A few weeks ago, Syp, MMO blogger over at Bio Break who produces the Battle Bards podcast and its spinoff, Retro Reprise, put out a call on Twitter for a co-host for a podcast about 90s Shareware titles. How could I pass up an opportunity like that? There was a complicated application process, a panel of judges, a talent contest… ok, actually I was the only one who applied so he was stuck with me.

This was my first time recording a podcast, so I won’t be winning any awards for my part in it, but Syp is a good editor and cut out a lot of my “um, so, like, yeah, and stuff.” Thanks a lot to him for having me on the show. It was a lot of fun!

Anyways, without further ado:

Retro Reprise Episode 17: The shareware show!

They might not have been the AAA-budget titles of the 1990s, but shareware games were perhaps even more well-known due to the proliferation of these demos. Studios such as id, Epic, and Apogee made their mark with these titles — and the simple but memorable tunes from each got lodged into our brains. Joining Syp today is Chaos Constant from Occasional Hero, who is a self-professed retro game music fan and has plenty to say about the shareware era!

Show notes (episode download, episode page)

• Intro (feat. “Cruising with Stryker” from Major Stryker and “The City Streets” from Duke Nukem 3D)
• “Title Theme” from Halloween Harry
• “Toy Factory Table” from Epic Pinball
• “Main Theme” from Duke Nukem 3D
• “Welcome to a Kick in the Pants in Good Old Hillville” from Commander Keen 4
• “Main Theme” from Mystic Towers
• “Spiders” from Jill of the Jungle
• “Shooting Star” from Major Stryker
• “Episode 1 Levels 4-6” from Stargunner
• Outro (“Beach Bunnies” from Jazz Jackrabbit)