Today is National Retro Video Game Day, celebrating a special time in the history of video games. Sure, we could debate about what constitutes ‘retro’, but I believe it’s more important to consider why March 8 is a special day: it is the birthday of Ralph H. Baer, considered by many in the industry as “the father of video games”. Thanks to his “Brown Box”, he foresaw the potential the television to be used for home entertainment, at a time when the production costs of televisions were becoming cheaper, meaning that more households can afford one in their home.

This week, I want to give the spotlight to several people who contributed to this episode, with their personal thoughts and experiences with retro gaming, along with tracks of their favorite retro games. My thanks to PocketEleri, rayjkayj, Nicolaas Hamman, Heat00veride, Ravsieg, Professor Tom, and The Messenger.

I hope you’ll enjoy listening to their stories and their chosen tracks. Perhaps you may reminisce about your own retro gaming experience, even to consider going back and playing them to relive those thoughts and feelings…

National Retro Video Game Day

Ralph Baer – Smithsonian Institute

Track Listing

“Minecraft Adventures [Coral Cave]” – [Sonic Rush Adventure] – composed by Mariko Nanba – remixed by Faseeh, Jorito, Joshua Taipale; from the album “Speeding Towards Adventure: 25 Years of Sonic the Hedgehog”

“Knuckerduster” – [Sonic the Hedgehog 3] – composed by Sega Sound Team, Brad Buxer – remixed by Project Chaos

“MMBN3 Music Remix Medley” – [Mega Man Battle Network 3] – composed by Yoshino Aoki – remixed by KokiRemix

“Flavor Cats (In the Comfort Zone)” – [Age of Mythology] – composed by Stephen Rippy, Kevin McMullan

“Hoping for Real Betterness” – [Age of Mythology] – composed by Stephen Rippy, Kevin McMullan

“Mario Kart 64: Rainbow Road Jazz Arrangement” – composed by Kenta Nagata – remixed by insaneintherainmusic, Saxologic

“Black Cat Moon” – [Virtual Fighter 2] – composed by Takayuki Nakamura, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi

“Ride the Tiger” – [Virtua Fighter 2] – composed by Takayuki Nakamura, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Akiko Hashimoto

“U.S.A.” – [Neo Turf Masters] – composed by Takushi Hiyamuta – remixed by Oculus Drift and Electric Dream

“Grand Canyon Golf Course U.S.A.”- [Neo Turf Masters (Arcade)] – composed by Takushi Hiyamuta

“NHL ’94 Theme” – [NHL 94] – composed by Rob Hubbard – covered by BarDown

Outro: “Metroid|Brinstar [Orchestral]” – [Metroid (NES)] – Hirokazu “Hip” Tanaka – remixed by Pontus Hultgren Music

YouTube playlist

Discord

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