Shinobi & Nightshade

Shinobi & Nightshade

Author: Jameson Empire May 6, 2025 Duration: 1:17:19

[Episode 39] This month, barSILENCE is dashing across rooftops and slicing through the shadows with the pulse-pounding beats of Shinobi and Nightshade for the PlayStation 2.

2002’s Shinobi introduced us to the relentless, vengeance-driven Hotsuma, and 2004’s Nightshade passed the blade to Hibana, a fierce ninja with her own score to settle. With blazing speed, brutal difficulty, a sleek near-future look, and a killer soundtrack, these stylish action games brought Sega’s classic ninja franchise into the 3D era.

Prepare for an audio mission through shadows, steel, and synths in Tokyo!

Je te dédie ça Elliot

Tracklisting:

00:00:00 - Patience (Shinobi) [Yutaka Minobe]

00:01:39 - Intro and Shinobi

00:07:32 - Transfiguration (Shinobi) [Tatsuyuki Maeda]

00:11:07 - Moritsune (Shinobi) [Tatsuyuki Maeda]

00:15:43 - Waiting Place (Shinobi) [Tatsuyuki Maeda]

00:20:00 - Destroyed by Fire (Shinobi) [Fumie Kumatani]

00:24:02 - Strange Device (Shinobi) [Fumie Kumatani]

00:27:47 - Red Blade (Shinobi) [Fumie Kumatani]

00:31:26 - Golden Castle (Shinobi) [Teruhiko Nakagawa]

00:35:14 - Nightshade

00:39:22 - Conspiracy Bottomless (Nightshade) [Tomonori Sawada]

00:40:14 - Ascetic Practice (Nightshade) [Masaru Setsumaru]

00:41:45 - Overcome Speed (Nightshade) [Keiichi Sugiyama]

00:45:43 - Skyscraper Tokyo (Nightshade) [Keiichi Sugiyama]

00:49:39 - Dark Kingdom (Nightshade) [Tomonori Sawada]

00:53:16 - Heart Settle (Nightshade) [Fumie Kumatani]

00:54:38 - Apparition Sovereign (Nightshade) [Tomonori Sawada]

00:58:17 - Impossible Maze (Nightshade) [Yutaka Minobe]

01:02:43 - Monochrome Arch (Nightshade) [Tomonori Sawada]

01:06:03 - Iron Will (Nightshade) [Tomonori Sawada]

01:08:24 - Iron Shogun (Nightshade) [Tomonori Sawada]

01:11:55 - Outro & Final Track

01:13:51 - Kan-Ei-Ji Neo (Nightshade) [Teruhiko Nakagawa]

barSILENCE is a monthly podcast crafted to celebrate and explore the best video game music in the world! You’re here because you enjoy the same thing that I do, and I am grateful for that.

If you want to become a member of the Legion of VGM, consider subscribing to the show on Patreon! As a thank you for subscribing, you can access all 20 episodes of the Bonus Beats podcast! Click here to learn more!

If you want to consider a one-time donation check out the Ko-Fi!

Shout-outs to two fantastic friends of the show and members of the Legion of VGM:

Shujin Academy VGM Club: The creatively themed episodes of this video game music podcast are the brainchild of the venerable Professor Tom. Please listen to and follow this excellent VGM Podcast!

SuperPod Saga: This fantastic video game variety podcast hosted by Aaron, is a show on a mission to discuss every video game topic ever! Give it a listen and follow for weekly episodes!

Connect with the show!

Patreon - /barSILENCE

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More ways to listen:

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YouTube - Monthly Videos]


There's a particular magic in the way a great video game score can transport you, turning a sequence of pixels and code into a living, breathing world. barSILENCE: A Video Game Music Podcast is built on that very idea, offering a deep and thoughtful retrospective on the art form. Hosted by Jameson Empire, each episode is a dedicated exploration, peeling back the layers on iconic soundtracks and the composers who created them. You'll hear more than just the memorable melodies; the discussion digs into the historical context, the technical constraints of older hardware, and the creative decisions that gave these scores their lasting emotional power. Whether it's the sweeping orchestration of a classic RPG or the catchy chip-tune of a forgotten arcade gem, this podcast treats each subject with genuine appreciation and curiosity. Tuning in feels like rediscovering a favorite game through its soundtrack, often highlighting details you might have missed during play. It’s a journey for both lifelong fans and newcomers, a chance to either reconnect with a beloved score or be introduced to a masterpiece for the first time. In the end, barSILENCE is more than an analysis-it's an active celebration of how these compositions fight against the quiet, enriching our memories of the games and the moments we spent inside them.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 48

barSILENCE: A Video Game Music Podcast
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