entertainment was initially called Sonata, mostly handling ports from larger developers such as Konami and Bandai. After…
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Episode 125 – Cue Ball Sports VGM
Pool, Billiards, Snooker, Carom…whatever you call them, video games have a long history involving the most laid back of all sports, Cue Ball Based Sports. But what about their music? Today on XVGM Radio, Mike and Justin highlight some wild ranges of VGM in cue ball videogames. From discussions on...
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Episode 124 – Mega Man Battle & Chase Soundtrack Spotlight
What’s faster than the speed of light? Mega Man Battle & Chase’s North American release date, that’s what! Released in 1997 in Japan and 1998 in Europe, this game completely missed it’s planned North American release despite ads and previews running for it in magazines. Initially forgotten as…
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Episode 123 – Prison City w/ composer Matt Creamer
Matt Creamer, aka Radd Daddy, aka Norrin Radd, RETURNS to XVGM Radio to talk about his amazing soundtrack for Retroware’s Prison City game. We’ve chat with Matt previously about many of his soundtracks, even had him on one of our live shows before! A true friend to the podcast, Matt isn’t afraid…
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Episode 122 – Lethal Enforcers I & II (Same Song, Different System)
Marred in 90s era video game controversy, Konami’s Lethal Enforcers series, along with Mortal Kombat, Night Trap, and several other games, had ironic targets on their backs for their innovative, realistic (at the time) graphics involving firing a fake plastic gun at the screen, killing human...
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Episode 121 – Product Placement VGM w/ CRT Soundsystem
Product placement and advertising in video games is a wild, wacky thing. Today on XVGM Radio, Mike and Justin are joined by fellow VGM podcast CRT Soundsystem, where Reese and Tom bring some unique tracks to the mix! The hosts chat about Redline, Fast food chicken preferences, and gamer munchies....
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Episode 120 – Free Picks 6: The Search for 5
Free Picks…the very definition of randomness. Every 20 episodes, Mike and Justin think back to stuff they’re playing, or perhaps pick a track suggested by our Discord members (Thanks ElectricBoogaloo for this month’s pick!) What follows is an episode full of tongue twisters, caller requests from...
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Episode 119 – The Sounds of the Sharp X68000
Released in 1987, the Sharp X68000 would lead the way for Japanese computer systems, ending its reign around 1996. Utilizing the Yamaha YM2151 sound chip would make the computer sing some of the best FM synthesis based VGM ever released. Today on XVGM Radio, we’re joined by our third host...
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Episode 118 – Party Games Music
Multiplayer games can create some of the most memorable times for gamers but what few people talk about is their music. Today on XVGM Radio, Mike and Justin focus on the Party Game genre (with a few examples that fit further into the multiplayer aspects.) The guys chat about the mountain that is...
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Episode 117 – The Music Of Tengo Project
Returning to the topic of Natsume’s musical history, Mike and Justin revisit one last time for a sort of epilogue on the history of Natsume via Tengo Project. Formed from an offshoot of Natsume Co. Ltd in the mid to late 2000s, Tengo Project is a small team of Natsume’s original staff who have…
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Episode 116 – Spookyfest 2024!
Greetings boils, ghouls and everyBOOdy in between! Welcome to another SPOOOOOOOOKYFEST 2024! Each year, Mike and Justin get together for an “outdoor festival” that everyone can go to and enjoy some spooky halloween tunes! From horror movie based IPs with insanely creepy swamp tracks to bad…
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Episode 115 – Same Song, Different System: Paper Mario The Thousand-Year Door
We’ve covered the Mario RPG games and their music WAY back on Episode 29 but today, we’re revisiting one of the best Paper Mario games out there: Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door. Recently, it received a remaster on the Nintendo Switch and while the original soundtrack is an option in this...
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Episode 114 – Wrestling Game Music
Justin comes in with a jump off the top rope! BOOM! Mike goes down, and it’s ONE-TWO-11? Yes, 11 tracks of excellent wrestling music from video games are coming your way on this super-charged episode of XVGM Radio! Hear the guys chat about their Wrestling game (and Wrestling TV) experiences. Plus...
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Episode 113 – Robots GBA/DS Spotlight with Composer Ian Stocker
There’s two things that don’t get the recognition they deserve when it comes to video games: Game Boy Advance soundtracks and licensed games. Today on XVGM Radio, Mike and Justin build up a musical tale to combat this inaccurate statement with a GBA soundtrack from a licensed game that rocks!...
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Episode 112 – High Score Jamz
High score rankings have been a thing since the 70s in video games. But the music layered behind them didn’t really pick up until the 80s. Justin and Mike examine these tunes to explore the eastern vs western comparisons. Eastern composers tend to create much shorter high score music than western...
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Episode 111 – Modern Retro Game Music
Many of today’s indie and AA developers know their retro. That’s why there’s an abundance of amazing games available for modern platforms which channel the games of our pasts. Thankfully, game composers of the current era haven’t forgotten the roots of VGM either, as the amount of modern games...
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Episode 110 – Musical Therapy: An Interview w/ Norihiko Hibino
Music touches all aspects of the soul. It’s a large part of what makes us human. In tough times or happy moments and everything in between, music can be therapy in many ways and video game music is no different. On today’s episode, we sit down for a chat with Norihiko Hibino and listen to … Read...
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Episode 109 – Emotional Damage VGM w/ Niko Tengoku
It’s that time of year again! It’s January in a new year and as always with XVGM Radio, we bring in the big guns: NikoTengoku! Our old pal and honorary third co-host Niko joins us once again to ring in 2024 with a somber note: Emotional VGM. Whether the moments in the games touched our … Read…
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Episode 108 – The NEC PC-FX
In 1994, video game system manufacturers were just starting to shift into the realm of 3D-based video game consoles thanks to the fifth generation. But one company decided to continue building upon the legacy of 2D in the mid-90s with their final console release: NEC. The PC-FX was host to 62…
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Episode 107 – Infernax w/ composer Jason Letourneau
Though Halloween season is over, we’re still playing with gore! XVGM Radio sits down with VGM composer Jason Létourneau to discuss his music in the 8-bit modern retro classic, Infernax. Hear us grill Jason to learn about his process and how some of our favorite modern VGM composers helped him…
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Episode 106 – Spookyfest 2023
They’reeeee bacccckkkkkk! The XVGM Radio boys are back for another haunting year of SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOKY songs to celebrate the holiday season! Join Mike and Justin on their 5th annual Spookyfest, complete with crowds cheering them on, buying Poltergust 4000 vacuums and gettin’ their sour pukes on!...
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Episode 105 – The Musical History of Natsume Part 3
Continued from Episodes 99 and 102, Mike and Justin close out the musical history of the developer, Natsume Co. Ltd. After the split between Natsume Co. Ltd. and Natsume Inc, Natsume Co. Ltd. would continue to work on developing games, mostly on the Super NES and eventually handhelds like the…
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Episode 104 – Shantae Tunes
Wayforward’s Shantae on the Game Boy Color was the swansong release on the handheld and the beginning of a franchise in the making. Now, Shantae has not only blossomed into a 5 (soon to be 6) game series, but can be widely considered Queen of the indie game scene. One particular stand out in this…
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Episode 103 – Video Pinball VGM
PING! BLAM! DING-DING-DING-DING! CH-CHUNK! Pinball certainly has some exciting sounds. Video pinball brings the experience of pinball home to consoles, PCs or on the go. But what rarely gets discussed by video pinball aficionados is how great the music is in these games. Today, we’re getting our...
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About this show
XVGM Radio is a VGM podcast, done in the style of a radio show. It was established in 2018 with one simple mission in mind: to bring an awesome & eclectic mix of Video Game Music to your ears! Each episode will bring you new music, new topics, and hopefully show you something you may not have heard, or might not have thought to listen to otherwise. With co-hosts Mike Levy, Justin Schneider, Ed Wilson, & NikoTengoku, you’ll hear from game music composers, fellow VGM lovers and podcasters as well as musicians within the scene. Join the guys (and their producer, a Metroid named Janine,) as they take game music podcasting to a whole new level (complete with caller requests from game characters mixed with ones from Patreon members plus….silly commercials!) XVGM Radio….Where the Bits Keep Comin’! We release shows (episodes) on a monthly basis – usually on the middle-most Wednesday.
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