Anne from Pikapi Podcast drops in to help discuss the music of Pokemon Rumble. This WiiWare title is definitely meatier than My Pokemon Ranch in terms of gameplay, and we try to figure out if the soundtrack follows suit. As usual, there's a gameplay discussion after the outro, where among other things we compare Rumble to Pokemon Unite.

Links:
Pikapi Podcast: http://pikapipodcast.blogspot.com/
Poke Casters Network: https://www.pokecastersnetwork.com/

Poke Press Digest Podcast

Episode 64-Discussing the music of "Pokemon Rumble"

Anne from Pikapi Podcast joins me to discuss the music of Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs for the DS. This final entry in the trilogy may not change the Ranger formula drastically, but it does come with a wide array of new tunes. As usual, there’s a game discussion after the outro.

Links:
Pikapi Podcast: http://pikapipodcast.blogspot.com/
Poke Casters Network: https://www.pokecastersnetwork.com/

Episode 65: Discussing the Music of Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs

In the first segment (1:22-3:54), I interview Vince Krekeler of Day 2 events, the company that runs many of the regional Pokemon tournaments in the middle of the US. I took this opportunity to talk with him about how things are going for the first full season back from the pandemic, and gave him an opportunity to talk about some of the other events they run.

The second segment (4:56-45:45) is a discussion of the music of PokePark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure. Anne from Pikapi Podcast helps me cover the soundtrack of this final fourth generation side game. As you might expect, PokePark's array of environments meant that we got to discuss a wide range of tunes. If you want to know what we thought of the game itself, we examine that after the outro.

Links:
Day 2 Events: https://www.day2events.com/
Pikapi Podcast: http://pikapipodcast.blogspot.com/
Poke Casters Network: https://www.pokecastersnetwork.com/

Episode 66-Day 2 Events/Discussing the music of "PokePark Wii"

In this episode, Anne from Pikapi Podcast joins me to discuss the music of Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. This entry in the series massively expanded the number of available tracks, so the two of us had to be very picky in narrowing that down. After that topic, we have our feedback section, where I give a detailed explanation of why Pokemon: The First Movie doesn’t look completely uniform, and how that might be... "fixed". Finally, be sure to listen after the outro, where we have a Brawl gameplay discussion, and a preview of our next episode. 

Links:
First Movie Film Size: https://youtube.com/shorts/ftnfxFQKXCA
Pikapi Podcast: http://pikapipodcast.blogspot.com/
Poke Casters Network: https://www.pokecastersnetwork.com/

Episode 67-Discussing the Music of "Super Smash Bros. Brawl"

In the first segment (1:14-28:42), Anne from Pikapi Podcast drops by to discuss the music of Pokemon Rumble Blast for the 3DS. Like practically everything else in this entry, the soundtrack is an expansion of the original Rumble’s, but that didn't stop us from making some interesting observations. If you want to know what we thought of the game itself, be sure to listen after the outro.

Our second segment (29:41-46:19) is a quiz of sorts, where I play disguised versions of voice clips from prior episodes, and Anne tries to guess which of us said it, as well as what we were talking about. Listen closely and see if you can figure it out before she does.

Links:
Pikapi Podcast: http://pikapipodcast.blogspot.com/
Poke Casters Network: https://www.pokecastersnetwork.com/

Episode 68-Discussing the music of "Pokemon Rumble Blast"/Who said that?

Anne from Pikapi Podcast drops by to discuss the music of PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond for the Wii. This sometimes-forgotten sequel delivers a fresh set of tunes, which have some interesting structural ties to the game. Afterwards, we move on to our feedback section, where we ponder whether the Japanese version of the second movie may have originally had a different credits song, and why having a backup plan is good idea. Finally, there’s a Wonders Beyond game discussion after the outro.

Links:
Pikapi Podcast: http://pikapipodcast.blogspot.com/
Poke Casters Network: https://www.pokecastersnetwork.com/

Episode 69-Discussing the music of "PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond"

Recently, I've been working on a project to upscale AM and FM audio recordings. Here's a sample that showcases some of what the framework can do. A small beep separates each change in audio type.

00:00 Source Audio
00:15 FM Audio (Good Reception)
00:30 Upscaled FM Audio (Good Reception)
00:38 FM Audio (Fringe Reception)
00:57 Upscaled FM Audio (Fringe Reception)
01:09 AM Audio (Fair Reception)
01:24 Upscaled AM Audio (Fair Reception)

Training Code:
https://github.com/pokepress/aero
FM Models: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/q986776pawybq/test-v1
AM Models: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/orqm1wxjyikjp/test-v1

Demo: Radio Audio AI Upscaling

Anne from Pikapi Podcast helps me discuss the music of Pokemon Conquest for the DS. This quirky crossover gave us a lot to talk about, including instrumentation, Japanese history, and a much more recent Pokémon game. On top of all that, there’s a game discussion after the outro that covers...much of the same.

Editor's Note: I state in this episode that One Direction did promotional work specifically for this game. They were brand ambassadors during this time, but I was unable to find a promo for this specific game.

Links:
Pikapi Podcast: http://pikapipodcast.blogspot.com/
Pokemon Conquest History: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__AMe_WiuoA
Poke Casters Network: https://www.pokecastersnetwork.com/

Episode 70-Discussing the music of "Pokemon Conquest"

The first segment (1:06-39:08) is a series of interviews from Anime Milwaukee 2024*. As usual, I was able to meet with a number of voice actors and talk about their work on the Pokemon franchise. With roles in miniseries, Pokemon Masters, and the Detective Pikachu games, these performers will give you a wide perspective.

The second segment (39:51-57:09) is a quiz, where Anne from Pikapi Podcast tries to guess the subjects of a series of AI-created character songs. Play along and see if you can deduce the identities behind these tunes.

*A press pass was provided for this event.

Links:
Anime Milwaukee: https://animemilwaukee.org/
Pikapi Podcast: http://pikapipodcast.blogspot.com/
Poke Casters Network: https://www.pokecastersnetwork.com/

Episode 71-Anime Milwaukee 2024/AI Character Songs

Anne from Pikapi Podcast stops by to discuss the music of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity for the 3DS. While not the most popular entry in the series, it still comes with a wide array of impressive new tunes, giving us plenty to talk about. As usual, we have a game discussion after the outro. In our feedback section, we discuss the ongoing opportunity (or perhaps risk) of doing a remake of Pokemon 2000.

Links:
Pikapi Podcast: pikapipodcast.blogspot.com/
Poke Casters Network: www.pokecastersnetwork.com/
Pam Sheyne Interview:
pokepress.blogspot.com/2015/08/songw…m-sheyne.html
Pokemon 2000 Mockup: https://twitter.com/pokepress/status/1677723323030024194

Episode 72-Discussing the music of "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity"

Want to know more about the people and ideas behind the Pokemon franchise? Our show provides a variety of information, with an emphasis on the Pokemon fan experience. Topics include music, anime, the TCG, and the video games.

Episode 70-Discussing the music of "Pokemon Conquest"

pokepress

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