It’s time for a special episode of “On Stage Now”, and our first musician to start off 2026 is Nestalgica.

Hailing from Sweden, he’s a one-man band that covers all music from Nintendo. The proof is in the 17 years of videos from his YouTube channel that showcase his talent. There are a few tracks in which he collaborates with other musicians.

And honestly, that’s all I’ve got on him, but don’t let that dissuade you from listening a collection of his works on this episode, so put on your headphones and prepare to rock the world of video game music!

Nestalgica (YT, FB, IG, X, Twitch, Spotify, Apple Music, BC, Deezer, Last.fm, Patreon)

Track Listing
All tracks performed by Nestalgica are covers of the original VGM

“Mega Man 2 Medley” – [Mega Man 2] – composed by Takashi Tateishi, Manami Matsumae

“Batman: Return of the Joker cover (Game Boy)” – [Batman: Return of Joker] – composed by Manami Matsumae

“Bubble Bobble Them” – [Bubble Bobble] – composed by Zuntata

“Fester’s Quest – Boss Battle” – [Fester’s Quest] – composed by by Nobuyuki Hara, Naoki Kodaka

“Nintendo World Cup – Match 1-3”- [Nintendo World Cup] – composed by Kauo Sawa

“Metal Slug 3 – Desert theme” – [Metal Slug 3] – composed by Playmore Sound Team

“Splatoon – Splattack! (Main theme)” – [Splatoon] – composed by Toru Minegishi, Shiho Fujii

“Mystic Quest – Battle Theme [METAL COVER]” – [Mystic Quest] – composed by Ryuji Sasai

“Mega Man 2 – Metal Man Theme [METAL COVER]” – [Mega Man 2] – composed by Takashi Tateishi

“Castlevania – Heart of Fire” – [Castlevania] – composed by Kinuyo Tamashita

“Snake’s Revenge – Jungle Infiltration” – [Metal Gear – Snake’s Revenge] – composed by Tsutomo Ogura

“Batman: The Video Game (NES) – Stage 1 Theme (Streets of Desolation)” – [Batman: The Video Game] – composed by Naoki Kodaka

“ENEMY BASE – Contral (Feat. Stefan Norlin)” – [Contra] – composed by Kazuki Muraoka

“STARMAN THEME/WING CAP THEME” – [Super Mario Bros.] – composed by Koji Kondo

“ULTRAKILL – Altars of Apostacy (incl. “Hall of Sacreligious Remains”)” – [Ultrakill] – composed by Arai “Hakita” Patala

“BLADES OF STEEL – Menu Theme/Game Start” – [Blades of Steel] – composed by Shinya Sakamoto, Kazuki Muraoka, Atsushi Fujio, Kiyohiro Sada

Outro: “Ballad of the Wind Fish | Rock Cover (Link’s Awakening)” – [The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening] – composed by Kazumi Totaka, Minako Hamano, Kozue Ishikawa – covered by Nestalgica

YouTube playlist

Discord channel

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Today on January 16th, we are celebrating “National Appreciate a Dragon Day”, in honor of one of the most popular and mystical creatures of lore, the dragon. They have been a part of many historical and current cultures since 4500 B.C., when they were carved as images onto jade and pottery in China. There are mentions of dragons in literature, such as St. George, Beowulf, and The Hobbit. In movies and anime, there are dragons in movies (Mushu from “Mulan”, Shenon from the Dragon Ball series, Haku from “Spirited Away”). With its long tail, majestic wings, and ferocious claws, and fearsome face, the dragon is a creature that is appreciated by all.

For this week’s episode, we’ll be playing tracks from video games that feature dragons: a purple and spunky dragon saving the Kingdom, a great wyrm of the end of days, and a collection of high dragons during an Inquisition. We’ve also got covers and remixes to follow.

Enjoy these tracks and feel a sense of appreciation for this creature of lore…

“National Appreciate a Dragon Day”

“Appreciate a Dragon Day”

“Puff the Magic Dragon” (song)

Dragon’s Dogma – The Dragon

Dragon Age: Inquisition – Dragon Hunter

Track Listing

Intro and BGM: “Puff the Magic Dragon”, composed by Peter Yarrow and Leonard Lipton, performed by Peter, Paul, and Mary

“Title Screen” – [Spyro the Dragon] – composed by Stewart Copeland

“Spyro 1 Main Theme – lestrag Remix [Spyro the Dragon]” – remixed by lestraigVGM

“Into Free ~Dangan~” – [Dragon’s Dogma] – composed by Takahiro Matsumoto, lyric by Shane Gaalaas and Koshi Inaba, performed by B’z

“Dragon’s Dogma – Into Free (Dangan)” – covered by RyoX

“Theme” – [Dragon Age: Inquisition] – composed by Trevor Morris

“Dragon Age: Inquisition Theme “Epic Rock” Cover” – covered by LittleVMills

YouTube playlist

Discord channel

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Some days, it’s a peaches and cream and everything seems all right. Other days, things are going horribly wrong and the world seems against you. When it becomes too much or the goals seem too far away, you’re ready to throw in the towel and call it quits.

Today we’re celebrating Quitters Day, a time when most people, after getting themselves hyped up for their new year’s resolutions, start to fall back and eventually drop their efforts. A fitness app called Strava noted from user data that, while people set their exercise goals at the start of the new year, by the second Friday of January, their activity levels drop dramatically. So, Quitters Day was created to bring awareness of how fast motivation can fade and that it’s a common struggle that most face after the first rush of excitement wears off; it’s a good time to stop a moment and adjust your plans as needed, perhaps some small goals.

For this week’s episode, though, we’ll be listening to tracks from video games I’ve played in which I struggled hard, sometimes to the point of just giving up and never finishing the game: a young boxer climbing the ranks to meet the World Champion, a son of a father seeking revenge from a ninja duel, and two amphibious dudes fighting their way to rescue their buddy and the Princess. Along with these original tracks we’ve got covers and remixes.

Enjoy and just take a breather before you bury that controller into a wall…

Quitters Day

Track Listing

“Fight Theme” – [Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!!] – composed by Yukio Kaneoka, Akito Nakatsuka, Kenji Yamamoto

“Mike Tyson’s Punch Out (Synthwave Remix)” – remixed by Galactic Beatz

“Act 4 Part 2” – [Ninja Gaiden] – composed by Keiji Yamagishi, Ryuichi Nitta

“Stage 4-2 (The Amazing Ryu) goes harder | Ninja Gaiden | Unbreakable Determination Metal Version” – covered by Lame Genie

“Turbo Tunner Part 2” – [Battletoads] – composed by David Wise

“Darkman007 – 2021 – Metaltoads (Battletoads Cover NES) – 05 – Turbo Tunnel” – covered by Darkman007, from the cover album “Metaltoads (Battletoads Cover)”

Outro: Audio clip from “Rocky Balboa”

YouTube playlist

Discord Channel

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