Episode 4-2: The Queen of VGM, Yoko Shimomura

Greetings, gamers! Let's talk about some of the most successful, longest-running franchises in gaming. Street Fighter. Mario. Final Fantasy. Mana. Kingdom Hearts. You know what they all have in common? Very Good Music, composed by the queen of VGM herself, Yoko Shimomura! This week, Bedroth and Shootkapow talk about another of their favorites, one of the most famous video game music makers on the planet. We trace her trajectory from her roots at Capcom all the way through her latest freelance collaboration with K-pop star Taeyeon. From chiptune jams to vocal-orchestral masterpieces, though, everything follows our number one rule: It's all Very Good Music! So good, this intro says it twice! Thanks as always to our amazing patrons and the artists who made our show art and theme song. You, too, can become a patron at patreon.com/vgmvgm, and you can reach out to us one of these ways: Discord: https://discord.gg/qpbXPdCf2N Twitter: @VGMpod and @Shootkapow E-mail: [email protected] Voicemail: Anchor.com/vgmvgm.  You can also leave us a comment on YouTube and while you're at it, please let us know if you like the video, and subscribe and ring the bell to be notified of future episodes! We look forward to hearing from you! Playlist: Intro: Dearly Beloved - Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix - Square Enix - PS3 - 2012 10:55 - Round 5: Bay Area - Final Fight - Capcom - SNES - 1990 20:21 - Attraction Medley - Adventures in the Magic Kingdom - Capcom - NES - 1990 26:49 - Vega's Theme - Street Fighter II: The World Warrior - Capcom - Arcade - 1991 36:25 - MEGALOMANIA - Live A Live - Square - Super Famicom - 1994 46:45 - Hello, Happy Kingdom - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - Square - SNES - 1996 57:48 - Title Theme - Legend of Mana - Square - PS1 - 1999 1:10:01 - In the Final/The Grand Finale - Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - Nintendo - DS - 2009 1:17:49 - Primal Eyes for The 3rd Birthday - The 3rd Birthday - Square Enix - PlayStation Portable (PSP) - 2010 1:27:38 - Colony 9 - Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition - Nintendo/Monolith Soft - Switch - 2019 1:37:03 - Ahead of Destiny - Gran Saga - NPIXEL - Mobile - 2021 Blooper: BGM 1, 2, and 3 - Hataraku Chocobo - Square/Bandai - WonderSwan - 2000 Special thanks to our Patrons: Alex Messenger, host of A VGM Journey Skeletroy, creator of SNES Thrash Remixes on YouTube Ryan Steel, composer of Catlandia: Crisis at Fort PawPrint "Kung Fu" Carlito, host of Heroes Three: Adventures in Asian Cinema Forrest Shamlian, creator of Castle Corp and Bomb Show on YouTube SprintCade The Mysterious Nathan Artist Links: Naomi Rubin - patreon.com/naomirubin | comics at moonsproutstation.com Carlos Leon Roman - Instagram.com/kf_carlito Ben "The Diad" Dishman - @TheDiad Skeletroy - patreon.com/skeletroy