Download Episode 98: “Amazing Openings with Cam Werme” here!
Last time Ed and Mike had Cam Werme on the show, they all showed off some of their favorite ending tunes. So when it came time for him to return, they figured why not flip the script and play some opening themes? Join the VGM-crazy trio as they share a bunch of their favorite pre-gameplay melodies, ranging from the cinematic, to the rockin’, to the downright goofy!
Check out Cameron’s VGM covers with previous PTR guest host Cameron Chiles over at Camicom on YouTube!
Thanks to Dan Bisciglia and Bryan Mosley for submitting PixelChat questions. Send YOUR questions for us to answer at pixeltunesradio@gmail.com!
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The Tracklist:
Format: Game Title (System, Year) – Track Title – Composer(s)
Episode Intro – Dragon Quest VI (SFC, 1995) – “Overture” – Koichi Sugiyama
1 – F1-ROC II: Race of Champions (SNES, 1993) – “Title” – Masanao Akahori, Hiro Nakayama
2 – Kingsley’s Adventure (PS1, 1999) – “Menu” – Alistair Lindsay
3 – Ninja Warriors (SNES) – “Opening+Title Theme” – Hiroyuki Iwatsuki, N. Tate
4 – Alundra (PSX, 1997) – “Alundra” – Kohei Tanaka
5 – Star Trader (X68000, 1991) – “Title” – Mieko Ishikawa, arranged by Keishi Yonao
6 – Donkey Kong Country (SNES, 1994) “Theme” – David Wise
7 – Alien 3 (NES, 1993) – “Title Theme” – Jeroen Tel
8 – Buck Bumble (N64, 1998) “Buck Bumble Theme” – Justin Scharvona
9 – Contra: Shattered Soldier (PS2, 2002) – “Venus” – Sota Fujimori, Akira Yamaoka
10 – Dark Cloud 2: Dark Chronicle (PS2, 2002) – “Never-ending Adventure (Rush’s Theme)” – Tomohito Nishiura
11 – Patchwork Heroes (PSP, 2010) “Holding 1,000,000 Tons of Bravery” – Hideki Sakamoto
12 – Arcus Odyssey (Genesis, 1991) – “Opening” – Motoi Sakuraba
PixelTunes Radio VGM Podcast 
Niiice! It’s ironic that Cam picked Koshiro as the composer he’d rather skip, because when I thought about amazing openings, the original Streets of Rage was the first track I thought of. A lot of it’s nostalgia to be sure, but I totally remember how I felt the first time I put that game in and turned it on. My model 1 Genesis was hooked up to a late 70’s stereo, and it was the first time I ever felt bass from a video game.
As for my pick of composer I’d rather not listen to, that would be Rob Hubbard hands down. The man was a wonder on the C64, but to me he’s synonymous with the “razor metal farts” sound the Genesis can put out at its worst.
Other memorable intros for me are Secret of Mana, Panzer Dragoon, GunGriffon, and Out of This World(SNES), which wouldn’t all necessarily translate that well for an audio podcast.
That Arcus Odyssey talk had me interested! The game didn’t catch my notice back in the day, and that mode 7/ rotation talk piqued my interest. Looking at a comparison of the MD/SF versions of the game, it looks like that scene basically uses parallax, but vertically. It looks like it takes a whole bunch of similar sprites that are each the width of the screen, and pulls them apart vertically. It’s interesting that the SF version didn’t copy it or use mode 7 to replicate the effect. Here’s the comparison video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtwgoHReCq8