ROMdivr

An important figure in not only Namco history but also an innovator in the genre of electronic music is one Haruomi Hosono, formerly of Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Here on display is his 1984 album simply titled “Video Game Music”.  Made up of re-purposed Namco video game sound effects, it is a very early example of a successful chiptune album. He produced this shortly after YMO disbanded, and closely before he worked on music for Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Video Game Music was not Hosono’s first foray in to the chiptune genre, as years prior in 1978, YMO’s debut album featured sampling of sounds from games of the era.

…which is to say that now I have a copy of the enigmatic Knights of the Crystallion. 🦄

Look at that box! The crystal stallion hatching from the egg! And it comes with a poetry book!

If you haven’t heard of Knights of the Crystallion, please see my post! It’s a mysterious, bizarre game meant to simulate the life and spiritual practices of a druid-like culture that worships a massive skeleton. It asks you to invest in a new way of life. Baffling and immense. There’s nothing else like it.