Playlist: THE WORLD IS SQUARE

Listen to all of Singing Mountain’s Squaresoft episodes in one playlist.

All episodes focusing on the music of Squaresoft games, mostly from the 16-bit era.

It never left Japan and it’s not the best known of Square’s 16 bit-era RPG outings, but Live a Live should be notable to VGM fans at least for having a great soundtrack composed by Yoko Shimomura. It bridges the gap between her Street Fighter II phase and the work she composes today for games like Kingdom Hearts. Track listing: 0:16: Title Theme / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 2:22: Select-a-Live / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 5:03: Secret Mission / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 7:39: Under the Fake / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 8:53: Wait for Truth / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 10:36: The Birds Fly in the Sky, the Fish Swim in the Rivers / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 12:28: Dangerous Bar / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 14:44: Silent Labyrinth / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 17:23: Kiss of Jealousy / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 19:02: Ultimate Strength ~ Victory Road / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 21:29: Megalomania / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 23:56: Sound of Shinobi / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 26:58: Prehistoric Night / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 28:27: Difficult Fight / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura Forever Sound Version: https://foreversoundversion.wordpress.com Obscure Video Games: https://obscurevideogames.tumblr.com Drew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/drewgmackie Singing Mountain on Twitter: https://twitter.com/singmopod On Facebook: https://facebook.com/singingmountainpod/ On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/singing-mountain/id1252832457 On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ISyNLUc1ALxzvjBqw4ru3 On Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Ifofiaeephbs27wb6cqr24dlgl4 On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/singingmountainpod/ On SoundCloud: @singingmountain On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9f9iAcO1ZMTYVH91c2Jsyw Official website: https://singingmountainpod.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tablecakes TableCakes Productions: https://www.tablecakes.com

A hero’s journey can be lonely. Think about what it was like to start a new game, see your tiny sprite on the map screen for the first time and then wonder about what all you might be doing in this new adventure. This episode is all about music that captures that feeling: being a little excited, being a little lost, and feeling all the freedom of setting off on your own. Track listing: 0:16: Eternal Wind / Final Fantasy III (Famicom) / Nobuo Uematsu 4:50: Wanderer / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 8:32: Walking in Peace / Bounty Sword / Kohei Tanaka and Akihiko Mori 12:40: Rise From Your Grave / Altered Beast (Genesis) / Tohru Nakabayashi 19:06: Unknown Land / Dragon Quest (NES) / Koichi Sugiyama 19:30: Unknown Land / Dragon Quest (Super Famicom) / Koichi Sugiyama 21:22: Distant Journey / Dragon Quest II (NES) / Koichi Sugiyama 22:12: Distant Journey / Dragon Quest II (Super Famicom) / Koichi Sugiyama 23:21: Alefgard Overworld / Dragon Quest III (NES) / Koichi Sugiyama 24:10: Alefgard Overworld / Dragon Quest III (Super Famicom) / Koichi Sugiyama 28:24: Beyond the Wilderness / Radiant Historia (Nintendo DS) / Yoko Shimomura 32:48: The Earth / Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals / Yasunori Shiono 36:04: Exotic Country Road / Pocky & Rocky 2 / Hiroyuki Iwatsuki, Kinuyo Yamashita, Haruo Ohashi and Asuka Yamao 40:22: Night Shift / Treasure of the Rudras / Ryuji Sasai 43:00: Ravaged Village / Golden Axe 2 (Genesis) / Naofumi Hataya 45:28: Field: The Barren Lands / Wild Arms 2 / Michiko Naruke 49:09: Unknown Lands / Final Fantasy V / Nobuo Uematsu 51:22: A New World / Final Fantasy V / Nobuo Uematsu 53:18: My Home, Sweet Home / Final Fantasy V / Nobuo Uematsu 56:29: Overworld / Terranigma / Miyoko Takaoka and Masanori Hikichi 60:41: Walking the Ground / Final Fantasy: Four Heroes of Light / Naoshi Mizuta 63:14: Walking the Ground (Night) / Final Fantasy: Four Heroes of Light / Naoshi Mizuta 65:08: That’s the Beginning of the Adventure / Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City / Yuzo Koshiro 68:33: World Map / Shining Force / Masahiko Yoshimura 74:47: Windy Day / Metal Slug 5 / Toshikazu Tanaka Drew on Twitter: twitter.com/drewgmackie Singing Mountain on Twitter: https://twitter.com/singmopod On Facebook: www.facebook.com/singingmountainpod/ On iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/singi…ain/id1252832457 On Google Play: play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/…bs27wb6cqr24dlgl4 On Instagram: www.instagram.com/singingmountainpod/ On SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/singingmountain Official website: https://singingmountainpod.com/

Seiken Densetsu 3 was never officially translated and brought to the U.S., but you can still enjoy the game's soundtrack. In this episode, Drew talks about how this sequel to Secret of Mana sounds melancholy but every bit as beautiful as the original. Track listing: 0:08: Meridian Child 4:47: Witchmakers 6:14 Another Winter 8:39: Female Turbulence 9:48: Different Road 9:50: Evening Star 13:32: Lefthanded Wolf 18:44: Hope Isolation Pray 20:28: Harvest November 24:01: Innocent Water 24:02: Innocent Sea 28:31: Weird Counterpoit 31:28: Electric Talk 37:02: Few Paths Forbidden 38:45: Decision Bell 40:57: Breezin' 43:38: Religious Thunder 46:52: Long Goodbye 48:48: Angel's Fear (All tracks were composed by Hiroki Kikuta and are from Seiken Densetsu 3.)

This is the sound of low-key, 16-bit JRPG, before Enix got all involved This is back when the Super NES/Super Famicom was a focus of nostalgia. Track listing: 0:12: Epitaph / Final Fantasy VI / Nobuo Uematsu 2:28: Select a Live / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 4:52: Melody of Lute / Final Fantasy IV / Nobuo Uematsu 5:40: Underwater City / Treasure of the Rudras / Ryuji Sasai 8:19: Innocent Water / Seiken Densetsu 3 / Hiroki Kikuta 11:54: Summer Day / Radical Dreamers / Yasunori Mitsuda 14:45: Katrina’s Theme / Romancing Saga III / Kenji Ito 16:26: Ebon Keep Castle / Secret of Evermore / Jeremy Soule 19:12: Green Continent Campbell / Noriko Matsueda 21:58: Surrounded by Forest / Treasure Hunter G / Hitoshi Sakimoto 25:27: Beautiful Forest / Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest / Ryuji Sasai 27:41: A Curious Tale / Secret of Mana / Hiroki Kikuta 30:10: As I Feel, You Feel / Final Fantasy V / Nobuo Uematsu 32:37: Mermaid Legend / Romancing Saga II / Kenji Ito 34:06: Forever Rachel / Final Fantasy VI / Nobuo Uematsu 36:50: Fire Eyes / Secret of Evermore / Jeremy Soule 38:55: Shrine of Light / Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest / Ryuji Sasai 40:30: Waiting for the Moon / Treasure of the Rudras / Ryuji Sasai 42:05: The Girl Who Stole the Stars / Radical Dreamers / Yasunori Mitsuda 45:16: Decision Bell / Seiken Densetsu 3 / Hiroki Kikuta 49:03: Desert Daphira / Bahamut Lagoon / Noriko Matsueda 50:51: Holy King Temple / Romancing Saga 3 / Ryuji Sasai 52:46: Ivor Tower / Secret of Evermore / Jeremy Soule 55:39: Take the Gold and Run! (Night) / Treasure of the Rudras / Ryuji Sasai 57:12: Lenna’s Theme / Final Fantasy V / Nobuo Uematsu 59:35: Corridors of Time / Chrono Trigger / Yasunori Mitsuda 62:29: Innocent Sea / Seiken Densetsu 3 / Hiroki Kikuta 65:16: Land of Dwarves / Final Fantasy IV / Nobuo Uematsu 67:32: The Serpent Trench / Final Fantasy VI / Nobuo Uematsu 71:07: The Long Goodbye / Seiken Densetsu / Hiroki Kikuta Listen to the Naptime With Nintendo episode: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/nintendo-naptime All the “more music, less talk” episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-chill-vgm All the Square-Enix episodes: https://singingmountainpod.com/episodes/playlist-squaresoft Drew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/drewgmackie Singing Mountain on Twitter: https://twitter.com/singmopod On Facebook: https://facebook.com/singingmountainpod On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/singing-mountain/id1252832457 On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ISyNLUc1ALxzvjBqw4ru3 On Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Ifofiaeephbs27wb6cqr24dlgl4 On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/singingmountainpod On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9f9iAcO1ZMTYVH91c2Jsyw Official website: https://singingmountainpod.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tablecakes TableCakes Productions: https://www.tablecakes.com Subscribe to the newsletter: https://tablecakesproductions.substack.com/subscribe

The 16-bit era of Squaresoft RPGs helped teach a generation of gamers what this style of game could be. But as celebrated as titles like Final Fantasy, Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger were, their fans outside Japan missed out on a slew of others. This episode is a musical sampler of the titles that came out for the Super Famicom but not the Super NES: Romancing SaGa, Bahamut Lagoon, Front Mission, Treasure of the Rudras, Treasure Hunter G, Alcahest and Live a Live. Track listing: 0:11: Tension / Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard / Nobuo Uematsu 2:28: Menu / Bahamut Lagoon / Noriko Matsueda 4:47: Voyage / Romancing SaGa 2 / Kenji Ito 7:19: Destined Fate / Romancing SaGa / Kenji Ito 10:21: Bard’s Tale / Romancing SaGa / Kenji Ito 12:15: Julian’s Theme / Romancing SaGa 3 / Kenji Ito 14:24: Harid’s Theme / Romancing SaGa 3 / Kenji Ito 16:46: Magical Tank Battle / Romancing SaGa 3 / Kenji Ito 20:39: Overworld / Jun Ishikawa / Alcahest 22:04: Cave / Jun Ishikawa / Alcahest 24:16: Dungeon / Jun Ishikawa / Alcahest 27:45: Knock You Down / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 29:54: Native Life / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 31:28: Sancho de los Panchos / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 32:57: A Painful Death at the Hands of a Psycho / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 34:15: Pure Odio / Live a Live / Yoko Shimomura 37:05: Coaxial Town / Front Mission / Yoko Shimomura 38:41: Shop / Front Mission / Noriko Matsueda 40:15: Richard Millman / Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard / Nobuo Uematsu 42:19: Approach to a Shrine / Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard / Masashi Hamauzu 43:50: Trial Zone / Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard / Yasunori Mitsuda 48:57: Yoyo (Jojo) / Bahamut Lagoon / Noriko Matsueda 50:54: Kahna / Bahamut Lagoon / Noriko Matsueda 52:26: Sub Battle / Bahamut Lagoon / Noriko Matsueda 54:02: Requiem / Bahamut Lagoon / Noriko Matsueda 56:10: Yoyo and the Dragons / Bahamut Lagoon / Noriko Matsueda 59:17: Beginning for the End / Treasure of the Rudras / Ryuji Sasai 61:48: Between Two Worlds (Night) / Treasure of the Rudras / Ryuji Sasai 64:02: Crime of the Heart / Treasure of the Rudras / Ryuji Sasai 67:11: Take the Gold and Run (Night) / Treasure of the Rudras / Ryuji Sasai 68:43: Underworld / Treasure of the Rudras / Ryuji Sasai 69:51: Whistle Down the Wind / Treasure of the Rudras / Ryuji Sasai 72:27: Well, Let’s Get Out There and Fight / Treasure Hunter G / Yoko Takada 73:30: The World’s Cavern 1 / Treasure Hunter G / John Pee 75:45: Just Like the Mountain, He Will Not Move / Treasure Hunter G / John Pee 78:45: Whose Cat Is This? / Treasure Hunter G / Yoko Takada 81:20: Sad Freedom / Treasure Hunter G / John Pee 85:30: Mission Complete / Front Mission Series: Gun Hazard / Yasunori Mitsuda 87:57: King of the Mountain / Treasure of the Rudras / Ryuji Sasai Drew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/drewgmackie Singing Mountain on Twitter: https://twitter.com/singmopod On Facebook: https://facebook.com/singingmountainpod/ On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/singing-mountain/id1252832457 On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2ISyNLUc1ALxzvjBqw4ru3 On Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/Ifofiaeephbs27wb6cqr24dlgl4 On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/singingmountainpod/ On SoundCloud: @singingmountain On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9f9iAcO1ZMTYVH91c2Jsyw Official website: https://singingmountainpod.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tablecakes TableCakes Productions: https://www.tablecakes.com

Here is what it sounds like to be a tiny person traversing a big world. This is a remix + extended cut of the previous episode that started out as a side project and quickly grew into a full-fledged bonus episode. Track listing: 3:30: Main Theme / Final Fantasy (NES) / Nobuo Uematsu 4:46: Unknown Land / Dragon Quest (NES) / Koichi Sugiyama 7:35: Silent Zone / Phantasy Star II / Tokuhiko Uwabo 10:33: Eternal Wind / Final Fantasy III (Famicom) / Nobuo Uematsu 12:55: Seeking Treasure / Landstalker / Motoaki Takenouchi 16:31: Alefgard Overworld / Dragon Quest III (Super Famicom) / Koichi Sugiyama 18:43: Main Theme / Final Fantasy IV / Nobuo Uematsu 21:14: Homeland / Dragon Quest IV (Nintendo DS) / Koichi Sugiyama 24:01: Overworld (all versions) / Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom / Izuho Numata 28:25: The Legend / Arcana / Jun Ishikawa and Hirokazu Ando 30:38: World Map / The 7th Saga / Norihiko Yamanuki 33:19: Land of Dwarves / Final Fantasy IV / Nobuo Uematsu 34:51: Birth of the People / Actraiser / Yuzo Koshiro 37:14: Our Journey (Overworld 3) / Breath of Fire 2 / Yuko Takehara 38:44: Map Screen / Exile (Genesis) / Shinobu Ogawa and Tenpei Sato / Shinobu Ogawa 40:25: Overworld Map 1 / Tales of Phantasia (Super Famicom) / Motoroi Sakuraba 43:18: Unknown Lands / Final Fantasy V / Nobuo Uematsu 45:36: World Map / Shining Force / Masahiko Yoshimura 47:11: Motavia Field / Phantasy Star IV / Izuho Numata and Masaki Nakagaki 49:38: The Earth / Lufia: Fortress of Doom / Yasunori Shiono 51:33: Theme / Dual Orb / Lucky-7 53:31: A New World / Final Fantasy V / Nobuo Uematsu 56:39: Through the Fields / Dragon Quest VI / Koichi Sugiyama 58:26: Terra / Final Fantasy VI / Nobuo Uematsu 1:02:14: Overworld / Terranigma / Miyoko Takaoka and Masanori Hikichi 1:05:23: Memories of Green / Chrono Trigger / Yasunori Mitsuda 1:09:04: Searching for Friends / Final Fantasy VI / Nobuo Uematsu 1:11:50: The Earth / Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals / Yasunori Shiono 1:14:08: WInd Scene / Chrono Trigger / Yasunori Mitsuda 1:17:26: Main Theme / Final Fantasy VII / Nobuo Uematsu 1:23:45: Emotions / Xenogears / Yasunori Mitsuda 1:26:47: Lone Bird in the Shire / Wild Arms / Michiko Naruke 1:28:20: Land of Sylvarant / Tales of Symphonia / Motoi Sakuraba 1:31:39: Walking the Ground / Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light / Naoshi Mizuta 1:34:19: Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World / Chrono Cross / Yasunori Mitsuda 1:36:27: Distant Hometown / Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana / Daisuke Achiwa, Ken Nakagawa and Akira Tsuchiya 1:38:52: The World Beneath Your Feet / Breath of Fire IV / Yoshino Aoki and Taro Iwashiro 1:41:08: Blue Fields / Final Fantasy VIII / Nobuo Uematsu 1:43:59: Horizon of Light and Shadow / Bravely Default: The Flying Fairy / Revo 1:46:35: Migratory Birds ~ Wandering Bird ~ Scoundrels / Wild Arms 3 / Michiko Naruke 1:50:08: Grasslands of Time / Chrono Cross / Yasunori Mitsuda 1:53:17: Onward, to Adventure / Bravely Second: End Layer / Ryo 1:56:57: Cross the Field, Cross the Mountains / Dragon Quest IX / Koichi Sugiyama 1:59:31: Crossing Those Hills / Final Fantasy IX / Nobuo Uematsu 2:04:33: Main Theme / Final Fantasy / Nobuo Uematsu (PSP) The video version of this episode: https://singingmountainpod.com/videos Drew on Twitter: twitter.com/drewgmackie Singing Mountain on Twitter: https://twitter.com/singmopod On Facebook: www.facebook.com/singingmountainpod/ On iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/singi…ain/id1252832457 On Google Play: play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/…bs27wb6cqr24dlgl4 On Instagram: www.instagram.com/singingmountainpod/ On SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/singingmountain Official website: https://singingmountainpod.com/

In this short episode, I talk about how Terra's theme is reused throughout the first half of Final Fantasy VI, and how that might trick players into thinking she's the main character and that there's not a surprising (and depressing) second half to this 1994 RPG masterpiece. This plus all due praise for Nobuo Uematsu's finale to the series' Super Nintendo era. Track listing: 0:11: Omen (Parts 1 and 2) / Nobuo Uematsu / Final Fantasy VI 1:31: From That Day On... / Nobuo Uematsu / Final Fantasy VI 3:28: Omen (Part 3) / Nobuo Uematsu / Final Fantasy VI 5:56: Awakening / Nobuo Uematsu / Final Fantasy VI 8:25: Terra / Nobuo Uematsu / Final Fantasy VI 11:36: Protect the Espers! / Nobuo Uematsu / Final Fantasy VI 13:07: Esper World / Nobuo Uematsu / Final Fantasy VI 15:03: Dark World / Nobuo Uematsu / Final Fantasy VI 16:22: Searching for Friends / Nobuo Uematsu / Final Fantasy VI 19:39: The Magic House / Nobuo Uematsu / Final Fantasy VI 21:24: The Floating Continent / Nobuo Uematsu / Final Fantasy VI Follow Drew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/drewgmackie Follow this podcast on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/singingmountainpod/ On iTunes: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/singing-mountain/id1252832457 On Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ifofiaeephbs27wb6cqr24dlgl4