Nippon Ichi Software's teasing a new game, and I think it may be related to the Cladun series

Raise your hand if you had a blast playing Nippon Ichi's Cladun: This is an RPG at some point after the quirky dungeon-crawler earned a worldwide release (for the PSP) back in 2010.

Now raise your other hand if you also enjoyed that game's sequel, Cladun x2, which first saw the light of day in 2011.

To those of you who now have both arms raised: I'm not quite sure how you're going to read the rest of this post (or start the video below), but I'm sure you'll concoct some sort of solution.



To the rest of you: watch and listen to the snippet above--yes, even those of you who have yet to even think of raising a hand--which the folks at NIS helpfully and straightforwardly named, "Title Teaser BGM."

In other words, the musical numbers featured in this teaser probably are from an upcoming Nippon Ichi game.

Given the chiptune-y sound of the tracks and the character sprite revealed at the video's tail end, I have a feeling the title's related to the company's Cladun series in some way. What do you think?

'Bitch, I'm Madonna' (8-bit Remix)

There isn't much "grey area" when it comes to Madonna. You either love her, or hate her.

Me, I love her. Always have, probably always will.

Which should go a long way toward explaining why I'm posting the following "8-bit remix" of one of the Michigan-born popstar's latest songs, the fabulously titled "Bitch, I'm Madonna." (Actually, I believe the official title of this "Rebel Heart" tune is "Bitch I'm Madonna," but I refuse to refer to it in its comma-free form.)



Of course, it's not like showcasing this remix here is a total stretch. The person who produced it was inspired by "classic Nintendo songs," after all.

Plus, its YouTube cover art (or whatever you're supposed to call the imagery that fronts the rest its content) features a pixelated Madonna.

Anyway, check it out if you're a fan, and obviously feel free to ignore it if you're not. Oh, and if you'd prefer to hear version of this remix with vocals (from someone other than the "Vogue" songstress), here you go. (Personally, I think the latter iteration sounds a bit too much like a Kidz Bop recording, but that's just me.)

It's like the soundtrack to the awesome Mappy sequel of my dreams ...

The header above is the gist of my reaction to hearing, for the first time, the song "Circus" by SEXY-SYNTHESIZER (featuring Chihiro).

Which, of course, means I enjoyed the hell out of that initial encounter--as, really, who wouldn't love to hear a song that sounds like the main backing track of an imaginary follow-up to the Namco-made, mouse-fronted arcade classic of yesteryear?




I can't claim to have come across this gem myself, by the way. That honor belongs to Bill Sannwald (aka Mister Raroo), who turned me on to it a few days ago. Thanks, Bill!

To hear more tracks from SEXY-SYNTHESIZER's just-released EP, check out sexy-synthesizer.bandcamp.com.

Speaking of Mega Man and 'Over the Rainbow' ...

A cute little chiptune that shares its name with Harold Arlen's most memorable contribution to The Wizard of Oz soundtrack and sounds like something you might hear playing in the background of a Mega Man game can be listened to here.

I'd embed the song here rather than just link to it, but I don't know how to do that using Blogger. Harrumph.

Anyway, the track was created by an artist who calls herself venix. Hear more of her wonderfully cheerful chiptunes on her 8bitcollective or MySpace pages.

8-bit Jessica Fletcher

Would it surprise you to hear that I'm a fan of the oh-so-elderly Murder, She Wrote? Well, I am.

Sure, ol' Jessica Fletcher, played by the wonderful Angela Lansbury, spent most of the sleuthy series' 264 episodes stuck in goody-two-shoes-ville, but she wasn't against shanking someone with her snark stick when the situation called for it.

Another reason I enjoy watching this show, which aired for 12 seasons, when the opportunity arises: Nearly every episode ended with Fletcher frozen in mid-laugh.

What does all of this have to do with gaming? Well, someone named Peachy recently produced an 8-bit remix of the Murder, She Wrote theme song, that's what. Listen to it here.

8-bit Bulletproof

I wouldn't say this chiptune cover--produced by someone who calls him/herself Jump-Catch-Mushroom--of English electropop duo La Roux's "Bulletproof" is better than the original, but it's still worth a few listens.



Here is the video created for the original version of the song, by the way, in case any of you want to compare and contrast.

(Via gamergrrlz.net)

I thought the graphics were better in the GameGear version

How would Rebecca Black's rather inane (I know, that's putting it mildly) hit single, "Friday," look and sound if it were a GameBoy Color title? Here's how a couple of comedy writers who call themselves Smales and Payne recently answered that question:



The imaginary game depicted in the video above was made using MS Paint, by the way, while the audio was produced by Nick Maynard. (The latter can be downloaded here for a buck.)

Cee Lo's 'F**k You' (in the key of NES)

How do you improve upon Cee Lo's hit single, "F**k You"? Why, by giving it a chiptune makeover and rewriting its lyrics to make them game-centric, that's how.



(Via gonintendo.com)

OK, this is cute. And kinda hot.

It's Friday, my lovelies! (Don't look at me like that.) You know what that means: It's time to dance like a fool.

No worries if you're not quite in the mood; the following tune--called "Running in Dreams (Chase the Sun)" and created by Anamanaguchi drummer Luke Silas (aka Knife City)--practically forces you to stand up and shake your ass.

Apparently, Silas came up with the track after being challenged to create (in 48 hours) a "4/4 eurobeat-trance theme that would one day replace carmel dansen (however it's spelled). You gotta make this as cute as possible with the thought of anime girls dancing around, you must also teach us how to dance to this song. ALL ON LSDJ MUAHA. Tempo must be 170."

I think he met the challenge, don't you?

Download: "Running in Dreams (Chase the Sun)"

(Via tinycartridge.com)