Rock Out With Your Cart Out

Twice a month, I find the games that came out that half of the month in five year increments and pick out music from those games for a really long episode. For this episode, we're looking at the games that came out in the second half of August 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012, and […]

I’m coming in just under the wire to get in on the fun of the Masters of VGM topic going around the video game music podcast community, but I made it! I hemmed and hawed over these picks quite a bit, and this list could have turned out differently depending on the day. That said, […]

Some real bad stuff happened yesterday. I don’t have a lot to say here, but hopefully this compilation I put together helps keep you fired up to do what needs to be done to get things back to at least where they were. I go over my feelings about the whole thing at the end, […]

It’s no Illumination Laser, but we’re going with another soundtrack to a not particularly well known vertical scrolling shooter. This time, it’s Airgrave for the PS1! Hey, at least this game came out when the PS1 was a viable platform. The X68000 was more or less long dead by the time Illumination Laser came out. […]

I’m joined by my friend and Patreon backer, Michael Hughes, to talk about his picks for the 30 Day Video Game Music Challenge that was floating around Twitter in late 2020. If you dug the idea of this sort of thing, Michael came up with his own version as well. Jump on the bandwagon and […]

Back already? You bet! This time, we go with something more akin to my usual tastes and listen to Motoi Sakuraba’s work on the Mega CD/Genesis game, Earnest Evans. And I thought I had it tough with the last name “Arriola”, imagine your first name being “Earnest”? Support me on Patreon! Join the Discord! The […]

I’m not going to sit here and try to explain or justify why I picked this one. Just listen to the episode and you’ll understand. It’s a rather great example of what I think of when thinking about music that sort of personifies the PS2 in my mind. Rock? Jazz fusion? A little prog rock? […]

Sometimes there’s no real rhyme or reason for the games I pick for this show. I’ve never played a game in the long running, cute-’em-up franchise, Cotton. Hell, I’ve never listened to any of the music from them either. But I stumbled on the soundtrack to Cotton Rock ‘n’ Roll (changed to Cotton Fantasy for […]

As I’ve done for the past two years (episodes 38 and 54), this one is a tribute to my grandma who passed away February 9, 2019. It’s more for me than anything else. My grandma is probably the only reason this site and podcast exists as she was always indulging me in whatever I was […]

And here’s part two of my favorite tracks from Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl! As we’re covering some of the music from the latter half of the game as well as post-game stuff, just be warned that some of the track titles might delve into spoiler territory if that’s something you’re worried about. If […]

After spending a good chunk of time playing Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, I came to realize I actually like the remake of the fourth generation. Not only the gameplay improvements, but the music as well. No longer held back by the DS hardware, it was nice to hear some of the music from Diamond, Pearl, and […]

Another year, another Zelda game hitting a major milestone. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link released this day 35 years ago! While the game itself was a large departure from the original, Akito Nakatsuka’s work on the Zelda II’s soundtrack might have some of the more memorable and catchy tunes in the whole series. While […]

Get your hoverbike ready because we’re rockin’ to the soundtrack of the Namco classic, Burning Force! Support me on Patreon! The ROWYCO theme song is “Kaze Fuma” and was created by chibi-tech for the podcast. The ROWYCO logo was designed by Melissa Diaz. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram! Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Get the podcast at any of these […]

Well, it’s that time of year again. I’ve got another batch of winter-y themed pieces for you to listen to. I thought for sure I’d start struggling to find some new ones, but it looks like I’ll be able to keep this going for a few more years. Anyway, even if it’s not really snowing […]

Since this is a video game and video game adjacent music podcast, I thought I’d delve into a couple of chiptune artists I’ve grown pretty fond of in the last year and a half. With their second album, Time Goes On, Harvest (comprised of scythe and Kabayama) has shown they definitely work well together to […]

Following up on episode 82, here are some of my favorite remixes from A Link to the Past. Some of these, much like the remixes on the ROWYCO on The Legend of Zelda, I’ve had kicking around on various hard drives and devices over the last 20 years. Others are more recent remixes, or, at […]

The Rock Out With Your Cart Out Dream Events are normally reserved for our Patreon backers at the $3 a month and up tier. But in the spirit of giving thanks and all that, I thought I’d throw this one out there for you. Hopefully hearing this and knowing what you’ll get twice a month […]

We go from one important game celebrating a big anniversary to another. This time, it’s The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past turning 30 years old. We’ll be listening to the soundtrack for the game by itself since there’s a lot more to it than there was for the original The Legend of […]

It’s a little surreal to say this, but Halo: Combat Evolved turns 20 years old today. Not only is the original Halo one of the most important releases to ever come out, but, on a more personal note, it’s really the only first-person shooter with a soundtrack that’s ever stuck with me. So, to celebrate […]

We’re digging into the soundtrack for the Konami shooter that time forgot, Space Manbow. With music by Yuji Takenouchi, , Tsuyoshi Sekito, and Michiru Yamane, you can’t go wrong. Support me on Patreon! The ROWYCO theme song is “Kaze Fuma” and was created by chibi-tech for the podcast. The ROWYCO logo was designed by Melissa Diaz. Follow me […]

We haven’t listened to a soundtrack from UPL since episode 48, so I think it’s time to listen to one that doesn’t need anyone to redeem it. As I mentioned in the show, head over to Yoshio Nagashima’s Twitter and get some of his new music if you’re able. Support me on Patreon! The ROWYCO […]

Rather than be bummed out about not getting the Metal Gear: Snake’s Revenge soundtrack on vinyl, I thought it would be nice to appreciate that I got Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake on vinyl. Since it’s a pretty substantial soundtrack (you might say it’s one of “substance”), we’re going to split it up over two […]

Rather than be bummed out about not getting the Metal Gear: Snake’s Revenge soundtrack on vinyl, I thought it would be nice to appreciate that I got Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake on vinyl. Since it’s a pretty substantial soundtrack (you might say it’s one of “substance”), we’re going to split it up over two […]

I’ve previously done some digging about video game music that sounds awfully similar to other stuff. The other four of those episodes are behind a $3 paywall on Patreon. But, going forward, I’ll be putting these out on the main feed. This time, we’re looking into some of Koji Kondo’s “inspirations”. Support me on Patreon! […]

I don’t get a chance to talk to too many musicians, so I jumped on the chance of having Trevor Lentz on. I got a chance to talk with him about his recent album, What? Chiptuneis Evolving!, how he got started in music, some of the projects he’s previously done, and stuff he’s currently working […]

Ridiculous name? Check. Kick-ass soundtrack? Check. A pretty average vertical-scrolling shooter? Check. Sounds like we’ve got a game tailor-made for ROWYCO. Support me on Patreon! The ROWYCO theme song is “Kaze Fuma” and was created by chibi-tech for the podcast. The ROWYCO logo was designed by Melissa Diaz. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram! Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Get the […]

I’m doing a little bit of a comparison episode for the fist time in a while. What could be more exciting to listen to than the soundtrack to an airline business simulation? Why, the soundtrack to one of those and the remake of it! Support me on Patreon! The ROWYCO theme song is “Kaze Fuma” […]

This week, I’m doing something I haven’t done in quite a while – a Game Boy game! Aerostar has a peppy little soundtrack that I hadn’t heard until recently. Yes, it’s another obscure shooter, and no, I’m not apologizing for it. Support me on Patreon! The ROWYCO theme song is “Kaze Fuma” and was created […]

This week, we’re checking out the soundtracks to the arcade versions of Chase H.Q. and its sequel, Special Criminal Investigation. The late Takami Asano made some great tunes to ram bad guys off the road to, so let’s start going through the series with the first two entries! Support me on Patreon! The ROWYCO theme […]

This week, I’m joined by a very special guest. While she’s not famous quite yet, she’s an up-and-coming violinist who also happens to love video game music. Oh yeah, she also happens to be my daughter! Nepotism. Ain’t it grand? Anyway, I’m joined by Angelia Arriola to talk about some of her favorite video game […]

To coincide with us doing Mega Man X on our latest Game club podcast, I decided to do something I didn’t think I would do on ROWYCO – cover Mega Man X. Sure, I did Mega Man Maverick Hunter X way back on episode 2 of this, but that’s going on three years ago now. […]

This week, we’re checking out the unrelentingly peppy soundtrack to the adventure platformer, The Adventure Pals. Composed by Chris Geehan and Dan Bryne-McCullough who make up HyperDuck SoundWorks, this soundtrack will brighten your day, no matter what’s going on around you. Can’t get enough of it? I couldn’t either, so you should go buy it […]

I swear I’m not trying to out-obscure myself every few episodes, but I stumbled on this one and had to share. I mean, I’ve said how much I love a good shooter soundtrack and how much I love a good X68000 soundtrack. Now, a good X68000 shooter soundtrack? Yeah, right in my wheelhouse. Anyway, you’ll […]

In a series of odd ducks, Konami’s Snake’s Revenge is the oddest duck of them all. Hideo Kojima not only had no input into its development, but it was also made without his knowledge. Funny how things can get away from you even that early on, huh? Support me on Patreon. The ROWYCO theme song […]

On this episode, we’re checking out an arcade side-scrolling shooter from Taito called Metal Black. Metal Black was composed by Yasuhisa Watanabe, a memeber of Taito’s legendary sound team, Zuntata. I actually had never heard of this game, never mind its soundtrack, until I bought Zuntata Arcade Classics Volume 1 on vinyl. Interspersed with music […]

This week, I’m doing my own celebration of Falcom turning 40 years old by sharing one of my favrotie arranged albums of theirs. Falcom vs. JDK BAND Summer 2010 sees a lot of rotation from me, so I thought I’d share yet another peak into why I love Falcom Sound Team jdk so damn much. […]

Let’s go back to the world of the most dangerous boomerang in the world with Power Blade 2’s soundtrack. This was again handled by Kinuyo Yamashita (aka James Banana), so you know we’re in for some quality music here. Support me on Patreon. The ROWYCO theme song is “Kaze Fuma” and was created by chibi-tech for the […]

It’s been quite a while since we’ve done a soundtrack from the NES (Mighty Final Fight, way back on episode 39), so I thought we’d go to a favorite of mine, Power Blade by Kinuyo Yamashita (aka James Banana). Support me on Patreon. The ROWYCO theme song is “Kaze Fuma” and was created by chibi-tech for the […]

Support me on Patreon. The ROWYCO theme song is “Kaze Fuma” and was created by chibi-tech for the podcast. The ROWYCO logo was designed by Melissa Diaz. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram! Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Get the podcast at any of these podcastin’ places: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Amazon Music Spotify Stitcher RSS Feed And finally, here's the […]

Keeping on that SaGa train, we’re going through the highlights from the second disc of Kenji Ito’s SaGa Frontier‘s soundtrack!  Support me on Patreon. The ROWYCO theme song is “Kaze Fuma” and was created by chibi-tech for the podcast. The ROWYCO logo was designed by Melissa Diaz. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram! Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Get the podcast at […]

Since I’m doing something new with the bonus episodes of Rock Out With Your Cart, I thought I’d stick the first episode in the new format in the free feed. If you go to my Patreon and kick in $3, you’ll get all of the previous 11 bonus episodes (plus I just posted another today), […]

This week, we’re starting our three episode venture into Kenji Ito’s soundtrack for SaGa Frontier! Support me on Patreon. The ROWYCO theme song is “Kaze Fuma” and was created by chibi-tech for the podcast. The ROWYCO logo was designed by Melissa Diaz. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram! Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, and […]

We’re digging into Taoplan’s 1991 release, Vimana this week. Never heard of Taoplan? Don’t worry, I don’t think I had either until this! You might be more familiar with another of their releases, but that’s a story for the podcast itself. Let’s get on with listening to the music from this thing! Support me on […]

This week, we’re going to listen to the different iterations of the battle theme from the 3DS Pokémon games. Only, not the all of them. That would be insane. No, we’re listening to the ones from the fights with the Legendary Pokémon from those games! Much more manageable! Support me on Patreon! The ROWYCO theme […]

We’re heading into uncharted territory here with the 32X game, Stellar Assault. The soundtrack is a bit of a strange duck that fits in the with the original intent of this show (great video game music that might not be attached to a great game), but also doesn’t necessarily fit in with the game itself. […]

Since today is the 35th anniversary of The Hyrule Fantasy: Zeruda no Densetsu (known to most of the Western world as The Legend of Zelda) releasing on the Famicom Disk System, I thought I’d go over the soundtrack for it. Now, considering how sparse the actual soundtrack is, I included some of my favorite remixes. […]

As I did last year, I’m putting this episode out in remembrance of my grandma, Florence Kara. She passed away February 9th, 2018, and I want to keep this tradition going of putting an episode out that has pieces of music that I correlate with memories of her. Sometimes, the music itself has something to […]

This week, I’m getting back to the game soundtrack I had to pull an audible on – Star Trader for the X68000! I originally thought the soundtrack for this version was the same as the original version of the game on the PC-88. As it turns out, I was way off! The original version of […]

Making this an annual tradition now, I put together some nice, winter-y sounding pieces together for a winter/holiday episode. I did it a little differently this year and did all the talking right up front and then let the music take us through the rest of the episode without interruption. I thought it would be […]

Instead of covering the Secret of Mana soundtrack in its entirety, I decided to take a different approach and pick five tracks from the original Super Nintendo version, Secret of Mana Genesis / Seiken Densetsu 2 Arrange Album, and the 2018 remake. I was curious to see how those tracks were handled in each iteration, […]

I made it to fifty episodes! It’s been a hell of a ride getting here, so I thought I’d do something that shows the diversity of (or some may argue my lack of)  my tastes in video game music. This was originally a Twitter thing I saw that I thought would make a good episode […]